Darlington County Planning Commission tackles long term-goals

DARLINGTON - The Darlington County Planning Commission tackled major long term goals at its meeting Jan. 26, agreeing to send County Council a laundry list for consideration involving issues such as improving the Darlington County Jetport, widening U.S. 52 and bolstering Pee Dee Regional Transportation Authority’s (PDRTA) county service.

The commission discussed its long term goals as part of its proposed comprehensive plan dealing with transportation, which had been submitted to Darlington County Administrator Phyllis Griffitts for comment. Her written comments questioned the practicality of many of the proposed goals.

Commission Vice Chair Grady Culbertson said that, while Griffitts’ comments should be carefully considered, the commission should determine its own goals and present them to Council, which would make the final determinations based on the will of the people.

“I don’t think we should fall off of this because (she) doesn’t agree with us … if there ever is a time to shed the restraints of practical, everyday problems, it’s when you’re setting long-term goals,” he said. “If you don’t, you’ll never improve…We owe the council our best assessment.”

Three of the nine goals centered on the jetport, including a call for more hangar space, the implementation of an Instrument Landing System (ILS) and the promotion of the jetport in general.

Griffitts wrote that the current hangars were underutilized and didn’t generate revenue, and that the ILS system also would be underutilized and wouldn’t generate revenue.

Similarly, she added that the goal to establish the option to install sidewalks or trails within proposed subdivisions and public roads would add cost to developers, that the goal to interconnect residential communities would create property value concerns, that the creation of a county trolley system would not generate revenue or interest, and that the goal to create a penny sales tax to fund the widening of U.S. 52 would not have council support.

A penny sales tax wouldn’t pay for the widening, she pointed out.

Culbertson said he felt short-term financial issues shouldn’t keep the commission from making long-term goals. That being said, he pointed out that the larger goal would be finding funding somewhere, if not from a tax. The goal should remain if the proposed means to pay for it didn’t.

Commissioner Ryan Galloway felt the goal should be deleted out right, or at least the sales tax part.

“You’re going to get ‘no’s’ to start with when you throw out a penny sales tax,” Galloway said. “If you struck (that out) that would make me happy.”

Another goal involved establishing a relationship with the PDRTA for a local bus schedule, which Griffitts pointed out existed to some extent, considering they receive funds from the state for county service.

The commission decided to provide advice about the PDRTA’s route schedule, which features a 7 a.m. departure time from Hartsville and 3 p.m. departure time from Florence. Stops centered on U.S. 52 but went into the cities as well, focusing on locations near Florence-Darlington Technical College campuses.

“It sounds like to me they’re trying to set this up for students to get to the college. It seems like the college should advertise it,” Commissioner Edward Krajack said.

The group observed that people using the service to get to work were out of luck at the end of the day because the latest bus left Florence around 3 p.m. Other commissions would be asked for input, and proposed changes for the schedule would be submitted to the PDRTA. The commissioners sadi they felt the departure times would have to be after 5 p.m. so working people could use it.

“If the county is adamant about making this happen, what needs to be done is get the word out the service is available,” Senior Darlington County Planner Charles Brooks said. “I don’t think at this point people know about it.”

Sometimes the route has been abandoned altogether if no one got on the busses. In fact, PDRTA’s Web site didn’t list the route at all, though the route is characterized as a “pilot program.”

On other subjects, a public hearing for a 195-foot cell phone tower proposed on the property of Traces Golf Course on the south side of Southborough Road, just inside the county line, became a moot point when it was revealed the company involved in its installation, American Tower, had abandoned plans to install it.