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BLYTHEWOOD – New traffic patterns will be put in place on Monday, Aug. 11 that town officials say will have a temporary but significant impact on Blythewood Road and Community Road traffic.

“From an impact perspective, two things are going to be happening,” Interim Town Administrator Ed Driggers said during the July 28 town council meeting. “Scout Motors is at the stage that they will be bringing in newly hired employees at their site, as well as additional contractors. At the same time, in order to expedite the completion of the roundabout on Blythewood Road at Cobblestone Park, Richland County will be running work crews on first, second and third shifts instead of one daytime shift.”

Motorists who use Blythewood Road are asked to use extra caution as traffic will temporary be shifted around the roadwork until Sept. 30.

The most notable change will be a reconfigured traffic pattern at the intersection of Blythewood and Community Roads. The following traffic control measures will be put in place:

On Blythewood Road

Currently, westbound traffic on Blythewood Road that continues through the I-77 intersection curves slightly to the south. This through traffic will be re-routed to the north side of a new roundabout. This pattern is expected to last until the project is complete.

Currently, westbound traffic along Blythewood Road turning left onto Community Road curves slightly south. This pattern is expected to continue until Aug. 29.

Eastbound traffic will continue as currently configured; however, an additional right-turn lane will be added for traffic turning onto Community Road.

On Community Road

While Community Road remains closed to through traffic, a new traffic pattern will allow for Scout Motors-related traffic and traffic en route to Public Storage. From 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. Monday-Friday, there will be two southbound lanes of traffic and one northbound lane. The outside southbound lane will become a right-turn lane for Scout employees and contractors entering the Scout site. Drivers heading to Public Storage should remain in the left southbound lane.

Between 7 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, the Community Road pattern will shift back to a standard one southbound/one northbound lane to allow road upgrades to continue.

From 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, there will be two northbound lanes and one southbound lane. The outside lane is for traffic turning right (east) onto Blythewood Road, while the inside lane is for traffic turning left (west).

After 5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and on weekends, the Community Road pattern will shift back to a standard one southbound/one northbound lane to allow road upgrades to continue.

Alternate Routes

While roadwork is ongoing, drivers traveling southbound on University Parkway should take University Village Drive in order to access Blythewood Road. Alternatively, motorists should take Links Crossing Drive to Woodlander Drive, then turn left onto Syrup Mill Road.

With the southern portion of Community Road now closed, drivers should take Wilson Boulevard to Fulmer Road before turning onto Blythewood Road.

The traffic control measures are necessary to complete road-widening projects that also include a double-lane roundabout at the intersection of Blythewood and Community roads, and also at the entrance and exit of Cobblestone Park Golf Club. As part of a separate project involving a new I-77 interchange, contractors with the S.C. Department of Transportation (SCDOT) have partially closed and detoured part of Community Road.

Additionally, Scout Motors is anticipating a scheduled increase in contractors working on its nearby construction site in August. To mitigate impact to the local community, Scout is working with its contractors to schedule deliveries outside of peak traffic hours and delaying a planned shift in the parking location for contractors until after the first week of school.

Following are Transportation Penny upgrades scheduled for the Blythewood Road area:

Crews have begun work to relocate the exit road of University Parkway for the Cobblestone Park gated community near Blythewood Road. This work will continue through Aug. 27. Other detail work on the perimeter of the Blythewood Road roundabout will continue through September.

Around Friday, Aug. 15, crews will begin paving the center of the roundabout at the entrance of Cobblestone Park, shifting traffic. This work will continue through the end of August.

From Sept. 14 to Oct. 1, crews will install concrete islands on Community Road.

Ongoing work to widen the north end of Blythewood Road, including storm drain and drainage structure upgrades, and final paving work are set for completion at the end of September.

While work is ongoing, drivers should expect temporary delays and plan extra time for travel, using alternate routes when possible. Message boards will provide updates for motorists, and crews will be on site directing traffic.

The work on Blythewood Road is scheduled for completion in early October. SCDOT’s I-77 Exit 26 Interchange Project is expected to wrap up by summer 2027. In the meantime, Community Road is scheduled to reopen at the new Exit 26 Interchange in April 2026.

For more information and updates on the roadwork and local traffic patterns, visit www.richlandcountysc.gov. Find out more about SCDOT road projects: https://i77exit26.com/.

BLYTHEWOOD – Blythewood Mayor Sloan Griffin has asked for an attorney general’s opinion as to whether it is permissible to implement a new government structure before his current term ends on November 22, 2027.

Blythewood voters passed a referendum on July 29, calling for the town’s form of government to be changed from a mayor-council form to a council-manager form.

Prior to the referendum, both the mayor and the four council members who called for the referendum agreed to abide by the voters’ will. However, on Aug. 4, Griffin sent an email to the other four council members questioning how South Carolina Code 5-5-60 would affect the outcome of the referendum.

Griffin wrote in his email that S.C. Code 5-5-60 “states that elected officials shall continue to serve until their successors are elected and qualify” under the new form.

But that is not exactly what Section 5-5-60 of the SC Code states. It says: “Upon initial adoption of or on any change to one of the alternate forms of government, all members of the existing governing body shall continue to serve their elected terms and until their successors are elected and qualify.”

“The public notice from the Mayor seeks to delay the implementation of the July 29 referendum that he pledged to uphold, but misquotes section 5-5-60,” said Town Councilman Rich McKenrick. “This section strictly deals with elected officials serving out their term in the event of a change in the form of government. It does not address whether the mayor can continue to govern under the previous form of government until his term is up.”

In his request, Griffin also asks for a formal opinion from the Attorney General “to confirm the lawful timing and scope of implementation under state law.

“I have also requested that the proposed transition be reviewed under Section 2 of the federal Voting Rights Act, which remains in full effect and prohibits any changes that could have a discriminatory impact on minority voting strength or representation.

“This is not about contesting the election outcome,” Griffin wrote, “but rather about ensuring the transition is carried out legally and according to both the spirit and letter of the law. The voters chose this administration to serve until 2027, and I must uphold the integrity of that term while respecting this democratic process and state law.”

“The mayor’s term is not decreased by the referendum,” said Media Attorney Jay Bender, who represents the S.C. Press Association. “The Voting Rights Act angle seems baseless, because no district lines are being changed. A public official is always free to seek an opinion from the Attorney General on a question of law. That office has capable attorneys who will provide a legal analysis but will not decide disputed facts.”

BLYTHEWOOD – With a turnout of 700 voters, the answer to what kind of government Blythewood residents will have going forward is settled. 

In a vote of 381 – 319, with 50 early votes and two provisional votes, electors chose to change Blythewood’s form of government from a mayor-council form of government to a council-manager form of government.

The new council-manager form of government will go into effect in November, 2025.

At issue was whether the town should operate under a mayor-council form of government in which much of the power to make decisions and oversee the daily operations of the Town government rests with the mayor, or whether it should operate under a council-manager form of government in which a professional manager oversees the day- to-day operations of the government.

In May, four members of a divided council voted to call for a referendum to change the town’s form of government from a mayor-council form to a council-manager form.

“On Tuesday, the residents of Blythewood cast their votes in the referendum posing the question should Blythewood change our form of government,” Councilman Rich McKenrick said in a statement released following the election. “The ‘YES’ vote is evidence that Blythewood is up to the challenge of laying a foundation for our residents for generations to come. I look forward to being part of the decision-making process while making this transition. Thank you to all the voters who voted on both sides of this issue. Now it’s time for Blythewood to move forward.”

While there were a number of hiccups running up to the referendum, one involved Blythewood Mayor Pro Tem Donald Brock posting a copy of his ballot to his personal Facebook page.

According to the Director of Internal Affairs at the State Election Commission, John Michael Catalano, the Commission received complaints from the community about the post.

“We did get reports yesterday from the public about the post and a snapshot of the post.” Catalano said. “Anytime there is a potential offence against election laws, we refer the matter to SLED, and we did refer that report to SLED.”

Brock posted the following apology on his Facebook Page after removing the post:

“Earlier this morning, I took a photo of my ballot and posted it on my personal social media page. I was alerted that this was against South Carolina law and promptly removed it. While I was not aware that this was a violation of state law, ignorance is not a viable excuse. A few individuals grabbed screenshots and posted them online; which is their responsibility to hold elected officials accountable. I apologize to the citizens of Blythewood for this oversight and if there are repercussions, I accept them 100%. It was [not] and is never my intent to violate any state law.”

Following the vote count, Brock posted this statement:

“First I want to thank everyone who came out and voted YES or NO. It’s great to see the turnout and truly speaks to the passion that the citizens of Blythewood have for this town.

“To address the passing of the referendum, it’s time to get to work, and that 100% includes the mayor. Mayor Griffin was the mayor yesterday, he’s the mayor today, and he’s the mayor tomorrow. And the body is encouraged to work with this mayor to continue to move Blythewood forward.  This is a beautiful town, a beautiful community and the passing of the referendum only enhances these qualities. Whether you supported or opposed the referendum, we look forward to hearing from everyone regarding Blythewood’s future. “

“Today is a good day for Blythewood. First and foremost,” said Councilwoman Andrea Fripp. “I’d like to thank you, the residents of Blythewood, who came out and exercised your right to vote.

“This is what democracy looks like!” she continued. “We are moving forward in a direction that supports the explosive growth in our community. And, we have the opportunity to work together to build a better Blythewood.

“In the end, we, the people, have spoken. Now, we can all move forward and get to the business of governing in a more fair and balanced way,” Fripp said.

The Voice requested comments from both Mayor Sloan Griffin and Councilwoman Erica Page but did not immediately receive responses.

FAIRFIELD COUNTY – For the second time in about a year, Fairfield County has sold county industrial sites that they later found out lack utility services.

After calling for the approval of the agenda at Monday night’s regular council meeting, Chairman Clarence Gilbert passed a document to Councilman Oren Gadson who read it aloud.

It was a motion emphasizing that an exigent circumstance exists or will exist if a resolution by Fairfield County Council authorizing the transfer and expenditure of funds to provide critical repairs to the Fairfield Commerce Center is not added to the current meeting agenda for the body’s consideration and desired action before the conclusion of this meeting.

“What you have in front of you tonight is a request to authorize the expenditure of up to $600,000 out of reserve contingency funds of the county, unrestricted reserves,” Fairfield County Administrator explained to council.

“The issue at hand,” he said, “is that, as you know, we have two industrial projects currently underway in the park, BOMAG’s expansion and Mega metal.

“It was recently discovered,” Carpenter said, “that in the process of constructing the site, some fundamental work that is inherent in what the industrial park is supposed to be, was never built, and that is the laying of conduit and necessary infrastructure to provide the electrical services inside the park.

“That is the responsibility of the developer of the park, not Dominion and not the companies, but the county,” Carpenter said. “Roads, water, sewer, utilities are the county’s responsibility.

“For whatever reason, that [conduit] was never put in the ground,” he said.

“We need to get this done now because we’ve already signed contracts, they’re already bringing people on site,” he said, “and they’re going to start work in the next six weeks on these projects in real.”

Also, Carpenter said, the preferred contractor for Dominion is currently on site for BOMAG, so the county can take advantage of Dominion being there right now, and they can jump on this right away.

“The anticipated cost is not going to be $600,000 but I’m requesting that authority just in case they discover something unknown or unanticipated,” Carpenter said, “so we can take care of it at that point in time.”

He said he would keep the council briefed and updated.

“I will tell you this is not the way we should do this,” he said. “But, unfortunately, this is the reality of where we are right now, that we have to get this done in order for these projects to proceed forward,” Carpenter concluded.

Councilman Don Goldbach asked for clarification on how the agenda item came to be voted on.

“As a matter of process, this was not on the published agenda, so how is it that we – I mean, what’s the process for allowing us to actually vote on this this evening?” Goldbach asked.

“This amendment will allow us to vote on it,” Carpenter explained. “The terms as written are taking into account South Carolina law so that we are compliant with law.

“This is an exigent issue,” Carpenter repeated. “We don’t have time to put it out for bid. We don’t have time to spec it out. Their contractors start work in a matter of weeks, and without having a second meeting in July, as it is, it would put it into August before we could have it, or we’d have to have a called meeting, but we’d lose more time.

“So this is what is considered legally an exigent circumstances where time is of the essence,” he said.