Richland County Month in Review: May

COLUMBIA, SC –

• Richland County officials, neighborhood residents and others gathered for the official groundbreaking of the County’s dirt road paving program. Nearly 30 roads are scheduled to be paved this year with about $2.9 million as part of the Transportation Penny Program. These projects, supplemented with other monies, mark the first construction projects funded by the tax that went into effect last year.

• Richland County Council Chair Norman Jackson joined other local officials to herald the importance of small businesses in the community – and to promote the County’s recently created Small Local Business Enterprise (SLBE) Program. Last year, Richland County Council approved an ordinance to establish the SLBE initiative. The program will begin accepting applications this summer to increase the number of certified small and local businesses eligible to participate in the County’s competitive bid process for projects included in the Transportation Penny Tax program, as well as countywide projects that do not receive federal funding.

• Richland County Councilman Jim Manning, the County’s Neighborhood Improvement Program and community partners celebrated the Decker Boulevard Mural Project. The mural, on the wall of the Staples building at 2744 Decker Blvd., depicts the cultural diversity for which the area – called the “International Corridor” – is known. World-renown artist Karl Wilkes designed the mural and local school children took part in painting the colorful work of art, which is expected to be completed in mid-June.

• Richland County’s Development Services launched the next phase of its move to become a one-stop shop for the development community. Last year, the County brought key aspects of the development process under one roof. Now, a new website will tie all aspects of the development process into one consolidated site and new software, TrakiT, will allow customers to track projects online from the initial submission of building plans to the issuance of the final “certificate of occupancy.

• Richland County teamed up CGI Communications Inc., a national video production company, to highlight the community in a series of videos coming soon to the County’s website. Representatives from the company will canvass the County to gather footage for videos emphasizing tourism, quality of life, economic development and more. CGI Communications produces informational community videos for local governments across the country. The “Richland County Video Tour Book” is being produced at no cost to taxpayers and will be featured on the County’s website,www.rcgov.us or www.richlandonline.com, as well as www.relocate.org, a CGI Communications site.