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Committee advances third addendum to St. James Baptist Church relocation MOU; county’s contribution outlined
Summary
Committee approved a third addendum to the memorandum of understanding among Beaufort County, the Town of Hilton Head and St. James Baptist Church to advance the church relocation project; staff outlined total project cost, funding sources and county expected contribution.
Beaufort County’s Public Facilities Committee approved a third addendum to a memorandum of understanding among Beaufort County, the Town of Hilton Head and St. James Baptist Church to advance a relocation project near the Hilton Head Island Airport.
County staff said the overall project cost estimate is $12.7 million, which includes land acquisition (both the church’s existing property and the future 5-acre site the town plans to provide). The project has $4.75 million in state appropriations previously secured for the church and an amount of county funding the staff identified as $3.6 million in nominal contribution; staff explained the church’s $1.3 million parcel value will be paid via FAA grant proceeds and added back into the project budget so the county’s net cash outlay will be lower.
“...the county will make a grant application and purchase the property and use FAA grant, a 90-10 split, and pay $1,300,000 to the church. 90 of that is coming from FAA. We will have 10%, $130,000,” Jared said when describing anticipated FAA participation and how the church parcel purchase will be handled.
The MOU revision clarifies contributions and roles: the town donates the future parcel, the church contributes its existing parcel and project funds, and the county will administer contracts and be the responsible party for cost overruns. Staff noted the county currently has $3.5 million set aside in bonding capacity and may receive additional earmark-type appropriations that would reduce county cash requirements.
Committee members praised long-term work on the project and stressed coordination with the FAA grant process. Staff said the county will apply for FAA funding (noting FAA process limitations on exact award amounts) and that the county’s role in purchasing the church parcel will let the church apply for permits and proceed to construction faster.
Action: committee approved the resolution to authorize the county administrator to execute the third addendum to the MOU and advance the item to county council.
Ending: staff said permitting and design work is near completion and, if bids track on schedule, the project could be advertised this summer with potential construction award later in the fall.
