SANTEE -- Carolina Linkages officials defended their plans for a distribution center/inland port near the town of Santee during a Thursday tour of the proposed site for the project.

Town officials and Orangeburg County economic development leaders rolled out the red carpet or, in this case, a bumpy and rocky ride through a portion of the 789 acres of fields and forests owned by Jim Roquemore, president of Orangeburg-based SuperSod Inc., and Ben Copeland, CEO of Patton Seed Co.

Charleston-based CaroLinks failed to meet its Oct. 13 deadline to purchase the land, but officials say negotiations are continuing.

Daschle and Mineta

offer first impressions

A couple members of the newly formed CaroLinks Advisory Board, former U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle and former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta, were on hand to receive their first glimpse of the property.

Daschle said his first impressions were favorable because of the hospitality shown and property's location.

"It is so close to rail -- we have a mile and a half of rail that goes right through the property -- in addition to being next to the interstate," Daschle said. "I have been in a lot of industrial parks and I have never seen one with a better transportation potential than this."

Daschle also noted the project's support from "committed" groups.

"There is a great deal of interest in this and we are just getting started," Daschle said. He declined comment on the specific companies that have committed to the project.

Daschle said he will support the project by promoting public policy favorable toward funding and tapping into the transportation opportunities.

"I have had quite an experience of working with governmental leaders at all levels," Daschle said. "Part of this involves the cooperation and coordination at all levels of government."

Mineta said while it was his first time on the property, he is familiar with the project through development plans.

"I am interested in the whole issue of not only economic development but how this fits into a greater transportation plan, including security," Mineta said. "You really have the job opportunities as well as the possibly of having these facilities in a place that is not going to be as concentrated as it might be in Charleston, but in terms of proximity it is close enough to be functionally compatible with development in Charleston."

Mineta said security will be a priority.

"There will be new technology, new methodology on maritime security. Barge traffic, containerization and all these things that will benefit developments like this," Mineta said. "What will have to be done will be easily adaptable to new technologies now coming in place."

The U.S. 301 and I-95 interchange will have to be revamped for the project. The upgrade could cost about $40 million.

Mineta said Sixth District Congressman Jim Clyburn's potentially becoming the new House majority whip and his place on the Transportation Subcommittee on Appropriations are both positives.

"I think it is a dynamite combination of the stars and moons all starting to line up," Mineta said.

Daschle said with bipartisan support, there is little doubt in his mind that the interchange will be funded and soon.

Addressing some concerns

The project has sparked outcry and concerns from many Santee residents about its potential impact on the area's lakes, tourism and recreational outlets.

Roquemore defended his decision to consider the sale of the land and his support of CaroLinks' plans.

"I was very choosy on who I would give the option on the property to," Roquemore said. "I wanted somebody who was environmentally sensitive, who wants to look at the community of Santee as a place of tranquility, that would balance nature with development. There is always a balance there.

"They already have plans to keep some of the trees and to keep some of the lakes."

Roquemore said CaroLinks President and CEO Lucy Duncan-Scheman has proven, both personally and professionally, her love and concern for nature and wildlife. Duncan-Scheman has served as an ambassador of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species since the 1980s.

"She has hunted dove on the property. She is very excited about the wildlife. She loves to ride horses," Roquemore said. "I have no doubt that they will seek a very sensitive balance and do things in a pro-environmental way."

Roquemore said the property is ideal for development. It is an adequate distance from Highway 6 and has an estimated 3/4 of a mile of tree buffer separating it from the town, he said.

"No one in Santee will ever know anything is going on back there," Roquemore said. "It is a pretty good ways off the road. It is great place to be close to town but not give you that commercial development feel."

When asked his thoughts on CaroLinks possibly barging cargo to the site using the Santee Cooper lake system, Roquemore said he has a personal interest in the lake. He is currently in the process of developing condominiums and owns personal property there.

"We have boats on the lake, we fish on the lake, we love the lake," he said. "I would never promote anything that deteriorated that. If they use the locks, they can only do so much a day, only so much an hour. The impact would be almost none."

Roquemore pointed to how Charleston has been able to balance a port -- "about a hundred times as big ... as anything we are talking about."

"If a city like Charleston and a city like Savannah can coexist with a giant port, certainly a small town like this can coexist with a smaller facility," Roquemore said.

Another concern among residents is the possibility that unsightly stacked containers will be visible to the public. Some residents have pointed to the CaroLinks Web site, which has a display of stacked containers, fearing this is what can be expected in Santee.

"That is the Port of Charleston," Duncan-Scheman said. "We are not stacking containers here. We are pushing them into the building."

Along on the tour were Jay Roquemore, son of the property owner; Orangeburg County Development Commission Executive Director Gregg Robinson; and CaroLinks officials. Throughout the tour, they discussed their love of hunting and the outdoors.

"There is no shortage of wildlife in the state," Robinson said. "There are thousands of acres of undeveloped land with no prospect to be developed. We can find other places to hunt."

Robinson has defended CaroLinks as an environmentally conscious company that is spending a lot of time and money on Orangeburg County.

He also noted the company is acquiring the support of national leaders like Daschle and Mineta to ensure the project proceeds in an appropriate fashion.

Robinson encouraged residents to be patient and open-minded as the company proceeds with its plans.

"There is an opportunity for the community to bring industries from around the world," Robinson said, noting that the county has a 20 percent poverty rate and a 10 percent unemployment rate. "We need quality jobs."

Some residents have questioned why the project has made its way closer to the town limits of Santee when original plans were to develop an inland port near the Interstate 26/Interstate 95 interchange.

Robinson said the I-26/I-95 interchange currently has no water and sewer and to acquire such would be inefficient from a cost and time perspective.

Others have questioned Duncan-Scheman's ability to start up a company.

"I was in large-project development for 20 years globally ... in the emerging markets of Latin America, Eastern Europe, Asia and so on. ... I am bringing the companies together that are the best and brightest in America and that have done a great deal of our operations," she said.

Duncan-Scheman said, as a native South Carolinian, outcry from some people in Santee has "deeply offended" her.

"What I am worried about is that many people who are complaining are not from here at all," she said. "They don't know the issues that Orangeburg and Santee are facing and how poverty has been a big problem for so many decades. I find it offensive that we are being accused of everything from draining the lake ... just crazy stuff. This alarmist mentality needs to stop."

Answering concerns about CaroLinks' business plan, Duncan-Scheman said there is some propriety information that every private company has a right to keep until the right time for disclosure.

She said a master plan of the project will be presented to Santee residents at the appropriate time.

"If any other business is moving into Santee ... do they have to show their business plan? This is America. People are free to invest and grow business here," she said.

Santee officials react

Following the tour, CaroLinks met with Santee Mayor Silas Seabrooks, Santee Administrator Donnie Hilliard and other Santee leaders at the Santee Cultural Arts and Visitors Center at the Town Hall Complex.

Hilliard noted his personal interest in the town's well being, saying he and his family live in Santee and plan to live there for years to come. He encouraged concerned residents to let the process "take its course."

"I live in this community and I don't plan to create something I don't like," he said. "I have invested my whole life here."

Some residents have expressed the concern that they don't know enough about the project to form an educated opinion.

"While I understand their concerns ... we are a representative democracy and the folks that were elected will follow through on the concerns of the citizens," Hilliard said. "We will explore and give information to share what the needs and concerns of the citizens are and to make sure they are incorporated into the master plan."

Hilliard promised there will be plenty opportunities for residents to voice their concerns about the project through public hearings in the future.

"As we gain information, we will share it," Hilliard said. "You have to do things as they present themselves. How do you answer a question before you explore it? County Council and City Council have shared their concerns and we will share those concerns."

Seabrooks described the CaroLinks vision as "the best project that ever will come to Santee since sliced bread."

"This can do a whole lot for this town and for this community," he said. "We need to have some kinds of jobs here to sustain our young children. Our young children will leave home, but let's have the opportunity to let the people stay and live here."

Seabrooks said there has been a lot of unnecessary fear in Santee based on premature speculation.

"They have not seen the drawing or what it consists of," Seabrooks said. "It does not really consist of what they think it consists of. It is not an inland port per say. It is a combination."

A project glance

CaroLinks first announced in January its plans to develop an integrated intermodal transportation and distribution network near the I-95/U.S. 301 area. The project has often been referred to as an inland port, though company officials have said that's not accurate.

The company plans to invest between $10 million and $15 million in the development of the project over the next five years. An estimated 100 to 200 jobs could be created, with officials promising the jobs will be on the higher end of the wage scale.

The company plans to take containers from ships and transport them to Orangeburg County for distribution via rail and possibly barge.

The property already has electricity, water and sewer. Depending on the market, company officials say there is room to possibly expand through the purchase of additional acres.

Four million square feet of warehouse space could be developed. Plans also include an emergency preparedness center and a trucking complex.

The company also plans to build a similar site in the Upstate.

T&D Staff Writer Gene Zaleski can be reached by e-mail at gzaleski@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5551. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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