The Liberty County Development Authority held a special projects-committee meeting Wednesday to discuss improvement priorities for the Tradeport East Business Center.
The committee was charged with deciding which projects should take precedence after Monday’s board of directors’ meeting determined that priorities must be set before a fiscal-year 2015 budget can be finalized.
Four major projects — projected to total almost $1.5 million — are being considered: clearing and rough-grading a 16-acre site; filling two non-jurisdictional wetlands; expanding and redeveloping an existing borrow area; and regrading recently timbered areas that are holding water.
The committee stated at the outset that the nature of the individual projects would need to be considered. For example, the clearing and rough-grading of the 16-acre site would serve functional and aesthetic purposes by allowing prospective clients a better view of potential development sites, while the scope of the other three projects are more regulatory.
The committee also emphasized the need to make the most efficient use of funds possible by consolidating individual project components wherever it can.
The committee ultimately recommended keeping the funds in reserve until more information could be gathered and weighed. It was determined that a topographic survey would need to be conducted of the timbered areas before a decision could be made regarding regrading.
It also was decided that the 16-acre site-clearing, wetlands-filling and borrow area-redeveloping projects should be let for bid, in order to determine actual costs before approvals are made.
The final budget for FY 2015 will be adopted at the next LCDA board meeting June 30.