Savannah City Council at a called meeting Monday afternoon approved accepting an intergovernmental agreement with Chatham County for 1-cent sales tax revenue.

The vote approved Mayor Eddie DeLoach’s suggested projects for the special purpose local option sales tax, known as SPLOST.

The SPLOST issue will be on ballots for voters Nov. 5. If approved, collections would begin on Oct. 1, 2020.

The agreement calls for the city of Savannah to receive $156 million of a potential $400 million in revenue from the SPLOST VII collections. That amount includes a separate line item for the Eastside Early Learning Center of $3.125 million. The county has agreed to pay the same amount for the project.

SPLOST is a county tax and the county is the only government that can call for the referendum.

Monday’s council vote followed a tense discussion on July 18 that ended with only an agreement for council to meet again.

When SPLOST discussions began in January this year, aldermen submitted their project requests for the sales tax.

That “wish” list totaled over $1 billion, DeLoach said.

“There is just not that (much) money, but you have to start somewhere and spend wisely,” DeLoach said.

Council submitted a new wish following the July 18 meeting that totaled $345.3 million.

The largest amount came from Aldermen Estella Shabazz for an expanded Springfield Canal drainage project. The estimated cost for that project is $300 million.

“This an important decision,” Shabazz said. “I advocate for bonding (bonds) for the west and south side.”

Shabazz also pushed for funding of Project DeRenne and to extend utilities to the fairgrounds.

City officials have said plans for Project DeRenne are not complete. This is a long-planned project to alleviate traffic congestion.

Alderman Van Johnson seemed resigned to the fact his requests didn’t make the final list.

“I’m disappointed, but it is what it is,” Johnson said. “I’m not mad. For the record, I remind you of our obligations to the least of these.”

Johnson had advocated for renovation of Woodville and Tremont community centers, road widening and improvements in the Highlands, and park renovations at the Hudson Hill Community Center.

Johnson voted no on approving the list of projects. After the meeting he said he didn’t think the SPLOST process was inclusive.

Alderman Julian Miller reminded everyone the money for all the projects needed just isn’t there.

“We have $156 million to spend,” Miller said. “I think staff picked the most critical (projects). It doesn’t mean others aren’t important.”

The approved list includes:

• $120 million for infrastructure, including Phase 1 of Springfield Canal drainage;

• $7.7 million for public safety;

• bond debt of $6.7 million;

• blighted property acquisition and redevelopment of $10 million;

• Broughton Street Streetscape of $8 million, and

• $3.125 million for the Eastside Early Learning Center.

Also approved were items DeLoach added following the July 18 meeting. They include $1 million for a Southside Community Center, $1 million for Tide to Town, $3 million for Phase 1 of Abercorn Streetscape and $300,000 for parking upgrades at Liberty City.

The Southside Community Center funds would be used for planning, but as Interim City Manager Pat Monahan said, the city could use the recently completed PARC building as a model and save those funds. PARC is the Pennsylvania Avenue Resource Center.

Alderman Tony Thomas had pushed for action on the Southside Center. The facility currently being used by seniors in the area is leased from the school board. That lease ends in 2021.

Monahan said bonds could possibly be issued for the project. The debt payments would be about $600,000, he said.

Following the meeting, DeLoach said the project choices were difficult, but they benefit residents citywide.

“We have six districts and only so much money,” DeLoach said. “We approved what we could.”