Commissioners approve amended tax abatement for Brotherton storage project

Commissioners of Anderson County approved an amendment to a previously approved tax-abatement agreement with Brotherton Storage LLC after a public hearing and staff presentation.

County legal counsel Bob Bass told the court the company asked to lower the number of construction-period jobs in the agreement. "They're asking to reduce the number of jobs from 125 to as many as 40 at any one given time," Bass said. He added the company will make an additional payment of $15,000 to the county as part of the amendment.

The amended agreement continues the project's pilot payment provision, Bass said: the facility is expected to be a standby power site with an annual payment "in lieu of other taxes" and a pilot payment of $98,000 a year. Counsel described the site as a 175-megawatt facility with a guaranteed minimum of 100 megawatts and said the project is expected to come online by the end of 2026.

The court opened a public hearing on the amendment before the vote; no members of the public approached the podium to speak during the hearing. After closing the hearing, Commissioner Chapin moved to approve the amendment; Commissioner Mims seconded the motion and the court approved it by voice vote.

The amendment updates the job-creation thresholds and adds the extra payment while leaving the remainder of the abatement agreement in place, according to counsel. Bass noted it is not unusual for developers to revise early estimates of jobs once construction or financing details are firmed up.

The court record shows the motion passed and the judge was authorized to sign the amended agreement. The transcript did not record a roll-call vote or individual vote tallies; the court approved the motion by voice vote during the meeting.