Daniel Prince
Repaving Santuc Fire Department parking lot, purchase of new baler among the approved expenses
At Tuesday’s Union County Council meeting, Mark Wade, Chief of the Santuc Fire Department, asked council for $5000 to repave the department’s parking lot. Wade said several years ago, a contractor checking for underground tanks came and busted up their parking lot, breaking a line. They did a quick patch job and told the department they would come back later and fix it. Six years later, Wade said that still hasn’t happened. The county Public Works Department looked at it and did some things to try and help, but Wade said water was still getting into the building. Wade said they needed to install a pad and then lay down asphalt to try and divert the water away from the department. In all, the project is expected to cost just over $15,000. Wade said the department is committed to paying just over $10,000 with their funds, and they asked for council’s help with the other $5000. Council unanimously agreed to pay for it out of the council contingency fund.
Rusty Snider with the Public Works Department asked for and received permission to go forward with the purchase of a baler for the recycling of cardboard, as the county is taking that program over. He said they have been approved for a solid waste grant for that, and he asked for permission to go ahead and buy the baler and then get reimbursement from DHEC after they receive it. Council unanimously agreed.
Neil McKeown with the Union County Detention Center said he needed to replace a 6-ton air conditioning unit at the jail. He said the unit has so many freon leaks that no one wants to work on it, calling it environmentally unsafe. He said he received two quotes for just over $9300 on a new unit. There is a 26-week lead time before they could receive it, and McKeown said he didn’t want to wait to buy it, as the price might go up again. Council approved the expenditure pending assignment to a capital budget account, which the finance department will determine.
Council also approved over $75,000 in purchases that came from the general obligation bond fund account. The funds have already come out of that account, leaving a balance of around $24,400.
Interim Supervisor Bob Love stated in his report that the SC Department of Commerce has awarded a $300,000 grant for the Cudd project.