Lake Greenwood Boundary Line Agreement Process Changing — Oct 18 Meeting.
Greenwood – Greenwood County Council will be considering a proposed change to Lake Greenwood boundary line agreement process at their meeting on Tuesday, October 18. This proposal is a change in focus from the current fee simple process to easements for property adjacent to Lake Greenwood.
This change is being brought forth to limit the risk to the county and to all residents (both lake front and non- lake front property owners) as it will reduce the potential of future tax increases related to boundary line issues, should they arise.
The change in the process does not have any effect on property owner’s access to Lake Greenwood. Access will be, and has always been, completely unfettered for property owners. In fact, nothing will change for property owners unless they ask for a boundary line agreement.
There are a few properties on Lake Greenwood that already have property easements, so this decision is not a completely foreign concept. Easements will provide clarification for property owners, limit the risk to the county and taxpayers, and continue providing property owners legal access to the lake.
Greenwood County Council will meet at 5:30 p.m. October 18, in the Greenwood County Library’s American Veteran’s Auditorium.
Greenwood County Beginning Lake Locator Initiative
Greenwood – Greenwood County has announced an initiative to label all docks on the waters of Lake Greenwood. This project, being led by Greenwood County Emergency Management, will help both emergency responders as well as recreational lake goers. Each dock on Lake Greenwood will receive a reflective panel sign with an identifying number that coordinates to a physical address, enabling emergency services to be deployed faster and more accurately.
“Currently, when there is an emergency on Lake Greenwood such as a boating accident or drowning, witnesses and bystanders may have difficulty explaining their location to emergency personnel due to location recognition issues,” Jamie Parrish, Emergency Management coordinator, said. “Labeling all the docks on Lake Greenwood will provide boaters and lake goers a quick and easy way to identify where they are and relay that information to 911 dispatch, if it is needed.”
All docks on Lake Greenwood will be assigned a unique number that is associated with the property’s physical address so that 911 dispatch can deploy crews to the scene by water and land. Property owners’ physical addresses will only be accessible to emergency services.
The Lake Locator Initiative signs will be placed onto the front of all docks where they will be visible from the water. The reflective signs are 4” x 18” and are color coordinated with the property’s county designation (green for Greenwood County, red for Laurens County and blue for Newberry County).
Dock owners will be required to pay a one-time, nominal fee of $5 for the sign. The funds for signs on Greenwood County docks will be collected by an additional transfer to the Lake Management Fund and dock owners who live in Newberry and Laurens counties will see the one-time fee added to their annual dock fee billed in July 2023. For new construction, property owners will pay the fee when they obtain an encroachment permit from Greenwood County Lake Management.
Since Greenwood County has the authority to access and make modifications to all docks in Lake Greenwood and to ensure this initiative rollout is as hassle-free as possible for dock owners, a volunteer crew will place signs on all docks. Signs will be placed on docks beginning Saturday, October 29, through Sunday, November 13. Property owners wishing
to install their own sign may attend the volunteer meeting, which will be held Sunday, October 23 at 2 p.m. at the new boat ramp pavilion located at the Highway 72/221 bridge.
In addition to emergency management purposes, the Lake Locator Initiative signs will also benefit property owners and lake goers alike in reporting lake issues such as: vandalism, theft or reckless boaters; providing a navigational system for those less familiar with Lake Greenwood and providing location information for county-specific issues that may arise.
For more information on the Lake Greenwood Lake Locator Initiative, or if you are interested in volunteering to distribute signs, please contact (864) 942-8553. Online volunteer registration can be found at https://bit.ly/3dF4dca.
Greenwood County Awarded $38 million for Highway 246 Widening Project
Greenwood – Greenwood County was awarded $38 million from the South Carolina Transportation Infrastructure Bank for the widening of S.C. Highway 246 South. State Transportation Infrastructure Bank members voted unanimously to approve Greenwood County’s grant application for the Highway 246 widening project.
This planned widening is a part of the Capital Project Sales Tax (CPST) program that Greenwood County voters approved in 2016 designating $12 million CPST funds for the expansion. To date, approximately $6 million has been received and designated for pre-construction costs, including design.
“This is wonderful news for Greenwood County,” Rob Russian, Greenwood County Public Works director, said. “This will translate into real gains for the entire community as it will ensure that Highway 246 will continue to be viable as an economic development corridor.”
The expansion project involves widening four miles of Highway 246 South from Highway 221 in Coronaca to Highway 702. This stretch of highway is an important corridor for many of Greenwood County’s industrial partners including Teijin, Ascend Performance Materials, Lonza, Fujifilm and Velux.
“I can’t thank the voters of Greenwood County enough for the role they played in today’s announcement,” Josh Skinner, Greenwood County CPST coordinator, said. “As a result of their foresight we were able to leverage the $12 million allotment from the CPST funds into $50 million to accomplish this important project.”
“This investment in our community is an incredible blessing,” Greenwood County Council Chairman Chuck Moates, said. “And it would not have been possible if it hadn’t been for the hard work of Josh Skinner, Rob Russian and Rett Templeton, county engineer. These men have done an incredible job leading this project and this $38 million award is a true testament to their commitment to Greenwood County, our taxpayers, and our future.”
An agreement with South Carolina Department of Transportation has already been signed to manage the project. Design is expected to be underway before the end of the year and construction is expected to begin in 2025 with a 2027 completion date.
Greenwood County Announces Approval of Mitigation Plan
Greenwood – Greenwood County is better prepared for disasters with the recent approval of its local hazard mitigation plan – a long-term strategy to reduce the community’s vulnerability to natural disasters.
This plan identifies hazards and potential hazards in the county and creates a framework to help officials make decisions that may ultimately protect lives and property.
The plan also outlines a strategy for implementing mitigation projects in Greenwood County.
The County is taking proactive steps to lessen the impact of future disasters and the costly expenses associated with them, a statement said.
“The approval of our plan is a great thing for our county,” Jamie Parrish, Greenwood County emergency management coordinator, said. “It will help us continue to identify and mitigate potential hazards and provides us with the framework necessary to make decisions that will protect lives and property.”
History shows that the physical, financial and emotional losses caused by disasters can be reduced significantly through hazard mitigation planning. The planning process encourages communities to integrate mitigation with day-to-day decision-making regarding land-use planning, floodplain management, site design and other activities.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reviews and approves state, tribal and local hazard mitigation plans, which are required as a condition for states and communities to receive certain types of disaster assistance, including funding for mitigation projects. State mitigation plans must be approved every five years, and local and tribal mitigation plans must be approved at least once every five years.
Greenwood County Adds SC Works as Approved Trip Location for MAT TRANS program
Duke Energy to fund roundtrip rides for job seekers
Greenwood – Greenwood County has announced plans to add SC Works’ Greenwood location as an approved trip location for the McCormick Area Transit’s MAT TRANS program.
In addition, thanks to a Duke Energy grant, these roundtrip rides will be free of charge for all riders and the 4-mile radius limitation will be waived making access to the service more widely accessible.
“When the MAT TRANS system started in Greenwood it consisted of transportation for essential shopping, medical needs and pharmacy trips,” Chuck Moates, Greenwood County Council chairman, said. “Over time it then grew to include trips to the bank and education, and we’ve recently added employment. Being able to provide our residents and our industries with a reliable option for getting people to and from work was, and is, our ultimate end game for this program. Now, with this addition of roundtrip services to the SC Works Center it allows us to add another crucial element to our workforce development function – linking residents to employment opportunities in Greenwood.”
SC Works offers services to job seekers and employers. Providing public transportation to the Greenwood SC Works Center (927 East Cambridge Ave.) will offer services to job seekers, including access to computers to look for and apply for jobs, help preparing resumes, training and preparation for job interviews, who previously may not have had access due to transportation limitations.
“Expanding access to the beneficial services of SC Works to individuals who are actively seeking employment is a win- win situation for everyone involved,” Theo Lane, Greenwood County Council vice chairman and district manager, Government & Community Relations at Duke Energy Carolinas, said. “Helping remove barriers between job seekers and employers is essential to turning around people’s lives and benefits our economy. We are excited to play a role in such a vital program.”
MAT TRANS is Greenwood County’s public transportation program that provides rides to all Greenwood County residents within a 4-mile radius of the Greenwood County Courthouse. With the newest addition of SC Works, approved trips on MAT TRANS buses now include medical appointments, essential shopping, trips to the pharmacy or bank, employment, education and SC Works. To schedule a ride on the MAT TRANS or for more information, please call (864) 538-4500.
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