Economic development, education discussed at Darlington County Joint Meeting
Darlington County Council chairman Bobby Hudson, standing.
Photo by Samantha Lyles
By Samantha Lyles, Staff Writer, slyles@newsandpress.net
Members of Darlington County Council, Darlington County Board of Education, Darlington County Economic Development, and the municipal councils of Darlington, Hartsville, Lamar, and Society Hill met January 30 at the Darlington Country Club for the first City/County Supper of 2017, and representatives of each group shared news of their activities and plans for this year.
Darlington County School District superintendent Dr. Eddie Ingram talked about plans to construct three new elementary schools with proceeds from the $60 million bond referendum approved last November by county voters.
“They will be collapsing six schools into three. We’ll have one elementary school in Lamar to replace Spaulding Elementary School and Lamar Elementary School – which, by the way, is about 68 years old. In Darlington, we’ll build an elementary school on the current Cain Elementary site, which will combine Cain and Brunson-Dargan. In Hartsville, we will be combining West Hartsville and Washington Street into one new facility,” said Ingram.
Ingram said work continues on gymnasium renovations at the Mayo High School for Math, Science, and Technology. He spoke of a youth apprenticeship program at Darlington County Institute of Technology (DCIT) where students work as paid apprentices at local businesses with the potential to become full-time employees upon graduation. Ingram said the District is working toward establishing digital portfolios for all students which can be accessed by businesses and colleges that are looking for employees and students.
“It can be a vehicle to recruit students to particular technical schools or colleges, or even the workforce,” said Ingram.
Also, Ingram lauded a community input program where over 200 Darlington County citizens gave their opinions on what skills the District should impart to students to ensure their success in college and /or the work environment. After six meetings, the citizens identified five qualities they consider most important: communication, collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, and adaptability.
Darlington County Economic Development Partnership director Frank Willis spoke of two prospective industrial projects that could bring major development to the county this year.
“We’re working on two prospects, really hard. One of them, I think, is pretty much a done deal. The other one has got a lot of work to do. But if we get these two, it will probably be the best year Darlington County has seen in a long time,” said Willis.
Mayor Gloria Hines of Darlington lauded the addition of a 2016 fire truck from H.M.E. First Class Apparatus. The new truck, which cost $350,000, replaces two older trucks from 1984 and 1986. She also praised the Darlington Fire Department for achieving an excellent ISO rating of 3 – which, she noted, is the best in the county.
Hines spoke of a $1 million grant to improve six municipal buildings, with work scheduled to begin this spring. She added that work on a sewer improvement project for the Highway 52 By-Pass was recently completed, which means the city will be able to offer full water and sewer utility services to businesses located along the by-pass. Also, Hines mentioned CDBG-funded water and sewer improvements to six streets in southwest Darlington, and ongoing efforts to remediate the notorious “stinky ditch” on Chalmers Street. Mayor Hines said that since 2010, the City of Darlington has received over $7 million in grant funding for water, sewer, and infrastructure improvements.
She finished up by mentioning three new businesses set to open in Darlington in 2017, including a dialysis center, Tractor Supply Company, and Little Caesars Pizza.
“We are moving up the ladder. Don’t be scared of us, now!” Hines said. “We’re trying to bring our county up, and we’ve got to bond together.”
Bobby Hudson, chair of Darlington County Council, announced that Charles Stewart has been named county administrator, removing the “interim” designation from his title, with a contract running through October 1, 2017.
Johnny Andrews, Mayor Pro Tem of Hartsville, said that on December 11, 2016, Hartsville celebrated its 125th anniversary and the city plans a number of special observations during 2017. Andrews praised a major improvement to Hartsville’s downtown with the paving and lighting of College Avenue and its public parking lots, and reminded everyone that Hartsville voted to approve Sunday alcohol sales, so many city eateries can now offer cocktails with Sunday brunch.
He added that progress continues toward the opening of an EdVenture Children’s Museum in Hartsville, and he hopes that a formal announcement for that project will be coming soon.
Andrews also spoke of the success of the “Hartsville Safe Communities” project, where eight habitual offenders were diverted from criminal prosecution and re-routed onto a path of education and career training.
“That’s been going on for almost a year. Recently, with the help of Florence-Darlington Tech, two of these young men have graduated and gotten their CDL licenses…and one of the young men, I’m proud to say, has a job with the City of Hartsville,” Andrews said. “This is something we’re looking forward to doing again this year, bringing in a new set of folks and trying to help the community.”
Denise Douglas, Mayor Pro Tem of Society Hill, spoke of the town’s new police chief, David Young – a former division commander with the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office – and the hiring of a new part-time police officer to work during evening hours. Douglas said Society Hill Town Council continues to work toward final passage of an ordinance to enforce clean up of overgrown lots and dilapidated properties.
Jackie Thomas, Mayor Pro Tem of Lamar, spoke of ongoing efforts to secure funding for a $3 million comprehensive water project that would allow the town to resume selling municipal water to residential and commercial customers. The town currently purchases all of its water from the Darlington County Water and Sewer Authority, and has done so since DHEC closed both town wells due to detection of trace radium.
Darlington County School Board chair Jamie Morphis encouraged all attendees to try and develop ideas that allow county and city governments to collaborate and combine resources for the betterment of the community.
“I’m not saying what we’re doing is not productive. It’s great. But if we can move it a step further, it really would be nice to work with these different groups prior to them making any commitments on projects… if we work together and share (resources), I think we’d get a lot more for our money,” said Morphis.