GEORGETOWN COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD)--For years, officials in Georgetown County have worked on improving neighborhoods in underserved communities by tearing down and hauling away 36 dilapidated homes and buildings. The Blight Removal Project is a federally funded program that started back in 2022 to help beautify neighborhoods in rural communities. “This is a voluntary program. We reached out to those communities with structures that we noticed were beyond repair and needed to be removed. Perhaps the owner didn’t have the capacity funds or the equipment to remove the structures,” said Holly Richardson, director of planning and code enforcement for Georgetown County. News 2 spoke to former county council member Everett Carolina, one of the biggest advocates of the project, and told us that the completion of the project is long overdue, but it has been well worth the wait.  “It’s a significant improvement and a good look for the community. The citizens are happy it should’ve been done long ago, but everyone should have that pride in their neighborhood to want to see their community cleaned up,” said Carolina.  Officials said they plan to complete the entire project by the end of spring this year and will announce more plans like this project in the coming months.