Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Decision Sib Submission topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Beaufort County Council votes 8-3 to pursue revised SIB submission, directs staff to amend IGA
Summary
After staff outlined the State Infrastructure Bank'issued rejection of the county's revised proposal, the council voted 8-3 to pursue a revised SIB submission (Option 2) and directed administration to prepare amendments to the intergovernmental agreement within the state'set time frame.
Beaufort County Council voted 8-3 to pursue a revised submission to the State Infrastructure Bank (SIB) and directed county administration to amend the intergovernmental agreement (IGA) accordingly.
Councilman (speaker 8) moved to "adopt option number 2" and to "direct our administration to make the necessary changes in the IGA with the SIB to move this project to its culmination as soon as possible," a motion seconded by Councilman Cunningham (speaker 2). The chair called a roll-call vote; the motion passed by a count of eight in favor, three opposed. The chair then adjourned the special meeting.
The action follows a staff briefing in which county staff said the SIB had "unanimously rejected the proposal" sent by the county and town and communicated a list of concerns including an altered funding sequence and lack of a detailed construction timeline. Staff and DOT representatives presented options ranging from a limited two-lane replacement of the eastbound Mackay Creek span to larger multi-lane reconstructions. Jared Freylix, the engineer presenting technical options, summarized cost estimates, saying the DOT'driven two-lane replacement had recent estimates of about $90 million and that adding a third lane could add on the order of "$30 to $50 million," a figure he said would require further refinement from DOT engineers.
Supporters of negotiating with the SIB argued a revised submittal could recover the county's access to up to $120 million in SIB funding and other state resources; opponents warned the negotiation window was short and urged the council to accept DOT's standalone replacement plan to secure a prompt two'lane fix. Senator Davis, who addressed the council, framed the choice as a policy decision for elected officials and warned council members that choosing Option 1 now could foreclose up to about $170 million in combined SIB and DOT opportunities in a worst'case scenario.
Under the motion, county staff will prepare a single-county resolution and the proposed IGA amendments for council consideration at an upcoming session, with the intention of filing a revised package to the SIB within the time frame outlined by Secretary Powell.
