Anderson County restores sewer treatment capacity to Williamston; Pelzer getting recognition

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By Stan Welch
Anderson County Council began the evening Tuesday night by adopting a resolution honoring two of the driving forces behind the Pelzer Heritage Commission, Dianne Lollis and Larry Coker. (See related story elsewhere in this issue.) District Seven Councilwoman Cindy Wilson, who sponsored the resolution, hinted broadly at pending news of major developments to be announced in the near future about some of the Commission’s efforts to revitalize and beautify the town.

Speaking to members of the Anderson County Realtor’s Board, who were in attendance for an unrelated reason, she encouraged their attention to Pelzer. “You will be hearing some major news in the area soon, and you will have a wonderful opportunity to buy some of those mill houses and make a lot of money off of them,” she said cryptically.
Speaking with the Journal after the ceremony, PHC president Lollis and vice president Coker confirmed that a major announcement would be forthcoming on August 23, but would divulge no details. They did say that the Commission’s hard work over the last decade or so is coming to fruition. They also reaffirmed the Commission’s determination to erect a veterans memorial for the town. “That is definitely one of our main focal points,” said Coker.

The Council also gave second reading to an ordinance that would restore a significant portion of wastewater treatment capacity back to the Town of Williamston. That portion of the town’s capacity was, in effect, sold to the county years ago, in order to help fund an upgrade of the treatment plant. Recent interest in the town, and the attendant residential development has made that three hundred thousand additional gallons in daily capacity crucial to the town’s ability to grow. The cost of recouping the capacity by buying it back from the county is much lower than the cost of adding that capacity through expansion of the plant.
An update on the recent decision to place the county’s emergency medical system (EMS) in the hands of a single provider indicated that the efforts to acquire the needed equipment, including quick response vehicles, as well as recruiting the trained personnel to man the vehicles, is progressing accordingly. The county will staff the QRVs, which will be the tip of the spear in emergency response, so to speak.
The Council also gave approvals at various stages of the ordinance process to provide economic incentives to several projects. They also accepted the roads within the Farms at Spearman subdivision, also known as Sam Cox Farms.