By Michelle R. Davis
Camden Bureau

for 6 1/2 years, the old Blaney Elementary School in Elgin has stood empty. CHildren who might have been running through its halls or squirming in its seats attend a new school less than a mile away.

Now vandals roam the building’s halls and the only things squirming inside are any animals who have nested there. The building, which stands on 11.5 acres adjacent to the Elgin Town Hall and the fire station, has been ignored.

Recently Elgin resident Linda Scoggins has spurred officials into organizing a committee of Kershaw County school board members, County Council members and Elgin town officials to try put the property to use. They met Aug. 19 to discuss a proposal for the land.

The group will present a plan for the property to the Kershaw County School Board Sept. 7. The plan is similar to one that was developed several years ago and never put into action, said Michael Jackson, the school district’s assistant superintendent for operations, who attended the meeting.

The plan calls for the property to be split into three parcels, Jackson said.

The front 4.4 acres of the property would go to the school district. The entire property is currently zoned developmental, which allows only residential use or entities like churches or schools to operate there. According to the plan, the district would ask the Elgin Planning and Zoning Commission to rezone that parcel for commercial use. Then, the district could sell the land, Jackson said.

In 1989, the property was appraised at $200,000, but that was before it was zoned developmental in February 1990, Jackson said.

The middle 4.28 acres of land would be deeded to the Town of Elgin for a recreational area, possibly with playground equipment or a baseball field, Scoggins said.

“We need a grassy area to play in,” she said.

The back portion, 2.85 acres, would got to Kershaw County, Jackson said. Officials have discussed the possibility of setting up a library or a sheriff’s substation there, Jackson said.

Several people who attended the meeting called the plan a “win-win” situation for all involved.

“The property is a liability now in that it is not on the tax books,” Jackson said. “This way we could be raising three sources of revenue.

Under the plan, the fate of the actual school building, built in the 1950s, is uncertain. It contains asbestos and has been the victim of vandals and arsonists. Jackson estimated it would cost about $48,000, just to tear it down.

“Nobody wants the building in its present condition,” Jackson said. “It is beyond renovation.”

The structure is on what would be Elgin’s and Kershaw County’s property under the former plan, Jackson said. He said he would prefer that with the land, the town and the county would also be responsible for taking care of the school building.

But Scoggins said she hoped proceeds from a sale of the school districts portion of the property could be used toward razing the building.