Lancaster County council advances budget amendment to cover tire cleanup, trail repairs, juvenile housing and EMS costs

Lancaster County Council advanced a multi-part amendment to the county budget on second reading, adding one-time appropriations for solid-waste tire disposal, repairs to Bales Ridge Nature Trail, juvenile housing, EMS ambulance equipment and a detention-center storage system, and set a public hearing for third reading.

The ordinance amendment, presented by Jamie Provoznak, Lancaster County budget director, would: appropriate $25,000 from inmate commissary funds for a packaging system and clothing vacuum sealer for the detention center; add $110,000 from unassigned general fund balance for unpredictable juvenile housing costs; provide $21,500 from EMS impact fees for ambulance units and equipment; appropriate a little over $209,000 from unassigned general fund balance to pay invoices for removing a long-standing tire stockpile; and request about $200,000 from unassigned general fund balance as a preliminary estimate to address erosion and stream damage at Bales Ridge Nature Trail.

Why it matters: the amendment bundles several operational and emergency response costs into a single ordinance so the county can pay invoices already incurred (solid-waste tire removal) and fund near-term repairs and purchases. The solid-waste appropriation responded to a DHEC concern that a tire stockpile had exceeded permitted limits; the trail appropriation would fund engineering and repairs at a river-adjacent county park where culverts, sinkholes and stream degradation have made sections unsafe.

Details and debate

Provoznak said the $209,000 solid-waste request covers invoices for removing the backlog of tires that had accumulated during staffing and supply disruptions; county staff previously hauled the pile to a third-party vendor. Public Works staff explained most of the tires came from licensed waste haulers and that the removal work had already been completed to avoid regulatory violation. “The big cost was removing that stockpile,” said a county staff member (Jeffrey Cato). He added the regular tire-disposal budget typically runs $75,000 to $100,000 per year and that recent increases pushed the line item over budget.

On the Bales Ridge Nature Trail, Parks and Recreation staff and Public Works recommended bringing in the county’s on-call engineering contractor to produce a comprehensive plan. The on-call engineer provided a preliminary project estimate of about $200,000 to assess and address multiple sites; deliverables would include a site survey, geotechnical work, wetland delineation, threatened-and-endangered species review and wetland permitting for 10 locations on the trail. Councilmembers urged that the county avoid piecemeal repairs and obtain the fuller engineering report prior to committing construction funds.

Council procedure and vote

A motion to approve the budget amendment on second reading was made by Mr. Harper and seconded by Mr. Mosteller. After discussion the council voted to advance the ordinance; the chair called for the public hearing and third reading to occur on the scheduled date. The recorded vote in the meeting was announced as unanimous; no roll-call tallies by name were recorded in the transcript.

Ending

Staff said they will provide additional documentation, photos and the engineering site studies at or before third reading. The public hearing on the amended budget ordinance was scheduled for third reading on Monday, March 10 (date as noticed in Lancaster News), when council may amend or approve final appropriations.