Orangeburg County Council approves leases and multiple county service contracts, joins Dorchester on solar project

Orangeburg County Council approved a series of leases and procurement agreements during its meeting, including a four-year lease that will allow the Orangeburg Council on Aging to relocate and a resolution to join Dorchester County in a multi-county park arrangement tied to a Translucent Solar development.

The council approved a lease for the property commonly referred to as 920 William Trent Drive to relocate the county's counseling/aging services provider. County staff said the building was constructed after the land's original $5 historical purchase and that the structure's value now dwarfs that original figure. County staff reported they researched fair-market rent of approximately $12.50 to $13.50 per square foot — about $8,379 per month, or roughly $100,542 per year — for a four-year lease, and said the in-kind services the Council on Aging will provide to seniors exceed the rent, so the county will not collect rental fees.

—This is a lease agreement so that we can relocate the current counseling agent to this new facility,— county staff told the council when introducing the item. Staff later summarized estimated rent and lease length: —we've researched the fair market rent — $12.50 to $13.50 per square foot or $8,379 a month or $100,542 per year. It's a 4 year lease,— and said the county would treat some services as in-kind consideration.

The council also approved two additional local leases: a Springfield property intended for community activities in council district 4 and a community-development lease for 1250 Unity Road to support a local organization focused on rights and empowerment.

On land acquisition, the council approved an ordinance to purchase additional acreage from James J. Boyd for recreational use to supplement an earlier county purchase.

In an economic-development resolution, the council authorized an amendment to a joint-county industrial-park agreement with Dorchester County related to a Translucent Solar project. County staff explained the multi-county park agreement will allocate 99% of the fee-in-lieu money to Dorchester and 1% to Orangeburg, and the council voted to partner with Dorchester on that transaction.

The meeting included approval of several major procurements and service agreements. Staff described a sole-source annual tax-processing service agreement for $534,819.45 used by the treasurer for billing, printing, mailing and delinquent-tax workflows; the council approved the justification. Other contracts approved included a Microsoft 365 licensing renewal for about $219,000, a Motorola Solutions radio-service agreement for $37,219.09, a ProCare preventive-maintenance agreement for EMS equipment for $415,132.80, and an access-control and surveillance procurement for a DHEC facility renovation priced at $85,960.52. The council also approved a $110,395.75 purchase of replacement playground equipment for Springfield Goodland Community Park under state contract with MAPA Recreation LLC.

Votes on the above items were recorded as approved during the meeting. For several items staff provided dollar amounts and vendor names during their explanations; the council moved, seconded and recorded the approvals in open session.

What happens next: those agreements will be executed under the terms presented; staff said some items are under state contract or sole-source justification and that follow-up implementation will be led by the appropriate county departments.

Votes at a glance: - Lease: 920 William Trent Drive (four-year lease; fair-market rent estimated at $12.50—$13.50/sq ft; in-kind services to seniors to offset rent) - Lease: 1404 Springfield Road (community activities; approved) - Lease: 1250 Unity Road (community-development project; approved) - Ordinance: purchase acreage from James J. Boyd for recreation (approved) - Resolution: Translucent Solar multi-county park partnership with Dorchester County (approved; revenue split described as 99% Dorchester / 1% Orangeburg) - Procurement: cloud-based tax-processing service, $534,819.45 (sole-source justification approved) - Procurement: MAPA Recreation LLC playground equipment, $110,395.75 (approved) - Procurement: Microsoft 365 licensing renewal, $219,000 (approved) - Procurement: Motorola Solutions service agreement, $37,219.09 (approved) - Procurement: ProCare preventive-maintenance for EMS equipment, $415,132.80 (approved) - Procurement: communications surveillance/access control for DHEC building, $85,960.52 (approved)

Council members and staff said several of the procurements are being executed under state contract or sole-source justification; staff also noted that two council members participated and voted virtually on at least one item. The meeting moved to an announced executive session at its close.

Attribution: Quotes and figures in this story come from county staff and council discussion during open session; dollar amounts and lease terms were provided to the council as part of the agenda packet and in-staff remarks recorded at the meeting.