BENNETTSVILLE — City of Bennettsville officials and concerned community members recently completed an insightful two-day summit with the South Carolina Department of Commerce and its consulting team of Boudreaux, Arnett Muldrow, Restoration 52, Thomas & Hutton, and Bob Brookover.
Bennettsville was selected by the South Carolina Department of Commerce to participate in the Rural Development and Strategic Planning Initiative. As part of this process, the city held a public input session Wednesday, April 29, where many issues facing the city, and the county at large, were voiced. The city announced it is receiving $250,000 from the South Carolina Department of Commerce for its participation in the Rural Development and Strategic Planning Initiative.
During the well-attended meeting, residents were asked what needs they felt city officials should concentrate on moving forward and how they feel the $250,000 awarded by the state can best be spent to improve Bennettsville.
In response, residents said they felt needs for the city of Bennettsville largely center around a hospital with an emergency room, more quality restaurants, and bringing in more family and activity-oriented businesses like a skating rink or movie theater.
“We are the county seat and we need to start acting like it,” one local resident said.
Specific points highlighted during the conversation were the need for more affordable housing options, with opportunities to improve existing properties as well as to build new homes, events that attract people downtown with the city focusing on applying consistency in its programming and promotion, and it was acknowledged that the revitalization and rehabilitation of old buildings and homes located within city limits will require a focused, block-by-block approach.
In a released statement the City of Bennettsville thanked, “Every resident, business owner, and stakeholder who showed up, spoke up, and shared honest feedback during our focus groups and public input session. We heard some hard truths, but we also heard confirmation that Bennettsville is moving in the right direction.”
The city also said it is losing nearly $25M in dining revenue within a 20-minute drive — news especially alarming when combined with the announced construction work needed to repair the bridge on Cheraw Street — which will affect several local businesses during the projects targeted one year completion, including local eateries like Bennettsville staple the Dairy Dream and Brew and Bake, among others.