Powdersville Envision 6 meeting draws large crowd

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By Stan Welch
It was standing room only, and not much of that, at the meeting held at the Powdersville YMCA Thursday night. Approximately eighty five people packed into the conference room to continue the Envision 6 information and planning process that has been underway in District Six since May.
District Six Councilman Jimmy Davis opened the session by assuring the crowd that rumors of a proposed five hundred unit apartment complex were just that – rumors. His assurances fell on deaf ears as one woman produced a flyer that was placed in her mail box referring to the development.
Davis reiterated that absolutely none of the required documentation has been filed, nor permits applied for with the county offices. “There is absolutely no indication of any official status for this development. It may be that someone simply inquired about the process; but at this time, there is no solid information about such a development.”
Davis then reaffirmed his antipathy for taxes, and commiserated with the feeling that many in the area share that their part of the county is neglected. “I know many of you feel that way, and you have good reason. But this planning department has assured me they will be at each of these meetings and are committed to listening and hearing your concerns.” He also reminded them that the county recently struck a deal with ReWa to assume sewer operations that will result in the county avoiding the necessity to fund and construct thirty five million dollars’ worth of infrastructure.
He also reminded  the crowd that much of the information they are seeking is available on the county website, and asked planning director Dr. Jeff Parkey to further explain how to access the site. Celia Boyd then went into some of the information gleaned from the earlier meetings, including the community values, which included location, the people in the community, the sense of place as a largely rural area, the quality of life and a comfortable environment.
Those values necessarily inform the list of broad goals that included maintaining that sense of place, establishing a common gathering place, working with the SCDOT to address traffic issues, and tailoring commercial development to reflect the rural setting. The demographic and other information gathered and interpreted showed little interest in public transportation.
Three main reasons for locating to the area, which includes Hunt Meadows, Mt. Airy, Bushy Creek and Three and Twenty, are schools, character of the area, and the relatively low cost of living. According to the data, fifty seven per cent of those attending the earlier meetings and responding to online surveys are located in the Hunt Meadows precinct.
The final meeting will be held on August 8th at the YMCA.