Marion County council discusses long-term fix for animal shelter flooding, approves staffing and contractual moves

Marion County officials on Aug. 14 discussed a multi-step plan to study and design a permanent drainage solution that county leaders say would address repeated flooding at the Marion County animal shelter, and took several administrative actions including approving a memorandum of understanding for prison-camp staff training and several personnel- and contracting-related motions.

The county administrator told the council the South Carolina Association of Counties will send Ben Penson on Aug. 20 to review the shelter and help develop a long-term plan. The administrator said the South Carolina Department of Transportation (DOT) estimates a culvert replacement large enough to handle the drainage would cost about $2,100,000 and recommended starting with a design study funded through a transportation committee allocation of roughly $200,000.

Why it matters: Council members said repeated temporary repairs have not solved chronic flooding that affects the shelter and nearby facilities along Highway 76; the administrator and staff framed the CTC-funded study and a subsequent state appropriation as steps toward a permanent remedy rather than continued piecemeal patches.

County administrator (unnamed) described the scope and the proposed timeline. “We don’t wanna piecemeal anymore. We wanna fix this problem,” the administrator said, urging patience while staff pursue the study, design and appropriation process. The administrator said DOT would manage the project and that the road is a U.S. federal highway, which the administrator said makes DOT the appropriate lead for construction and design work.

The administrator said the culvert work under discussion would involve either multiple large-diameter pipes or a single large culvert; the DOT estimate cited in the meeting was about $2.1 million for construction and roughly $200,000 to fund the study and design through the county’s transportation committee allocation (CTC). The administrator said the county has previously spent about $11 million on airport upgrades that included drainage work but that the shelter’s flooding persists because existing drainage capacity is insufficient.

Councilors also discussed fundraising and day-to-day shelter operations. The administrator explained donations can come into the county via a PayPal account coded to the shelter; donors also may contribute to a newly formed nonprofit supporting the shelter. “There’s a PayPal account that’s set up… it would come to the county and the treasurer would access that money,” the administrator said, adding that donors who give to the nonprofit can claim a tax deduction and that the nonprofit receives donations without third‑party commissions.

Administrative updates and personnel moves The council heard several administrative updates: public works has hired four employees — one hired Aug. 6 and three scheduled to start Aug. 20 — including a certified motor-grader trainer the administrator said will improve in-house road maintenance. The code-enforcement position has been reposted; the finance-director job has been posted for about three weeks and HR is gathering applicants with government accounting experience; the business-licenses office currently has one clerk on duty while another clerk is on medical leave and a second recently resigned.

Law enforcement training and facilities Officials said the combined law enforcement and fire training facilities — including indoor/outdoor shooting ranges and a fire training system — cost $3,402,713.84 in total. The county has raised $3,152,714.37 for the project, leaving a roughly $249,999.47 balance (rounded to $250,000) that the administrator said the county has requested from the Department of Commerce to finish infrastructure work such as road overlay and hydroseeding of about 4.5 acres inside the training-facility fence.

Memorandum of understanding for prison-camp staff training Councilors approved a memorandum of understanding intended to give the sheriff’s office access to a criminal-justice database so prison-camp employees can receive required training and certifications through the criminal justice academy. County staff described the MOU as a mechanism to authorize the sheriff to manage training access for camp personnel.

Votes at a glance: - Approval of minutes for July 24, 2025 and Aug. 7, 2025 (special-call): moved, seconded and approved by voice vote. - Memorandum of understanding to allow sheriff’s office access for prison-camp staff training: moved, seconded and approved by voice vote. - Temporary $20,000 increase in salary for Kent Williams (Administrative Deputy Administrator) for additional duties: moved, seconded and approved by voice vote. - Hire Parker Pope to assist in the search for a new county administrator: moved, seconded and approved by voice vote. - Approval of a feasibility-study proposal from Restoration 52 for the Buck property (about 70 acres) for housing development: moved, seconded and approved by voice vote.

Council members asked for greater transparency around donations to the shelter and for clearer communications between the shelter staff and county treasurer about donated funds and their coding. One councilor raised that a Venmo account identifying itself as Marion County had been posted on social media; the administrator said staff would investigate.

What’s next Staff said DOT will perform the study/design if the county and the transportation committee (CTC) can fund the initial $200,000 study. The administrator said that, if the study is completed during the legislative session, the county would seek a construction appropriation in the next state budget cycle. Separately, county staff will continue recruitment for the finance director and code-enforcement positions and follow up on donation-accounting questions raised by council members.

The meeting ended after additional procedural and personnel motions and the council adjourned.