Council advances Project Metallica and industrial park expansion, highlights $600,000 UTC award

Hampton County staff presented two economic development items on Nov. 17, 2025, that the council advanced in a single session: a first reading on a special source revenue credit agreement tied to "Project Metallica" and a resolution to enlarge the Quad County Industrial Park to include a private property. Chair also announced a $600,000 UTC utility tax credit award to support county industrial expansion.

Mr. Kerr described the special source revenue credit agreement for "Project Metallica," identifying the private party as Iron Lion Metals LLC and saying the project would bring 20 new jobs and about $6.5 million in total investment. "This is Project Metallica, and this will be bringing in 20 new jobs to the county, and it'll be about 6 and a half million in total investment," Kerr said. The council moved and approved the ordinance first reading by voice vote.

Staff also asked the council to approve a resolution to amend the master agreement for the Quad County Industrial Park to enlarge it to include Devlin Spray LLC property. Mr. Kerr said expanding the park makes it possible to capture tax revenue from the site; the motion to approve the resolution passed by raised hands.

Separately, the chair announced the county received a $600,000 award through UTC (utility tax credit) funds to expand industrial park capacity and support economic development. Staff said the county will provide more details and that negotiations regarding land acquisition and park expansion will follow; the chair suggested tabling detailed action until the next meeting to allow council members to review materials.

Transcript inconsistency: in the meeting Mr. Kerr refers to the company as "Iron Lion Metals LLC" and later as "Iron Line Metals LLC"; staff did not supply corrected legal spellings at the meeting. Council approved the items on first reading or resolution votes but no recorded roll-call tallies are present in the transcript.