Florence County Council will vote Thursday on second reading of economic incentives for “Project JLL,” anticipated to be a $20 million investment that will create 500 jobs in the county.
The potential economic development project comes on the heels of H.J. Heinz Co.’s announcement that it will create 350 jobs at a new Florence County plant. The initial investment in the county will be $105 million, according to county documents.
Officials haven’t released the name of the company involved in Project JLL, nor where it would be located in the county.
The ordinances for the new project would amend an agreement for a multicounty industrial park between Florence and Williamsburg counties and institute a fee-in-lieu-of-tax agreement for the project.
Council also must pass a third and final reading before going into effect.
Council also will receive public comments on a $600,000 bond that would fund the construction of a new station in the Windy Hill/Olanta Rural Volunteer Fire District.
“We’ve outgrown our fire station, and we don’t have room to get in and out of it,” Olanta Rural Fire Chief Jimmy Coker said.
Nine fire trucks sit outside the 103 Main St. fire station serving the town of Olanta, Coker said.
The new building would be at 3505 Olanta Highway, next to the Florence County Emergency Medical Services building — a central location in the fire district, Coker said.
Those in the Windy Hill/Olanta Rural Volunteer Fire District will see a 1.5-mill tax increase to pay the bond’s $48,150 annual debt service during 20 years, Florence County Finance Director Kevin Yokim said.
But the new station would benefit residents by improving the fire district’s ISO rating, which would lead to lower fire insurance costs because of better coverage, Coker said.
About 98 percent of the Olanta fire district’s territory would be within a five-mile radius of the station, Coker said.
The chief said he hopes construction on the new station will begin by mid- to late August.
On Thursday, council will consider second reading of the bond ordinance, which also must pass a third and final reading.
Also on this week’s meeting agenda are public hearings on two ordinances regarding Heinz’s decision to build a plant near Florence.
The ordinances, up for final readings, will establish a fee-in-lieu-of-tax agreement for Heinz and add a parcel at the Touchstone Energy Commerce City for the company’s future plant.
In other business, council is scheduled to:
- Consider recommended allocations for $250,000 in state accommodations tax collections.
- Consider funding for improvements to the Boys & Girls Club of the Pee Dee Area, which has requested $50,000 from the county toward a $1.5 million renovation project.
- Vote on the allocation of nearly $24,800 in Road System Maintenance Fee funds to buy two inches of crushed asphalt for Jefferies Creek Boulevard and Magic Drive, in eastern Florence County.
- Vote on an S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control grant worth $8,730 to run the county’s used oil recycling program.
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