Council ratifies finance committee change orders: jail ramp and Moncks Corner soup kitchen funding approved

Berkeley County's finance committee approved and the full council ratified two change orders: a Monteith change order for COP #53 at the jail expansion and a Moncks Corner Baptist Soup Kitchen change order.

Mister Canarans presented the jail item and said it was "a change order request from Monteith in the amount of $15,374 to add a concrete ramp that would level the two buildings, from the old project to the new project." The committee recommended funding the ramp with sheriff discretionary ("potato chip") funds. The council approved the recommendation and asked the clerk to conduct a roll call for the recorded vote.

Separately, council approved a change order for the Moncks Corner Baptist Soup Kitchen project with a total amount reported in the meeting as roughly $76,676. Council members read and confirmed a multi-source funding package that included $25,000 from county CDBG funds, a nonprofit contribution in the mid-$25,000 range, approximately $12,345.13 from the supervisor's discretionary funds, and a small town match. Members noted that Moncks Corner town council had not yet formally voted but would do so at a subsequent meeting.

Council members pressed administrators about permitting delays and why the original site plans were not included in the bid; staff explained those delays and the additional days required to approve updated site plans. Both change orders were approved by committee recommendation and ratified by the special county council meeting.