Fountain Inn got a little bit larger. During a meeting on Thursday, July 8, City Council voted to annex almost 30 acres located in an unincorporated area of Greenville County near North Nelson Drive and Old Fairview.
The site is home to the Pine Ridge subdivision where more than 100 single-family homes are being built. City Administrator Shawn Bell told the council the contractor building the homes had requested the annexation.
The annexation vote follows a busy June, when the city issued almost 80 construction permits worth $13.5 million, according to permitting information Bell furnished to the council.
Bell also announced the city’s Woodside Connector project could see a $393,200 shortfall.
City Council previously approved the Woodside Connector project, which involves turning an existing 5-foot-wide sidewalk path from Fairview Street Park to Woodside Park into an 11-foot multi-use path that may later join the Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail system.
“We received two Tap (Transportation Alternative Program) grants for this project, but with DOT managing the project, the expenses went really high and there’s a potential monetary shortfall,” he said. “We are going to talk through ways we can meet that shortfall. One of the ways may be waiting and trying to get another TAP grant. We can apply to the CTC (County Transportation Committee) or we can use the proceeds from the Woodside Village project to fund it.”
In other business
Approved: $7.125 million in revenue bonds for Main Street streetscape project and new public works/gas facility
City Council approved on first reading an ordinance to use purchase revenue bonds to finance the streetscape project from Jones Road to Hwy. 418 on Main Street and the construction of the new public works/natural gas facility.
APPROVED: Sale of city-owned land to Bobby’s BBQ
City Council approved the sale of an 0.11-acre, city-owned parcel to Bobby’s BBQ for $10,000. The restaurant has been using the land as a parking lot. Once the transaction is closed, the city will retain a portion of the property for a natural gas easement.
APPROVED: Retail Recruitment Training Program application
City Council approved a resolution to allow Bell to submit an application for up to two city employees to participate in the Municipal Association of South Carolina’s Retail Recruitment Training Program. If the city is chosen, the program fee is $5,000 for one participant or $6,000 for two people to attend. During the training, attendees will learn to talk to national retailers to get them interested in the attendee’s community. The program also includes a market analysis for each participating municipality.
