Roll call

Diane Sumpter Columbia city council convened Wednesday morning around 9. Council member E.W. Cromartie was absent. He arrived later — said he was in court. All other council members were present at the opening of the meeting: Kirkman Finlay III, Tameika Isaac Devine, Mayor Bob Coble, Sam Davis, Daniel Rickenmann, and Belinda Gergel.

City's favorite

The City of Columbia September Employee of the Month is Neco Green, Recycling Truck Driver III, Solid Waste Division. Green was introduced by Robert Anderson, superintendent at the Solid Waste Division. Green has been with the city since November 2008.

Award to Tony Lawton

The Atlanta Regional 2008 Minority Enterprise Development Week celebration included recognition of city employee Tony Lawton as the Minority Business Advocate of the Year. The city council appearance was handled by Columbia's DESA Inc., another beneficiary of the city's minority subcontracting outreach program. DESA, headed by Diane Sumpter, is also the operator of the Richland Street office of the Minority Business Enterprise Center, a federally funded program by the Minority Business Development Agency, U. S. Department of Commerce. The marketing specialist for the S.C. Minority Business Enterprise Center is Michelle M. Moshinskie, an employee at DESA. There was no mention of the constitutional challenges to racial or gender preferences in public works, but the day's news in

John Dooley the Charleston Regional Business Journal

illustrated a latent objection. A Charleston County landfill expansion job was let out to bid, and two sets of prices came in — one from each bidder met the county's goal of giving work to minority- and women- owned businesses, and a second set of bid amounts removed the minority participation requirement. In the end, the winning bid was $6.8 million, $1.15 million less than the same firm's bid with minority participation. Overall, the bids without minority participation were about 14 percent less than those with minority participation. Columbia city council's question to themselves remains: How many tens of millions of additional dollars are we spending with this favoritism and what urgent city needs could be met without it? In other words, like Charleston County, should the city simply award contracts to the lowest bidder, regardless of race or gender?

Ivey Chestnut Award to John Dooley

For working through the machinations of minority subcontractor cost inflation in public works, Dooley was also recognized and thanked by council with the Essential Piece Award. Dooley is the city's director of Utilities and Engineering.

Funding recommendations

Judge Mildred McDuffie, chair of the Community Promotions Advisory Committee, recommended funding the Eau Claire Community Council's Norht Columbia Holiday Display in the amount of $1,410, half what was requested, $2,820. Chief Cornerstone Worldvision asked for $900,000, reportedly to help with construction of a building, and was funded with nothing. Council thanked Judge McDuffie for her committee's work.

BRAC

Base Realignment and Closure was updated by Ike McLeese, CEO, Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce. The city has committed to $35,000 in support of the chamber's efforts and in partial payment to the chamber's lobbyist in D.C. Richland County is also in for its $35,000, and the chamber has kicked in $40,000 of privately donated funds. Council agreed with McLeese the money was well spent and had the potential of huge returns with continuing expansion at Ft. Jackson.

Neil McLean EngenuitySC

Neil McLean, executive director of EngenuitySC, asked council to follow through on its intentions to fund EngenuitySC with $100,000 for operations and another $150,000 to help with the big hydrogen convention to be held in Columbia. Council voted for the full $250,000.

Palmetto Project

Steve Skardon, executive director at Palmetto Project, asked council to approve the $26,000 grant to continue Palmetto Project's Challenge Day program in Richland School District One. Oprah Winfrey has been recently quoted as saying "Challenge Day could change the world." Council agreed.

Judge Mildred McDuffie Brownfield

Fred Delk, head of the Columbia Development Corporation, explained to council his intentions to apply to the EPA for a follow- up grant in the amount of $1 million. Working with Delk will be Gail Rawls Jeter, recently retired from DHEC. Delk recommended a partnership with the City of West Columbia in the grant application. Richland County recently received a grant from EPA and is not eligible as a coalition partner.

Security cameras

Char lie Hopkins and Vince Simonwicz, the city's IT Director, walked council through the proposed citywide security camera project, which could eventually install all 493 recommended cameras at about $14,000 each. Council questioned the continuing currency of the technology, what may soon appear to be planned obsolescence. Phase I is complete and cost $92,230. Phase II includes site specific engineering and design to include preparation and bidding of site specific projects. Phase III is the implementation of site specific cameras. At 5 percent of installation costs, the annual maintenance budget put council in a position to ask for more information.

Ike McLeese City manager's report

Charles Austin, city manager, introduced Ivey Chestnut, new homeless coordinator, and Myra Brown, new director of the emergency shelter. He predicted a rapid replacement of the 14 vacancies in the Police Department, where another 20 new officers are being recruited for a total of 34 new officers coming into the department.

Sidewalks

Council wants to coordinate sidewalk newspaper dispensers, something on the order of how it's done in Charleston, not allowing for the colorful collection of plastic and metal but putting all the newspapers in a single-tone box. Council agreed on a public hearing, Nov. 5, and a second reading following the public hearing. Rickenmann suggested a recycling bin as part of each installation.

Next meeting

Council is part of a joint city/county meeting at the Clarion Townhouse at 8 am, October 6. The city's Audit Committee meets on October 8 at 9 am. The next regular meeting for council is an evening meeting at the convention center on Lincoln Street at 6 pm, Wednesday, October 15.