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Charleston County News Release
MEDIA CONTACT
Name: Jennie Davis, Charleston County Public Information
Officer
Phone: 843.958.4012
Email:
jdavis@charlestoncounty.org
Release Number: 2740
Date: September 14, 2006
Charleston County Receives $43 Million from CHATS in Federal
Funding to Supplement Transportation "Half-Cent" Sales Tax
Road Projects
Charleston
County officials announced they have secured an additional
$43 million in federal funds through the Charleston Area
Transportation Study (CHATS) over the next several years to
supplement projects funded by the Transportation "Half-Cent"
Sales Tax.
CHATS will
disperse the $43 million to Charleston County over a period
of several years, beginning in 2010:
-
$3 million per year for 10 years, from 2010-2020
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$2.75 million in 2021
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$6.5 million in 2022
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$750,000 in 2023
The $43
million is earmarked for the following Transportation
"Half-Cent" Sales Tax road improvement projects:
-
Bees Ferry Road
-
Harbor View Road
-
Maybank Highway
"This now
makes an additional $500 million in new funds we have
secured to be added to the Transportation 'Half-Cent' Sales
Tax funding, and will allow us to make even more
improvements to local roadways throughout the next several
years without costing local taxpayers another penny in new
taxes," said County Council Chairman, Leon Stavrinakis.
CHATS is a
project of the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of
Governments (COG), one of South Carolina's 10 Regional
Planning Councils. The Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester COG'
primary objectives are to assist local governments develop
local and regional plans within the tri-county region, as
well as providing local governments with planning and
technical support to improve the quality of life in the
region.
The COG
accomplishes this by providing it's member governments with
technical assistance is a variety of fields, including
economic and
community development,
comprehensive planning,
statistical information gathering and analysis,
and
water
resource management. In addition, the COG's
board
of directors provides a forum for local leaders
to find common goals and determine a course for the entire
region.
CHATS
covers approximately 800 square miles. Generally, the study
area contains all the land expected to be urbanized within
the next 20 years. It now consists of portions of all three
counties in the Berkely/Charleston/Dorchester Region. This
includes:
-
Summerville & surrounding areas
-
Goose Creek
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Hanahan
-
Daniel Island
-
North Charleston
-
Charleston
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All land between Mt. Pleasant & Wadmalaw Island
The
Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester COG's by-laws call for a
governing board of 45 members, all of whom are
appointed by local governments within the three-county
region. This board, led by an Executive Committee, sets
policy and provides direction to the programs of the COG.
The
Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester COG's full board also
coordinates the local Notification and Review of all
projects in the region seeking federal funding. Under the
program, which is designed to promote the most effective use
of federal dollars, the COG distributes information on
proposed applications and provides the state with local
comments about the proposed activity and its relationship to
other projects occurring in the region.
To learn
more about the Charleston Area Transportation Study (CHATS),
visit
http://www.bcdcog.com/CHATS.htm.
Visit the
official Charleston County Transportation "Half-Cent" Sales
Tax Web site
www.smallchangeforbigchange.org, for public meeting
notices and up-to-date information on road and greenspace
projects. |
