Sumter County advances 'Project Peanut' incentive package and property sale

Sumter County Council advanced Ordinance 25-1036 on Dec. 9, moving forward with an incentive package tied to a prospective economic development project identified in the minutes as 'Project Peanut.' The ordinance, as recorded in council minutes, authorizes (1) execution of a fee-in-lieu of ad valorem taxes and incentive agreement between Sumter County and Project Peanut (or affiliates/sponsors), (2) certain infrastructure credits, (3) the availability of multi-county industrial park benefits, and (4) the sale of approximately 47.02 acres of county-owned property in the Pocotaligo Industrial Park.

Vice Chairman James R. Byrd Jr. moved to grant the reading noted in the minutes; Councilmember Vivian Fleming McGhaney seconded the motion, which the minutes record as carried unanimously. The meeting record describes the parcel as '47.02 +/- acre portion of parcel #3 of the Pocotaligo Industrial Park.'

The action advanced the ordinance to the next step in the county’s ordinance process; the minutes do not specify purchase price, a sponsor identity beyond the 'Project Peanut' label, or a timeline for closing. County staff and counsel are the departments assigned to complete subsequent legal and administrative steps as required by the ordinance process.

What remains: final contract terms, any required local or multi-county approvals, and the formalization of fee-in-lieu and infrastructure credit agreements. The minutes provide the acreage and the broad categories of incentives but do not list financial terms, sponsor identity beyond the project placeholder, or closing dates.