Town of Bluffton updates school board on Pritchard Street drainage and MC Raleigh parking-lot plan
Loading...
Summary
Dan Ryback of the Town of Bluffton told the Beaufort County School District board the Pritchard Street drainage and MC Raleigh parking‑lot project is at 100% design, with easements and permits pending; a public meeting is planned for mid‑October and construction is expected April–October 2025.
Dan Ryback of the Town of Bluffton gave the Beaufort County School District board an update on a joint drainage and parking-lot project near MC Raleigh on Pritchard Street.
Ryback said the town has reached 100% design and is finalizing permits and easements with the district. "Where we stand today is we're at a 100% design," he said, and added the town will hold a public meeting for immediate stakeholders in mid‑October. The town anticipates soliciting bids on Feb. 25, 2025, with construction beginning in April 2025 and substantial completion around October 2025.
The project includes milling and overlay of Pritchard Street, new sidewalks and crosswalks where none exist now, three traffic-calming speed tables, and street lighting primarily on the east side of the road. In the school parking area, plans call for demolition of existing pavement, subgrade rehabilitation, repaving, defined striping for one-way circulation, wheel stops and signage, and an infiltration basin intended as a water-quality best-management practice. Ryback said geotechnical testing showed infiltration rates "anywhere up to 14 to 22 inches per hour," which supports the planned basin.
Easement work includes two school-district parcels where the town needs temporary construction easements for sidewalk and crosswalk work and potentially a permanent drainage easement for the infiltration basin. Ryback said the town is negotiating whether the basin will sit on a permanent town easement or be maintained by the district under a drainage easement.
On costs, Ryback presented a 100% design estimate for the parking-lot improvements of about $280,000 (including a 15% contingency) for planning and budgeting purposes; he emphasized final bid prices may come in lower. He said the town envisions a cost-share agreement with the district that would be drafted, approved by the district, and specify that initial work is performed by the town and reimbursed by the district for approved costs after completion.
Board members asked whether the town or district initiated the work; Ryback said the town approached the district because drainage from the MC Raleigh parking area affects the adjacent street. The presentation was informational and no district action was requested at the meeting. Ryback said the town will finalize easement language and the cost-share draft and return with required paperwork for district signatures and recording.
The district's next steps will be to review the draft easement and cost-share agreement when the town provides them and to attend the stakeholder meeting in mid‑October for more detailed discussion of construction impacts and timing.
