North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced Tuesday that SoPakCo will create 440 new jobs with an $85 million dollar state-of-the-art processing and packing facility in Laurinburg.

After almost 45 minutes in an executive session at their monthly meeting on Tuesday evening, Marlboro County Council released a statement regarding the SoPakCo announcement.

County Council Chairman Charles Paul Midgley Jr. said county officials had been in communication with SoPakCo leadership in the past few months when there were rumors of the plant closing. County officials were told that no decision had been made and the county would be contacted if a decision were to be made.

“Disappointingly, we have had no contact with the company in advance of the announcement today,” Midgley read. “We confirmed this afternoon that Marion County, where the company also operates, has not been contacted by the company.”

In the statement, Council noted at this time that they did not know the impact of SoPakCo’s announcement on the company’s Bennettsville or Mullins sites.

Over the past 15 years, Midgley said SoPakCo has approached the county and the City of Bennettsville multiple times regarding the potential expansion of their facilities. Each time, the county responded with available incentives and other assistance to keep and grow the company.

Within the last year, the Marlboro County Council presented SoPakCo with an aggressive incentive package should they decide to locate the project here.

The incentives included $1.1 million dollars in cash grants from the county and the state, free land for the project, and property tax discounts. The property tax breaks approached 100 percent in the first years of the potential project.

“While the impact and timeline for the project announced today (Tuesday) is unclear, Marlboro County is disappointed that the company has selected North Carolina for the project but will continue to work to preserve jobs in our community,” Midgley said.

In the press release from Cooper’s office, Lonnie F. Thompson, president of SoPakCo, said, “We are so pleased to be working with Governor Cooper and the State of North Carolina to establish this new world-class facility. With the new Laurinburg facility, in addition to our South Carolina campuses, we will be better able to serve our existing customers while also expanding our capacity to position ourselves for growth. SoPakCo is appreciative of the support we have already received from state and local partners and look forward to making a positive impact on these economies through this project.”

In the other business, council members

–Approved second reading of ordinance #830 authorizing the execution of a municipal election transfer and cost fee agreement between the county and the Town of Clio.

–Approved rescheduling the November meeting from Nov. 8 to Nov. 15 due to the 2022 Election.

–Learned Waste Connections, the county’s solid waste contractor, will host a Thanksgiving turkey giveaway on Nov. 12 at Marlboro County High School. More details will be released in coming weeks.

–Learned signups for the Recreation League Basketball are underway with a deadline of Nov. 20.

Employee anniversaries

The following employees were recognized with five or more years of service to Marlboro County through the month of September. They were Delorice Barrington, 15 years; Linda Coffy, seven years; Doug Carabo, five years; Durant Turner, 10 years; Hosea Lemon, 15 years; and Sharita McCall, five years.