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Marlboro County Council unanimously approves incentive package and park expansion for two Echelon DC projects
Summary
Marlboro County Council on Dec. 10 approved a set of ordinances and inducement resolutions to include two Echelon DC projects in a multi-county industrial park and authorize fee-in-lieu tax agreements and infrastructure credits; Council also authorized a lease tied to county property.
Marlboro County Council voted unanimously Dec. 10 to approve a series of ordinances and inducement resolutions intended to bring two Echelon DC projects to the county and to expand the joint county industrial park with Darlington County.
The measures included third readings of three ordinances and two inducement resolutions that identify the projects (referred to in the meeting record as "Project Horizon" and "Project Omega") as eligible for fee-in-lieu-of-ad-valorem-tax agreements and related infrastructure credits under Title 12, Chapter 44 of the South Carolina Code. Council also approved Inducement Resolutions #12-24-01 and #12-24-02 specifying eligibility for those incentives.
Chairman Anthony Woods read the project's talking points before the votes. Dr. Damien Johnson recognized staff members, including Tonny McNeil and Tony Clybum, for their work on the project. County Administrator Tony Clybum told Council the lease authorized by Resolution #12-24-03 would begin April 1, 2025, at $1,000 per month; Council approved that resolution as part of the package.
Motions were made and seconded from the dais for each item and every vote was recorded in the minutes as "Vote in favor. Unanimous." The council approved Ordinance #857 to amend the multi-county industrial and business park agreement with Darlington County to add additional property in both counties, and approved Ordinances #858 and #859 to authorize fee-in-lieu agreements with Echelon DC Bennettsville LLC (formerly identified in the record as Project Horizon) and Echelon DC River Oaks LLC (formerly Project Omega), respectively.
Council did not record extended debate in the minutes; the record notes that Chairman Woods read project materials and that members thanked staff for their work. The meeting record shows standard procedural motions and unanimous passage; the minutes do not include detailed benefit projections, tax-forecast spreadsheets, or a roll-call vote by name in the public record for these motions.
The next procedural step recorded in the minutes is adoption of the ordinance and inducement language; the minutes do not list specific implementation dates beyond the lease effective date or attach the incentive agreements themselves to the public minutes.
