With a deadline looming, the Capital Project Sales Tax Commission has a lot of plans left to winnow.

The commission is scheduled to meet for the last time on Tuesday and must turn in its final decision on which projects will be on the ballot at the end of the meeting. But at a meeting Wednesday, little progress was made on the decision making.

“I am a farmer and we have to plant now or forget it,”" CPST Chair Dave Waldrop encouraged the commission.

But as of yet, the commission has yet to make two crucial decisions for the ballot to move on to County Council.

Question One: Bonds or pay as you go?

One decision the commission is faced with is whether to issue bonds for the projects or to pay as the money comes in.

Bond attorney Theo DuBose told the commission if bonds are issued, the projects could all start quickly. Using the “pay as you go” route, the penny tax money must be received first. And once the money starts to come in, the projects are completed by a priority list.

DuBose says the commission must consider paying interest on a bond or facing inflation rates, and that the rate of inflation may be more than the cost of interest.

“Short-term interest is better than long-term inflation,” advised DuBose

He added that in the current CPST term, building costs rose 30 percent.

DuBose also told the commission that the amount of the penny sales tax coming in has decreased from about $950,000 a quarter to $828,000. In part this is due to the state legislature eliminating the taxes being paid on non-prepared foods or groceries. The elimination of the tax results in around an 18 percent loss.

The attorney added that with a 4 percent interest rate on the bond, the commission could plan on about $15.6 million in projects getting done.

Without the bond, in the pay as you go method, the commission could issue $18 million in projects.

Question Two: Which projects will be on the ballot?

The commission must determine which of the 32 projects will be on the ballot.

In the process, each of the six commissioners voted on each of the projects on a 1-10 grading scale. The projects were ranked by economic impact, need, population effected, geographical distribution and return on the money spent.

After the grades were added, the commission was given four scenarios to chose from or the option of changing any of them.

The first or “Sample Ballot A: Top-ranked projects” lists the five projects that got the highest grades from the commissioners. All but one of the projects cost $2.5 million or more, but commissioners voiced that the top five ballot limited the “geographical mix.” In other words, the top five projects would not represent each community in the county getting a share of the pie.

The second “Sample Ballot B; Each Entity’s top ranked project” lists the top project for each of the seven organizations submitting projects.

This scenario puts projects ranked to the 20th spot on the ballot, but gives a piece of the pie to all the communities.

The next is “Sample Ballot C Option One: Projects ranked in the top 10” and an “Option 2.”

The basic difference for these two plans is the Council on Aging expansion being done, versus the county building new fire substations in four communities. But both models leave the second-ranked project, the Mid-Carolina Commerce Park, out of the equation.

While no vote has been taken on the plans, the commission members did voice their opinions on which ballots they liked.

Waldrop, Vice-Chair Renee Joiner, Jimmie Coggins and Lisa Toland all liked option C-1 with the council on aging added. Phil Spotts, and Robert McCartha both liked C-2 with the fire substations.

Waldrop says he wants to see Mid-Carolina and the fire substations added.

Unanswered

questions

The commission, however; still has unanswered questions about the projects on the list and while they like the ballot C options they are concerned about the second ranked Mid-Carolina Commerce Park being left off.

Economic Development Director Teresa Powers was issued the challenge of working with engineers to downscale the project and to report back to the commission on Tuesday.

The commission also asked to meet with Newberry County Water and Sewer Authority officials about its project. The concern is the water plant upgrades are being done in part to support the expansion of the Mid-Carolina Commerce Park.

They are also looking at changing out the water plant upgrades for another Water and Sewer project such as lines to supply water for fire departments in the Chappells, Jalapa, and Keitts Crossroads areas.

Public comments

Old Library

County Councilman Les Hipp told the commission he felt the old library/post office renovation into an economic development hub should be on the ballot.

He added the renovations would provide opportunities for economic growth and was not like projects on the proposed ballots that had “immediate gratification.”

Hipp continued, saying that to get grants for the work the project need to have community support.

“Emphasize growing the economy versus immediate gratification,” urged Hipp.

Prosperity sewer

Prosperity Town Administrator Karen Livingston said her town’s sewer project could be funded all or in part by a grant and asked if the referendum passed and the town got the grant if the money could be used for another project. She was told it could not be used for something else, but would go to alternative projects on the ballot.

Water for fire

Consolidated resident and firefighter Larry DeHart voiced concern over waterlines being extended to the Consolidated, Jalapa and Chappells areas. He said these departments have limited water and with ponds drying up in the summers, crews have to travel to get water to fight fires.

Tuesday’s meeting

On Tuesday, the commission will wrap up the project list and the financing method at it 6 p.m. meeting.

Both the Newberry Water and Sewer Commission leaders and Powers will speak at the meeting and are expected to reduce their funding requests.

This could allow the commission to consider funding requests for the Council on Aging, fire substations and water for fighting fires.

Ballots being

considered

Sample Ballot A:

Top ranked projects

Piedmont Technical College

Mid-Carolina Commerce Park

City of Newberry Water Main

Opera House Renovations

NCWSA Plant Upgrade

Total $15,235,791

Left to distribute $246,209

Sample Ballot B:

Each Entity’s top ranked project

Piedmont Technical College

City of Newberry Water Main

NCWSA Plant Upgrade

Town of Prosperity Sewer

Whitmire Annex Renovation

Little Mountain Natural Area

Pomaria Community Center

Total $14,118,342

Left to distribute $1,381,658

Sample Ballot C: Option 1

Piedmont Technical College

City of Newberry Water Main

NCWSA Plant Upgrade

Town of Prosperity Sewer

Whitmire Annex Renovation

Little Mountain Natural Area

Opera House Renovations

Council on Aging

Prosperity Depot

Total $15,535,909

Overage $33,909

Sample Ballot C: Option 2

Piedmont Technical College

City of Newberry Water Main

NCWSA Plant Upgrade

Town of Prosperity Sewer

Whitmire Annex Renovation

Little Mountain Natural Area

Opera House Renovations

Fire Substations

Prosperity Depot

Total $15,466,826

Left to distribute $33,174