Thirty-two minutes in closed session produced no open session motions or action on two items of interest to people in opposite ends of Laurens County.
The Laurens County Council was discussing “Project Orange,” which according to the agenda, is “an industrial site in Joanna,” and a contract and purchase of rights-of-way for a potential Hwy 101 By-pass in Gray Court.
Joanna is a community in eastern Laurens County, between Clinton and the Newberry County line; and Gray Court is in Northern Laurens County, home to the massive ZF Transmissions plant.
Contracts and industry negotiations are allowed for closed (executive) session discussions by the SC Freedom of Information Act. No votes can be taken (and no consensus can be reached) in these closed sessions.
The discussion was part of the Council’s Oct. 12 regular monthly meeting.
The Council presented a retirement recognition to Captain Troy Aldridge, of Laurens County EMS, and adopted a Red Ribbon Week (drug abuse awareness and prevention for youth) designation of Oct. 23-31 for Laurens County.
Council heard from 2 citizens during public comments on agenda items time - one about the recently passed solar farms regulation ordinance, as it relates to homes, and one about property re-assessment for tax purposes.
County Administrator Jerre Threatt thanked the Laurens County Government team for its hurricane preparedness, and announced that a ribbon-cutting for the new Emergency Management Center will be scheduled for early November.
The President and CEO of the Upstate Alliance, John Lummus, gave an update on the organization’s economic development efforts and its partnership with the Laurens County Development Corporation.
Council gave final reading to an ordinance change that makes it clear that the Planning Commission has final say in signing off on Major Subdivisions, and gave first reading to adding 1st and 2nd offense to when the Sheriff’s Office can issue fines related to the recently adopted Animal Control Ordinance.
A resolution was adopted accepting the donation of 3.8 acres in Western Laurens County to establish the Culbertson Mill Park.
The donation is made by Gray Court historian and preservationist Dianne Culbertson, with stipulations that the County must maintain the old grist mill at the site. A kayak launch point and a pavilion at the former skating rink site also will be established; Council was told maintenance will fold in to the work at other county parks in the area.
Markers at the new park will highlight Laurens County’s role in the American Revolution.
Culbertson is a member of the statewide America250 Committee that has been and is continuing to be instrumental in worldwide recognition of South Carolina’s role in the Revolutionary War.
July 4, 2026, was the 250th Anniversary of the Birth of America (signing of the Declaration of Independence), and commemorations are continuing through the current years that will correspond to the years of the American Revolution (1775-1783).
This meeting lasted 1 hour and 28 minutes. The next regular Laurens County Council meeting will be Nov. 9 in the Historic Courthouse in downtown Laurens.
