South Piedmont Community College needs millions of dollars in repairs, and its leaders asked the county commissioners for support at the board’s meeting on Jan. 5.
Dr. Stan Sidor, president of SPCC, spoke to the commissioners about the extensive — and expensive — repairs that the college needs.
Sidor said that the college has held off several projects on both the Wadesboro and Polkton campuses, but that the situation at Polkton is most severe.
The necessary repairs will total about $10 million, according to Sidor, citing the buildings’ age as a main factor. The air conditioning system, windows and several other areas need to be replaced or repaired.
Sidor said that while he doesn’t have a firm solution, the college is doing what it can to help.
“We’re currently very aggressively looking at some partnerships to rent and lease additional space to generate additional revenue to offset the operational cost,” Sidor said. “We’re making some progress on that. We’re hoping we’ll make more progress. We’re also hoping we can partner with the county to use more of that operational space.”
Sidor also noted that the state bond referendum that will be on the March ballot will also help the college if it is voted in, saying that SPCC has been allotted $3.1 million if the referendum is passed. Of that, 30 percent will go to Anson automatically because it is a Tier 1 county, Sidor said.
“Our thumbnail sketch is that we’ve successfully kicked the can down the road as an institution for a very long time,” Sidor said. “We have some opportunities on the horizon if we receive the bond and we’re looking at partnerships, but we’re also asking for the county commissioners to consider some additional funding to help us with the deferred maintenance, especially at the Polkton campus.”
ANIMAL CONTROL ORDINANCE
Denise Whitley approached the commissioners with a list of proposed committee members she wants to help her draft a new animal control ordinance. Whitley was assigned the task at the December meeting.
The commissioners approved her full list of committee members: Lilesville Police Chief Bobby Gallimore, Mark Pankey, an animal control officer with the Anson County Animal Shelter, Ben Kane, director of the environmental health at the Anson County Health Department, Detective Steve Erdmanczyk with the Anson County Sheriff’s Office, and Whitley, who has a background in animal rescue.
Whitley said District Attorney Reece Saunders has agreed to review the ordinance before it is given to the commissioners for approval.
The ordinance will address animal abuse and housing, among other issues, Whitley said.
COUNTY WEBSITE
Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Anna Baucom brought up her concern with the outdated county website.
Baucom said that only a few parts of the website are up-to-date.
On the homepage, the “Latest News” section shows the last updates posted were from July 2014. Under the section for the Board of Commissioners, the latest meeting dates posted are for 2013.
Baucom said that the majority of the site is likely not updated because those in charge of it may not have the time or knowledge to do so.
The health department, the board of elections and the sheriff’s office do update their portions of the website, though the rest is largely out-of-date.
“This is our face to the world, and we aren’t looking too spiffy,” Baucom said. “I don’t think anyone’s interested in our county budget from 2012-13.”
The next regular commissioners’ meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Feb. 2 in the Anson County Government Center.
Reach reporter Imari Scarbrough at 704-994-5471 and follow her on Twitter @ImariScarbrough.
