Anthony spoke during Friday’s Union Partnership meeting at the Upstate Workforce and Economic Development Center. The meeting focused on the various aspects of economic development and Anthony said policies pursued today must be weighed against the impact they will have decades from now.
“We need to be focused on what’s 30 years down the road,” he said. “We need to ask ourselves ‘how is this going to affect my community 30 years from now?’”
Anthony said the proposed Patriot’s Lake, which would be formed by damming the Tyger River and Fairforest Creek, is an example of the kind of long-term thinking that’s needed. Lake proponents have touted the project as a means of assuring a future water supply for Union County and the Upstate; a source of recreation; and attracting new housing and new residents. Though it would be decades before the project could become a reality, Anthony said it should continue to be pursued.
“We need to be thinking ahead and we need to be looking at ways to make long-term projects like this a reality,” he said. “People that are opposed to this, I have a hard time believing they are thinking about what its going to be like 30 years from now.”
Anthony said another long-range benefit to Union County is USC-Union and he called Gov. Mark Sanford’s latest effort to close the campus just as short-sighted as his previous attempts. While the governor’s commitment to balancing the state budget is laudable, Anthony said Sanford doesn’t understand how much the state gets from its relatively small investment in USC-Union.
“USC-Union only gets $850,000 from the state and that’s a very small portion of a $5.8 billion budget,” he said. “For that investment, seven counties receive higher education services.”
Those services include giving young people who don’t make it to the main USC campus on their first attempt a second chance.
“Branch campuses like USC-Union enabled the state to serve a larger population of students than it would otherwise through just the main campus,” Anthony said. “The competition to get to the main campus is very great right now with the SAT scores which is the college entrance exam.
“The branch campuses play a role for the kid who doesn’t get accepted at the main campus his freshman year,” he said. “This enables him to work his way into the system and not lose credits or grade point averages. So it’s an easy transition from the branch campuses to the main campus, so it’s a great asset for our young people.”
Anthony added that USC-Union’s contributions don’t end there. The campus is partners with Spartanburg Community College in the new technical college/robotics training facility being built on U.S. 176. Located across from LSP, the facility is designed to help meet the needs of high-tech industries like LSP, Sonoco and Timken as well as their counterparts throughout the Upstate.
“USC-Union is helping make this happen,” he said. “It is helping us prepare for the next 30 years.”
That future looks bright to Anthony, who pointed to the economic opportunities symbolized by Congaree Bio Fuels plant to be built near Carlisle; the LSP Automotive sheet metal stamping facility off U.S. 176; the Timken maintenance facility in Union Commerce Park; the Timken U.S. Park Sports Complex being built in Union; Sloan Construction Co.’s asphalt storage facility; and the planned linking of Jonesville and Union’s sewer system to open the upper part of the county to industrial development. He said these developments are proof that, despite the currently economic troubles in the country, Union County is doing well and will do even better in the future.
“How can we hear negative things about this county when we see all this going on,” he said. “It’s exciting to see these things come about and to know that all of us had a role in making them happen. We can make even more good things happen if we don’t overreact to the problems of the moment and stay focused on what’s 30 years down the road.”
Post a Comment
