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Bluffton council, corporation discuss town's economic-development future [The Island Packet (Hilton Head Island, S.C.)](Island Packet (Hilton Head, SC) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 17--Bluffton's economic development corporation should attract businesses to property it already owns, rather than trying to purchase more land, some town officials said Thursday. The comments were made during the first public meeting of the Bluffton Town Council and the Bluffton Public Development Corporation since council withdrew its financial support for a land deal at Buckwalter Place proposed by the corporation. Council rejected the 34-acre purchase in July after a request to contribute $750,000 failed by a 3-2 vote. Councilwoman Karen Lavery said Thursday the corporation should focus on economic development, not land acquisition. After the meeting, Lavery, who voted against the deal, said she would support buying land to bring a company to the area if the project did not rely upon borrowing money, as the Buckwalter Place deal did. The corporation had planned to borrow a total of $4.2 million from Santee Cooper, Beaufort County, the Beaufort County School District and the town to try to attract a company to the property. The company's name was never revealed publicly. IN THE CORPORATION'S DEFENSE Corporation board chairman Roberts Vaux countered that land purchases are necessary to attract businesses. He pointed to Boeing, which opened manufacturing operations in North Charleston after it was given land purchased by the state and Charleston County. Mayor Lisa Sulka, who voted for the town's involvement in the Buckwalter deal, said council was surprised at first that the corporation tried to purchase land, but added that such deals would be a tool for the corporation to use if they led to attracting businesses. Councilman Ted Huffman said he understood the "clandestine nature" of the corporation's negotiations for the land purchase. He said such closed discussions are necessary from a business standpoint, but it made the deal a tough sell to the public. Huffman voted for the deal, which he called a unique opportunity because of its cooperation among several public bodies. "It may never happen again," he said. WHAT NEXT? Little was mentioned in the public portion of Thursday's meeting about what the corporation would do next. Town manager and corporation director Marc Orlando outlined the corporation's goals, established last year. Those include targeting industries, such as health care and information technology, and attracting a large hotel and conference center. The council and corporation discussed attracting businesses to the five acres in Buckwalter Place that the corporation already owns, or completing a road and other amenities in the commerce park. Building a connector road through the northern part of the property would cost $2.1 million. Sidewalks, parking and landscaping would raise the price to about $5 million, Orlando said. The corporation would need more funding to complete the road. It is expected to get $1.3 million in property tax revenues from Buckwalter Place over its 20-year agreement period, which ends in 2028. The revenues, which the corporation can borrow against, rise as more businesses are added to the commerce park. An Ace Hardware store and the Southern Barrel Brewing Co. brewery set to open will add about $200,000 more to the revenue stream over the agreement's duration. The meeting entered a closed session after about two hours, for legal advice from the town's attorney and to discuss the proposed location or expansion of a business within the town, according to the agenda. Councilman Fred Hamilton said before the closed session that an open dialogue was needed so the council and corporation could "figure out what to do next." "If we aren't on the same page, we're going to run into the major concerns we had in the past," he said. Hamilton and Larry Toomer both voted against participating in the land deal in July. The corporation board was asked by council to come up with a list of priorities. Sulka said after the meeting that both groups would try to meet more often to improve communication. "A lot came out of it," she said. "The key is communication. From this point forward, we'll be better served. This is going to be a success." Follow reporter Matt McNab at twitter.com/IPBG_Matt. ___ (c)2014 The Island Packet (Hilton Head, S.C.) Visit The Island Packet (Hilton Head, S.C.) at www.islandpacket.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |