North Augusta councilmembers had a buffet of items to review during the July 25 study session.
Agenda items for the August first included another review of the ordinance clearing the way for the Highland Springs development. It is scheduled for second reading at the August regular meeting. The 1,368-acre project, bounded by S.C. Highway 25/Edgefield Road, Ascauga Lake Road, Belvedere-Clearwater Road, Blanchard Road and S.C. Interstate-520/Palmetto Parkway, passed first reading on July 18.
A second planning item prompted some questions and concerns from councilmembers and Mayor Briton Williams.
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Property owner Greg Kenrick is asking the city to rezone 10.73 acres at 107 Bergen Road from planned development to thoroughfare commercial. It would clear the way for construction of a Love’s Travel Stops and Country Store at the site near exit one off Interstate 20.
Planning department director Tommy Paradis said South Carolina Department of Transportation is not going to give the business a curb cut on W. Martintown Road, access would be off Bergen Road. The applicant will have to do a traffic study. They will put in turn lanes and infrastructure for a traffic light. Love’s would cover those costs.
“When those trucks are coming from Columbia down, that is a compact area and truck congestion, 18-wheeler congestion, is totally different that car congestion, in my opinion,” said Williams. “Congestion is one concern I have. The other to me personally is more maybe philosophical, but I guess my question that I’ve got to come to terms with is how does this improve the quality of life for citizens of North Augusta?”
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Councilmen Bob Brooks and Kevin Toole also expressed concerns about the project’s impact on the location.
Councilman Eric Presnell agreed with the concerns but said it won’t just be truckers coming off the interstate using the business. He said people with campers, pulling boats or trailers, heading to the lake will stop there because the layout is easier to maneuver.
“We travel on an interstate and I pull over, generally I’ll stop at a Pilot or a Love’s. The bathrooms are cleaner, it does have the restaurants and things. So, I don’t think it’s just necessarily for truckers,” he said. “I’d like to see a traffic study first to see exactly how they’re going to be able to get the traffic in and out.”
Representatives from Cranston Engineering presented councilmembers with the plan for a floating boat dock at Riverside Village.
Civil engineer Ton Dunaway said the site is just east of the Sharon Jones Amphitheater, right behind SRP Park.
“We chose a location that starts the project essentially where the concrete Greeneway ended and the older, asphalt trail started,” he said.
The dock would be about 60 feet long along the Greeneway and 12 feet wide. There will be six slips for boats with a 50-foot gangway. The landscape and hardscape plan shows trees and flowers along with a boat dock plaza with benches and a covered area.
The plan faces an extensive permitting process, including by the U.S. Corps of Engineers. It’s hoped the boat dock will be finished in about a year. The engineering firm estimates it will cost just under $300,000 with a contingency fund of about $158,000 to build the dock and amenities.
City Administrator Jim Clifford provided an update on construction projects for the city’s public safety department, beginning with the new fire station being build on W. Martintown Road at Observatory Avenue.
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It was planned that the station would be operation at the beginning of this year. Clifford said the project was held up because of a delay in the delivery of pre-engineered steel along with a delay in specialized roofing insulation.
“However, I can report that we’ve actually started the three major concrete pours associated with this facility. The first one happened this morning, and the second one is slated to happen later this week. With a third and final concrete pour next week,” he said. “We have IT lined up to do installations on both the first and the ninth of August. And then we’ll have at some point in time thereafter, the installation of the parking lot itself and then finalizing landscaping and working through some of the punch list items.”
Clifford anticipates the station will open in October with a ribbon cutting ceremony and open house for people to tour the new facility.
He next moved to an update on the new Public Safety headquarters that will be built on Georgia Avenue at Observatory Avenue.
He presented a new rendering with the latest design for the building. He said the design phase is about 75% complete. That will be followed by permitting, bidding, awarding a contract. He expects construction to begin in January or February 2023.
He said asbestos remediation is complete on one of the old structures on the site and that work should be done on the other building next week.
“I had some discussions with the Arts and Heritage Council and they have a desire to potentially pull some of the items on the outside of the facilities,” he said. “So, I will propose a resolution for approval for the council to allow for that arrangement, if you will. So, it’s not just random people going up there and pulling things off the building that we have a relationship with, that can go ahead and hold on to those for historical purposes.”
He said ultimately the buildings will be removed by an outside party or they will be demolished.
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a general assignment reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com
