Penny sales tax could mean funding for lake master plan
In in 2015, Greenwood County adopted the Lake Greenwood Master Plan with the hopes of beginning the process of transforming Lake Greenwood into a center for business and recreation.
Implementing that plan is among 27 projects that could receive funding from a proposed additional 1-percent sales tax that will go before voters this November.
If the tax — which would generate $82 million for the county over eight years — is passed, $810,000 will go to funding the execution of the plan.
The plan includes the construction of a public access beach area, restrooms, biking and walking trails, trash collection facilities, landscaping and signage.
The plan will help transform Lake Greenwood into a commercial and recreational hub, said County Manager Toby Chappell.
“The best analogy is probably the Uptown and what it is to the city right now. Twenty or 25 years ago it was an underutilized resource. They put their efforts into it and now it is what it is. Now it’s a focal point for the city and I think that the lake has the potential to do the same thing for the county,” Chappell said.
The plan also includes objectives for protecting and improving the environmental health of the lake.
According to Phil Lindler, the Greenwood County planning director, these objectives are important as development of the lake continues
“We look at it (the lake) as a natural resource, our water intake, a recreational resource, as well as tourism and business. So there’s a lot of opportunities for us to do more things on the lake but we also want to make sure that the things that we do are enhancing it for the future and protecting it,” Lindler said.
Public access to the lake, in particular, has been a major concern in the community, Chappell said.
“During the master plan study, one of the key — if not the key — item that kept coming up was we need better access to the lake,” Chappell said. “So one of the opportunities we have with the Capital Projects Sales tax is to address that issue that came up in virtually ever Lake Greenwood Master Plan meeting we had.”
There is currently only one such public access area on the lake, which is in the Lake Greenwood State Park, Chappell said.
The plan, which was developed by the Orion Planning Group, was also adopted by Laurens County Council in March.
Contact Conor Hughes at 703-517-4171 or follow on Twitter @IJConorHughes.
Originally Published by Index-Journal on:Sep 10, 2016
By CONOR HUGHES chughes@indexjournal.com