Commission approves project management agreement to use state grant at Burke Business Park, 4–1

County manager and staff asked the Board of Commissioners on Feb. 17 to approve a project design and management agreement between Burke County and Burke Partnership for Economic Development, Inc. (BDI) to permit use of flexible grant funds originally awarded in October 2023.

The county manager said the 2023 grant (about $35.8 million) was split into property acquisition and infrastructure components and that recent legislation provided flexibility for roughly $20 million of the earlier property-acquisition allocation to be used to construct speculative industrial shell buildings at Burke Business Park. The manager explained that the county and municipal partners had previously entered an interlocal agreement to acquire the land and that Burke Business Park has pre-graded, pad-ready sites and utilities.

Board members asked several clarifying questions. One commissioner wanted confirmation that the interlocal agreement remains in place and that BDI will represent the parties. The manager said the 10-year agreement term in the draft aligns with BDI’s land-option timeline and does not change the 36-month window established by the legislation to design, build and sell an industrial shell building (that 36-month requirement runs from December 2024). Another commissioner asked whether proceeds from a sale or lease of the building could flow back to the grant account; staff said models vary (sale, lease, public-private partnerships) and that any final disposition would be returned to the board for approval before execution.

After discussion, the board voted 4–1 to approve the project design and management agreement and authorized the chairman to sign. The record shows one commissioner opposed the motion.