Lucinda Stater and Amy Moore

City council convened for its work session Wednesday at 9 am in City Hall, third floor. All council members were present: Tameika Isaac Devine, Hamilton Osborne, E. W. Cromartie, Mayor Bob Coble, Anne Sinclair, Sam Davis, and Daniel Rickenmann.

Design Development Review

Commission

Lucinda Stater , the city’s urban design planner, and the city’s historic preservationist, Amy Moore, presented council with a briefing on the design review process. In the last five years, about $600 million in private development has been approved within the City Center Design/Development District. Moore pointed out the 2,300 historic districts in the US. The Design Development review Commission (DDRC) is a 9–10 member quasi–judicial volunteer board appointed by city council. Projects which cannot be reviewed at staff level are taken for review to the DDRC at their monthly meetings. Among the 9–10 members are six ordinance–required positions: registered architect, licensed attorney, architectural historian, city planner, real estate developer or licensed broker, and architect with historic preservation experience. Cromartie objected to the imbalance in favor of expertise and high qualifications. He suggested more emphasis on diversity supplied by his district constituents, possibly by enlarging the DDRC to ensure inclusion of all levels of qualifications from all areas of the city’s population.

Howard Duvall Olympia trucks

Dave Brewer , city traffic engineer, offered truck traffic restrictions for Olympia, as proposed by Cromartie. Council concurred.

Regular session

Council adjourned for a few minutes before 10, and then the regular session began.

Columbia Tree and Appearance Commission

Melissa Smith Gentry , the city’s director of public works, presented council with three candidates to fill vacancies in the commission. Natalie Kaufman , Robert Reibold , and Emily Jones were approved unanimously. Howard Duval of the SC Municipal Association was introduced as the new chairman, and outgoing member John Stucker was recognized with a commemorative plaque.

John Stucker and Mayor Coble Drew Wellness Center

Allison Baker , assistant city manager, sang a few statistics in observance of the wellness center’s first two months: $81,140 in membership revenue, 264 yearly members, and 1151 total daily passes sold. The wellness center’s staff was introduced, beginning with General Manager Kelly Garvey and Assistant Manager Joan Sorensen.

Broadband

Dr. Jabari Simama , vice president of community development for Benedict College, invited council and all others present to attend “Broadband in Cities & Towns: The Role of New Technology in Supporting Sustainable Economic and Community Development,” a conference at Benedict College’s Swinton Campus Center, February 27 & 28. Already Simama has 150 attendees pre–registered, 56% from Columbia. For more information, call 806.3282. (This concept of a downtown broadband network was first publicly pushed in 1998 by Pete Cannon and John Temple Ligon at the Sumter Exchange, forerunner of the City Center Partnership.)

Joan Sorensen East Central City Consortium

Frank McBride , chairman of the East Central City Consortium, introduced Fred Johnson II of F. A. Johnson Consulting Group, Inc. Johnson defended the intentions and the actions of his consulting group in the pre–development phases of the redevelopment of the east side of downtown Columbia. With $505,000 coming in from various sources, including $330,000 from the city, Johnson explained his budget for the use of the funds. Osborne reminded Johnson the city’s $330,000 could not be lent legally, but it could be forked over as a grant. Johnson didn’t intend to spend the city’s money – only keep it on account at Carolina First as collateral against money coming from Carolina First. Osborne still questioned the legitimacy. Rickenmann wanted to know where the buck stopped – who was ultimately responsible, or who was on the hook if losses surfaced. F. A. Johnson , Fred’s father and partner, fielded a few questions with the assurances of a successful track record as a non–profit manager of $600 million in 501(c)(3) developments. Mayor Coble offered to discuss such delicate matters in the secrecy of an executive session and suggested council rush through the balance of its regular meeting to adjourn behind closed doors.

Allison Baker and Kelly Garvey

Consideration of bids and

agreements

F. A. Johnson and Fred Johnson II • $11,262 for the annual maintenance of the mainframe located at City Hall.

• $11,948 for the purchase of a radio and parts to be used by the State Guard, as requested by the Emergency Operations Center.

• $12,000 for the purchase of a compact sedan, as requested by the police department.

• $12,230 for the purchase of additional playground equipment for Woodland Park.

• $13,033 for the purchase of a Bunker Gear washer and dryer, as requested by the fire department.

• $17,779 for the purchase of an intermediate patrol car, as requested by the police department.

• $18,124 for the purchase of an intermediate special patrol car as requested by the police department.

• $26,455 for the purchase of ESRI software maintenance.

Ordinances – second reading

• #2006–006, annexing 7736 Garners Ferry Road.

Jabari Simama • #2006–007, amending the 1998 Code of Ordinances of the City of Columbia, Chapter 18, Redevelopment Commissions to repeal Article III, Columbia Neighborhood Redevelopment Commission, in its entirety.

• #2006–009, authorizing land swap with Columbia Development Corporation of 413 Pendleton Street in exchange for 816 and 824 Washington Street.

Consideration of bids, agreements, and change orders

• $93,070 for the purchase of 250 medical cots, as funded by the Office of Homeland Security.

• $117,410 for physicals and health screenings for fire department personnel. The winning bid was from a firm in Harristown, PA, with all the doctors, nurses, clinics, hospitals, and other medical factions in greater Columbia, to include a medical school.

• Council to lease 15 parking spaces for five years for one dollar per year in front of The Blue Marlin, install meters, and collect all the proceeds to ensure turnover.

Resolutions

• #R–2006–004, authorizing the establishment of the Charles R. Drew Wellness Center Scholarship Advisory Committee.

Taxi

Council approved a request for a certificate of convenience and necessity by Traditional Taxi, LLC, West Columbia.

Fire sale

Council approved the offering for sale of the historically significant fire station at 1001 Senate Street, roughly one acre to include the fire station building, the fire truck garage building, and the fire training tower. Appraised value was not mentioned.

Next meeting

Council holds a work session Wednesday, February 22, at 9 am on the third floor of City Hall, corner of Laurel and Main. There is no regular session scheduled.