LAURINBURG – The president of Richmond Community College will ask Scotland County to commit to a full campus in Laurinburg.
The request is expected to come during Monday’s meeting of the Scotland County Board of Commissioners at the A.B. Gibson Education Center at 322 South Main Street. The meeting begins at 7 p.m.
RCC President Dale McInnis recently sent a letter to the board asking it to issue a formal resolution committing financially to expanding the college’s facilities in Laurinburg.
McInnis is asking the county to help cover the cost of maintenance, grounds keeping and operating expenses.
The college plans to take over the former Edwin Morgan Center building on Peden Street after the county renovates it and use the facility as campus for its nursing program.
The college also plans to move its Scotland Early College High School – SEarCH – Program to the Covington Street Elementary building. Currently the program is housed at St. Andrews University.
In order to fully understand what the college is asking the county to commit to the board invited McInnis to speak at Monday’s meeting.
Commissioner Guy McCook expressed support for the expansion but wanted to be able to ask McInnis questions.
“I’d sort of like to know how much money we’re talking about,” McCook told County Manager Kevin Patterson. “I hear you talking, and I think we’re looking at $150 to $200,000 total.”
Other commissioners also had questions as to what a financial commitment would mean for the county during Wednesday’s budget planning session.
“What I’m saying is, once we make this a full campus, they’re saying that we are responsible for the grounds the buildings and all those things,” said Commissioner Betty Blue Gholston. “We don’t do that now do we?”
Patterson informed Gholston that the county currently funds $297,000 of upkeep at the F. Diane Honeycutt campus on McLean Street. The allotment covers the campus’ maintenance and groundkeeping needs.
The county also pays $75,000 to St. Andrews to house SEarCH. Those funds would be used to cover the cost of operating the Covington Street facility, according to Patterson.
“There will be some cost increases, but much of this has been anticipated as we made some decisions in the last several years,” Patterson said.
The board will also hold a public hearing to consider local economic incentive grants for the purpose of attracting new industry to Scotland County.
After a closed session, the board will hold the hearing to consider final approval for the incentive package for the proposed Mountaire feed mill facility. The package is to be paid over time.
“When we do an incentive package, we do certain amount over five years for a client,” said Mark Ward, director of the Scotland County Economic Development Corporation.
The project is set to bring 65 local full-time employment jobs and a $44 million capital investment.