Category: Government

WINNSBORO – Fairfield Memorial Hospital’s Chief Financial Officer Timothy Mitchell delivered a brief but dire financial report to the full Board last week during their regular monthly meeting. Operating expenses continue to outweigh revenues.

The more detailed financial picture presented by Mitchell during the Finance and Audit committee meeting preceding the full Board meeting showed an even darker outlook, causing Board member William Turner to exclaim the obvious, “Listen, we are absolutely broke.”

Even some positive things in July did not really budge the negative numbers on the FMH income statement or balance sheet.

For example, gross revenue was up $100,000 from June and there were smaller net losses in July – $128,596 – versus $289,648 the previous month. This ticked up average daily gross revenue from $37,234 in June to $39,286 in July.  But that is still about $5,000 a day less than July a year ago.

Also, in July the hospital received an extra $64,329 in disproportionate share money (DSH) as a result of a recalculation of unreimbursed cost.  DSH funds come from federal and state tax dollars and are paid out by the S.C. Department of Health and Human Services to help hospitals that treat a disproportionate share of indigent or uninsured patients.

“It is important to note, however,” Mitchell said, “that the DSH payments year to year are dropping.  It may be hard to see that, because we are getting payments related to audits from previous years.  DHS is actually dropping by $358,000 (this year) because patient volumes are down.”

Mitchell also noted that another source of federal money – $1.2 million in meaningful use funds the hospital received last August – would also be drying up.  Meaningful use funds are from a federal program to help hospitals and other health care providers implement and use electronic health records.

‘It’s no secret that the hospital has had substantial operating losses over the past four months, and this is affecting key financial indicators such as days cash on hand [money needed to operate on a daily basis],” Mitchell said. He projected that the hospital would have, on average, only eight days of cash in hand during the month of August and only five days cash on hand in September.

Other indicators were the focus of concern as well. For example, in July the hospital owed vendors more than $2.7 million, and 59.16% of accounts payable were older than 60 days.

“The hospital has experienced $928,930 in losses during the past four months,” Mitchell said.  “At that level, you are burning $65,000 in cash every month that you don’t have. That’s on top of the county appropriation. That’s the bottom line… so we have to sit down and have some serious discussions about how to deal with that.”

Board member Randy Bright pointed to the service line report which he said was indicative of where the hospital was losing money. For example, he said, for the current year through July, almost all of the hospital departments, including the emergency room, imaging services, respiratory and rehab therapy and laboratory were pulling in far less patient revenues than initially budgeted at the beginning of the year.

In total, the hospital’s actual revenues generated from its services were almost $7 million less than its initial operating budget.  Only home health revenues significantly exceeded budget expectations.

Mitchell pointed out that the hospital has already done some things, such as eliminating some loss leaders, i.e., ending its MRI and nuclear medicine services.  “I think we need to continue our consideration of other areas that we may need to think about closing or eliminating,” he said.  “We are at a place where we either charge or retreat.”

“We can either look at this completely insulated from the outside in how we deal with the problem,” Mitchell said, “or do we look outside our organization for any options.”

“No revenue just destroys you,” Board member William Turner said. Committee members agreed, noting that the hospital can only cut expenses so much.

Bright added that in the meantime there are still hospital departments that have opportunities.

“We have deadlines/time table for department decisions. But we can’t make any decisions on those departments until we know what we want to look like afterward,” he said, meaning after Providence Hospital builds the new, stand-alone ER and the FMH inpatient and ER departments close.

This prompted an outburst from Turner.

“If they [the hospital’s other departments] aren’t making money now, how are they going to make money then? We can sit here and talk all day about what they (Providence) are going to get and what we want to keep, but if we aren’t making money now, how are we going to make money later?”

“But maybe someone else could”, Bright noted.

“Well are we looking at someone else at this point?” Turner asked.  “What about Eau Claire [Cooperative Health Center]**, for example?  Why aren’t we looking at somebody right now no matter what departments we keep or which ones we get rid of?”

“I don’t know if we want to send that message out right now,” Board member Ronald Smith said.

“We don’t have time to send a message. Listen, we are absolutely broke,” Turner responded.

In the end, committee members agreed that until the Board had more information from Providence and the decisions it is going to make, it would be difficult to plot the future for the remaining departments of the hospital and how they could be sustained.

“We can’t get into any entanglements until we know what we want to be,” Bright said.

 

---

**At the Fairfield County Council meeting August 14, Eau Claire Cooperative Health made a presentation focused on expanding its presence in Fairfield County.  With locations in four counties, including Fairfield, Eau Claire has 50 providers and offers primary care, pediatrics, dental, women’s care, and behavioral health. In 2016 about 3,000 Fairfield residents received care from Eau Claire. During the full board meeting, copies of the presentation by Eau Claire were distributed by Board Chairwoman Catherine Fantry as information for the Board to consider.

---

 Council Grills Hospital CEO

After reporting to County Council Monday evening what services the hospital continues to provide as well as a financial update, which was bleak, hospital CEO Susie Doscher summed up her presentation by saying it would be difficult for the hospital to be sustained in the future without help from the County. Following her presentation, Doscher was grilled by several members of Council.

Councilman Douglas Pauley asked Doscher if she thought the hospital’s executive structure was top heavy with four executives: CEO, CFO, CNO (nursing) and a COO. Doscher said she didn’t know of any hospital that didn’t have a CEO, CFO and CNO, but that sometimes the CEO will take care of departments that are overseen in some hospitals by the Chief Operating Officer, thus eliminating that position.

Pauley also asked why Blue Granite Clinic has not been closed since it has never generated a profit.

“Blue Granite Clinic is a primary care provider. These can not stand alone. The Martin Center gets assistance from USC. Fairfield Medical Associates brings in other types of revenue such as ordering lab tests, by ordering any tests,” Doscher said.

“How much money has the hospital written off or adjusted last year due to errors on the hospital’s part?” Pauley asked.

“I’ll see if I can find out for you,” Doscher answered.

The questions got closer to the bone.

“FMH board and staff members are going to a conference in Hilton Head next month,” Pauley said, and asked if FMH would be paying for the trips.

“Yes,” Dosher responded.

“If the hospital pays for their trip to Hilton Head and you all come back to Council asking for more money, I will vote no,” Pauley said. “The hospital being in the financial condition it is in, if they go to Hilton Head, they need to pay for their own trips.”

Councilman Neal Robinson questioned Doscher about rumored recent cuts in employee pay and asked if executives also received pay cuts.

Doscher initially said there were no pay cuts, but explained that hours were cut back for some employees because staffing didn’t match patient volume. She said no salaried employees received cuts.

Robinson also asked what generates the most revenue at the hospital.

“Imaging services,” Doscher replied.

RIDGEWAY – Ridgeway residents can now ready themselves for higher sewer and water rates after council passed second reading of an amendment to ordinance 3-1001, the water and sewer ordinance of Ridgeway. Historically, the town has not raised rates, but passed along Winnsboro’s rate increases.

Water rates for residential customers within Ridgeway’s town limits will now be $16.25 for the first thousand gallons, and $5.57 for each additional thousand gallons. Sewer rates are now $13.25 for the first thousand gallons and $5.04 for every additional thousand.

Commercial businesses inside the town limits, and residential customers outside of the town limits, now share the same water rate of $21.50 per first thousand gallons and sewer rate of $14.50. Both, are also now required to pay $6.89 for each additional thousand gallons of water and $6.10 for sewage overage.

Businesses outside of the town limits now have to cough up $24.91 for the first thousand gallons and $6.89 for each subsequent thousand gallons. Sewer rates climbed $20.41 for the first thousand gallons and $6.10 for every thousand gallons used past that.

The catalyst for these rate hikes was a budget recommendation from Certified Public Accountant Larry Finney, but according to Councilwoman Angela Harrison, the rate increase is a long time coming.

“This is not a new thing, cause I’m hearing from citizens this is new,” Harrison said. “If you want to go back to the audits from 2007, it clearly stated in every audit that the water rates need to be adjusted to keep our town healthy and water system viable.”

Second reading passed 3-1. Councilman Heath Cookendorfer voted against the rate increase.

Capital Improvements

Next, Council moved to vote on a series of items that were not   included on the agenda.

In June, Council allocated funds for a series of designated capital improvements, and during Thursday’s meeting, it approved a bid of $30,000 in capital improvements that were not on the agenda.

“At a previous meeting, council designated and approved capital improvements in our budget regarding the following items: security cameras, utility building at the waste/water plant and painting the shutters for Town Hall,” Mayor Charlene Herring said.

Council approved a $22,456 bid from Turner Building Systems for a 30 x 36 foot maintenance building for the town’s water facility. That bid came in well under the $30,000 allocated. Other bids for the building were $26,554 and $23,400.

Half of the funds to pay for the building come from the capital improvements budget, and the other half comes from the utility budget.

The town also voted to spend $4,700 for Grant Whaley, who has done work for Ridgeway in the past, to paint both the interior walls downstairs and exterior trim of Town Hall.

Council also approved a bid of $3,032 from Palmetto Blinds to install six inside shutters to town hall – four sets of shutters in the council room and two upstairs to protect the art in the town’s museum from sunlight.

“I’d like to remind you that in the past, Arts on the Ridge has furnished shutters for the town and Pig on the Ridge has furnished shutters for the town,” Herring said.

Patrol Car

Mayor Herring initiated a vote (which was also not on the agenda) to have the Ford Crown Victoria Police Cruiser repainted at the Fairfield County Career and Technology Center. At the technology center, Herring said, labor costs would have been excluded, and the town would only be charged the price of paint.

After both Cookendorfer and Harrison expressed concerns about the value of the car and the cost of the work, the item, which was not on the agenda, was tabled until Council could gather more information.

“Should we wait until we find out what the paint costs? We’re agreeing to do something kind of without knowledge,” Cookendorfer said. “I say we table until we get some additional information.”

“My question is what kind of shape is that car in to begin with, that we’re repainting it. I’d like to know that before we make any decision,” Harrison said.

Victim’s Assistance

Council agreed to return $5,000 to the town’s Victim Assistance fund after Fairfield County turned down the donation. Originally, Council slated $15,000 to go to the Fairfield County Victim’s Assistance and $35,000 to SisterCare, but that split was changed in order for the town of Ridgeway to focus on a marketing campaign with SisterCare.

“Leave it there. That’s what I would like to see, until we find something else worthy of our time,” Harrison said. “And I have more bids to get for the marketing campaign we talked about in our previous meetings.”

WINNSBORO – After years of squabbling between the Town of Winnsboro and the Friends of Mt. Zion Institute (FOMZI) over what to do with the expensive, crumbling, loved and hated relic referred to as Mt. Zion, a solution and a new life may be in the offing for the Institute.

Following County Council’s meeting Monday evening, Chairman Billy Smith unveiled a rendition of a renovated Mt. Zion, and suggested that the County is working toward a useful plan for the several buildings.

“What we’re looking to do,” Smith said before Council went into executive session with representatives of the Town of Winnsboro and 1st & Main Development, a private development firm, “is incorporate a new County Administration building into Mt. Zion.”

He said the County and Town would be discussing a potential Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that he said is a statement of intentions, not a contract.

“The County will try to secure the property from the Town of Winnsboro, and the developer will have 180 days to pursue working on a purchase and development agreement to submit to the County,” Smith said.

“Any project we pursue, I understand, would fit in with the Town’s current zoning in the neighborhood, so there would be no less protection than there is now” Smith said.

“If we go forward with the project, 1st & Main can take advantage of historical tax credits since it is a private company, and would procure the property and do the work at their cost. Then the County would purchase the property through a lease-purchase agreement over a period of years,” Smith said.

But Smith stressed that before the County moves forward with any plans, Council wants to hear from the public and have discussion with those who live in the Mt. Zion neighborhood.

“We will meet again Aug. 14, and I would hope to hear from folks then,” Smith said. “We want to do what’s best for the residents and for the Town and the County.”

WINNSBORO – Fairfield County Council passed first reading Monday evening to purchase and develop approximately 508 acres of property on the east side of I-77 between Exits 46 and 48.

The property, owned by the Caughman family, would be used by the County for economic development projects according to Council Chairman Billy Smith.

“The property has a lot of potential for good things. It’s right off of I-77, the topography is good, and it spans from one interchange almost completely to another, there are already water and sewer lines right there, and the price is manageable right now,” Smith told The Voice following the vote.

“On the other hand, the County is currently sitting on a good bit of open land, and I think our priority right now should be on water and sewer infrastructure. At the end of the day, what we see next out of SCANA and the Public Service Commission could play a big role in determining the vote on this. We’re certainly hoping and praying for the best on that,” Smith said.

After seeing the proposed purchase on the agenda Monday evening, Ridgeway resident Randy Bright addressed Council during the public comment segment of the meeting questioning whether another large land purchase should be a priority for the County right now.

“Do we really need this right now? I realize it’s part of our long term plan, but is it an urgent need? We own plenty of land in Fairfield County already. Is this a prudent purchase at this time?” Bright asked Council.

During County Council time, Councilman Jimmy Ray Douglas, who favors the purchase of the 508 acres, answered Bright.

“As you go away from Richburg in Chester County toward Winnsboro, all those mills up there are coming this way. We need this property to get industry in to Fairfield County,” Douglas said.

While the property has access to water from Chester, sewer is available but would have to be negotiated, Douglas told The Voice.

BLYTHEWOOD- The Blythewood Planning Commission unanimously rejected a proposed zoning amendment that would have relaxed design standards for new businesses fronting Blythewood Road East of I-77. The proposed amendment would have eased setback restrictions, allowing new buildings to set back from the road as far as 25 feet and install drive through lanes and parking spaces between the building and the sidewalk.

The amendment flies in the face of Blythewood’s 2005 Master Plan that tightened setback limitations to 6-12 feet from the road right away for new builds. It was intended to create a traditional look for the Town Center, giving it an old-town feeling.

“I feel like if you make an exception to one and then another, you might as well scrap the whole plan,” Commissioner Donald Brock said. “And you’re essentially letting businesses tell you what they want to do come in versus you telling them what they need to do to come in.”

Paul Moscati, a former Blythewood councilman who worked on the original Master Plan, was on hand during the July 21 meeting to share the process that went into the plan’s development.

“The decisions I, Mr. McLean and others made on council probably won’t bear fruit for another 30, 40, 50 years,” Moscati said. “We talked about that we don’t want Blythewood road to look like Two Notch Road. We don’t want it to look like Killian Road. We wanted to make this a livable community.”

Blythewood Chamber of Commerce Chair, Belinda Portnal, who is also employed by BB&T Mortgage that recently sold the property for a reported $1 million, spoke in opposition to Moscati, stressing that if the Master Plan has not been effective in drawing businesses it may be time for a change.

“I don’t want this to look like Killian Road at all, that’s why I live in Blythewood. But by the same token I don’t like the way it looks now. Kinda looks a little poverty ridden,” Portnal said. “The Master Plan, if it’s not doing what it needs to, you say let’s give it some time. I think we’ve given a lot of time and clearly the businesses aren’t coming.”

“But if we don’t like the way it looks now, why would we pass a zoning ordinance that would allow it to continue to look this way,” Commissioner Michelle Kiedrowski asked Portnal.

Talks of tweaking the Master Plan come just seven months after Portnal’s company, BB&T sold the property across from the Waffle House, that is now being rumored to be a site for a Taco Bell. Portnal cited the current ordinance as the reason BB&T did not move forward with development.

“I’m with BB&T, as you know we owned that lot there on Blythewood road for a long time and we never built and the current ordinances kind of speak for themselves as to why we didn’t build,” Portnal said.

Both Moscati and Commissioner Cynthia Schull said they suspect that the sudden hurry to develop the property for the fast food restaurant may be the catalyst for the amendment.

“We all know the rush, it’s the developers’ rush, the developer controls this part of the process. There’s that little piece of Blythewood Road,” Moscati said. “It’s up to all of us who live in this town, who are citizens of this town, to help protect it.”

“There’s a lot that would be impacted by this. It was sold in December for over $1 million,” Schull said. “So I suspect that some of this is coming because there is a very lucrative business, the kind of business coming that can afford to spend a million dollars on a lot, and I would suspect it’s Taco Bell or something similar.”

The 16,000 -18,000 cars that travel along Blythewood Road and I-77 does not make it conducive to be a pedestrian or biker friendly area, the Town’s Economic Development consultant, Ed Parlor. He suggested the McNulty Road area, under the guise of the Master Plan, could be transformed into a more fitting Town Center.

“Perhaps McNulty where you have a library, where you have a Sheriff’s office, a post office, churches, recreation, a school…” Parlor said. “You have neighborhoods growing around that area which could be walkable and bicycle friendly.”

While Council voted not to recommend the zoning amendment proposal, they agreed they would like to seek out more information and take suggestions from the Blythewood Architectural Review Board before the matter appears before the Town Council on August 24. Jim McLean, Co-Chair of the BAR and a Councilman who also worked on the Master Plan, brought up the BAR’s role in the discussions.

“You have the responsibility to the BAR to offer and revise the standards based on a case by case basis,” McLean said. “What we’ve done for the town and how we could deal with the situations that are currently out there, I think pretty much speaks for itself.”

I would just ask that you allow the BAR to take a little more collaborative role in this,” Moscati said. “I’m sure there’s some type of compromise in between rather than just scrapping the ordinance.”

The Commission will meet again before Town Council hears their recommendation and makes the final decision as to whether or not to adopt the proposed ordinance to relax the zoning.

Mayor: We were all of one accord in our Executive Sessions.

RIDGEWAY- In an attempt to explain away what council sources say were straw polls taken by Ridgeway Town Council in executive sessions in an attempt to prevent Vivian Case, the Town Clerk from bringing her service dog, Bella, to work, Mayor Charlene Herring called a special council meeting on Tuesday night.

There were only two items on the agenda, with no indication that either would be voted on. But that didn’t stop the vote.

The first item was listed as a ‘Review of an easement contract regarding the site of the new water tower.’ The second item, the one that was the draw for a large audience that evening, was listed as ‘Legal advice services regarding a personnel issue and compliance with FOIA and HIPPA.’ The item and the vote that followed and passed, left those in attendance scratching their heads.

Since January, according to Council sources who asked not to be identified, Town Council has taken straw polls in secret to authorize the mayor to oust Bella from Town Hall and again, when she returned with a service dog certificate, to have her crated at all times in the office and, finally, to hire an attorney to advice council regarding Bella.

The four-year old Rottweiler has come to work with Case since the dog was eight weeks old, holds certificates for three different levels of behavioral training and has passed the rigorous American Kennel Club ‘Canine Good Citizen’ test. According to citizen testimony during the last two Council meetings, the Rottweiler is a favorite with the residents.

According to Case and Council sources, there was no history of complaints or problems concerning Bell’s presence at Town Hall until last January when the mayor told Council that she had received a couple of complaints. Those complaints, however, according to Council sources, were not serious and are not documented. And no one has come out publicly with complaints.

Nevertheless, in April, the mayor engaged attorney Reginald Belcher, a certified specialist in labor and employment law with Turner Padget in Columbia, to advise Council.

“Council approved us to go this route (crating Bella). We’ve had full approval,” Herring told The Voice. But there are no records of a public vote or discussion concerning the dog or Case.

Reliable sources have told The Voice that Belcher’s invoices for his services are approaching $3,000 and mounting.

At the Tuesday night meeting and another Council meeting last week, citizens streamed to the podium during citizen comment time, defending and praising Bella and Case, but lodging numerous complaints against Council and the mayor for spending thousands of dollars for what the speakers consider a non-problem.

On Tuesday evening, Herring attempted to ameliorate Council’s previous secret votes and the hiring of Belcher to take on Bella and Case.

“This is our public vote for securing legal services regarding a personnel issue where we were all in one accord in our executive sessions,” Herring said, speaking slowly with special emphasis on ‘all in one accord.’

According to the S.C. Freedom of Information Act, it is illegal for council to make decisions or conduct straw polls behind closed doors in executive session. Section 30-4-70 (6) of the FOIA states, “The only actions that can be taken in executive sessions are to adjourn or return to public session. No informal polling about a course of action may be taken in executive session.”

Last week, Judge Thomas Russo ruled that Newberry County Council owed Columbia attorney Desa Ballard $13,708 in attorneys’ fees and cost for violating the South Carolina FOIA.

The county council repeatedly announced its reasons for executive sessions “in such a general way that the specific topic of the actual executive session was hidden…(and) the public had no way of knowing what was being discussed,” Russo wrote July 7.

Bill Rogers, executive director of the S.C. Press Assoociation, said Thursday that the ruling sends a message to all public bodies, including city and county councils, school boards and zooning boards.

“That’s a great ruling,” Rogers said. “The public needs to know as specifically as possible what is being discussed behind closed doors.”

“Now, we realize we did not have a public vote,” Herring continued. “But part of that was done for the protection of our employee to assure that we were not in violation of any rights. So, with that said, and, again, our whole intent for all of this is to make sure that we are doing what is legal and right for our employee as well as our other employees as well as our citizens. All of this has been in good faith and with good intentions and we believe that, in the end, the public, as well as the employee and council will come to an agreement which may be a compromise or whatever, but it will be done in good faith according to the rights of the employee and the rights of the citizens and other employees.”

Then Herring got to her point.

“So, we have a motion to continue with the legal advice services concerning personnel issues, compliance with the FOIA and HIPPA,” Herring said before calling for a motion. Councilman Doug Porter made the motion and Councilwoman Angela Harrison seconded it.

Herring then bore down, with measured emphasis on each word as she addressed her fellow council members.

“I will remind you once again that we were in one accord when we made this decision. This mayor does not spend money without approval of the Council – always in the best interest of the Town,” Herring said.

After her own comments, Herring committed a parliamentary faux pas by jumping right to the vote without allowing discussion from other council members.

While the vote passed 3 – 2, somewhere between Herring’s call for the vote and the actual vote, the ‘all of one accord’ apparently fell apart. Herring, Harrison and Porter voted to continue retaining the attorney. Councilmen Heath Cookendorfer and Don Prioleau, with stern faces, raised their right hands to vote against the measure.

It was the first record of Council addressing the issue in public session.

Asked following the meeting if he thought Herring, Harrison and Porter would continue to pursue looking for a way to remove Bella from Town Hall, Prioleau shook his head.

“I don’t know what they plan to do. I told them in executive session that I didn’t have a problem with the dog. Vivian is a great employee. I don’t know what we’d do without her. I think they’ve taken it too far. We need to get back to the business of the citizens,” Prioleau said.

Cookendorfer told The Voice that he, too, had no problem with the dog being in Town Hall.

I didn’t want to pursue this, but I did advise the mayor when it came up that if she is going to pursue it, then she should have legal advice. Council has pursued things in the past without legal advice and got in trouble,” Cookendorfer said.

Cookendorfer said he had not seen any documentation of complaints against the dog.

“It’s hearsay. I personally think we should step away from this. My vote tonight was my answer. I don’t want to continue in this,” Cookendorfer said. “But it is the majority vote of Council.”

Several citizens addressed the issue at Council meetings last week and again on Tuesday night.

“Town Council has raised the millage for our property taxes, our water rates and business license fees. I have no problem paying those, but I ask you to be good stewards with that money and not spend it frivolously. If a couple of people have a problem with the service animal, work it out, but don’t spend our money on it,” resident Dan Martin told Council. “If legal expenses were already incurred without a vote, to me, this is misappropriation of funds.”

Martin’s wife, Robbie, said the publicity of the Council’s issue with Case’s service dog brings bad publicity to the town and the possibility of a law suit.

“It needs to stop now,” she said.

Longtime resident Patsy Palmer likened Council’s tiff with the dog to an episode of Survivor.

“Bullying, lying, secret alliances. Vivian is a good person with a service dog,” Palmer said.

Downtown merchant Carol Allen spoke on behalf of several citizens who had signed a petition.

“Vivian has always been courteous and professional to all of us. We’re shocked to hear of the concern of Council members. Bella doesn’t bother anyone and we feel she offers protection and a sense of wellbeing,” Allen said.

None of those who addressed council spoke against the dog or Case.

 

Blythewood – Several months ago Council asked the Planning Commission to look into the practicality and planning of a system of multi-use trails in the Blythewood area and Town Administrator Gary Parker brought that suggestion back to the Commission Monday evening.

“We had someone from LandPlan South come to a meeting and review the pros and cons of such a system,” Parker told the Commissioners. “The thought that occurs to me is that the you might want to recommend to Council that perhaps a multi-use trail committee should be appointed,” Parker said. “And they could kind of start that process so maybe you guys aren’t actually doing all that.”

Parker said he worked as the City Manager for Archdale North Carolina when they began work on their multi-use trail system in 2001 and referred to the undertaking as an “overwhelming task” that includes securing road right of ways, acquiring easements and potentially rail-road right of ways.

Archdale has not completed their trail-system in the 15 years since construction began, Parker said.

“Even though I believe in this and I think this is a great thing to do, it is a very difficult thing to do and one of the reasons is that it’s very difficult to acquire easements and rights of ways,” Parker said.

Multi-use trail systems were one of the major goals of the 2005 Master Plan to make a pedestrian and biker friendly Town Center. The total estimated cost to construct all 17 trails proposed under the Master Plan would run $23,409,000 and, according to Town Planner Michael Criss, if money were not an object, the project could be completed in the range of 3-5 years.

“I think the first question that needs to be asked is, ‘Is that the best use of $23 million of town funds?’ That’s expensive,” Commissioner Donald Brock said. “You look at some of these numbers, it’s a big number, especially for the ta town that doesn’t generate any tax revenue.”

Due to the exorbitant cost, Council recommended the Commission focus their short terms goals on trails T-11: from Boney Road to the Park Area, T-12: Creech Road Extension, T-13: Langford/Fulmer, T-14: Round Top Trail and T-15: Beasley Creak Greenway.  T-11 gained the most favor from the Commission.

“If it were me, it would here to the baseball park, I think that was one of the trails listed there. A lot of children come to the park to use the playground,” Commission Chair Bryan Franklin said. “They use the library and that would be nice for them to commute on a bicycle.”

The Commission did not vote on the matter, but will be seeking volunteers for the committee.

Storage Express Expansion

Storage Express will be adding 30,925 square foot of mini-warehouse space to complete development of their five-acre lot after the Commission voted unanimously to approve the site plan. Exceeding a 25,000 square foot threshold classified the project as group development, and opened the development up for Commission review even though it was an allowed land-use.

“Planning Commission has subdivision plat review and approval authority, but you also have group development review and approval authority for the largest projects,” Criss said.

In addition to the new space, Bohannon will be enhancing the visual of the property along the I-77 corridor by adding shrubs and a six-foot high PVC screening to the northern most portion, a slightly different screening with a four-foot high berm with a simulated wrought iron fence for the middle portion and a tree preservation with a detention pond at the bottom third of the property.

“When we went out to secure the loans and financing we made sure that we had enough money to straighten up that I-77 corridor,” Storage Express owner Dewayne Bohannon. “It’s important for us to get that right, I don’t like the way it looks, so it was important for us to spend money to get it right.”

Abney Hills Estate

Essex Homes, the developer of Abney Hills Estate, also received some goods new from the Commission. The Commission gave unanimous approval for a $261,312.50 bonded plat request from Abney Hills Phase two, with the condition they submit confirmation from Richland County on road satisfaction and associated drainage.

“It’s about as good a final plat as you can get but some of the infrastructure is incomplete, and it is an obligation of the town to see to it that the project is completed,” Criss said. “If the developer should fail to perform, that’s why it’s such a thorough review.”

Phase one of Abney Hills is nearing completion, and phase two has around 85 percent of the infrastructure completed, and will be home to 52 sites once completed.

“At this point all the roads are in, the water, the sewer, everything infrastructure-wise is completed with the exception of the street trees, the sidewalks, the things that would be accomplished when the homes are being constructed,” Essex Homes representative Shane Alford said.