Florence City Council OKs Rosewood Village letter of support

FLORENCE — Florence City Council on Monday unanimously approved a letter of support to the Housing Authority of Florence to provide up to $1 million in-kind support for the proposed Rosewood Village along Oakland Street.

The Housing Authority will use the letter of support in applying for a Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant under the stimulus program for up to $10 million.

The approval came during a special city council meeting Monday. Action during a similar special meeting last Wednesday was deferred until Monday so that council members could receive further information concerning the request.

Rosewood Village would also take in Mechanic, Coker and Royal streets. The commercial areas would be on Oakland Street.

It would consist of 24 single family and town house residential units along Mechanic Street, 24 single-family and town house units between Coker and Royal streets, 48 to 72 family garden-style residential units along Royal Street, 54 senior residential units along Mechanic Street and a community center in the middle of all the units.

City Manager David Williams said he had a “very rough” preliminary sketch of in-kind contributions the city might be able to make. The “very rough sketch” amounted to around $1 million.

Among the items Williams mentioned were relocating sewer lines, paving streets, applying for a recurring state grant for outdoor playground equipment, planting trees, beautification projects, assisting with demolition costs, assistance with tap fees, providing street lights and using Community Block Development Grant (CBDG) funds.

Councilman Billy D. Williams is an ardent supporter of the project. He was upset that council didn’t make a decision Wednesday.

“We’ve got to start looking beyond today,” he said Monday. “We’ve given letters of support for other projects. What we are saying here is we are going to support the Housing Authority in this project. We are trying to uplift this community, and I know we can find ways to make this work.”

Councilman Steve Powers said action was deferred Wednesday because council needed more information. He said he had talked to members of Florence County Council during the interim, who also think it’s a great project.

Councilman Bill Bradham called it a “win-win situation.”

And Councilman Buddy Brand said, “I just wanted to get further information on what we could and couldn’t do. This meeting today (Monday) gives me a better idea of what the city is capable of doing. It appears to me also that this is a win-win situation.”

Councilman Ed Robinson had similar feelings except he wanted to know if there was any way the city could participate without using CBDG funds. He also wanted minorities to be involved in the construction process.

Danny Roseborough is director of housing operations for the Housing Authority.

He said it is a federal policy that the Housing Authority can’t select a particular minority group to be involved in the construction process.

“This is in my district,” Robinson said. “I want to make sure everything possible is done to make this project a success.”