Public Works committee debates prioritizing elements of county 10-year capital plan

Members of the Richland County Public Works Committee reviewed a capital improvement plan focused on county facilities and debated how aggressively to pursue items on the plan.

The plan, which committee members said was completed by “Clint” and placed in the committee’s administrative documents folder, lists completed items and outstanding projects. Committee members said the document was intended as a starting point, not a final prescription, and flagged a set of “wish list” items that are not currently tied to funding.

Committee members debated whether to move forward now on certain items or to hold off given uncertainty about the county’s long-term occupancy of the buildings. One member asked whether the county planned to remain in the current facility “a minimum of 20 years,” saying that if the county intends to stay long-term, it would make sense to prioritize more projects; if not, members should be “mindful of our money.” Another member urged the group to identify a top-five priority list to guide spending decisions.

Members also said they had requested facility assessments for Pine Valley, Simons and the ambulance building; the ambulance assessment had just arrived and the other two were expected soon. Committee members said those assessments will help move items toward the top of the priority list.

Several members proposed moving high-level decisions about long-term reconfiguration and a proposed “venture” project to the full county board, with the committee returning recommendations afterward. Committee members expressed concern about repeatedly sending the plan back and forth between committees and the county board; one member recommended establishing a timetable for required information to avoid that cycle.

The committee did not take formal action to adopt or reject the capital improvement plan; members directed staff to refine priorities and to obtain and present facility assessments to inform budgeting and possible county-board review.