Roll call

Chair Paul Livingston, Vice Chair Damon Jeter, Joyce Dickerson, Val Hutchinson, Norman Jackson, Gwendolyn Kennedy, Bill Malinowski, Jim Manning, Greg Pearce, Kit Smith, and Kelvin Washington were present.

Administrator's report

The administrator's report led off with an update from the Convention and Visitors Bureau about the tourism plan approved last month by the council. Kelly Barbrey, vice president of sales and marketing, told the council the primary target areas for this campaign are Charlotte and Asheville.

Because the economy is bad, the focus is on families who might put off a week at the beach but will come to Columbia for a couple of days. The bureau has 35 different packages available now linking hotels, restaurants, and activities in the Midlands.

Mandi Engr am, director of marketing, explained how the county's $200,000 is being spent. $170K is being used to produce and air TV and radio commercials. The rest is being targeted toward cyberspace. Internet advertising, Twitter, Facebook, and Google are all being used to promote tourism in the Midlands. The internet offers cutting edge advertising and the ability to track results in great detail. (Nothing was mentioned about the most effective form of advertising you are holding in your hands.)

Geor ge Rice, who works for the county's EMS department, was on hand to tell the council about participating in the National Memorial Bike Ride that commemorates people who have died while in EMS service and raises money to support programs to aid those who are injured or ill from EMS work.

Rice took part in the 550 mile trip that went through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland District of Columbia, and ended in Roanoke, Virginia. Rice said it was a tremendous honor to take part in the ride and a tremendous honor to wear the uniform of Richland County's EMS group.

Richland County also received five NaCo awards. The honored groups were the county transportation study, Ridgewood Beautification, Conservation Commission, EMS, and the Sheriff's Department.

Regular agenda

The council got bogged down on a sign ordinance designed to regulate the problem of realtors' directional signs in neighborhoods. The original issue wasn't the realtors signs as much as other people using similar signs and leaving them behind. The ordinance was hammered out by a group of people affected by the ordinance and designed to regulate the placement of the signs and make sure they were removed after an open house.

Bil l Malinowski pointed out the planning commission is made up of five realtors on the seven person board and a ringing endorsement from them isn't worth much. He used the analogy that helium filled balloons being released at an event are nice but add nothing to the event. Malinowski is of the opinion that directional signs showing people unfamiliar with a neighborhood where an open house is might also be useless and unnecessary. He proposed a motion to deny the ordinance. Greg Pearce pointed out that a no vote would achieve what he wanted, and his substitute motion was unnecessary.

Val Hutchinson asked for some changes in the way the ordinance was regulated so the county wouldn't be bothered with actually having to tell people what happened to their signs. Norman Jackson had "concerns" with the midnight time limit. He worried the realtors would be put in a dangerous position wandering around a neighborhood trying to remove their signs. He proposed allowing them to make an extra trip the next day to pick up the directional signs.

Hutchinson's motion to amend was defeated, as was one by Jim Manning to delete the passage that required a sticker on the signs. Joyce Dickerson disagreed. She felt the county should make sure and collect "the five dollars." In the end the original ordinance was approved to third reading.

Administ rat ion and finance

A request to consider salary adjustments and amendments for several county officials was discussed by everyone in attendance. The Columbia magistrate, the treasurer, and the board of voter registrars were the positions discussed.

After input from nearly every council member and deferment of two of the three proposals, it was evident how much grasp of county business this council has and how quick they are as a group to discover potential problems and act on them. The collective ability of this council borders on unbelievable.

After executive session the meeting was adjourned.