SC Works Trident once again took a two-pronged approach to aggregate more job seekers into the area’s hiring pool, with one being hosting an event designed to demonstrate that the job market is accessible to everyone. The conventional job fair for the public took place, also providing those with disabilities an opportunity to meet with hiring managers.

The Disability Employment Resource Expo & Job Fair at the Vocational Rehabilitation Center in Moncks Corner on October 8 was well-attended.

It started at 10:30 a.m. and within 15 minutes, the center’s large gathering area was filled. The hum of pleasant chatter filled the room from the start, indicating that such an event is a vital avenue for job seekers and employers.

“It’s very important that there is a need for more workers. It benefits both the economy and cities and towns. This is a big event, and we try to push to get people to come,” said Dave Tam, from the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce, an agency that was an organizer of the job fair. "My focus is on bridging the gap between the employer and job seeker.”

The gap is somewhat wider for those seeking stable, well-paying employment. Well-represented at the employment event were individuals with disabilities. Their sign language interpreters accompanied some, while others used wheelchairs to visit the various tables where employers were set up.

The Vocational Rehabilitation Department, a state agency, focuses on establishing relationships between hiring managers with open positions and those with challenges.

“Our primary focus is to help individuals with disabilities find and maintain employment,” said Kevin Clemmons, the business specialist for the Vocational Rehabilitation Department. “We also help make jobs available and employment accessible to everyone.”

Businesses in the private sector and local government agencies were meeting with job seekers on the floor. More than 15 employers and community partners attended the fair, and almost every table had conversations in progress. What’s more, the month of October is the National Disability Employment Awareness Month.

“It’s very impactful. Sometimes people with disabilities think they don’t have enough to offer an employer, and that is not the case,” Clemmons said. “They can be just as valuable to an employer as anybody else. We want them to understand that value and show them that they can contribute.”

MONCKS CORNER, S.C. (WCSC) - The Moncks Corner town council approved a $5 million town square redevelopment plan after decreasing the initial scope of the project.

The project would bring the construction of new buildings to Unity Park in the town square and public improvements, including lighting and landscaping across the town. The new buildings in a renovated Unity Park will consist of 58 one and two-bedroom apartments and a commercial area on the bottom with a new restaurant in each building.

The redevelopment plan is in conjunction with a proposed tax increment financing district, also known as a TIF district, which would use the increase in property tax revenue to finance the improvements. This would be the first time Moncks Corner has had a TIF district. The goal of the redevelopment plan and creating a TIF District together is to stimulate economic growth.

Moncks Corner Mayor Thomas Hamilton says the redevelopment will add foot traffic to the town and will benefit both new and old businesses in the area.

“If you come down to downtown Monck’s Corner on a Saturday afternoon, it’s pretty much empty,” Mayor Hamilton says. “If you get apartments, you’ll have people right there at downtown that will go shop at these different restaurants.”

Unity Park will also be rebuilt with a new amphitheater that will hold town events. Officials say this means Main Street doesn’t have to shut down every time an event is held.

Officials say the plan is going to create more jobs through private investment and grow the tax base in the area. They say not redeveloping would possibly cause a decline in property values.

“There’s going to be a couple different suites for the commercial suite so it can be a nail salon, a restaurant, an office, it could be something like that,” Justin Westbrook, Moncks Corner community development director, said. “And so it provides a little bit more stock for commercial in downtown at an affordable price point.”

The redevelopment covers hundreds of acres surrounding East Main Street, South Live Oak Drive and Rembert Dennis Boulevard.

The plan initially cost $39 million and included a $25 million wellness center, but the plan stalled last month after the Berkeley County council and the Berkeley County School District denied moving forward because of limited details regarding the proposed TIF district. Since then, the plan has decreased to ensure it can go through and that the town starts seeing payback sooner rather than later.

“When they turned us down on the recreation center, we understood,” Mayor Hamilton says. “They have to be comfortable with their numbers, but we always work well together and we’re hoping that we can get this across the finish line as well.”

Officials want to make sure the community knows that the parts they love about Unity Park are staying, including the bricks and the statues.

“We’re not just a 9 to 5 crowd,” Westbrook said. “We’re not just a lunchtime crowd, but we can continue that and parlay that and maybe mimic other towns that have seen it become more of a town and we really do believe in the Lowcountry’s hometown. This allows us to capitalize that and enhance that.”