Without a public hearing or a competitive bidding process, Clinton City Council re-authorized on Nov. 2 the sale of 557.2 acres of former Whitten Center land to Ark Management.
The action came on second reading of an ordinance that supersedes an early ordinance expressing the City’s intention to sell the land. That first ordinance gave the developer time to perform due diligence on the land, which was declared surplus by the State of South Carolina and deeded to the City of Clinton. That time has now expired.
The State and the City will split the expected $1.3 Million sale proceeds. Ark Management intends to construct a travel-baseball complex on the land, with longer term development to include a subdivision and adjacent retail and hotels space.
City Manager Joey Meadors told Council that the ordinance includes a 4.55-acre tract needed for the development, envisioned beside the Hampton Inn & Suites, including a reservoir, adjacent to Hwy 72 and I-26. It will be the largest sports-related complex located between Greenville-Spartanburg and Columbia.
The deal should be final, with closing, prior to Jan. 31, 2027 but the developer can extend that time by 90 days. If Ark Management does that, it will put an additional $50,000 into escrow, Meadors said.
Council Member Danny Smith made the motion to adopt the ordinance on 2nd, final, reading, seconded by council member Gary Kuykendall. The motion passed unanimously.
The property will be sold to Ark Management for a negotiated price of $2,500 per acre.
The City owns more Whitten Center land beyond I-26, and that tract is envisioned for a potential industrial park.
Council also authorized payments to visitors-generating groups from the City’s Accommodations Tax. Meeting Sept. 23, the ATAX Committee was told it had $60,156.50 to disburse; requests for the funding totaled $110,000.
Recommended by the committee and authorized by the council are these funds, from a state-authorized tax on anywhere a person lays his/her head, to be spent only on activities that generate visitors:
LushAcres Farm (Christmas), $5,000;
Presbyterian College (friends and family weekend), $5,000;
Musgrove Mill State Park (audio/visual), $5,000;
Laurens County Community Theatre (sound and lights), $10,000;
Clinton Canopy (Millers Fork), $5,000;
Clinton Family YMCA (baseball complex upgrades), $5,000;
City of Clinton (Christmas and Rhythm on the Rails), $10,156.50;
Rev250 (marketing), $5,000; and
Main Street Clinton (In the Middle of Everything), $10,000.
Received after the deadline: The Village of 2nd Chances (fall and winter festival).
Also, at the Clinton City Council’s regular monthly meeting, Nov. 2, during public comments, Col. Corey Cannon expressed that the council’s deliberations and actions related to the Cambridge Farm annexation is a process that he, as a military man, can respect. He didn’t agree with the outcome but said, “I salute you for your decision making process.”
Clinton resident Lynn Brower presented Mayor Randy Randall with a surprise, personalized artwork that highlights the Mayor’s theatrical and governmental career. It includes a depiction of Randall’s latest stage role - Lurch from The Addam’s Family. He thanked Brower for her “very kind words” on the artwork.
Lydia Mill resident Richard Ellis brought to the council’s attention what he said are deficits in how Public Works says it is going to pick up debris vs when it actually does so, and the lack of city government responsiveness to citizens.
Council Proclamations are:
November as Alzheimers Awareness Month;
November as National Diabetes Month;
November as Hospice of Laurens County Month;
November as Lung Cancer Awareness Month;
Nov. 19 as World Pancreatic Cancer Day;
Nov. 28 as Small Business Saturday; and
A 40 years of service appreciation to Tapestry women’s shop. Council Member Kuykendall related how the successful business was developed from an old filling station, and turned into a premier women’s shop by the late Leslie Ann Cooper Jackson, starting on August 6, 1986. Megan Gauble is now the owner and operator, and Kuykendall said, “She came back here (after Clemson to run the business) and what a glorious gift that is to this town.”
Council received information from the Safe Streets project about new pedestrian crosswalks and special software that allows emergency vehicles to get all green lights on the way to a call, and from Southeastern Consulting Engineering on the health of the City’s electrical system, enhanced by $3.5 Million in grant funding.
Council authorized, on final reading, an ordinance that moves Municipal Elections from the current March date to next November, in compliance with a state law.
Council approved the designation of Commerce Drive (off Hwy 56 at I-26) as a private road under DuBrook Properties LLC’s jurisdiction, allowing for Police to enforce traffic laws there. A pre-casting concrete industry has been constructed on this I-26 site.
Council approved its meetings schedule and the City’s holidays schedule.
Following a closed session, Council authorized a resolution in support of supplemental power sales (a contract), and transferred $19,760 from Fire Department salaries to the Municipal Court (personnel).
In his report, Meadors said the Clinton Recreation Complex is hosting its first major event, a grass volleyball tournament this weekend, and the first season of YMCA soccer just wrapped up at the Hwy 56 complex. He reported on very early efforts to set up a small train in Clinton as a community attraction, and Council passed a motion encouraging this effort to bring “a historic train relic” back home to the City.
Council received financial information related to the sale of the Leonard property, near the Clinton Presbyterian Community and Springdale Homes, netting the City $368,000 for its General Fund and a $197,000 grant that will replace laptop computers in Police cars.
Council members expressed appreciation to the City staff on a successful Halloween, and expressed interest in upcoming Christmas events, the number of city vehicles, and regulations regarding e-scooters. Expressing the need for a possible executive session, Council Member Natalie Cogsdill said she was wearing a Back the Blue, Back the Red, and back the American Flag shirt because “a lot is going on at the Fire Department, to the people who have contacted me I want to say, your names have not been dragged through the mud, you have credibility with me, you should not be harassed and cussed for a job you were once passionate about. Councilman Cogsdill has your back.”
VIEW the meeting, in two parts, here.
