Roll call

City council convened for its work session Wednesday, March 1, at 4 pm. The regular session was set for later at 6 pm. All council members were present: Tameika Isaac Devine, E. W. Cromartie, Mayor Bob Coble, Anne Sinclair, Sam Davis, and Daniel Rickenmann.

Procurement code

Frank Knapp and April Heyward, representatives of the Columbia Small Business Regulatory Review Committee, reviewed before council developments and suggestions for improving opportunities and efficiencies both ways between the city and the city's small business community.

E. W. Cromartie

Council member Cromartie read a prepared statement disconnecting and distancing himself and his city council office from the consulting firm Municipal Partners LLC. The firm had appealed to council as middlemen to broker utilities deals between the city and Ft. Jackson. The concept of middlemen between two well-managed institutions was deemed a bit novel. Why can't the city staff talk directly with the staff at Ft. Jackson? Municipal Partners was proposing to collect 7% of all contracts, amounting to millions of dollars in fees. The State carried the story with the suggestion Cromartie was friendly with members of Municipal Partners, one of whom helped Cromartie delay payment of water bills and another who held a fish fry fundraiser on Cromartie's behalf to help cover his travel expenses to Germany. Cromartie denied any personal or political connection that could possibly work in favor of Municipal Partners.

City manager

Charles Austin , city manager, received recognition from Mayor Coble. Austin had just been notified of his status as an ICMA Credentialed Manager from the International City?County Management Association.

Writers

Jerlean Noble of the Columbia Writers' Alliance shared her news of successes among her fellow writers. The city had funded in 2005 the 2nd SC Statewide Writers' Conference held at USC. She presented council with copies of Potpourri: A Collection of Literary Works , an anthology by the Columbia Writers' Alliance.

Flashing lights

Dave Brewer , city traffic engineer, discussed with council necessary changes to stop lights throughout the city. Council invited members of the public to speak on the issue. John Baker of Baker & Baker came forward to suggest downtown traffic flow has something to do with downtown commerce flow. Elmira Weston complained of the lack of coordination and of the abundance of time consumption among the lights along Garners Ferry and its Shandon connection, Devine Street. All this was triggered by a published letter by Rusty DePass about a month earlier.

Hospitality Tax Fund and Accommodations Tax Fund

Libby Gober , city ombudsman, discussed both funds with council, helping council to understand the process and its controls in dispensing monies from both funds.

Katheryn Bellfield

Katheryn Bellfield read from prepared notes with her name spelled as "Kathryn" instead of her signature "Katheryn," which is probably typical when someone else writes the name and the text that follows. Still, the sentiment was entirely Bellfield's. As Bellfield put it, "Councilwoman Ann (sic) Sinclair should be reprimanded for her offensive comments and inflammatory racial slurs that appeared in The State newspaper today." The idea that Anne Sinclair could possibly be anything other than her raging liberal self amused the informed crowd.

Bellfield continued, "Councilwoman Sinclair is old enough to know better than to refer to any individual or group as "these people", "you people" and other like references. The last time I remember words like this being spoken, someone got slapped. (Was presidential candidate Ross Perot - when he said "you people" to the NAACP gathering - slapped?) As a people (A what?), we have come too far and worked too hard to allow the evil spirit and hateful actions of one of our elected officials undo the progress we have made."

And then Bellfield cited the ineffable offense of Sinclair's use of the term "BS." This writer, former construction worker, college-age cab driver, combat veteran Airborne Ranger, big-city bartender, and city-beat reporter was breathless at the sound of such an expression, as certainly was Bellfield and anyone else within range of hearing.

CORE

Council members Devine and Rickenmann introduced members of the Columbia Opportunity Resource Group. Representatives in the audience invited the City Hall crowd to attend CORE's city politics debate scheduled for March 16 in the convention center. John Adams is the chair of the Political Awareness Committee.