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Sen. Davis outlines project history, contractual obligations and risks of forgoing SIB funds
Summary
Senator Davis reviewed the 2020 SIB award, the 2021 IGA obligations (including county responsibility for overruns), the failed 2024 referendum, and urged the council either to negotiate with the SIB within the 30-day window or clearly accept Option 1 and its consequences.
Senator Davis addressed council members with a detailed account of the project's history, contractual obligations and political stakes. He told the council the original SIB award dated to 2020 and emphasized that the county's obligation for cost overruns had been part of the 2021 IGA, not a new SIB condition. "There was a Beaufort County obligation to cover cost overruns," he said. "That's not new."
Davis cautioned that choosing Option 1 now could mean the county loses the opportunity for the SIB contribution. "Don't make that policy decision based on the assumption that you can't get the $120,000,000 from the SIB, because I think you can get it," he said, while acknowledging there are no guarantees. He also described the political and technical work that produced an 11-0 county council vote and a 6-1 town vote in favor of the modified plan earlier in the process, and he said he would work with Secretary Powell, the governor's office and the congressional delegation to try to resolve the SIB concerns within the secretary'set time frame.
Davis framed the immediate choice before the council as a policy decision for elected officials and stressed the need for accurate cost and timeline information if the county pursues a revised SIB submission.
