DILLON, SC (WBTW) – One Pee Dee county is hoping to attract new people and businesses alike by cleaning up the look of the community.
“We’re looking to receive people in a positive manner,” said Rodney Berry, Dillon County Administrator.
Berry said things are looking up in the rural county.
“This has been an extremely fast-paced environment,” Berry said of the job before him. “It seems like everything’s been expedited as we look to receive the inland port.”
With ground broken on that inland port project, Berry said Dillon County Council is now setting its sights on improving the sights drivers see on the way into the county.
“Our focus will be the entrance ways,” Berry explained. “As you enter Dillon County, which is a beautiful county, some of our weaknesses are the entries, so we’ll focus on the first impression.”
At its last meeting, county council passed first reading of an ordinance to demolish some of those abandoned or dilapidated buildings. Berry said while officials are focusing mainly on buildings next to major roads into the county, they are open to suggestions from the people as well.
“We’ll take a look at any complaints as it pertains to the way a building looks or any kind of activity that doesn’t seem kosher,” Berry said.
While he confirms council’s plan is to beautify the entrances to the county by getting rid of some of the old or abandoned buildings, Berry said equally important is curbing the crime that buildings like that tend to attract.
“It’s an ongoing issue in all the rural counties,” Berry said of criminal activity in abandoned buildings. “We’ve got a great sheriff and I think they’re doing a great job, but we’re always concerned about crime.”
“I hope they do something to clean up the town,” said Robert German, who lives next to an abandoned building just outside Dillon. German said thieves have stolen his belongings from his own front yard in the past.
“It’d be a wonderful thing if they’d beautify it,” German said. “A lot of these places here need to be cleaned up.”
Berry said the county hopes to replace abandoned and run-down buildings with houses for those who come to Dillon County for a place to work and a place to call home.
“It would be viable for apartment complexes,” Berry explained. “But right now we’re focused on residential.”
Dillon County Council will hold a second reading of the building demolition ordinance when it reconvenes next month.
