Economic Activity Report of the South Carolina Upstate

Transcription

1 Volume 3 Issue 6 December 2000 Economic Activity Report of the South Carolina Upstate ADC Makes Additional Loans he Economic Activity Report of the South Carolina Upstate, produced quarterly by the Information Services Department, indicates that many major projects in the Upstate are underway or being completed. These projects include commercial, retail, residential, industrial, and transportation endeavors. A 13-mile stretch of Interstate 85 in Anderson County will be widened to six lanes between U.S. 29 and S.C. 178, beginning next spring. Michelin s new $90 million plant, on the former Lee Dobbins Road, is on track to open in October The new $13.5 million Anderson County Library opened in September. In Greenville County, many longanticipated projects are either completed or moving forward. Cherrydale Point Shopping Center opened at the corner of S.C. 291 and Poinsett Highway. Stores featured include Bath and Body Works, TJ Maxx, and Shoe Carnival, as well as Greenville s first Old Navy Store. Ford Credit Center, which employs 450 and features state-of-theart technology, operations, and customer service, opened in Mauldin. The Southern Connector is set to open in January 2001, and work on the Western Corridor will begin this fall. There are a number of efforts underway to further develop Downtown Greenville s West End. The city will spend $1.9 million to make major improvements in the area, including sidewalks, landscaping, parking, and underground utilities. The Husky Building, located behind the Peace Center, is undergoing a $4.5 million renovation, scheduled to be completed in March. West End Station will be under construction by spring. It will include 27 buildings with 170,000 square feet of leasable space and up to 45 upscale residential units. John Deere announced a $10 million expansion at their plant in Greer. In Spartanburg County, Tire Centers, LLC announced that it will relocate its corporate headquarters from Ohio to Duncan by next summer. The company will invest $6 million in a new 40,000- square-foot building. The Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium re-opened after a $10.6 million expansion/renovation project. Skygen, in Cherokee County, announced it will build a total of five turbines at its Broad River Energy Center, boosting its investment from $123 (Economic Activity continued on page 2) rater s Creek Lumber Company was approved for a loan of $75,000. Prater s Creek is a sawmill operation owned by Steve and Faye Durham. It is located in the Town of Six Mile in Pickens County. The Appalachain Development Corporation (ADC) funds will be combined with funds from CCB Bank to purchase additional equipment and inventory. The company has primarily worked in soft lumber, and now wants to inventory more hardwoods. The loan was approved for 15 years. The total project exceeds $200,000. The company currently employs eight people and hopes to expand by at least three additional employees within the next two years. Stepping Stone Child Development Center, a nursery and learning center in Williamston, was approved for a loan of $20,000. The ADC funds will be used to purchase additional equipment and furnishings that will allow Stepping Stones to expand to provide a second shift for parents working 3 to 11 p.m. Stepping Stones was started in April 2000 by Susan Craine to provide a day care and educational center to the Williamston area. The Center now employs nine people and will add at least two additional people with the expansion. BAB, LLC, a real estate holding company, was approved for a loan of $200,000. BAB, LLC was formed by the owners of Palmetto State Transportation, Incorporated, to construct a (ADC Loans continued on page 3)

2 Page 2 Regionalism: Concept and Practice he Appalachian Council of Governments has acted as both advocate and instrument for regionalism in Upstate South Carolina for over a quarter-century. Because we have preached the gospel of regionalism for so long, we tend to forget that the concept its origins, and resultant benefits, may not be as familiar to those outside the professional practice. This series of articles, appearing in Viewpoint over the next several months, will look at the history of regionalism in America, South Carolina, and the Upstate in particular. It will attempt to outline the reasons why regionalism is important for our future. And, finally, since there is strength in knowledge, we hope it will lay the foundation for building an even broader base of advocacy for enhanced intergovernmental cooperation in South Carolina s Appalachian region. --Bob Strother, Executive Director Part I: Regionalism in America Regionalism has only recently become fashionable in wider circles, but it is not a new concept. It dates back to the 1920 s when some ideas about regionalism sprang up after the 1920 census showed that, for the first time in history, a majority of Americans were living in urban areas. As a result, regional planning efforts were initiated in several large metropolitan areas. These early efforts were, however, relatively isolated and were largely the result of privately organized and funded entities. As a basis for public policy, regionalism re-emerged in the 1960 s on a broader scale. The government was channeling significant amounts of federal money into a variety of categorical grants programs to benefit both urban and rural areas. There was enough duplication and overlap that Congress eventually advanced the concept of regionalism by encouraging the creation of regional institutions to oversee the planning for, and implementation of those grants programs. Known by a variety of names (councils of governments, regional planning commissions, local development districts, and others), most regional councils were created between 1965 and At that time, regional councils served primarily as comprehensive planning agencies. These multi-county agencies worked closely with the federal government, which emphasized regional approaches for the implementation of federal initiatives and priorities. During the 1980 s, as the federal government reduced the number of comprehensive federal planning programs directly supportive of substate regionalism, regional council activities shifted from federally mandated planning to membership assistance and services delivery. While the councils remained as a primary liaison between the federal, state, and local government levels, the councils work programs became more centered on local government needs and priorities. In addition to comprehensive planning and grants assistance, most regional councils now offer a wide array of services and programs, including public administration, small business finance, job training, and services to the elderly. Today, over 550 regional coun- (Economic Activity continued from page 1) million to more than $200 million. The Oconee County Airport is continuing with its expansion. Pickens County received a $500,000 million grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission for roadway improvements in the new Pickens County Industrial Park. To purchase a copy of the Economic Activity Report of the S. C. Upstate, please contact the Information Additional Services Through One-Stop Delivery Centers An article in a previous issue of Viewpoint provided an introduction to the first level of services, Core Service, available through the One-Stop Delivery System. For those customers who are unable to find work after receiving core services, additional services may be available. Intensive Services may be provided for those who meet Adult or Dislocated Worker eligibility criteria. Staff of the Employment Security Commission at each of the One-Stop Centers will determine eligibility. Intensive Services include the following: In-depth interviewing and evaluation to identify employment barriers; More formalized assessment, including aptitude, interest, and basic skills; Development of individual employment plans to identify employment goals, appropriate achievement objectives, and appropriate combination of services for the customer to achieve the employment goals; Group counseling; Continual individualized counseling and career planning assistance; Continual or ongoing assessment of the WIA customer's capabilities and potential for obtaining his/her selfsufficient unsubsidized employment goals and need for supportive services; Short-term pre-vocational services, including, but not limited to, development of learning skills, communication skills, interviewing skills, punctuality, personal maintenance skills, and professional conduct, to prepare the individual(s) for self-sufficient unsubsidized employment or training services; Life skills/job club; and Individualized case management services. Intensive Services will be provided by the staff of Tri-County Technical College at each of the four One-Stop

3 Page 3 Town of Pendleton Participates in ACLP Program n April, the Town of Pendleton was selected by the State Department of Commerce and the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), upon ACOG s suggestion, to participate in ARC s Appalachian Community Learning Project (ACLP). The ARC established this program to help small communities in the region overcome obstacles to economic and social development. The project is based on the notion that widespread and effective leadership, broad-based community organizations, and productive collaboration between grassroots groups and public and private sector leaders is critical. Under the ACLP, four- or five-person teams from each participating community learn an outcome-based approach to locally led development by attending a training forum. In the forum, emphasis is placed on illustrating not only the importance of having outcomes and targets by which to achieve them, but also on the importance of learning from your own experiences and the experiences of other communities. The ARC agreed to provide up to $3,000 to each participating community to assist them with undertaking activities to achieve their goals. The Pendleton group established two targets for their project: (A) to reduce litter/vandalism in the west side of town caused by youth; and (B) economic gain for the town where at least 25 merchants would see a 10 percent increase in sales. To achieve target A, they established a program called Pendleton Pride that would teach kids about the Town s history and heritage; therefore instilling a sense of pride in their community and a desire to protect it from litter and vandalism. To do this, the group, including many volunteers, incorporated Pendleton Pride with the summer program operated by the Pendleton Community Center for kids ages 4-14, which averaged around 70 kids per summer. They organized a history day, a craft day, several field trips to local sites, and two all-day field trips. Pendleton also anticipates getting a grant from the W. C. English Foundation to continue this project. The group also held a fall festival set in the period of the founding of Pendleton, 1790, called Blast Into the Past. This festival, held on October 21, had traditional crafts, music, entertainment, food, etc. Several children from the Pendleton Pride program wrote and/ or presented oral essays about Pendleton s history and heritage. The merchants were polled and about 30 reported at least a 10 percent increase is sales, and they called the festival a great success. This will now become an annual event in Pendleton. Congratulations go out to Mayor Burdette, the Town of Pendleton, and the many volunteers that were necessary to undertake these activities, for a job Healthy Community Over the past several months, Anderson Partners for a Healthy Community has been working on a project funded through the South Carolina Turning Point Initiative to assess the environment in Anderson County. The project originated out of a realization that, while Anderson County has demonstrated tremendous capacity in addressing their community health needs, the environmental needs of Anderson County have not been addressed collectively from a Healthy Communities perspective. The primary goal of this effort is to identify the critical environmental needs as they pertain to health in the broad healthy communities sense, and develop a strategic plan to address those needs. The Council of Governments, in cooperation with The Environmental Committee of Anderson Partners for a Healthy Community, has participated in this process by conducting the Environmental Needs Assessment for Anderson County. Issues being examined include air quality, water quality, county growth patterns, waste management, land use management and additional environmental issues. The ACOG s work has involved assessing existing environmental quality data and the community s perceived environmental concerns. Once the assessment phase is complete, Partners for a Healthy Community will then be engaging the community to help develop a strategic plan to address the key environmental concerns. The ACOG will also be assisting in facilitating the strategic planning process. The assessment phase of this project is expected to be completed by January 2001, and the strategic planning process will take place during the spring of next year. If you would like to know more about this process, please contact Chip Bentley at the Council of (ADC Loans continued from page 1) trucking terminal on the Westside of Greenville. New Commerce Bank asked the ADC to participate in funding of this new facility. When complete, the new terminal will house the operations currently located on Highway 14 on the Eastside of Greenville. Palmetto State Transportation is a locally owned trucking company that has been in operation for several years. The new facility will allow the company to retain all 68 current employees and increase its employees by 12 within

4 Page 4 Senior Catering Opens New Kitchen Greenville Local Government Forum: Facilitating Cooperation Calendar of Events December 5 Senior Access Planning 4:00 p.m., Richland County Library, Parklane Branch, On December 4, 2000, Senior Catering will open a new kitchen in Seneca. The kitchen will be co-located and operate out of facilities at the Anderson-Oconee Council on Aging s Seneca Senior Center. This kitchen will prepare and deliver meals for the elderly in Anderson, Oconee, and Pickens counties, and the Piedmont dining site in Greenville. All of the other meals for Greenville, Cherokee, and Spartanburg counties will continue to be prepared and delivered from Senior Catering s Newberry kitchen. The volume of daily meals had risen above the 5,000 optimum and this move will enable the Newberry kitchen to get back to the optimum level. It will also facilitate preparation and delivery of meals for Anderson, Oconee, and Pickens participants from a more central kitchen. The Appalachian COG Area Agency on Aging, the holder of the contract with Senior Catering, welcomes this opening of the new kitchen. The AAA believes it will enable Senior Catering to continue providing high quality, nutritious meals to the region s elderly nutrition program participants. There is a new spirit of cooperation among the governments of the Upstate s largest county. Greenville County administrators and chief elected officials are meeting on a regular basis to discuss ongoing issues, resolve problems, and foster cooperation between Greenville County and the six cities within the county. The administrators meet monthly, and every other month they are joined by the chief elected officials from each jurisdiction. The COG provides meeting space and also provides staff support from the Governmental Services Department. In the past few months, members of the Greenville Local Government Forum have discussed key issues such as Law Enforcement Center (LEC) charges for housing prisoners, stormwater management, recruiting efforts, and information technology issues. Staff from various local governments are meeting in subcommittees to discuss specific ways to increase cooperation in the areas of human resources, purchasing, and information technology. Plans are in the works to host an annual meeting later in the year that will include all elected officials and administrators in Greenville County. If you have any questions about the Greenville Local Government Forum, contact Joe Newton at (864) December 6 December 6 December 7 Focal Point Planning Committee Meeting, 10:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m., Richland County Library, Parklane Branch, Regional Aging Advisory Committee Meeting, 10:30 a.m. 1:00 p.m., Council Board Room. SE4A Conference Planning Meeting, 10:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m., Central Midlands COG, December 8 Summer School of Gerontology Committee 1:00 p.m., Department of Mental Health, Room 323, December 8 COG Board of Directors Meeting, 10:30 a.m., Council Board Room. December 15 SC4A Association 3:00 p.m., Caring Connections Board Room,

5 Page 5 Appalachian Council of Governments 30 Century Circle P. O. Drawer 6668 Greenville, South Carolina PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID GREENVILLE, SC PERMIT NO. 1604