Dorchester County council approves filing for state CDBG funding to install sidewalks in Dorchester Manor

Dorchester County Council voted unanimously to authorize staff to submit a funding application to the South Carolina Department of Commerce for sidewalk construction in the Dorchester Manor neighborhood and held a public hearing with no speakers.

County staff member Mr. Haver told council the county would apply under the Department of Commerce’s Community Enrichment Program. An agenda notice said the county would seek $750,000; in the staff presentation Haver described project costs and later stated the county would "be applying for $550,000 in the grant and the County match will be $300,000." The transcript therefore records two different grant-request amounts (the agenda notice: $750,000; the staff presentation: $550,000). The total project cost was presented as $1,050,000 and staff said the county match would be $300,000.

Haver said staff conducted extensive outreach and income sampling required for the program. "We had to actually sample 160 homes within the entire development," Haver said, and the department-selected sample produced a documented low- and moderate-income rate of 74.6 percent, which staff said qualifies the project for funding.

Project details presented to council included approximately 5,400 linear feet of sidewalk, 64 driveways to be corrected, six Americans with Disabilities Act ramps, and a 5-foot sidewalk placed behind a 2- to 3-foot grass verge where right-of-way allows. Staff said the neighborhood was developed in the late 1970s–early 1980s without sidewalks and that much of the work will be placed on the north side of Dorchester Manor Boulevard and Pine Grove Drive to reduce utility and tree conflicts.

Council opened a public hearing; no public speakers appeared. A council motion to approve filing the application passed unanimously. Staff said the next step is to complete and file the application by the department deadline of Sept. 15, and, if the project is awarded, to return to council to authorize the required $300,000 county match and a resolution when needed.

The record contains two different statements about the grant amount to be requested. The county agenda packet and public notice listed the application as $750,000; in the presentation Haver said staff would apply for $550,000 with a $300,000 county match toward an approximately $1,050,000 project. The article does not reconcile which figure will be submitted; staff must be contacted for final confirmation of the grant request before publication.