Knowledge Park coming back up for vote, negotiations continue

Two weeks after rejecting a proposal from Rock Hill officials and voting to re-open negotiations, the York County Council is scheduled to consider initial approval Monday of an agreement to extend a special tax district to help pay for the Knowledge Park project.

City and county officials have been negotiating since the County Council voted unanimously April 6 to see if the county could win more concessions from Rock Hill before allowing an extension city officials argue is crucial if the downtown redevelopment project is going to succeed.

Knowledge Park is the city’s strategy for developing an area generally between downtown Rock Hill and Winthrop University. The concept calls for high-tech businesses, retailers and residential units.

County Manager Bill Shanahan has sent some suggested changes to City Manager David Vehaun, and Vehaun said last week the city was working on a response. He declined to talk about specifics of the two sides’ proposals but said discussions have been “very fruitful.”

“I think there are many opportunities for us to find an agreement,” Vehaun said.

County Council Chairman Britt Blackwell said after the previous council vote he hoped to have a final agreement in place in time for the council to vote on it Monday. Even as county officials awaited the city’s response last week, Blackwell felt confident enough to add initial approval to the council’s agenda.

“I still hope they will be able to wrap this up,” Blackwell said, adding “you can always hope.”

The special tax district was created in 2004. It is centered on the former industrial site known as the Bleachery and covers the downtown area.

The district sets as a benchmark the amount of taxes collected in 2004. Any revenue generated above that amount in the district each year goes to infrastructure improvements in the district.

To create the district, York County and the Rock Hill school district agreed to forgo revenue from the tax district for 25 years, with the expectation of higher tax returns when the development was completed in 2029. But the city wants to extend the life of the district another 10 years, and the County Council has been reluctant to grant that request. The school board has already agreed.

Even without a final agreement in place, County Council members would still be able give initial approval Monday. The council, which must approve the plan two more times for it to take effect, could amend the proposal before giving final approval.

Shanahan could not be reached for comment last week to discuss York County’s position in the negotiations, but Rock Hill Economic Development Director Stephen Turner characterized the county’s requests at a meeting of the Knowledge Park Leadership Group on Wednesday.

The group, made up of local business people, is helping to guide the project.

“Some are not dissimiliar from requests made by the school board” before it agreed to the extension, Turner said. But “there are things on the list that are not acceptable,” he added.

Still, Turner thinks there is room for progress in the negotiations, saying Rock Hill can agree to much of the list.

At its meeting last week, the Knowledge Park Leadership Group discussed the need to have a representative at all City Council and County Council meetings where the issue could come up. Lee Gardner, chief executive officer and president of Family Trust Federal Credit Union, is concerned about some of the challenges to the extension that have come up at recent meetings.

“We need to have an equally strong voice of reason,” he said.

Herald business editor Don Worthington contributed to this report.

This story was originally published April 18, 2015 at 10:54 PM with the headline "Knowledge Park coming back up for vote, negotiations continue."