Category: Government

FAIRFIELD – The army of Western Fairfield County residents opposed to the rezoning of land on Highway 215 in Jenkinsville for a new healthcare clinic, while visible and vocal at County Council’s special called meeting Feb. 18, did not turn out Monday night to make one final stand against the ordinance, which County Council passed without dissent, 7-0.

Councilman Kamau Marcharia (District 4) did, prior to the vote, attempt to shed light on why Dr. Stuart Hamilton, who applied for the rezoning and who will be directing the Eau Claire Health Clinic, was not made aware of other properties, properties opponents of the rezoning said last week he could have had for free.

“There appears to be a lot of confusion around that zoning,” Marcharia said. “Some of the folks in my community want to know why I didn’t inform Dr. Hamilton about other land. It was a failure of communication between the Council of letting the doctor know and other community members know there was other land available. I came up with three people, and one particular person was willing to donate the land, but after the fact.”

Marcharia said Council had initially been in talks with Richland Health Center, but when they went into bankruptcy they left behind a $100,000 lien on their property.

“That certainly eliminated us from that,” Marcharia said. “Within the last two months it became obvious the County was under no circumstance going to buy that land due to bankruptcy. At that time, we received notice from Dr. Hamilton that he was applying for the ordinance to put the health center on 3.7 acres of land, and he presented it to council. Let it be clear, it was a government grant and that grant could only be placed on property that was not leased but purchased.”

Council Chairman David Ferguson (District 5) said Council made every effort to purchase the original piece of property.

“We had been after it for about nine months, but weren’t able to pull the trigger on it,” Ferguson said. “Every time I inquired about it, it was kind of a moving target. Come to find out that moving target was because they were in bankruptcy, and I was not being told the entire truth the whole time I was dealing with that property. At that time, Council backed off of it because that was not a reasonable and plausible way to spend taxpayers’ money.”

A month after that deal fell through, Ferguson said, Dr. Hamilton appeared on the scene touting a federal grant that would build and equip the facility. All Hamilton required from Council was a rezoning ordinance, from RD-1 (Rural Residential) to B-1 (Limited Business), on property he had located just south of 8991 Highway 215, owned by the Trustees for the Praise and Deliverance Temple.

“I hate there’s a controversy over the way this thing’s going,” Ferguson said, “but I’m not sad we’re getting out of a portable building and getting into a healthcare facility that looks like a healthcare facility.”

Last week, residents of the Dawkins and Blair communities spoke before Council, urging them to reject the rezoning.

Marshal Windham, one such resident, said last week, “I don’t understand the motivation for moving a health facility from a more densely populated area to a more sparsely populated area. There are more people in the Blair area than in Jenkinsville.”

“We were granted 8.12 acres on Meadowlake Drive to have a doctor’s office put there,” Bruce Wadsworth of the Dawkins Community Association said last week. “The land is already cleaned off, it’s already paid for. Jenkinsville is a very small area. The Blair community is very large, and that facility is greatly needed there (in Blair).”

Jeff Schaffer, another Dawkins resident, said last week, “Thirty-eight people in Jenkinsville – 30 adults, eight children – don’t require a healthcare facility. There’s no need for this to be moved and built there.”

Although Schaffer publicly urged more of the community to come and speak out before Monday’s third and final reading, the ordinance passed with no further public input.

Council also passed final reading on an ordinance to update the County’s solid waste management plan, as well as an ordinance to rezone 1 acre at 177 and 179 Meadow Lake Road in Blair from B-2 (General Business) to RD-1, and an ordinance to rezone 1 acre at 394 Hungry Hollow Road in Winnsboro from B-2 to RD-1.

Finally, Council ratified the appointment of Brian B. Bonds (at-large) and the reappointment of Steve Vickers (District 7) to the Behavioral Health Board, as well as the reappointment of Pam Smith (District 3) to the Council on Aging.

BLYTHEWOOD – Town Council moved its regularly scheduled Monday night meeting to Wednesday night just hours after The Voice went to press, so voting results from the meeting were not available at press time.

Council’s first action item was to be a vote on a resolution to fund “Project Booster,” the Town’s code name for what sources have told The Voice is a closely guarded plan to build a restaurant in the Town Hall park – a restaurant that will have an exclusive contract with the Town to cater events held at the Town Council’s soon to be finished Doko Manor, also located in the park. Sources close to the project who are not authorized to talk about the plans have told The Voice that the Town has applied for a $1 million grant that it hopes to use to build the restaurant building. According to sources, the Town plans to lease the building to a restaurateur out of Camden. While the restaurateur would not speak on the record about specifics of the project, he did tell The Voice last fall that he was excited about the opportunity.

Wednesday night’s resolution for funding, however, makes no mention of a restaurant, but refers to the construction of a depot building that will promote the economic development and general welfare of the Town.

The resolution, which was expected to be passed by Council, is vague, stating that the Town “desires to develop, construct and own certain infrastructure projects, including site preparation for and construction of a depot building (‘Projects’), for the exclusive purpose of aiding and promoting the economic development and general welfare of the Town.”

It also stated that the Town would like to use funds provided to Fairfield Electric Cooperative by the USDA under the Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant (REDLG) program for the “Projects,” providing the “Projects” qualify as eligible under the REDLG program.

Town Administrator John Perry told The Voice last fall that the Town planned to use the RELDG funds, provided through Fairfield Electric Cooperative, to landscape the grounds around the “Projects.”

A resolution passed by Council last August regarding the depot “Projects” in the Town Hall park, referred to the park as a Business Park (“Park”) and said the Town would like to expand the boundaries of that Business Park to include the Doko Depot “Projects.”

The idea of building a replica of the Town’s former depot came in the late 1990s when Roland Ballow was mayor and his brother-in-law, Jim McLean, was on Town Council. McLean said many times at public meetings that he would like to see the Town’s former train depot replicated in honor of his father who was the Town’s last train master. While the train depot was initially included in the plan for the proposed $10+ million Town Hall park, the depot was later scrubbed from the plan when the park ran over budget.

After Council voted to pass a resolution last August to construct a depot building in the park as part of an economic development plan for the Town, The Voice asked Mayor J. Michael Ross if Council still plans to build the depot and he replied that it does not.

The resolution to be voted on Wednesday night authorized the Town Administrator “to work in concert with Fairfield Electric Cooperative, legal counsel and such other professionals as the Town Administrator shall deem appropriate to secure funding under the REDLG program.”

Other business that was to be taken up at the meeting included second and final reading on an easement for sewer utilities for a small strip of Town Hall property having to do with a utility easement.

Council was also expected to pass second reading to rezone a 2-acre parcel on Farrow Road near Highway 21 from Limited Industrial (LI) to Community Commercial (CC) District. The property is owned by J. B. and M. L. Bishop and was previously used as a flea market. Bishop told The Voice that he plans to sell the property for recreational use.

WINNSBORO – State Senator Creighton Coleman told Winnsboro Town Council Tuesday night that $23,798.35 in state Parks and Recreation Departments (PARD) funds are available to the Town, which must be spent and invoiced by May 31. The PARD funds come from the budgeted years of 2011 and 2012. Winnsboro’s Building Inspector and Zoning Administrator, Billy Castle, recommended that the funds be spent to renovate Fortune Springs Park. Some of the projects in the renovation include addressing handicap accessibility, a new parking pad and installing curbing and sidewalks. In addition, Castle said there will be enough money left over to bring the pool into compliance and believes these renovations will help Winnsboro down the road.

“The additions will benefit the Town in receiving funds in the future,” Castle said. “This is all leading to phase work and basic future improvements for the park.”

Council members unanimously voted to approve the motion to begin using the PARD funds to renovate Fortune Springs Park.

The next order of business for council was the announcement of a grant that was awarded from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). On behalf of FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security, $240,100 was approved to purchase new fire fighting turnout gear, breathing apparatuses and to provide training for firefighters. The town of Winnsboro is only required to match 5 percent of the total cost ($12,005). Winnsboro’s share will be paid for out of the general fun and investment account. Mayor Roger Gaddy was pleased with announcement and gave all the credit to grant administrator Connie Schackelford.

“It’s a fantastic return on our investment,” Gaddy said. “A big thanks to Connie for writing grant application. It’s certainly one of the highest grants we’ve received in quite a while.”

Council began their meeting with the first reading of ordinance number 031913, which adjusts the Town of Winnsboro’s business license fees. The new rates bring the town up to date with surrounding municipalities, Council said; however, most rates will stay the same, while some will even decrease. The second reading along with a public hearing will be held at the next Town Council meeting on March 4.

Jesse Douglas, Director of the Gas, Water and Sewer Department, filed a request to fill vacancies in the department. At the present time the department is operating on a shortage of five employees and Douglas has requested to fill three of them, including a Water Plant Operator and two work crew technicians. Council approved the motion to fill those vacancies.

FAIRFIELD – The Fairfield County School District is one step closer to a new career center, with the Board voting Tuesday night to approve a $20 million bond to pay for the facility, as well as the contract with the architectural firm to begin work on the project.

The Board unanimously approved the $20 million bond, which will bump millage rates up to 34 mils for two years on all taxable property, according to Mike Gallagher, a financial advisor to the District on the bond issue. The millage rate will then come down to 24 mills afterwards, Gallagher said. J.R. Green, Superintendent of Fairfield County Schools, said that tax revenues from the two new reactors at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station could help alleviate the District’s debt ahead of schedule when those reactors come on line. Brent Jeffcoat, the District’s bond attorney, agreed, adding that no matter what happened regarding the future of the reactors, the $20 million bond was well within the District’s debt limit.

The estimated cost for the new career center is $15.6 million. The remaining $4.4 million will be used to finance other facility and equipment needs within the District.

The Board also unanimously accepted the contract with Brownstone Design, LLC, of Columbia, and MBAJ Architecture, of Lexington, to construct the facility. Board Chairwoman Beth Reid said the District would officially sign the contract Wednesday (Feb. 20), and that construction would begin March 1, 2014. The move-in date for the District is July 31, 2015, Reid said.

The District is considering three locations for the career center, all of which lie between Fairfield Middle School and Fairfield Central High School. Reid said the facility will not be a comprehensive high school/career center, but will be a stand-alone facility overseen by its own director.

“This is a big day for Fairfield,” Reid said, “and for the future of the career and technology center.”

The Board also voted 7-0 to approve a pay increase for Fairfield County Sheriff’s deputies working in the District. Green said deputies working directly under Sheriff Herman Young had received a raise last November and that this increase would bring deputies working in the District up to that same pay level. The salary increase, of $960 per deputy, was made retroactive to Jan. 20, and brings the cost to the District for the three deputies and one supervisor to $128,996 annually. Kevin Robinson, Finance Director for the District, said the District’s budget could absorb the salary increases.

After officially accepting the resignation of Tiwana Meggett, Director of Human Resources for the District, the Board voted to approve a contract with a consultant to carry out her duties until the end of the school year. The Board voted 7-0 to contract with Dillon and Associates, Human Resources Services, LLC, of Newberry at a cost of $525 per day for three days each week, or $1,575 per week, with the expense coming from the District’s general fund.

RIDGEWAY – Ridgeway Town Council is standing behind their recent hire of a former S.C. Highway Patrolman who was arrested last October on assault and battery charges and has released a comprehensive list of applicants for the position.

Council voted unanimously to hire Greg Miller as a part-time police officer Jan. 10. Miller had been with the Highway Patrol since 2007, but was terminated Oct. 5 following his arrest in a Sept. 17 incident on Sandpine Road in Columbia where Miller allegedly assaulted a former girlfriend at her home.

Donald Prioleau, who headed up the search for a part-time officer, said that to the best of Council’s knowledge, Miller was never charged in the alleged incident. Furthermore, Prioleau added, Miller was the most qualified applicant for the job.

“I can sleep comfortably at night knowing I made the right decision,” Prioleau said. “I believe everyone deserves a second chance.”

A spokesperson for the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, however, confirmed that Miller was indeed charged on Oct. 15. The charges were later dropped, the Sheriff’s Department said, upon request of the victim.

Between the time of his arrest and the time of his formal charge, Miller was “dismissed” by the S.C. Highway Patrol, according to a spokesperson for that agency, on Oct. 5. Miller’s application for the Ridgeway position, however, states that he retired from the Highway Patrol.

According to the Town of Ridgeway’s application form, “falsified statements on this application shall be considered sufficient cause for termination.”

“I didn’t know about the firing part,” Prioleau said. “But if they fired him, how could he retire? He’s listed as being retired from the Highway Patrol.”

Miller beat out six other candidates for the job, including Donald Johnson, of Winnsboro; Damian Antonio White, of Columbia; and Richard L. Von Drasek, of Wisconsin.

Johnson served with the Chester Police Department from April 2011 to August 2012, the S.C. Department of Mental Health Police from May 2007 to March 2011 and with the Elgin Police Department from February 2004 to April 2007.

White served with the Columbia Police Department from September 2002 to November 2011. Von Drasek served with the Wisconsin State Fair Police Department from 1997 to 2001, the U.S. Marshalls Service from 1997-2002 and with the Thiensville (Wisc.) Police Department from 1998 to 2005. Von Drasek was under the impression that the Ridgeway vacancy was a full-time position, Prioleau said, at the time of his application.

Also applying for the job were George Dallas Pipkin Jr., of Lugoff; Joseph F. Robinson, of Fort Meade, MD; and Wayne D. Yates, of Winnsboro. Robinson and Pipkin had no discernible police experience in their applications, while Yates served as Chief of Public Safety for the Town of Winnsboro from 2000 to 2009.

FAIRFIELD – After no small showing of protest during the public hearing portion of Monday night’s special called County Council meeting, Council passed unanimously second reading of an ordinance to rezone 3.76 acres on Highway 215 in Jenkinsville to make way for a new health care facility to serve Western Fairfield County.

While the rezoning effort drew the support of Jenkinsville Mayor Gregrey Ginyard and Angela Sparks, a spokesperson for the property’s current owner, the Trustees for Praise and Deliverance Temple, as well as Dr. Stuart Hamilton, who applied for the rezoning in an effort to establish the clinic there, several members of the Blair and Dawkins communities spoke against the change.

“We were granted 8.12 acres on Meadowlake Drive to have a doctor’s office put there,” Bruce Wadsworth of the Dawkins Community Association said. “The land is already cleaned off, it’s already paid for. Jenkinsville is a very small area. The Blair community is very large, and that facility is greatly needed there (in Blair).”

Jeff Schaffer, a long-standing public critic of Jenkinsville’s local government, said Jenkinsville was indeed too small to warrant such a facility.

“Thirty-eight people in Jenkinsville – 30 adults, eight children – don’t require a healthcare facility,” Schaffer said. “There’s no need for this to be moved and built there.”

Marshal Windham, also a resident of the area, agreed.

“I don’t understand the motivation for moving a health facility from a more densely populated area to a more sparsely populated area,” he said. “There are more people in the Blair area than in Jenkinsville.”

But Dr. Hamilton said the current facility on Meadowlake Road is in poor shape. The building leaks and has other structural problems. And, he said, it was never meant to be anything other than a temporary location. The new facility, he said, will be paid for and equipped by federal grant money.

“The Eau Claire Cooperative Health Center is a federally qualified health center dealing with primary health care for all incomes,” Hamilton said, “we have a sliding fee scale for people who can’t afford services, and no one is turned away because of inability to pay for services.

“We have competed nationally for a grant to replace that facility and we were one of 27 winners to have the replacement facility totally paid for,” Hamilton added. “The facility will be totally equipped by another grant. This is a completely amazing gift to the community in Western Fairfield County, to have no mortgage and no payments of any kind and will be run as a not-for-profit for all the residents in the service area. I think it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread. You may or may not agree, but it will help many people who now have some difficulty accessing the facility on Meadowlake.”

Hamilton said his group offered to purchase the property on Meadowlake, but they were able to get the property for the new facility, just south of 8991 Highway 215, for four times less.

David Ferguson, County Council Chairman, said the current facility is actually owned by Fairfield Memorial Hospital and sits on leased property. A second group had purchased 5 acres in Western Fairfield, Ferguson said, but went out of business before a new facility could be built.

“When that entity went out of business, they went out owing a contracting firm, which had a lien on that piece of property,” Ferguson said. “The County could not satisfy that lien, so therefore we abandoned that property. We could not afford to pay what the lien was on that piece of property. At which time we went back to Dr. Hamilton’s group and told him we were going to have to abandon that idea. Some time later, Dr. Hamilton called and told us he had talked to (Praise and Deliverance Temple) about purchasing their piece of property a little further down on Highway 215.

“At this time, the County has no funds involved in this endeavor,” Ferguson said. “I think it’s a good thing that folks on that side of the county will have a permanent health care facility for some time to come.”

Council also passed with no objection an ordinance to rezone 1 acre at 177 and 179 Meadowlake Road, Blair, from B-2 (General Business) to RD-1 (Rural Residential), as well as an ordinance to rezone 1 acre at 394 Hungry Hollow Road, Winnsboro, from B-2 to RD-1.

Council will hold a final reading on all three ordinances during their Feb. 25 meeting.

BLYTHEWOOD – At the Feb. 4  Planning Commission meeting,  Chairman Mike Switzer reported on a meeting held by a Right of Way subcommittee, which was appointed at the last Planning Commission meeting. The subcommittee met in January, but the meeting was not posted for the public as required by the S.C. Freedom of Information Act for all public government meetings.

Perry had asked the subcommittee to set priorities for surveying rights of way in the town in order to initiate a ‘complete streets’ framework of roads in the downtown area.

Switzer outlined the four priorities for survey work related to road widening and other changes set forth by the subcommittee.

First Priority: Blythewood Road from I-77 exit 27 interchange to Main Street.

Second Priority: Main Street from Blythewood High School through McNulty Road intersection.

Third Priority: McNulty Road/McNulty Road Extension from future roundabout at Creech Road to Main Street, including segment between Exxon and Pope-Davis and Boney Road from Blythewood Road to McNulty Road.

Fourth Priority: Creech Road, new Creech Connector from Creech Road to Main Street and new street from Blythewood Road to Creech Connector along IGA entrance.

Having selected the roads, the next step is surveying existing rights of way, for future rights of way (95-foot wide rights of way for the first two priorities and 74-foot for the second two), above-ground and below-ground utilities, easements and a roundabout at Creech Road and McNulty Road Extension.

Perry said he will put the surveying costs into the budget which will be presented again to the planning commission as part of the new Capital Improvements Plan. Then the Planning Commission will vote on whether to recommend that Council initiate the surveying.

In other business, the Planning Commission passed first reading to change the zoning of a 2-acre parcel on Farrow Road near Highway 21 from Limited Industrial (LI) to Community Commercial (CC) District.

The property is owned by J. B. and M. L. Bishop and was previously used as a flea market. Bishop told The Voice that he plans to sell the property for recreational use.

Wayne Shuler of Central Midlands Council of Government gave a short interim report on the updating of the Town’s Comprehensive Plan. He will give a full report at the next meeting on March 4.

Fairfield – After nearly an hour of discussion, County Council Tuesday night passed their amended bylaws in two parts. The first part, to do away with Council’s long-standing practice of using committee meetings to hash through important issues and replace them with open work session, drew the protest of Council members David brown (District 7) and Carolyn Robinson (District 2).

“I am very distraught over the fact that we are doing away with standing committees and committees of council,” Brown said. “This is taking council more and more out of the communication with their constituency and taking the debate out. I think we’re kind of disenfranchising about 90 percent of the people in the county by not having committee meetings. This whole document just puts more and more emphasis on the chairman making decisions and administrator making decisions and taking us out of it. I just don’t think that’s what government should be and I hate to be a part of it. This whole document, in my opinion, is just throwing our weight around and disenfranchising the people.”

Brown said he felt the committee process made people feel more at ease with standing up and speaking their minds, out of view of the media and the larger crowds in attendance at regular meetings. Brown also said he had a problem with the new provision that prevents people from speaking in work sessions without permission from the Council Chairman. Committee meetings, Brown said, are more heavily attended than work sessions, but Vice Chairman Dwayne Perry (District 1) disagreed. Perry said he has seen many more people attend work sessions than committee meetings, and, he added, work sessions are a more open forum.

“I remember times when I was not on council and I had the opportunity to sit out here in the audience and saw how business was constructed as a constituent and I did not feel that things were transparent and people were being forthright,” Perry said. “I was blind-sided as a constituent many times sitting out there in the audience. Now we’re trying to be more transparent, giving our constituents an opportunity to come out and sit in the audience if they choose. I do think the work session process has been effective.”

Robinson said government at the state and federal level operates on the committee system, and that the vast majority of counties in South Carolina did as well. She also said that committees keep Council abreast of important issues.

“The committee system works well when the administrator hands down documents that need to be discussed and the chair then takes it and sends it to the appropriate committee,” Robinson said. “Too often we have things thrown at us at the last minute. So many things come down now that we never even hear about because it’s already passed out. I think what this entire bill is going to do is discard us as a council member and leave it up to one man who’s not elected by county wide voters and the administrator.”

“I don’t know if I would use the federal government or the state government as an example of how things work,” Perry said. “The gridlock that I’ve seen over the last five or six years is unbelievable on both sides of the aisle. I think, unless I’ve lost count here, I don’t see how an administrator or a chairman can make decisions for this council. There are seven members on this council, we all have a vote. We talked about the changes in this document ad nauseam Wednesday night. I personally have seen this document because I know we took three hours to discuss it last Wednesday night. The information does come down, I think we do have an opportunity to review information, whether it comes down from our administrator or if it’s shared with us on council.”

Perry also said that work sessions are no different from committee meetings in their treatment of public comment. Both methods require permission from the chairman, he said.

“I don’t think it’s about us trying to exclude someone,” Perry said. “I think it’s just the opposite. We’re trying to bring more people in.”

Kamau Marcharia (District 4) said he agreed that people were more comfortable speaking before the smaller committees than before full council in work sessions. In his experience, Marcharia said, committees have worked and worked well.

“I was chairman of the facilities and transportation committee for several years,” Marcharia said. “We have had meetings with constituency that had genuine questions to ask. That committee gave me the chance to go back and reassess my research. I find people are definitely more comfortable before three people than whole council. All the years I’ve been here, it’s worked for me.”

But Chairman David Ferguson (District 5) said the goal of changing over to a work session system was to ensure that all Council members had access to the same information, and that it was not about wresting control away from the majority.

“I’ve sat here and I’ve learned quite a bit,” Ferguson said. “First of all, that Mr. (Phil) Hinely (County Administrator) and myself can run the county without the other six voters up here sitting on the bench. I didn’t realize I had that authority, but I must have since it came from a Council member.

“I think that everybody in here that comes and listens to these proceedings would rather sit out there and listen to the seven of us debate and vote in public and know that everything every council member siting up here knows is just what the others know,” Ferguson added. “I have council members sitting up here saying they can’t say what they want to say up here on this podium. No one’s ever told them they couldn’t say anything. This council has been very open. The years that I’ve been chairman on this council, it’s been very open. Nothing has been kept from anybody. Everybody knows the same thing I know as soon as I know it. I don’t know how much more transparent you can get. Some folks don’t like the way council is going now because they’re not in control of it. What you did 20 years ago doesn’t mean it was right or wrong, it only means it was what you did 20 years ago.”

Ultimately, the changes passed on a 4-3 vote, with Brown, Marcharia and Robinson voting against the amended bylaws. The second part of the bylaws passed as well, 5-2, with Brown and Robinson voting against.

BLYTHEWOOD – Town Councilman Jeff Branham, on behalf of Mayor J. Michael Ross, disclosed the results of an appraisal of the Community Center property that he said had been contracted for last fall, but not disclosed to Town Council or Town Administrator John Perry until Tuesday afternoon.

According to the appraisal, which was addressed to the town’s Attorney Jim Meggs, the estimated market value of the 4.88 acre property is between $1,220,000 and $1,340,000. Sharpe Properties, LLC purchased the property for $1.5 million and closed on the deal with the Town on Jan. 31.

In an interview late Tuesday, Larry Sharpe told The Voice that the Town government would not divulge the appraisal to him prior to the closing, but that he was fine with the price he paid. He said he felt he got his money’s worth.

In Tuesday’s email to the media, Branham said the Mayor had just received the official appraisal that morning. He went on to write, “We [passed] this information on to the citizens as soon as we received it. We hope this conveys to our citizens that we were aware of the values of the comparable properties, and that due diligence was performed when the final contract was negotiated.”

When asked how the Council had performed due diligence in negotiating the contract with Sharpe, considering they had not seen the appraisal, Branham told The Voice last week that Perry had instructed Meggs to contract for the appraisal, but that Meggs was not to tell anyone, not even Council members, the appraisal results until after the sale was final. Branham told The Voice that when Sharpe made his offer, Perry related that offer to Meggs and that Meggs nodded as to whether Council should accept the offer or reject it.

“He just let us know if we were getting a good price,” Branham said. “We didn’t want the appraisal price to get out in case the deal fell through and we had to put it on the market again.”

The appraisal was prepared by Mark W. Van Popering, MAI of Van Popering Company, LLC in Columbia.