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Beaufort County Council approves combined funding and contract move to complete Buckwalter fields
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Summary
Council approved combining two Buckwalter Recreation Athletic Complex agenda items and moved to fund and contract both phases, after debate over using impact fees vs. fund balance. Council recorded two opposed votes on the main amended motion.
Beaufort County Council on April 27 approved an amended motion to combine and advance both phase 1 and phase 2 work for the Buckwalter Recreation Athletic Complex and to authorize staff to proceed with contract actions needed to build all fields and related lights and contingencies.
Staff described phased bidding that produced an award recommendation for phase 1 (back fields and site grading) at $8,016,306 to Nix Construction, and provided an alternate for completing the full project (additional fields and parking) at about $12.4 million. When the lighting and contingency figures were added, staff said the combined project cost was roughly $14.6 million.
Councilman Logan Cunningham explained the rationale for fully funding the project now: doing so, he said, would avoid escalation in costs and a multi‑year delay. "If you piecemeal it ... in four years your cost will go up," a staff speaker explained during the discussion, noting the possibility of saving $1.8–$2.2 million by fully funding construction now.
Opponents expressed concern about using general fund balance and prioritized other projects; supporters pointed to roughly $9.4 million in impact fees available for the South of the Broad area and recommended combining funding sources (impact fees plus a remaining balance draw) to complete the work. Council approved the motion as amended; the chair noted two recorded objections on the final show‑of‑hands vote.
The approved action also included authorization for the county administrator to execute contract documents and change orders necessary to complete both phases if additional appropriations are approved. Staff said the project is expected to come online in about two years and that maintenance and replacement investments will be considered in future operating budgets.
The council’s vote follows several months of committee review and a public workshop in which alternatives and funding sources were discussed.
