MARLBORO COUNTY — Marlboro County Council met Tuesday night where discussions focused on a wide range of issues currently affecting the community including educational partnerships, infrastructure improvements, public transit growth, environmental initiatives and resident concerns related to development across the county.
Educational Partnerships
Erin Fann, interim President of Northeastern Technical College, briefed council members on the college’s ongoing construction projects and workforce development efforts. She emphasized the institution’s role in preparing residents for local employment opportunities.
“Every day the college is committed to training the workforce for Chesterfield, Marlboro and Dillon counties. We are preparing students for high demand careers and creating opportunities for individuals and families in all our communities,” Fann said.
Currently in the spring semester, Fann said the college serves 1,386 students, with 572 of them residing in Marlboro County — representing roughly 41% of the school’s total enrollment.
Fann added, “Of those 572 [students], 199 of those are traditional students, and 373 are dual enrollment. This is an important partnership we are actively working on with the Marlboro County School District.”
Public Transit and Environmental Initiatives
Public transportation and environmental initiatives were also a focus of the agenda, and an update was provided by Don Strickland with the Pee Dee Regional Transportation Authority (PDRTA), who reported a 28% increase in ridership.
“This past year we have had a 28% growth over last year; it’s both good and bad. As the need climbs, that tells us that people are more dependent upon the services,” Strickland said, adding PDRTA recently conducted two week-long customer surveys, the results of which show 78% of PDRTA’s clientele do not have access to a vehicle.
“There is quite a few that has one vehicle, but someone takes that vehicle to work in the morning or takes it to Northeastern Tech., or somewhere else, leaving the rest of the family home without a vehicle. The numbers continue to climb, I know that is cost of ownership today it’s fuel cost, I mean, you can see what it looks like out there,” Strickland said, continuing, “The main thing I want to share is the growth itself, and that is not just Marlboro County, that is across our entire six counties that we cover at PDRTA. With that, we are looking at roughly $1.1 million in investment in Marlboro County for 2026- 2027.”
In a related update, Jaqueline Adams, who serves as secretary for Friends of Crooked Creek, shared progress toward achieving nonprofit status, an important milestone that will hopefully support conservation and restoration efforts in the county moving forward.
“As an update on our progress we have approved our bylaws, secured a bank account, and we are currently working toward obtaining our 501(c)(3) status,” Adams said, adding, “We thank the community for ongoing support and helping us reach our goal for Crooked Creek.”
Solar Farm
Public comment featured extensive discussion regarding proposed solar farms.
Several residents voiced concerns about potential environmental impacts and possible effects on nearby property values. In response to these concerns, Councilwoman Pearly Lawson requested a temporary moratorium on both solar farm and data center ordinances, saying additional time is needed to develop more complete guidelines.
“I would like to request that this board consider putting a moratorium in place on any ordinance pertaining to solar farms and data centers until we meet with our planning and zoning board committee members to develop more specific guidelines to establish a more comprehensive framework that will properly access our residential, industrial, agricultural and commercial properties,” Lawson said. “I am serious about our zoning laws. No other county has general specification laws like Marlboro County, so if we all agree, [we need to] put something in place strong, we need to be working on that.”
The budget
Budget transparency was another key focus, and council members heard an update on the budget provided by Finance Director Wesley Parks.
“Revenues total $12,422,593 in comparison to $10,600,926 for the nine months ending March 31, 2025. Few things of interest include the fee in lieu income collected exceeded budget projections of $106,000,” Parks said.
Breaking the numbers down further, Parks informed the council General Fund expenditures are within estimates of 73.31% of the budget year-to-date.
“General Fund expenditures through March 31, 2026, totaled $12,39,090 of a $16,422,884 budget or 73.31% of budget-year-to-date. General Fund expenditures totaled $11,858,478 of a $14,748,543 budget, or 80.41% for the same nine -month period ending March 31, 2025. We are in a lot better position this year than we were last,” Parks said.
Several infrastructure and capital improvement needs were discussed and approved by council, such as new patrol cars for the Sheriff’s Office, HVAC repairs for the county’s EMS facility, authorizations needed to participate in a cooperative purchasing network for construction projects, and approval of a contract to convert existing tennis courts into pickleball courts.