The line items Marek speaks of are funding for a sewer project connecting the recently opened Atlantic Gateway Logistics Park into the main county sewer system, and a revolving loan fund to facilitate the development and construction of speculative industrial buildings in the county. They are in the current budget proposal at $4 million and $8 million, respectively, but Marek expects the final numbers in the conference budget which will be voted on to be somewhat lower. "As long as we get a substantial portion of the funds requested we can move forward and make up the difference from other funding sources."
Marek worked with State Representative Mark Brody and State Senator Tom McInnis to get the line items in the House and Senate budgets, and they survived reconciliation, which was a big first step. The General Assembly is expected to put the conference budget up for a vote next week, and it is widely expected to pass. It will then be sent to the governor who has the option of signing it within 10 days, vetoing it, or allowing it to pass without his signature.
The governor has rejected the last two budgets because they did not include Medicaid expansion and a handful of his other social priorities. The current budget does not include the expansion but does compromise in some other areas. Raleigh pundits think there may be enough in there to prompt the Governor to allow the budget to become law without his signature. Rep. Jason Saine, a Lincolnton Republican and head budget writer in the House believes there is a one-in-three chance the governor will sign the conference budget or allow it to become law.
If the governor vetoes the conference budget, it may not be dead, though. Republican lawmakers have worked closely with moderate Democrats on the budget and believe they may have the three-fifths majority needed to override the veto.
Funding for product development is critical because Anson County currently has very limited options for a company seeking an industrial site and almost no options for a company that is looking for a building. According to Marek, about 75% of the inquiries he receives from companies looking to relocate specify a building. "Right now, the two best buildings we have available are both under 25,000 square feet and have relatively low ceiling heights. The majority of requests we get are for buildings of at least 50,000 square feet and 25 to 30-foot ceilings. There's nothing in our current inventory that meets those requirements."
In 2019, AnsonEDP entered into an agreement with a private-sector developer to build a 50,000 square foot speculative building at the Wadesboro Industrial Park. The town secured a $1.7 million grant for infrastructure improvements and the project was scheduled to break ground in the spring of 2020. When COVID hit, the developer understandably put the project on hold, and subsequent financial issues have put their participation in doubt. "We would still like to collaborate with them on future projects, but if the revolving loan fund is approved, we are moving ahead without them at WIP."
Similarly, the sewer project is crucial for the full development of the Atlantic Gateway Logistics Park. The first tenant, Pee Dee Electric Cooperative, recently opened their new HQ building with a septic system, but a sanitary sewer hook-up is a requirement for most of the light industrial, warehousing, and logistics operations AnsonEDP hopes to draw to the park. It would also open up other development opportunities for the thousands of acres of property surrounding the park.
Marek will be keeping a close eye on Raleigh between now and Thanksgiving, hoping that the holidays hold unprecedented new opportunities for Anson County.
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