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  • Co-op board election set for May 17-21

    BLYTHEWOOD/WINNSBORO– For the second year in a row, the election of Fairfield Electric Cooperative board members and the annual meeting will be a drive-thru affair. But that’s not expected to dampen member voters from showing up.

    Until last year, the draw for the annual meeting has been popular giveaways: – a free used car, lawn mowers, free electricity, various $50 – $200 gift cards and a nice door prize for everyone who attends. But this year, like last, it’s a peaked interest in who gets elected to the co-op’s board that is more likely to bring out the crowds.

    After the public became aware three years ago that board members had extended a nearly $1.8 million golden parachute to its former CEO, William Hart, their interest in the elections grew. Two candidates campaigned against the posh pensions and cozy compensation packages provided board members and CEO’s in the past. Both candidates prevailed by good margins over the incumbents.

    In 2017, Hart’s final full year with the co-op, he received $520,353 in total compensation, according to the co-op’s federal tax return. The 2018 tax return pegged Hart’s total compensation at $2,123,633.  According to one board member, the IRS fined the co-op $200,000 for excessive compensation to Hart.

    While the board has made a number of reforms since the $1.8 million vote, more are in the works, such as the way candidates run for office.

    “Until now, each candidate has to campaign for votes throughout the entire co-op coverage area,” Vice-President of Member Services Doug Payne said. “Beginning next year, they will only have to campaign in their own district.”

    Candidates for District 1 (in the order listed on the ballot) are incumbent Johnny Roberts and challenger Eddie Branham. Calvin Jay Smith, who is listed on the ballot for District 1, has dropped out of the race. Running for District 2 are, incumbent Joe Sharpe and challenger Ronald Friday. District 3 contenders are Gen Palmer and Mike Good.

    The race for open seats in three districts will be decided this year by co-op members at four different voting venues on five different days. The drive-thru registration and voting portion of the annual meeting will be held May 17-20, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on May 21, from 7 a.m. – 12 noon at the following locations: May 17 (Chester), May 18 (Lugoff), May 19 (Blythewood), May 20 & 21 (Winnsboro at the Fairfield Electric Cooperative office, 3129 Highway 321 N.)

    The business meeting and raffle on May 21 will be livestreamed on the co-op’s website. Only the board, committee representatives and key staff will attend.

  • Fairfield County gets $99M in settlement with Dominion

    “We were never looking for a cash settlement. We were looking for projects that would lay the groundwork for the expansion and improvement of Fairfield County as well as economic development.”

    Jason Taylor, Fairfield County Administrator

    WINNSBORO – Fairfield County council voted Monday night to accept a settlement with Dominion Energy stemming from the cancelled V.C. Summer nuclear construction project and the fee in lieu of taxes agreement entered into by the parties in July of 2010.

    The settlement ends nearly four years of extensive negotiations between Dominion and the county with County Administrator Jason Taylor and the county’s Economic Development Director Ty Davenport spearheading the negotiations for the county.

    “We never liked to approach this as a punitive action against Dominion,” Taylor said. “We knew we had to move forward with Dominion in a partner-like relationship. They have a nuclear power plant here and they are a power provider here. We needed a positive relationship moving forward. We approached this asking how we could get an equitable settlement that’s a win-win for both of us. So they’re reinvesting in their territory (Fairfield County) to create tax payers for us, rate payers for them and jobs for our citizens which means a better quality of life for our citizens. That’s how we can truly move forward together in a partnership.

    “We were never looking for a cash settlement,” Taylor said. “We were looking for projects that would lay the groundwork for the expansion and improvement of Fairfield County as well as economic development.”

     “Three years and two councils ago we made a commitment to the citizens to press this issue and see it through, and today that occurred,” Billy Smith, county council chair when the lawsuit was initiated, told The Voice after the meeting in a phone call from Louisiana. “The outcome is not perfect, but is in large part a win-win for all. The County will be able to undertake some strategic projects long overdue and neglected, and Dominion should benefit from the County’s growth in its territory. Credit is due to all involved. Now the real work of getting these projects right begins.”

    Those projects include a new wastewater treatment plant near the Broad River, upgrades to the industrial park at the Fairfield Commerce Center and extensive work on the I-77 mega-site. Dominion also committed to a group of community development projects for Ridgeway as well as five years of bond payment relief for the $24 million Fairfield Facilities Corporation bond that current council member Mikel Trapp helped pass in 2013.

    “Fairfield County enjoyed a long fruitful relationship with SCE&G for many years prior to cancellation of the nuclear project, and we at the county look forward to a long, fruitful and mutually beneficial relationship with Dominion Energy for many years to come,” Taylor said.

    It was a priority for Taylor to finalize the settlement before he leaves his county administrator’s position in June to assume the Town Manager’s position at the Town of Winnsboro.

    But Taylor not only had to negotiate with Dominion, he had to also negotiate a settlement that the four majority voting bloc on council – Moses Bell, Mikel Trapp, Shirley Green and Tim Roseborough – would vote to accept.

    “It’s a win-win for Fairfield and Dominion Energy,” Davenport said. “Fairfield benefits because this investment will increase the number of jobs and homes in the county, and Dominion benefits because companies locating in Fairfield County will need energy.”

    “Dominion Energy had some of the best lawyers in the country representing it on this case, and because of their vision and hard work we were able to craft an incredibly unique agreement that benefits both our client and theirs,” said Jack McKenzie, one of the attorneys representing Fairfield County.  “Ten years from now, neither side will remember this as a settlement of a lawsuit, but as the establishment of a partnership that succeeded in improving both the lives of the citizens of Fairfield County and the bottom line for the stockholders of Dominion Energy.” 

    “I am very impressed with Dominion Energy and the care with which it handled this litigation,” current County Council Chair Moses Bell said in a prepared statement.  “It is clear that Dominion is committed to becoming a friend to South Carolina and particularly Fairfield County.  I think it’s time that we all move on from the utility bashing that has taken place over the past three years, and continue to develop plans for our future together so that we all benefit.”

    Below is a breakdown of the settlement in projects and cash:

    $45,690,118 – Wastewater treatment plant  

    $6,475,000 – Grading of the mega-site   

    $3,196,000 – Grading of the Commerce Center    

    $1,750,000 – Escrow for rate relief (economic development)  

    $2,000,000 – Spec Bldg. – Parcel 9 at Commerce Center 

    $2,200,000 – Teachers’ Village

    $7,550,920 – Bond payments (for 5 years of payments for 2013 $24M bond) 

    $2,500,000 – Ridgeway Park and Rec Center 

    $1,000,000 – Martin Luther King Monument on Mt. Zion grounds 

    $27,112,500 – Cash (payments to attorneys)

    $99,474,538 – TOTAL                   

    This is a breaking story. More information will be provided as it becomes available.

  • Assistant Administrator for Fairfield County announces departure

    WINNSBORO – Assistant County Administrator Laura Johnson has submitted a letter of resignation to County administrator Jason Taylor, effective June 4, 2021, the day before Taylor leaves his job and takes over as Town Manager of Winnsboro.

    Johnson is the third high level county employee to leave or be forced out in the last two months. The county attorney, county administrator, a department head and other employees have also resigned following a purge by the new majority leadership on county council.

    Johnson, A CPA, will retire after 30 years in state and local government. Her resignation letter included a note to Taylor who promoted her from Comptroller to the Assistant Administrator position two years ago.

    “When you selected me to be your Assistant County Administrator, I was honored that you trusted me enough to give me this opportunity to be your “right-hand woman.” I have learned a lot and have enjoyed working with you. I will greatly miss our very blunt and honest conversations. I think we make a great team, one that is built upon cooperation and trust. So it is bittersweet for me to submit my letter of retirement from Fairfield County. I have poured my heart into this job, and I have thoroughly enjoyed working with you and all the department directors, elected officials and staff.”

    Johnson began her career in state government at the Office of the State Auditor and the Department of Public Safety. She came to Fairfield County as Comptroller in 2002. Her accomplishments, Taylor said, have been many.

    She implemented a new accounting system and time clock system, developed written policies and procedures for Finance, developed an account code structure, ensured GASB pronouncements were implemented, implemented a fixed assets system and implemented, evaluated and modified internal controls in several areas.

    “Going back to 2013, Johnson said, with the exception of two of those years, the county’s fund balance has increased (i.e., revenues exceeding expenditures), despite what is currently being conveyed to the citizens.

    Taylor said Laura’s leaving will be a huge loss for the county.

    “It has been a pleasure working with Laura,” Taylor said. “I’ve enjoyed working with her in her role as comptroller for the county, and then I was delighted to be able to work with her as my assistant county administrator. She had her heart in the job and was very much a professional in how she approached everything. She’s going to be missed.”

    Johnson is married to Otis Johnson and they are the parents of three sons, all of whom graduated as Valedictorians from Fairfield Central High School.

  • Penny tax may bring roundabout to Boney/McNulty intersection

    Richland County Transportation Penny Tax officials will hold a public hearing on May 26 from 6 – 8 p.m. at The Manor, to receive input from town residents in regard to the construction of a roundabout at the corner of the Boney Road and McNulty Street intersection. | Ashley Ghere

    BLYTHEWOOD – As part of the Richland County Transportation Penny Tax program, the town is in line to have Creech Road extended from Blythewood Road down to Main Street (Highway 21/Wilson Boulevard) as well as the construction of a roundabout at the intersection of McNulty Street and Boney Road.

    Before plans are drawn up for the two projects, Richland County officials want to hear from the residents of Blythewood regarding their preferences for the extension and the roundabout.

    A public meeting for that purpose is set for 6 – 8 p.m., May 26, at The Manor.

    Of the four Blythewood projects that will be completed with Penny Tax funds, the first will be to widen and improve the Creech Road Extension down to Main Street.  Second priority is to widen and improve McNulty Street from Main Street to Blythewood Road. The third priority is to widen and improve Blythewood Road from I-77 to Main Street. And the fourth priority is to widen and improve Blythewood Road from Syrup Mill Road to Fulmer Road.

    “The big one the County wants input on is the intersection of Boney Road and McNulty Street,” Blythewood Town Administrator Carroll Williamson said.  “They want to know if we would rather have a four-way stop or a roundabout.”

    “We want to get some public input before the government proceeds to make changes to the intersection,” Mayor Bryan Franklin said.

    Council voted unanimously to recommend to Richland County Council a Penny Project Priority List for the town.

  • Basketball Great, Winnsboro’s Ronnie Collins dead at 79

    Gamecock basketball great and Winnsboro native Ronnie Collins, 79, died Tuesday. 

    A 1960 Mt. Zion Institute graduate, Collins came to the University of South Carolina in 1960 after receiving state basketball player of the year honors in his senior year at Winnsboro High School. 

    “Basketball players didn’t come out of South Carolina back in those days,” he said on a feature of the Frank Martin Show in recent years. “When I was able to get a scholarship here, I was excited.”

    Collins

    Collins, whose athleticism gained him attention from all over the Southeast and Midwest, “has been called the greatest high school basketball player in South Carolina by many observers,” wrote State newspaper reporter Bob Talbert in an April 8, 1960 article. “In all, 16 schools have sought the young man’s talents.”

    That article announcing his intent to play for the Gamecocks went on to say that Collins received football and basketball offers from a wide range of schools, but Collins chose South Carolina because he had simply wanted to be a Gamecock ever since he could remember. 

    Then head basketball coach Bob Stevens said of the then 6-3, 160-pound Collins, “We are fortunate to get Collins. When Tex Winter, basketball coach at Kansas State, was here for the high school clinic, he expressed a great interest in Collins. Brother, that’s a pretty high recommendation.”

    Winter, who coached Marquette, Kansas State, Washington, Northwestern, Long Beach State, as well as a 2-year stint with the Houston Rockets in the early 1970s, posted a 453-334 college head coaching record, and was 51-78 in the NBA. He died in 2018 at the age of 96.

    Collins played for Stevens and then Chuck Noe 1960-1964, just before Gamecock great Frank McGuire, took the head coaching job after the 1963-64 season. 

    By the time he graduated, Collins averaged 17.0 points per game over his career, with his senior year average of 23.7 points, a team high that year and fourth all time for a single season at USC. That year he was also the South Carolina College Player of the year and was a First Team All-ACC selection. 

    He set the team’s single-season free-throw percentage record of 88.4 percent, set in his sophomore year. He averaged 80.1 percent from the free-throw line in his career, seventh on the all-time Gamecocks list. Collins scored 1,256 career points in 74 games with the Gamecocks. 

    Collins was inducted into the South Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame in 2002, and was the South Carolina Men’s Basketball Legend at the 2008 SEC tournament. 

    Collins moved back to Winnsboro from Fayetteville, NC., in 1996, after a post-basketball career that included running the family bowling center business and later going into sales. 

    “I’m happy to be back here, to the best town in South Carolina,” he told the Winnsboro Herald Independent while attending the Fairfield County Gamecock Club in May 1997. “It’s great to be in the same room full of Gamecock fans for a change.”

    He began having annual parties he called “Legends in Our Own Mind,” in which Gamecock basketball players from the 50s and 60s and 70s would gather at the Old Armory in Winnsboro and reminisce.

    “We would meet and have a hundred people there every year, and we did it for thirteen years,” he told the Frank Martin show. A lifetime devotee to the University of South Carolina and Gamecocks athletics, he added “If you are good enough as an athlete, whether you’re in football, baseball, basketball, it’ll be the four greatest years of your life coming to Gamecock Land.” 

    Collins is survived by his four sons, Charles Collins (Michelle), Christopher Collins (Susan), Casey Collins (Delaine); Carey Collins; and daughter Claire Dickerhoff (Blake); six grandchildren; and siblings Van Collins (Pam), Susan Strausbaugh, and Brett Collins (Beth).

    At his request, Collins’ body will be donated to the Medical University of South Carolina for the advancement of science. 

  • Additional charges for BW sex trafficker

    BLYTHEWOOD – A Blythewood man has been sanctioned a second time for contacting witnesses in a pending sex trafficking case.

    Watson

    Brian Leroy Watson, known as “Lil B,” has been indicted on a count of human trafficking conspiracy, increasing the number of counts against him to 13, according to recently filed court records.

    Filed in December 2020, the new count says Watson conspired with a second man in Florida to “recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide, obtain, advertise, solicit, patronize, and maintain by any other means,” women to participate in commercial sex acts.

    A federal grand jury indicted Ryan Darian Grover, 27, of Pensacola, Florida, also on a count of human trafficking conspiracy. Grover was arrested in March 2021 and has pleaded not guilty, documents state.

    Watson is charged with various human trafficking and drug counts involving nine victims, including one minor.

    In addition to the main case, Watson has repeatedly tried to contact and/or intimidate witnesses, according to court filings.

    In September 2020, a federal judge sanctioned Watson for contacting witnesses from jail.

    Court records state Watson was ordered not to discuss the case with any potential witnesses or victims after he was caught discussing potential retaliation against a witness.

    Contact continued, however.

    In November 2020, the presiding judge signed a sealed order modifying the conditions of Watson’s detention because he “willfully violated” the court’s previous order against contacting witnesses.

    While details of the sealed order remain secret, a separate motion referencing it states Watson “has a history of intimidating, threatening and/or influencing victims/witnesses, or attempting to do so,” documents state.

    Watson’s case thus far has produced more than 5,500 pages of documents, several interviews, photographs, audio and video recordings, surveillance, and a slew of computers, communications equipment, weapons and other items seized after serving search warrants.

    Watson, 48, has pleaded not guilty.

    The charges against Watson allege human trafficking violations occurred between 2016 and 2019 in South Carolina.

    They also charge the suspect with distributing heroin and fentanyl, and with unlawfully operating a Blythewood dwelling for the purpose of storing and distributing heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, crack cocaine and methamphetamine, according to the indictment.

  • Fairfield Forward brings FoodShare hub to the county

    Volunteers who helped fill FoodShare boxes for 800 Fairfield County residents last October included, from left: Gabriel Wilhelm, Director of FoodShare; Russell Price, former Director of the County’s Parks and Recreation Department; County Deputy Administrator Laura Johnson and former County Councilman for District 2 Jimmy Ray Douglas. | Barbara Ball

    WINNSBORO – Fairfield Forward has now affiliated with FoodShare SC to create a food hub that will provide boxes of fresh fruits and vegetables every week at deeply discounted prices. The boxes can be purchased by anyone – inside or outside of the county.

    The boxes are filled with 9 to 11 varieties of fresh fruits and vegetables. The contents change regularly and each box includes recipe ideas for that box’s produce. The produce is the same as that found in grocery stores but bulk buying at wholesale prices makes the boxes more affordable.

    The boxes come in two sizes and FoodShare accepts cash and SNAP EBT. A large box with about 12-15 pounds of produce is ideal for a week for three or four people and costs $20 if paying cash and $10 if purchasing with a SNAP card. A small box, holding about 8-9 pounds of produce, is suitable for one to two people and costs $15 if paying cash and $5 if using a SNAP card.

    The program is the brainchild of FoodShare SC, a non-profit organization in Columbia. They introduced the program in Fairfield last October when they provided 800 free boxes of fresh produce for Fairfield residents during the pandemic. County Administrator Jason Taylor, Assistant Administrator Laura Johnson and Fairfield Forward leaders saw it as a program they would like to see made available to  Fairfield county citizens on a regular basis. The end goal of Foodshare is sustainability of food distribution over the long term.

    The program works like this – FoodShare will send a truck load of boxes of fresh fruits and vegetables into an as yet to be determined Fairfield hub where a group of volunteers will sort the produce, pack the boxes and distribute them. All the boxes distributed through a hub are purchased by the people who come to pick them up.

    “Our goal is to make it affordable for people who want to eat healthy, and would especially benefit people who have diabetes, high blood pressure and other diseases,” Lindsay Decker, program manager for Fairfield Forward, said.

    The FoodShare program begins May 10.

    “It eliminates the barrier of affordability for everyone. Instead of picking up boxes from the Columbia Food Hub, we’ll be able to distribute them from our hub here directly to local pick-up sites,” Decker said.

    For more information or to sign up for the program, contact Decker at (803) 815-2045.

    Free Food Boxes

    To celebrate the grand opening of the FoodShare Fairfield County hub, a fresh food box giveaway on April 28 is being sponsored by Fairfield Forward and Fairfield County Council.

    “We want to introduce the FoodShare program to folks in Fairfield by giving 600 free food boxes of food to county residents on a first come/first served basis,” Lindsay Decker, Fairfield Forward Program Manager, said. “The boxes will include ordering information and box pick-up locations for anyone who wants to purchase the produce on a regular basis, starting the week of May 10.”

    The April 28 Fresh Food Box Giveaway will be located at four sites throughout the County:

    McCrorey-Liston School of Technology, 1978 SC Hwy 215 in Blair

    Mitford Fire Station, 70 Meeting Street in Great Falls

    Geiger Elementary, 150 TM Cook Lane in Ridgeway

    Fairfield County Airport, 1291 Runway Road in Winnsboro

    Distribution will begin at 5:30 pm. All locations will be drive-through service with one box per household (identification of each household required) for a limit of two boxes per car. The giveaway is available only to Fairfield County citizens and ID showing proof of residency is required.

    For more information on Fairfield County’s FoodShare program, contact Fairfield Forward at (803) 815-2045 or Lindsay.Decker@fairfield.sc.gov.

  • Courthouse repairs, upgrades begin

    Bryant Brown with GMK architectural firm in Columbia shows off new look of rear of courthouse. | Barbara Ball

    WINNSBORO – Renovations to the Fairfield County Courthouse that are funded with bond money remaining from the 2013, $24 million Fairfield Facilities Corporation bond, may soon be underway.

    Bryant Brown, an architect with GMK Associates in Columbia, presented information to council Monday night about how those renovations and repairs are going to proceed.

    “You have a very unique building,” Bryant said. He said GMK works with Robert Mills courthouses that need renovation all across the state.

    “One of the things you asked us to do is an evaluation of the building, to look at the mechanicals, at what needs to be done for safety, ADA compliance, the walls and all the things in the building that need to be repaired. The vast majority of the problems are mechanical,” he said. “They [mechanicals] are old and need to be upgraded.”

    Brown said the evaluation is in the final stages.

    “We finished the study last year and we’re now in the first phase of the renovation – to go in and start working on the restrooms. They all have to be updated. The second phase will build a new addition to the back of the building,” he said. “One of the keys to this is to keep the work inside going as we move through the phases. We’re going to be working with the parking area and the infrastructure underneath it.”

    Bryant also addressed the moisture problems, saying the mold is nothing that can’t be corrected.

    “We’ve got to control the humidity in there. The new air conditioning system will address this situation and make a huge difference,” he said.

    “We’re pulling everything together now, getting pricing for our budget,” he said.

    Displaying both an aerial view of the Courthouse grounds as well as an artist’s rendition of the new look of the back of the building, Bryant explained that entrance to the building would be from the dressed up back of the building.

    “The reason for this entrance upgrade is for safety and protection. It will separate the employee population from visitors to the Courthouse,” he said. He also explained that while the curved iron steps on the front of the building are not ADA compliant, the back will accommodate access to the second and third floors of the building.

    When there was some discussion in 2016 about building a new Courthouse, members of the bar in Fairfield County weighed in on the uniqueness, grandeur and practicality of the current building, calling for it to be saved at all costs.

    “Ours is, by far, the best Courthouse in the state of South Carolina when you consider the practical nature of the courtroom, the comfort it affords the litigants, the great acoustics and the historical significance of the Courthouse, itself, which was designed by Robert Mills,” Winnsboro attorney Creighton Coleman said in an interview with The Voice. “Some things could be improved a little, but it should not be scuttled. It’s a wonderful courtroom and Courthouse,” Coleman said, “and we should keep it as our Courthouse.”

    Bryant said the cost of the renovations are estimated at $5.3 million but that number, he said, includes all the bells and whistles and that some things could be cut out to accommodate the $4.2 – $4.3 million that is left in the bond money.

    He said the renovation will start in the next two to three weeks and will take a little over a year to complete.

    “I’ve worked on other buildings like this, one in Camden, and this building is in comparatively pretty good shape,” Bryant said. “You’re very blessed for that. You’ve taken good care of it for all these years.”

    Designed by Robert Mills, the Courthouse was built in 1823-1824.

  • Taylor named Town Manager for Winnsboro

    A second vote will be taken on Tuesday at the regular monthly meeting of Town Council.

    Taylor

    WINNSBORO – The Town of Winnsboro has announced the hiring of Jason Taylor as its town manager effective July 5, 2021. The announcement was emailed to The Voice at noon on Friday, April 9. 

    Taylor, who currently serves as county administrator for Fairfield County, submitted his letter of resignation to the County on Thursday, April 8, effective June 7, 2021.

    The Voice had not received an agenda for the Thursday meeting, which was a scheduled budget meeting, nor did the agenda, which was posted on the town website, make mention that a vote would be taken on the hiring. 

    A town official said the vote was taken under the discussion of ‘Other Business,’ which, along with improper posting of the agenda and lack of notification to the public does not comply with the S.C. Freedom of Information statute. There was also no vote to add the item to the agenda, according to Mayor Roger Gaddy in an interview with The Voice on Friday.

    “Councilman Danny Miller said at the meeting that he thought we should wait and vote on it at our regular meeting on Tuesday, but I thought it was best to get it over with and clear the air. We certainly didn’t mean any harm,” Gaddy told The Voice.

    Learning that there were possible illegalities with the vote, Mayor Gaddy said he would ask Town Manager Don Woods to place the item on the agenda for a re-vote at the regular monthly town council meeting on Tuesday, at 6:15, at the Old Armory to make the hiring official.

    “I guess Danny was right,” Gaddy said. “I should have listened to him. We certainly want to do it right. We are very much looking forward to having Jason come over to the town and don’t want any missteps.” 

    Taylor was one of 28 applicants for the position.

    This is a breaking story and more information will be available.

  • County Admin Jason Taylor resigns

    WINNSBORO – Fairfield County Administrator Jason Taylor submitted his resignation to County Council earlier today, effective June 7, 2021.

    Taylor sent the short, to-the-point email to Chairman Moses Bell and the other six council members at noon, Thursday, April 8.

    Taylor

    “After careful consideration, it has become clear to me that it is time that I pursue other opportunities.  I have thoroughly enjoyed my time serving as the County Administrator. Fairfield County still has many immediate challenges that must be addressed, but with record recent investments and jobs from new industry, along with the planning being done for needed infrastructure, the County is on a path to a bright future.  Please accept this letter as my official resignation to be effective June 7, 2021.”

    Taylor said he has not had a response from Bell at this time.

    Taylor’s resignation follows months of his beratement at public council meetings from new County Council Chairman Moses Bell and new council member Shirley Greene. Bell also brought pressure on the county’s attorney Tommy Morgan who resigned in January. During that time two other top employees left the county’s employ. Also in January, the county’s new leadership limited Taylor’s contract to five months, and last month Bell ordered Taylor to discontinue all advertising with The Voice and to instead place the ads in the county’s ads in a newspaper published out of Camden.

    Council hired Taylor in May, 2016, after the county had gone through a three year upheaval that included the resignation of the county administrator, two investigations by SLED and an election that turned over the majority of council.

    During his five year tenure, Taylor led the county to new heights in a number of areas. He oversaw an actual investment of over $100 million in the county, brought in six new industries and expansions that brought almost 1,000 high paying jobs and exhausted the entire industrial building inventory. During this time, the county sold the spec building and facilitated the sale of the Walmart building, the Fazio building, the Mack Truck building and the Qualex building.

    Taylor was instrumental in the development of the 1,200 acre megasite – now one of the top available industrial sites in the state.

    Comment received by The Voice from County Council Chairman Moses Bell after this story was posted: “We have received correspondence from Jason Taylor, resigning his position as Fairfield County Administrator, effective June 7, 2021. We are thankful to Jason for his efforts to improve the economic environment in Fairfield County and we look forward to continuing our growth as a community.  The County Council meets again on Monday, April 12, 2021, at which time we are likely to discuss this matter and take appropriate actions. This is a time for us all to work together.” –Moses Bell

    Related: Council abruptly reduces county administrator’s employment to 5 months