Council to keep $800k playground set that was purchased, installed prior to approval
In yet another example of Beaufort County personnel disregarding procurement rules, nearly $800,000 of playground equipment was installed at the Port Royal Community Center on Richmond Ave. without the required Beaufort County Council approval. After discussions, the council decided to take no action and leave the equipment in place. As of last week, the playground and the equipment are still unavailable for use by local families.
The purchase was approved by County Parks and Recreation Director Shannon Loper. The equipment was installed in June and the county received invoices in July. The purchase wasn’t brought to council’s attention until September.
Beaufort County’s code of laws states that any purchase over $200,000 needs County Council approval. This $799,052 playground cost nearly four times that threshold.
On Sept. 25, months after the equipment was installed, the council was asked, for the first time, to approve. In an 8-2 decision, they voted to keep the equipment. Council members Paula Brown and David Bartholomew voted against approving the expense.
Before the final vote, Council member Bartholomew asked Assistant Administrator for Development Chuck Atkinson how much it would cost to remove and return the installed equipment. Atkinson replied, “I haven’t even contemplated removal of it.”
How did it happen?
The playground equipment situation was explained by Atkinson as “Confusion resulting from multiple playgrounds being purchased using the Sourcewell National Cooperative Contract for multiple sites throughout the county simultaneously and - a procedural sequencing error by staff.” He added, “the accessible playground was delivered and assembled prior to County Council approving the pending contract.”
Sourcewell National Cooperative works with a wide array of vendors to analyze bids from within their system and offer municipalities the best rates on equipment and other items.
Churchich Recreation, the vendor who sold the playground equipment through Sourcewell to Beaufort County. Churchich detailed to the Parks and Recreation Department that the Charleston County School District had tentatively ordered six accessible playgrounds but trimmed that order to five prior to issuing a formal purchase order. The sixth set was offered to Beaufort County with a discount of $95,801, according to Atkinson.
Churchich confirmed that in June they had a playground in production without a buyer and four different potential buyers were contacted and Beaufort County was the first to respond.
What should have happened?
Once the offer for discounted playground equipment was conveyed to the county, and when the total price exceeded the maximum expense a department could approve, the project should have been brought before County Council for a green light. Instead, the offer was made and accepted and brought to council months after the playground equipment was installed.
When is the park going to open?
“The playground will be opened once the project is finished,” said County spokesperson Hannah Nichols. “Beaufort County Public Works Department is working with the Town of Port Royal and a site engineer to install proper connectivity from the parking lot to the playground and the new accessible restrooms upon their completion.”
