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. Bernice Scott gave the Invocation, then led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance. The agenda was approved with no changes.

Gary Watts , Richland County Coroner, spoke to the council about a program to reduce Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and infant deaths by suffocation. He opened by saying how unusual it was for him to be before council not asking for anything. Watts gave the council an update on the Room To Breathe program previously funded by the council. He showed a brief video explaining rules to follow to reduce SIDS and thanked the council for their support.

Citizen’s Input

Three people signed to speak during citizen’s input, but all were denied the opportunity since the subject they wished to discuss will have a public hearing later.

Minutes from the last two meetings were approved without changes. The county attorney told the council of three things needing to be discussed in executive session. Two of those were personnel matters, and one concerned the Kershaw County DHEC lawsuit.

The council was in executive session for 55 minutes. The Kershaw matter was handled quickly. This means the council kept citizens waiting on them for nearly an hour while they discussed two personnel matters that can be resolved anytime. At least it wasn’t the landfill amendment again.

Regular Stuff

The county administrator had no report and the clerk of council only had a couple of scheduling items. A new report, the chairman’s report, involved scheduling time for a work session. I’ll bet the citizens are glad that was added.

Two items were opened for public hearings. One involved an infrastructure financing agreement with AEB Business Properties, and the other was an ordinance to authorize the Palmetto Health Lease Amendment. No one spoke about either.

The Agenda

All consent items were approved without any changes. The infrastructure financing agreement with AEB was deferred because some promised information wasn’t provided.

An item increasing the victim’s assistance budget by $250K was next. Greg Pearce made it known he was in favor of a victim’s assistance program but thought the original program was to be self–funded. He reminded the rest of the council the taxpayers were bailing out the program for the second year in a row.

Joe McEachern said he agreed with Pearce about funding, but said victims shouldn’t be blamed for the program’s inadequacies. Scott said she knew firsthand about victims and said there was no good way to budget victim’s assistance. I don’t remember that being brought up when the initial proposal was made. Pearce took the floor once again to publicly state he wasn’t against victims or programs to aid them. The ordinance passed.

A first reading item acting on the sheriff’s request for an additional $250K was approved unanimously. Before the echoes died, Kit Smith asked why the council had approved two identical items.

It seems 2E and 3B were basically the same thing. Pearce asked if the council had just approved a half million and was assured it hadn’t. According to county administrator McSwain, the two items needed to be on the same agenda in the same place.

After much confusion, Larry, Moe, and Curly reconsidered 2E. Smith asked for it to be tabled, but her motion was defeated. A motion to defer the first identical item was approved. All this happened after unanimous approval on two items.

Olympia TIF

The last meeting of the council involved a little political maneuvering as McEachern tried to get a TIF for Eau Claire added to the TIF for Olympia. At this council meeting, Eau Claire residents were in attendance to hear if the council loved them as much as they do the Olympia residents.

Paul Livingston spoke first and discussed his long–standing support of communities, even back when no one else was doing it. He said he always has and will continue to support neighborhood improvement. His problem is with Tax Increment Financing. Livingston maintains there are other things to consider, and careful studies need to be made before any TIFs are passed.

Damon Jeter agreed with Livingston, and reminded the rest of the council TIFs are supposed to be used for areas of urban blight, dangerous areas needing revitalization. Scott reminded everyone how the council and the citizens of Olympia had worked for eight years to find a way to get rid of the big trucks heading to and from the quarry, and to improve the area after the trucks had been removed.

She said the sponsors of the Eau Claire TIF needed to work just as hard and do the required background work before asking for assistance. Mike Montgomery said he shared the concerns of the rest of the council and believes there are alternatives to a TIF. Montgomery said he would vote yes on the Olympia proposal so alternatives can surface.

Smith asked her fellow council members to vote yes on the Olympia proposal to keep the ball in the air and give the city a chance to contribute funding. Livingston said even though he is against using TIFs to fund this type of project, he is committed to Olympia.

A substitute motion to send the item back to the staff to find alternative funding was defeated. The original motion passed 6–5.

A piggy back motion to approve a TIF for Eau Claire was next, but it was hard to tell where one ended and the other began. Even though the Olympia motion had already been approved, several council members insisted on discussing it, along with the Eau Claire twin motion. After much bickering, finger–pointing, and admonishing, the Eau Claire motion was defeated by one vote.

McEachern notified the council of two vacancies on the Planning Commission and asked the council to help vote for other new committee members. Chalon Shepard Headley was re–appointed to the Board of Assessment Control. Rev. George Ashford was added to the Board of Zoning Adjustments and Appeals. Ulice Lance was named to the Internal Audit Committee.

An employee grievance item gave the council more reason to be confused. McEachern asked for first approval of the item; then he wanted it sent back to committee. Although there was no stated proposal, and several other council members didn’t seem to understand what the intent of the item was, it passed.

Citizen’s Input

Round two of citizen’s input also involved citizens wanting to speak about something against the rules. This time it was an item on the agenda for the night, a big no–no.

Irmo councilman Barry Walker was allowed to speak. He thanked the council for the check Irmo receives each year and asked for one thing. Sease Road, which could give Friarsgate another exit road, needs paving. Walker said all right of way issues and railroad issues have been dealt with, and paving is all that is left to do.

Motion Period

Pearce led the league with five motions. He first asked for a motion to pave Sease Road. Next, he wanted a resolution for a retirement in December. An item in the newspaper where the sheriff said he was giving deputies raises caused Pearce to ask for a review into what was involved. Next, he wanted to designate a staff member to attend Columbia City Council meetings to report back to the county on any action that might affect Richland County. Finally, Pearce wanted to start the ball rolling on forming a committee on homelessness.

Montgomery wants to give the county attorney authority to negotiate items involving the county and wants to give elected officials authority over their budgets. All these proposals were approved.

After a positive review of the Bernice Scott roast, the meeting was adjourned.