Beaufort County announces new capital projects office, lists $110 million in active work

Beaufort County officials on Feb. 18 announced a reorganization of facilities and capital project management and provided a status update on dozens of active projects. Assistant County Administrator Jared (last name not specified in transcript) and staff told the Public Facilities Committee the county now identifies 94 FY25 projects in its portfolio with about $110,453,000 in total funding allocated.

Why it matters: County leaders said the reorganization is meant to give facilities management and capital projects clearer lines of responsibility as the county moves from planning to construction on multiple large items such as the county administration building, park upgrades and repairs at the detention center.

Staff said of the 94 projects, 57 are in progress, 23 are in planning or awaiting funding, five are on hold and nine are complete. Parks and recreation accounts for a large share of the program, with staff reporting 24 active park projects and roughly $38 million in park-related budgets that include the Buckwalter Recreation and Athletic Complex and improvements at the Charles Lynn Brown Community Center.

New leadership for facilities was introduced. Jared announced Frank Stronchek as the county’s new director of facilities management. "I'm really excited to be a part of Beaufort County, especially as the facilities director," Stronchek said, adding he plans to introduce software and processes to improve maintenance and capital work.

The committee also introduced a new capital projects management department with Robert Getze as interim director. Getze summarized the office’s first consolidated report, saying staff had reallocated 13 projects to facilities management and would provide regular updates going forward.

Completed and active projects highlighted included a detention-center body scanner, renovation of concession stands at Burton Wells Park, a consolidated Register of Deeds records room, the Arthur Horn parking-lot project, purchase and planned renovation of the former Badcock building at 247 Robert Smalls (to house DHEC), the Bluffton Recreation Center remodel, MC Riley pool renovation, Okeetee River Park work and ongoing stucco repair at the detention center.

Committee members asked for more granular information. In response, staff agreed to provide a project spreadsheet that lists addresses and the specific work for each project so council members can identify projects affecting their districts. Staff also said future reports will emphasize what changed since the prior update to show incremental progress rather than restating overall status.

The committee approved a request to increase contract authorization for the Laurel Bay Road pathway project after the county’s construction manager estimated costs would exceed the original contingency. Staff requested authorization to increase the construction contingency to $350,000 to cover additional utility relocations, corrections to as-built utility data, and weather-related work; the contractor is at substantial completion and is addressing the remaining punch list. The committee approved the contract modification without objection.

Other committee approvals at the meeting included resurfacing contracts and park leases that staff said are part of routine capital work. Staff said the county will continue monthly or near-monthly reporting to the committee so council members can track right-of-way activity, permitting and procurement milestones.

Looking ahead, staff said they will continue to refine the monthly packet, add more detailed line-item financials and break projects into clearer categories (completed, design, right-of-way, construction) to improve visibility for the committee and the public.