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UNION — The planning, prioritizing and funding of projects proposed by government officials and the public will be the new focus of Union County Council’s Planning and Development Committee.

Supervisor Tommy Sinclair said Wednesday that the committee, which has previously met in called sessions, will now meet on a monthly basis. Sinclair said the purpose of meeting on a monthly basis will be to systematically review and plan and find funding for community, recreational, economic infrastructure, and other proposed projects. He said the submission process will be open not only to members of council but also the general public and he encouraged residents to submit their proposed projects to the committee.

“These meetings will be held for the purpose of identifying required or needed projects,” Sinclair said. “The committee will then put them in priority and attempt to identify funding sources for them.

“The process will be open to anyone who has a project they want to submit for consideration,” he said. “That includes council members, communities, and individuals who have a project they would like to see funded. People should start submitting their projects.”

Sinclair said the county has already received a number of project requests for consideration, all of them requiring review, a determination of whether they can go forward, and how they will be paid for. He said these include the construction of the proposed Patriot’s Lake in the lower part of the county and the proposed expansion of the Union County Jail.

“On this desk, I have right now requests ranging from the lake project which would cost $186 million to the repair and replacement of some fences and foul line posts at the Lukesville ballpark which would cost $363.68,” Sinclair said. “These have to be studied, decided on and planned for and that’s what the committee will be doing.

“The jail is also a project which has to be studied, decided on and planned for,” he said. “Economic infrastructure projects will also be part of this process and they need to be studied, decided on and planned for like the rest. The monthly meetings of the committee will allow us to do this in a systematic manner that will prioritize these projects and any new ones submitted.”

For more information about the project submission process, contact the Union County Supervisor’s Office at 429-1600.

Editor Charles Warner can be reached at 864-427-1234, ext. 14, or by email at cwarner@heartlandpublications.com.