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  • County sues over failed roads, bridges

    RIDGEWAY – As Fairfield County plans a major economic development investment by building a water and sewer plant, pending litigation has complicated another multi-million dollar infrastructure project.

    Fairfield County says an engineering firm and general contractor are responsible for the failure of several support walls at the Fairfield County Commerce Center in Ridgeway, according to pending lawsuit.

    Filed February 10, the suit names Alliance Consulting Engineers, Wiley Easton Construction Company and Mutual Casualty Company as co-defendants.

    The suit seeks actual, incidental and consequential damages in an amount to be determined at trial. It also seeks legal fees and interest.

    “As a direct and proximate result of design and construction defects at the Project, the County has suffered and will continue to suffer numerous damages,” the suit states.

    Those damages, according to the suit, include “water infiltration and resultant property damage to the retaining walls, standing walls, asphalt degradation and separation, erosion, costs to repair the defective conditions and damaged property, and additional maintenance expenses.”

    Alliance, Wiley and Mutual Casualty have filed responses denying most of the assertions in the litigation.

    Alliance and Wiley have also filed counterclaims against F&ME Consultants, a subcontractor working for both firms, naming the company as a third party defendant.

    Wiley has filed two additional counterclaims against subcontractors S&ME, Inc. and Soil Reinforcement Contractors; and a fourth counterclaim against Fairfield County, according to court documents.

    No court date has been set. A deadline of September 7 has been set for pre-trial mediation.

    Fairfield County says in its lawsuit that it contracted with Wiley for $6.54 million to build a road and perform water and wastewater improvements at the Fairfield County Commerce Center in Ridgeway.

    Alliance provided some design and construction administration work related to development and construction of the commerce center. Mutual Casualty provided a performance bond to Wiley for the contract amount, court documents state.

    The work involved building mechanically stabilized earth walls, or MSE walls. The walls were built in pairs at three drainage crossings at three culvert locations along a new access road, according to the suit.

    Fairfield County says that in January 2019, it learned the walls were exhibiting evidence of severe failure, and that the defendants knew about the failures as early as November 2018.

    “The excessive deformation and strength failures will require extensive remediation and stabilization to satisfactorily perform for their intended service lives,” the suit states. “The defective conditions are a result of design and construction errors related to storm water management and site drainage.”

    The county also said that the initial contract required substantial completion within 436 days from the Notice to Proceed. However, various change orders pushed the substantial completion date to 836 days.

    The commerce center issue crept into budget discussions during a county budget workshop Monday night.

    “We need those sites open in the industrial park. Those roads and bridges and stuff that need to be redone, what’s been done to Alliance to make them get off their behinds and go to work?” asked Councilman Jimmy Ray Douglas.

    Taylor pointed to the ongoing litigation, noting it would likely impact next year’s budget. The county anticipates spending at least $100,000 extra in legal fees, according to draft budget documents.

    “That’s one of the things that you’ll see reflected in the budget. We do have considerably more in legal fees this time,” Taylor said. “That’s one of the main reasons we do, we do anticipate having to fully go to court with Alliance.”

    In its response, Wiley denies most of Fairfield County’s allegations, including the allegation that Wiley knew about the wall failures weeks before notifying the county.

    “Defendant asserts that it has learned of potential wall failure and has been working with contractors, engineers and architects in an effort to try to repair the issues with the wall,” the response states.

    Alliance’s and Wiley’s counterclaims assert any deficiencies in the walls is the responsibility of F&ME, citing negligence, breach of contract, warranty breaches and other breaches.

    “F&ME undertook and had a duty to Alliance to exercise and use due care in design, construction, inspection, maintenance, management and/or repair of the Project and to avoid injury or damage to Alliance or the work,” Alliance’s counterclaim states.

    Wiley’s counterclaim also blames the other subcontractors, too.

    “The damages alleged by Plaintiffs, if any, were due solely to the actions of S&ME, Inc., F&ME Consultants, Inc. and Soil Reinforcement Contractors, LLC and were not caused by any act or omission on the part of the Defendant,” the countersuit states.

    Neither F&ME nor Soil Reinforcement Contractors had filed a response as of press time, according to the Fairfield County Public Index.

    On April 7, S&ME filed an answer that denies most allegations in Wiley’s countersuit.

    S&ME says it was retained by Soil Reinforcement Contractors to perform some professional design services for the project, and that Soil Reinforcement Contractors build the walls.

    S&ME’s reply also blames Wiley for the wall failures, saying the contractor “contributed to more than fifty percent (50%) to the cause of the damages,” the response states.

    “The intervening and superseding acts of third parties over whom S&ME had no authority, responsibility, or control” were also responsible, the response continues.

    S&ME has asked that the litigation filed against it be dismissed and seeks court costs and other relief deemed proper.

  • Doko Meadows walking trails open; park, Manor, playground, restroom closed

    BLYTHEWOOD – During a two-hour zoomed town council meeting Monday night, council spent an hour discussing whether or not to re-open the park’s walking trail before voting 4-1 to open it. Councilman Larry Griffin voted against.

    At issue was the fact that the trail has been used steadily since it was officially closed by a vote of town council on March 16.

    Councilman Larry Griffin said he was not against the trail being open, but he felt opening it would be an invitation to citizens to use the entire park.

    Mayor Bryan Franklin disagreed.

    “We opened the Farmer’s Market on Wednesday afternoons until November. If we open the walking trail, and then a bunch of kids show up down at the [park’s] rugby field, now they’re violating the governor’s executive order [for social distancing] and they can be prosecuted. So, when you say if the trail’s open, the whole park’s going to be open, that’s not true,” Franklin said. “We are allowing only for the walking trail to be open. But if someone wants to get out of their truck and walk their dog, get back in their truck and go home, to me that’s common sense. They’re doing what the governor has mandated in his executive order. I trust the people to use common sense. But if a crowd gathered in the park and I found out about it, I would call Deputy Kevin Dukes and have him go over there and break the crowd up because they would be violating the law.”

    Councilman Donald Brock said he didn’t believe access could be restricted to just the walking trail.

    Franklin again said that if people are congregating in the park, a law was put in place by the governor that can be enforced to break up crowds. He said separate families have been seen picnicking in the park and people have been using the walking trail, but he doesn’t see that as a violation. But he reiterated that a bunch of people congregating is a violation of the law that is enforceable.

    “Don’t go down this road of ‘We can’t enforce it,’ Franklin said. “If someone steps off the trail, should they go to prison? That’s not what we’re saying. We’re saying, ‘Come out and walk in this public area, walk your dog, walk your kids, push a stroller, and then get in your car and go home. Don’t congregate.’ I think people are using common sense.”

    Franklin suggested the town could install signs stating that the walking trails are open, but the rest of the park, restrooms, playground, Manor and town hall remain closed to the public.

    After making several attempts to call for a vote during the almost-hour-long discussion of the trail closing, Councilman Eddie Baughman made a motion to open the trail only. Even then, there were questions from other council members about whether coronavirus germs might be lurking on areas of the amphitheater that could infect park visitors and whether or not the germs could live on concrete surfaces.

    “The bottom line,” an exasperated Franklin said, “is that many, many public areas are open now that are known as grocery stores where the public congregates. You get my point.” Baughman’s motion passed just before the clock struck 9 p.m

  • County revenue down, expenses up

    WINNSBORO – After a year of robust industrial growth and budget surpluses, Fairfield County’s outlook is much more conservative in 2020-2021.

    Declining tax revenues partially tied to the transfer of lands associated with the collapse of SCE&G and the new arrangement between Dominion and Santee-Cooper, looks to pinch next year’s budget, which council members discussed at a workshop Monday night.

    “We do anticipate revenues being down considerably, by a million to a million and a half potentially,” County Administrator Jason Taylor said.

    Taylor said the county will need to replenish reserves it typically spends on incentives and also matching state funds, further cramping the budget.

    “We’re going to have to be more fiscally conservative this year,” Taylor said. “We are not proposing any capital investments of a large magnitude nor any large projects this year.”

    Fairfield County’s net position surged by $1.9 million in the 2019-2020 fiscal year. Revenues alone were up about $507,000.

    But with the budget tightening, next year’s budget will be heavily focused on providing essential services.

    “It is always important that we protect our revenues so that we can provide our core services that keep people safe, our fire, our EMS, our sheriff’s department. We have to support those services,” Taylor said.

    Monday’s budget workshop was live streamed via YouTube due to the coronavirus pandemic social distancing requirements. Another budget workshop has tentatively been scheduled for Monday, May 4 at 5:30 p.m.

    At Monday’s workshop, some council members asked about the fund balance. Comptroller Anne Bass said the total fund balance has about $22 million, up about $1.33 million from last year.

    However, the county expects to spend roughly $5.5 million from the fund balance to help meet expenses. It’s a practice the county otherwise prefers to avoid.

    “We’ve been very fortunate in the past where we didn’t have to pull from it,” Bass said. “We certainly don’t want to make that dependence greater.”

    Salary increases are a priority in next year’s budget, with an emphasis on lower tier employees, such as mechanics, corrections officers, dispatchers and heavy equipment operators, said Brad Caulder, the county’s Human Resource director.

    Those positions, Caulder said, are extremely hard to fill because comparable positions in the private sector offer considerably higher pay. Offering higher raises to lower wage earners costs about the same as offering more modest increases across the board and is more appreciated than occasional one-time bonuses, he said.

    “You’ve got a lot of industry paying $14, $15, $16 an hour. Our maintenance positions are nowhere near that,” Caulder said. “We can’t fill temporary spots. We would achieve a lot more this way.”

    Council Chairman Neil Robinson and Councilman Moses Bell both liked the tiered approach to raises, with Robinson noting “It brings them up to a level playing field.”

     Lawsuit lifts legal costs

    The proposed budget also includes an additional $100,000 in legal expenses, mostly in relation to a pending lawsuit at the Fairfield County Commerce Center.

    In February, Fairfield County sued Alliance Consulting Engineers and Wiley Easton Construction Company relating to failed road and bridge work at the Commerce Center off Peach Road.

    Councilman Jimmy Ray Douglas raised the issue early in the budget meeting.

    “We need those sites open in the industrial park. Those roads and bridges need to be redone.” Douglas said.

    Taylor pointed to the ongoing litigation [See ‘County sues over failed roads, bridges,’ p1], noting it would likely impact next year’s budget.

    “That’s one of the things that you’ll see reflected in the budget. We do have considerably more in legal fees this time,” Taylor said. “That’s because we anticipate having to fully go to court with Alliance.”

     Bonuses, solicitor office salaries

    In other budget matters, council members questioned two other compensation related proposals — longevity bonuses and solicitor’s office salaries.

    The early budget draft calls for $50,000 for longevity bonuses to be divvied up among veteran employees.

    Caulder said the bonuses have historically been written into past budgets and are paid out around Christmastime. He said some employees with two years of experience who technically didn’t qualify for the bonuses felt left out.

    Councilman Douglas Pauley noted that longevity bonuses should only be paid to workers with longer tenure.

    “I don’t see one year as longevity. I would ask that council consider a period of 10 years or five years,” Pauley said. “If you’re here a year or six months, you’re on probation. I would like to see that restructured.”

    Council members also seemed lukewarm over a request from Solicitor Randy Newman, who’s requesting a $25,189 (28 percent) budget increase, according to budget records. The solicitor’s office also represents Chester and Lancaster counties, and receives additional funding from the state.

    County leaders said the solicitor wants to establish a drug court and also create a salary ladder.

    “This is something he brings up every year. The solicitor has been an advocate for his department, and he’s asking for additional wages to attract qualified applicants,” Taylor said. “That’s what he’s trying to do, to move people up as they prove themselves. We have pushed back on it in the past.”

    Robinson was skeptical of the request.

    “We’re cutting county agencies almost to the bare minimum and we have outside agencies coming in and requesting [funds],” he said.

    Pauley agreed.

    “It’s not the county’s fault that the state isn’t funding him like it should be,” Pauley said. “The state had a huge surplus this year. It’s not the county to pick up what the state’s not funding.”

  • National women’s golf tourney planned for Blythewood

    BLYTHEWOOD – The Women’s South Carolina Golf Association’s (WSCGA) 3rd annual South Carolina Open Championship is moving from Seabrook Island Club to Cobblestone Park this summer, Mayor Bryan Franklin announced at the Monday night zoomed town council meeting. He said the nationally televised tournament will be held Aug. 12 – 16, promising to bring as many as 3,000 – 4,000 spectators to the town.

    Franklin said the event will bring over 500 touring professionals, senior tour and amateur players and nationally ranked amateurs. Players’ families, caddies, ancillary staff and several national publications and media will also attend, Franklin said, generating substantial revenue for local area hotels, restaurants and businesses in the town.

    The change of venue came after the Seabrook Island Club course was closed this year for major renovations.

    “This is an opportunity for Blythewood to host the event and, of course, if we do a great job with it this year, it might come back,” Franklin told council. “It’s something we may allocate money to.”

    To bring the tournament to Blythewood, the WSCGA is requesting a $20,000 hospitality tax award from the town to go toward the projected $68,000 total budget for the event.

    “That’s a lot of money, but once we get people coming to the tournament and the television stations start covering it, people in Blythewood can rent their homes out. All the hotels will be full. You can do Airbnb, all those kinds of things that will be a shot in the arm for the town,” Franklin said.

    He said admission to the tournament will be free this first year to encourage citizens to come to it and see what’s going on.

    Franklin said much of the credit for bringing the event to Blythewood goes to Kristi Coggins, a former University of South Carolina golf coach and a member of the Ladies Professional Golf Association, who lives in Blythewood.

    “Kristi and her husband Buck have worked hard to bring this tournament to Blythewood,” Franklin said. “Everything here has been shut down and this event could start bringing people back to Blythewood, to get some much needed money in here to stimulate our local businesses and tourism – all that H-Tax and A-Tax revenue that we’re missing out on. This will help our town.”

    Council also discussed awarding H-Tax and A-Tax funds to three other events.

    The Big Red Barn has asked for the most – $25,000 (double what it received last year) – for a music event to be held in September or possibly next spring in Doko Park. The event’s organizers said the top attendance has been around 1,000. 

    A new event, Queens of the Castle Basketball Showcase at Westwood High School is requesting $20,000 for a tournament to be held Dec. 3-5.

    Bravo Blythewood has requested $5,000 for its annual Holiday Market to be held at the Manor, Nov. 5-7.

    All H-Tax and A-Tax requests will be voted on at a later meeting or as event dates are finalized in conjunction with COVID-19 social distancing restrictions.

  • Absentee Voting Changes – Fairfield County

  • Sheriff’s Office looking for suspect for breaking and entering

    GREAT FALLS – On Friday, April 17, between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. an unknown individual broke into a building in the Great Falls area of Fairfield County near SC 200 and Tender Lane. An image of the suspect (shown here) was captured on a surveillance camera.

    If you recognize this individual, you 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. Your 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.

  • Now you have to Dial 803

    Because a new area code is going to be added to the Midlands area next month, 803 numbers can no longer be dialed locally without first dialing 803.

    Beginning May 1, a new 839 area code will be added to the region that is now covered by only by 803. This region includes Fairfield, Richland, Chester, York, Lancaster, Lexington and Kershaw counties.

    Current 803 phone numbers will not change in these areas, but new phone numbers in these areas after Saturday will have an 839 area code.

    Don’t forget, you can’t reach current 803 area code numbers without first dialing 803.

  • Fatality in 3-vehicle crash in Fairfield

    FAIRFIELD COUNTY – One person was killed late Saturday night in a three-vehicle collision in the southbound lane of I-77 just south of where the interstate intersects with Highway 34, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

    The crash occurred at about 10 p.m. near the 38-mile marker, Master Trooper David Jones said.

    The driver of a 2007 Toyota Tacoma truck had stopped in the highway and the pickup truck’s lights were off, according to Jones.

    The Toyota was hit by two vehicles heading south on I-77, a 2016 Nissan Altima and a 2014 Peterbilt 18-wheel tractor-trailer, Jones reported.

    The driver of the pickup truck was not wearing a seat belt and died at the scene, Jones said.

    Neither the drivers of the Nissan nor the 18-wheeler were injured in the collision and both were wearing seat belts, according to Jones.

    No other injuries were reported.

    Information on why the Toyota was stopped without its lights on was not available.

    The Fairfield County Coroner’s Office will identify the driver after notifying the next of kin.

    The crash remains under investigation by the S.C. Highway Patrol.

  • Fatal traffic accident on I-77 in Blythewood

    BLYTHEWOOD – A Fort Mill woman died in a traffic accident on I-77 at mile marker 28, just north of Blythewood just before 7:30 a.m., Saturday.

    Cassandra Harrington, 23, was pronounced dead at the scene after losing control of her vehicle and leaving the roadway and colliding with a tractor-trailer.  An autopsy revealed that the cause of death was blunt force trauma.

     The Richland County Coroner’s Office and the South Carolina Highway Patrol continue to investigate this incident.

  • Panel plans wastewater upgrade

    WINNSBORO – A proposed capital projects sales tax to help finance a new wastewater treatment plant is expected to generate roughly $11.5 million over the next eight years, according to Fairfield County estimates.

    Particulars of how those funds should be allocated and administered rests with a newly created capital projects sales tax commission, which held its inaugural meeting April 15.

    The commission is tasked with developing a proposed referendum question, which Fairfield County Council must adopt by August 15 for it to appear on the November general election ballot.

    The need for a wastewater plant is simple – economic development, said County Administrator Jason Taylor.

    “A sewer plant is essentially a means to an end. That end is a better quality of life for our citizens, economic opportunity for our citizens,” Taylor said. “We have a declining population. We have to do something to turn that around, to make Fairfield County sustainable economically.”

    The proposed wastewater plant would be built at a location that hasn’t been disclosed because property negotiations are ongoing. Once the land is purchased, the county plans to build the wastewater plant there.

    If voters approve the referendum, the tax would go into effect in May 2021 and generate about $1.4 million per year in the first three years, with modest growth possible in future years, said C.D. Rhodes, an attorney assisting Fairfield County with the referendum.

    Rhodes spent most of last week’s meeting briefing committee members on the nuances of state law regarding capital projects sales taxes.

    The proposed tax would add a penny of sales tax to most items except groceries and medicine. Revenues raised could be used to leverage additional funding via general obligation bonds, Rhodes said.

    “I think in this case, that’s going to be a necessity,” he said. “It really is an excellent tool. It’s a flexible tool for counties to use to fund these large-scale [projects].”

    At least half of the state’s 46 counties use capital projects tax revenues to leverage bonds, and four to five others have done so in the past, Rhodes added

    “This really is on a statewide basis. It’s being seen as an essential tool to fund capital projects,” he said.

    Fairfield County officials say a new wastewater plant is imperative to luring new industry.

    Ty Davenport, the county’s economic development director, said Fairfield is one of five finalists to land a new industry.

    That industry, he said, anticipates using 30,000 gallons of wastewater per day, nearly matching the county’s current daily capacity of 34,000 gallons.

    “That will leave us with 4,000 gallons per day of capacity, which is basically zero,” Davenport said. “If we don’t expand our capacity in the county, economic development basically stops. If you lose a company, you’re going backwards.”

    Economic growth isn’t limited to big industry. Fairfield County officials note that housing growth is at a virtual standstill too without adequate wastewater service.

    “We can’t build a residential neighborhood in the county because it would be difficult to get sewer service. We want good housing stock and good places to live,” Davenport said.

    Tax commission members said they understood the need for economic development, but also wanted more details about the proposed wastewater project and process for funding it.

    To that end, they asked county staff to generate an FAQ list to proactively answer questions that may arise from the public.

    “We need to have sewer and water just to, at a bare minimum, interest people to come into Fairfield County,” said Commissioner Rick Gibson. “But I’d like to be just a little bit more informed before we push off from the shore.”

    Others also inquired about accountability, specifically asking for oversight of how the tax money gets spent.

    Rhodes said the S.C. Department of Revenue (DOR) provides administrative oversight to ensure tax money is spent as intended.

    He also said the judicial system provides another layer of accountability, referencing civil litigation challenging how Richland County’s road tax funds have been spent.

    “In the event that the county council attempts to spend this money in a way that’s outside the bounds of the act, then they would be violating the law, and they’d be subject to a lawsuit,” Rhodes said. “Richland County has been the poster child for playing fast and loose with [sales tax money].”

    Commissioners also asked if tax revenues could be posted online.

    Taylor said that shouldn’t be difficult since the DOR disburses funds quarterly. Rhodes concurred, saying the county and commission should act with transparency.

    “If you are not being transparent, if you’re not engaging the public, then someone out there is going to flush you out,” Rhodes said. “They are going to lambaste you on Facebook and make your life miserable. There is no hiding in this day and age. Being transparent and having lots of public engagement is an absolute necessity if you are going to be successful in one of these initiatives.”

    In other business, the group appointed Herb Rentz as chairman, Charlene Herring as vice-chair and Harriet Brown as secretary. Other members include Randy Bright, Rick Gibson and Russ Brown.