What does York County want from Knowledge Park deal?

As York County heads back to the negotiating table over extending the Knowledge Park tax district, whether the special fundraising district in Rock Hill’s textile corridor moves forward remains uncertain.

Members of the York County Council, who voted unanimously to reject the city’s proposal for an extension in favor of a new round of negotiations, say they want more oversight of the park’s funding and operations, and changes that will lessen the amount of money the county will give up to fund infrastructure improvements in the affected area.

When council members met in executive session Monday night to discuss what they wanted out of negotiations with County Attorney Michael Kendree, who will form part of the county’s negotiating team along with County Manager Bill Shanahan, “there was at least one thing or more from all seven of us,” said Councilman Robert Winkler. “But that doesn’t mean we’re going to get all seven.”

Councilwoman Christi Cox, who chaired the council’s Knowledge Park review committee, declined afterward to discuss what the county hopes to achieve from a new round of negotiations, saying it could affect the county’s negotiating position. But other members of the county council shared their thoughts on where the negotiations need to go from here.

Chairman Britt Blackwell, who on Tuesday was still going through the “huge stack of papers” turned over by Cox’s committee, said the county needs commitments for reporting details about the tax district’s costs and the county’s contribution to it.

“What will the county lose in a 10-year extension?” Blackwell said. “The number seems to bounce around. ... I hear one number, then I heard another number the other night that was different from what I was told five days ago.”

Others want to see the county’s contribution to the district – set at the 2004 level when the tax district was created – raise to the 2015 assessment level during the extension, which would increase York County’s tax take during the final 10 years of the deal. The city has offered to make that change during previous talks with the county.

Winkler also said he wants a “cap” similar to one negotiated between the city and Rock Hill school district where any revenue above a projected amount would revert to the county.

Councilman William “Bump” Roddey, another member of the committee, said he would like Rock Hill to expedite the sale of city-owned property on the Knowledge Park site to boost tax revenues sooner.

The tax district funds improvements to the site of the former Rock Hill Printing & Finishing Co., known as the Bleachery. A 10-year extension on the life of the district, located roughly between the downtown business district and Winthrop University, would take it out to 2039.

“I fully anticipate this will be a smooth transition,” Roddey said. “Some things will come up in the negotiating process, but they will be real minor. ... It’s not going to be a deal breaker. I’m not going to split hairs on this, although some members might.”

Rock Hill Mayor Doug Echols said he was “hopeful” Monday’s vote would have a different outcome, “but I was not surprised.”

“But I’m an optimist,” Echols said, “As the negotiations unfold, we can find common ground. What they voted to do was keep talking.”

County council members and Rock Hill city officials hope the negotiating process will be short, with a potential amended agreement coming up for a vote at the next county council meeting April 20.

After Monday’s vote, Blackwell and City Manager David Vehaun had what both described as a “positive” conversation Tuesday morning about the pace of negotiations, and Blackwell encouraged Vehaun to meet with Shanahan as soon as possible.

The city manager said no schedule for the talks had been set as of Tuesday, but he hopes to have the terms agreed by the end of this week before beginning talks next week. Like with the city’s negotiations with the Rock Hill school district late last year, Vehaun sees the talks as a prelude to a final deal.

Cox has said she wants to get a copy of the city’s master development agreement with Sora-Phelps, but city officials insist that document won’t be finalized until an extension is approved.

“It would be nice to see that agreement between the city and the developer, but that’s not a breaking point,” Winkler said. “It’s the city’s (tax district).”

Echols told a meeting of the Rock Hill Economic Development Corp. on Tuesday that Knowledge Park “can’t wait on the master development agreement.”

“You can’t buy and sell without knowing what the city will do for that property,” Echols said.

Rock Hill business leaders have been supportive of the district moving forward. They worry the delay in the county approving the tax-district extension is hurting the development’s future.

Greg Rutherford, chairman of the RHEDC, told the meeting, “Every day we keep struggling, we keep a national developer guessing. While the national economy is improving we run the risk of not be able to move forward.”

“The development agreement was supposed to be signed in December,” said County Councilman Chad Williams. “There are people waiting for this to get going ... but there won’t be any development without that investment.”

This story was originally published April 7, 2015 at 9:41 PM with the headline "What does York County want from Knowledge Park deal?."