AIKEN - Public interest in a proposed $36.3 million bond in Aiken County that would directly benefit private developers has reached a fevered pitch.

But some Aiken County Council members are waiting until Tuesday night's public hearing to make up their minds.

"We have been gathering information from lots of sources," Chairman Ronnie Young said. "We'll compile all that, and then we'll make our decision."

Council members say that the proposed tax increment financing district, or TIF, with FineDeering Development Group has stirred constituents unlike any issue in recent memory.

Several members said they had received dozens of e-mails and telephone calls, and county administrators will have police on duty at the hearing.

FineDeering plans to build 5,000 houses on about 2,400 aces on either side of Graniteville. Under its proposed agreement with the county, the undeveloped land would be placed in a TIF, and bonds issued by the county would pay for infrastructure.

The bonds would be paid back with property taxes from the new houses, and developers have said they will put up an additional $56 million for infrastructure.

Proponents say the development will spark needed growth in the northeastern part of the county. Critics, meanwhile, say the bond goes too far and subsidizes the developer's plans.

"It's a way of providing water and sewer to an area that would never have it," Mr. Young said.

Still, he insists his mind is not yet made up.

"I've never jeopardized this county, and I'm not going to start now," he said.

Council members Kathy Rawls and LaWana McKenzie said they're waiting for Tuesday, too.

Mrs. Rawls said she still wasn't certain whether the county could be held liable if the bonds weren't paid back.

"I am interested in helping the north side and/or the Valley," she said. "Whether or not this is the way to help ... is still open for question."

Mrs. McKenzie said it wouldn't be right to make up her mind before hearing from the public.

"Otherwise they're wasting their time," she said.

The county council voted Aug. 17 to go forward with the bond deal with FineDeering, which includes Aiken County businessman Weldon Wyatt.

The issue has been hotly contested in recent weeks, both at public meetings and in the media.

A citizens' group opposed to the deal placed full-page newspaper advertisements warning against the financial disaster the bonds could cause.

Developers countered with ads of their own highlighting benefits of the bond agreement. The ads also said there was no risk to the county.

"The positive things we put out there are not being reported and the negative things are," said Richard Fine, a lead developer with FineDeering.

County administrators, meanwhile, are preparing to accommodate a crowd of hundreds Tuesday.

"We've ordered extra chairs and a sound system. We're going to have a big-screen TV (in the auditorium)," Assistant County Administrator Joan Donnelly said. "In my 22 years with the county, I've never seen anticipation of a crowd this size."

Reach J.C. Lexow at (803) 648-1395, ext. 106, or jc.lexow@augustachronicle.com.