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Beaufort County staff withdraw Shellpoint grant application after match, timing concerns; residents press for action
Summary
County stormwater staff said they withdrew a $7 million Shellpoint application to the South Carolina Emergency Management Division because the required local match and project completion deadline made the award infeasible; residents and board members urged immediate interim fixes and clearer communication.
Beaufort County stormwater staff told the Stormwater Management Utility Board on Friday that they have withdrawn the county's application for an SCEMD grant to fund Shellpoint drainage work after concluding the application could not meet the program's timeline and local match requirements.
"We were withdrawing our application to SCEMD," said Taylor Brewer, stormwater program manager. Brewer said the project's estimated cost increased from $3 million to $7 million after a revised benefit-cost analysis, raising the county's required 10% match from $300,000 to $700,000 and creating a timeline the county could not meet for a February 2026 completion deadline.
Jared Freitas, assistant county administrator, described a binding budget process that limits how quickly the county can increase an appropriation. "In order to increase that appropriation, it would take a budget ordinance amendment, which is 3 readings through council," Freitas said, noting the grant's schedule did not allow time for that process.
Board members and several residents criticized the decision and pushed staff to use stormwater utility funds for interim work. "The money's sitting there," said a member of the board during discussion, urging use of internal utility funds for immediate fixes. Staff said they were exploring options: rebidding ditch-cleaning work, scoping RFQs for engineering and design-ready plans, and pursuing alternative grants or piecemeal use of utility funds where legally permissible.
Brewer said the project remains a priority. The county will seek a new procurement path to get stamp-ready engineering plans and will evaluate using utility funds for targeted actions or buyouts, once legal constraints are confirmed.
The board also directed staff to increase public transparency about the project's status and to convene community meetings once next steps and timelines are set.
What happens next: staff said they will re-scope the project, issue RFQs for engineering design, and continue pursuing funding. No contract awards or construction funding was approved at the meeting.
