Capital Projects
Cypress Gardens Park
Cypress Gardens was closed on October 13th, 2015 after suffering significant damage from the October, 2015 “Great Flood”. Supervisor Cribb visited the park at the end of his first day in office and committed to getting the park back open with the full support of county council.
After 3 ½ years of closure with no attempt to reopen, an all-hands effort commenced and on April 13, 2019, the park reopened with significant improvements. Cypress Gardens has more than doubled its previous annual record attendance and continues to not only thrive as a local park favorite, but receives visitors from around the country and world.
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Special thanks to Berkeley County Roads and Bridges, Facilities and Grounds, IT, and the Sheriff’s Office for their contributions and efforts.
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"It was so disheartening, month after month, with no word about reopening. As soon as Mr Johnny Cribb became County Supervisor, he made a visit to the gardens to see what it would take to get it open. He took office January 1, 2019 and, within his first week, had meetings with several County Departments and set a date of April 13, 2019 to re-open. It was to our great joy that we re-opened on that day. We look forward to volunteering at Cypress Gardens. Thanks to Mr Cribb, we retirees have something to keep us busy while helping to serve Berkeley County." - Bill and Dinah Foy, Del Webb Community in Cane Bay
Coroner's Office
Coroner Oliver presented an issue to Supervisor Cribb and County Council to address facility needs in the Coroner’s office. In partnership with the Berkeley County School District we were able to secure a facility that was no longer used. We converted it into an office and public service facility for the Coroner’s office and opened on February 10th, 2020. This new facility is more accessible to the public in their greatest time of need and will serve the needs or our Coroner’s office for many years to come.
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Special thanks to Berkeley County School District, Facilities and Grounds, Roads and Bridges, and IT for working alongside the Coroner’s office to complete this project.
Sheriff's Office Forensics Building
Sheriff Duane Lewis was in desperate need of a new facility for his Forensics team to operate out of and store evidence. Operating out of a small metal building with inadequate space being only one of many issues, Supervisor Cribb worked with County Council to build a new Forensics facility at the Live Oak Campus that was opened on January 21, 2021. This new facility allows for better collection and storage of evidence, fingerprinting, DNA, and all things the Sheriff’s office needs to process evidence and solve crimes.
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Special thanks to Berkeley County Roads and Bridges, IT, Facilities and Grounds, and our Forensics Team for their efforts on the project.
Animal Center
Berkeley County took over management of the animal center in January 2017 after previously providing funding to an outside agency that operated on a leased site. After years of serving in an aging and dilapidated set of facilities, Supervisor Cribb and County Council committed to building a new larger facility and campus on county owned property that was opened on June 14, 2021. This new facility better serves our dedicated staff and volunteers that work tirelessly caring for the animals and a more inviting place for the public to offer donations and experience the adoption process. Above all else, it’s a better facility for the animals in our care.
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Special thanks to Berkeley County Roads and Bridges, IT, Facilities and Grounds, generous donors, and our dedicated staff and volunteers for making this project a success.
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“Mr. Cribb was very instrumental in finding county land to build a new animal shelter. As the county continues to grow so does the huge number of animals and their needs continue to come into the shelter on a daily basis. The old shelter was way too small and was in great need of many repairs. Mr. Cribb answered the call by finding county land and had a new shelter built. He listened to the needs of the people and made it happen when all others said no. He has my vote and the votes of all the animals that come through these doors.” - Lisa Messersmith, Cane Bay Resident and Berkeley Animal Center Volunteer.
Veterans Affairs
Berkeley County is committed to providing the highest level of service to our Veterans and in 2021 took steps to do just that. The Veterans Affairs office was formerly located in a leased building that was inadequate in size and the county lacked the ability as tenants to fully address our needs. Supervisor Cribb and County Council opened up our new Berkeley County Veteran’s Affairs office on June 21, 2021 surrounded by many proud Veterans from throughout the county. The space in more accessible and inviting for our Veterans and gives our dedicated staff the resources needed to better serve our Heroes.
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Special thanks to Berkeley County Water and Sanitation, IT, and our dedicated staff for their efforts in making this project a success.
County Administrative Building Expansion
To serve the needs of a rapidly growing county and address critical facility needs, Supervisor Cribb worked with County Council to convert the former Food Lion facility next to the existing county administration building into a larger service facility for the public and meet the needs of our staff. The new building opened on February 21, 2021 and housed new facilities for the following areas:
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(Special thanks to Facilities and Grounds, Roads and Bridges, IT, and our dedicated staff for their efforts in making these improvements.)
Voter Registration
This office was moved from the Live Oak Campus where it was housed in an aging facility with inadequate space and lacked facility resources to meet the needs of our voting public and staff. The new facility is more accessible and provides significantly more climate controlled space to better serve the public and even on the busiest of days.
DMV
Berkeley County worked with the state to house a new motor vehicle location within the county office facility. The new DMV facility is not only larger and better staffed, it is also located in the same facility as the Auditor and Treasurer’ office thus making the process more convenient to meet the public’s needs.
911 Center
The former 911 center was located in a small metal building and not suitable or reliable to meet the emergency needs of the county. The new 911 center is housed in a Category V rated facility within the county building and has both the technology and backup capabilities needed to serve our first responders and community in our greatest times of need.
Emergency Operation Center
The former emergency operation center was housed at the live oak campus and in a location that was inadequate in space but also flooded historically. Like the 911 Center, the EOC is housed in a Category V rated facility and has the latest technology and space needed to operate out of during times of need. The EOC benefits from additional space within the county building needed during large and prolonged events and is more convenient for county staff and agency partners that are activated in emergencies.
Finance & Engineering Offices
The county expansion also provided significant office space for the Finance and Engineering Departments. This has resulted in greater inner office efficiencies and especially in the case of Engineering being collocated with the Planning and Building Departments.
Live Oak Campus
This county-owned facility houses the Sheriff’s office, Moncks Corner Magistrate’s office, EMS Headquarters, Roads and Bridges, Facilities and Grounds, Garage, Fuel Station, Radio Shop, Records Management and DSS. Facility improvements have been made to the entire site to include parking lot additions/repairs and facility improvements. Some of the specific improvements include a new dedicated office for Sheriff’s Department Investigators, new EMS storage facility, new radio shop, office and workshop improvements to the county maintenance garage, and improvements to the county’s records office and DSS facility.
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Special thanks to Facilities and Grounds, Roads and Bridges, IT, and our dedicated staff for their efforts in making these improvements.
Courthouse Parking
Parking has been an ongoing problem and issue at the county courthouse. Under the Cribb administration two additional parking lots have been competed adding over 125 parking spaces to the site.
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Special thank to Berkeley County Roads and Bridges.
Water, Sewer and Solid Waste
Water, Sewer and Solid Waste Infrastructure are critical elements to maintain and upkeep. Berkeley County Water and Sanitation (BCWS) is a county owned utility that is separate from Berkeley County Government (BCG). Funds collected by BCG (taxpayers) and BCWS (ratepayers) are expended only within the area of origin. BCWS has invested approximately $160,000,000 in the last four years on sewer plant upgrades, line replacements, pump station rebuilds, water system repairs and upgrades, and solid waste infrastructure. These expenses are born by the ratepayers and specifically with these projects, capital improvements funds collected from impact fees from new development pay for the upgrades associated with new development.
Water Projects
BCWS has invested over $117M is sewer related projects over the last four years. Over $26M of that total was to upgrade the lower and central wastewater treatment plants to handle additional flow. The balance of the funds went to upgrades and replacements to aging infrastructure. The county recently received a sewer grant totaling over $38M to address sewer needs at the Camp Hall industrial site providing outstanding job opportunities for our residents.
Water Projects
BCWS has invested over $36M in water projects since January 2019. Over $15M of these funds were used for the Dorchester-Berkeley water connect and the water main connection to Orangeburg for the Lake Marion water reach. Both projects are critical for the overall system, current residents, and future growth. Over $11M was allocated for the Cane Bay water tower/line extension to address water pressure issues in the growing area via impact fees.
Solid Waste
BCWS invested approximately $7M over the last four years addressing needs at the county convenience centers and landfill. We are fortunate to have a county owned and operated landfill with an estimated life extending beyond 70 years where county residents are able to take care of sanitation needs and at a low user rate.
