Jasper officials have visited various groups in the region to ratchet up support for the port as the county fights off a lawsuit by the State Ports Authority seeking to counter Jasper's more than 10-year-old goal to bring high-paying jobs to the impoverished county.
The authority claims to have exclusive right to developing a port on the Savannah River and has sought out private partners to help finance its own port on the same 1,863 acres eyed by the county and its partner, port developer SSA Marine.
The public-private partnership that acts as the development arm of Beaufort County has supported Jasper's port plans in the past, and the group's board of directors offered suggestions Thursday in hopes of capturing attention in the Statehouse.
Jasper has to show the port's economic benefits to the state, including new industries that would build near a port, said Jane Upshaw, chancellor of the University of South Carolina Beaufort.
"The people in Columbia don't care what happens to Beaufort and Jasper counties," she said.
Financed through private funds provided by SSA Marine, the Jasper port would provide at least $5 million a year for the county's operating budget, said County Administrator Andrew Fulghum, with 450 initial on-site jobs and thousands of related jobs for the region.
Though challenging the county's plans in court, the State Ports Authority is open to a dialogue with Jasper County to find a solution both sides can support, said Glen Kilgore, a Beaufort board member of the authority.
"Anything that happens will be done by the courts and based on what's right for the people of South Carolina," he said.
With markets expanding throughout the Southeast, including Norfolk, Va., and Jacksonville, Fla., an updated economic impact model should show the state that a port would bring new industries to the state, not pull them from terminals in Charleston or hubs in Greenville, said Beaufort County Councilman Dick Stewart.
"The question isn't whether it's going to go to Greenville or here, it's going to be whether it's going to Norfolk or here," he said.
Replacing financial needs with surpluses in Jasper County also would take the burden off of the state for development incentives and education funding, leaving more money for other counties, Stewart said.
Also Thursday, the board directed partnership staff to seek private money or grants for purchasing land or buildings suitable for relocating businesses.
Executive Director Heather Simmons-Jones said the purchase wouldn't be for a specific prospect, but would enable the partnership to offer up land ready for development to businesses.