A Civic Center for Summerville?

Town council agreed today during the finance committee meeting to reaffirm funds towards a feasibility study for a civic center in a 6-1 vote, with Councilman Walter Bailey dissenting. 

The council already had agreed to commit $5,001 toward the Arts Business Civic Coalition's feasibility study earlier this year. But the coalition's executive director Cyndy Jackson, wife of Councilman Bob Jackson, had asked the council to reaffirm the funds, which will come from the hospitality tax fund. 

The coalition will provide $10,000 toward the study, but is seeking an additional $15,000 from public entities, including the town, Dorchester County School District Two and Dorchester County. So far, the county is the only body not to reaffirm the investment, according to Cyndy Jackson. 

The $25,000 feasibility study "tells us whether or not the town can support a civic center, where it should be located and what programs would get this self-sustaining," Jackson said.

Prior to the vote, Bailey asked that town attorney Mark Stokes review state restrictions on hospitality tax fund use to see if it was legal to appropriate funds for a feasibility study.

After some time reviewing the law, the town attorney reaffirmed hospitality tax funds can be used for a feasibility study — something he did earlier this year when the money was first committed to the study.

Bailey also said that the economic climate was not right for such a study or building a civic center.

"If this is feasible to do, we don't have the money to do it," Bailey said. "If it comes back the other way, we've lost money."

However, other council members disagreed that giving money to help fund the feasibility study would obligate the town to help fund building the civic center.

"If we give them the $5,001, that's where it stops," Councilman Aaron Brown said.

Bob Jackson said the benefit to the town would be extra tourism, largely sustained by private dollars.

"I see the prospect of the center as an economic tool," Jackson said. "You go to these little specks and they have civic centers. And we have nothing … What that would do to the economic growth for the town of Summerville is well worth investigating."

While his wife, Cyndy Jackson, serves as executive director of the 18-month-old coalition, she is unpaid. Bob Jackson said he did not abstain from a vote on this matter because it did not affect his family's income.