County Moves Ahead on Jettisoning Flock Cameras, Though Few in Operation
Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer
Anderson County Council on Tuesday gave unanimous initial approval to forbidding county use of Flock Surveillance Cameras.
The county’s previous contracts with the 10 cameras in operations at boat ramps and parks are either expired or about to expire and will not be renewed, said Anderson County Councilman Greg Eligin. Some of these are already shut down.
Elgin, a retired law enforcement officer, said he discussed the idea with Anderson County Sheriff Chad McBride, who is on board with the ban.
“They are fine with it and will find better ways to monitor places that need it,” said Elgin.
McBride said the Sheriff’s Office has zero such cameras on the roadways, but that there are some owned by Home Owners 'Associations and businesses in the county, including Lowe’s.
According to Deflock.org, Anderson County has 21 operational Flock Cameras. Sixteen of these are in the City of Anderson. Map here.
Council on Tuesday also approved on first reading of a proposed zoning map for Green Pond Station A. A public hearing is scheduled for 13.
Council gave final approval for tax incentives for Adeptus, the maker of engineered wood products, who promises a $215 million investment and the creation of 217 jobs, with an average salary of $35 per hour, during the first eight years of operation on property between Belton and Honea Path.
“This is good for the area,” said Elgin, who represents the district of the proposed industry. “It’s between two towns that don’t have a lot going on, in an empty building. It seems now a lot of our lost textiles (industries) are being replaced by metals and wood.”
And to meet the growing demand for industrial space, council approved tax incentives to bring more speculative buildings to the county.
Kansas City-based Jones Development is planning a 400,000 square-foot building project, code named St. Nick, with a capital investment of $26 million. As part of the project, JD Anderson SC LLC, construction will work with the developer in a partnership with the county for a new sewer line.
The public/private partnership will reduce costs and provide much needed
sewer line for economic development in the area near the 300 Masters Boulevard site. The new line will open up an additional 60 acres north of the property for development.
Meanwhile council gave tentative approval to a pair of other endeavors , Big Brother, part of another speculative building project would bring $34 million capital investment, while project Elrod not far from the new Oak Hill Elementary School would bring a $70.1 million investment in land for the purposes of new industrial sites. The council worked with local school board, law enforcement and fire departments in vetting this site.
Council also passed a resolution transferring fee in lieu of agreements with Electrolux, which merged earlier this year with Midea China, the largest manufacturer of appliances in the world. Electrolux shut down their refrigeration manufacturing in July, laying off more than 1,200 workers. The new company, which is in the process of being refitted to manufacture washers and dryers, has committed to hiring 1,200 jobs to the facility.
Another resolution approved the existing tax agreements involving change of ownership of the building currently housed by Harbor Freight Tools USA Inc.
Council also voted on Tuesday to upgrade the hazardous-materials program and hire a full-time hazardous-materials program manager reporting directly to county administration, with a salary of $70,000, plus benefits, which would be funded through the county’s general fund. Businesses or individuals responsible for incidents requiring a hazardous-materials response would be liable for actual and reasonable response costs. Revenue collected under the ordinance would go into a dedicated fund for the team’s operations, training, equipment and administration.
