Money for Columbia developments, Lexington intersection in SC Senate budget
Communities in Richland and Lexington counties stand to received millions of dollars for community investment projects as earmarks return to the state budget.
The state Senate’s $15.3 billion budget approved Thursday, includes more than $130 million in lawmaker directed spending for projects in their districts, as earmarks are returning to the budget this year.
Last year, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Harvey Peeler didn’t allow community investment projects in the budget because requests had gotten out of hand. Earmarks returned but nonprofits were not included.
The earmarks include $500,000 for fire stations in Richland County and $120,000 for mental health assistance at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center. Richland County also would receive $1.25 million for a Trenholm Park renovation project.
The senate budget includes $2 million for the city of Lexington to start improvements at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Hope Ferry Road.
State Sen. Darrell Jackson, D-Richland, advocated for $3.75 million for the Congaree Pointe Development on Bluff Road.
“It’s first time we’ve had that kind of development on Bluff Road, and I’m very happy that my colleagues saw it as necessary,” Jackson said. “Whatever dollars the state is put in the city and others have put in probably equal amount.”
Jackson and state Sen. Ronnie Cromer, R-Newberry, sponsored the $5 million for the Congaree Riverfront District in Columbia.
“It’s the beginning of something really, really good. I think the city is going to finally agree to open up that river. And I think that is going to be a game changer for Richland County,” Jackson said.
The whole investment could be as high as $100 million, with the city paying for the bulk of the costs, Jackson said.
“This is hopefully the first investment from the state,” Jackson said. “At the end of the day it’s gonna have hotels there. You may have a convention center there. You open up the river, like all other major areas of with rivers, I think it’s gonna be an economic boom for not just the Midlands but for all of South Carolina.”
State Sen. Tameika Isaac Devine, D-Richland, secured $1 million for the Columbia’s neighborhood revitalization and weatherization program. She said the program helps homeowners stay in their homes.
“Our housing stock, especially in the city, is so old, and you’ve got some older folks who are living in dilapidated housing, and they need new roofs. They need weatherization. And quite honestly, sometimes when these houses are going to disrepair, their eyes or to the neighborhoods that cause crime and other things,” Devine said.
The city also has been able to use community block grant money and other housing money, Devine said.
“The money that we’ve given them, they’ve been able to multiply it like three- or four-fold,” Devine said.
State Sen. Russell Ott, D-Calhoun, secured $1 million for drainage improvements in Cayce. The money will help match a larger federal grant to address drainage issues in the city.
“We’ve got low-lying areas that are flooding similar (to) what Five Points deals with. So it’s all a reconfiguration in conjunction with (the Department of Transportation) drawing down the federal funds ultimately to help the water get through the river without pooling,” Ott said.
The earmarks, more recently referred to as community investment projects, still have to be agreed to by the House.
House members are expected to sponsor their own earmarks when the chamber has a second debate on the spending plan after the senate sends the budget back.
The final list of earmarks that will be included in the budget will have to be determined in a six-member conference committee, with three members from the House and three members from the Senate.
State Sen. Lee Bright, R-Spartanburg, who rejoined the state Senate this year, argued more money should be directed at roads in the state instead of earmarks.
“I would like each senator to explain why each earmark is more important than roads,” state Sen. Lee Bright said. “Come to this well and convince this body why it’s important.”
The Senate budget puts $420 million toward transportation projects, when including projects for specific local governments
Richland and Lexington County earmarks
- $5 million for the City of Columbia for the Congaree Riverfront District - state Sens. Ronnie Cromer and Darrell Jackson
- $3.75 million for The Station at Congaree Point in the City of Columbia - Jackson
- $2 million Hope Ferry Road at Sunset Boulevard intersection improvements - state Sen. Carlisle Kennedy
- $1.25 million for Trenholm Park renovation project in Richland County - state Sen. Overture Walker
- $1 million for Columbia’s neighborhood revitalization and weatherization program - state Sen. Tameika Isaac Devine
- $1 million for Cayce Avenues drainage project - state Sen. Russell Ott
- $700,000 for the City of Columbia’s air drone first responder expansion.
- $500,000 for fire station upgrades in Richland County
- $500,000 for Eastover Historic Revitalization and Community Development initiative - Jackson
- $500,000 for Columbia Museum of Art capital request for accreditation compliance - Ott
- $250,000 for Lexington-Richland School District 5 - Lexington/Richland County apprenticeship pipeline partnership Lexington-Richland School District 5 - Cromer
- $120,000 - for mental health assistance at Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center - Devine, Walker, Russell Ott and state Sen. Jeffrey Graham
- $94,900 for extra duty deputies in Arcadia Lakes - Walker
- $37,000 for the Town of Chapin for park development - Cromer
