Council Oks Plans to Bring 202 New Jobs, Tightens Ethics Rules, Honors Veterans
Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer
Anderson County Council approved tax incentives for a new industry, code named “Project Bento,” which would bring an $11.5 million investment and 202 jobs with average pay of $22.03 an hour plus health benefits. Annual payroll is projected at about $8.9 million dollars, with property taxes on the site rising from $14,800 in 2024 to an estimated $93,630 in 2026.
County Council also signed off on new rules for solar farms, tightened requirements for large townhouse projects and approved a series of economic development and airport items March 3, including incentives tied to other new jobs and tens of millions of dollars in private investment.
Council opened the night with three proclamations, honoring Justin Harris as Outstanding Citizen of Anderson County for decades of community service. Members also recognized Stephen and Fern Collins for their work hosting visitors at Green Pond Landing and presented a proclamation to “The Roadhogs,” part of the Vets Helping Vets mission, which drew what Councilman Chris Sullivan called “probably one of our largest crowds of the year” in appreciation of their volunteer work across the community.
On third reading, council approved a long-debated solar ordinance, giving the county its first comprehensive regulations for large-scale solar farms. The new restrictions focus on ensuring that when a project reaches the end of its life there is a responsible party “tied to that bill” to decommission the site and return it to natural use, along with setback requirements for future projects.
Council also gave third reading to changes affecting the county’s economic advisory board, aimed at preventing conflicts of interest in fee-in-lieu of tax agreements. Anyone with a vested interest in property involved in such a deal must step down from the board, and similar recusal rules were added for the Planning Commission when members have property in a fee-in-lieu project.
In another third-reading vote, council approved continued support for Lovewell Ministries’ home for women recovering from opioid addiction, using opioid settlement funds. Sullivan noted the arrangement costs the county “a dollar a year” for the house and praised director Kim Atkins and her team for their work helping women in recovery.
On second reading, council tightened review requirements for larger townhome developments after concerns about traffic and parking in established neighborhoods. Projects with 31 or more townhomes will now have to go through the Planning Commission “through the front door,” Sullivan said, so the county can better manage traffic on secondary roads and avoid overloading areas not built for heavy volumes.
Council also moved ahead on the proposed gas-fired Duke Energy energy plant for southern Anderson County. The plant that will generate electricity on property currently taxed at about $292 annually while property taxes on the site are projected to jump to about $459,000 in the first year, with an estimated $695 dollars in tax revenue over 40 years, and he emphasized that Duke will own and operate the plant under close oversight from multiple regulatory agencies.
Council also approved “Project Fly Rod,” involving an existing county business that has “built up a lot of trust” with county officials. In a related move, members signed off on Project Cherry, a Greenville County project in a joint industrial park that requires Anderson’s approval and returns a share of tax revenue to Anderson under a handshake-style arrangement between the two counties.
Anderson County Councilman Greg Elgin asked Economic Development Director Burriss Nelson to remind the meeting why such projects use code names in the first two readings. Nelson said the move was through the state and was aimed at allowing companies to inform employees, stockholders and other internal audiences of any move in advance. Company names are always on the county council agenda on third reading.
Council also backed another privately financed hangar project at Anderson Regional Airport to help chip away at a waiting list which has reached 80 to 100 people seeking covered space for planes. Under the arrangement, a private group will build the hangar at its own expense on county land, and ownership reverts to the county after 20 to 30 years, which council called “a no-brainer” that boosts activity at what he described as a self-supporting, first-class facility and point of pride for Anderson.
During the meeting, council members paused twice to recognize local residents serving overseas, including at least three service members from Anderson on the USS Abraham Lincoln whose families Anderson County Councilman Chris Sullivan said he knows personally. Elgin noted there are likely many more local men and women deployed that officials do not know by name, and members asked the community to remember them and their families during what Sullivan called a “very rough time in the world economy” with many nations involved in global conflicts.
