Council approves Project Star draft credit, grant-management fee for Highway 246 and county purchases

Greenwood County Council on Oct. 7 authorized several items related to economic development, road projects and county operations.

Project Star: James Bateman, the county’s economic development director, briefed council on a draft infrastructure credit agreement tied to "Project Star." The draft calls for a $10,000,000 expansion and foresees the creation of 31 new jobs. Bateman said staff is refining the draft and that a public hearing and third reading are scheduled for the council’s Oct. 21 meeting. Mr. Miller moved to authorize the draft agreement and Mr. Templeton seconded; council approved the authorization unanimously.

Highway 246 and Consor: Josh Skinner, capital-projects sales-tax director, presented a $15,600 proposal from Consor engineering to pursue additional grants and grant-management services for the Highway 246 widening (project #17 in the county’s capital project sales-tax list). Skinner said the design firm holds the plans and a benefit-cost analysis is nearly complete; current construction estimates are roughly $65–70 million, and the county currently has about $11.9 million in capital sales-tax funds and $38 million from the South Carolina Transportation Infrastructure Bank, leaving a shortfall. Council approved the $15,600 sole-source grant-management proposal and indicated the fee will be paid from capital-project sales-tax funds.

Lockhart Power reimbursement: County Engineer Rhett Templeton told council that wiring repairs to container gates (Tanner Gate) were completed in 2023 under a partnership with Lockhart Power; a line item was not carried forward in the budget and the county asked to reapprove a $238,424 reimbursement from TAM funds. Council approved the reimbursement unanimously.

Detention-center mail scanner: Treasurer Stephanie Dorn and Captain Kathy Tucker described a budgeted purchase of a mail contraband- and substance-detection scanner for the detention center. Tucker said staff had been encountering contraband hidden on paper and other creative concealment methods on a weekly-to-monthly basis; the proposed procurement follows cooperative purchasing rules (GSA) and requires council approval because the purchase exceeds $50,000. Council approved the purchase; funds are allocated roughly 50% from the capital asset fund and 50% from Swanson funds reserved for detention use.

Accommodation-tax allocation: The council also reviewed and modified allocations from the county’s accommodations-tax pool. Deputy Treasurer Louis read updated charts and Ms. Miller proposed a recalculation of awards that would, among other changes, provide funding for several festivals and allocate some funding to an applicant (the museum) that previously had no ATAX recommendation. Council reviewed the details aloud before voting; some council members voiced concern that smaller municipalities competing for ATAX funds might not receive equitable awards under the formula.

Votes at a glance: Project Star draft authorization — motion passed (unanimous); Consor grant-management proposal ($15,600) — approved (unanimous); Lockhart Power reimbursement ($238,424) — approved (unanimous); Detention mail-scanner purchase (>$50,000) — approved (unanimous); Ordinance 2025-24 (signs) — approved 3–2 (see related article). Project Star will return for a public hearing and third reading on Oct. 21.