Palmetto Sites Program 2016 Program Overview

The South Carolina Department of Commerce has initiated the Palmetto Sites Program. During the Palmetto Sites Program, participants will be asked to gather data on the property’s availability, developability, zoning, transportation, and utility infrastructure among other items. Having this information is critical in order to be competitive, and to quickly and accurately respond to requests for proposals. Palmetto Site is a property in which the applicant has accumulated substantial data about the property’s characteristics and infrastructure in order to effectively respond to information requests for industrial projects.

The Columbia Canal study

The consulting firm of Wilbur Smith and Associates was contracted by the South Carolina Department of Archives and History and the city of Columbia through the City's Landmarks Commission to prepare a feasibility study and conceptual master plan for lands adjoining and related to the Columbia Canal. The study area for the project includes the waterfront on both sides of the three Columbia rivers from a mile south of the Blossom Street Bridge on the Congaree to about a half mile south of I-20 on the Broad, and to about a half mile above the Riverbanks Zoo on the Saluda. The recommendations resulting from this study appear in Chapter 10 and are the conclusions of the study team's evaluations summarized i n the nine preceding chapters.

Evaluating Methods of Calculating the Fixed Fee on Professional Service Contracts

The South Carolina Department of Transportation routinely retains Professional Consulting Engineering firms to provide engineering design and related professional services for the preparation of construction plans or design-build Request for Proposal bid packages for a wide variety of Federal-aid Highway Program roadway and bridge construction projects throughout South Carolina.The purpose of this project is to examine the current process of determining a "Fair and Reasonable" fixed fee for professional service contracts and to evaluate possible alternative methods including practices in other states that may improve the process, particularly in light of the considerable variation in audited overhead rates among consulting firms. In reviewing such alternative methods particular attention will be given to evaluating the potential impact of the method as an incentive to consulting firms to effectively manage their overhead costs.

Utilizing Electronic Signatures and Electronic Form Filling to Streamline Document Approval Process

This CPM project focuses on the document approval process that the Division of State Human Resources consulting team utilizes as it relates to classification and compensation requests, e.g. job reclassifications, PD update requests, and salary requests. The ultimate goal is to become more efficient by utilizing electronic signatures and electronic form filling to streamline the current process of document approvals.