Category: News

John Seibles has been named Chief of Police for the Winnsboro Department of Public Safety. Seibles was appointed interim chief last October after his predecessor Freddy

Lorick, Sr. was arrested in a prostitution sting in Columbia.
Lorick was charged with first-degree solicitation. His trial is slated for April 26 in Richland County.
Winnsboro Town Manager Don Wood hired Seibles for the permanent position  on March 23.
“I had applied for the position and, you know, it’s a small town and you hear little rumors, but the confirmation came and I guess I was not necessarily that surprised, but kind of sort of,” Seibles told The Voice last week.
Seibles’ 42-year career in law enforcement began in the Fairfield County Department of Corrections and included a stint with the Town of Winnsboro from 1978-1982 and later with the Fairfield County Sheriff’s office. He also served 10 years as Director of the Fairfield County Detention Center and after his retirement he returned to the Winnsboro Police Department in 2003 as a Resource Officer.
Seibles said his initial focus as Police Chief will be to upgrade his department, maintain the most up to date equipment and have more extensive training for his officers as well as finding the most qualified officers.
“I think if we have the equipment, make sure we employ the most qualified people we can get, and make sure they’re trained in all areas, then I think we can provide a valuable service to the community,” Seibles said.
Seibles said a strong working relationship between the Town Council and Police Department will be pivotal to fulfilling his desires for the department.
“I am confident that we have a strong enough relationship to make that happen,” Seibles said. “I appreciate them (Town Council) so much,” Seibles said. “I enjoy the relationship, and they’re just awesome.”

The town has installed surveillance cameras in Doko Meadows Park after several incidents of vandalism and the arrest of a Blythewood man for second degree harassment of female joggers in the park.

James Keegan, 40, was arrested Sept. 9, 2016 after several people reported that he was intimidating female joggers in the park. Keegan will have his day in court sometime this month after electing to have a jury hear his case.

According to the incident report, Richland County Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to the park around 6:15 a.m. on Sept. 9, after three female victims complained of a suspicious grey or blue Chevy pick-up truck with a Braves license plate, following them around as they jogged around the park.

As police were on their way to the scene, they witnessed Keegan’s vehicle make a left turn out of the park, then park his car on McNulty road. The officer confronted Keegan who, according to the incident report, began giving conflicting statements, but did indicate he had gone to the park recently.

The incident report stated that Keegan was arrested, “due to the pattern of intentional, substantial and unreasonable intrusion into the daily routines of victims that served no legitimate purpose.”

Allegedly the same vehicle had been described in other reported harassments for up to three months prior to Keegan’s arrest.

Cecil Mosely, Director of Public Works for the Town, told the voice that there have been a number of incidents of vandalism in the park the last couple of years and the Town Council recently authorized the installation of cameras throughout the park.

“The cameras, themselves, have proven to be fairly vandal-resistant after teenagers tried to destroy one. The kids were actually identified on the camera they tried to destroy,” Events and Conference Director Steve Hasterock said. “We have cameras throughout the park as well around Doko Manor.”

“We are serious about protecting the park from problems,” Major Michael J. Ross said, “and when we catch perpetrators, we prosecute.”

Dr. Roger Gaddy handily secured a fourth term as Winnsboro’s mayor with 272 votes, a little more than 62 percent of the 444 votes in Tuesday’s election. His only opponent, Bill Haslett, received 165 votes which amounted to a little more than 37 percent of the votes cast.

Newcomer to politics, Janice Bartell, longtime Winnsboro business woman and owner of Vanity Stylon Hair Salon, received 88 votes to beat her rival, Tony Armstrong who received 16 votes. Bartell, who will represent District 2 on Town Council, replaces Stan Klaus who chose not to run due to health issues.

John McMeekin, who ran unopposed in District 4 to replace Jackie Wilkes, received 196 votes. McMeekin is a former businessman in Winnsboro who for many years owned a furniture store on N. Congress Street.

Gaddy, who had decided late to run for his office a fourth time, said he was happy to continue to be the town’s mayor and looks forward to new horizons for the town that he expects to improve with a new and better working relationship with County officials.

“I’m looking forward to improving the infrastructure of Fairfield County and to being competitive with Richland County and Lexington in a lot of areas that we can now control. It’s an exciting time. There’s  not been a lot of cooperation between the County and the Town in the past, and I’m looking forward to us working together now. It bodes well for the future of the town and the county,” Gaddy said.

“There’s no doubt we did the right thing going to the Broad River for water. I think it showed the County that the Town will take the lead to do what needs to be done,” he added.

“We’re very glad to have Janice Bartell on Council. As a woman and as a downtown business person, she will bring new insight to Council. John McMeekin ran a business downtown for many years, and he’s smart. They will both bring a lot to Council,” Gaddy said.

“In recent years we’ve had drought and water shortages which caused some problems for us,” Gaddy said. “Although we haven’t had money for things that would make an impact on the town, during my 12 years as mayor, we have never had a financial crisis.

“I’m looking forward to the next four years,” he said.

The Planning Commission took a strong stand against recommending high density zoning in the town during their meeting Monday evening. The Commission denied two rezoning options presented by D.R. Horton to rezone the 98-acre Wilson property just north of the Town Center District on Wilson Boulevard. The first option requested a mixed use Planned Development District (PDD) with much smaller lot sizes to be determined by the builder. The second option requested a combination of R-8 (8,000 square foot lots) and R-5 (5,000 square foot lots). The land is currently zoned Development (D-1) which allows development of 20,000 square-foot minimum lot sizes.

The applicant, represented by Jordon Hammond, D.R. Horton’s Land Acquisition Manager, asked the Commission to send recommendations to Council on both zoning options.

The Town’s Planning Consultant, Michael Criss, pointed out, however, that the PDD request might have some flaws, explaining that a PDD is a customized zoning map peculiar to a particular property with a specific site plan for the commercial development. Criss said, however, that D.R. Horton had failed to include a specific commercial site plan in the request packet, and suggested that using a PDD zoning designation could be a way for a developer to get smaller lot sizes and more homes than in traditional zoning districts since unconventional and smaller lot sizes can be carved out in a PDD. Criss said this could be an issue the Commissioners might want to consider.

“State statute says a developer can use the PDD zoning to get smaller lots, but PDD also means mixed use and has a commercial component to it,” Criss said. “There is a 1.7 acre commercial area at the entrance, but is that an adequate amount of commercial land use for 98 acres to qualify for mixed use development?”

“We feel, at staff level, that the minimum lot commercial space should qualify for true mixed use land development,” Criss said. “Because the developer has omitted a specific commercial site plan in the packet, we don’t know what kinds of commercial uses might be planned.”

“Since the statutory language specifies a unified site design, doesn’t that tell us the PDD concept should include not just residential but also say what the commercial land uses are going to be?,” Town Administrator Gary Parker asked Criss.

“Yes, and not just a listing of the uses, but a depiction on the site plan,” Criss said. “And if the Town Council should approve this as proposed, we would need to find a means whereby the commercial component would be assured by the completion of the development.”

In his presentation, Hammond discussed the higher density that is possible for the property.

Commissioner Donald Brock challenged whether the density that could be approved for the property, should be approved.

“If you left it up to homebuyers looking to move to Blythewood, the answer would be absolutely yes,” Hammond said. “The demand for homes out here and in Cobblestone is huge. We’re in touch with homebuyers every day and the demand for this area is more than the density we’re proposing.”

“Yes,” Brock said, “but I don’t know if the demand for yards you can mow with a weed eater is there. Your rezoning request is a very nice masking job, but it’s nothing more than that. It’s skirting the requirement to get the high density zoning that you’re looking for. We have a two-land road out here and a rapidly growing town, and you’re attempting to cram as many homes as you can into a small area. Never mind the increased traffic, increased stress on first responders, police and fire or the school that is currently closed to choice. Bethel-Hanberry Elementary is maxed out and you have to be zoned for it to go there. The 56 units at the apartments that just came in is zoned for it and this development will probably be also. That’s probably almost 300 more children,” Brock said. “You will ruin what is attractive about Blythewood. This is not downtown Columbia.”

“Development is coming to this area,” Hammond countered, “whether it’s inside or outside the town. This is an appropriate way for Blythewood to control growth during a time when you’re going to grow. This is an opportunity for the town. We will improve Wilson Boulevard, and we want to be a part of this growth.”

“You can develop the land under the current R-20 zoning as it’s zoned,” Brock said.

“The property owner is not going to agree to that. And we would miss a demographic which we believe is missing in this market – someone looking to spend less than $350 on a home,” Hammond said. “The reality of the economics to develop 20,000 square-foot lots is that it would not be economical for us to develop it.”

“I stand with Mr. Brock on this,” Chairman Bryan Franklin said. “I think a 20,000 square-foot lot is a decent size.”

As Franklin was preparing to call for a motion, Hammond said that if the Commission recommended R -8 zoning, that he would be fine with that.

“I’m prepared to make R-8 the option,” Hammond said.

Nevertheless, Franklin called for a motion, and Commissioner Brock made the motion to recommend denial for a PDD to Council. The motion passed unanimously.

“You asked for feedback,” Franklin said to Hammond, “this is feedback. It’s not that we don’t understand your position and your business, but in our role here, the growth in Blythewood is so explosive that we need to pause and be responsible. People say to us, ‘You need to fix the roads before you approve another 300 homes.’ That’s where we’re coming from, as well as trying to satisfy you.”

“If you want unchecked growth,” Brock added, “go to Lexington. To put a lot of high density zoning in our town without first developing the infrastructure creates unnecessary stress for the current and future residents. It’s something I don’t think Blythewood can handle right now.”

Hammond asked the Commissioners to, “Imagine you’re the land owner. It’s value to them. You’ve got the power. You’ve got stuff in town to fund. How are you going to fund it? We’re a source for that revenue. R-20 is not viable for us.”

A motion was made to also not recommend option two for both R-5 and R-8 zoning. The vote to deny was unanimous.

The issue will go to Council for a vote on April 24.

Council voted Monday evening to pass first reading on what it called a temporary ordinance that will prohibit mobile vending stands in the Town Center TC District until agreement can be made on a broader, permanent ordinance.
Town Administrator Gary Parker said the new ordinance exempts those vending stands that are in lawful operation at the time the ordinance becomes law.
“This is a short term, stop gap solution to the issue of regulating mobile vending stands that gets to the core of the problem,” Councilman Malcolm Gordge said. “We need to cover more, but I think this makes it clear what our view is.”
“What you see (the new ordinance) is another iteration of the input I’ve had from Council,” Town Attorney Jim Meggs told Council members about the ordinance he presented for Council’s vote. “But this doesn’t address meal trucks or other vendors.”
The new ordinance amends the current ordinance, defining an itinerant merchant as “any person who engages in selling or offering for sale any goods, wares, merchandise or services of any kind from a vending stand. It also defines a vending stand as “not permanently affixed to real property…and which operates under one itinerant merchant or succession of merchants for more than 30 days in any calendar year within the Town of Blythewood.”
The ordinance also states that vending stands “must be removed from the district each day when not open for business and manned by at least one attendant.”
While the ordinance exempts “any vending stand in lawful operation when the ordinance becomes law,” the coffee vending merchant located in the parking lot of Bits and Pieces consignment shop, and that has been the main focus of the issue for several months, would not fall under that exemption since it is no longer mobile. Owner Matt Beyer told Council at the February Council meeting that the coffee trailer had been made stationery and could not be moved.
“Any lawful vending stand businesses must get a business license from the Town and also meet all applicable building code requirement and DHEC regulations,” Parker said.
“Our intent is for this to be a temporary ordinance,” Tom Utroska said. “We expect the Planning Commission to come up with a long term solution to replace this one.”