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Shaping future of Dorchester County and Summerville, leaders seek public input

Published: Feb. 4, 2025 at 7:45 PM PST|SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - Dorchester County and Summerville residents, along with local businesses, will soon have the chance to help shape a vision plan for the future of their community.In collaboration with the county and the town, the Greater Summerville-Dorchester County Chamber of Commerce is committed to ensuring that the area continues to thrive as its population grows.Dorchester County recently approved funding of up to $100,000 to support creating the vision plan. Project...

Published: Feb. 4, 2025 at 7:45 PM PST|

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - Dorchester County and Summerville residents, along with local businesses, will soon have the chance to help shape a vision plan for the future of their community.

In collaboration with the county and the town, the Greater Summerville-Dorchester County Chamber of Commerce is committed to ensuring that the area continues to thrive as its population grows.

Dorchester County recently approved funding of up to $100,000 to support creating the vision plan. Project leaders say that is on top of the $100,000 the Town of Summerville approved to go towards it as well.

Greater Summerville-Dorchester County Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Rita Berry says that this plan will focus on feedback from the community.

“We are one of the fastest growing counties in the state of South Carolina and we just want to get it right. So, as we grow we want it to be a very thoughtful way and we’re looking to opportunities and just hearing the voice of the community as to what are some things, ways that they feel would be responsible growth,” Berry says.

Project leaders say that community members and businesses will have the opportunity to share ideas on what matters most to them, as well as their concerns.

“Childcare, attainable housing, transportation infrastructure, the ability to work and play where you live,” Chamber Foundation Board Chairman Michael Wood says. “We have a lot of concerns about educational systems, wanting to make sure that we continue to maintain that elite edge in our educational systems, and so that is in of itself just a small amount of where I think the focus is going to be. We’re going to find out a whole lot more when we really start getting people involved.”

Wood says that this is also an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of the town and the county.

“We think there are a lot of good things going on in the town and the county right now, but part of the challenge is us not knowing, or there not being the information pushed out to where the general public may not understand something great just happened around the corner, and so we want to be a part of that messaging as well,” Wood says.

Project leaders say that last year their board of directors identified this vision plan as a top priority. Since then, they’ve been discussing and working to get the plan underway, with the goal of having it completed by the end of this year.

“Implementation. Once we have this completed, that is phase one and then we have to move forward with getting something done and we want to do it. That’s why public input is so critical because we want to have something completed that the people want and they ask for,” Wood says.

Berry says that they will have several public input meetings across the county and the town, as well as an option to provide feedback online. She says they hope to release the schedule for those in a couple of weeks.

Berry says their next step is to sign an agreement with the consulting company that they chose to help develop the vision plan.

You can find more information about the vision plan here.

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