Charleston County News Release

MEDIA CONTACT

Name:   Jennie Davis, Charleston County Public Information Officer

Phone: 843.958.4012

Email:   jdavis@charlestoncounty.org

Release Number: 2930

Date: October 8, 2008

SEE MORE ON THE CHARLESTON COUNTY GREENBELT PROGRAM: http://www.smallchangeforbigchange.org/greenbelt.html

SEE APPROVED PROJECTS:

http://www.smallchangeforbigchange.org/pdfs/ApprovedProjectList.pdf

County Council Approves $1.9M in Rural Greenbelt Applications

          Greenbelt funds from the Transportation Half-Cent Sales Tax approved for nine projects to protect 821 acres

At a regular meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 7, Charleston County Council approved $1,930,500 for nine greenbelt projects that were submitted for funding under the County’s Rural Grant Program.

The projects will be funded by the greenbelt portion of the Transportation Half-Cent Sales Tax revenues.

All nine projects were approved by the Greenbelt Bank Board before they were brought to Charleston County Council for final approval. Applications for this round of funding consideration were received by July 31, 2008.

Now that Charleston County Council has approved funding, grant agreements will be executed between the County and the greenbelt grant recipients. Once all necessary documents (appraisals, plats, environmental assessments, title insurance, conservation easements, etc.) are submitted and approved, closings will be conducted and greenbelt funds disbursed.

The funding for the nine projects was awarded to the following entities:

• Edisto Island Open Land Trust: $640,000 for 144 acres

-     Two projects on Edisto Island to place conservation easements on adjacent properties located along Milton Creek. Both include working farms with open fields and pastures as well as ruins of the historic Thomas Bannister Seabrook Plantation.

• Lowcountry Open Land Trust: $1,197,500 for 674 acres

-     Five projects to place conservation easements on properties located on Edisto Island, Johns Island, Wadmalaw Island and the Charleston/Dorchester County line. These projects will preserve lands used for farming, protect Lowcountry natural resources and preserve scenic landscapes and views.

• Town of McClellanville: $93,000 for 3.27 acres

-     Two properties to be purchased by the Town of McClellanville for use as greenspace and to provide a link to connect two existing walking/biking trail systems. 

So far, the Charleston County Transportation Half-Cent Sales Tax has provided $32 million toward the preservation of greenspace in Charleston County, with $11 million dedicated for urban areas and $21 million for rural areas.

CLICK HERE for a list of the urban and rural greenbelt projects funded to date.

SIDEBAR –Application Approval Dates and Future Opportunities

URBAN GRANT PROJECTS

• The next round of Urban Grant Program projects will be up for discussion at the Thursday, Oct. 16, Charleston County Council finance committee meeting, with final approval possible at Council’s regular meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 21
  

• Eight urban projects will be on the committee’s Oct. 16 agenda, all of which were approved by the Urban Grant Review Committee on Tuesday, Sept. 9, and by the Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission on Monday, Sept. 22.
  

RURAL GRANT PROJECTS

• The next round of greenbelt project applications for the Rural Grant Program may be submitted through 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 31. Completed applications with required attachments shall be mailed or hand delivered to:

                  Charleston County Transportation Sales Tax Programs

                  Attn: Greenbelt Programs

                  4045 Bridge View Drive, Suite C204

                  North Charleston, SC  29405

• Any applications received after 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 31, will not be considered for this round of rural funding. Post marks will not be considered.

SIDEBAR – Background Information on the Charleston County Greenbelt Program

• The Charleston County Transportation Half-Cent Sales Tax referendum was approved by voters in November of 2004. Collection of the Transportation Sales Tax began in May 2005 and will continue for 25 years or until $1.303 billion is generated for transportation and greenspace related projects and improvements.
  

• Funds from the Transportation Half-Cent Sales Tax are distributed as follows:

-    $1,081,788,800 for highways, bridges, roads, streets and mass transit systems (such as CARTA - Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority, and RTMA - Rural Transportation Management Authority)

-    $221,571,200 for the Charleston County Greenbelt Program through an Urban and Rural Grants Program. The purpose of the grants program is to implement the County’s Greenbelt Plan for the conservation of greenspace in Charleston County.

For more information on the Charleston County Greenbelt Program, contact Cathy Ruff by phone at (843) 202-7204 or by e-mail at cruff@charlestoncounty.org.