Winthrop to endorse county 'Pennies' project

By Jonathan McFadden
mcfaddenj@mytjnow.com

Winthrop will throw its support behind York County's third Pennies for Progress initiative, a $161 million effort to improve the county's roads and highways by collecting funds from a 1-cent sales tax.

The decision comes Monday after Winthrop's Board of Trustees voted via e-mail to unanimously support the capital road improvement project for another six years.

Initially adopted by voters in 1997, road projects for the program were chosen by a Sales Tax Commission, a group that represented York County citizens.

Voters decided to renew the project again in 2003.

On Aug. 2, York County voters will decide whether or not to initiate a third phase of the tax-based capital program and approve $161 million over the next six years that'll be devoted solely to road fixer-uppers.

Part of the project includes renovations on S.C. 5, S.C. 161 and almost $2 million reserved for pedestrian improvements around Winthrop University.

Improvements to Cherry Road and Oakland Avenue would facilitate more safety along the much-traveled hub that surrounds the campus, while also buffering “the general attractiveness of the area,” according to the original resolution presented to the executive committee of the Board of Trustees.

Nine projects were approved for Rock Hill alone, requiring $51.4 million.

Thanks to the rising and unexpected costs of fuel and a stale economy, some road projects from the 2003 referendum will segue into the new initiative if York County voters give the signal of affirmation.

The tax expires in September.

The Pennies for Progress initiative was the first of its kind in South Carolina to mandate a sales-tax incentive to pay for a county's road renovations.

To date, over $261 million has been collected, according to the program's official website.