Emergency Operations Center/Town Hall
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Town Hall is located at 2414 Murray Street. The current Town Hall was built in 1985 on a 0.26 acre site (Lots 9 & 10 Block UU). It is a one story building and began as 2,491 square feet and was renovated in 2005 by Charleston Constructors for $148,000 and is now 3,042 SF. The construction is wood frame on a concrete slab (elevation 11.90'MSL) with brick and vinyl exterior walls.
The Fire Department was built in 1986. It is a 4,990 SF metal building at a slab elevation of 12.21' MSL. Most of this building is used for fire engine parking. The Police Department and Municipal Court are also housed in this building.
The retention building for storage of permanent records is 421 SF.
In 2015, the Town purchased 2412 Murray Street for $96,500 for parking.
Thirty three years later, the Town has 38 employees housed in a space constructed when there were 8-10 employees. The Police Department needs an evidence room, interrogation room, bathroom and shower facilities as well as space for officers. The municipal court needs an area separate from the Police Department. The Town needs an Emergency Operations Center. The Town is housing some staff at the civic center, but they are unable to connect to the Town's server because Internet is unreliable. It is not efficient to house staff in different areas especially outside of its jurisdiction.
In 2014, Colleton County voters passed a referendum to implement a 1 cent sales tax to meet infrastructure needs in Colleton County. The Town applied for and was successful in obtaining $4,000,000 for beach nourishment during that cycle. The 1 cents sales tax cycle is 8 years. The next cycle will begin 2021.
The Town budgeted funds ($50,000) to hire an architect to design a Town Hall Complex and establish a cost so we can submit an application for a new Town Hall Complex in the next 1 cent sales tax cycle. The complex would be constructed on the same site as Town Hall is now, but it would be brought up to the current codes and be elevated. The Town does not plan to borrow funds for this project. If we are unsuccessful in obtaining the 1 cent sales tax, the understanding is the project will not move forward.
Project Manager-Mark Aakhus
Committee-Mayor Moore, Councilman Kizer, Mark Aakhus, Chief Denney Conley, Chief Daniel Seyle, Patrick Brown, Patrick Zemp
Firm-Rosenblum Coe
$50,000
Town Hall Complex Design Committee
Mayor Crawford Moore
Councilman Jerome Kizer
Edye Graves
Katherine Kuntz
Mark Aakhus, Assistant Town Administrator
Patrick Brown, Building Codes Administrator
Documents
Project Updates
Colleton County Council approved Ordinance 22-O-08, To Impose, Subject to Referendum Approval and
Pursuant to the Capital Project Sales Tax Act, a One Percent (1%) Sales and Use Tax (The "Tax") Within Colleton County for Not More Than Seven (7) Years; To Order a County-Wide Referendum On The Question of Imposing the Tax and to Prescribe the Contents of the Ballot Question; To Specify the Purposes For Which the Proceeds From the Tax Are To Be Used, the Maximum Time For The Imposition Of The Tax;
and To Provide For Other Matters Relating Thereto.
The Commission met Wednesday, May 11, 2022, and formed the project list below to be included on a referendum for voter consideration on November 8, 2022. Should the referendum pass, the current Capital Project sales tax of 1% will remain in effect.
Staff will make a presentation to the CPST on March 2, 2022 so the CPST commission can rank projects for Colleton County Council approval.
Staff met with Rosenblum Coe to discuss plan redesign options after receiving the conceptual design cost estimates on September 23, 2021. These costs from the estimator were substantially higher than the April 2021 estimated costs. During the meeting options were discussed to lower the overall costs to around $10 Million. Options discussed were scaling sizes, alternative layouts, phasing, etc.
Staff met with Rosenblum Coe to review plan options. These plan options resulted from a series of meetings with staff and comments provided to the Architect resulting in the final proposed plan.