Pictured left to right; Kandi Williams, Stephanie Katoe, and Brad Teal. Ms. Katoe said, “We are very excited to be here and are looking forward to hearing about the future of Marlboro County and how Sandhill plays a part in that future.”
Panel pictured left to right; Belnheim Mayor Bradley McAlister, Bennettsville Mayor Tyron Abraham, McColl Mayor Robert Outlaw, Clio Mayor Adam Pate, City Administrator William Simon, Chairman Anthoney Woods, and moderators, Former Mayor of Bennettsville Heath Harpe and former State Representative Patricia Henegan.
MARLBORO COUNTY — The Marlboro Chamber of Commerce held its first installment of a four-part series last Thursday entitled State of Marlboro: Where Voices shape Vision. The Chamber hosted event featured a panel of local elected officials including Mayor of Clio Adam Pate, Mayor of Bennettsville Tyron Abraham, Mayor of McColl Robert Outlaw, Mayor of Blenheim Bradley McAlister, and City Administrator William Simons. Representing the county, Chairman Anthoney Woods filled in for County Administrator Tony Clyburn.
The panel discussed everything from revitalization efforts, Lake Paul Wallace and Crooked Creek, as well as many subjects in between. Following discussions, hors ’devours and mocktails were provided by Brew and Bake.
Chamber President Alexa Boan said she was very pleased with the turn-out and delighted to be hosting such a special and informative event for the community.
“We are so excited about this event. I am looking forward to hearing from our panel; we have a great panel here tonight and hearing their insight into where the county and city are right now.” She added, “This is the first installment of a four-part series. We will have a different panel for each event, with the next three being Healthcare, Education, and Safety,” said Boan.”
Former State Representative Patricia Henegan and former Mayor of Bennettsville Heath Harpe moderated the evening for the panel, which was sponsored by Sandhill Connextions and Duke Energy. Bennettsville Police Department provided security.
Infrastructure and Revitalization
The first question was addressed towards Mayor Pate right out of the gate and delved into what leaders are doing to strengthen infrastructure throughout the county and to encourage and entertain local youth.
Pate began by sharing how he and his wife were called back to his hometown of Clio via a job opportunity from Lynchburg, VA. He said he remembered thinking; “well, this is going to be like going back in time.”
“Honestly, it is day by day. Clio did not get to where it is overnight and there are a lot of issues. A lot of it is money. We have to work very hard with what we have, to make it happen.” He added, “What we have to strive for everyday is to make a desirable place to live. One thing we have done in Clio is bring back community engagement; you have to start there.”
One thing Pate says Clio has done to work towards this goal is to increase its community events. Pate says he feels a strong community base increases care and concern for one another. “That is how you can start building the foundation for a brighter a community,” continued Pate.
Mayor Outlaw shared he felt the town of McColl needs to focus on its audits.
“I ran to be the mayor to try and make it a better place. I ran into a lot of problems, but we are getting things straighten out and we are coming around,” he said. Not shying away from the issues the mayor found in McColl, he said his town needs to focus on teamwork and planning when it comes to looking for ways to improve. “All of us, with this new council coming in, need to work together and stop arguing so we can start getting stuff done,” he said.
Bennettsville Mayor Abraham said for his city, the answer lies in the budget and working with the county.
“What we can do when we are planning our budget is to look at ways to plan and fund for infrastructure. I am very passionate about young people. My vision is that we as a council come together, I know it will take time and bring a youth center here for our youth so they will have somewhere to go,” said Abraham.
City Administrator William Simon agreed, saying, “As we have discussions of trying to accommodate families of different ages, we have discussions about how to bring our young adults back to the area, and it really starts with planning for the future.”
Simon said the way he feels this could best be accomplished is by focusing on the city’s budget as the mayor also suggested. Similar to Mayor Pate, Simon said Bennettsville is working towards having more community strengthening events, as well as focusing on developing other types of recreational avenues, such as nature trails, to keep residents healthy, engaged, and outdoors.
Simon said, “For those young families, if we truly want them to be here, then we have to be very intentional in our planning.”
An interesting suggestion advanced by Council Chair Woods is to create a teen or young adult summit to discuss new ideas for revitalization and reinvention. He said, “Where they will not be afraid to talk and we have to not be afraid to listen. Change is coming.”
Woods also mentioned the county’s need for increased cell towers, saying, “We got to have more data internet services for our young people.”
Taking the question of how leaders are working to revamp old buildings and store fronts, Mayor Abraham said Bennettsville is focused on updating its ordinances.
“There are a lot of dilapidated homes and buildings that we need to improve,” said the mayor. He also took a moment to praise the city’s grant writer for the amazing work she is doing. “That is where our focus is as well, on trying to get the funds to demolish those vacant homes or dilapidated buildings,” he added. Community clean -up days are another area where Abraham says he is paying particular attention.
Piggybacking off the mayor’s words, Simon added he believes the city needs to do a better job at enforcing codes already on the books.
“We are trying to figure out all kinds of ways where we can assist business and property owners. Most of the buildings in downtown Bennettsville are owned by private owners. We are taking a two-tiered approach to those buildings that are not in good shape,” he said, mentioning the city is also working towards developing a small business loan project. Simon says they are working to combine enforcement with incentive.
Something Mayor Pate is hopeful about in Clio, is the council’s newly approved ordinance vacant building fee.
“Any vacant building in the town of Clio will pay a fee and have a yearly inspection. On top of that, building and property owners must submit a future plan,” explained Pate. Included within the plan should be what owners’ plans are to bring the building or home back to code and for getting the structure occupied.
High Unemployment Rate
When asked about the county’s high unemployment rate, Chairman Woods applauded the state’s move from being ranked 46 in unemployment to 45.
“One step at a time. One of the things with unemployment we fail to realize, the jobs are there, but we have got to encourage the young and middle-aged to go to work. You can’t just say they aren’t hiring, they are, you just got to get up off your can and go to work,” he said. Woods also added he felt parents today are too soft on kids.
He said, “When I was coming up I could not wait until I got to a point where I could go to work and make my own money. Because mom and dad said, “Boy, you better get out of this house ‘cause we ain’t got no money for you. We as parents now, we soft.”
Woods shared that industries look at the existing climate of an area before making a decision to move there, pointing out unemployment rates and low education scores might be off putting for any industries looking to move into the area.
“Industry that wants to come to Marlboro County looks at the current industry that is in here now, and they say ‘who’s working?’ The middle-aged. What are the young people doing? They go to college are they go off somewhere, and they don’t come back. That deters them from coming and opening a place.”
Also weighing in, Simon said the city of Bennettsville is focusing on a work force development program to help combat the unemployment issue. According to Simon, it is a struggle filling jobs with the city because most applicants are not passing drug tests and many lack the skills necessary to build an impressive resume for employment consideration.
“We need to educate our young folks, and even our older adults in some cases, on steps they can take to put themselves in positions to be ready for work,” said Simon.
Lake Paul Wallace and Crooked Creek Findings
Fielding questions on Lake Paul Wallace and Crooked Creek, Chairman Woods cautioned residents neither project is going to be simple.
“With the assistance of Representative Love and Senator Chapman they have allocated, I want to say, $25 million for Lake Paul Wallace renovation. The engineers are looking at options for upgrading, but the money will not be released until January. Engineers are doing all the groundwork first. Chapman volunteered to come in and work on Crooked Creek with his own equipment. Lake Paul Wallace is a task, not a quick fix,” said Woods, adding, “The money is allocated, that is number one, that Marlboro County has the money.”
When it came to Crooked Creek, Woods claimed the findings were above his pay grade.
Administrator Simon said, “We know the condition of Crooked Creek, it has been that way for decades. We know it has only been once or twice where it was actually maintained or cleaned out sufficiently over the years. We know the challenges.”
Despite his acknowledgement of the problems, Simon reiterated his belief that Crooked Creek belongs to the county, and the county will all share in enjoying it again when the creek is restored to recreational use, and he assures residents, it will one day soon.