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Following the retirement of zoning administrator Joe Mole, Allendale County is seeking to quickly fill the position.
At its March 21 monthly meeting, the Allendale County Council discussed filling the county’s zoning administrator vacancy and an early-stage plan to get the county a state park.
Zoning Administrator
In late February, Allendale County zoning administrator Joe Mole retired. At the meeting, council member James White Jr. announced that the county is currently trying to fill the empty position left behind by Mole as fast as possible.
“It’s going to be challenging for us to make sure that we keep those wheels turning,” White Jr. said. “We’ve had about seven or eight applications and we’re going to work together as a council to make sure that interviews are conducted so we can move forward with that.”
Mole did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
State Park Discussions
The county is currently in early discussions surrounding getting a state park. Although South Carolina has 46 state parks, Allendale is one of a handful of counties in the state without one.
Council member Willa Jennings, who has been one of the strongest proponents of the idea, has proposed several places within Allendale for a park. One of which is along the Lower Savannah River Alliance Greenway, along Highway 301 near the Savannah River.
While visiting Allendale for the Allendale County Democratic Convention on March 9, state senator Brad Hutto expressed support for creating a state park in Allendale.
“Allendale County is one of few counties that does not have a state park,” Jennings said. “[Hutto] was going to be meeting with someone next week concerning Allendale not having a park. … He is going to assist us.”
Tire manufacturing plant
The planned tire manufacturing facility in Fairfax, run by Vietnamese company Tin Thanh Group Americas, is still on track. However, said council chair Matthew Connelly, the project is taking longer than expected; The original announced date for the project to come online was September 2024.
“There’s been a lot of rumors going around about Tin Thanh, the tire plant, that it was not coming,” Connelly said. “That is absolutely false… A company of this size takes a little bit of due diligence, and being overseas makes it even worse. They still got a little ways to go, but the rumor that they are not coming is absolutely not true.”
Other items discussed
• Chanel Lewis, Allendale’s Chief Financial Officer, announced that Allendale County’s audit is underway. The last time that Allendale County had an audit conducted was 2021.
• The county is undergoing a software upgrade through Springbrook Payroll, a software company. Lewis said these upgrades will help make financial reporting and conducting audits easier.
• The council is looking into getting a new well pump for the Town of Martin; The current well is aging and does not meet the needs of the fire department.
• The council voted to recognize Maggie Lee Allen Robinson, a long time Allendale resident who will turn 101 on April 5, for her “outstanding service and commitment to her Family, Church, Community, County and State.”
Elijah de Castro is a Report for America corps member who writes about rural communities like Allendale and Barnwell counties for The People-Sentinel. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep Elijah writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today.
