FLORENCE — Florence City Council deferred until Monday a request from the Housing Authority of Florence to provide a letter of support for $1.1 million to $1.2 million in-kind contributions to Rosewood Village to be located along Oakland Street.
The in-kind contributions would be for such things as sidewalks, water and sewer improvements, demolition and landfill costs.
The action came during a special city council meeting Wednesday. Although council members expressed unanimous support for the housing project, several wanted more information before committing to anything.
“I think it’s a great project, but I’m not ready to give it my vote until City Manager David Williams, the public works director and others have a chance to review it,” said Councilman Buddy Brand. “It’s up to us to be prudent with the taxpayers’ dollars and to at least look at the ramifications.”
Councilwoman Octavia Williams-Blake took issue with Brand.
“You’re saying stuff that sounds good in the paper,” she said. “All they’re asking for is a letter of support.”
But Brand likened a letter of support to a bank’s letter of credit. He said it is a commitment and “we should have gotten facts and figures on this project before this meeting.”
Councilman Billy D. Williams motioned to approve the letter of support.
“This is nothing new, we do this kind of stuff all the time,” he said. “There’s a time frame here and a lot of competition for these federal funds. They (Housing Authority) need to get their application in. If we’re not in the pot, we’re not going to get anything out of the pot. We’ve got to get it out of the box.”
Councilman Ed Robinson said he’s been saying for years that “we need to build up the community, not tear it down.” He said this (Housing Authority request) is a priority and “we need to go ahead and get this done.”
“This will have a direct impact on one of the poorest communities in Florence,” Williams emphasized. “This is a $1.1 million to $1.2 million commitment to bring this community back to life. Yet, we sit here today and say we need more time. A letter of support is all they want.”
The pitch for Rosewood Village was made by Reggie Barner, head of the Barner Group in Aiken.
He said the application needed to be submitted by Wednesday and what he was requesting from city council was a letter of support for in-kind contributions.
“The quicker we get the application in, the better it will be,” he said.
But Barner said, when questioned by Councilman Bill Bradham, that deferring action until Monday wouldn’t affect the application.
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