County may offer incentives to lure 300 jobs

Approval for sweepstakes sites, 500-acre business development also on agenda

SARAH LOWERY

Staff Writer

An incentive grant agreement for a company that could bring hundreds of jobs to the area will be weighed by the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners during its meeting tonight.

The company, whose identity will remain undisclosed until the meeting, is looking into the construction of a manufacturing facility within the county, resulting in an investment of roughly $20 million and the creation of at least 300 new jobs within two years.

Those positions would pay, on average, $31,000 annually.

If all conditions are met, the county would then pay roughly $80,447 in cash grants each year for a five-year period.

A public hearing on the incentives package will be conducted prior to the board taking action.

Also during tonight’s meeting, public hearings will be conducted for two conditional-use permit requests to operate electronic-gaming centers, one located in the WestPointe Shoppes Center on N. N.C. 16 in Denver and one on Old N.C. 150 in Crouse.

These are the first applications to be brought before commissioners since they recently approved new regulations for Internet sweepstakes gaming operations.

As previously reported, the standards call for separation requirements from residential zoning districts, churches and schools, certain access and visibility requirements, limits on hours of operation and parking specifications. The regulations do not affect those centers already in business.

The centers have been a source of dissension among board members and citizens speaking out during public comments in recent months.

Other items on tonight’s agenda include:

• A public hearing will be conducted on a small-area plan for Woodcock Farms, a proposed 500-acre area for future development located between Sifford Road and the Gaston County line along both sides of the N.C. 16 bypass. The plan entails a business park, an industrial park, a commercial node, open-space areas and a park.
• A public hearing will be conducted on a leash law for the Anderson Woods Subdivision.
• Cleveland County Water District Manager Butch Smith will make a presentation regarding a proposed reservoir.
• Commissioners will consider a request for a capital purchase from the county’s Emergency Medical Services.
• Commissioners will consider awarding a bid for a recording system for the Register of Deeds Office.

The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Citizens Center and is open to the public.