Submitted by T.F. Buzzy Finklea, Jr., Dillon County Council Chairman
The State of the County of Dillon is as strong as it has ever been.
We have made great strides over the past year in economic development and providing an environment to support existing businesses. With the investment of new and improved infrastructure at the Northeastern Commerce Industry Park and at the Dillon, Marion, and Marlboro Counties Industrial Park, we feel it will enhance our changes to attach new industrial development in the future. Jobs and Investment has always been a cornerstone to what we at the county try to accomplish every year.
With the construction of the new $115 million Wyman-Gordon facility at the Northeastern Commerce Industrial Park the County has positioned itself to attract additional development at this site.
As Governor Haley stated at the ground-breaking for Wyman-Gordon, “it is a great day for the aerospace industry in South Carolina and their decision to create more than 400 jobs in Dillon County. …It’s no secret we are becoming a magnet for the aerospace industry, and investments like this one only add to our growing momentum.”
We also agree with Greg Paolini, vice-president and general manager at Wyman-Gordon, that “our new facility in Dillon will be located in the center of a rapidly growing aerospace sector with easy access to highways, ports, and most importantly, many of our customers.”
The county has made a number of improvements to our facilities over the past year with the building of the new County Judicial Center. This facility will enhance our security needs for the future. We have also made improvements at the animal shelter with the building of an intake area to provide better care to our animals.
The county is currently working with the South Carolina Aeronautics Commission and the FAA to complete a three year project to improve the County Airport.
The county has completed the first part of the project by improving the lighting and runway. Other parts of the project will include additional improvements to the runway and the building of some new facilities to attract more air usage at our airport. The county is also working toward the building of a new Coroner’s office and Sheriff’s records area for next Fiscal Year. This facility will enable us to provide additional services to our citizens and provide us a place to store some vital records for the future.
Improvements to some our county recreation facilities are under way with acquisition of Gordon Park this past year. We are working to improve the facilities at this park within the next few months. Some of our plans for this park will be to build a walking track, improved lighting, and adding some playground equipment. We are also evaluating our plans to improve some of the recreation facilities in the Lake View or southern part of the county.
With the building of a new county fire station off Hwy. 34 west last year the county has moved to have most areas in the county covered by a county fire station. Our goal with fire protection was to have every resident or business the county within five miles of fire station. By doing this, the county felt like we could lower the ISO insurance rating through-out the county, and improve the health and property from fire related issues.
The county has been working to improve its county road system by purchasing some additional equipment to maintain our hundreds of miles of dirt roads. We have acquired two new borrow bits to improve the material applied to the roads along with trying to secure the right-of-way or easements to improve the drainage issues. Our main issues with many dirt roads deal with the drainage or water removal from the roads. Therefore, we are trying to work with some of the property owners who own property on the dirt road we are working to let us have an easement to drain the water off the road.
The county received a clean audit for last Fiscal Year (2014-2015). Even though we spent a large amount of funds on infrastructure (Water, Wastewater and Roads) last year we feel that it will enhance our ability to grow our tax base and create jobs for the future. We are also continuing our commitment to provide as much financial and tax information about the county on our Web site (dilloncounty.sc.gov). Although we are not required by law to provide this type of information we feel this information is very useful to our citizens and other organizations who interact with the county.
The County Council and I appreciate all of the support receive from our citizens and businesses in the county. We have one of the best places in the America to raise a family and to create a business. In conclusion, if we continue to move on the same path as did last year we should experience even more growth and investment and a greater quality of life for our citizens.
