Charleston Ways and Means approves Army Corps design funding, $2M TIFF for senior housing and park restroom contract

The Committee on Ways and Means for the City of Charleston met May 26, 2026, and approved a series of routine grants, contracts and funding commitments, including local shares for pre‑construction work on the Battery extension and a $2 million Cooper River Bridge TIFF allocation for senior housing.

The committee voted to allocate $2.9 million as the city’s 35% portion for pre‑construction engineering and design with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the Battery extension project and approved an additional $800,000 in two amendments to Black & Beach for related work. A council member described the action as placing previously approved money into pre‑construction engineering for the western and eastern alignments of the extension. “It’s a great opportunity for us to get it right on the front end,” the council member said.

The committee also approved a $2 million allocation from Cooper River Bridge TIFF funds for construction expenses on an 88‑unit senior rental housing project being developed by the Humanities Foundation. The funding carries a 35‑year affordability restriction, and a council member said the allocation fulfills obligations the city committed to about four or five years ago.

On capital projects, the committee approved a $163,418 goods and services contract with ROMtech for delivery of a prefabricated restroom structure at Plymouth Park. Parks staff member Mr. Mo told the committee that site constraints — including overhead lines and trees — make heavy pre‑cast concrete units impractical and that the metal ROMtech unit provides the needed function. A council member estimated total installed costs for similar park restrooms, including utilities and installation, could be about $400,000.

The panel approved submitting required documents and an application for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant program for program year 2026–27 and also approved filing an application for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Summer Break Café program. The transcript records for some dollar figures related to those applications and several software/support renewals were garbled and therefore amounts are listed as not specified in the record.

Other approved items included multiple procurement renewals and expansions (thermal imaging cameras for the fire department among them), a contract framework for a portable traffic signal system funded by state signalization with Bullseye Equipment and Supply, and a final amendment with the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina Community Housing Development Organization to return previously granted affordable‑housing funds to the city and transfer remaining properties to the city. The committee also authorized the mayor to execute a license agreement with the College of Charleston for use of the Holly Institute of Art for a public art installation.

All motions on the agenda were moved, seconded and carried by voice vote. The committee adjourned with no further public items on the agenda.