Council approves fee agreement, jetport land leases

Darlington County Council gave final approval Monday to an ordinance for a fee in lieu of taxes (FILOT) agreement with NSLC, Darlington Inc.

NSLC, formerly Chesterfield Lumber Co., is planning an investment in its saw and planer mill in Darlington and asked the county to provide a FILOT for the project.

The agreement will provide for a 6-percent assessment ratio and a locked millage rate in return for a minimum investment of $7 million by the company during an eight-year period.

The measure passed without opposition.

In other business, council accepted two bids for the lease of crop land at the Darlington County Jetport from the son-in-law of the county administrator.

One lease is for 109.6 acres of land in the triangle area inside the runways at the jetport for $5,534.80 for five years. The other is for 145 acres around the triangle of runways for $10,193.50, also for five years.

The winning bids came from Jimmy Tolson, who is the son-in-law of County Administrator Phyllis Griffitts. Council approved the bids without opposition.

Griffitts wrote council members a memorandum dated Oct. 13 apprising them of the situation. “Because I may be seen as having a conflict of interest in this matter, I wanted to make sure that Council is aware of this,” Griffitts wrote in the memo.

State law prohibits public officials, employees and office holders from knowingly using their official positions to obtain an economic interest for themselves, immediate family members, or individuals or businesses with whom they are associated.

“Please note that I have not been involved in the bidding process or review of the bids,” she wrote. “Also I will not be involved in any vote, deliberations, or other actions involving this matter on which a potential conflict of interest may exist.”

Materials Manager Teresa Dickerson handles farm leases and the solicitation and review of bids, Griffitts wrote.

Council Chairman Billy Baldwin read the letter publicly during a public hearing on the leases before the vote.

Council also approved a Grant-in-Aid allocation of $21,491.24 and an Emergency Medical Services contract between the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control and Darlington County. The grant requires a matching amount of $1,132.47 from the county.

The funding will be apportioned among the five licensed ambulance service providers operating in the county — Hartsville, Darlington, Lamar, Society Hill and Lake Robinson rescue squads and Darlington County EMS. The amount allocated to each agency is based on the number of emergency calls reported to DHEC’s EMS Division by the provider.

Members also gave their approval for EMS Director Robbin Brock to send emergency service employees to classes at a training facility in Alabama operated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The facility is a former military base, Brock said.

He said county employees from EMS, law enforcement and firefighters can attend training sessions at the center at no cost to the county.