City Council OKs using TIF funds for five projects

The remaining $300,000 of the City's Tax Increment Financing funds will be used for five projects.

Aiken City Council members Monday unanimously approved the City's request to use the money for a park at the corner of Richland Avenue and York Street, electric and water lines through the parkways along Park Avenue, streetscapes on Bee and Sea lanes and a design charette to determine the future of the Union Street area.

The park is expected to cost $115,000. The City recently purchased the property for $239,000.

The City has also partnered with officials from Wesley United Methodist Church to create a small parking lot to be used by the public during the week and by members of Wesley United Methodist during services.

City Public Works Director Larry Morris said the parking area will be similar to a parking lot in Hopelands Gardens, made with a more eco-friendly-type pavement called grasscrete that will allow grass to be grown through the lot. The park will also include benches and a gazebo. A wrought-iron fence will surround the property.

The City plans to install water and electric lines through the parkways on Park Avenue where Aiken's Makin and other festivals are typically held.

In the past, vendors have had to carry water from the Greater Aiken Chamber of Commerce back to the festival site and have had to use extension cords for electricity, which creates a hazard, LeDuc said. The project is expected to cost $20,000.

For the charette for the Union Street area, City officials plan to hire a land planner and get together with business leaders and other stakeholders to discuss and come up with a plan for the future of the area as officials begin to prepare for what it will look like five to 10 years from now.

The Aiken Railroad Depot is being constructed in the area and there will be other improvements, LeDuc told Council members. The design plan is expected to cost $25,000. LeDuc said a similar process was used to design the Toole Hill area several years ago.

For the Bee Lane streetscape, the City will continue the process of removing the wires from overhead heading toward Richland Avenue and install more pavers and arbor ways along the street.

The improvements are expected to cost $129,000; $48,000 in TIF funds will be used. The other $80,500 will come from the Local Option Sales Tax.

LeDuc said the City also plans to do similar improvements on Sea Lane, including underground wiring. The project is expected to cost $91,500.

The City approved a TIF district in 1995 for projects such as streetscape improvements, economic development, lighting and land acquisition for downtown and in surrounding areas.

Contact April Bailey at abailey@aikenstandard.com.