A group of seven mayors met for an informal lunch at Upper Savannah COG Thursday to discuss common issues and learn about funding programs that can help their communities.

USCOG has hosted town and county clerks and also city, town and county administrators for informal lunches over the years. This was the first such meeting for mayors.

The mayors of Clinton, Waterloo, Lowndesville, McCormick, Edgefield, Saluda and Gray Court attended.

The mayors learned that Abbeville, Greenwood, Laurens and McCormick counties and their municipalities are eligible to apply for funding in the new Growing Rural Communities Grant Program.

Recently launched by the S.C. Department of Commerce, the program is designed to support community growth and prosperity by providing funding for programs that enhance economic development, improve infrastructure, and promote quality of life in rural areas.

A community project identification process must be completed prior to grant approval by contacting contact Peggy McLean at pmclean@SCcommerce.com. A group of 10-15 people per community will be selected for interviews to discuss potential projects, USCOG Government Services Director Green told the mayors.

The mayors also discussed funding that is available for environmental assessments of brownfields sites across South Carolina, enabling for the possible redevelopment of properties that might have contaminants such as asbestos, lead-based paint, oil or other chemicals.

The Upper Savannah Region has received a total of $73,446 to use for projects over a two-year period ending September 2024. A brownfields site is a former industrial or commercial site where future use is affected by real or perceived environmental contamination.

The site of environmental testing must be owned by a city, town or county, or be supported by a municipality for possible redevelopment. A private entity may apply for funding if supported by their municipality or county. A letter of support will be required from the administrator or council chair.

Examples of sites that might be redeveloped after environmental testing for contaminants include old gas stations, automobile repair shops, car dealerships, textile mills, laundrymats, etc.

A Phase I environmental site assessment averages around $3,500. Green said three projects in the region have already been submitted: the old McCormick County Administration Building where there are plans to develop apartments and office space, and two old mill sites in the City of Clinton where housing developments are being considered at both sites.

The mayors of Edgefield and Saluda both mentioned sites of interest in their towns that are potential brownfields projects.

Several common issues were discussed, including how to fund housing rehabilitation needs in their communities where many residents cannot afford to fix problems such as roofs and windows.

Mayors discussed incentive programs that their communities are offering to their merchants to improve the condition of their buildings.

Also discussed were salary increases that have been put in the S.C. budget for state law enforcement officers, making it difficult for local police and sheriff’s offices to make their salaries competitive. One mayor wishes local communities could get more law enforcement funding also.

“It is going to be difficult to keep officers if they can make more money” as a state trooper, one mayor said.

High school seniors in the Upper Savannah Workforce Area can learn career planning tips and who might hire them as they take the “next step” after graduation.

Upper Savannah COG workforce development staff has updated its “Your Next Step After Graduation” directory of employers who hire recent high school graduates. Staff are distributing them to the more than 2,000 graduating seniors at public high schools in the Workforce Area.

The directory was created in 2021 and the latest now includes a web version https://upperscworks.com/wp-content/uploads/UpperSavannahEmployerDirectory2023.pdf with live links.

The Area includes Abbeville (108 seniors), Calhoun Falls (21), Dixie (87), Strom Thurmond (166), Emerald (170), Greenwood (324), Ninety Six (120), Ware Shoals (58), Laurens (300), Clinton (176), McCormick (36), Mid-Carolina (180), Newberry (161), Whitmire (40) and Saluda (143) high schools. There are 2,090 Area graduates in the Class of 2023.

The directory includes an alphabetical listing of nearly 90 companies in the Area which responded to a survey indicating they hire current high school students and recent graduates.

Also included are website addresses and whether employers offer flexible hours, tuition reimbursement, etc. Almost half offer tuition reimbursement and most work around school schedules.

This class is graduating at a time of low unemployment.

“Employers are struggling to fill positions. At the same time, we know each year more than 2,000 high school students are graduating,” USCOG Workforce Development Director Ann Skinner said.

“Our goal in publishing this directory is to connect the emerging workforce with local jobs. That may mean helping them find a part-time job while they are in school. For some it may mean starting a full-time job.”

Skinner said there are choices to be made and they differ with each individual.

“There are opportunities to work AND go to school. I think a lot of people believe you have to choose. ‘I will go to work or I will go to college.’ But you can do both,” she said.

“If we encourage more of our local graduates to work and go to school at the same time, we keep them in the area, we help them develop skills, and we can put them on a path to graduate (college) without debt.”

Skinner believes there are many benefits to working while going to college.

“Employers are looking for three things,” she said. “They are looking for credentials like your education, they are looking for a portfolio of things that you have done, and they are looking at your contacts because they want to know ‘can you work with other people, do you have references?’

“If you go to work, you are enhancing your credentials. You are building a portfolio of things you have done. So when you are being interviewed, you can say for example, ‘in my summer construction job, I learned how to measure, I learned how to read blueprints…’ When you have to put down three references, it’s good to say, ‘this is a person who has seen me work.’”

The directory provides information about training opportunities and assistance available for several health care programs to automotive technology, mechatronics, HVAC and welding, and several others.

The directory also includes encouraging tidbits for seniors making that next step, including a page devoted to “10 Steps of a Job Search.” The directory also highlights resume and cover letter development while sharing several interviewing tips.

The USCOG provides a wide scope of services and performs many functions. We have developed this activities report as a way to highlight this information and to regularly communicate our general activities in your county with you. Download the March 2023 report here.

Is your family prepared to find long-term care for a loved one? Do you know your options? The Upper Savannah Area Agency on Aging will host the Basics of Long-Term Care workshop Tuesday, April 18.

The workshop is free and will take place from 10 a.m. to noon at the Greenwood Genetic Center J.C. Self Research Institute’s Curry Auditorium, 117 Gregor Mendel Circle in Greenwood.

The workshop will encourage planning for your future needs. What is long-term care? Who pays for it? How do I plan for it?

Speakers will include Vanessa Wideman, former Upper Savannah Area Agency on Aging Director; Rosalind Burke, Greenwood County Veterans Center; Jan Nabors, Department of Health and Human Services; Leigh Anne Workman, Hospice of the Piedmont; and Beth Des Jardins, S.C. Legal Services.

Registration is not required but is encouraged. To register or for more information, call Langley Richardson at 864-941-8069. Her email address is lrichardson@uppersavannah.com.

The Upper Savannah Council of Governments is continuing its push to get citizens of the Region to participate in the GetConnectedSC broadband survey to help South Carolina build better overall network access.

The internet access capabilities survey is located at https://cx.ravencsi.com/aK8qm or by pointing your phone camera at the QR Code to the right.

It only takes a few minutes to fill out and everyone in your home is eligible to complete the survey.

The purpose of the survey is to identify who has fast internet, slow internet or no internet access in their homes. The survey results can help determine which areas of the region are underserved with reliable high-speed internet access.

“Elected officials, administrators and other community leaders who are aware of citizens in their jurisdictions who do not have internet access in their homes can get them to call me to help them fill out the surveys over the phone,” USCOG Government Services Director Rick Green said. “We need to hear from citizens who lack adequate internet.”

Green can be reached at (864) 941-8072 or rgreen@uppersavannah.com.

The GetConnectedSC campaign is designed to identify the areas of greatest need in our state, invest in broadband infrastructure to those areas and provide support services to make that transformation possible for every home, business and community organization in South Carolina.

The initiative is part of a nationwide effort to improve broadband access. In 2021, Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) which included $65 billion for the deployment of broadband infrastructure development and digital inclusion efforts across the country.