Beaufort County Disabilities and Special Needs Department wants new residential facility, help from state

Leaders of the Beaufort County Department of Disabilities and Special Needs say they need a new residential facility in Port Royal and plan to ask the state to lend a hand.

The current facility on Old Shell Road in Port Royal was built more than two decades ago and is rapidly aging, county DSN director Bill Love told members of the Beaufort County Council’s Community Services Committee on Monday.

“Today, that building is inadequate,” he said. “It no longer provides the support and space needed.”

But county officials can’t unilaterally decide to raze the facility and build a new one because the building is owned by the state and leased to DSN.

If the state were to sell the property, the proceeds would not necessarily flow back to the county for DSN to use to build a replacement facility, County Councilman Bill McBride said.

County leaders are in the process of reaching out to local South Carolina legislators to request that the state sell the property and funnel the revenue from that sale back to DNS.

“It’s a beautiful piece of property,” Love said. “I don’t think there would be a problem selling it.”

He said the property was appraised several years ago for roughly $1.5 million.

The Port Royal facility serves 15 residents who have “developmental disabilities … and issues associated with aging, such as Alzheimer’s (disease) and other (forms of) dementia,” according to county documents.

“Current state standards call for a (residential facility similar to one in Port Royal) to accommodate no more than six to eight individuals,” the documents say.

Many of the Port Royal residents live two to a room, Love said.

“A lot of them are in wheelchairs and need personal care,” he said. “... There is very little privacy, and there isn’t a lot of common space for families visiting.”

Ideally, a new facility — even if it serves fewer people at a given time — would allow residents to live in individual rooms, Love said.

County Councilwoman Cynthia Bensch wondered Monday whether county taxpayers might be better served renovating the current facility rather than building a new one.

Love said the age and layout of the building would make it cost prohibitive to renovate.

Its location, near the edge of a marshy area, is also a concern that could not be addressed by renovating the current facility, he said.

“In most cases, you would not want (residents) with disabilities that close to the water,” Love said, citing several potentially dangerous instances in the past in which residents tried exploring the marsh.

County leaders will likely soon send an official letter to state lawmakers requesting support for the property sale and access to the proceeds.

In other council action

▪  During the Beaufort County Council’s regular session Monday evening, the board gave final approval to a $225,000 financial incentive package to help Harris Pillow Supply expand its Beaufort manufacturing operation.

▪  Council members voted in favor of using $175,000 in accommodations tax revenue to help fund Santa Elena Foundation projects.

▪  The board moved forward a zoning change that could pave the way for development at the Pepper Hall property in Okatie. A final vote on the issue will likely come next month.

This story was originally published September 26, 2016 at 7:44 PM with the headline "Beaufort County Disabilities and Special Needs Department wants new residential facility, help from state."