THE SUMTER COUNTY CAPITAL PROJECTS SALES TAX ACT COMMISSION REPORT

The Sumter County Capital Projects Sales Tax (CPST) Act Commission reports to the Sumter County Council that it has met and deliberated and, having considered a number of projects for funding through the imposition of the Capital Project Sales Tax, by vote of the Commission in public meetings duly advertised, presents the following list of projects, arranged in order of priority and the Ballot Question.

Ballot Question; Instructions to Voters; Conditions and Restrictions: 

Must a special one percent sales and use tax be imposed in Sumter County (the "County") for not more than seven (7) years from the date of imposition to raise the amounts specified for the following purposes and in order to pay the costs (including rights-of-way acquisition and architectural, engineering, legal, administrative costs, and related fees) of the projects described below; pending the receipt of such sales and use tax, must the County also be authorized to issue and sell, either as a single issue or as several separate issues, general obligation bonds (the "Bonds") of the County in the aggregate principal amount of not exceeding $43,600,000.00 to be paid from the sales and use tax to be received and pledge the sales and use tax to be received to the payment of the principal of and interest on the Bonds?

1.              $3,000,000 - Rural Fire Stations Renovations -- Modernize And Improve Several Rural Fire Stations To Insure They Are Meeting Current State And Local Codes.

• Replace And/Or Provide Additions To:  Cherryvale, Dabbs, Wedgefield, Dalzell, And Bethel Stations. 
• Provide Improvements To:  Pinewood, Rembert, Concord, Horatio, Oswego, Graham, Pleasant Grove, Mayesville, Dubose, Byrd, And 521 Stations. 

2.            $6,000,000 - Patriot Park Activities Center -- Continue The Expansion Of Patriot Park Activities Center — Phase II

• Complete The Construction Of Four (4) Regulation Baseball Fields And Central Control Tower.
• Address The Needs In Our Community For Baseball Participants 13 Years Of Age And Older.
• The Four Baseball Fields Will Replace The Three Fields At Artillery Ballpark Behind The Exhibition Center.
• To Provide Badly Needed Facilities For Our 17-18 Years Old Baseball Leagues.
• The Ball Fields Will Also Enhance Our Potential For Tourism Related To Baseball And Softball Tournaments.
• The New Ball Fields Will Increase From 12 To 16 Fields When Combined With Facilities At Palmetto And Dillon Park.  

3.              $2,500,000 -- County Community Centers -- Construction Of Three New Community Centers — Concord ($500,000), Pinewood ($500,000), And Salterstown ($500,000). Plus Renovation Of Several Existing Community Centers (Cherryvale ($225,000), Ebenezer ($75,000), Shiloh ($125,000), Spectrum Senior Center ($225,000), Rembert/Rafting Creek Community Center, ($200,000), and Mayesville ($125,000).

4.               $2,100,000 -- Safety Improvements -- $2,100,000 ($300,000 Per Intersection.  There Are A Number Of Hazardous Intersections In Sumter County.  The Most Dangerous Intersections Will Receive Traffic Control Upgrades, Traffic Signal Phasing Improvements, Re-Striping Intersection Approaches, Upgrade Approach Signage, And Control Of Access Solutions:

• US76-378 And SC 441
• US 15N And US76/378 (Main St. At Bypass)
• Broad St. And Gion St.
• Guignard And Lafayette
• Broad Street And Carter Rd.
• Main St. And Calhoun St.
• North Lafayette and Calhoun (15N and US401)

5.              $4,000,000 -- Sumter Exhibition Center -- Renovations Of Existing Exhibition Center - Improvements Include But Are Not Limited To The Following:

• Replace 30 Year Old Air Conditioning And Heating Units
• Renovate The Entrance Of The Exhibition Center To Match With The Landscaping, Brick And Iron Fencing Of Swan Lake
• Improve Exterior And Interior Lights
• Improve Irrigation System
• Improve Signage
• Redesign The Front Of The Building To Assist With The Flow Of Traffic During Large Events Such As: Graduations, Tournaments, Funerals, Banquets, Etc.

6.             $1,500,000 -- Build new sidewalks (including drainage and reconstruction of substandard sidewalks) to connect existing neighborhoods to create safe routes to schools and parks.

• Wilder School
• Bates School
• Lemira School
• Wise Drive /Wilson Hall/ Patriot Parkway; Carter Road/Wilson Hall
• Crosswell Area
• North Pike West 

7.          $2,700,000 -- Sumter Central Business District Removal Of Abandon Buildings - This Project Will Help To Address Safety Concerns, Help To Improve Quality Of Life And Increase Our Chances To Attract More Businesses In The Central Business District Area.  

• Reason For The Project: To Create More Opportunities For Economic Development And Jobs.  Businesses Are More Apt To Locate In An Area If The Central Business District Is Revitalized.
• Remove Abandon Buildings -- Eliminate Potential Safety Issues

8.               $6,000,000 -- Lafayette Drive -- Project Improvements To This Area Will Assist In Eliminating Accidents And Traffic Back-Ups On Highway 378 And/Or North Main/Lafayette

• The Current Design Does Not Meet Current Engineering Standards And Needs Redesigning.
• Assist In Getting Sumter Compliant With SCDOT And FHWA

9.              $20,000,000 -- Construction Of A Judicial Center And Renovation Of Summary Court

• Project #1 - $18,000,000 -- The Project Is For The Construction Of An 80,000 Square-Foot Judicial Center, That Will Be Located In The Civic Center Area (Between The Library And The Chamber Of Commerce) The Facility Will House: The Current Courthouse, The Circuit Court, Family Court, Probate Court, And The Clerk Of Court Offices. 
• Project #2 -- $2,000,000 -- Renovation Of The Sumter Summary (Magistrate) Court.

10.             $671,000 -- Highway 15-South Corridor And Intersection Improvement Project.  Improve The Highway 15-South Corridor To Include Certain Intersections Between Red Bay Road And Highway 15 South.  Align And Improve Traffic Lines And Intersection Flow To Increase Safety And Vehicular Access.

11.            $1,600,000 — Complete Road Infrastructure Road Project To Improvement Areas In The Airport Industrial Park

• Extend And Improve The Current Street
• Develop Road Into A Four Lane Boulevard Style Corridor

12.             $1,000,000 — Airport Industrial Park Water And Sewer Infrastructure Project. 

13.             $2,000,000 -- Pocotaligo Infrastructure Project: Upgrade Existing Water Service To The Pocotaligo Industrial Park

• The Potential Site Needs Upgrading To Accommodate Future Development — Will Aid In Economic Development.

14.             $2,600,000 -- Acquire Property In Order To Redevelop Structures In All Areas Of The City Including Major Corridors Such As Liberty Street, Main Street, Broad Street And Manning Avenue; Property Would Then Be Used For Tax Producing Projects.

15.             $8,000,000 -- Construct A New Water Plant In The Us Highway 521/Highway 15 South Area Needed To Recruit New Industrial And Commercial Jobs

16.             $6,000,000 -- Purchase Critical Land Bordering Shaw Air Force Base To Insure Development Does Not Jeopardize Base Closure By Creating A Passive Nature Park (Nearly 1,000 Acres)

TOTAL COST OF ALL CAPITAL PROJECTS:  $69,671,000.

The maximum amount of net proceeds of the sales and use tax which may be applied to the payment of the principal of and interest on the County's limited obligation bonds (the "Bonds") must not exceed $75,843,000.00 (based upon expected sales and use tax collections of $75,843,000.00 less administrative expenses of collection).  The not exceeding $ 43,600,000.00 principal amount of Bonds to be issued shall be repaid from the net proceeds of the sales and use tax.  The net proceeds of the sales and use tax shall be pledged for the repayment of the Bonds.

INSTRUCTIONS TO VOTERS:  All qualified electors of the County desiring to vote in favor of imposing the tax for the stated purposes and authorizing the issuance and sale of limited obligation bonds in connection therewith as outlined above and subject to the limitations and conditions set forth above shall vote "YES" and all qualified electors opposed to levying the tax and issuing such limited obligation bonds shall vote "NO."

                                                YES                  [          ]

                                                NO                   [          ]

CONDITIONS AND RESTRICTIONS ON THE USE OF SALES AND USE TAX REVENUE COLLECTED UNDER THE CAPITAL PROJECT SALES TAX ACT: The capital projects sales and use tax shall be expended for design, engineering, construction or improvement of the highways, roads, streets, bridges, and other capital projects listed above. Net proceeds of the capital project sales and use tax, if approved, must be expended for the purposes stated in the priority listed; provided, however, that the order of funding of the projects may be adjusted on the basis of construction schedules or other events that may affect the schedule for any particular project; and provided that multiple projects may be funded simultaneously based on the formula or system contained in the ordinance enacted by the Sumter County Council which shall include, but shall not be limited to any one or more of the following: (1) to pay directly the costs of such projects; (2) to issue the County's general obligation bonds; or (3) to borrow, in a manner deemed advisable by the Sumter County Council, funds in advance of receiving the net proceeds of the one percent sales and use tax. The expenditure of revenues from the capital projects sales and use tax, if approved, shall be subject to acquisition of title, right-of-way, design and engineering considerations, environmental issues, the discovery of historic sites or endangered species, the receipt of necessary permits, funding of projects from other sources, bids in excess of project estimates, qualifications of bidders, cost overruns, exhaustion or insufficiency of net sales and use tax revenues to complete all projects in the order and priority provided herein and other unforeseen circumstances and conditions.  If net sales and use tax revenues are insufficient to fund completely all projects, the lowest priority project(s) will not be fully funded.  In such event, the lowest priority project(s) will be initiated only upon the condition of availability of funding from other sources to complete the project(s).

This is the report of the Commission.

__________________________________

Will Holmes, Chairman

Sumter County 2008 Capital Projects Commission