Daniel Prince
Council votes to release parking easement agreement with TBA property to make way for development
Union County Council held three public hearings and a regular meeting that lasted nearly an hour and a half on Tuesday. There were no public comments on the budget, on the ordinance to lease 103 West Main Street to Mycoworks, or to sell City Park to the Union-Laurens Commission on Higher Education. During the meeting, some of the highlights included council voting to donate a Chevy Tahoe to USC Union to use as a security vehicle. The Tahoe had been purchased by the Union County Sheriff’s Office through state surplus, and the sheriff’s office was looking to get rid of it.
Council adopted a resolution forming what will be called the Union County 250 Committee, which will be tasked with working with the state committee to come up with events and activities highlighting Union County’s role and involvement in the Revolutionary War, the 250th anniversary of which is coming in 2025.
Council agreed to allow Republic Services to expand landfill capacity. The last request to increase capacity at the landfill came in 2010. The company sent a letter requesting an annual tonnage increase from 910,000 tons annually to 1,060,000 annually, a net annual increase of 150,000 tons. Dr. Flood asked how long it would take for the landfill to be full. At the time of the last expansion, the lifespan was expected to be 75 years. Council voted unanimously to allow the increase.
Council voted to release their parking easement agreement with the TBA property across from the stadium. Supervisor Frank Hart stated that an economic development project wants to locate on the parcel. Council member David Sinclair made it clear that the release would not affect the walkway from that area to the stadium and fairgrounds. He said the county spent a lot of money developing that walkway, and this agreement will not affect that.
There were many more things discussed at the meeting, and we will be featuring those in later newscasts this week.