Town Council workshop reviews $78M five‑year CIP, flags town hall, fire rescue and land acquisition as top priorities

Town staff briefed Hilton Head Island Town Council on the town's five‑year Capital Improvement Program on Aug. 26, describing a consolidated FY26 program of about $78 million and asking the council to name near‑term priorities and a tolerance for borrowing.

"A bulk of which those projects are, of course, in the beach program fund — $47.5 million is just going directly to the beach renourishment project," said Sean Collins, a town presenter, summarizing the FY26 budget allocation. Staff said the CIP lists 78 projects across program areas including beaches, pathways, roadways, parks, facilities, stormwater and fleet, and that a dashboard with maps and project phases is live online for review.

Council members and staff spent much of the workshop discussing which large projects to accelerate and how to pay for them. Staff highlighted three investment areas that council members repeatedly returned to: major repairs or replacement of Town Hall, a consolidated modern fire‑rescue headquarters and an active land‑acquisition program to manage growth and preserve open space.

"We have way more appetite for project than we have cash value in our reserves," Town Manager Mark Orlando said, urging council guidance on which projects to prioritize and how long to borrow if council chooses to use debt.

Staff described the condition of Town Hall: repeated sprinkler leaks, water and structural damage, and aging systems. Collins said sprinkler replacement estimates were approaching $1,000,000 and that broader repairs were approaching $2,000,000 beyond prior repairs.

Fire‑rescue needs also surfaced: staff previewed a likely FY27 request to replace breathing apparatus (a $1 million to $1.5 million estimate) and noted a future capital ask to improve or relocate the department’s headquarters and consolidate dispatch and emergency operations.

Staff warned of procurement and cost risks that affect project delivery: regional heavy work such as an SCDOT $825 million I‑95 widening will draw contractor capacity and materials, which has already been quoted by contractors as pushing prices above earlier estimates.

Council members pressed staff to propose a short list of priorities and to present cost estimates for the out years as part of the FY27 budget process. Several members suggested focusing on a limited number ("top five") of priorities and pulling lower‑priority items from the near‑term list rather than simply adding new high‑ticket projects to the 78‑item program.

The town manager said staff will return to council with refined options and financing strategies, and that the stormwater program will be the subject of a dedicated workshop on Sept. 30. The meeting closed with staff directed to prepare clearer cost estimates and funding scenarios for council review.

The council adjourned without any formal vote on project acceleration; staff will bring draft financing and prioritization proposals back to committees and the council this fall.