Tourism, Chamber of Commerce, look at joint venture near downtown
One items dominated early in theMonday, May 9, Anderson County Operations Committee Meeting: Tourism.
Director of Tourism Stephanie Wells made a request to move forward with obtaining a new building for tourism and the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce.
The building would be located, “near downtown Clinton.”
Wells presented a site plan for a new building with a maximum structure of 10,000 square feet.
“I’m not saying that’s what we’re going to build, but that’s the ‘maximum’ size,” Wells said.
The building would be a combination Tourism/Chamber of Commerce/Anderson County Economic Development Association facility.
Wanting a clear direction on how to make their decision, the committee members discussed topics such as where the money would come from, and how much money would be needed, as well as if it would be cheaper to stay in the building they already have.
Wells made it clear that she was not seeking to dip into the General Fund of the county, but that the money would come from the Tourism Department. Her side of the request simply was asking permission to proceed with getting out of the Welcome Center, where the department originated, into a more efficient place in the county.
After all the facts were in, the Operations Committee approved to move it to full County Commission next Monday.
Commissioner Rick Meredith, who is president of the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce, said the Chamber is going forward with a purchase of the property regardless of the county’s backing on Tourism.
Meredith said the Chamber of Commerce would make a formal announcement about the project at its 90th birthday celebration in June.