Our view: City and county should seal deal quickly

We are confident that the York County Council and the city of Rock Hill can come to an agreement on extending the Knowledge Park tax district. But we hope they do it quickly.

County Council members voted unanimously Monday to reject the city’s proposal. The council wants a new round of negotiations to discuss aspects of the agreement.

When the seven council members met in executive session to discuss their concerns, each of them came up with one or more points for negotiation. Among other things, members would like to see more oversight of how money is spent to develop the park and pay for operations. They also would like to reduce the amount of money the county has to give up to help pay for infrastructure improvements within the tax district.

Some council members hope to see the county’s contribution to the district, which now is set at the 2004 level when the tax district was created, rise to the 2015 assessment level during the extension. That would increase the county’s tax take during the final 10 years of the deal.

And at least one member would like to see a “cap” established so that any revenue above that amount would revert to the county. The Rock Hill school district, which also had to sign off on the extension, negotiated just such a deal with the city.

Council members concede that the city is not likely to cede every point in upcoming negotiations. Nonetheless, with the county’s approval being essential to the extension of the tax district, the council holds some strong bargaining chips.

A county delegation, including County Attorney Michael Kendree and County Manager Bill Shanahan, will begin meeting with city officials as early as next week. It is possible an agreement could be reached by the next county council meeting on April 20.

We hope the deal can be sealed that quickly. The city will not be able to move forward with a agreement with the project’s master developer, Sora-Phelps, until the extension is approved by the county, and as long as that agreement remains in limbo, no development will occur.

As we have noted before, we hope that the county focuses on the fact that the real value of the Knowledge Park site won’t be realized until it is developed. The county is entitled to protect its interests during these negotiations but the ultimate goal is to create a vital economic and culture hub in central downtown Rock Hill that will both produce tax revenues and enhance the life of the community for decades to come.

A project such as that would raise all boats. We hope negotiations between the city and county can wrap up fast so work can start as soon as possible.

This story was originally published April 8, 2015 at 6:10 PM with the headline "Our view: City and county should seal deal quickly."