Category: Business

BLYTHEWOOD (Feb. 16, 2017) – At the outset of Town Council’s Jan. 30 meeting, Councilman Malcolm Gordge reported that he had attended as an observer that morning a meeting between Chamber of Commerce members and Ben Lewis, Project Engineer for the Richland County Penny Sales Tax Ad Hoc Committee, the purpose of which was to discuss the double-lane traffic circle slated for Blythewood Road near the entrance to Cobblestone Park.

Facilitated by the Chamber, approximately 14 Chamber members and a handful of guests met with Lewis in the Cobblestone Park Golf Club conference room.

“At this point, there appears to be about a 50-50 split between the property owners regarding a traffic light vs. a traffic circle,” Mike Switzer, Chamber Director, told The Voice recently. “This was our first meeting and I don’t think anybody is ready to commit to a preference until all their questions are answered. We have a follow-up meeting scheduled for Feb. 27, 10 a.m. at the same location.”

Switzer said that the properties near the proposed traffic circle are owned by Chamber members, while member businesses located in the University Village shopping center would also be affected by the circle.

“Therefore the Chamber has initiated this effort to bring these parties to the table with the planners so that our members’ voices can be heard before the planning gets too far along,” Switzer said. “The County planners are estimating that their second public meeting (the first was last October) will be this summer to show their final proposal and so we wanted to make sure they received our input well before then. This was a very positive meeting. It was very beneficial for these Chamber members, property owners, developers, agents, engineers and county reps to meet each other, see more details about the project, ask questions face to face, etc.”

Members want to know, Switzer said, if a traffic circle will actually perform better than a traditional four-way stop with lights. Affected property owners and businesses, he said, want to know if they will be reasonably compensated for any detrimental effects of either a circle or a four-way stop.

“All of the affected parties are wanting what is the best balance for the community and their own business interests,” Switzer said.

Lewis reported to Council at their Dec. 19 meeting that the roundabout was a go and that an executive summary of plans for the project had been given the OK by Richland County Council on Dec. 13.

But after hearing from Chamber members at the Jan. 30 meeting, Lewis and the Committee have some additional convincing to do.

“The roundabout was part of a 2012 referendum,” Lewis said, “and it is in the Town’s Master Plan. It has been evaluated in a traffic report and shown to operate efficiently.”

Nevertheless, Lewis said a comparison plan was being drawn up to be presented to Chamber members at the Feb. 27 meeting. That alternate plan – a traditional four-way stop with traffic lights – has already been studied, Lewis said, and rejected in favor of the traffic circle. However, such a plan has not been presented to the public in a mock-up, which will be the focus of the Feb. 27 meeting.

A traffic light set-up, Lewis said, “doesn’t seem to fit DOT (Department of Transportation) standards.” A roundabout, on the other hand, does.

“This section of Blythewood Road has had 80 percent of Blythewood accidents over a three-year period,” Lewis said. “DOT studies say that a roundabout reduces accidents by 80 percent. And it keeps traffic moving – there is no stoplight.”

Switzer said Chamber members hope to see a graphic and video comparison of a traffic circle vs. traffic lights at the Feb. 27 meeting. Members also hope to see estimations, he said, of the effects on nearby properties of the circle and stoplights.

 

COLUMBIA (Feb. 9, 2017) – A Richland County lobbyist who said he was hired by Hugh Palmer, the father of Richland County Planning Commissioner Patrick Palmer, addressed the Commission Monday afternoon to convince members to vote to recommend Rural Commercial (RC) zoning on 5.23 acres on Rimer Pond Road. The property is owned by Hugh Palmer. About 70 Blythewood community residents tuned out to beseech the Commissioners to spare their neighborhood from that rezoning. With Patrick Palmer recusing himself, the vote ended in a tie, which means the rezoning request will go forward to County Council without a recommendation for either approval or denial. The residents left the meeting jubilant.

Richland County Council will convene on Feb. 28 to take the first of three votes on the contentious rezoning issue that has been simmering for the better part of three years.

That simmer turned into a boil at times Monday as 34 of the residents streamed to the microphone for more than an hour to voice their opposition to the rezoning.

Lobbyist Boyd Brown of Tompkins, Thompson, Brown Government Affairs in Columbia spoke for Hugh Palmer. Brown, a former member of the S.C. House of Representatives, representing Fairfield County, said he was speaking as one who is familiar with the County’s land use plan for that area.

“We feel as though this (parcel) is tailor-made for Rural Commercial (RC) use,” Brown said. “If you were to take the definition for Rural Commercial (zoning) in the Richland County Land Use Plan, you would feel like it was written primarily for this specific parcel. Rural Commercial zoning was designed to help communities like this.”

Some residents, having boned up on the County’s land use plan during their three-year battle against the Palmers, mocked Brown’s assessment of the land use plan for the area.

“We feel? Who is ‘we’? We are here and we don’t feel,” resident Steven Greenburg shot back at Brown’s comment.

“Contrary to Mr. Brown’s statement, Rural Commercial zoning is not tailor-made for this area,” said resident Jay Thompson. He said county staff seems to be of the opinion that the requested zoning is in compliance with the objectives for commercial uses.

“That’s not correct,” Thompson said. “I hold in my hand a map of future land use and priority investments. If you look at this map, this neighborhood is shown as medium density, not rural. That directly contradicts this proposed zoning for Rural Commercial. It does not fit.

‘The staff reports that the requested rezoning would not be out of character with the existing surrounding development and zoning districts. I would ask staff, anyone, to find another property in this area zoned Rural Commercial,” Thompson said. “You will not find one in any direction.”

Asked by Commissioner Ed Greenleaf if Thompson was correct, Planning Director Tracy Hegler, who participates in the staff report which called for approval of the rezoning request, said, “Yes, that is correct.”

Another common target for residents was the County’s zoning district summary that states that RC zoning is needed to provide commercial services for residents in more isolated agricultural and rural areas.

The Palmers have said the RC zoning is designed for businesses such as pizza restaurants and dry cleaners for the convenience of surrounding residents.

Almost every speaker repeated the crowd’s mantra – “We are not isolated.” “This area is not underserved by commercial.” “We do not need it.” “We do not want it.”

“Within a four-mile radius of my home, there are four pizza restaurants, three dry cleaners, a Dollar Store, a Dollar General, three large grocery stores and at least five service stations,” said LongCreek Plantation resident May Vokaty. “There are plenty of commercial resources available to this area.”

Resident Stacey Young said she had to take time off from work just to be at the afternoon meeting. “It is that important to me.  We don’t need this commercial. I have five boys, and we can order pizza any time of the night. We are not going to go hungry without the proposed commercial.”

“If you have pizza delivery, you are not beyond commercial services,” resident Joe Johnson reminded the Commissioners who, along with the audience, responded with a laugh during an otherwise tense meeting.

On a more serious note, Johnson questioned, “Is the staff who keeps approving this venture familiar with the land use plan?

“And I think Mr. Palmer has made some mistakes with this property which has got him in the position he is in,” Johnson said.

Residents repeatedly reminded Commissioners that nearby commercial zoning would bring crime, congestion, more traffic and commercial lighting that would affect the environment and dark skies they enjoy in their rural neighborhood.

“You are slowly taking away from us what we moved here for,” said Nanette Howerin of Longcreek Plantation.

They also addressed the safety of students who would cross a very busy Longtown Road West to the commercial area from Blythewood Middle after school.

Trey Hair of Rimer Pond Road pointed out that there is no commercial zoning anywhere on the road.

“The only beneficiary to this zoning change will be the applicant who stands to make a large sum of money from the property. We’re asking you to stand with the people you serve. Stand with the community. We’re highly opposed to this zoning and we continue to show up in large numbers to protest. Being rural is our choice,” Hair said.

“The Palmers are the ones who came to Rimer Pond Road 10 years or so ago and changed this parcel from Rural to Residential Medium Density (RS-MD),” Rimer Pond Road resident Ken Queen said. “We didn’t want that, but the Palmers wanted it. They didn’t even come out and meet with anyone in the neighborhood and they have not this time. There is nothing they can put on that property that we don’t already have within five or six miles.”

“We do not want Rimer Pond Road to be anything other than rural residential with schools, homes and churches,” Rhett Sanders told the Commissioners. “The Planning Commission is tasked to oversee the strategic growth of our County to keep the big picture in mind and not make decisions based on personal requests that are not in the interest of the community.”

“I bought my property in 1982” Benny Solton told the Commissioners. “That a single person is doing this to a neighborhood is unbelievable.”

“It’s in your hands now to decide if you’re going to stick up for the people or for a developer, which won’t look good for you. We hope you’re with us,” Adams Road resident Michael Watts told the Commissioners.

While Commissioners Beverly Frierson, Ed Greenleaf and Wallace Brown Sr. did vote with the residents, three Commissioners, David Tuttle, Chairman Stephen Gilchrist and Christopher Anderson, did not. Another three Commissioners were absent.

While there was criticism of staff for its approval of the zoning request and for what residents said was staff’s lack of understanding of the zoning applicability to the land, Commissioner Tuttle took staff’s side saying, “We should not impugn staff. I commend staff.”

“We are to look at this as planners. It (RC) meets our guidelines,” Commissioner Anderson said.

Council will hear the rezoning request at 7 p.m. in Richland Council chambers on Feb. 28.

(Note: An earlier version of the story said the lobbyist said he had been hired by Patrick Palmer.)

 

BLYTHEWOOD (Feb. 2, 2017) – Residents on Rimer Pond Road and the surrounding area are once again faced with a request for commercial zoning on their road.

A sign staked at the corner of Rimer Pond Road and Longtown Road West gives notification by Richland County that a 5.23-acre parcel across the street from Blythewood Middle School is scheduled for a public hearing on a request by Hugh Palmer to rezone the parcel for commercial use. The rezoning request will come before the Richland County Planning Commission on Monday, Feb. 6 at 1 p.m. At that hearing, the Commission will make a recommendation to Richland County Council for approval or denial of the request – a request with a history.

Since April of 2015, Patrick Palmer – a developer/commercial realtor and longtime member of the Richland County Planning Commission – and his dad, Hugh Palmer, have launched several efforts to get commercial zoning pushed through the Planning Commission and County Council for the parcel, which is owned by Hugh Palmer. Patrick Palmer is the real estate broker for the property. The Palmers have said they want the commercial zoning designation so they can provide surrounding residents with commercial conveniences such as a pizza restaurant, dry cleaners and other businesses.

But the Palmers’ opponents, the residents who live in that area (Rimer Pond Road, LongCreek Plantation, Cooper’s Pond, Round Top Community and Eagles Glen), have fought the Palmer’s commercial zoning requests, saying they neither need nor want commercial zoning or commercial entities in their rural neighborhood, testifying repeatedly before the Commission and County Council that they are already well served by nearby businesses in Blythewood and on Killian Road. For the better part of three years, the residents have fought the Palmers tooth and nail, showing up in large numbers at Commission and Council meetings to speak out against the zoning request.

The score so far – Residents: 2, Palmers: 0.

Against strong neighborhood opposition, Hugh Palmer withdrew his request after the Planning Commission recommended denial (4-1) in June 2015. On the eve of Thanksgiving in November that same year, after another recommendation of denial (5-5) from the Commission, County Council failed to pass the Palmers’ request for commercial zoning when the vote ended in a tie, rendering a denial of the request.

But with close to $2 million riding on commercial rezoning of the property, the Palmers are not giving up. Again they are calling on Patrick Palmer’s fellow Planning Commissioners to grant him and his father a commercial zoning designation on the property, which is advertised for $350,000 per acre.

Residents say the timing for the hearing, on a weekday afternoon, causes a hardship on those who would like to oppose the rezoning.

According to the County’s zoning history of the parcel, it was part of a larger 36-acre parcel that was zoned Rural District (RU) in 1977. Palmer later had the entire parcel rezoned from RU to Residential Single-Family Medium Density (RS-MD) District and sold 31.23 acres for residential use, keeping the 5.23 acre point of the property that contained a cell tower. It is that point that the Palmers want rezoned to Rural Commercial (RC).

The County planning staff (not the Planning Commission) has, for the third time, recommended approval of the commercial zoning, citing the district’s zoning summary that says, “RC zoning is designed to bring commercial services to residents in the more isolated agricultural and rural districts who are located beyond the limits of commercial services.”

The summary also states that the RC district is designed to be located at or near intersections of major collector roads.

“All the (zoning) guidance points to this intersection as a parcel needing rezoning,” Hugh Palmer told the Planning Commission in 2015. “The documents that the County has passed have put this area as an area for change per the comp plan.”

Planning Commissioner Heather Cairns disagreed at a previous hearing.

“If all it takes is an intersection for there to be commercial development in what is an otherwise totally rural area, I’m sort of horrified,” Cairns said. “That means we won’t ever have integrity in our rural areas. It may be an intersection, but this area is already well served by commercial development a couple of miles away. This area is not underserved by commercial development.”

Commissioner Beverly Frierson agreed, saying that the properties along Rimer Pond Road are not isolated from commercial services.

“These residents,” Frierson said, “would be adversely impacted (by commercial zoning.) There are already stores and conveniences nearby.”

The rezoning request will be heard by the planning Commission on Monday, Feb. 6, at 1 p.m., in County Council chambers, 2020 Hampton St. in Columbia (at the corner of Hampton and Harden streets) and is the second item on the docket. The agenda and information packet about the property can be found at richlandonline.com. Click on ‘government,’ then ‘commissions,’ then ‘planning commission,’ then agendas.

The public can attend the meeting and speak for or against the rezoning request.

 

BLYTHEWOOD (Jan. 26, 2017) – During a check presentation ceremony last week, Nick Wodogaza, President of the town’s newly opened Palmetto Citizen’s Federal Credit Union, made good on the bank’s pledge of $125,000 for the naming rights to the Town’s planned amphitheater in Doko Meadows Park. Town officials and donors broke ground last week for construction to begin on the amphitheater.

The outdoor entertainment venue was planned as an integral part of the Town’s Master Plan that was approved by Council in 2010. A non-profit foundation was established in 2015 to bring in donations and grants to fund construction of the facility.

The foundation received its first major contribution, a $25,000 check from Fairfield Electric Cooperative, in January 2016. That was followed by a $75,000 check from Central Carolina Community Foundation in March to purchase concert-quality sound and lighting systems.

Last June, Palmetto Citizen’s Federal Credit Union, which opened a branch office in Blythewood last week, sealed the deal on the amphitheater’s naming rights with a $125,000 offer.

“We are so happy to be here in Blythewood now, and we hope that our contribution to the amphitheater will make a difference for the community,” Wodogaza said during the groundbreaking ceremony for the amphitheater last week.

Foundation Chairman Jim McLean said the Foundation raised 80 percent of the funds to build the amphitheater in less than a year. Individual donations include a $100,000 donation from Blythewood’s Joyce Martin Hill. McLean said the Foundation only needs $60,000 more to cover the cost of the base bid of $415,893 to construct the amphitheater stage, pavilion structure and concrete pad in front of the state.

Construction is expected to be completed by mid-May.

 

BLYTHEWOOD (Jan. 5, 2017) – It may not have been entirely the work of a single man that last year brought down the Richland County Recreation Commission Board. But it was the work of one man that tipped over the first domino.

Writing for the news website The Nerve, local journalist Ron Aiken broke the story of sexual harassment, nepotism, the bullying of employees, abuse of power and cash payoffs to Commission board members by the board’s director in exchange for protection. Aiken would later follow up on that lurid tale on his own website, quorumcolumbia.com, as larger news outlets picked up on his trail. Largely as a result of Aiken’s investigation, the Commission director was indicted last October on charges of misconduct in office and retired, and Gov. Nikki Haley removed all but one of the Commission’s seven board members.

Aiken also broke other Richland County stories – about hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of engineering contracts let to someone with no engineering education or experience; about a business partner of a Richland county councilman given over a quarter-million dollars in Hospitality Tax money; about the practice of each council member giving away $165,000 annually any way they please with no oversight or accountability. . . . And the lists goes on.

These and other investigation stories by Aiken have resulted in the FBI, SLED, Attorney General’s office and the S.C. Secretary of State all having open investigations.

Not bad work for a journalist working solo.

“It’s exciting to me to reveal wrongdoing, possible fraud, corruption, lack of transparency where there should be transparency,” Aiken recently told The Voice. “At The Nerve, it was getting a stagnant 3,000 views per month. I was able to get those numbers up to over 100,000 views per month. Starting from nothing, I had the Quorum up to 50,000 views the first month.”

Aiken lives in Blythewood with his wife and three stepchildren. He previously worked for The State newspaper, beginning in 1999, for three or four years as a sports reporter. Not satisfied covering just sports, Aiken got the job as senior editor for the Columbia Business Monthly.

“There I caught the news bug and went to work in Wyoming for a small-town newspaper,” Aiken said. “I learned the techniques of covering all sorts of news – car wrecks, sports, school board meetings, court cases, town councils, etc.”

Aiken eventually worked his way back to Columbia and a gig with Gamecock Central for three years. Not conducive to family life, the away time required by Gamecock Central soon had Aiken looking elsewhere. Local CBS affiliate WLTX reached out to him at the right time, needing someone to cover high school sports. After a year at WLTX, Aiken finally got the chance to work as an investigative journalist at The Nerve, an investigative news website that watchdogs state and local government. Although Aiken was finally doing what he really wanted to do, changes in the direction The Nerve was headed led to some dissatisfaction on Aiken’s part. This led Aiken to create Quorum where he has been busy digging up the dirt.

The sort of work that’s being done at the Quorum would sometimes naturally get on the bad side of some influential people. Aiken takes precautions, but has not had, nor does he expect, any direct threat.

“I believe in the work,” Aiken said. “If I am reporting everything correctly, I don’t worry about it (personal safety). One of the overall purposes of my work is to make everybody’s life better.”

As a one-man show at quorumcolumbia, Aiken does all the research for his articles. Sometimes this involves pouring through stacks of  paperwork, contracts, etc.

“I don’t have a team of lawyers behind me,” Aiken said. “The onus is on me to make sure my information is accurate and air tight. I have to know that before I print anything. I have to have 100 percent confidence of its accuracy.”

And that means vetting his sources carefully – sources he said are surprisingly not hard to find.

“The right people will find you,” Aiken said. “They contact me. I won’t report after a source comes to me unless I know the story is true. I normally won’t report information from a one-time source. I have to develop a relationship with the source and corroborate their information five ways unless they are people I have known for a long time, and there’s already trust built up.”

Catching the attention of the larger daily newspapers has prompted Aiken and The State to consider some sort of working relationship.

“Their publishing process and mine differ,” Aiken said. “I serve my business first, and if I can get exposure from them (The State), all the better. There is a way to do it, but we haven’t nailed it down quite yet.”

Aiken’s work recently earned him second place in the Society of Professional Journalists’ Larry Peterson Memorial Awards for Investigative Journalism. He placed between two major Pulitzer Award winning newspapers, the Atlanta Journal Constitution (first place) and the Charleston Post & Courier (third place).

So what does the future hold for Quorum? In the short term, Aiken said his goal is to maintain the website. Currently, there are enough subscribers to keep it running, but he said the big money hasn’t started rolling in yet. Once the value of the Quorum is fully appreciated, Aiken is hoping the amount of subscribers will increase to the point that more reporters are needed.

Long term, the possibilities are almost endless. Aiken said he is interested in expanding his coverage to Lexington County or State Government. Who knows, maybe Quorum Greenville or Quorum Charleston?

For $10 per month, subscribers can follow Aiken’s investigations at quorumcolumbia.com.