Lexington County Council approves applications for state site‑enhancement and wastewater grants

Lexington County Council on Sept. 23 approved staff requests to apply for two state grant programs intended to support economic development and infrastructure upgrades.

Vice Chair Conwell told council the economic development committee recommended applying for the Locate South Carolina Site Enhancement Initiative grant, noting “The state of South Carolina through the Department of Commerce has allocated 80,000,000 to support product development activities, such as grading infrastructure, due diligence, and other related improvements.” The council voted to authorize the application by roll call.

Conwell also said the committee recommended applying for a South Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority grant to fund a wastewater gravity line upgrade at the Saksagottsa Industrial Park. Conwell said the project would increase the line size from 8 to 16 inches “thereby expanding capacity to better serve the southern parcels of the industrial park.” The council approved moving forward with the application by roll call.

Both grant applications were presented as requests to seek external funding; neither action committed county matching dollars or approved construction contracts. Council members voted to authorize staff to submit the grant applications; final award decisions, project designs and any required budget actions would come back to council for further approvals if grants are awarded.

The economic development committee advanced both applications earlier the same day; full council votes on Sept. 23 were recorded as unanimous.

What’s next: staff will prepare and submit the grant applications to the state agencies identified by the county, and any successful awards will be returned to council for appropriation and project authorization.