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Operations committee updates sales-tax projects, authorizes greenbelt funds to acquire park near Sangaree schools
Summary
Berkeley County's operations committee reviewed first-quarter sales-tax capital projects and authorized the purchase of a park parcel behind Sangaree Middle School using greenbelt funds; staff reported challenges with property-owner responses on dirt-to-pave roads and offered chip-seal alternatives.
Berkeley County's Operations Committee received a first-quarter update on the county's one-cent sales-tax capital program and authorized the use of greenbelt funds to acquire a park parcel located between Sangaree Middle School, College Park Elementary and College Park Middle School.
Sales-tax program staff reported active construction and design work across a range of road, sidewalk and multiuse-path projects. The county's local resurfacing program consists of 98 right-of-way items; a notice to proceed was issued March 10 and the contractor began work the following week. DOT-managed projects such as the Henry Brown Boulevard extension (contract completion June 2026) and US 176 Phase 1 are ongoing, and multiple corridor and intersection designs are in varying stages of survey, traffic analysis, permitting and right-of-way acquisition.
Committee members raised questions about interim improvements for congested intersections, including the US 52/US 176 intersection. Staff said early efforts could include a right-turn-lane evaluation and that they planned coordination with local municipalities and regional partners to identify interim fixes while long-term corridor projects advance.
Committee members and staff also discussed the county's "dirt-to-pave" program. Staff reported poor response rates from property owners for several candidate roads (for example, 11 out of 13 property owners gave no response on one cited road), prompting a discussion about outreach and alternate engineering approaches. Council members suggested additional direct outreach (door-knocking) and exploring chip-seal or other lower-impact surface treatments that may not require new right-of-way acquisitions.
The committee authorized acquisition of the park parcel behind Sangaree Middle School, using greenbelt funds, up to the amount discussed during the meeting's executive session; the motion included authority for staff to pursue an appraisal. The property was described in the meeting as currently used informally by dirt-bike riders; staff said they could proceed with an appraisal without additional authority.
Staff said they will circulate property-owner lists and prior certified letters to council members to support outreach efforts on dirt-to-pave roads and will return with follow-up information on acquisition and project scheduling.
