Committee advances $12.7M Saint James Baptist Church relocation MOU addendum to County Council

Staff summarized the third addendum to a memorandum of understanding among Beaufort County, the Town of Hilton Head and Saint James Baptist Church to support the church relocation project; committee members approved forwarding the resolution to County Council. Jared told the committee the overall project cost is $12,700,000 and that the project combines land acquisition, design and construction costs. "The overall project cost is $12,700,000," Jared said, and he explained how $4,750,000 in state appropriations to the church plus an FAA grant process and county contributions fit into the funding picture.

Jared explained the funding breakdown and contingency: the church parcel is valued at about $1,300,000, which will be purchased by the county using FAA grant funding (90/10 split) and then contributed back into the project; the county showed $3,600,000 in value toward the project with roughly $3,500,000 set aside in bond and a $150,000 portion inside the original agreement. Staff said the county's net cash outlay could be about $2.3 million after accounting for the church parcel value and potential additional appropriations. Committee members asked about overruns and underruns, FAA grant timing and the mechanics of the funding; staff said final hard costs will depend on bids and noted buffers in the capital plan and bond set‑aside.

Committee discussion included gratitude to staff for moving a long‑running project toward construction readiness and acknowledgement that design and permitting remain ongoing. The committee advanced the addendum to County Council for final action.