County clears property sale, easement and several appointments to enable factory project

The Sumter County Council approved third reading of ordinance 26‑10‑46, clearing preconditions for the sale of county property on Racetrack Road to a company described in the meeting as the George Oughts company and enabling a planned facility project.

A county speaker said the sale is tied to a fee‑in‑lieu‑of‑tax agreement and a purchase agreement that was reported to be scheduled to close within two days. "We passed a fee in lieu of tax agreement with them... [the purchase agreement] is supposed to close Thursday, 2 days from now," the speaker said, explaining that the county negotiated an agreement among the buyer, adjacent property owner Novamolecular, and county attorneys to address payments, tax distribution and maintenance responsibilities.

The council also considered an easement on Hazel Street (ordinance 261048) that affects the area behind Patriot Hall. A speaker described the easement as needing an additional 10 feet at the front and rear of an existing structure and said the purchaser offered $2,000 instead of the originally offered $500; second reading passed and the change will be incorporated for third reading.

Separately, the Internal Affairs Committee reported motions to reappoint Jonathan Zippleman, Hakeem Drayton and Millie Welch to the Cultural Commission and to appoint Annie Rebol and Fred Gording; the committee also moved to appoint Travis Hardy to the Historical Commission. Voice votes were taken on those committee recommendations.

Next steps: the county will incorporate the revised easement payment into the easement documents for third reading and staff indicated the property closing and related documents will proceed as negotiated.