Jim Apple, CEO at First Citizens Bank on Main Street Roll call

City council convened Wednesday morning at nine for its work session. There was no regular session scheduled. Council member Daniel Rickenmann was in Vermont on business. All other members were present: Tameika Isaac Devine, Hamilton Osborne, E. W. Cromartie, Mayor Bob Coble, Anne Sinclair, and Sam Foster.

Legislative update

Mia McLeod , one of the city’s lobbyists at the capitol, reported on legislative matters of interest to the city. House Bill 4449 passed the same day, and it presented a challenge to city council. The SC Senate still has to vote on a committee fine–tuned version, but the city is against the bill regardless. It usurps city council power by shifting taxing from property to sales. House Bill 4428 is a cable company competitiveness matter. It’s another transfer of responsibility and power out of the hands of council and into the office of the secretary of state, which would handle franchise permits for cable companies. The city’s fee structure and authority over cable service would be by–passed. Also, there’s a number of eminent domain bills, and all limit the city’s authority to run off private property owners and shut down successful businesses in favor of council–friendly developers, as was the case for the AT&T (Capitol Place) Building, the Palmetto Center, and the Marriott Hotel, the C&S (Bank of America) Plaza, and the BB&T office building.

Fred Delk, Columbia Development Corporation, and Matt Kennell, executive director of the City Center Partnership East Central City Consortium request

No representatives for the development team showed up, but council debated the issues anyway. At the heart of the matter is a city $335,000 certificate of deposit at Carolina First which is to stand as collateral for the development team to incur project soft costs and borrow against the $335,000. Osborne asked how the development team planned to repay the $335,000, and no one knew. Cromartie and Coble were all for letting the deal go through and letting the development team go into hock against the city’s $335,000 on deposit. Enough objections were raised to the point another opportunity to explain use and repayment of the city’s $335,000 was offered to the development team.

City Center Partnership

Jim Apple , CEO at First Citizens Bank on Main Street, was introduced by Matt Kennell , executive director of the City Center Partnership. Apple is the new chairman of the City Center Partnership. City Center Partnership is in its fifth year. For the next year, Apple wants to continue the partnerships programs, but he also wants to target three issues: (1) Improve lighting, (2) redirect released prisoners out of downtown, and (3) complete the Main Street enhancement project to Elmwood Avenue, all the while filling up empty storefronts and other underutilized spaces. The business improvement district (BID) is up for renewal, as it expires at the end of 2006.

International Downtown Association

The spring conference for the International Downtown Association is scheduled to be held in Columbia, April 22–24. Fred Delk of the Columbia Development Corporation and Matt Kennell described the event, which coincides with the Three Rivers Music Festival.

Affordable housing

Dana Turner , assistant city manager for commerce and development, reviewed the city’s affordable housing program in the four city council districts. From 2001 through 2005, Districts 1 and 2 used up about $7 million each in City Living Housing Initiative loans and grants. District 3 spent almost $9 million; and District 4, not quite $1 million. Altogether, over $24 million was spent for the five years. Additionally, for the same five years, Community Development housing funds for development corporations totaled over $11 million. Another $43 million went into Columbia Housing Development Corporations and TN Development Corporations since 1983. The current scene is grim, if council can be believed. Educated, successful, relatively affluent families are moving inside the city limits in droves. The horror! Property values are on the rise. The shame! Columbia might actually approach urbanity soon enough. The nerve! Cromartie declared the rising trends unacceptable, and he professed intentions to stop gentrification. “We need to see to it CanalSide and Bull Street will not be gentrified,” said Cromartie.

Eau Claire

Mirroring Cromartie’s position, Emily Cooper , co–chair of Habitat 29203, asked council to maintain the city’s overall diversity and particularly the rainbow charm in her Eau Claire neighborhood. As she put it, “Elmwood Park, I’m told, is 20% African–American now, as opposed to 70% or so before it was redeveloped. That’s not acceptable....Don’t believe the mantra that only market–driven development increases the value of a community. Effective affordable housing increases the value – and thus increases the tax base .” Council agreed to create an affordable housing task force.

Planning Commission

Two members are up for reappointment on the Columbia Planning Commission, Susie Heyward and Nancy Reid , according to Chip Land , annexation coordinator. Council agreed to advertise the opening with the caveat the incumbents are asking to remain.

Flashing lights

City traffic engineer Dave Brewer explained the feasibility of shifting traffic lights to flashing status in low–traffic periods, all in response to a letter in The State by Rusty DePass, a citizen driver irate and impatient with poorly timed stop lights. Brewer also reported on the traffic problems between Bull Street and Main Street by way of Confederate Avenue and Elmwood Avenue. The traffic along Confederate is less, considerably less, since the city put up its controlling signage. And the traffic along Elmwood is greater, much greater, and the stop at Bull and Elmwood is all the worse. The Confederate Avenue activists are happy.

Resolution

#R–2006–006, authorizing the USC parking garage in the Innovista research campus.

Next meeting

Council meets on the third floor of City Hall next Wednesday morning, February 15, at 9 for a work session and at 10 for a regular session.