The Berkeley Independent recently reported on the future of the Moncks Corner YMCA and the unconfirmed chatter about its future. Officials with the branch offered up some answers, now confirming the facility’s future is certainly, uncertain.

According to an emailed response from Ryoko Abbott, the Greater Charleston YMCA’s Marketing Director the site is not closing or up for sale — yet. But said if the facility is sold, the Monck’s Corner branch will be closed.

“We do not have any detailed date or timeline at this point. Since 2009, the YMCA of Greater Charleston has made several attempts to provide a meaningful and safe YMCA experience to the community residents of Berkeley County,” the response stated.

“This effort [Moncks Corner branch] has seriously challenged the financial capabilities of our organization. Currently, the Berkeley County Family YMCA is in need of substantial improvement which our organization is unable to provide. As a result of these challenges, and following much discussion and deliberation, the Board of Directors and staff management team of the YMCA of greater Charleston have decided to sell the Berkeley County Family YMCA facility.”

The Berkeley County Family YMCA opened in 1994 and since then, according to its website, it has strived to provide low cost programs for families. The Berkeley County YMCA serves over 3,000 members and program participants in Berkeley County.

The facility provides a variety of Health and Wellness services for infants to senior citizens. With the indoor swimming pool in Berkeley County, this YMCA provides educational lifeguard courses and training, senior citizens water aerobics, swim programs for local elementary schools and a variety of other services which promote the health and wellness of the entire community.

As far as the community is concerned, Abbott states the YMCA will make sure Berkeley is served if something does happen in the future.

“For the current Berkeley County Family YMCA members, arrangements have been made to grandfather all current YMCA members into our YMCA facility at Cane Bay for a term of one year effective on the closing date of this property,” the email stated. “In addition, YMCA youth sports, fitness and other YMCA programming, will continue throughout the Berkeley County community in various satellite locations. Every effort will be made to provide current staff members an opportunity to continue their service with our organization.”

And all is not lost just yet. Moncks Corner residents may not have make the long commute to Cane Bay to get in their physical fix. There are some other plans that may be in the works, but it’s still early in the game.

“The YMCA of Greater Charleston is considering offers from developers that may result in a partnership with a new amenity for the Moncks Corner Community,” Abbot notes. “No decisions have been made at this time. Our intention is to continue to have a high level go service in the Moncks Corner, Berkeley County Community.”

In what promises to be a family-friendly day of history, reenactments and games, Old Santee Canal Park, the Berkeley County Museum and Lord Berkeley Conservation Trust are welcoming visitors of all ages to their Colonial Day and Fort Fair Lawn grand opening, which kicks off at 10 a.m. on Sept. 24 at 900 Stony Landing Road in Moncks Corner.

The occasion marks the grand opening of Fort Fair Lawn, situated a mile away from Old Santee Canal Park.

Fort Fair Lawn is one of only two earthen military strongholds left in the United States, recounts Berkeley County Museum Director Chelsy Proper, with the other being Star Fort at the Ninety Six Historic Site, about 60 miles south of Greenville.

The Sept. 24 event will allow spectators to see Fort Fair Lawn in its current state, along with taking in reenactments provided by performers dressed in colonial attire. Some of the on-site actors will be armed with muskets and they may even fire off a canon or two.

As for the historical significance of the site, Proper explains that Fort Fair Lawn was actually built in the late 1770s by the British as a holding area to store their military armaments.

“They had it here because it’s close to the Cooper River and they were able to get their supplies up here. Moncks Corner was strategic during the revolution because it was kind of the gateway to Charleston,

“They really wanted to capture Charleston — which they did. The fort was held by the British until (late) 1781, when the patriots came in and attacked [it] and took it over.”

From that point, American troops never utilized Fort Fair Lawn, as the structure was left to be surrounded in overgrown vegetation while it progressively sank deeper into the ground.

And though it was practically abandoned by American forces, centuries later, historian Douglas Bostick of the South Carolina Preservation Battleground Trust describes the site in glowing terms by stating: “Fort Fair Lawn is probably the most pristine, intact original American Revolutionary War fortification in South Carolina, if not the country.”

Over the next 240 years after its abandonment, many locals would go drink beers at the fort or even ride their go carts around the old fortress.

So, while much of the action and reenactment activities are taking place at the fort site on Sept. 24, those who seek a deeper understanding of what transpired in Moncks Corner and the surrounding Charleston area during the American Revolutionary War period can drop in on a lecture at Old Santee Canal Park. The historical learning sessions are scheduled to run from 10 a.m. through 3 p.m.

The subjects covered during these discussions will include a snapshot of residents who remained loyal to the British regime, as well as South Carolina’s connection to Barbados, as many Charlestonians of the time originally came from the island country in the West Indies. In fact, many plantations in South Carolina very closely resemble similar estates that were prevalent in Barbados.

In addition, the first annual Colonial Day will feature games for children in the form of scavenger hunts. Other event activities include indigo dyeing, candle making, native birds/plant talk, the fabrication of sweetgrass baskets and an information session on colonial medicine.

And those who wish to tour the Berkeley Historic Museum can enjoy an up-close and personal view of artifacts found inside Fort Fair Lawn in the form of buttons, soldier belt and shoe buckles and more.

Proper considers Colonial Day and the grand opening of Fort Fair Lawn as an exciting learning opportunity for many newcomers to the Lowcountry.

“There are so many people moving to the area that a lot of them don’t know this history. So, there has been a renewed interest just in the [American] Revolutionary War in general. I’m not sure where that renewed interest comes from, I’m just glad it’s here,” says the researcher/interpreter who hails from the Bluegrass State of Kentucky.

Additional information on the Sept. 24 affair can be found on Berkeley County Museum and Heritage Center Facebook page.

MONCKS CORNER, S.C. (WCSC) - The Berkeley County Family YMCA is closing its doors after nearly 30 years.

The YMCA of Greater Charleston sent a notice out to members on Jan. 30. The email cited the building as being “in need of substantial improvement.” The notice says the YMCA cannot provide that work and the efforts to operate in Berkeley County have “seriously challenged the financial capabilities” of the local YMCA.

Therefore, the YMCA of Greater Charleston Board of Directors and staff management have decided to close and sell the 210 Rembert C. Dennis Blvd. location in Moncks Corner.

President and CEO of the Charleston area operations, Paul Stoney, signed the email notification.

Stoney says the building was costing more than $100,000 a year to keep its doors open and still needed costly repairs, like a potentially $300,000 new roof. When the building is officially sold and closed, members are invited to use the Cane Bay location, and participate in continuing leagues and services.

“Physically, that YMCA does not meet the expectations of a YMCA, it is rapidly deteriorating,” Stoney says.

Stoney says the decision was based on being a good steward of community money, and the facility didn’t make sense anymore. But he says there are future options to collaborate with the help of land donations or developer deals.

“And as it relates to developers, if they’re able to, and it makes good business sense, then we would love to maintain a new presence in that community with a new facility. So that is being taken into consideration,” Stoney said.

The notice says all current members will be grandfathered in to the YMCA facility in Cane Bay, which is about a 20-minute drive across the county. The membership will last one year from the closing date of the Moncks Corner location, which has not been announced.

Kenneth Owens, a member since 1998, says he will miss the location.

“I’m sad it’s closing down because I’ve always enjoyed the people I work out with and the people who run the facility here are very nice people. But going to Cane Bay isn’t really going to be an option for me that’s a little bit further to travel,” Owens says.

The Cane Bay facility opened in April of 2019 and boasts 54,000-square-feet of new construction and assets.

Stoney says in the email that YMCA youth sports, fitness and programming will continue at satellite locations across the county and the non-profit will make every effort for current staff members to continue with the organization.

“Our programs, just like programs that we operate downtown, although we don’t have a physical presence, that is part of our service area. And we still operate programs downtown without having a physical presence. We intend to do the same thing in the Moncks Corner Berkeley County community,” Stoney says.

Stoney says he values the Moncks Corner members and is happy to field any question going forward with the process.

“This is part of a longer vision to continue to deliver a high caliber of programs throughout Charleston and Berkeley counties. And we take that very seriously. We also have to recognize when a facility is not up to our standards, and yes, tough decisions need to be made,” Stoney says.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

MONCKS CORNER, S.C. – (Friday, January 27, 2023) – There will be a community-wide job fair happening Wednesday, February 1 in the Assembly Room of the Berkeley County Administration Building, located at 1003 N. Highway 52 in Moncks Corner.

The event will be open to Berkeley County high school students from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and the general public from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.

The event will provide opportunities for Berkeley County industries that are hiring to connect with job-seeking residents and high school seniors. Employment opportunities in healthcare, manufacturing, law enforcement, hospitality, construction, information technology and other career fields will be represented. Berkeley County Government will also be on-hand to discuss its open positions.

Attendees are urged to bring an updated resume and come prepared to interview on the spot, if necessary.

For questions, please contact Berkeley County Human Resources at 843-719-4163.

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-Prepared by the Berkeley County Public Information Office-

MONCKS CORNER, S.C. – (Friday, February 3, 2023) – Berkeley County received a ‘Clean Report’ or ‘Unmodified Opinion’ following a 2022 independent audit. The audit was presented to County Council on Monday, January 23, 2023 from the County’s outside auditors, Mauldin & Jenkins. Watch the full County Council meeting HERE.

“I’m pleased to say we do not have any audit findings to report to you on this year, meaning we noted no material weaknesses or sufficient deficiencies in the County’s internal controls in our audit. …Being one of the largest counties in South Carolina, you obviously have a significant amount of financial activity for which you have to account for. In addition, with all the new County standards and changes that are being implemented each year—and really just the complexity of all involved in the financial reporting process—it makes it all that more impressive to be able to present you all an audit with a clean opinion and no audit findings.” – David Irwin, CPA Partner, Mauldin & Jenkins

The report represents the best possible opinion the County can receive. The County has received this opinion several years in a row.

“Government has a fundamental responsibility to be effective stewards of the taxpayer’s money and this audit result reflects just that. A special thanks to my colleagues on County Council for their work throughout the budget process and most importantly to each and every Berkeley County employee for your daily efforts throughout the year. This TEAM effort allows us to continue to offer high level services while keeping our county government taxes the lowest in South Carolina.” -Berkeley County Supervisor Johnny Cribb

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-Prepared by the Berkeley County Public Information Office-

MONCKS CORNER, S.C. (WCSC) - A metal processing company is planning to relocate from Kentucky to a facility in Moncks Corner, the South Carolina governor’s office says.

ZEB Metals, a newly-established joint venture with Glencore, announced plans to establish its first South Carolina operations.

“ZEB Metals is very excited about relocating our company to the Lowcountry and cannot wait to be a part of the community, company President and CEO Cole Lanham said. “South Carolina brings a unique opportunity in the recycling space with local businesses and government support. We’d like to thank everyone at Berkeley County for all their help in making this project come to life.”

The company plans to add 28 new jobs in Berkeley County. ZEB Metals’ new facility, near Highway 52 in Moncks Corner, will process dross and other types of secondary aluminum scrap that would otherwise be destined for a landfill. This is the first secondary re-melt facility of its kind in the Southeast region of the United States.

“This announcement is further proof that South Carolina has the necessary tools to support recycling companies across the state,” South Carolina Secretary of Commerce Harry Lightsey said. “We welcome ZEB Metals and look forward to seeing how their investment in Berkeley County will create opportunities for South Carolinians.”

Founded in 2021, ZEB Metals is a buyer and trader of non-ferrous scrap, as well as a recycler of metals other than iron and steel. The company processes metals through shredding, melting, screening and sorting materials while providing full-service metal recycling including industrial clean-up and off-site demolition.

Glencore, a Swiss-based commodities trader and one of the world’s largest diversified natural resource companies, will partner with ZEB Metals to expand its current aluminum portfolio. The joint venture will allow for the development of a new line of recycled products to support the companies’ regional customer base.

Operations are expected to be online by late 2023. Individuals interested in joining the ZEB Metals team should visit the company’s contact page.

The Coordinating Council for Economic Development awarded a $75,000 Set-Aside grant to Berkeley County to assist with site preparation and building construction.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.