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Columbia City Council meeting • November 29, 2006 • 8 am• City Hall
Roll call City council convened Wednesday morning, November 29, at 8 am for its executive session. Around 9:30, council began its planning session.
Federal legislative update Barbara McCall , Columbia's Washington lobbyist, reviewed the city's interests in Congress. After several years of cuts, both the House and the Senate versions of the FY 2007 Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill (HR 5576) call for an increase for community development block grants (CDBG). As a result of the Supreme Court's decision in Kelo v. Connecticut, Congress moved to restrict the use of eminent domain by local governments. The FY 2006 Transportation, Treasury and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act forbids the use of federal funds for any projects in which a local government uses eminent domain to transfer private property from one private owner to another private owner. Council established priorities in a numerical sequence as directions to McCall:
(2) North Main Street, (3) Harden Street, (4) youth gangs/law enforcement, (5) affordable housing. The Innovista's riverfront development costs were seen as too high to take a number for now, not until there's more planning in the process, to include a public hearing. The city is expected to cough up 35% of the total cost of $75 million, for now.
Local legislative update Ron Fulmer , Jack West , and Joe Grant offered observations on the city's status with the state legislature. Sen. Jake Knotts's bill on gangs (S79) appears promising. Sen. Robert Ford of Charleston is a big backer. West declared property tax relief on high-end housing was just about the worst legislation of the past year. The tax burden shifted from the well-to-do homeowner to the small business owner, sometimes the same person. Council was told not to expect any rise in cigarette taxes or gasoline taxes to offset the fall in expensive home taxes.
Capital improvements Steve Gantt , assistant city manager, tabulated the city's capital improvement projects for the past two years plus some current and uncompleted contracts. Gantt's numbers were exact. Here are rounded totals:
Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center construction cost: $37,100,000 ($262 psf) completion: September 21, 2004
Southeast Vista District Infrastructure
completion: July 18, 2005
Columbia Canal Front construction budget: $8,100,000 completion: 2008
Esplanade construction budget: $4,700,000 completion: 2008
Convention Center Hotel Parking Deck construction budget: $20,800,000 completion: April 30, 2007
Parking Deck at Lady and Lincoln construction budget: $10,500,000 completion: 2008
Parking Deck at Blanding and Sumter (on hold)
Parking Deck at Taylor and Sumter (on hold)
Harden Street/5 Points construction contract: $29,400,000 completion: February 5, 2007
Main Street, Phase I, Gervais to Hampton construction contract: $5,500,000 completion: early 2007
Main Street, Phase II, Hampton to Laurel construction budget: $7,500,000 completion: 2008(?)
Lady Street construction contract: $10,300,000 completion: early 2007
North Main Street, Phase IA, Elmwood to Parkside; Phase IB, Fuller to Fairfield construction budget: $29,300,000 completion: 2008(?)
Two Notch Road Utility Relocations construction cost: $3,400,000 completion: August 21, 2006
North Main Fire Station Renovations construction cost: $660,000 completion: April 4, 2006
HOPE VI - Lower Saxon construction cost: $2,500,000 completion: (began June 9, 2003)
Columbia NE Fire and Police Station No. 4 construction contract: $1,900,000 completion: June 25, 2007
Wayfinding Sign Project contract: $224,300 completion: July 5, 2007
Sunset Boulevard/Avant Park Central Project construction budget: $150,000 completion: 2007(?)
Hampton Street Pedestrian Bridge Demolition contract: $127,000 completion: early 2007
North Harden Street funding to date: $1,800,000 completion: 2008(?)
Water Projects construction cost: $66,800,000
Professional Services, Water Projects contracts: $7,700,000
Sewer Projects construction cost: $60,000,000
Professional Services, Sewer Projects contracts: $11,500,000
Storm Drain Projects construction cost: $4,700,000
Professional Services, Storm Drain Projects contracts: $2,000,000
Professional Services, Non-CIP (A&E, mostly) contracts: $5,700,000
Note : Missing is the architecture/engineering fee for the convention center, as contracted with Stevens & Wilkinson of SC.
Total Construction Cost: $324,800,000
Total Professional Services Fees: $27,900,000
Next meeting Council meets Wednesday morning, December 13, at 9. A business improvement district (BID) appeal hearing is scheduled for 10. Both meetings are on the third floor of City Hall, corner of Laurel and Main.
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