House of Raeford Farms Inc. executives are thinking about what to do next after the North Carolina-based company’s plan to build a poultry processing plant north of Aiken near Interstate 20 suffered setbacks earlier this week.
“No decision has been made,” said Dave Witter, House of Raeford’s manager of corporate communications and sustainability, during a telephone interview Friday morning. “Everything is under consideration at this point.”
Aiken County Council on Tuesday declined to take action on the second reading of an ordinance that would have provided a fee in lieu of tax agreement, which is an economic development incentive, to House of Raeford.
As a result, the second reading failed due to the lack of motion, and the ordinance is “as dead as Marley’s ghost,” said County Council Chairman Gary Bunker.
Shortly afterward, Aiken City Manager Stuart Bedenbaugh, wrote the following in a text message after being contacted by the Aiken Standard: “With the County’s ordinance for a fee in lieu of taxes failing due to lack of a motion, there are no plans to bring a proposed water and sewer ordinance for this project back to City Council for consideration.”
Prior to County Council’s meeting on Tuesday, Bunker received a letter via email from Gov. Henry McMaster late in the afternoon that asked the panel to consider deferring its vote on the ordinance’s second reading “to provide some time to work towards a mutually agreeable solution.”
County Council member Mike Kellems tried to get the panel to delay consideration Tuesday, making a motion to table the matter.
A colleague, Kelley Mobley, seconded it.
But County Council voted 7-2 against tabling the second reading.
Three readings of an ordinance are required by the county before it can take effect.
The public previously had expressed strong opposition to the proposed facility at County Council and City Council meetings.
The House of Raeford issued the following statement Friday morning:
“We are disappointed with the decision of the Aiken County Council Tuesday night regarding our proposed $185 million investment, which would have brought substantial economic benefits and impact to the county. This project was set to generate $1.6 billion in regional economic impact over the next five years, support over 1,800 temporary regional jobs during construction, and when complete, provide 900 processing jobs, all offering competitive wages, comprehensive benefits and career advancement opportunities.
“Our company appreciates the support of Governor McMaster’s office and the South Carolina Department of Agriculture in their attempt to work with local leadership to resolve all issues with Aiken’s water and sewer capacity. We are grateful for the efforts of the Aiken City Council, whose members invested the time to meet with us, visit us, and fully investigate the proposed facility and its related benefits before arriving at their informed opinions.
“We would like to also express our thanks to the two County Council members who voted to table the vote on the project until they could spend more than the 30 minutes allotted by the County Council to study the details of the project more thoroughly.
“As we consider our next steps, we remain committed to transparency and constructive dialogue, and hope future opportunities will allow for a more thorough evaluation of the substantial benefits we bring to all of the communities we serve.”
