Berkeley County Council approves fire training center contract, road resurfacing and emergency UPS purchases
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Summary
At its Aug. 25 meeting, Berkeley County Council approved awarding a fire training center renovation contract, a multi-million-dollar road resurfacing contract and emergency uninterruptible power supply (UPS) purchases, and authorized several discretionary allocations.
Berkeley County Council approved a series of contracts, emergency purchases and discretionary allocations during its meeting on Aug. 25, 2025, moving several county capital and operating items forward.
The council voted to award a contract for fire training center renovations to Ballantyne (Ballantine) Builders LLC for $489,500 after the finance committee recommended the award and the council approved accepting a State Fire Grant of $459,463 and transferring $3,033,000 from the fire services fund balance to cover the shortfall. "We are seeking to approve, to, award the contract to Ballantyne Builders for the amount of . . . $489,500," county staff said during the finance presentation.
Council also approved a low bid award to Sanders Brothers for resurfacing work covering 22.11 miles of state, county and city roads at $6,962,715.10; and awarded an RFP to Shamrock Construction for final cover work on the south side of the Class 3 municipal solid waste landfill for $1,804,048.10, budgeted in the solid waste CIP. The council additionally approved Hazen and Sawyer to perform extra project management and construction observation for the landfill project for $1,568,375 to be funded from R&R funds.
The council approved emergency UPS replacement purchases after hearing from staff that several existing UPS units are past service life. The detention center UPS replacement was approved for equipment and installation at $62,132.84 to be funded from the general fund fund balance; an earlier emergency purchase for UPS at the administration building totaling $91,000 (equipment $86,800, labor $4,200) was also ratified.
Other finance committee recommendations the council approved included: - Up to $35,000 from the Cypress Gardens fund balance for purchase and installation of an LED sign for Cypress Gardens; the motion specified the funds come from the Cypress Gardens fund balance. - A discretionary allocation of up to $15,000 to purchase and install up to 20 microchip stations in Berkeley County. - A discretionary allocation not to exceed $57,285.97 to Berkeley High School for weight room renovations. - A discretionary allocation not to exceed $25,000 to Pine Ridge Fire Department for Long Ridge Fire Station renovation. - A fee discretionary allocation not to exceed $5,000 to North Berkeley Fire District for equipment.
A discretionary allocation of $17,000 to the Keith School Museum for building improvements was postponed to the next finance committee meeting at the request (motion to postpone carried).
Council members moved each item on the committee recommendations as presented; where staff provided explanations, councilors asked clarifying questions about bid spreads, equipment age and the source of funding. Several motions passed by voice vote after the chair called for “aye” and no roll-call tally was provided in the record.
Ending: The council approved the measures as part of routine committee recommendations; several projects are budgeted in capital improvement or fund-balance accounts and staff were directed to proceed with contracting and implementation steps as appropriate.
