WINNSBORO – During a 2-hour meeting on Tuesday evening, Town Council approved the request from a developer on Rimer Pond Road in Blythewood for 60 residential water taps and 24,000 gallons per day of the existing uncommitted water capacity of the Blythewood system.
The resolution quelled a potential legal battle that had been brewing over water that Winnsboro had promised in 2008 to the developer, Sycamore Development, LLC. The developer had planned to develop a 300-home subdivision on three parcels of land along Rimer Pond Road and obtained from Winnsboro a Capacity and Willingness to Serve letter for the development of 250 residential lots.
The water taps were to be prepaid by Sycamore once the water line went in on Rimer Pond Road. That water line was completed and accepted by Winnsboro in July of 2009, but Sycamore never prepaid for the taps.
The subdivision never materialized, and two of the three parcels have since been sold off. The water approval on Tuesday evening was for the remaining 31.23-acre parcel at 502 Rimer Pond Road. According to documents obtained by The Voice in July, the developer was wanting to unload that parcel but could not because Winnsboro allegedly refused to enter into a Capacity and Willingness to Serve agreement with prospective buyers of the property. At that time the developer was requesting 107 residential taps for which Winnsboro would charge $1,350 each.
“In 2008 we had promised them water and they never did anything with it,” Winnsboro Mayor Roger Gaddy told The Voice in July. “Now they wanted water and they wanted it rather quickly.”
Documents stated that Sycamore wanted a response in writing by July 15. The agreement reached on Tuesday evening includes service to the developer’s successors or assigns.
Generator Saves Town $1 Million
In a related matter, Council approved a capital expenditure for a standby generator at the permanent pump station site in Blythewood. The generator will permit Winnsboro to take advantage of Columbia’s storage capacity, which will make additional taps available for assignment in the Blythewood system. Town attorney Creighton Coleman pointed out that the generator will alleviate the Town from having to buy and build an above-ground storage tank, saving the Town about $1 million. Council OK’d up to $95,000 for the generator.
Langford Crossing Water
Council also passed unanimously another resolution approving a request by another Blythewood development, Langford Crossing LLC on Langford Road, also in Blythewood, to proceed with the construction of water facilities for Phase 2 of its development plus an additional four water taps.
Council also approved capital expenditure requests for an additional HVAC unit for the Annex Building at an estimated cost of $3,200; interior renovations to a portion of the second floor of the Public Safety building at an estimated cost of $12,500 and an HVAC maintenance agreement at an estimated cost of $840/year.
