The next step in the expansion of the Union County Airport, improvements to the Union County Fairgrounds, and fixing the leaking roof in the Union County Magistrate’s Office will cost nearly $400,000.
Meeting in special session Thursday evening (August 26) Union County Council voted unanimously to allocate the funds needed to pay for these projects.
Airport Expansion
Supervisor Frank Hart informed council that the county had applied for and received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for a grant to purchase property from Mr. Booker to add it to the airport layout plan and overall airport improvements. Harts asked council to authorize the use of county funds to secure the property and then apply for reimbursement of 90 percent of the cost from the FAA and 5 percent from the State of South Carolina. He said the remaining 5 percent would be funded by the county with funds from the Capital Improvements Account in the airport’s current budget.
Councilman Ben Ivey then made a motion to authorize Hart to spend up to $200,000 out of the county’s Economic Development Infrastructure and Community Development Account on the project. Ivey’s motion also stated that the funds are be reimbursed by the federal and state governments and the county’s 2019-2020 Capital Improvements Account.
Ivey’s motion was seconded by Councilman David Sinclair and unanimously approved by council.
The acquisition of the property is part of the ongoing plan to expand the airport including lengthening its runway from its current length of 3,500 feet to 5,000 feet. Lengthening the runway to 5,000 feet would enable it to accommodate corporate aircraft which at present time can’t fly in and fly out from it because of insurance requirements. The inability of corporate aircraft to take off and land at the airport is an inconvenience to businesses that must land their aircraft in Spartanburg and commute by vehicle to Union County. This inconvenience makes the county less attract to new business and industry and so the lengthening of the runway is important to Union County’s future economic development.
Fairgrounds
Hart also informed council that work is already under way at the Union County Stadium and that plans are to do some asphalt paving improvements at the Union County Fairgrounds as well. He said the paving improvements at the Fairgrounds are estimated to cost $130,000 and he asked for permission to use funds current in the Stadium Renovations School Fund 269 to fund those improvements.
Councilwoman Kacie Petrie made a motion to authorize Hart to spend up to $130,000 from the Stadium Renovations School Fund 269 on those asphalt paving improvements. Petrie’s motion was seconded by Councilman Ralph Tucker and unanimously approved by council.
Magistrate’s Office
Hart also informed council that there had been an issue with the roof leaking and flooding the Union County Magistrate’s Office multiple times.
To address this problems, Hart said the county had advertised for bids for repairs to the roof of the Union County Courthouse. Hart said that one bid was from SRC Roofing for $127,850 and other was from Guy Roofing for $68,700. He asked council for permission to award the bid to Guy Roofing for $68,700 which would be paid from the Capital Expenditures account.
Petrie made a motion to award the bid for the Courthouse roof repairs to Guy Roofing for $68,700 with the funds to come from the Capital Expenditures account. Her motion was seconded by Sinclair and unanimously approved by council.
Staffing Issues
In other business, Hart reported to council that there have been numerous staffing issues at the Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse with some staffers not have the proper credentials or educational levels. He said the State of South Carolina is providing an additional $100,000.00 in funding to help with the staffing plan and improve the operations.
Ivey made a motion to authorize Hart to adjust line item amounts within the budget of the Alcohol and Drug Department including the number of positions budgeted and salaries provided and that all changes stay within the limits of the total of the 2019-2020 county budget. The motion also authorized Hart to fill any current open positions or open positions created as a result of thesechanges.
The motion was seconded by Tucker and unanimously approved by council.
Bus Sale
Hart said that the Union County YMCA has requested that the County sell one of it recreation buses to them. He requested permission to dispose of that asset and sign the contracts to make that happen.
Sinclair made a motion to authorize Hart to sell the recreation bus to the YMCA, to determine the terms of the sale and execute all necessary documents to complete the sale.
Council Tommie Hill seconded the motion which was unanimously approved by council.
Property Sale
Hart also said that the county has advertised the sale of county-owned property consisting of approximately 1.01 acres within Parcel ID 027-02-11-004 000 and bordering Parcel ID 027-00-00-098 000. He said it is located on the property where the Jonesville recycling center is. Hart said the county received one bid in the amount of $800 from Vernon and Claudette Thompson. He asked for a motion to accept that bid for the sale of the property and draft an ordinance to complete the sale.
Sinclair made a motion to accept the bid of $800 from Vernon and Claudette Thompson for the sale of the described property and draft an ordinance to complete the sale.
Petrie seconded the motion which was unanimously approved by council.
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