York Co. Council approves tax break for forklift arms maker, but Carowinds water park has to wait

One York County business will get help starting a new venture, thanks to tax breaks approved by the York County Council on Monday. A larger business investment, on the other hand, will have to wait until the contract can be finalized.

The York County Council voted to advance a fee-in-lieu-of-tax agreement with MSI-Forks, a forklift arms manufacturer. The business will see its property tax rate drop from 10 percent to 6 percent for the next 30 years on a new location the company is moving to near Rock Hill.

But the council took no final vote on a similar agreement that would cover the water park opening on the South Carolina side of Carowinds in the Fort Mill area. County Attorney Michael Kendree told the council some details of the agreement between York County and the state line-straddling amusement park are being finalized.

MSI-Forks is moving from Mount Gallant Road to an 11-acre site at 1300 Galleria Blvd. in Rock Hill. MSI, a subsidiary of a United Kingdom-based company that also has a manufacturing facility in Brazil, has had a distribution site in Rock Hill since 1994 and a manufacturing operation since 2011.

The council approved the MSI-Forks agreement unanimously. The company also will receive a additional 25 percent reduction on its property tax for five years. York County economic development officials expect job growth at the new site.

Carowinds, which is split evenly between York County and Mecklenburg County, N.C., will have to wait at least two weeks to receive approval of its agreement, although the proposal already passed two preliminary readings by the council.

The Carowinds agreement covers the theme park’s new Carolina Harbor Waterpark. The new water park replaces the Thunder Road wooden roller coaster, which ended operations last summer after 29 years.

Features of the new water park include Blackbeard’s Revenge, a six-story, pirate-themed water ride with a nearly 70-foot vertical free fall. Children-oriented rides include Seaside Splashworks, Myrtle Turtle Beach and Kitty Hawk Cove.

The projected investment, according to the agreement, is $25 million.

This story was originally published November 16, 2015 at 8:55 PM with the headline "York Co. Council approves tax break for forklift arms maker, but Carowinds water park has to wait."