York County reviews 2026 legislative agenda, seeks state backing for Moss Justice Center, utilities and parks

County staff presented a draft 2026 legislative agenda to the York County Council on Jan. 13 that centers on three categories of shovel‑ready asks: a Moss Justice Center renovation, utility infrastructure work on the county’s eastern side and parks projects.

The manager’s office and staff (Speaker 2) described the Moss Justice Center project as a design‑phase renovation focused on booking and intake areas and a dedicated medical and mental‑health wing. “This is going likely about a $28,000,000 project,” Speaker 2 said. Staff said a designer has been identified and that the county intends to pursue state funding as a shared public‑safety priority.

Why it matters: council members said state support could accelerate projects that are already in design and construction schedules. Councilors repeatedly framed the agenda as an opportunity to align the county’s strategic plan with state funding priorities ahead of the legislative session.

Staff also highlighted repeated water‑main breaks on the county’s eastern side and described work to develop a descriptive capital‑improvement plan (CIP). Speaker 5 told the council several studies addressing eastern utilities were close to completion and that Columbia supports infrastructure funding for counties. Staff said the eastern‑side CIP will identify matching funding needs to present to the delegation.

Parks funding was another priority. Staff proposed asking for funds to extend the river trail at Catawba Bend toward the Catawba Nation border and said Worth Mountain had previously received $750,000 of an original $1,500,000 request; staff will pursue the remainder with Representative Moss.

Policy asks and timing: the draft agenda also lists policy requests the county wants the state to consider, including resisting transfers of additional local roads to county responsibility, enabling continuity of fast/toll lanes across the I‑77 border with North Carolina (which staff said will require state legislation), and giving the state tools to hold contractors more accountable for work that has contributed to utility damage. On impact fees and annexation, several council members urged the county to prepare specific statutory language—particularly for school impact‑fee exemptions—before meeting the delegation. Speaker 1 said the county must be “ready with an impact fee” and with draft language when legislators begin preparing bills.

What happens next: staff said the draft will be finalized after council feedback, shared with delegation members, and discussed further in Columbia and at the county’s outreach to state leaders. Staff urged council members to attend the state counties’ legislative day on Feb. 19. No formal votes were taken on the agenda during the workshop.

Quotations: Speaker 1 said, “I certainly support the Moss Justice Center,” expressing support from the dais. Speaker 2 emphasized the scale of the request and the need to advance policy language ahead of the session.

Open items and uncertainties: the draft references several funding amounts and priorities that will be refined before formal requests go to the delegation. The transcript referenced staff outreach and prior drafts but did not record firm commitments from delegation members. The timeline for any state appropriation or code changes depends on the legislative process in Columbia.

Next procedural steps: staff will finalize the document, circulate it to the delegation and pursue follow‑up conversations; council members may be included in delegation meetings. The county encouraged attendance at the Feb. 19 county legislative day to coordinate messaging and coalition building.