Roll Call

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

Getting Started

Chairman Anthony Mizzell called the meeting to order at 6 pm. Joe McEachern gave the Invocation, then led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance. The agenda was approved after some discussion concerning a TIF for the Olympia area. Kit Smith asked for the item to be added. McEachern objected, saying it needed to be brought up during the motion period. This seemed like a minor point until later.

Greg Pearce took a moment of personal privilege to out Chairman Mizzell for his recent stint at the evacuee shelter. According to Pearce, Mizzell spent three days doing hands on work at the shelter without any fanfare or publicity. Mizzell thanked the council for the recognition and said that, other than the birth of his children, this was the most rewarding thing he had ever done.

No one signed to speak during citizen’s input and the adjusted agenda was approved. The minutes from the last regular meeting was approved without change.

Resolutions and Presentations

Paul Livingston presented Bruce Carter with a resolution thanking him for his service on the Council of Governments. Carter thanked the council for the award and said serving was a wonderful opportunity to give back to Richland County. He also encouraged others to participate in local government.

A presentation by Joe Felder of the Forestry Commission turned the tables on the council. Felder explained how part of the fees earned each year from forestry and public use projects is returned to local governments to use in the school system. Felder then presented the county council a check for $14,026.85

Regular Business

The county attorney listed three things needing to be discussed in executive session; a USC research agreement legal briefing, a personnel matter, and once again, the landfill agreement. This item has more lives than a monster in a bad horror movie. The county administrator handed out the printed copies of the current budget and thanked the budget staff for their hard work.

McSwain also reported trucks will no longer travel through Olympia on their way to and from the quarry; a long talked about solution has finally been completed and the trucks are being diverted to a newly constructed leg of River Road.

Finally, the administrator unveiled a new agreement with the local UPN TV station giving the county government a weekly spot to showcase aspects of how the county government works. The 30 minute program will air on Sunday mornings. Maybe they will tell us what goes on in executive session.

The clerk of council reminded everyone of the upcoming Chamber of Commerce gala. All consent items were approved with minor discussion.

The Agenda

A third reading for a land development code amendment was tabled by Bernice Scott so a state study on roads can be completed.

The second reading for the infrastructure ordinance was addressed by Mike Montgomery . He pointed out the futility of having a one year warranty on a road and asked for the ordinance to be sent back to committee, restructured to include specific inspections and fee structures for those inspections. Montgomery pointed out how few roads fail after one year and said an inspection process would give council members, taxpayers, and developers assurances the roads being built were sound.

Pearce asked Montgomery to tell exactly what his motion consisted of. Montgomery explained, this time not adding his lengthy qualification statements. Val Hutchinson said she agreed with Montgomery and felt the new ordinance would give the small developer a level playing field.

Scott wanted to know if the county has inspectors now and worried whether this would mean adding more employees. Livingston said he felt the council could approve the motion and change it later if need be. The motion was approved 9–0.

A financing agreement between the county and Buck Enterprises was approved last meeting. This week, it was sent back to first reading, discussed, then approved all over again. Another first reading item, this one for Steadfast/Ministries was originally tabled, then withdrawn.

Utilities

An afternoon work session on utilities produced four items for discussion. The first, concerning the Eastover sewer system takeover was deferred while the mayor of Eastover and the council staff answer a few questions.

The second item, a Franklin Park water and sewer project, was approved. A similar project, this one for Hopkins, was also deferred. Something called the Wateree Creek/Spring Hill sewer project was also approved without discussion. This ordinance will be heard from again.

New Officer

Heather Dann was appointed to serve as a code enforcement officer and McEachern notified the council there were indeed twelve vacancies for the Midlands Workforce Development Board.

Lee Ann Johnson spoke during citizen’s input to point out to the council how a developer might be able, under the current language of the land development code, to relax the density requirements of a proposed development without notifying the public. She asked the council to please look into this, as she is sure that wasn’t their intent.

The council retired into executive session for 40minutes to discuss two items. When they re–convened, no action was taken and no information was provided to the public.

Olympia

During motion period, Kit Smith brought up the Olympia TIF she tried to discuss earlier. Smith pointed out the urgency of the request, how long the neighborhood had been working toward this, and asked for the needed unanimous approval to save time.

Livingston asked whether the area being discussed was in Columbia. It is, having recently been annexed. Pearce asked if the city was planning to annex any more area. The most popular answer was no.

Montgomery asked whether the bond council was the right way to plan any bond issue, since a bond council has a vested interest in floating bonds. McEachern said he would be glad to support the Olympia project, but he had some concerns about Eau Claire and North Columbia and wanted some help, too.

It’s ironic that a project being co-sponsored by two long time adversaries, Smith and Scott, would be reduced to petty politics by someone else. Scott said she would be glad to support anything McEachern brought to the council concerning Eau Claire, but she reminded everyone how long the Olympia area had been working on this particular project. She also said it hurts her to see the council reduced to “I’ll help you, you help me” politics. Scott also said she didn’t remember anything being brought up about Eau Claire before.

A vote was finally taken, needing unanimous approval. McEachern provided the single no vote which sent this item back to committee. McEachern then proposed a TIF for Eau Claire. Don’t you just love a well oiled county government working at full capacity? The meeting was adjourned after a couple more motions were entertained.