WINNSBORO – County Council’s Administration and Finance Committee approved a slate of items Oct. 27 to send to the full Council for their final approval. Chaired by Council’s Vice Chairman Dwayne Perry (District 1), the Committee also includes Councilwoman Carolyn Robinson (District 2) and Councilman Mikel Trapp (District 3).
The Committee forwarded to Council an $184,000 fee to Meade & Hunt to outfit the HON Building for temporary use as the County Courthouse while the Courthouse undergoes a massive makeover. While Mead & Hunt is ready to begin work as soon as Council gives the final OK, the work is expected to take as long as a year to complete, according to Milton Pope, interim County Administrator. Funds for the project will come from last year’s $24.06 million bond issue, Pope said.
Additional repairs to the Administration Building, specifically the Sheriff’s Office’s evidence room located in the basement, also got approval by the Committee. The $87,844 for the work will also come from the 2013 bond.
Up to $40,000 for aerial photography of Fairfield County properties in order to update the Assessor’s Office’s database received unanimous approval as well, as did the purchase of 2.3 acres of property on Overlook Drive in Blackstock for $7,000. The property, valued by the Assessor’s Office at just $5,000, will be developed for one of the County’s new mini parks as part of the overall recreation plan.
Runway safety improvements at the County’s airport was also forwarded to Council for final approval. Total cost for the project, Pope said, is $1,792,754.50, much of which is covered by federal grants. The County’s portion, Pope said, is $89,637.73, with the S.C. Aeronautics Commission contributing the same amount.
An amendment to the contract with Ken Simmons & Associates, the County’s recreation consultants, to include the construction of a fire station in Ridgeway and a fire/EMS station in Jenkinsville, was moved out of Committee, but not sent to the full Council, as Pope said staff still had some questions about the design costs of the projects. Perry asked Pope to bring the final document back to the Committee before Council put it to a vote. The other items will be taken up by Council during their Nov. 10 meeting.
