City, county boast of unified front at annual meeting
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