Courthouse Committee talks financing via penny tax
Representatives of engineering firm Michael Baker International met with the Darlington County Courthouse Advisory Committee on April 29.
Photo by Samantha Lyles
By Samantha Lyles, Staff Writer, slyles@newsandpress.net
The Darlington County Courthouse Construction Advisory Committee held their first meeting April 29 at the Hartsville law offices of Sen. Gerald Malloy. Though the main purpose of the meeting was to introduce committee members to the courthouse project team from engineering firm Michael Baker International (MBI) and outline some of their work to date, discussion repeatedly returned to one salient point: how, exactly, the county might pay for a new courthouse.
Last year, Darlington County Council contracted with MBI to conduct a study on the feasibility of building a modern, secure court and administrative facility near the current courthouse on the Darlington Public Square. Since its founding, Darlington County has built five courthouses: in 1785, 1825, 1873, 1904, and 1964. The early structures are all gone, lost to fire or age or progress, and the current ’64 courthouse has deteriorated to the point where repairs have become futile.
At this first Committee meeting, Malloy brought up the idea to talk with the Darlington County School District about ending the county’s current penny sales tax for education and replacing it with a penny tax for the courthouse project. He noted that the DCSD tax was passed around 2003-2004 and the school district is now very close to paying off their bond debt. Malloy suggested that two members of the Committee – Darlington County Council chair Bobby Hudson and Darlington City Council member John Milling – parlay with DCSD and assess their willingness to use some of their fund balance to pay off that bond debt early and free up the penny sales tax for other county projects.
Hudson and Malloy estimated that Darlington County’s penny sales tax yields about $5 million in annual revenue.
“Financing this project is an issue for a small county, but it’s something that we have to do,” said Malloy.
Robert Moser, Bob Hawsey, and P.J. Doka of Michael Baker International discussed some of their work to date, including county staff surveys and interviews, a site survey, EPA Phase One environmental analysis, and hazardous material surveys. An economic impact study on the effect a new courthouse might bring is about 60-percent complete.
Milling asked about the geographic stability of the site, given the recurring problem of sinkholes in some areas near the potential construction site. Doka said that when the project is closer to reality, extensive soil-boring tests would be conducted to determine the weight-bearing capacity of the building’s footprint and also any parking lots or garages that may be built.
Darlington Mayor Gloria Hines said that the City of Darlington is interested in teaming with the county to make the new facility a joint County/City Municipal Complex. Hines noted that Darlington’s administration building was badly damaged in the October 2015 storms, forcing many city employees into tight quarters in small City Hall offices. Milling added that Darlington would likely float a bond to finance the city’s portion of any such partnership.
County administrator Terence Arrington said he has invited agencies currently working outside the courthouse – like the Public Defender’s Office and the Solicitor’s Office – to take part in the planning process and determine if they are interested in moving their offices to this new facility.
Committee member Sandy Watford suggested that the group gather some hard specifics quickly, like which agencies will occupy the facility, what the site boundary will be, and what the project cost limit should be, and get that information to MBI as soon as possible.
The MBI team made clear that any courthouse design would be reflective of the community, and the firm would not push an aesthetic concept that didn’t jive with Darlington’s wishes. With specifics (like financing and who will actually be working in the facility) still up in the air, MBI’s initial presentation was very general, focused on concepts for organizing space to improve security of court operations and administrative services, and allowing room for future growth.
Malloy suggested the Committee form themed workgroups (Judiciary, Law Enforcement, Etc.) to delineate their needs and convey those needs to MBI at future meetings so that a more specific design can begin to take shape. He also suggested inviting representatives from Darlington County School District to meet with the Committee and discuss their resources and future plans.
