Sumter County council adopts resolution, advances first reading to negotiate incentives with “Project Peanut”

Sumter County Council voted unanimously Oct. 28 to adopt Resolution 25-05, committing the county to negotiate a fee-in-lieu of ad valorem taxes agreement with an economic development prospect identified in the meeting as “Project Peanut.”

At the same meeting the council advanced Ordinance 25-1036 on first reading. The ordinance, as presented, would authorize the county to execute a fee-in-lieu agreement, provide certain infrastructure credits, make multicounty industrial park benefits available to the project and to sell a 47.02 +/- acre portion of Parcel #3 of the Pocotaligo Industrial Park to support the project’s development.

Vice Chairman James R. Byrd, Jr. moved to adopt the resolution and to approve first reading of the ordinance; Councilmember Artie Baker seconded both motions and the votes were unanimous. The resolution was adopted at the meeting; the ordinance was advanced on first reading, which means the sale and incentive package are not final until further readings and any required agreements are executed.

The ordinance text on file with the council identifies the key elements the county could authorize if the measure is adopted: a fee-in-lieu payment structure in place of traditional ad valorem taxes, infrastructure credits to offset public costs, and availability of multicounty industrial park benefits. The ordinance also identifies a specific county-owned property—a roughly 47.02-acre portion of Parcel #3 at Pocotaligo Industrial Park—for potential sale as part of the project.

Council members did not discuss the detailed terms of a fee-in-lieu agreement during the Oct. 28 session; the resolution commits the county to negotiate such an agreement with the project’s sponsors. No public testimony opposing the incentives was recorded at the meeting.

Next steps: the ordinance will return for subsequent readings and any negotiated agreements will be subject to county review and approval. The council’s adoption of the resolution signals formal county engagement in negotiations but does not itself finalize property conveyance or tax terms.