BLYTHEWOOD – In a short, exclusive interview with Mayor J. Michael Ross after the Monday evening Town Council meeting, The Voice inquired about the details of the appointment of an interim Town Administrator and a subsequent full time Administrator following the recent resignation of John Perry.
Ross said Council will appoint an interim Administrator during a special called meeting on Jan. 6, at which time it will be announced that a seven- to eight-member search committee will be formed to find a permanent replacement for Perry. Asked if the Town Attorney, Jim Meggs, who has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration and who is reported to have an interest in working in public administration for the Town, was being considered for the interim position, Ross said that, indeed, Meggs is a candidate. Asked if Meggs might later be considered as a permanent replacement for Perry, whose settlement agreement was prepared for Council by Meggs’ law firm, Ross said that would be up to the search committee as to whether Meggs is a candidate for that position. Meggs’ law firm has also been called in to consult during executive sessions on the contract for the Doko restaurant. The Mayor said it may not be until around June that the Town settles on a permanent Town Administrator.
The proposed development is bordered by Blythewood High School, the IGA Shopping Center, Highway 21 and I-77.
WINNSBORO – Developers of a proposed multi-use development called Doko Village planned for downtown Blythewood came before the Winnsboro Town Council Tuesday evening asking for water capacity of 80,000 to 100,000 gallons per day for the development.
Representing LongCreek Associates, LLC of Greenville, engineer John Thomas of Sustainable Design Consultants, Inc., said the development would include 200 apartments, retail commercial, restaurants and doctor’s offices and is planned for an area bordered by Blythewood High School, the IGA Shopping Center, Highway 21 and Interstate 77. It would have entrances off Creech Road and Blythewood Road. Thomas said the developers have interest from a hotelier and he said there is space for several restaurants including three out parcels that might instead become space for doctor’s offices.
Thomas said it’s a long-term project that is two to two and a half years away from completion.
“We’ll have more information as we get the uses pinned down and start pulling this together,” Thomas said. “It will be a year and a half before everything is permitted and approved, then we can start construction. Water users would come in two to three years. We just wanted to give you a heads up before we come back for approval.”
Following executive session, Council authorized the Town of Winnsboro to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Fairfield County for modification to the Town’s existing water infrastructure from North Fire Tower Road in Richland County to the Rite-Aid water tank on Highway 23.
Council also authorized the Town of Winnsboro to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Fairfield County for expanded sewer service to Walter Brown Industrial Park.
WINNSBORO – Milton Pope, interim County Administrator, reviewed and answered at Monday night’s County Council meeting a list of questions submitted to Council during the public comments portion of recent Council meetings.
Q: What are the specific goals of the I-77 Alliance?
MP: The I-77 Alliance is an alliance that the County agreed to participate in some time ago. It is a legal entity established with the goal to market the I-77 corridor, and to incentivize and promote economic development in Fairfield County, as well as in partnering counties.
Q: What are the costs associated with the I-77 Alliance?
MP: The County has invested $25,000 in the I-77 Alliance. There will be an annual contribution for membership in the Alliance.
Q: What processes are in place to prevent part-time associates from “creeping up to 30 hours per week” and manifesting an unplanned full-time status with full benefits like insurance?
MP: The Fairfield County HR (Human Resources) Department and the Finance Department monitor and track the cost of part-time and temporary employees to ensure costs are within budgeted guidelines. This will be formally revisited during our upcoming budget preparations. Our requirement for part-time folks is actually 25 hours. If there is a reason for them to work over that, we approve that on a case-by-case basis.
Q: Will expenses including staff and maintenance related to the Drawdy Park football field come out of that district’s recreational bond allocation?
MP: No. Personnel expenses cannot be attributed to the bond. Only the construction and the associated implementation of projects can be attributed to the bond.
Q: When will the rest of the financial statements be placed on line?
MP: Financial information is presently on the County’s website, including a link to the S.C. Comptroller’s website. We have linked that information to the Comptroller’s website. Fairfield County’s audit will be completed by year’s end and the audit will be presented in January.
Q:What follow-through plans and actions have been created in response to the 2010 Fairfield County Economic Development Survey?
MP: The Economic Development Plan calls for various stakeholders, some within the County’s purview and others are not, to take actions to increase economic development opportunities in Fairfield County. One (recommendation of the Plan) was to create a public-private partnership – Fairfield County is a member of the Central Carolina Regional Alliance. The County is also partnering with the I-77 Alliance. Another recommendation was to create a marketing plan for the County, as well as recommendations to promote sub-regional alliances – that’s one of the things we’re doing through these associations and these investment dollars the County is putting out there each year, to bring folks into our county and now we have a product to show folks for industrial and manufacturing investment. Another thing was to establish a long-term suitable office for Economic Development. The last thing I’ll mention is to develop a county wide water/sewer master plan. In 2010, the County partnered with the Town of Winnsboro to engage the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a water study, knowing a county wide water distribution and sewer plant would be necessary. In early 2013, the County hired a firm to complete a county wide water and sewer master plan.
WINNSBORO – An ordinance to offer an incentive package to an unnamed company with designs on moving into one of Fairfield County’s industrial parks along the I-77 corridor cleared first reading at Monday night’s County Council meeting. The ordinance (621) offers Project Compact a fee in lieu of taxes agreement, as well as the transfer of property from Fairfield County to Project Compact. The property, the ordinance reads, is located in the “I-77 Corridor Regional Industrial Park.” The ordinance passed first reading on a 6-0 vote (Mikel Trapp [District 3] was absent).
Council also passed a resolution identifying the project and allowing “investment expenditures incurred by Project Compact to qualify as economic development property.”
Members of the public, however, speaking before Council during the night’s first public comments portion, said they would like to know more about Project Compact before giving away tax dollars. But Milton Pope, interim Administrator, said a “title-only” first reading was common practice when dealing with economic development agreements.
“All of the information has not yet been negotiated nor vetted at this particular point,” Pope said. “On second reading, the full ordinances will be in the document. There will be more information in there that we can respond to at that time. The Council has not even decided to finalize everything on this economic development deal.”
Chairman David Ferguson (District 5) added that this was how economic development projects were handled all over the state, not just in Fairfield County, and a certain amount of secrecy is to be expected.
“There has to be a beginning point where the company does not want their name mentioned,” Ferguson said. “At that point, if you do (mention the company’s name), projects have actually pulled away from locations. We have to sign (an agreement) that we’re not going to divulge any information until those companies actually announce, before the third reading, what they are and who they are.”
Council also amended Monday night’s agenda after the meeting had convened, which the S.C. State Appellate Court more than a year ago ruled is a violation of the S.C. Freedom of Information Act. Council added a vote to approve the placement of an ultra-high frequency (UHF) antenna on top of the water tower on Cook Road to enhance the County’s emergency response capabilities. Pope said the matter was added at the last minute because it was time sensitive and dealt with a public safety issue. The water tank is owned by the Town of Winnsboro, whose Town Council discussed the matter in executive session last week but took no vote. Pope said the agreement to utilize the Town’s water tower had been worked out and was ready to be signed.
Pope said the total cost to erect the antenna was $71,739.69, but the County had been awarded grant funds of $42,642.82 for the project, leaving the County to cover $29,906.87.
BLYTHEWOOD – In the second of two executive sessions in a special called meeting on Monday night, Town Council continued to discuss negotiations incident to a proposed lease agreement with Jonathan Bazinet for a restaurant the Town Council proposes to build on the grounds of the park across from the Town Hall. No member of Council nor Mayor J. Michael Ross have revealed how they think former Administrator John Perry’s resignation might impact the future of the restaurant.
Present for the almost hour-long executive session in addition to the Mayor and Council were Ray Jones, an attorney with Parker Poe who drew up the restaurant lease agreement; Mike Tighe, a principal with Callison, Tighe and Robinson and Ed Parler, the Town Hall’s economic development consultant. No vote was taken following the executive session.
At issue currently is whether a performance bond is needed to guarantee lease payments on the restaurant. On Nov. 25, shortly after three new Councilmen were sworn into office, the three new members (Massa, Mangone and Utroska) caused the second reading of the lease agreement to be deferred, saying they felt the agreement should include a performance bond to protect the Town against any failures of Bazinet to make lease payments. The lease payments go to the Town to pay back construction loans on the building. Bazinet has agreed to guarantee lease payments for five years and his family’s corporation, Red Fox Development, Inc. would guarantee lease payments for 10 years. Councilman Mangone wanted more than the guarantee. After much discussion, Council agreed to defer the vote to a later time.
The next meeting of Town Council is scheduled for 7 p.m., Monday, Dec. 16.
BLYTHEWOOD – Following a half-hour executive session in a special called Town Council meeting on Monday night, the full Town Council voted unanimously and by roll call to “accept John Perry’s resignation as Blythewood Town Administrator . . . and approve the severance agreement and authorize the Mayor to execute the [severance] agreement with the actions that are in the best interest of the Town.”
Town Attorney Jim Meggs, a member of the law firm of Callison, Tighe and Robinson, said prior to the motion to accept Perry’s resignation, that Perry had already executed the severance agreement. Another Callison, Tighe and Robinson attorney, who specializes in labor and employment law, was present in the executive session along with Meggs, Mayor J. Michael Ross and councilmen Roger Hovis, Tom Utroska, Bob Massa and Bob Mangone. Since the issue arose over Perry’s employment termination, the Mayor and Council members have said they were advised by Meggs to not make any comments on the record concerning the matter.
On Tuesday, the morning following the meeting, without alluding to the conflict between the Town Hall and Perry that was reported to The Voice by sources last week, Ross told the Blythewood Chamber of Commerce at its regular monthly breakfast meeting that Perry had resigned, effective Dec. 29, and “we accepted his resignation last night. We’ll be looking for an interim [administrator], then we’ll form a committee and search for someone who will carry Blythewood into the next era,” Ross said. Ross told the group that he wished Perry well.
“If you get a chance, stop in and wish him well,” Ross said.
But following the Chamber meeting, Ross did not answer questions from The Voice specific as to when and if Perry would actually be back at work at the Town Hall before the end of the month. The six-page severance agreement that only provided Perry with salary and benefits through Dec. 29 and no other compensation, was not only the “full and final settlement of any disputes that have arisen between them [Perry and the Town],” but silenced Perry from any disparaging words about Town Hall and its employees and prohibited Perry from bringing any actions or claims against the Town or its employees according to the agreement.
The agreement prohibits Perry from divulging, commenting upon or characterizing any aspects of the terms of the severance agreement. It also prohibits him from making any statements, written or verbal, that defame, disparage or in any way criticize The Town or any of the Released Parties (elected officials, employees, town attorney, etc.) The Town and the Released Parties are, in turn, prohibited from divulging, commenting upon or characterizing any aspects of this agreement with actual or potential future employers of Perry. The agreement also specifies exactly how the Town is limited in what it reveals to Perry’s prospective employers.
Perry signed the agreement on Dec. 5 and the Mayor signed it on Dec. 9. Perry was hired in January 2008 by then Mayor Keith Bailey.
The Voice reported last week that the resignation was forced by the Mayor and Town Council following an ongoing employment-related conflict between Perry and a Town Hall employee, according to sources with direct knowledge of the issue but who were not authorized to comment on the record.
BLYTHEWOOD – Town Councilman Roger Hovis has submitted a letter of resignation to Mayor J. Michael Ross, effective Sunday, Dec. 15. The letter was submitted to Town Hall on Dec. 3, and forwarded to the media on Dec. 6 by Town Clerk Martha Weaver. In her email, Weaver stated that Hovis had accepted a position with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. “Regretfully,” the email continued, “this new opportunity requires Councilman Hovis to resign his seat on Town Council.
Article XVII, Section 1 A of the S.C. Constitution states that, “No person may hold two offices of honor or profit at the same time.” Hovis stated in his letter, “The experience of being an elected official for our great town has been very rewarding and I submit this resignation with sadness but full of confidence with the knowledge that you and the three newly elected gentlemen will carry out the wishes of the people of Blythewood.”
At a special called Town Council meeting on Monday night, The Voice asked Hovis what position he had been hired for at the Sheriff’s Department. Hovis said he “had no idea.” He said he hoped to know that before too long.
Ross said he would make an announcement soon as to when a special election would be held to fill Hovis’ seat. Hovis, who serves as the Mayor Pro Tem, has two years to serve on his term. He was elected in January 2012 to a four-year term.
WINNSBORO – A deal has been struck between the Town of Winnsboro and the Friends of Mt. Zion Institute (FOMZI) to make one final effort to salvage the old Mt. Zion School building.
Vicki Dodds, FOMZI Chairwoman, said in a letter to The Voice this week that the FOMZI Board had accepted the Town’s offer and terms for the building. FOMZI, Dodds said, “will be ever grateful that (the Town was) willing to take another look at the project.”
Mayor Roger Gaddy said at Tuesday night’s Town Council meeting that the agreement between the two entities had not been officially signed and details of the deal were not available at press time.
BLYTHEWOOD – The long awaited zoning text amendments to the Town’s Landscape and Tree Preservation Ordinance were on the agenda at Monday night’s Planning Commission meeting, but were deferred to the next meeting because they were not complete.
After a subcommittee had spent several months making modifications to the Ordinance, the Town Hall staff was to put the ordinance into codified form so it could be recommended to Council for first reading, at which time Council could send it back for any suggested modifications or concerns before second reading. The Commission was told that town attorney Jim Meggs would finish the work. However, after reviewing the Ordinance at Monday’s meeting, Commissioners Malcolm Gordge and Michael Criss both agreed that what they were presented did not reflect the final work done by the subcommittee.
After the meeting, Switzer said the Mayor had assured him that the work would be completed before the next Planning Commission meeting.
Rob Perry, Director of the Richland County Transportation Penny Tax program, presented Commissioners with a county wide list of approved projects to be paid for with the penny tax, along with a timeline for implementation. Blythewood’s listed projects included:
• Widening of Blythewood Road from I-77 to Winnsboro Road (Highway 321)
• Sidewalks on Blythewood Road from I-77 to Main Street
• Bike lanes on Blythewood Road from Main Street to Winnsboro Road
• Bike lanes on Wilson Blvd. from I-77 to Farrow Road
Blythewood has presented an alternative request to widen Blythewood Road from I-77 only to Fulmer Road (where a new school is scheduled to be built) instead of all the way to Winnsboro Road, and to use the savings toward the Town’s proposed complete streets plan as shown in the Master Plan.
Gordge said he will schedule a meeting with Perry before Jan. 7 to update and finalize Blythewood’s project list.
BLYTHEWOOD – At the Oct. 28 Town Council meeting, the Town’s CPA, Kem Smith, reported that the Doko Manor was in the red, operating at a deficit of more than $100,000 just six months after opening, and was continuing to sink further into financial despair with each passing week. She suggested that, to stop the bleeding, “We’ve got to increase rentals and the rates.”
Smith added, “We have to increase revenue. There is nowhere else to cut the fixed expenses.”
Monday night, Martha Jones, the Manor’s Events and Conference Center Director, who is responsible for the Manor’s rentals and rental rates, told Council that she is “now privy to some numbers and reports that will help us look at the actual costs and revenues of the Manor.” When contacted later by The Voice and asked what numbers and reports she was referring to, she said it was the Manor’s fixed costs, such as electricity and other utilities.
Asked why she was just now learning what those fixed costs are, Jones replied, “I didn’t have access to the monthly expenditures such as electricity and utility costs.” Asked whether she had ever sought those numbers, she said, “There was some conversation.” But when asked specifically whether she had ever asked for the fixed costs since being named to the post last January by the Mayor, Jones did not answer.
When contacted by The Voice and asked about the availability of information about the Manor’s revenues and costs, Smith said she sends a complete report of the Manor’s revenues and expenses to Town Hall every month and that anyone in Town Hall should have access to it. She also said she is always available to answer any questions concerning those reports. She said Jones had never come to her with those questions.
“Numbers are a clear and concise indicator of things,” Smith said. “You must always stay on top of your revenue and expenses when operating a facility like The Manor.”
Jones told Council Monday night that she had restarted the promotional plan that the Town had created almost a year ago with Big Eyed Bird for branding and promotion of the Town and the Manor.
“We should [soon] have some mockups of promotional materials with the intent of using those materials to approach and garner some rentals from organizations and businesses that will be more prone to use the Manor during the week,” she said.
Jones said she plans to have in place a new plan and rental rate chart by Dec. 16.
“We’re looking at rates and hours of other venues like the Columbia Convention Center and 701 Whaley,” Jones said. “We always knew we would eventually have to raise rates.”
Jones said she expects the Manor’s financial fortunes to turn around in two to three years.
