Council approves multiple fee-in-lieu tax agreements after debate over data-center power use

Greenville County Council approved a slate of fee-in-lieu of tax agreements and related industrial-park amendments on third reading, including agreements for DartPoints Operating Company LLC (formerly Project AIM), SPAN America Medical Systems Inc. (formerly Project UP) and AllSource Enterprises LLC (DBA Safe Industries, formerly Project Precedent).

The DartPoints item drew prolonged discussion over electric-grid capacity. Councilor Long moved to hold the item to allow further study; Councilor Farmer said members needed third-party verification and noted "Duke Energy has more than enough capacity" as the finance committee had been told. Several councilors urged that the project had already been vetted in committee; Councilor Seaman reminded colleagues that third-reading questions should largely have been raised earlier in the process.

The motion to hold the DartPoints FILOT failed on a roll call (4 in favor, 8 opposed). The ensuing roll call on adoption recorded 8 in favor and 4 opposed, and the ordinance authorizing a FILOT agreement and related park-enlargement amendment was adopted.

Council also approved on third reading a FILOT and park agreement for SPAN America Medical Systems Inc. and for AllSource Enterprises LLC (Safe Industries); those items passed by voice votes after motions to adopt were made by Councilor Collins. Councilor Collins made the motions to adopt for several of the economic-development items.

Discussion versus decision: council discussion focused on grid and utility capacity concerns for the data-center proposal (DartPoints). A formal hold was proposed and failed; the final decisions were approvals of the FILOT agreements and park amendments for the cited projects.