Another Transparency Failure!

On Monday December 1, we picked up rumors of a County/Town meeting planned for Friday Dec. 6, 2024 to discuss the Route 278 Corridor situation. When we searched for Public Notice of this meeting, we found none. When we asked Town and County Council representatives about this meeting, they also had no knowledge of it. After more digging by a Council member, the message below was received on Thursday afternoon 12/5/24.

“Good afternoon,

To confirm, yes there is a meeting set for tomorrow to discuss the 278 project.  The meeting is not a public meeting, therefore attendance by council members is limited and zoom is not an option.

The number of council members attending the meeting has already been selected. 

Thanks,

Mike” 

More questions by another Council member produced the note below on late afternoon Thursday 12/5/24. It smells like an attempted face-saving measure.

It is clear from this dialog that a secret Corridor meeting was planned by County Chairman Passsiment, excluding and without notifying the public or even other Town and County Councilpersons! 

The names on the list include pretty much everyone involved in blocking public input and unbiased scientific review of the Corridor Project over the years, including creation of Memorandums of Agreement (MOAs) that have hamstrung the Town and delayed the project. This list looks like a Who’s Who of a secret government, not even involving fellow councilpersons.

We are now at a project crossroads, with an over-budget, widely unpopular corridor plan collecting  over 11,6000 negative citizen comments, a $190 million shortfall that the county tried to bail out with their recent failed referendum, and the SCDOT/State Infrastructure Bank (SIB) threatening to pull the plug by 3/31/25 unless the shortfall is filled by taxpayers.

There are solutions, if the honest members of Town and County Council push for a fair evaluation of better plans in the interval from now to 3/31/25. 

*** Under no circumstances should the hunt to fill the funding gap for the present overpriced - underperforming SCDOT plan divert us from looking for better options. ***

I have submitted to Town and County Councils a draft of one such approach: Plan B - The Tight Bypass which solves the 3-light congestion, Stoney intrusion, direct CIP link, and worker commute problems, and could be built in stages close to the present budget. It basically reduces the bridge size, cost, and environmental impact in order to devote more effort to the downstream congestion issues. 

(email  steve181new@gmail.com for a copy of this 21 page plan.) 

This plan needs a fair and transparent review, including needed fine tuning by qualified SCDOT road engineers. It is hoped that in doing that, even better Plans C and D will emerge. 

I urge the honest members of Town and County Councils to push hard for the scientific creation, review and comparison of alternate plans by 3/31/25, including review in transparent town meetings permitting 2-way Q/A of SCDOT and other engineers, and more than an ignored 3 minutes of public comments. 

Do not let the secret society in the attached email once again disrespect voters to delay and derail this project. 

Steven M. Baer  MSEE   Beaufort County Council, retired