Aiken County Council approves economic development ordinances, budget revisions

Mar. 8—During a busy meeting Tuesday night, Aiken County Council considered multiple ordinances related to economic development projects.

One of those projects involves the recent sale of four parcels totaling more than 500 acres in Sage Mill Industrial Park in Graniteville.

In addition, County Council gave final approval to an ordinance that revises the 2022-2023 fiscal year budget, which includes funding for the purchase of ambulances and more money for the expansion of the Aiken County detention center.

All nine members of the panel were present at the Aiken County Government Center or participated in the proceedings via telephone.

All their votes were unanimous.

Among the economic development ordinances receiving County Council's blessing was the third and final reading of an order to convey a limited warranty deed to Starskey LLC for a county-owned portion of Honeyberry Drive in Sage Mill.

The sale price for that section of the road is $119,000.

Starskey LLC is acting on the behalf of an enterprise identified in County Council meeting agenda documents Project Sabal.

Last December, Starskey and other entities purchased the four tracts in Sage Mill for $19,299,555, according to Aiken County land records.

The seller of the 572.58 acres combined was the Wyatt Realty Investment Opportunity Fund Ltd.

Land records now identify Starskey as the owner of all four parcels.

Based on information posted on the South Carolina Secretary of State's website, Corporation Service Company of West Columbia is the registered agent for Starskey, which was formed in October 2022.

Also Tuesday, County Council approved the third and final reading of an ordinance authorizing the county to sell approximately 40 acres in Sage Mill for $1 million to "the purchaser at the real estate closing as provided for in the agreement" for Project Grove.

"The company we are doing business with in terms of selling the land and making those arrangements is Gateway Properties," County Council Chairman Gary Bunker said.

Gateway's plans call for the investment of around $24 million in the project, which will establish a distribution facility and create approximately 40 new, full-time jobs.

In other action related to Gateway and Project Grove, County Council approved the second readings of two ordinances that would authorize tax incentives for the project.

Also receiving the panel's blessing was the first reading of an ordinance to convey a limited warranty deed for around 48 acres in Sage Mill to "a company known as Project Bundle" in County Council documents.

Another ordinance that the panel approved on third and final reading, "makes a minor change" in the tax incentives that the county previously had provided to Central States Manufacturing Inc.

The company, which manufactures metal building components such as roofing and siding, is expanding its operations in Sage Mill.

Central States is planning to make an additional investment locally of approximately $4 million that will lead to the creation of 40 new, full-time jobs, according to the ordinance.

Asked about the increase in economic development in Sage Mill recently, Bunker said: "What we're benefiting from is basically changes in global trade and manufacturing that are bringing industries that we had lost or never had to the southeastern United States."

The Southeast "offers the best manufacturing environment (in this country) in terms of workforce, taxes, regulatory (measures) and infrastructure. You can go down the list," Bunker added.

For many years, there was a process of "deindustrialization" in the U.S. as manufacturers moved their operations to other nations, Bunker said.

But because of "the breakdown of the global trade system," he explained, "a second industrial revolution is happening in our country.

"Manufacturing is getting sourced back into the United States and even foreign manufacturers are building their plants here," Bunker said.

In the ordinance that revises the county's 2022-2023 fiscal year budget, which County Council gave final approval to Tuesday, there is $850,000 in funding from Capital Project Sales Tax IV to purchase three ambulances.

The ordinance also authorizes the reappropriation of some of the federal money available to the county from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, or ARPA.

County Council will take $6 million of the $15,076,883 it allocated to sewer and water projects and use the money to help pay for the expansion of the Aiken County detention center.

Two pods to house inmates will be constructed.

In February, County Council unanimously approved a resolution for the county to hire R.D. Brown Contractors Inc. to be in charge of the project.

R.D. Brown's bid was $13.8 million.

When County Council approved a plan for spending ARPA money two years ago, it determined that $9 million would be allotted for detention center's expansion.

But as of February 2023, only $7.87 million of that amount was still available because of the cost of project's design.