WINNSBORO – After voting last month against purchasing the
building that houses the Ridgeway library, council voted Monday evening to
present a revised lease to the owner of the building. The action had been
recommended last week by the County’s Finance and Administrative Committee.
“With the option to purchase pretty much off the table,”
interim Deputy County Administrator Laura Johnson said during the committee
meeting last week, “we need to decide whether to extend the lease for two more
years, terminate the lease or present the owner with this new lease revised by
our attorney (Tommy Morgan). We still have 90 days to let the owner know what
we’re going to do.”
The term of the revised lease is for a year, with the option
to extend it for five additional years. The new lease reduces the monthly lease
payments from $892.50 to $750 for each of the first twelve months and those
lease payments would increase by two percent every other one-year option term
beginning July 1, 2023.
The revised lease would also include an option to purchase
the property for $100,000, down from the current asking price of $160,000. It
also specifies that any payments made by the county from the period beginning
July 1, 2018, to the date of purchase, would be subtracted from the purchase
price and credited toward the total consideration paid by the county.
WINNSBORO – Edna and Anthony Rabb, center, received a
proclamation Monday night during the county council meeting to declare March as
Bleeding Disorder Month. Council members include, from left: Moses Bell,
Clarence Gilbert, Jimmy Ray Douglas, Mikel Trapp, Douglas Pauley and Council
Chairman Neil Robinson.
WINNSBORO – When Evan Dunbar (fourth from right) opened his new NAPA Auto Parts store in the Bi-Lo Shopping Center last week, there was lots of food and several customized vehicles were on display, including a late model dirt car that Dunbar’s store sponsors. Front row from left is Fairfield Chamber of Commerce President Gene Stevens; Roger Dunbar, underhood sales representative and Sean Middaugh, outside salesman; Mike Duffy, NAPA corporation representative; Fairfield County Council Chairman Neil Robinson and Dunbar.
The store is located in Suite 5B in the Bi-Lo Center and is open M-F, 7:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. 803-635-4611.
Newly elected town councilman Sloan Griffin, III, left, is congratulated by opponent former councilman Malcolm Gordge, right, and Mayor Bryan Franklin. | Barbara Ball
BLYTHEWOOD – Blythewood voters gave the nod to Sloan
Griffin, III in Tuesday night’s special election to fill the two remaining
years on the town council seat vacated by Bryan Franklin in November when he
was elected mayor.
With only a 7.06 percent turnout, possibly the lowest in the
town’s history, Griffin, with 118 votes squeaked past former town councilman
Malcolm Gordge with 103 votes.
Only 222 of the town’s 3,100 registered voters turned out on
an unseasonably warm day. There were 9 absentee votes and one write-in.
Griffin told The Voice that he is excited to become the
voice of the people.
“People can come to me for anything,” Griffin said. “I just
want to serve the people.”
Griffin said he wanted to commend Gordge on his campaign and
said he would welcome Gordge’s advice.
Gordge served four years on Council and was previously
appointed to the town planning commission where he later was elected Chairman.
Gordge’s council term was up in November when he decided to run for mayor
instead of running for another term on council. Gordge lost to Franklin in the
mayoral race.
Here’s how the precincts voted:
Blythewood 1 (Cobblestone area) – Griffin, 53 and Gordge, 25
BLYTHEWOOD – The annual town council retreat held Saturday
at The Manor focused on annexation, zoning, the farmers market, security for
council meetings, the budget and more, including a presentation by Jay Bender,
media attorney who represents the S. C. Press Association. Bender discussed
ways governments can be more open and achieve transparency by complying with
the S.C. Freedom of Information Act.
Zoning and Land Use
S.C. media attorney Jay Bender discussed the state’s Freedom of Information Act. | Barbara Ball
Town administrator Brian Cook opened saying the planning
commission will soon begin review the town’s comprehensive land use plan as
well as the master plan. He specifically discussed zoning categories – the
number of the town’s commercial zoning categories (six) and the number of
zoning categories in general which he feels may be excessive for a town
Blythewood’s size.
“While larger municipalities have a need for more zoning categories,
I’m not sure a small town like Blythewood needs as many as we have,” Cook told
The Voice.
He said much of the comprehensive plan is outdated and that
the planning commission needs to be looking it over as they prepare to work
with the Midlands Council of Government or another organization to develop a
new comp plan next year for Blythewood.
“The comp plan is a guide for future zoning,” Cook reminded
council members. “We need to know how we want to grow and where we want to grow
or not grow. We can be wide open for development; we can be a little more
cautious with development or we can put the brakes on development altogether,”
Cook said.
Cook also suggested that the town’s master plan, which was
created in March, 2019, be reviewed.
“It’s a fluid document and we need to update our priorities
on a regular basis,” he said.
Annexation
Annexation was high on Mayor Bryan Franklin’s campaign list
when he ran for office last fall. His goal, he said at a recent town council
workshop, is to annex the entire 29016 Blythewood zip code.
To that end, town attorney Jim Meggs explained to council
the three kinds of annexation methods available to the town besides volunteer
agreements to annex into the town.
“Freeholders (any person owning at least 1/10th interest in
a parcel) can voluntarily sign a petition to annex into a town,” Meggs said. “A
town can aggregate several tracts if those freeholders sign the petition. This
can, however, leave holes of unannexed parcels circled by the town.”
Meggs said legislation is in committee now to allow towns to
annex those holes by force if they are less than 25 acres and have been circled
by the town for more than five years. This is referred to as the enclave method
of annexation.
“Before annexation of any property can take place, it must
be contiguous with the town and it cannot be part of another town,” Meggs said.
Water Covenant Annexation
“If the town cannot convince freeholders to annex
voluntarily, the town can, if it offers water, use water covenants to bind the
freeholder to sign an annexation petition, if present, when that property
becomes contiguous with the town,” Meggs said. “That’s not to say, however,
that the utility wouldn’t cut your water off [if you didn’t comply],” he added.
Meggs said Fort Mill once used that tactic successfully to force annexation of
a large swath of properties.
75 Percent Annexation
A second annexation method is the 75 percent petition
method. If the town wants to annex an area, it must get signatures of
freeholders who own at least 75 percent of the total assessed value of the
subject properties the town is seeking to annex. With this method, the town is required
to specify what services the town will provide the properties when they are
annexed. The 75 percent can force the unwilling 25 percent of the properties in
the subject area to annex.
25 Percent Annexation
If 25 percent of registered electors [not property owners]
in a subject area outside of town sign an annexation petition and get
certified, there would be an election conducted on the question of whether to
be annexed or not, Meggs said. But if a majority of the electors vote in favor
of annexing into the town, then the town can annex the territory.
Under this method, owners of large parcels over 25 acres can
opt out. This method was used unsuccessfully last year by the Fairfield County
town of Jenkinsville.
A technical feature of the 25 percent annexation method is
that if the election is successful, then 5 percent of the electors of the town
can present a petition denying or confirming the annexation.
Security
Councilman Donald Brock raised the question of whether council
should have security present at all council meetings. He suggested that while
there is not a hostile environment at council, he said it was the consensus of
those attending a recent municipal institute session that government meetings
should hire security to be present during all town meetings. It was suggested
that security cover planning commission, board of zoning appeals meetings as
well as other meetings.
“So the question I propose is, does the Town of Blythewood
need security at town meetings?” Brock said. “No one would have thought years
ago that someone would walk into an elementary school and do what they did. But
I’m not trying to instill any sort of fear or angst or nervousness.”
“I don’t want it to look intimidatng. I don’t want it to
look like a Richland County meeting where you try to speak and the police come
and get you. That’s not what we do in Blythewood,” Franklin said.
Franklin said council would further discuss the issue at the
next meeting.
Other issues
Council also discussed the following:
whether to build a farmer’s market building in the park to accommodate not only the market but other events, such as the artist guild’s spring and winter events that required indoor settings.
whether to incorporate the use of filming/video, streaming and uploading council meetings to various online platforms,
what parameters should be set for determining who should receive A-tax and H-tax funds and how those awarded the funds should handle profits.
These subjects will be discussed in more detail at future
council meetings.
WINNSBORO – The County Administration and Finance Committee recommended to council the allocation of $130,000 Monday evening for two capital building projects intended to contribute to the overall health of Fairfield County residents – a fitness center and the Farmer’s Market building.
The the recommended funds come from the existing $500,000 capital building projects budget.
“We’re using $30,000 of that money to renovate part of the
old Everett School building [located in Drawdy Park behind the county
administration building] for use as a recreation center facility,” County
Administrator Jason Taylor said. “About a third of the $30,000 will be spent on
the fitness area, a third on the office area and a third on storage.”
“The remaining $100,000 will be used toward the farmer’s
market building, to take it from just a farmer’s market to an event facility
that will bring in revenue,” Taylor explained. About $20,000 will be used to
finish out the restrooms, $10,000 to bring a water line to the building,
$30,000 for sprinklers and $40,000 for kitchen equipment.
The county is receiving additional funding from grants from
Parks and Recreation Development (PARD) , Dominion Energy and from a Healthy
People Healthy Carolinas (HPHC) grant awarded through a 3-year, $450,000 Duke
Endowment grant that was awarded in 2016 to Fairfield Forward (previously
Fairfield Community Coordinating Council), a 501 (c) (3) non-profit that is
dedicated to identifying and addressing the health needs of Fairfield County
residents.
“This grant money is to be spent for evidence-based
interventions,” the county’s Community Development Director Chris Clausen told
the committee, “on ways to make people healthier, giving them better
opportunities to eat better or to have a more active lifestyle. So these two
projects, in particular, were of interest to Fairfield Forward. They were
already looking to do something for the farmers’ market. However, given the
other constraints that we currently have, we have to complete the building,
essentially, prior to July 1,” Clausen said. “With this funding Fairfield
Forward is trying to spend, the Drawdy Park project also came up so they wanted
to help with that as well.”
Since the first cycle of the $450,000 ($150,000/year for
three years) from the Duke Endowment is almost over and the remaining funds
need to be spent prior to July 1, the Fairfield Forward board voted to spend
$75,000 on the fitness area equipment and $10,000 for temporary market manager
positions at the farmer’s market to assist with processing SNAP payments.
“The board wanted to expend some funding on the purchase of
kitchen equipment at the farmers’ market,” Taylor said, “but given the
timelines with the grant, they opted to revisit this in the next funding cycle.
A $60,000 PARD grant will go toward a new HVAC system for
the fitness area and office space. With the $75,000 being donated by Fairfield
Forward and $60,000 from PARD, the fitness center project comes in at $165,000.
The request for the $130 funding from the county’s existing
capital building project funds will next go before full council for
consideration.
WINNSBORO – Three suspects wanted for two armed robberies in
Fairfield County have been arrested, Fairfield County Sheriff Will Montgomery
said.
Nycholas D Price, 27, of the Mitford area, has been charged
with two counts of armed robbery and two counts of possession of a weapon
during a violent crime, for twice robbing the Grand Central Truck Stop, located
at the intersection of SC 200 and Interstate 77. The truck stop was robbed on
Aug. 31, 2019 and again on Sept. 9, 2019.
Since Price’s arrest, investigators have also arrested two
other suspects in the robberies. Marquavius R Williams, 27, of Shirley Road in
Fort Lawn has been charged with armed robbery and possession of a weapon during
a violent crime. Breanna N. McCurray,
26, of Frances Avenue in Great Falls has been charged with two counts of
conspiracy to commit armed robbery.
During the August incident, two masked individuals entered
the store armed with a hammer and machete. They stole money and fled, according
to sheriff’s reports. During the September incident, officials say one masked
individual entered the store armed with a machete, stole money and fled the
scene.
Celebrating their combined efforts to pass an ordinance to outlaw tethering dogs in Fairfield County are, from left, kneeling: Fairfield County Animal Control Director Bob Innes and his staff, Leah Oswald, Nikki Jones and Samira Yaghi; Hoof & Paw board members Kathy Faulk, Paula Spinale, Minge Wiseman and Linda Moore. Back row, from left: County Administrator Jason Taylor, H & P member Mary Lynn Kinley, county council members Moses Bell, Clarence Gilbert, Mikel Trapp, Bertha Goins, Douglas Pauley, Jimmy Ray Douglas and Hoof & Paw president Deborah Richelle who is holding a photo of one of the group’s longtime leaders, the late Shirley Locklair. | Barbara Ball
WINNSBORO – Fairfield County voted unanimously Monday night
to unleash a ban on animal tethering, an important protection animal advocates
say will help reduce animal injuries and abuse cases. Members of the Hoof and
Paw Benevolent Society as well as staff from the county animal shelter were on
hand to celebrate the ordinance.
“It’s been a longtime coming,” Hoof and Paw board member
Kathy Faulk, a Fairfield County resident, said. “It’s a positive move forward
for our county.”
The ordinance also includes provisions curtailing animal
hoarding. The vote followed a workshop a week earlier where the county sought
input from the community about the proposed law.
A key component of the Fairfield ordinance is a set of
guidelines for replacing tethering with a trolley system, which resembles a zip
line. With a trolley, leashes are attached to an overhead cable that gives dogs
greater freedom.
Trolley lines must measure at least 20 feet between
endpoints, and dogs attached to trolleys must wear a harness. The ordinance
prohibits attaching the trolley leash to a collar. Harnesses are considered
safer because they wrap around a dog’s chest instead of having a collar around
a dog’s neck.
Councilman Moses Bell asked whether the county animal
shelter might keep in stock a selection of harnesses in various sizes for
residents to purchase. County Administrator Jason Taylor said that would be a
good idea and he would look into the possibility.
The ordinance also calls for dogs to have access to adequate
food, water and shelter.
An earlier version of the ordinance allowed limited
tethering for short durations, but the final ordinance bans tethering
altogether.
“[This ordinance] takes the tethering concept away,” said
Tommy Morgan, the county’s attorney.
“This [revision] is needed on so many levels,” Faulk said.
At an earlier meeting, she thanked council for their promotion of animal
welfare in Fairfield County and also called for an end to overbreeding and
hoarding in the county.
Chain, Collar Injuries
To illustrate the problem of animal abuse caused by tether ing,
Faulk distributed to council members a stack of graphic photos of dogs with
deep neck wounds that resulted from tethering.
“We were mortified, very sad and angry as we looked at these
photographs,” Faulk said.
“We seem to be picking up more and more animals that are
injured by chains and collars,” Bob Innes, the director of the county’s animal
control and adoption center, added.
While the ordinance also cracks down on animal hoarding,
Morgan said the ordinance isn’t directed at legally operated kennels or
livestock.
In regard to multiple animals living in a home, Taylor said
owners of multiple indoor animals must first have a license, and it must be
determined that the location is suitable for this type of operation.
“More rules will need to be put in place to state what will
qualify as a kennel,” Taylor said. “The state rules for a kennel are that you
must have a concrete floor with a drain to be able to be washed out each day
and have a place for the drain water to go,” Taylor said.
“Once the ordinance is in effect, will there be a window
with proper notification before citizens are held accountable to the new rules,
such as the new trolley/harness system?” Council Douglas Pauley asked.
“It should be up to the officers who respond to the calls to
let the citizens know of the new rules and that should take care of a large
part of this concern,” Councilman Jimmy Ray Douglas said.
“Once the ordinance is in place, it would be hard to swing
the pendulum to the other side immediately and think everyone will immediately
know the new rules and be on board,” Taylor said. “There will be an education
period, which will include working with the Sheriff’s Department. In extreme
cases, the new ordinance will be followed. However, within reason, we will work
with the citizens,” Taylor said at the earlier workshop.
Bob Innes, Director of the Fairfield County Animal Shelter
said the ordinance was desperately needed, and suggested it should be phased
in, possibly beginning with the new fiscal year.
Animals Trapped in Vehicles
The ordinance also addresses animals left in vehicles.
“Any regular citizen can break a window if the owner of an
animal [trapped in a vehicle] cannot be found,” Innes said.
At the workshop, Ridgeway resident Randy Bright called all
kinds of animal abuse a “stain on our entire county.”
Bright repeated his previous calls for the solicitor’s
office to more aggressively prosecute animal abuse and neglect cases. He also
noted some cases could be prosecuted under the new federal animal cruelty law,
which carries penalties of up to seven years in prison for the most serious
offenses.
“How can we leverage that? Federal laws have the highest
penalties it seems,” he said.
This is Fairfield County’s second revision in as many years
to its animal control ordinance.
In 2018, council revised the ordinance to include a $500
civil fine for violations. The updated law also includes more detailed
definitions of nuisance animals and requires all pets to be fed once a day and
provided potable water. It also requires mandatory reporting of pets struck by
a vehicle.
The Fairfield County’s anti-tethering ordinance mirrors a
similar ordinance that Aiken County adopted in 2017. Aiken County Administrator
Clay Killian told The Voice that the ordinance has not faced any legal
challenges.
Taxpayers Pay for Abuse
Innes said all types of animal abuse cases, including over
breeding and hoarding, burden taxpayers in the long run.
“There’s a lot of people in this county that are just
chaining a dog and just breeding it and breeding it,” Innes said. “They dump
puppies on animal control, which means taxpayers are picking up the bill.”
The newly approved animal cruelty ordinance is available on the county’s website: fairfieldsc.com.
FAIRFIELD COUNTY – An ATV accident at Carolina Adventure
World (CAW) on Saturday resulted in the death of a Charlotte man, the Fairfield
County Coroner’s Office reported.
Richard Swaney, 23, of Charlotte, NC was riding an ATV at
CAW on Feb. 8, when the ATV rolled over, pinning him underneath. Swaney was
transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
The accident remains under investigation by the Fairfield
County Coroner’s Office.
WINNSBORO – A suspect wanted for two armed robberies in
Fairfield County has been arrested, Fairfield County Sheriff Will Montgomery
has announced.
Nycholas
D Price, 27, of the Mitford area, has been charged with two counts of armed
robbery and two counts of possession of a weapon during a violent crime on Jan.
31, 2020, for twice robbing the Grand Central Truck Stop, located at the
intersection of SC 200 and Interstate 77. The truck stop was robbed on
Aug. 31, 2019 and again on Sept. 9, 2019.
During the August incident, two masked individuals entered
the store armed with a hammer and machete and before stealing money and
fleeing. During the September incident, one masked individual entered the store
armed with a machete, stole money and fled the scene.
Since these incidents occurred, investigators have been
following leads and were able to develop Nycholas Price as a suspect in both
incidents.
Surveillance Video
Investigators have also identified two other suspects in
this case and are asking for assistance from the public in locating them.
Marquavius R Williams, 27, of Shirley Rd in Fort Lawn, is wanted for armed
robbery and possession of a weapon during a violent crime for his role in the
Aug. 31, 2019 incident. Breanna N McCurray, 26, of Frances Avenue in Great
Falls, is also wanted for two counts of armed robbery.
If anyone has information regarding this incident or the
location of either of these two individuals, they are asked to contact the
Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office at (803) 635-4141 or Crime Stoppers at
1-888-CRIMESC (888-274-6372) or visit www.midlandscrimestoppers.com to email a
tip. The caller’s identity will be kept anonymous and, if your tip leads to an
arrest, you could be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000.00.
