Roll Call

Members present were Anthony Mizzell, Doris Corley, Joyce Dickerson, Valerie Hutchinson, Damon Jeter, Paul Livingston, Joseph McEachern, Michael Montgomery, Greg Pearce, Bernice Scott, and Kit Smith.

Getting Started

Chairman Anthony Mizzell called the meeting to order at 6 pm. A continuation of a zoning public hearing was scheduled for 7 pm. The council meeting would need to be quick. Valerie Hutchinson gave the Invocation, then led those in attendance in the Pledge of Allegiance. The agenda was adopted after adding an executive session item concerning USC.

Regular Business

No one signed to speak during citizen’s input. Minutes of the regular council session from April 19 were approved. County Administrator Cary McSwain reminded council members the state legislature was considering several bills affecting local issues and needed input from council members.

The county clerk mentioned three things: Planning 101, the SC Association of Counties meeting in August, and the budget calendar. No one was interested in speaking about any of the four public hearing items. The consent agenda was approved with a couple of changes.

Holiday pay

for Sheriff’s Department

Kit Smith began dialogue on the much discussed item to fund holiday pay for the sheriff’s department by offering an amendment to the original motion to provide the needed funds in question from the fund balance.

Joe McEachern pointed out this item comes up nearly every year and should be dealt with permanently. Damon Jeter told the other members he felt this item could be cleared up without doing anything to drastically change the budget.

Mike Montgomery wanted to know why this item was on the agenda. He reminded the rest of the council that there was a question last meeting whether three readings were even necessary, and no further information had been provided.

On cue, there was some scrambling among the staff. Magically, McSwain was given a sheet, blessed by the legal department, outlining when transfers were acceptable. According to county rules, the administrator can shift funds between departments, but a proposal is needed to provide funds outside departments.

Montgomery asked why the council was just now finding out this information. After a chuckle, McSwain said he couldn’t answer that question but providing the information was his responsibility.

Smith’s amendment passed 7–4. McEachern had to remind the rest of the council the item itself still needed to be voted on. When this was confirmed, the item passed 10–1. Scott voted against it.

Northeast Development

McEachern made a motion to approve a proposal authorizing a zoning change for a new residential and commercial development near Blythewood. Hutchinson said she had trouble with the density of the subdivision, which is 5.5 homes per acre. She also felt the half acre designated for green space was insufficient. After she expressed her concerns, a vote was taken. No one else appeared worried; the item was approved 10–1.

McEachern also proposed approval of another zoning change in the Northeast, this one at Clemson and Longtown Road. Hutchinson also objected to this proposal, stating the new development would create a crisis on Longtown Road. She said the added traffic would cause a real mess. Again, no one else agreed with her. The motion was approved 10–1. (Hutchinson must not know this council’s reputation where development is concerned.)

It’s Budget Time

Two items signaling the beginning of annual budget discussions were next. The budget ordinance and the millage ordinance were approved for first reading by title only. There will be much more discussion on the budget in the next few weeks. An item called the Blythewood Intergovernmental Agreement was deferred.

The entire Administrative & Finance agenda was under a consensus until Bernice Scott removed a three part contract renewal for food service, officer uniforms, and medical services. Scott wanted to express her concern about the perceived lack of minority involvement with county contracts. After her soliloquy, the three items were approved.

Rules and Appointments

McEachern notified the council there were two committees needing vacancies advertised. The Internal Audit Committee and the Building Codes Board of Adjustments and Appeals are one person short.

Five appointments were made. Timothy Miles was appointed to the Board of Assessment Appeals, Gregory Branch was added to the Board of Zoning Adjustments and Appeals, Victor Snipes was awarded a post with the Building Code Board of Adjustment and Appeals, and Val Richardson was appointed to the Midlands Workforce Development Board. Two items on the agenda were reported as still being discussed in committee, and a new schedule for the A&F committee was approved as suggested by the committee.

Farmer’s Market

According to McSwain, an agenda item authorizing $5 million in funding for the new Farmer’s Market needed to be approved just to get the process started. The whole Farmer’s Market proposal is confusing to the council because of all the agencies involved. Pearce asked who the contact person was for the county in relation to the farmer’s market. He said several small vendors who were uninformed about the proposal voiced their concerns to him, and he was worried they might get shut out of the process. McSwain gave him two names.

The Neighborhood Improvement Master Plan, with amendments, was approved. No one signed to speak during citizen’s input.

Executive Session

The council moved into executive session to hear some additional information about a contractual matter concerning USC. After a very short time, they reconvened. With the 7 pm zoning hearing looming and the auditorium filling up, the council decided to recess until after the zoning hearing.

When the tired council reconvened after the hearing, they went back into executive session. They returned to declare everything they heard was for information only. After motion period and a new world’s record for total time in a meeting, the council adjourned.