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Beaufort staff outline capital-projects portal, downtown stormwater funding increases and ARPA deadlines
Summary
City staff demonstrated a new public capital-projects portal, described the CIP coordinator role and public-engagement tools, and briefed council on downtown stormwater projects, including an increase in the Charles Craven grant from about $7 million to around $11 million and an ARPA-related completion deadline at the end of 2026.
At a work session focused on capital projects, staff demonstrated the citys new capital-projects public portal and outlined internal project-management tools intended to increase transparency, including syncing project timelines with Microsoft 365 calendars and posting monthly updates and attachments for public access.
Staff explained the CIP support coordinator position will serve as the central point of contact for capital-project documents, RFP/RFQ preparation, grant-writing and coordination with the procurement officer. The position is funded as a full-time exempt role and staff said interviews for finalists were scheduled in December.
On downtown stormwater, staff reported the Charles Craven Street project received additional grant funding that raised the award from roughly $7 million to approximately $11 million due to statewide increases in construction costs. King Street was rescoped to remove a pump station and generator housing and to use the existing outfall with a new conveyance system; staff said King Street has received its OCRM (Bureau of Coastal Management) permit and expected Army Corps permitting to follow. Staff reiterated that ARPA-funded downtown stormwater subrecipient projects carry a hard deadline (December 2026) for completion.
Staff also updated a range of other capital items: Battery Shores paving will use a county paving contract under an intergovernmental MOU with work expected in 60to90 days; Depot Road trail is a county-run CDBG passthrough with easement/right-of-way litigation pending; North Street sidewalk is paved and awaiting striping; Allison Road is 95% complete and on budget; and Southside Park Phase 2 design costs were presented as a range ($490,000 to $542,000) with an estimated design fee around $200,000.
Council members asked for clearer phase descriptions in the portal attachments and for staff to continue targeted outreach to private contractors to improve bid response rates. Staff said they actively contact specialized contractors (historic preservation, marine, etc.) when projects are rebid.
Next steps: staff will continue monthly project updates in the public portal, refine the portal's attachment navigation and timeline visibility, and return to council with strategic planning materials and vendor outreach results.
