CPST Commission hears final projects

NEWBERRY COUNTY — The Capital Project Sales Tax Commission has officially heard all proposed projects following two additional meetings and 11 project presentations.

During their meeting on April 11, the commission heard the following projects: Town of Little Mountain – Little Mountain Reunion Park Walking Trail/Large Shelter Renovations w/Stage Conversion; City of Newberry, Newberry County – Downtown Amphitheater; Town of Pomaria – Continue Upgrades to Old Pomaria School Building; Town of Prosperity – Town of Prosperity Park Enhancements and Building Thriving Communities Foundation, City of Newberry, Newberry County – Renovation of Old Gallman High School “Gallman Place” Phase 1.

Town of Little Mountain – Little Mountain Reunion Park Walking Trail/Large Shelter Renovations w/Stage Conversion

Mayor Jana Jayroe said of all the Little Mountain Projects, this one is the most ready to go and the town’s top priority.

“The walking trail will go around the perimeter of the park, I think it comes out to half a mile. One reason we’d like to have the trail, currently we have a running club at Little Mountain Elementary and right now they use the street. With all the construction on the interstate, the streets are really busy,” she said.

Reunion Park is across the street from the elementary school and Jayroe said it will be easier for them to use, and safer.

This project would also renovate the picnic shelter, Jayroe said it has not had much work done to it in about 25 years. She said they would renovate the roof and the fans, as well as expand the shelter.

They would also convert the stage that is currently at that location into a storage area and move the stage to the other side of the shelter.

This project would cost approximately $654,551.

City of Newberry, Newberry County – Downtown Amphitheater

City of Newberry Mayor Foster Senn and Newberry County Councilperson Les Hipp presented the amphitheater project to the commission, representing their entities.

“We’ve seen amphitheaters have been popular in many other places around the state,” Foster said. “This is not a new idea, this was part of a master plan in Newberry back in 1994.”

Foster said they have identified a site that has a natural slope and is a natural site for an amphitheater, between Nance and Caldwell streets. The City of Newberry currently owns two parts of the property and Newberry County has an option to purchase the building located on the property, known as the Jacobs Building.

Hipp and Foster stressed that the amphitheater would be for the whole community, with potential uses including concerts, Newberry College events, Newberry County School District events, family events.

This amphitheater would have a capacity of 1,500 and would include a pavilion and restroom area.

“The city, county and Newberry Opera House entered into a formal agreement by defining the responsibilities and ownership of the facilities. The Newberry Opera House was invited to participate since occasional use by the Opera House would defer operation and maintenance cost of the project. Tickets for events held there would include a surcharge to offset city and county expenses,” Hipp said.

The City of Newberry would maintain the green space and stage area while Newberry County would own and maintain the restrooms and pavilion area. Foster also said if someone wanted to rent the amphitheater, they would be able to just call one entity, not both.

Commissioner Roy McClurkin asked if there would be a problem in closing Trench Street. Hipp said that the road is a city road, and they will have the authority to do so and Foster echoed this by saying it would not be a problem. Foster said only the stretch of road between Caldwell and McKibben streets would be closed.

A question of flooding was also asked, to which Hipp said the stage would be elevated to a point it would not be impacted by flood levels.

The cost for the amphitheater would be $3.65 million.

Town of Pomaria – Continue Upgrades to Old Pomaria School Building

Mayor Darryl Hentz presented new upgrades for the Old Pomaria School Building. The renovations requested include the three top floor classrooms on the second level, remove old wooden floors out of three basement level rooms and replace floors with concrete. Also, this project will renovate the front breezeway and cafeteria front which is the main entrance of both buildings.

“For some reason, three of the rooms have wooden floors and we need to get that wood out,” Hentz said.

Hentz said this is a frequently used building and with renovations, they would be able to utilize it more, like with renting out the classroom spaces for various meetings.

Hentz was asked his priorities with the renovations, he said the wooden floor removal was the first, followed by the breezeway and then the classrooms.

The estimated cost for this project is $671,745.

Town of Prosperity – Town of Prosperity Park Enhancements

The Town of Prosperity is requesting a project to improve their various parks.

The following improvements are proposed in the project, listed in the priority made by Prosperity Town Council:

1. Langford Street Park (304 Langford Street, Prosperity).

This project would add fencing around basketball court; resurface parking area; add 20’ x 28’ picnic shelter and grills with attached ADA restrooms; expand playground with new equipment; add lighting to parking area and basketball court.

2. Town Park Improvements (250 School Drive, Prosperity).

This will add a safety barrier and signage to separate the walking track from road traffic; add solar light pedestals along walking track and parking; add shaded structure to toddler play area; upgrade playground fixtures; add covered senior and handicap fixtures; picnic tables, grills and benches.

3. Town Square Improvements.

This project would remove and relocate the old gazebo (to a reading garden behind town hall); add pavilion with bench swings; brick paver sidewalk/walkway; new safe and functioning fountain; benches; lighting; signage (Welcome to Prosperity); landscaping to include irrigation system.

4. North Main Street Ball Park (406 N. Main Street, Prosperity).

The improvements at this park would pave current parking lots; construct an ADA compliant concession stand to include ADA bathrooms, secure equipment storage room; metal bleachers; demolition of existing concession stand and wood bleachers.

5. Town Center Football/Soccer Field (250 School Drive, Prosperity)

This project would add a 200 sq. ft. concession stand with attached ADA restrooms; metal bleachers; and field lighting.

6. U.S. Highway 76 Park Improvements (N. Wheeler Avenue, Prosperity).

These improvements would include pedestrian walk natural trail; install dog park: complete with six-foot coated cyclone fence, benches, picnic tables and trash receptacles.

In total, all improvements would cost $3.44 million.

Building Thriving Communities Foundation, City of Newberry, Newberry County – Renovation of Old Gallman High School “Gallman Place” Phase 1

Per the Building Thriving Communities Foundation, this would be a multi-use community center that provides programs, services and resources that address needs across the county. The mission is to enable individuals and families across the county to be informed, healthy, productive and engaged members of their community.

“This continued use of the school will be a tribute to the many who attended Gallman by preserving the history of the institution that served so many, so well,” said Patricia Caldwell.

Gallman Place would serve as an academic center for adults and children, offering after-school tutoring, interesting courses for adults, a book club, a summer enrichment camps. This would also be a community gathering place: a place for interest groups, clubs, and organizations to hold meetings and events. There would also be a history and archives room, to document and display the rich history of Gallman High and the neighborhood.

The scope of this project would be to upgrade four of the classrooms, the kitchen, the cafeteria, four restrooms and roof repairs at the cost of $1.45 million.

During the April 18 meeting, the commission heard the final six projects: Newberry County Water and Sewer Authority — Cannon’s Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade and Extension; Town of Little Mountain — Little Mountain Reunion Park Entrance; City of Newberry — Expansion of City of Newberry Recreational Complex; Town of Little Mountain — Little Mountain Reunion Park Renovations of BBQ Smokehouse/Picnic Shelter w/Bathrooms; Newberry County — Detention Center Improvements; Town of Whitmire — Upgrades to Whitmire City Gym.

Newberry County Water and Sewer Authority — Cannon’s Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade and Extension

The Cannon’s Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant (on Boinest Road) has 950,000 GPD of wastewater treatment capacity, it is currently at 60% of capacity is allocated to existing customers. By end of 2023, it is projected to be at 70% capacity.

“South Carolina DHEC will not issue construction permits if capacity is unavailable. This plant is in the fastest growing area in Newberry County, according to the Central Midlands Council of Governments,” said Assistant Manager Daniel Quattlebaum.

This plant serves the Town of Prosperity, Town of Little Mountain, Mid-Carolina Middle School and Mid-Carolina High School, just to name a few.

The goal of this project would be to increase treatment capacity to 1.5 MGD. That would entail upgrading influent screen and grit removal system; construct additional treatment basin with equipment; expand chlorine contact chamber; construct sludge digester with dewatering equipment.

The NCWSA was asked if they reached capacity, would there be another way to expand the plant without CPST. Manager Brent Richardson said they’d have to borrow money, which would be paid for by their customers.

The cost for this project would be $5.155 million.

Town of Little Mountain — Little Mountain Reunion Park Entrance

According to Jayroe, when you first come into Reunion Park cars can drive through, the goal of this project is to eliminate that.

“The entrance still needs work, we want to improve the signage, remove that drive coming in, and instead have low walls where people could sit. Add Wi-Fi to the park, add additional playground equipment. Also, right where at the entrance is the red room gazebo, that is the most handicap accessible bathroom, we’d like to increase the size and add two more stalls,” she said.

The cost of this project is $861,274.

City of Newberry — Expansion of City of Newberry Recreational Complex

According to Senn, this park began with the 2016 CPST project and has greatly helped the community. He said that about 10,000 people visited the splash park in summer 2021.

They are looking to make the following improvements to the park:

• Splash pad expansion $1.275 million.

“This will expand the splash pad, doubling the size,” Senn said.

• Cabin driveway and parking improvements $790,000.

• Hidden Lake dock and nature area $145,000.

• Connector sidewalk $145,000.

• Additional shelters $295,000.

• Skate park $310,000.

“Locally, this is an underserved community. This would be a beginner/intermediate skate park. This would attract locals and people from neighboring communities. We also received 167 signatures to do the skate park,” Senn said.

• Playground addition $160,000.

• Shade structures $135,000.

• Maintenance access drive and maintenance building $520,000.

• Additional restrooms $175,000.

• Miracle Field $735,000.

“A Miracle Field is a rubberized field that eliminates barriers for children and adults with disabilities and special needs to play baseball, many for the first time. Endorsed by Newberry County Disabilities and Special Needs Board and Ruth Pugh Foundation. We intend to have a league similar to other sports leagues,” Senn said. “We received 123 signatures for this project.”

Following his presentation, Senn was asked for a priority list. Newberry City Council met Monday night to create a priority list and answer additional questions. This meeting will appear in next week’s paper.

The total cost for this project is $4.085 million.

Town of Little Mountain — Little Mountain Reunion Park Renovations of BBQ Smokehouse/Picnic Shelter w/Bathrooms

Jayroe said the park currently has a BBQ pit they would like to renovate. The upgrades would make it more secure, since it currently only has a wooden door and would add more security and electricity.

They would also upgrade and expand the picnic shelter nearby, which needs a new roof. They would also upgrade the parking area and increase handicapped parking from five to 10 spaces.

Newberry County — Detention Center Improvements

Originally proposed as a new detention center, Sheriff Lee Foster and Captain Daniel Floyd presented a revised project that adjusts to utilize their current space, which would end the open dorm issue.

This new building will have seven dorms with a central control tower and recreation yard, increased separation cells for inmates that need to be separated, increased security in general population by changing from an open dorm layout to double and single cells along walls with central day room and increased protection from the spread of diseases like COVID-19. The new plan will decrease response time to incidents with new jail addition and increase potential to acquire federal contracts as well as increase in security with upgraded perimeter fencing system.

“The design is a modern approach to the new detention center. This design uses the current property and building as a support building,” Floyd said.

This will also require updating the camera system, door locks and control system to integrate with current system. They would also have an additional recreation yard.

“We are utilizing property and the current building to save taxpayer money,” he said.

This project is estimated about $8 million by the engineers.

Town of Whitmire — Upgrades to Whitmire City Gym

Mayor Billy Hollingsworth presented this project which he said would allow Whitmire to have more of an activity center in the town.

The upgrades to the gym would include electrical, roof repairs, gutter system repairs, new doors and windows, making the bathrooms ADA compliant, flooring improvements, replacing the bleachers and adding a new heater and HVAC improvements.

“This will be a benefit to the community, and may draw people in from outside the community,” he said.

The proposed cost for this project is $1.38 million.