West Pelzer looks at taxes, property and economic development

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By Stan Welch

The West Pelzer Town Council extended an agreement with the county to collect taxes, transferred property to a citizen and heard a report on Economic Development during their meeting Monday.

Council voted unanimously to extend the agreement with Anderson County to allow the County to collect property taxes on behalf of the Town.

The vote actually authorized Mayor Peggy Paxton sign the appropriate resolution extending the agreement when the resolution was passed by the County council. That was slated for the Tuesday March 6 meeting of the County council.

The Council also voted unanimously to convey the title for a small piece of property to Charles and Jamie Emery, in response to the Emerys having removed a demolished mobile home from the property and cleaned it up.

Councilman Blake Sanders reported that he and other members of the economic development committee for the Pelzer/West Pelzer/ Williamston area had met with county and state officials recently and discussed various possibilities to attract industries or businesses to the area.

Councilwoman Ann Odom asked about the proposed start date on construction of the Chapman Park. Mayor Paxton explained that some legal details were being worked out. She also added that the design had changed so that the Veterans Memorial would face inward so that the park itself and not the Memorial would be the focal point from the street.

Councilman Randall Ledford and Police Chief Mike Clardy presented a proposal to acquire a 32 by 24 foot portable building from School District Five to serve as the Police Department offices, which would allow them to discontinue the rental of the current office.

Water Department head Mike Mahaffey explained that the building was being given freely to the Department, but transport and basic set up costs would be about $2500. To make the building suitable for occupancy and secure storage of evidence would cost several thousand dollars more.

Chief Clardy assured the Council that his department is satisfied with the current location, but added, “This is an opportunity for the town to have something instead of renting it. Is it the opportunity? No. We don’t know what the good Lord might bring us tomorrow. So if we can’t do this right now, my department is fine with that.”

Councilman Robert Alexander offered to contribute his fifty dollar a month stipend towards the building if the rest of Council would do the same. That idea went nowhere, and Council voted to decline the proposal.

Mahaffey, however, was told to proceed with obtaining such a building for use at the Town’s sewer plant. That expense had been budgeted and approved previously.