With an $80 million portfolio to manage through the capital projects sales tax, the county plans to hire a full-time supervisor who will oversee the distribution of funds and provide an additional layer of accountability as the venture moves forward.

County Manager Toby Chappell said the position will be advertised within the next two weeks, and officials hope to make a hire by the spring.

The first installments are going to Piedmont Technical College, which is using $6.1 million from the one-cent sales tax levy to help pay for its Upstate Center for Manufacturing Excellence, a 47,000-square-foot facility to be on Emerald Road.

“My projection is the July payment will be the first payment outside of Piedmont Tech, so we will need that person in place,” Chappell said during a budget planning session this week.

In November 2016, voters approved a referendum authorizing a special penny sales tax to generate funds for 27 projects. Collection of the levy began in May 2017.

“I would like this council to have input on where that person fits within our organizational structure. I have grave concerns that they’ll be covered up by normal work. My first suggestion is they work for you and they’re not intermingled with another department where that department can cloud their responsibilities with other things,” council chairman Steve Brown told Chappell.

“That person needs to be 100 percent toward capital projects and not be subjected to outside influence,” he continued. “It’s important they have a channel to you, because a massive amount of goodwill needs to be created among these other people who are using these monies.”

Chappell and the council agreed the sales tax manager should not be a political appointee — which is outside the scope of state statute.

“That’s been my struggle all along is, wherever they are, accountability has got to be the first priority. You’re talking about $75 million, $80 million this person is responsible for. To me, there are only two places that make any sense. One is my office, and the second is engineering, but then you get into the issue of, between me and the employee, there is now a built-in filter,” he said.

Councilman Theo Lane likened the person to a company’s chief operations officer, compared to Chappell’s CEO.

“I would want to see that person look just like the county attorney, that you can walk right through that door and get an answer and vice versa, with nothing in the middle. That position has got to be laser focused. There doesn’t need to be any ambiguity. When we get about three years into this things, there are going to be so many things happening simultaneously,” Lane said. “When the chief operations officer walks in and says ‘We’ve got to have this and this and this,’ they know that comes with the blessing of the CEO and to me, that makes things so much more expeditious.”

Originally Published by Index-Journal on: Mar 2, 2018

By ADAM BENSON abenson@indexjournal.com

Article Link: https://www.indexjournal.com/news/greenwood-looking-to-hire-penny-sales-tax-manager/article_4168fc38-e81e-5eee-8b71-d1ea0c6da7b0.html

A Maryland-based company is acquiring Colombo Energy’s wood pellet plant in Greenwood County is making a larger investment than originally announced.

On Tuesday, the County Council approved an amended fee-in-lieu-of-taxes package for Enviva Pellets LLC, extending a tax abatement agreement by two years for a planned $20 million investment at the site located off Highway 246. With that investment, Enviva will add 10 jobs.

Enviva Public Affairs Director Maria Moreno said in January the company is purchasing the facility for $135 million.

“Enviva is a proven acquirer, and we are excited to bring the Greenwood team into the Enviva family. Our business is heavily dependent on our people and our relationships, and it will require all of us to grow the Greenwood plant into a world-class production facility,” Moreno said. “Upon the closing of the Greenwood transaction, Enviva expects to maintain as many as 80 full-time positions at the facility.”

Also Tuesday, the County Council approved a memorandum of understanding with the Greenwood Genetic Center on a plan to reimburse it for up to $358,283 using capital projects sales tax revenues as the campus moves forward with plans to install fiber optic cable and related equipment.

The proposal is one of 27 ventures to be paid for through an $85 million revenue stream collected over eight years through a special sales tax.

Clocking in at the 21st position, County Manager Toby Chappell said the Genetic Center made the decision to move forward with the work now — potentially opening itself up to not recouping the money in the unlikely event that the full sales tax collection amount is not realized.

“Greenwood County makes no guarantee as to when, or if, funds will be available to reimburse the GGC for this project,” the memorandum said. “The GGC is undertaking this project now at its own risk, understanding that Greenwood County will not indemnify the GGC for any liability, financial or otherwise, associated with the project.”

Originally Published by Index-Journal on:Feb 7, 2018

 By ADAM BENSON abenson@indexjournal.com

Article Link: https://www.indexjournal.com/news/enviva-to-invest-20m-jobs-add-10-jobs-at-former-colombo-plant/article_3f17f6f3-466e-5a39-87c6-a7dfc7544fef.html

With violent crime at a 20-year low in the city and workforce development initiatives underway to support a growing county industrial base, leaders of both local governments said Thursday the state of Greenwood is strong.

County Council Chairman Steve Brown said a $1.12 million investment to bring sewer lines, signage and an access road to the North Greenwood Industrial park — which is also slated to get $8.4 million from the capital projects sales tax — shows the commitment being made to prepare the region for new and expanded business opportunities.

“Our economic alliance staff needs this additional product to be able to respond to the many inquiries that are coming into their office. Remember that a portion of the local option sales tax initiative will be used to construct a spec building on this site,” he said.

Brown and City Manager Charlie Barrineau joined County Manager Toby Chappell at Piedmont Technical College for the annual State of the City/County luncheon sponsored by the Greenwood SC Chamber of Commerce.

Brown used labor statistics to support his point. With a 4 percent county unemployment rate and 642 open jobs, Greenwood County is home to 24,170 people who both live and work locally. Another 31,210 residents commute into the county, while 28,988 leave to work in surrounding areas.

“These are important facts that tell us, ‘We must continue to sustain, to support and to foster a diversified economy that benefits all,’” Brown said. “We must prepare our citizens for good jobs coming to Greenwood and better connect them to these opportunities.

“A skilled workforce is a priority.”

Barrineau opened his remarks with the downturn in violent crime, which also carries a streak of more than four years without an allegation of excessive force against any police officer.

“Let that sink in. This does not happen in every community. I commend the hard work of our 58 men and women and Chief Gerald Brooks,” Barrineau said. “We are not perfect, but it speaks to the work of those men and women.”

All city officers are also outfitted with body cameras and synchronous dashboard technology — more than a $400,000 investment paid for in part through a 2016 state grant that brought $225,213 to the city for the equipment.

“Just having that data not only protects the citizen, but also protects our officers. Body cameras are not perfect, but they are another tool that we are proud to have implemented this year,” he said.

The city and county also share an important characteristic: Neither has any bond indebtedness, after Greenwood officials in May made a final payment of $87,767 on the Uptown Market.

Officials in 2014 made a choice to use a revenue bond as a funding source for the market even though the city had enough cash on hand to do so without having to pay interest using its local hospitality account.

By bonding, it enabled city leaders to move forward with other enhancements including acquisition of $1 million in federal Community Development Block Grants used for streetscapes along Oak and Main streets and Riley Road/Magnolia Avenue.

“We cannot stop working to rebuild our core and our core community,” Barrineau said.

Originally Published by Index-Journal on:Nov 3, 2017

By ADAM BENSON abenson@indexjournal.com

Article Link: https://www.indexjournal.com/news/city-county-boast-of-unified-front-at-annual-meeting/article_7ccf6759-dc85-5653-9976-c90eec7d4d67.html

Before a region can host new economic development, it has to be prepared to bring investments in, through a trained workforce and the availability of ready-made sites.

And Greenwood County’s work on these behind-the-scenes priorities has positioned it as a state and national leader.

On Wednesday, Duke Energy announced that Greenwood County’s north industrial park is one of three South Carolina properties selected for the company’s Site Readiness Program, which qualifies them for a $10,000 matching grant from the utility to help attract projects.

That follows a September designation by Site Selection Magazine that named Greenwood as the country’s second-leading county for attainment of the National Career Readiness Certificate.

“We are laser-focused on the development of a ready workforce, as well as increased product offerings,” Greenwood Partnership Alliance CEO Heather Simmons Jones said. “Companies need sites and buildings that match or have the flexibility to quickly match their needs, and what good is a facility if you can’t fill it with qualified workers?”

With initiatives such as The Greenwood Promise and the pending construction of an advanced manufacturing training center on the campus of Piedmont Technical College, Greenwood’s development of career readiness programs helped vault its reputation. Oconee County was ranked 6th by Site Selection Magazine for workforce certificates.

The ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate is an assessment-based credential earned through scores on three ACT WorkKeys assessments – applied math, graphic literacy, and workplace documents – that measure foundational employability skills. In the 2014-15 school year, South Carolina introduced a statewide initiative to require all 11th-grade students to complete the WorkKeys assessment.

“Greenwood and Oconee counties are showcasing the Upstate’s talent pool and the payoff of collaborative efforts to connect today’s students to tomorrow’s career opportunities, in both urban and rural communities,” said John Lummus, president and CEO of the Upstate SC Alliance, said in a statement. “I’m proud that not one, but two, Upstate communities stand out among the nation.”

In August, County Council voted to spend $1.1 million for construction and engineering of an access road, sewer lines and signage leading to the North Greenwood Industrial Park on 31.7 acres between Hodges and Ware Shoals.

The funds are coming from three places: $600,000 from a state Department of Commerce grant, $125,000 from Duke Energy’s site readiness program and $395,000 from the county.

Councilman Theo Lane, who is also Duke Energy’s district manager for government and community relations, has been a proponent of the business park. He said in August that early action on site preparation and land clearing sends a strong message to potential investors.

“I fully believe the north industrial corridor is the best development opportunity out there for Greenwood County. In the south end, because of road access and getting product to customers, we’re probably not going to be able to put any significant industry there,” he said. “When they (potential businesses) see it graded and grubbed and all the work going in with a marquee out front, that says, ‘this isn’t a pipe dream, it’s something that’s really going to happen.’”

From June 2014 to June 2016, at least 20 projects were lost for Greenwood because of lack available buildings and 19 requests for information were never submitted because of a dearth of building space.

On May 1, county residents began paying an additional 1 percent in local sales tax to finance $85 million in capital improvement projects after voters approved the levy in a November referendum.

The North Greenwood Industrial Park is slated to receive $8.4 million of that for development of a 31.7-acre parcel offering businesses ready-made pads. Plans also call for the construction of a spec building that can be presented to potential investors.

Originally Published by Index-Journal on:Oct 28, 2017

By ADAM BENSON abenson@indexjournal.com

Article Link: https://www.indexjournal.com/news/greenwood-county-one-of-nations-best-for-workforce-development/article_8b259db1-0f77-5cb6-bc58-aa8952b2ea87.html

As Greenwood County geared up to put a capital project sales tax in place in November after the levy was approved in referendum by a wide margin, officials in Abbeville County were trying to figure out why their tax was defeated.

Almost a year later, a six-person commission met Thursday to start the process of getting another capital project sales tax on the ballot in Abbeville County in 2018 and is eyeing taking an approach similar to the one taken in Greenwood County.

Greenwood City Manager Charlie Barrineau, who helped organize Greenwood County’s successful bid, said the approach taken by the county and commission responsible for the list of projects played a part in the tax’s success.

“We just felt like, if we’re going to go through this, we’re not just going through it to go through it,” Barrineau said. “The goal was to get it passed. So if it’s got to pass, the more people we got involved on the front end, the greater likelihood it would pass.”

The defeated 1-percent additional sales tax in Abbeville County would have raised $9.6 million for the county over eight years to fund 21 projects — such as a new civic center in Abbeville and water lines in the Starr-Iva area — and in November when it was voted down by a 7-point margin, then County Director David Porter said a similar tax would likely appear on the ballot later.

The Greenwood County tax — which is expected to raise $85 million in eight years to fund 27 projects — was approved by a referendum with 65 percent of the vote.

At the meeting Thursday, David Garner, who replaced Porter as county director in July, put forward a commission structure and marketing strategy similar to the one used for Greenwood County’s successful tax.

Just as was done in Greenwood County, Garner recommended the commission in Abbeville delegate vetting projects falling under its five focus areas — public safety, infrastructure, education and quality of life, economic development, and parks and recreation — to five respective subcommittees.

Greenwood County Manager Toby Chappell said when he and Barrineau were considering a structure for the commission, the subcommittee organization seemed preferable because it brought a larger number of interested parties into the process.

“It allowed us to get more people involved in the process and it allowed us to bring more people who had knowledge of that subject to the table,” Chappell said. “We were able to put a lot of people that had some interest in that area at the table. So it wasn’t all staff trying to make decisions for an organization.”

Garner also recommended the commission consider coordinating with an independent organization, such as the Abbeville Area Chamber of Commerce, to promote the tax.

In Greenwood County, the Greenwood Area Chamber of Commerce did public outreach for the tax through an ad campaign which included a social media presence, public meetings and billboards.

Chappell said the chamber’s outreach was invaluable to the tax’s success.

“It’s almost like different chapters of the same book,” Chappell said. “The first chapter is the project application part, then you have the subcommittee part and then the commission part. And when all their work is done, then the chamber takes over and starts marketing it.”

During Abbeville County’s first attempt to get the tax passed, some opposed it because they believed many of the projects only benefited certain municipalities and should not be paid for through county tax dollars. Harry Stille, the former mayor of Due West and a former state representative, spoke out against the tax in 2016 because he believed each municipality should be responsible for its own projects. He said as the process to form a new list begins, his concerns remain the same.

“If Due West or Abbeville or Calhoun Falls wants something, then they ought to fund it themselves within the domain of their taxable revenue,” he said. “It crosses barriers and, to me, that’s not fair to the taxpayers.”

At the meeting Thursday, Garner said there would have to be a focus on ensuring each project would be a benefit to the county as a whole rather than to an individual area.

Barrineau said when selecting members of the commission and subcommittees, representing every area in the county was an important consideration.

“We literally mapped out where everyone lived in Greenwood County and diligently looked to involve people from every part, from Troy all the way up to Hodges and Ware Shoals and Ninety Six.”

Chappell said the most important thing in Greenwood County was getting everyone involved on the same page.

“The big words that whoever does this model has got to agree to are organization and cooperation,” he said. “You’ve got to cooperate and you can’t get into the mindset of, for example, ‘I’m Ware Shoals and all I care about is what’s good for Ware Shoals,’ because it’s going to fail. It is. You’ve got to get everybody together and to move together.

Originally Published by Index-Journal on:Oct 19, 2017

By CONOR HUGHES chughes@indexjournal.com

Article Link: https://www.indexjournal.com/news/greenwood-countys-penny-tax-success-to-inspire-next-abbeville-county-try/article_e2cb0980-6a4f-58fc-8c94-2dc64de7d046.html