Florence leaders focus on economic development

In spite of the national recession, Florence city and county leaders say their area has found a way to thrive.

And in their State of the City and State of the County speeches on Thursday, they declared that they plans to build on that success.

“We are rejecting the recession in Florence County,“ Florence County Council chairman Rusty Smith said. “We’re not going along with it. We’re going to try to bring in blue chip industries and jobs as hard as we can.“

Smith cites three examples to show the county’s success despite the “financial crisis” of the past few years. He says the county is number one in the state in income growth per capita, number five in the nation for adaptability to bring in industry, and he says the county has developed $500 million for new investment.

And to continue improvement in the future, he says the county has made economic improvement its top priority for the upcoming year.

City of Florence Mayor Stephen Wukela also emphasized the importance of economic development in the city during his speech. He said it’s already begun with the construction of the Francis Marion Performing Arts Center downtown.

He says the city has also made strides toward improvement with its most recent budget, which sets aside funds to build and staff a new fire station, and add ten Florence police officers.

He also wants to rid the city of abandoned and blighted properties – a project he’s already begun. He told the crowd at the Florence Civic Center on Thursday that he had already targeted nine properties for improvement, and convinced eight of those owners to clean their properties up.

He said the city is undertaking the demolition of 21 more blighted properties and the cleaning of 14 overgrown lots. The city has already cleared a former junkyard on the corner of Irby and Lucas Streets, which Wukela hopes will soon be the site of a transportation center.

He believes the steps the city and county have put in place are the first toward transforming Florence into a better place.

“The pearl of the Pee Dee could become a major cultural center without the liabilities of large urban sprawl,” he said.

But getting there won’t happen without sacrifice, he said. Tough economic times already present a challenge. But it’s a challenge Wukela is prepared to face.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are in the middle of a perfect storm,” he said. “We may let fear, mistrust and greed shipwreck us in this violent economic sea. Or we can use these powerful winds of circumstance and national recession to propel our city into a new world of progress.“

Wukela says he has a “fierce belief” that opportunities to transform Florence are within reach.