HPDC elects President, dissolves Corporation
By Stephan Drew, Editor
In perhaps one of the shortest meetings in the past several years, the Hartsville Public Development Corporation (HPDC) elected a new President and was then dissolved. The meeting, which took place in Council Chambers at 100 E. Carolina Ave. in Hartsville, lasted for approximately 10 minutes. Patrick Youngblood, Treasurer of the Byerly Foundation was elected President by a unanimous vote. Immediately following his assumption to the office, the entire board voted to dissolve the HPDC and end its business. Mr. Youngblood was President for 3 minutes and 37 seconds.
Roughly 5 years and 8 months old, the organization filed for incorporation in December of 2017, as a nonprofit which was formed to assist in the development of public facilities and other projects which benefit the city. The entity has helped with the development and implementation of city projects, including the Canal District, since its inception. Recently however, as Section 1, Paragraph C of Resolution 25 states,” The Board has determined that the Corporation is no longer serving the purpose for which it was formed or providing any meaningful benefit to the City or the surrounding community.” For this reason, the HPDC Board decided to dissolve the group. The Corporation had no outstanding financial obligations, no operating responsibilities and no remaining assets. Hartsville City Council and the Board of the Byerly Foundation must adopt resolutions approving of the dissolution and, then, HPDC will be able to file articles of dissolution with the S.C. Secretary of State’s Office.