At its meeting last Wednesday (Aug. 20) Cayce City Council rejected a Hazard Mitigation Grant grant that required a $7.25 million match from Cayce taxpayers. 

The grant would have provided $21 million, in addition to the $7.25 million, and would have resulted in a tax increase and a dip into the city’s fund balance to address flooding on the Avenues. $.7.25 million is one-third of Cayce’s annual operating budget.

The Avenues are currently undergoing  a $10 million infrastructure project, designed to reduce flooding and improve storm drainage. The price tag of the grant match was deemed too high and it did not cover every district in Cayce. 

Instead, council agreed to move forward with a plan that would allow City Manager Mike Conley to put together an in-house team that would go to areas where there is flooding and implement an innovative program to combat it.

“We have directed the city manager to put together a plan,” Councilman Hunter Sox said. Details will be reported by Conley at Council’s at Sept. 2 meeting.  

“We need to maintain and upkeep the infrastructure in place the best we can,” said Sox. “While I hate to halt grant opportunities, the match was just not fiscally responsible, especially since the grant addressed only a specific portion of our city. The plan we have agreed on will focus on storm water issues and hazard mitigation citywide, and will help other neighborhoods like Fairlawn and Churchill Heights, who have their own unique storm water infrastructure issues. I see the plan as a proactive approach to addressing these long-term issues head on, and is one I think can have an immediate impact on residents, their properties, and their daily lives.”  

Cayce Mayor Pro-Tem Tim James said the agreement council reached is a positive reaction. 

“The open discussion about Storm Water Mitigation  during the Aug. 20, Council meeting was one of the most productive leadership conversations of recent times. And it led to a program that supports the communities requests, while allowing the city manager to provide ideas that fit core missions.  Education, Mitigation and Maintenance is our best and most cost effective step forward,” James said. “The plan will allow our staff to respond to the needs of our citizens, instead of deferring their plea to another agency. And we’ll be able to respond to minor issues before they become major flood issues.”

James said he has witnessed drainage ditches that are overgrown, where pipes are clogged with water run-off debris. He said the ditches are not clean because state and county maintenance departments bicker over who is responsible and Cayce residents suffer the consequences. 

Under the plan devised at Wednesday’s meeting, Cayce’s City Staff will put together and fund a team to clean out the ditches, with flooded areas being placed as a priority.

Councilmen Phil Carter, Sox and Byron Thomas noted that neighborhoods including Julius Felder, and Riverland Park would be included in the new plan, not just the Avenues.

“We need to make sure we find solutions while we’re fiscally responsible, ” Thomas said.  
Conley said City Staff  will still seek funding opportunities for big storm water projects.