County moves ahead with tax district

MONCKS CORNER -- Berkeley County is moving ahead with plans for a special tax district planners say will pave the way for thousands of new jobs near Jedburg.

But the school district, a key player in the plan, continues to study it.

Officials estimate new industrial parks off Interstate 26 would create nearly 10,000 direct jobs, plus another 8,500 spinoff jobs. The holdup is raising $160 million for a new interchange and parkway to handle the traffic.

The tax district on new commercial businesses on MeadWestvaco land in the area would raise that money, according to planners, but both the county and the school district have to agree on it.

The county and the school district would direct 25 percent of their tax money for improvements to the Jedburg I-26 interchange, a new I-26 interchange at Sheep Island Road and a new Sheep Island Parkway.

The school board has been studying the idea since Supervisor Dan Davis and Ken Seeger, MeadWestvaco president of Community Development and Land Management, proposed it two months ago. Concerns include assurances that the new roads would not lead to more schools that the district can't afford.

County Council on Monday night passed a resolution to schedule a public hearing on the proposed Tax Increment Financing District, or TIF. The hearing is a requirement of state law before creating the tax district.

The action shows the county's confidence that the school board will get behind the plan soon, Davis said Tuesday.

"There's no reason to go forward until we know the school district is on board," Davis said.

The school board planned to get more legal advice from attorneys Tuesday evening and continue to study the idea, Superintendent Anthony Parker said.

Davis said he was confident the school board would eventually see the advantages of the plan.