County OKs disbursement of Graniteville funds
Friday, June 23, 2006
By PHILIP LORD Senior writer
Money allocated by the State of South Carolina for Graniteville relief
efforts will be spent on a variety of programs for residents of the Valley and
for residents of the County as a whole.
The $340,000, which sparked tremendous budget debate over the past month,
will be used for a variety of programs – including health screenings, a victim’s
registry and for a fund to deal with vacant industrial properties around Aiken
County.
The decision on the funds was made easier by an announcement over the weekend
by Sen. Tommy Moore, D-Clearwater, that an additional $420,000 was allocated for
the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control to continue health
screenings in the area.
DHEC used funds from its budget and from the Centers for Disease Control
after the accident to test some 260 people, but those efforts stopped when
funding ran out.
Under a proposal presented by Council member Charles Barton, who represents
the area, $40,000 would be given to Aiken 211, a United Way agency that can take
over a victim’s registry function currently handled by DHEC. An additional
$100,000 would be used for health screenings and $200,000 would be used to
purchase patrol cars for the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office.
Council member Gary Bunker tried to amend that motion to give DHEC $150,000
for screenings and earmark $150,000 for cars, but that amendment failed.
Council member LaWana McKenzie was then successful in getting Barton’s
original motion amended to use the $200,000 earmarked for patrol cars to
establish a blighted industrial area development fund, which would serve all
abandoned industrial sites in Aiken County – from Wagener to Clearwater and
beyond.
“It is seed money to start looking at what has to be done,” said McKenzie,
who has dealt with brownfields left in her district by the closure of United
Merchant and Manufacturing plants a decade ago. “I do think we have to take the
lead in finding the people who can give us the answers.”
McKenzie said the funds were intended to serve all of Aiken County, the mills
being left vacant by the closure of Avondale Mills will also be included in
this. The Council member said she was determined to see that the mills in
Graniteville did not become brownfields.
The motion to allocate the $340,000 passed on an 8-1 vote, with Council
member Willar Hightower voting against the motion.
“I just don’t see how we can look at people and take money away from them,”
Hightower said during the discussion. “I am getting to a place where I just
don’t feel good sitting on County Council.”
Also during the Graniteville funding discussions, Council member Scott Singer
got a motion unanimously adopted to seek restitution from Norfolk Southern
Railroad for any money spent on recovery efforts from the Jan. 5, 2005, trail
accident and chlorine spill.
Responding to criticism from Graniteville residents, Council member Chuck
Smith said the County has already set a meeting with officials from the railroad
to discuss recovery efforts, health screenings and more.
“We are certainly willing to help everybody that needs assistance,” Smith
said. “We are doing a lot.”
Contact Philip Lord at plord@aikenstandard.com
