City approves $1.2 million Public Safety Expansion
On January 19, the Folly Beach City Council held a public hearing to discuss and vote on plans for expanding the City’s Public Safety facilities. While there were seven members of Council counting Mayor Carl Beckmann, it was the vote of Tom Scruggs that proved to be the tipping point.
Scruggs had previously been among the four person majority who voted against the original “Cadillac” version of the plan which would have also included a remodeling of City Hall to provide more space for staff and would have cost an estimated $1.7 million. Everyone seemed to determined to vote the same way they had previously, prompting those in favor of the plan to predict its failure during the public meeting. It was obvious, though, as the group voted that Scruggs was on the fence. His head was down and took several moments to think when it was his turn before voting yes, ensuring a passing of the plan by a 4-3 margin.
Scruggs later said that he originally voted “no” late last year because he wanted the City to explore other options before dedicating itself to spending $1.7 million of tax payer money. Dave Stormer had also presented a plan that he believed would provide the extra space necessary and would only cost $600,000. However, after further analysis it was thought the Stormer plan would cost at least $900,000. It was at that point that Scruggs began to move onto Mayor Carl Beckmann’s bandwagon to support the original plan. Everyone agreed that more space was needed and Scruggs did not believe the goal would be achieved any other way.
The plan that was passed on January 19 is a “basic” version that only addresses the Public Safety Building and does not include City Hall. It will create a second floor for sleeping quarters and other offices and will house the police department as well which is currently on the first floor of City Hall. That space will be utilized to give City Staff, still in City Hall, more space. While the plan is estimated to cost anywhere between $1.2 and $1.3 million, it was made public that the actual cost will be more. The City has to comply with County Codes that requires an estimated 73,000 in renovations. Furthermore, there are costs associated with the temporary housing of fire personnel and equipment during the construction that was taken into account. There is also the possibility of water damage in the walls that may have to be addressed but was not researched because Mayor Beckmann did not consider this cost worth discovering until the plan was passed.
Tom Scruggs, Mayor Beckmann, Laura Beck, and Charlie McCarty were the four members of the City Council which voted in favor of the plan. The Council will hold its next regular meeting on January 26 at 7pm at City Hall.
