Cities to divide $40M by population; Conservation Bank to get $100M
The approximately $40 million in half-cent sales tax money for urban parks
and trails in Charleston County's urban area should be divvied up among
cities based on their population rather than on which of their projects are
deemed best.
Also, about $100 million for rural land conservation should all go to the
county's Conservation Bank, which County Council created in the image of the
popular S.C. Conservation Bank.
Those were the recommendations of the county's Greenbelt Advisory Board,
which voted 8-5 Tuesday to pick this distribution method over other options.
The decision didn't come easy, and the debate lasted almost two hours. Board
member Mack Canterbury, a former deputy county administrator, was among
those objecting to the urban distribution plan, which he likened to an
entitlement program.
'Once they (cities) get the money, it will flow because the other set of
politicians can't put the brakes on it,' Canterbury said. 'It becomes their
money. Anything with an entitlement, I can't support.'
But board member and former state Sen. Arthur Ravenel and others argued that
the most fair method would be to distribute the urban portion of the
greenbelt dollars. To get the money, cities still must apply to the county's
Park and Recreation Commission and show that their project meets the
criteria set by the Greenbelt Advisory Board, which would oversee the
implementation work.
Only municipalities in the urban area are eligible to apply for the pot of
$40 million in urban greenbelt money. These include Charleston, North
Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Sullivan's Island, the Isle of Palms, Folly
Beach, Kiawah Island, Seabrook Island and Lincolnville. Charleston County
also can apply for projects in the unincorporated part of the urban area,
such as Morris Island.
More rural municipalities may apply to the county's Conservation Bank for
money for village parks in their towns.
Those voting for the plan included Ravenel, Marshall Allen, Ray Anderson,
Chuck Bennett, Edwin Cooper, Henry Schweers, Megan Terebus and Lawrence
Thompson. Those voting no included Canterbury, Chairwoman Louise Maybank,
Thomas Johnson, Warwick Jones and James Duggan. Member Ray Singleton was
absent. The vote was only a recommendation to County Council, which has the
final say.
The board also is holding public workshops on its plan this week, including
ones at 5:30 p.m. today at the county's Public Services Building in North
Charleston and another at the same time Thursday at the Mount Pleasant
Regional Library.
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