Cayce council declines $21.75 million hazard grant, directs manager to propose citywide stormwater plan

Cayce’s City Council voted Aug. 20 not to pursue a roughly $21.75 million Hazard Mitigation Grant after staff warned the award would require an estimated $7.25 million local match, an amount council members said would place an undue burden on residents.

City Manager Michael Conley told the council the grant would “require a $7.25 million match from the City of Cayce,” and described it as a “once in a lifetime” opportunity created when Hurricane Helene’s emergency declaration expanded inland, allowing communities not normally eligible to apply.

Mayor Pro Tem Tim James said the scale of the local match and the state of the city’s smaller drainage infrastructure persuaded him to seek a different approach. “I did not have the heart to put a $7 million bill on the citizens of Cayce,” James said, noting many local ditches and small culverts are clogged or overgrown and that the city is already investing in larger projects to route water to the river.

Council Member Hunter Sox moved to amend his earlier motion and to direct the City Manager to present a proposal, including a recommended funding amount, to address stormwater and hazard mitigation citywide at the Sept. 2 council meeting; Council Member Byron Thomas seconded the amended motion, which was approved unanimously by roll-call vote.

Sox said he wanted the city’s response to be equitable: “Storm water issues are citywide,” he said, and any program should look for ways every district can be addressed rather than focusing on a single neighborhood.

Conley and other council members described a three-pronged staff approach — education, mitigation and maintenance — and suggested beginning with a more modest, proactive maintenance effort. Conley said staff believed a small dedicated team could make an immediate difference: “a two-person team would be massively impactful,” he said, and would allow the city to map problem areas and pursue targeted repairs while seeking partner funding for larger construction work.

Council members emphasized coordination with Lexington County, the South Carolina Department of Transportation and other partners where issues cross jurisdictional lines, but the council’s direction was clear: rather than shoulder a multi-million-dollar match now, staff will return with a scoped, citywide plan and funding options for Council consideration on Sept. 2.

Next steps: City Manager Conley will prepare and present a stormwater program proposal with recommended funding levels and a plan for mapping problem areas and prioritizing maintenance and mitigation work.