Florence County Council to have final reading of fire station bond

Florence County Council is scheduled to have third and final reading at Thursday’s regular meeting of a $600,000 bond to fund a new fire station in the Windy Hill/Olanta Rural Volunteer Fire District.

The fire district has agreed to provide service inside the municipal boundaries of the town of Olanta, according to county documents.

A new fire station is needed, according to the documents, in order for the fire district to provide the services and to have sufficient space to house vehicles and equipment.

Right now, several of the district’s fire trucks are left outside, despite sometimes harsh weather conditions, Florence County Administrator Richard Starks said.

The new station has “been needed a long time,” and the county is finally in position to help fund it, Starks said.

The general obligation bond, which is sponsored by county council, is not to exceed $600,000, according to the documents.

Second reading of the ordinance was unanimously approved by the council at the June 19 meeting.

The council also is expected to pass a resolution designating sources of payment of grant funds from the county for the recently announced economic development projects of H.J. Heinz Co. and Monster Worldwide Inc.

The resolution will keep funding from the development projects out of tax payers’ debt and the county’s general fund,  Starks said.

The county designated incentives for Heinz and Monster after the companies announced plans to invest more than $100 million and bring more than 1,100 jobs to the area, according to documents.

The resolution states that the total amount of incentives given to the two companies will not exceed $2.475 million.

It also states that the county will reimburse itself a portion of the incentives through a Special Source Revenue Bond, which will come from the new fee in lieu of tax payments from both development projects.

Heinz is building a 225,000-square-foot plant in the Pee Dee Electric Cooperative’s Touchstone Energy Commerce City, where the company will produce frozen meals.

Ground breaking for Heinz is scheduled to happen this summer, and construction is expected to be completed next summer.

Monster is expected to begin its operations in Florence County in September at a temporary site in the City Center at 324 W. Evans St.

Monster has not announced where its permanent location will be or the size of the facility.

If You’re Going
What: Florence County Council meeting
When: 9 a.m. Thursday
Where: City-County Complex Room 803, 180 N. Irby St.
Info: Call Connie Haselden, clerk to council, at (843) 665-3044.