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Advisory committee backs 8‑year sales‑tax plan, prioritizes safety and intersection projects
Summary
A Beaufort County advisory committee voted to recommend an 8‑year sales‑tax proposal paired with a 6‑year project delivery target, asking staff to prioritize safety and intersection improvements and to supply a narrowed, 14‑item shortlist for final ranking before the committee’s next meeting.
Beaufort County’s transportation advisory committee voted to recommend an 8‑year sales‑tax (a one‑cent ‘penny’) program while asking staff to package a six‑year project list for delivery, the committee decided at its April workshop.
The committee’s recommendation — moved by Judge Klein and seconded by another member — frames the proposal as an eight‑year collection period with projects priced to cover six years of work and added contingency for inflation. Judge Klein told the committee: “I, madam chair, lady, am prepared to make a motion that we work toward an 8 year, 1p bond,” and members voted to advance the plan.
Jared, the staff presenter who compiled the ranked project list for committee review, told members the committee’s spreadsheet combined each member’s top picks and showed how different thresholds of member agreement translate to a package of widening, resurfacing (including municipal and dirt roads) and safety/intersection work. “We’ve really got to start putting pen to paper, recommendation to the county council,” he said as he walked members through project totals and time‑horizon options.
Committee discussion emphasized making the package both geographically inclusive and immediately tangible to voters. Multiple members said safety and intersection improvements should be prominent in any referendum materials. Dennis Ross, a public commenter from Cat Island, urged the committee to prioritize a chronically crash‑prone intersection at Ladies Island Drive, Sea Island Parkway and Meridian Road, saying residents “hope that you take the citizens into consideration as you decide which roads are gonna get fixed, what traffic mitigation is gonna take place, and to protect the citizens.”
Staff presented preliminary cost estimates in 2026 dollars for major projects on the list — including a $34.2 million widening for SC 46 and multimillion‑dollar widening projects on SC 170 and US‑278 — and said estimates include contingency and engineering but do not assume county staff costs will be billed to the program. Jared told members the numbers include a modest inflation protection and suggested adding a larger contingency factor if the committee prefers a longer delivery window.
The committee also set a process to refine the safety/intersection bucket. Members directed staff to extract intersection and safety projects into a separate list and asked each committee member to return a ranked list of up to 14 prioritized safety/intersection projects; staff will consolidate replies and present a compiled list at the committee’s next meeting.
On outreach, staff said the request for proposals for a public‑relations/education firm is live and will remain open at least 30 days; the solicitation is scheduled to close May 13 with fast‑track selection possible in June, and the selected firm is expected to work with the committee as a stakeholder group.
The committee voted to move the recommendation to County Council and to use the staff‑compiled lists and target dollar buckets as the basis for the final package. Next steps include consolidating each member’s top safety/intersection picks, circulating a cleaned‑up project list and final dollar estimate before the committee’s next meeting, and preparing a presentation to county council.
