State Agrees to Addition at State Farmers Market

By Paul Gable

Another perfect example of your taxpayer dollars at work occurred Wednesday when the state Joint Bond Review Committee approved purchase of 9.83 additional acres at the state farmers market in Lexington County.

The purchase needs final approval from the state Budget and Control Board.

The farmers market purchase has been an issue for two years. Initially the expansion of the farmers market was projected to be as high as $16.3 million. In 2012, Rep. Ralph Norman, a developer from York County, challenged the assessment and conclusions that went with that price.

Nevertheless, despite waiting another year and not getting as much as was hoped for from the land, the current landowners have to be happy with the state’s recent offer as it appears to give a 400% profit to the landowners, including S.C. Ports Authority Chairman Bill Stern.

Read an excellent in-depth article by The Nerve on the issue: http://thenerve.org/news/2013/10/16/Farmers-market/