Water Capacity, but no Grants for Campground

RIDGEWAY – A local campground looking to expand their number of units will be able to get water from the Town of Ridgeway, Mayor Charlene Herring reported during Town Council’s March 13 meeting; however, Herring added, she found no available grant dollars to help offset the cost of installing the water lines.

During Council’s Feb. 21 meeting, Chris Curtiss, owner of the Little Cedar Creek Campground on East Peach Road in Ridgeway, asked the Town to provide a 6-inch, 1,250-foot waterline to the campground. Curtiss said he plans to expand his 30-acre campground from 28 units to 58 units and that the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control requires expanded water capacity for the additional 30 units. He said the residents of his campground shop in Ridgeway and that the expansion of the campground could bring considerable economic development to the town.

Last week, Councilman Russ Brown said Curtiss was not asking the Town to pay for the installation of the water lines, but only asking if the Town had the capacity to serve the expanded campground and if the Town could assist in locating grant funds.

“We have the water available,” Herring said. “I could not find any grants, since these are not really permanent homes and not low- to moderate-income people.”

Herring said Curtiss was also looking to add two fire hydrants to the grounds, for which she would have to contact Interim County Administrator Milton Pope.

Softball Season

Will Prioleau, President of the Ridgeway Co-Ed Church Softball League, reported to Council that the league was getting ready to enter its fifth year of play. What began with just four teams has grown to an 11-team league, with games played every Saturday between April and October. Games are played at Rufus Belton Park in Longtown and at the downtown Ridgeway field, on alternating Saturdays.

County Councilman Dwayne Perry (District 1) was on hand at last week’s meeting and told Prioleau and Council that they could count on his support at the County level for the league, in spite of recent criticism levied against Council for how they spend their annual discretionary funds of $3,500 each.

“We’ve kind of been under attack these last couple of months – and for some things rightfully so,” Perry said. “It was put out there that Council members were trying to ‘buy votes’ by supporting different organizations, but I will continue to support the Town of Ridgeway. The softball league is one of the things I really try to support and always have since its inception and I will continue to support that.”

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