Fairfield County approves incentives for 'Project Mega Cable,' renamed Mega Metal Incorporated
Loading...
Summary
The county council approved a lease-purchase ordinance and a fee-in-lieu agreement to support a proposed copper-wire manufacturing operation at the Fairfield Commerce Center, after discussing project details in executive session.
Fairfield County Council approved two ordinances on third and second readings to support an economic development project first identified in executive session as Project Mega Cable and amended at third reading to Mega Metal Incorporated.
The council passed ordinance No. 846, authorizing a lease-purchase agreement that county staff described as a lease-to-own structure that would include lease payments of $680,000 over 10 years to cover the purchase price of a building to be used by the project. The council also approved ordinance No. 843, a fee-in-lieu of ad valorem taxes and incentive agreement that includes infrastructure credits and a county electricity grant. Both measures passed on recorded votes (council recorded the outcomes as unanimous on final readings).
County staff provided differing numerical summaries during the meeting. County administrator Mister Carpenter said the arrangement would involve building acquisition and tenant payments and (earlier in the meeting) cited an estimate of roughly 25 jobs; a later presentation by a county staff member identified as Miss Broadwood described a larger operation: a proposed copper-wire manufacturing facility with a capital investment of $34,280,000, including $12,160,000 for building acquisition and renovations and $22,120,000 for machinery and equipment. Broadwood said the project would create 135 new jobs within four years (120 jobs with an average wage “close to $30 an hour” and 15 transferred positions averaging $43.26 an hour). The council approved the final ordinance language that changed the project name from Project Mega Cable to Mega Metal Incorporated.
Council members discussed the package after the meeting's executive session, which the record shows was convened to consider prospective economic development under South Carolina law (referenced in the meeting as SC code 30-4-85). No public details were provided during the open session beyond those in staff presentations and the terms contained in the ordinances presented for final reading.
The ordinances authorize county staff to move forward with the lease-purchase and fee-in-lieu agreements as described in the adopted texts. The council recorded the final votes on both ordinances during the regular meeting and the clerk noted the measures carried on their final readings.
