Volume 1 Number 13 | pdb2b.com
The town of Olanta has been selected by the SC Rural Infrastructure authority to participate in its new viability improvement program. (PDB2B photo by Greer Fujiwara)
The town of Olanta in southwestern Florence County was selected by the SC Rural Infrastructure Authority to participate in its new viability improvement program aimed at helping smaller utilities strengthen long-term viability.
The authority announced the program’s launch in a May statement, in which it said it would award $29 million in grants for infrastructure-improvement projects in 16 SC counties, including four in the Pee Dee.
Alex Clark, deputy director of communications at SC Department of Commerce, said in an email interview that Olanta and McCormick County are the first selected participants for the program, adding, as a pilot, the viability improvement program “is being implemented on a smaller scale but designed to address common industry standards.”
Three steps
The program provides smaller utilities direct technical aid, as well as the potential for funding down the road to bolster long-term viability, according to Clark.
“Support is delivered through three sequential steps that assess a utility’s managerial, financial and technical needs; develop actionable recommendations; and fund the most critical capital improvements,” Clark said, adding that the steps call for local commitment, which determines continuation to the next step.
He said candidates must demonstrate some concern about viability, such as regulatory compliance, aging infrastructure, or financial and socioeconomic challenges based on census or American Community Surveys data.
I think what it will do for the people on Olanta’s rural water system — it will ease their minds that one major failure is not going to stop everything from working. I think water is one of those things everyone takes for granted. I think this will help us ensure that it will always be there.
Olanta Mayor Michael Welch said the program “allows small towns — Olanta is a small town — to come up with a viability plan for water and wastewater options ... Most small towns don’t have viability programs in place to sustain their assets.
“This program is supposed to guide the recipient in a direction that will help you become more independent and survive, should you have an asset failure,” Welch said. “Across the state it’s becoming harder and harder to do. If you had to do it without grant money, it would be near impossible to do.”
Welch said that, at this stage, there is no grant money coming in and that the viability improvement program mainly provides assistance in the form of engineering assessment of their water system to identify potential failures down the road, “things we need to look at now in order to sustain us in the future,” he said.
Three years
Clark said completion of all three steps of the program is expected to take about three years.
According to Welch, Olanta is currently in the first step, earmarked by “rapid assessment” of information such as maps of water and sewer assets, data on water usage and wastewater, and income and expenses. He said, “They will crush through all that data and present a plan to Town Council in mid-October for things that need to be taken care of in the short, medium and long terms.” The authority had set a deadline for July 2, he said.
B2B bulletin
McBee taps NC firm for $241K playground construction
The $241,000 public playground to be constructed at the McBee Recreation Complex will comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to McBee Mayor Glenn Odom. (PDB2B photo by Greer Fujiwara)
The town of McBee on June 29 awarded a $241,000 contract to Kaplan Companies Inc for design and construction of a public playground.
McBee Mayor Glenn Odom said in a phone interview that Kaplan — based in Lewisville, NC — will provide a “whole turnkey” solution, designing the playground and providing and installing the equipment, including swings and a train play set.
The public playground will comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. “We’ll have swings for kids in wheelchairs,” Odom said.
Hartsville seeks ’visionary development partner’ for 4th Street mixed-use project
The city of Hartsville owns this 10.5-acre property at 4th Street and Railroad Avenue. The city has put out a call for a partner to turn it into a mixed-use development. (PDB2B photo by Greer Fujiwara)
The city of Hartsville is looking for a partner to develop a 10.5-acre site at the intersection of 4th Street and Railroad Avenue. In a statement Monday, the city issued a request for proposal, saying it is “seeking a visionary development partner for a premier mixed-use project ... in the heart of downtown Hartsville.”
First Reliance to be acquired by GA company in $163M deal
Colony Bankcorp Inc. will acquire 100% of Florence-based First Reliance Bancshares Inc. stock in a stock-and-cash transaction worth about $163 million.
The companies issued a joint statement on June 24 announcing their signing of a definitive merger agreement. First Reliance Bancshares is the holding company for First Reliance Bank, which has nine branches in South Carolina, according to its website. Colony, with its headquarters in Fitzgerald, GA, is the holding company for Colony Bank, which has locations in Georgia and Alabama.
Commerce calendar
Noon
Schoolhouse Bar-B-Que
2252 US-52, Scranton
The SC Corn and Soybean Association hosts Clemson Extension specialists to discuss such topics as fungicide, disease and application timings, insecticide sprays, and overall crop management. Lunch will be provided.
3 p.m.
Dooley Planetarium at Francis Marion University
4822 E. Palmetto St., Florence
The Dooley Planetarium presents this free program of The Skies of Summer, which showcases heavenly bodies that are visible this time of year. Doors open at 2:30 p.m. for visitors to arrive early and explore the planetarium.
Noon
Online
Presented by the SC Small Business Development Center, this free online workshop helps small-business owners understand the legal basics of running a business.