Breaking down the 3rd penny: 11 infrastructure projects are proposed in Sumter

Of the 34 projects proposed for a third penny sales tax, 11 fall under the infrastructure category for city and countywide projects.

A third round of a 1% Capital Sales Tax is being proposed to continue a 1-cent tax that funnels pennies to an initiative to fund community projects for seven years. This initiative is referred to as "Penny for Progress," which is a referendum Sumter voters approved first in 2008 and again in 2014 to fund capital projects. Over that time, the sales tax has never increased; it has remained at a 1-cent sales tax since 2008, the same penny being taxed today.

The third penny is projected to secure $117 million over seven years to fund 34 projects at a total of $107,266,500.

Of the 34 projects, 13 fall within the county, while 12 are in the city. In the county, one project is in Mayesville, and four are in Pinewood. The remaining four are joint city-county projects.

Penny for Progress has kept a 1-cent sales tax for 14 years. It's now up to Sumter County voters to decide whether they want to continue the program to fund community projects that fall under four basic categories: public safety, infrastructure and transportation, public facilities and quality of life. Because it is a sales tax, the projects are funded by anyone who spends money in Sumter County, not just residents.

To prepare voters for the referendum question that will appear on their midterm election ballots on Nov. 8, The Sumter Item is breaking down the projects by category in a four-part series. This is the second in the series.

The projects listed on the referendum are in order of start date.

Part II: Infrastructure

Five of the 11 projects in this category are in the county, three are in the city, two are in the Town of Pinewood, and one is a joint city-county project.

Marked as No. 3 on the overall list is road paving and resurfacing in the county at a total of $16 million, according to a presentation given by County Administrator Gary Mixon to Sumter County Council on Sept. 27. A total of 20.78 miles of dirt roads are planned to be paved, while a total of 7.07 roads are planned to be resurfaced.

This was a major push echoed by rural residents at community meetings held before the creation of the referendum question.

For the second penny, the current sales tax, 19.5 miles of dirt roads were planned for paving at $8.9 million, and 18.18 miles of roads were planned to be resurfaced at $3.1 million.

The seventh project that will begin seeing movement with the third penny is an industrial land purchase of 76 acres at the "Gibbs Site" at $1.6 million. Mixon said the site is off U.S. 521 South, adjacent to Nova Molecular.

The county's goal for this purchase is to recruit manufacturing companies for Sumter's future economic growth of the industrial sector.

Mixon noted there are two additional industrial park infrastructure projects that will enhance the county's economic growth that will both follow the Gibbs Site.

Black River Industrial Park will be allocated $1.3 million for road extensions, site work and utility extensions to further enhance the marketability and readiness of the site to recruit global manufacturers. Pocotaligo Industrial Park will see the same amount of money for the same improvements.

After the industrial park projects for the county is a city project coming in at No. 10 on the overall referendum list.

A total of $6 million will go to a U.S. 378 safety connection project to better and safely connect the north and south communities surrounding the U.S. 378 bypass at both Wesmark Boulevard and Miller Road.

This project came up after the community raised concerns about pedestrian safety after the death of a 9-year-old who was struck by a vehicle while crossing his bike over the highly trafficked highway on Feb. 2.

"Some of that is already under study right now," Mixon said. "We anticipate we will be able to draw down additional dollars from other sources through the state."

After that, another city project will begin for intersection safety. A total of $1.5 million will be allocated to intersection safety improvements near "key facilities," including schools and community centers. This only applies to facilities within the City of Sumter.

Jumping to No. 27 on the list is a city project to construct a two-story parking garage in downtown Sumter at $6.5 million. Mixon said this is proposed for property at the corner of Hampton Avenue and Harvin Street where the former law enforcement center was located.

After that, the Sumter County Airport will see a facility upgrade at $1 million. The plan is to construct a 10,000-square-foot box hangar entrance to enhance industrial recruitment for the county.

Mixon said this will help larger industries get to plants quicker and in the county they're housed.

Next, road paving will get underway for the Pinewood area at a total cost of $900,000. This will pave 1.11 miles of dirt roads, which Mixon noted is at a smaller scale compared to the countywide paving.

A joint city and county community sidewalk and activity path project will follow with $3.5 million to expand the sidewalk network in the city and county to better connect schools, parks and commercial areas.

The final infrastructure project will be for the Town of Pinewood. A total of $900,000 will be used to expand the town's sidewalks and bus shelters.

This series will continue tomorrow with the public facilities category.

The information for this article was provided by Sumter County Government and City of Sumter.