Spartanburg County eyes funds to develop jail, park

Spartanburg County Council took the first steps Monday in approving a five-year, $142.5 million capital improvement plan - a plan that would fund a major expansion of the county jail, a huge park with ball fields and water slides near Duncan and several road, intersection and bridge projects.

The plan would be funded with local, state and federal tax dollars, along with multiple grants, nearly $28 million accumulated from the Spartanburg County road maintenance fee and a $35 million general obligation bond that must be issued early in the 2008-09 spending cycle, which begins in July.

"It makes sure the roads that we drive on, the buildings the government works in and the public uses, the cars that the sheriff's deputies drive - all those things are planned for," Assistant County Administrator Tom Gates said. "It's all those things that help us plan for the future, to make sure all of those services can be provided."

Capital projects typically involve buildings, vehicles or other property, and usually involve construction, renovation or maintenance.

Among those planned in Spartanburg County:

-- The largest project on the table is a $32.4 million expansion of the Spartanburg County Detention Center. The jail has long struggled with overcrowding, housing an average of 800 inmates a day despite having the capacity to hold only 436. The expansion project would add extra "pods" and a detached dormitory-style building, bringing the capacity up to nearly 900 beds.

-- The development of an almost $20 million West Spartanburg Regional Park. The 137-acre park would be between Gano and Dillard roads near Duncan. It would include nature trails, a nine-diamond baseball complex with two concession/restroom facilities and a $7.7 million water park.

The park is being billed as a tourism magnet, attracting people from throughout the Upstate and generating enough revenue to cover the eventual operational costs. Construction likely would begin in autumn 2009.

-- Between $4 million and $5 million would be spent each year to repave roads. A list of roads to be repaved during the next spending cycle is not complete yet, though the county has repaved 117 roads in the current fiscal year.

Other highway projects include the widening of Fairforest Road between Business 85 and New Cut Road; adding turning lanes and a traffic signal at the intersection of Hampton and Holly Springs roads; constructing left-turn lanes on Zion Hill Road and Plainview Drive where they intersect with Highway 29; extending Caldwell Drive about 3,000 feet from its dead-end to connect with Reidville Road; and widening Gin House Road between Abner Creek and Kist roads.

At this point, the plan also includes about $600,000 over the next five years to be spent on paving dirt roads. Those funds would cover nine roads, beginning with Suttles Road and Wildlife Trail.

"If we can bring more of these dirt roads into the system, I think it would make the road maintenance fee pill a little easier to swallow," County Council Chairman Jeff Horton said.

Administrators said they would take Horton's suggestion into consideration. The $25 road fee has been a source of controversy since its inception.

The county has about 70 miles of dirt roads, and it costs roughly $100,000 a mile to pave a road, Public Works Director Mike Garrett said.