WINNSBORO (Feb. 16, 2017) – Town Council during executive session at their Feb. 7 meeting received a report from Billy Castles on potential repairs to the swimming pool at Fortune Springs Park.
Although Council took no action on the matter after returning to open session, documents provided by the Town to The Voice show that the swimming pool is in need of more than $82,000 in repairs and upgrades.
The pool has had no major repairs in more than 10 years, according to the documents from Castles’ Building-Zoning-Streets-Sanitation-Parks Department. Deterioration of the pool floor and wall plaster, as well as cracked or missing tiles, have led to considerable leakage, the report states. The pool was shut down last season by the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), according to the report, because of leaks.
The swimming pool is also in need of DHEC-required anti-skid steps and water depth tiles in the walls.
Castles’ department received quotes on the repairs and upgrades from Upstate Pool Management of Simpsonville running to $82,580. That included installing a marcite surface ($53,500), installing water tiles and depth tiles ($12,030), upgrading filters and piping ($15,450) and leak detection ($1,600).
Castles’ report concluded that the repairs should be made in March in order to have the pool ready for a June opening.
The report also stated that Castles explored the option of installing a splash pad as an alternative to the pool. The cost range for such an endeavor, however, ran from $200,000 and up, leading Castles to abandon the idea.
WINNSBORO (Feb. 16, 2017) – Much of the news from County Council Monday evening came out of the public comment period at the end of the meeting. Kathy Faulk, a board member with Hoof and Paw Benevolent Society, announced the group would be launching an aggressive fundraising campaign to assist the County in its bid to become a no-kill County. She said the group will be working closely with the County’s Animal Shelter Director Bob Innes.
“This is something Fairfield County could be so very proud of. It’s a movement that’s happening across the country,” Faulk said. “Fairfield County is capable of taking a lead in this and should not be just pulling up the rear. We need you to pass some good strong ordinances that will make a difference in Fairfield County,” Faulk told Council as she passed out photos of Fairfield County animals that have suffered neglect and abuse. Council is currently working on an animal cruelty ordinance.
“It’s shocking,” Faulk said, referring to the photos. “But it’s happening all around you here in the county. We urge you to get behind this ordinance and lead the way.”
In an effort to help the County reach its ‘no-kill’ goal, Faulk told Council members that Hoof and Paw will be working tirelessly to raise funds for the project. Following the meeting, Faulk told The Voice that Hoof and Paw, whose members she said have paid for some spay/neutering for the County’s shelter animals in the past, will now pay $650 for up to 10 spay/neuters each month until June 30, 2017 when a new budget is approved by the County that could provide more funding for spay/neutering.
“When a cat or dog has been spayed or neutered, they are much easier to adopt out,” Faulk said. “That is something we can do to help move these animals out of the shelter and into adoptive homes more quickly. And the added benefit is that they will not then reproduce. The end result of fewer animals is a reduction in the cumulative burden on the County’s animal shelter.”
Hoof and Paw board member Minge Wiseman, who spoke to the County’s oversight of neglected and abused horses, gave three shout-outs, the first to “whoever hired Bob Innes, the County’s new Animal Shelter Director,” the second to Deputy County Administrator Dais Anderson for supporting Innes and giving the go-ahead to fence in a small pasture next door to the animal shelter.
“This (pasture) allows Fairfield County, for the first time, to house neglected and abused large animals,” Wiseman said.
Her third shout-out went to Council members, encouraging them to “get behind this initiative to make the Fairfield County Animal Shelter a no-kill county and to help identify and aid neglected and abused large animals.
“We need to pass stricter ordinances with harsher consequences for people who continue to neglect and mistreat animals in this county,” Wiseman said.
Last month, Wiseman helped arranged for a large animal specialist to provide an educational session for the County’s animal control staff and law enforcement personnel on the care and recognition of large animal neglect and abuse.
As the group begins their fundraising campaign, Faulk said they would be approaching individual Council members to lead the way with donations.
“We appreciate what you’re doing, and you can stop by my store and pick up a check,” Councilman Jimmy Ray Douglas (District 2) told the group during Council Time following the public comments.
New Bleachers
During Council business, and without discussion, Council approved the purchase of new bleachers for the gym at the Recreation Center at a cost of $41,202 from Master Craft Renovation Systems. County Administrator Jason Taylor said the County received one other bid from Learning Environment, Inc. for $45,000. The new powered bleachers were budgeted and will replace the manual bleachers, Taylor said.
Board Appointments
Barbara P. Charles (District 4) was appointed to the Assessment Appeals Board, and Clerk to Council Patti Locklair announced that the County is seeking applicants to fill 23 seats that are or will soon become vacant on the County’s boards and commissions. (The vacancies are listed on The Voice’s website at blythewoodonline.com)
Executive Session
Council went into executive session to discuss a contractual matter, the “review of Fairfield Memorial Hospital and proposed information” and a legal matter, an “update on the Mega Site Litigation.” No votes were taken following executive session.
RIDGEWAY (Feb. 16, 2017) – The Town of Ridgeway had to take a step back and reload last week on plans to stabilize the old school arch after the winning bidder pulled out of the deal.
Council last month awarded the job to Ralph Goldman, whose bid of $15,007.20 came in under bids by W.C. Crosby Construction ($18,274) and H&H Masonry ($26,200). But during Council’s Feb. 9 meeting, Mayor Charlene Herring said Goldman was overwhelmed with work at his full-time job and had withdrawn his bid.
After Goldman’s withdrawal, Herring said she contacted the other two companies and asked for new bids from each. On this second go-round, Crosby submitted a bid of $12,817.23, while H&H submitted a bid of $15,000.
“The H&H bid is a little bit higher,” Herring said. “The reason it is, he said, is because there was prior work done on the arch that was not done correctly, and he feels like in order for it to really be stabilized some of it needs to be undone.”
Ridgeway has received grant funds totaling $20,135 to finish the arch and fence in both the arch and the proposed playground nearby. Council accepted Herring’s recommendation and elected to award the arch work to H&H, leaving $5,000 for fencing.
Last month, Council received two bids in the $6,000 range and one bid of $1,252 for fencing in the arch area. Concerned with the quality of the low-bid fencing submitted by JMS Fencing, Council during their Jan. 19 meeting agreed to ask the company for a quote on commercial grade fencing.
Last week, JMS bid itself out of contention with an offer of $25,950 to fence in both the arch and playground sites. That left Council with a $6,481 bid from Guardian and a $6,338 bid from Fence It for the arch site. Guardian’s bid for the playground site came in at $6,975, while Fence It offered $8,600.
Council chose Guardian for both sites, agreeing to make up the difference in grant funds with money taken from one of the Town’s CDs, which contain money from the insurance settlement after the collapse of the old school’s roof several years ago. Some, if not all, of the Town’s contribution could be reimbursed with phase two of a Parks and Recreation grant in two years.
With all wheels now apparently in motion for a refurbished arch, the primary proposed use of the arch immediately raised another concern.
Herring said the Town had received several inquiries about using the arch site for weddings, but for that use Councilman Donald Prioleau pointed out a serious deficiency at the site.
“I can’t see a bride going in a port-a-john, or bride’s maids or grooms going into a port-a-john,” Prioleau said. “That’s a critical area I think we overlooked and we’re going to have to find the funds for that, too.”
Prioleau pointed out that Council in 2015 had an opportunity for a facility near the arch that would have had rest rooms, when the County was considering the site for a recreation center.
“If we had accepted that recreation center, we could have had all that for free,” Prioleau said. “And we’re still going to put in a playground, which is still recreation.”
Councilwoman Angela Harrison suggested a remodeling of the Teacherage near the arch site could be a possibility for rest rooms. Councilman Doug Porter said Council may want to take additional funds from a CD and move forward with rest rooms right away.
“If someone wants to do the homework on that for costs, we’d be glad to open it up,” Herring said.
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.
BLYTHEWOOD (Feb. 9, 2017) – The Board of Architectural Review (BAR) on Jan. 23 gave retroactive approval for a digital sign erected last month outside the BP gas station at 231 Blythewood Road.
“That sign was put up a few months ago mistakenly without permit,” Michael Criss, the Town’s consultant, told the BAR, “so you’re dealing with an after-the-fact approval and certificate of appropriateness for a digital sign in the Town Center District.”
BAR Chairman Jim McLean noted that the new sign was “very similar” to other signs that had already received approval by the Board.
“Similar style, design and operation,” Criss agreed. “In fact, you could argue that the revised digital sign regulations were written specifically for this kind of sign where we have a modest amount of digital signage – static display and a single color, and of course in the case of the gas station, displaying usually the price of gasoline.”
The BAR OK’d the sign without dissent. Board member Pam Dukes recused herself from the discussion and left the chambers until after the vote.
Brick Column
The BAR also reconsidered a move from September’s meeting in which they had required a brick column to be placed at the head of a chain-link fence separating the back lot of The Pointe apartment complex and property at 413 Main St., owned by Elizabeth Boney Kinard.
The issue standing in the way of the column, McLean told the Board, was a large pecan tree.
“We had approved the fence and what we asked her to do at the end of that fence is put a brick column out of the same brick that was done with the apartments,” McLean said. “The fence terminates at the tree, and I think upon further consideration that maybe the brick column itself . . . we might want to rethink the requirements of the fence for the brick column.”
The proposed brick column, McLean said, that would ideally have been placed where the tree stands, would now have to be placed out in front of the tree, away from the end of the fence.
“It looks like to me that it (the brick column) is going to look out of place,” McLean said, “and I think it just makes a bad situation worse.”
The Board voted to accept the fence as it is, without requiring the brick column.
“It sure looks awful,” Board member Cindy Nord said, looking over a photograph of the site, “if it looks like that in real life.”
Criss said part of the landscaping plan for The Pointe would entail vegetation to grow on and through the fence over the next “three to five years and nicely hide it,” he said.
Technical Advisor
The BAR unanimously approved Ralph Walden as the Board’s Technical Advisor. Although the position is an unpaid one, the Board contemplated changing that in the future.
“Mr. Walden has agreed to do it basically at this point for free,” McLean said, “but I do think at some point in time that some appropriate compensation should be considered.”
Town Administrator Gary Parker said that if the Board was going to consider paying Walden for the post, the proposal should be made to Town Council before Council begins budget discussions in May.
McLean asked Parker if he would research what other BARs in other towns pay their technical advisors so Blythewood’s BAR could use those pay scales as a model for their own.
“Actually, what my research has revealed is that there are no technical advisors (in other towns),” Parker answered, “so we’d have to come up with our own formula.”
An hourly rate, Parker suggested, would be the most reasonable option.
Election of Officers
Finally, the BAR elected new officers for the 2017 session. Dukes, nominated by McLean, was unanimously tapped for Chairwoman. McLean, nominated by Dukes, was voted in as vice chairman.
BLYTHEWOOD (Feb. 9, 2017) – Doko Manor is on the move, Steve Hasterok reported to Council during their Jan. 30 meeting.
Hasterok, Director of the Manor, told Council that through the first three quarters of fiscal year 2017, revenues have outpaced the previous fiscal year by $45,000. The third quarter of 2017 alone has greatly outpaced the third quarter of FY 2016.
In FY 2016, Hasterok said, the Manor brought in just $16,600 in the third quarter. The third quarter of FY 2017, he reported, has generated $40,050.
While February turned out to be a slow month, with just $8,993 in revenue, January was a big money maker, with a haul of $18,148. March, which has six weddings booked at the Manor, is on pace to bring in $12,908.
“And I’m going to tell you,” Hasterok said, “April through June, this place is going to be packed. We have weeks where we’re doing weddings Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.”
Independence Day
Hasterok also suggested that the Town hold its Independence Day celebration event on July 3 – a Monday. Doing so would mean moving the start time for the event back to later in the evening, which would probably eliminate the professional wrestling feature. Council agreed and voted to hold the event on July 3.
Earlier in the evening, during the citizens comment segment of the meeting, Daune Walker asked Council to give some thought to parking for events such as the Independence Day celebration.
Walker, who owns the properties at 208 and 212 Main Street, said parking for Blythewood events had created a nightmare for her lots.
“Where do these people park? In any available business parking lot, open or closed,” Walker said. “We have blocked the entrance to the business – we put up sawhorses, they pick up the sawhorses and move them. One lady told me she had a right to park there because she lived in Blythewood and she had been to this even (July 4) since its inception. We had people almost run us over. They park anywhere in the lot and in the field. So what do we do? Do we charge these people to park? In consideration, when you invite people to Blythewood for events, I would like you to provide adequate parking. They park on the railroad right of way, all up and down. It’s a hazard.”
Mayor J. Michael Ross said Council would keep parking in mind when planning future events.
BLYTHEWOOD (Feb. 9, 2017) – Following the lead of the evening’s first ordinance, Town Council during their Jan. 30 meeting also postponed first reading on new regulations on uses of the Manor and Doko Meadows Park. Earlier in the evening, Council had postponed a similar vote on an ordinance regulating mobile vendors (see our Feb. 2 edition).
Mayor J. Michael Ross noted that some of the prohibitions in the ordinance should be re-worded to allow for exceptions; specifically, the ban on pedaling on park grounds.
“Certainly someone would have to come in and get a permit for that,” Ross said. “It brings up such things as the farmers market and Big Grab, and we would not want that to mean it was excluding them.”
Reading from the ordinance’s playground rules, Ross joked, “you can’t have horseplay, pushing or running or shoving. It looks like you’re not going to have a lot of fun in our park.”
Councilman Larry Griffin, pointing out the prohibition against fires, grilling and open flames, asked about a designated area for grilling. Mayor Ross answered that Council had discussed designating a grill-friendly zone, but had not finalized a specific area for cooking out. Such areas would likely require picnic tables, and Jim Meggs, the Town’s attorney, noted that picnic tables had also not yet been purchased for and placed in the park. The addition of picnic tables, Meggs said, would ultimately add to the cost of upkeep in the park. A picnic and grilling area, he said, generates trash, which would mean adding trash cans as well as receptacles for the disposal of ash and used charcoal and the Town would have to hire someone to police the grounds and empty the bins.
“We might need to change the name from ‘park’ to something else,” Griffin said. “You just took everything out of a ‘park.’ You can’t build fires, you can’t have picnic tables.”
Meggs offered to prepare for Council’s Feb. 27 meeting another draft of the ordinance that included the changes in the language that would allow for certain exceptions. Council voted unanimously to postpone first reading until the next meeting.
Audit Report
Gary Bailey, of Love Bailey Associates, told Council that his firm had issued an “unqualified opinion” on the Town’s fiscal year 2015-2016 audit.
“It is a clean opinion,” Love said. “We had no issues.”
Bailey said the Town’s net position grew by $560,000 from the previous year to $6.2 million in “government activities.” The Town’s balance sheet, he said, grew by $160,000.
The Town’s income, he said, increased $558,000, compared to an increase of $258,000 in the last fiscal year. Part of that growth, Love said, was from construction fees, which grew by approximately $200,000 to $419,000 over last year’s $217,000.
“That certainly helped your bottom line,” Love said.
While the vote ended in a tie, the residents left Monday’s Planning Commission meeting jubilant. (Photo/Barbara Ball)
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.)
WINNSBORO (Feb. 2, 2017) – In a meeting that spanned an entire two minutes, Town Council on Jan. 17 officially accepted the winning bid on the McCulley Creek sewer line project.
Upon the recommendation of the project’s engineers, AECOM, of Columbia, Council unanimously accepted the $1,092,902 bid from McClam & Associates, of Little Mountain. McClam was the lowest of five bids, which ranged from a high of $1,530,308 from State Utility Contractors, Inc., of Monroe, N.C., to a second-lowest $1,101,613.25 from LAD Corporation of West Columbia.
According to the recommendation letter from project manager Keith B. Cannon of AECOM, the recommendation is contingent upon Winnsboro receiving additional funding from the S.C. Department of Commerce. During their Jan. 3 meeting, Cyndi Gawronski, CDBG Manager for the Central Midlands Council of Governments, told Council that the Department of Commerce was willing to kick in an additional $185,589 for the project, provided the Town could come up with 10 percent in matching funds. Council agreed to apply for the extra funding.
The project will replace smaller, aging sewer lines near the Town’s water treatment plant.
Mt. Zion Park
Council also approved a $4,700 bid from Palmetto Earthworks to seed the banks at the Mt. Zion greenway park in order to prevent erosion. The project will be tackled in two phases. Phase one is slated to begin by the end of the month and will entail the tilling of the soil and the planting of rye grass seed. A shallow diversion trench will also be cut above the planted area.
Phase two, which should begin between the middle of April and early May, will involve spreading lime and mulch, followed by the planting of Bermuda grass seed.
WINNSBORO (Feb. 2, 2017) – Filling closed Monday with three people entering the race to fill the District 5 seat on County Council, vacated last year when Marion Robinson stepped down for health reasons.
Filing before the noon deadline were:
Douglas Pauley, of Highway 321 S., Winnsboro. Pauley served as a Fairfield County Sheriff’s deputy for 13 years and is currently an insurance agent with Nationwide in Winnsboro. He serves on the board of directors for Fairfield County Behavioral Health Services and is a member of the Winnsboro Lions Club.
James McGraw, of Stoney Circle, Winnsboro, owns a window cleaning franchise and a maintenance/janitorial services company. He is a member of the board of trustees at Fairfield Memorial Hospital and is the board’s past chairman. He is the past vice chairman of the Carolina Community Action Council in Rock Hill and is a member of the Midlands Workforce Development Board. McGraw is also a member of the Greenbrier Bethel Volunteer Fire Department and also serves on the board of directors for Benedict College and Allen University.
Marvin Jeter, of Granite Lane, Winnsboro, is a former Fairfield County code enforcement office, currently working in the mining industry. He is a past member of the Recreation Commission and a current member of the Masonic Unity Lodge 401 in Blackjack.
