Mortgage Broker in Ladson, SC

Dorchester County citizens had an opportunity to offer feedback and voice concerns about streetscape improvements planned for Ladson Road at the Aug. 22 public meeting held at the Dorchester County Council Chambers.

Dorchester County personnel and consultant representatives from SeamonWhiteside, a local engineering and design firm, were on hand to discuss the project with citizens as a group and individually, as requested.

The well-attended meeting showcased a lively discussion during which citizens expressed their concerns, fears and frustrations over the project plans to date, as well as what is seen by many present as current problems that could be made worse going forward.

Construction of dedicated turn lanes at key intersections and installation of raised, landscaped medians with plantings and street lights are the key elements of the project. Video displays and print handouts were provided at the meeting to illustrate the plans under consideration. The project will impact the section of Ladson Road from the termination of the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) Dorchester Road Safety Improvement project to Coopers Ridge Boulevard.

“Last night’s meeting was the first step in soliciting public input, and we received many good comments that will be considered as we continue to move the design forward,” said Daniel Prentice, Deputy County Administrator. The meeting followed the DOT public comment requirements, according to Prentice.

The Ladson Road Streetscape Project is part of the Oakbrook Redevelopment Plan which was established in 2019. The plan outlines a comprehensive, multi-agency plan to revitalize the Oakbrook area. Funding comes from Tax Increment Financing (TIF), a method for financing redevelopment in blighted, conservation and sprawl areas of counties. TIF utilizes incremental increases in assessed value and property taxes to fund projects.

The price tag for the overall Oakbrook Redevelopment Plan now stands at $5 million, but county officials insist that it is not represented by a tax increase or impact fee.

“A TIF district is not a tax increase,” said Prentice. “The entities that levy millage (the rate at which property taxes are levied) partner to send tax dollars resulting from growth in assessments of new or improved buildings to the TIF fund which funds the public improvements. The public improvements, in turn, are used to continue to spur new private growth, increasing the overall vitality of the area.”

County personnel and officials projected their belief that by making the area more attractive for retail and restaurant activities, improving pedestrian and bike safety, improving infrastructure, reducing traffic and increasing safety and other upgrades, investment dollars will increase; new business and development will be established.

Presentation of the project leaned heavily on the aesthetic and beautification benefits to be realized, but county officials and staff also stressed improvement in safety as a major goal. “Data shows that safety will be improved by closing off the current open medians and guiding traffic through the use of dedicated turn lanes and restricting other turning movements due to the proposed medians,” said Prentice. “While one of the goals of the TIF district is beautification, the County believes that an additional positive outcome will be the function and safety of the corridor.”

Not everyone in attendance was convinced. Several citizens expressed frustration in their view that the county is giving priority to aesthetics over safety and functionality. Concerns voiced included existing poor access to certain businesses, which could increase under the plan; traffic load; difficulty of large and service vehicles to navigate turns; challenges of cyclists; maintenance costs associated with the use of plants versus other materials for division; and problems arising out of the overlap of traffic routes between counties.

One business owner, whose business requires drop-off traffic, complained that attracting new business and traffic, when existing businesses are negatively impacted by current road and traffic design, is not in the best interest of businesses along Ladson Road.

Proponents of the plan defended medians as a more modern design consideration for roadway construction and advocated for guiding traffic to dedicated turn lanes.

“Access management studies show that the true overall impact is not negative, although acclimation to the changes is required due to new traffic patterns,” said Prentice.

Construction on the Ladson Road Streetscape Project is slated to begin mid-2023, according to county personnel. Additional information on the Ladson Road project, Oakbrook Redevelopment Plan and TIF can be found on the Dorchester County website at https://www.dorchestercountysc.gov.

Public comments, written or oral, are invited.

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Charleston-based manufacturing company Bintelli is expanding its operation with a new 174,000-square-foot facility in North Charleston.

The facility, off Palmetto Commerce Parkway, opened last week and will focus on building golf carts and low-speed electric vehicles.

This marks the third expansion for Bintelli in the last three years.

“This new facility is a testament to the amazing work our dealer family has done over the last few years,” Bintelli Founder and President Justin Jackrel says. “As we are now operational in what I believe is the largest LSV (low-speed vehicles) manufacturing facility in America, we’re going to be able to even better support our dealer family with the additional vehicles, parts and support they need to continue their rapid growth nationwide.”

Another focus for the move was to have more space for employees so the building is a more comfortable workspace without limiting tight boundaries, says Kevin Marques, Bintelli Production Facility Manager.

“It keeps growing and the biggest thing is keeping the culture the same; we pride our employees and making sure everyone is happy,” Marques says. “We actually know each employee by name and I want to keep that feel here because I think that’s very important for us; that’s the biggest thing, as we grow, I just want to maintain the culture within the company.”

Bintelli assembled 7,000 vehicles last year and is on track to produce 12,000 this year, making the move to a larger facility necessary.

Bintelli says with this new facility, they will be able to keep up with the demand for low-speed electric vehicles and golf carts.

“This expansion is another step in solidifying ourselves at the forefront of the industry,” Bintelli Vice President Jason Perske said. “While faster order fulfillment and greater inventory availability is going to be an incredible asset for our dealer family, I’m far more excited about what this means for the additional levels of support we can offer. I’m excited for all of our dealerships to share in this huge announcement and incredibly thankful for all the support they show us every day.”

In addition to the recent facility expansions, Bintelli says they are also focused on expanding its support and production staff.

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LADSON, S.C. (WCBD)- The annual Coastal Carolina Fair is underway at Exchange Park in Ladson.

Most fairgoers have their eyes and stomachs on fair food for the first day.

“They always have good food and it’s just a good time to spend with family. They have a little arts and crafts center where you can see the students’ local talents,” said Jasmine Kelly.

“Sausage dogs and French fries. Walk around and look and see what’s going on,” said Woody Barsha.

One of the new food items on the menu is an Oreo cookie crusted turkey leg.

“No I don’t think so I’ll stick to French fries,” said Barsha.

“I can’t eat that much, but I will have an elephant ear,” said Kelly.

There are 10 new rides this year as well. One of them is a Ferris Wheel that’s 12 stories tall and comes from The Netherlands.

Fair organizers say that those new attraction and food items are great additions, but having a full-scale fair is also something to celebrate.

“We’re really excited about opening up because this is the first really big open fair we’ve had since COVID-19 has happened. We say ‘New in 22,’ and that’s what we’re doing because we have brand new rides, we have many new food vendors so we’re really excited about starting the year off right,” said Gary Leonard from the office of Media and Publicity Relations at the Coastal Carolina Fair.

Most families make the fair a tradition, but it’s even more special for Dan Caskey.

“Today’s my birthday. Every year I have a party and bring this to town to share with everybody else. It’s a great tradition. We love coming out here and having a fun time with the family,” said Caskey.

The fair runs for 12 days and hours of operation can be found here. A calendar of events can be found here.

LADSON, S.C. (WCBD) – Several people are sifting through what is left of their belongings after a major fire broke out at a Ladson storage facility on Tuesday morning.

The emergency call came in at 7:46 a.m. saying Ladson Self Storage was on fire. The fire destroyed a dozen units at the facility off Highway 78.

Wesley Cliff, who owns Living Rock Landscapes, keeps tools, equipment, and some vehicles for his company at the storage facility.

“I was on my way to work this morning and I pull up to the front of the gate and there’s a guy out there – he’s bleeding from his head, and he just asked for help, and call 9-1-1,” said Cliff.

Cliff said he was just trying to figure out what was going on.

“I look in through the gate and I see up there, I mean there’s smoke everywhere. So, I drive to the back and there’s multiple units on fire,” he recalled.

The fire was ripping through the storage units.

“There was another guy running from the back- he’s coming up to the front saying call 911, and about that time these guys were already here, and they pulled in there and they started getting everything unloaded and started fighting the fire and cutting the doors open. It was a pretty big fire. Got pretty big for a minute,” said Cliff.

12 units were destroyed by fire or heavy smoke damage.

“Units went to work immediately pulling hand lines, starting to extinguish the fire,” explained Battalion Chief Charles Evans with C&B Fire Department.

Numerous fire departments responded. The cause of the fire is undetermined at this point.

And as for the man with blood on his head, officials told News 2 he had minor injuries that did not require EMS transportation.

“Sounds like he was in the unit, perhaps fell down a ladder or some stairs, and one of the units when he was trying to get away to report the fire,” said Batt. Chief Evans.

“Luckily for us, it wasn’t one of our units. But unfortunately, there were some other contractors back there. It was their units; it’s a total loss for those guys. It’s sad that that stuff happens, but they got here fast, they got it put out pretty quickly,” said Cliff.

Crews were on the scene for several hours as they worked to extinguish the flames.

LADSON, S.C. (WCIV) — It's that time of year again! The annual Coastal Carolina Fair kicks off this week in Ladson with some brand new rides and foods.

The fair opens this Thursday and Friday from 3 to 9 p.m.

This year's fair will run from Thursday, Oct. 27 to Sunday, Nov. 6.

RIDES

There will be around 65 rides in total this year, including some new ones.

Thrill seekers will be excited to see the largest rollercoaster AND Ferris wheel they've had yet. The Ferris wheel is over 100-ft tall.

“We’ve got a brand-new carnival. It’s a big deal for us. We had a very long relationship with the last one, and this one had some opportunities to bring some new coasters, rollercoasters in. Some great rides, and we just couldn’t pass it up,” said Coastal Carolina Fair’s media relations spokesperson, Jay Wallace.

The Coastal Carolina Fair returns Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022. ABC News 4 reporter Sean Mahoney spoke to organizers about fair rides. (WCIV)

FOOD

A wide variety of tasty treats are on the menus: barbeque sandwiches, cinnamon rolls, bread pudding, funnel cakes, deep fried brownies- and the list goes on and gets more creative.

Some other options will include funnel cakes, elephant ears, and award-winning jalapeno corndogs.

Be sure to look out for the Oreo-encrusted turkey leg!

ENTERTAINMENT

In addition to rides and food, fairgoers will find lots of other entertainment.

The Coastal Carolina Fair returns Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022. ABC News 4 reporter Sean Mahoney spoke to organizers about the petting zoo. (WCIV)

TICKETS

Coastal Carolina Fair officials suspended online ticket sales until further notice after fraudulent activity was detected Wednesday.

Tickets can be purchased at Circle K stores or at the fair gates for the time being.

Credit and cash are accepted at the gate ticket booths, but only credit is accepted at the kiosks located at each entry gate.

Fair officials said do not buy tickets from people that approach you or posted online.

Check the fair's calendar for special discount days for seniors and more.

TICKET PRICES THROUGH OCTOBER 26TH:

TICKET PRICES BEGINNING OCTOBER 27TH:

The Coastal Carolina Fair returns Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022. ABC News 4 reporter Sean Mahoney spoke to organizers about fair safety, attendance expectations, and charities helped. (WCIV)

SAFETY

The use of metal detectors and a clear plastic bag policy will continue for this season, and that there will be plenty of security. Some of it will be around the clock during the fair’s two-week run.

“The No. 1 rule we have around here that tells us if we’ve had a good fair is if we’ve had a safe fair," said Coastal Carolina Fair’s media relations spokesperson Jay Wallace.

All rides are inspected by multiple agencies, Grimm said.