The 19-member Citizen Transportation Advisory Committee unanimously recommended to County Council a penny sales tax over ten years to raise an estimated $700M for critical transportation and mobility projects.
“The committee wanted to ensure recommendations matched the long-term transportation goals and at the same time benefited every citizen in our County, said Dean Moss, Chairman of the Committee. I thank all the members for their dedication and hard work over the last three months.”
Beaufort County is seeking to capitalize on the Federal and State Infrastructure dollars available to improve our roadways. Penny Sales Tax will enable the County to compete and be awarded Federal Infrastructure dollars ahead of other counties around the country.
“I would like to thank the members of the citizens of the committee that spent the last three months developing a balanced list of projects said County Administrator Eric Greenway. If passed, these projects would improve citizens’ commute times, business opportunities, and quality of life within our County.”
The County intends to create a comprehensive plan for each program and follow the highest design practices for the large projects. Community involvement and feedback will be critical to making these projects successful.
County Council will now debate the recommendations on Monday May 23, and will have to hold three readings to place the recommended penny tax on the ballot for voters to approve.
- Project Programs
- $60M to create Greenbelts, acquiring property to establish a balance between environmental protection and rapid development growth. (All)
- $25M in Mass Transit; including Ferry Transport, to get people to work faster (All)
- $50M to enhance safety around our roadways (All)
- $50M to pave county-owned dirt roads (North of the Broad River)
- $60M to resurfacing roadways to bring all roadways up to a very good rating (All)
- $50M for joint use pathways following the Beaufort County Connects Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan 2021. (All)
- $50m Transportation Technologies/Access to bring the latest technologies in traffic control, signals, and other areas to Beaufort County. (All)
- $20 Resiliency funding to harden roadways against large hurricanes and rising sea levels. (North of the Broad River)
- Individual Projects
- $80M for the SC 170 Corridor improvements from US 278 to SC 462 (Okatie/Beaufort)
- $75M for US 21 and US 21 (Bus)/SC 281 Corridor Improvements from Bell Bridge to Boundary Street and Wood Memorial Bridge to improve capacity. (Beaufort/Port Royal)
- $20M for SC 46 from SC 170 to Jasper County and safety improvements from SC170 to Buckwalter that do not disrupt the Scenic Byway designation (Bluffton)
- $40M Hilton Head Project – Intersection Improvements, Pathways, and Resurfacing (Hilton Head)
- $40M for the US 278 Corridor Improvement/Enhancements project to support the citizens of the Town of Hilton Head’s suggestions for the project. (Hilton Head)
- $40M Lady’s Island Corridor to complete all the Lady’s Island Corridor Traffic Improvements. (Lady’s Island/St. Helena)
- $40M Bluffton Regional Roadway Network Implementation for any or all Bluffton projects listed as priorities in the approved LATS Transportation Plan. (Bluffton)
Members of the committee represented all the municipalities and each council district.
** Designates Chairman
| Council Member/Municipality | Citizen Appointee |
| DISTRICT 1 | Joseph Kline |
| DISTRICT 2 | Carol Ruff |
| DISTRICT 3 | UnTron Solomon |
| DISTRICT 4 | Ginnie Kozak |
| DISTRICT 5 | Jerry Reeves IV |
| DISTRICT 6 | John Craig Forrest |
| DISTRICT 7 | Penny Ellingsworth |
| DISTRICT 8 | Charles Perry |
| DISTRICT 9 | Bill Fuge |
| DISTRICT 10 | Morris Campbell |
| DISTRICT 11 | Frank Turano |
| City of Beaufort | Rob McFee |
| Town of Port Royal | Dean Moss** |
| Town of Bluffton | Charlie Wetmore |
| Town of Hilton Head | Peter Christianson |
| Town of Yemassee | Paul Nowlin |
| City of Hardeeville | Sal Arzillo |
Original source can be found here.
