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  • Council finalizing $45.2M budget

    Some Council Members Want $35K Discretionary Fund

    WINNSBORO – Employee pay, infrastructure and vehicle replacement are some of the more costly initiatives in Fairfield County’s proposed $45.2 million budget.

    But it is the comparatively smaller line items that are generating debate.

    Both Councilmen Moses Bell and Mikel Trapp support allocating $35,000 for discretionary funds.

    Each council member would receive $5,000, up from $2,500 that had been approved for council members under the previous (Hinely) administration. The money could be spent for any purpose, according to the proposal.

    When approved previously, discretionary funds were spent on everything from recreation to meals and clothing for children, budget records show.

    At a recent budget workshop, some council members spoke out against handing out discretionary funds to council members.

    “Are you talking about giving each council member $2,500 so he can buy votes?” Councilman Jimmy Ray Douglas said, eliciting laughter.

    Councilwoman Bertha Goins said she thought discretionary funds were an invitation to abuse. She said it would be an accountability nightmare and impossible to administrate so that it’s fair to everyone requesting money.

    “If I had to come out of pocket myself for drinks, water or whatever, I would do that,” Goins said. “But my main priority is getting water and sewer in Fairfield County, because that’s what we need, so count mine (discretionary appropriation) out.”

    Bell, a proponent of budgeting discretionary spending accounts, noted Richland County appropriates $12,000 for each

    of its council members.

    He thought placing accountability on the shoulders of individual council members would mitigate potential abuse.

    “In Richland County, it’s totally discretionary. It’s dependent upon the council members themselves,” he said. “The responsibility is on the council member. They (Richland County) do it very well.”

    County Comptroller Laura Johnson said Fairfield County has funded discretionary accounts in the past, but accountability was lacking.

    “There were no receipts,” Johnson said. “There were no established policies, we were getting to the point where it was to defray the cost of funerals and pay for recreation needs in particular districts.”

    In 2014, the county implemented an application process and formed a review committee, leaving staff to approve or disapprove requests.

    That led to complaints of favoritism when a request was denied or money was used for purposes other than originally requested, Johnson said.

    “We made the mistake of giving them the money first and then ask them to turn in your receipts,” she said. “Then we found that after we got the receipts, it (money) wasn’t used as it was stated in the application.

    “(An) application said it was for healthy eating but you went to McDonald’s or took some people out to Fatz (Café),” she said. “We’ve had applications come in and say we’re going to hand out money to students.”

    The next year, council voted to discontinue discretionary funds altogether.

    During Council’s retreat last month, members focused on improving the county’s image in order to attract more industrial development. One suggestion was to spend a little extra money to build a top notch commerce welcome center near the front of the industrial park that would be the face of the community and rival those in Chester, Orangeburg, Richland, York and Aiken. That could cost as much as $1.2 millon County Administrator Jason Taylor said at the retreat.

    Another concern expressed at the retreat was blight in the county. An additional code enforcement officer to help reduce blight would cost $55,000.

    But Councilman Moses Bell, is looking for $1.5M for a recreation center for his district (Ridgeway) which he said would serve the entire County. Bell proposed the center be built on Highway 21 outside of the Town of Ridgeway adjacent to the county’s recycling center.

    The rec center and a proposed 9 percent pay increase for the Sheriff’s department, if they pass, could make the commerce welcome center and code enforcement officer financially unfeasible.

    The draft budget includes a 3 percent cost of living pay increase for most full- and part-time employees. This is a reversal of the current merit-based pay increases for most county employees, though pay increases in departments under elected officials have been based on cost of living increases.

    The 911 dispatchers would get a 5 percent increase, while sheriff’s department employees would see at least a 6 percent raise. Douglas wants a 9 percent increase for the sheriff’s department.

    The proposed budget includes an extra $109,000 to increase sheriff’s department raises from 6 to 9 percent.

    A 9 percent increase would raise the starting salary for a Fairfield County deputy from $35,000 to $38,000, said Sheriff Will Montgomery.

    “This will make us competitive with other agencies and help us retain deputies as well,” Montgomery said.

    “It would be cheaper than to train new officers,” Douglas said. “Let them have the money they need rather than lose our officers as soon as we get them.”

    Other amendments include six school resource officer vehicles ($263,521), reinstating the vehicle replacement program ($100,000), two mini-parks requested by Trapp for his district ($100,000) and water and sewer land purchases ($400,000).

    Vehicle replacement was a hot topic during the work session, with Bell questioning funding vehicles for SROs.

    “I don’t know why they need new cars,” Bell said.

    Councilman Douglas Pauley noted that SROs perform many other duties aside from monitoring schools.

    “They not only work at the school, but also are subject to answering calls in the community,” Pauley said.

    Two readings have already been given to the budget and council will vote on a list of amendments to the proposed budget Monday, May 13. After one additional workshop following the May 13 vote to give the amendments and county revenues a last look, final reading is scheduled for Tuesday, May 28. The budget takes effect July 1.

    List of Unbudgeted Project Requests

     Others may be added after press time.

    • Additional Code Enforcement Officer to address county blight  – $55,000 (REMOVED)
    • Inmate Pay adjusting from $4 per day to $5 per day – $7500
    • Promise Program to help Fairfield County Residents attend Midlands Tech – $75,000
    • Economic Development Building at the Commerce Park – $1.2 million (REMOVED)
    • 911 Dispatch 5% pay increase – $16,700
    • Two Mini Parks (M. Trapp’s District) – $100,000
    • Water & Sewer Land Purchase – $400,000
    • Chamber of Commerce additional – $25,000 local A & H tax allocation
    • Christ Central Ministries Building Purchase – $55,000
    • Reinstate Council Discretionary Fund – $35,000 ($5,000 each council member)
    • Ridgeway Sports Complex / Recreation Center -$1.5 million
    • 6 % vs. 9% cost of living for Sheriff’s Dept.  – $109,000
    • SRO Officers Cars (6) – $263,521
    • Reinstate Vehicle Replacement Programs – $100,000 annually
    • Additional funding for Disabilities & Special Needs – $12,000 (difference between $43,000 and $55,000).

  • Altered bond doc slips past R2 board

    COLUMBIA – When the Richland Two school board trustees’ former secretary declined to sign documents asserting that Board Chairwoman Amelia McKie is legally allowed to serve on the board, two trustees say the board was not notified the documents were modified to include phrasing dismissive of McKie’s ethics controversy.

    “I was not aware of the addition of the extra line in the bond documents,” trustee James Manning said. “I really don’t have a response to the legitimacy [issue]. I’m spending all my research looking into why that [the paragraph] is there and why we need it, so I’ll be looking at that.”

    Lindsay Agostini, the former board secretary, said her attorney advised her not to sign the documents. She thinks the document revisions should have been brought to the board’s attention.

    “We weren’t briefed as a board,” she said. “I do believe, with the modifications, I think it would’ve been important for the board to be briefed, either individually or as a group.”

    District Superintendent Dr. Baron Davis couldn’t be reached for comment.

    At issue are clauses added to documents relating to the district’s $468.4 million building program. Richland Two voters recently approved a bond referendum that raises taxes to finance construction.

    Added to the bond documents was the following statement:

    “The School District is aware that members of the public have called for the resignation of the current Board Chair because of fines owed by the Board Chair to the South Carolina State Ethics Commission because the Board Chair did not have on file a current Statement of Economic Interest prior to being sworn in to a second term as a member of the Board,” the document states.

    “The School District is not aware of any litigation, regulatory effort, or official proceeding challenging the Board Chair’s right and title to serve as a Board member of Board Chair,” the document continues.

    Agostini repeated her call for McKie to step down as chair, but hasn’t called for McKie’s outright resignation as some members of the public have.

    Manning said he doesn’t question McKie’s eligibility to serve.

    “Our legal counsel has told us based on the current law and previous attorney general opinions, the board really has no purview over whether Ms. McKie is a legitimate board member or not,” he said. “That is beyond board control.”

    Manning thinks state law should more clearly state whether public officials who fail to file ethics forms are legally allowed to serve.

    Section 8-13-1110 of state law says no public official “may take the oath of office or enter upon his official responsibilities” unless a Statement of Economics Interest form is filed.

    Section 8-13-1520 further states that ethics law violations are misdemeanors punishable by up to a year in prison, a $5,000 fine or both.

     

  • Jefferson named SC Teacher of the Year

    Photo: South Carolina Department of Education

    COLUMBIA – Chanda Jefferson of Fairfield Central High School was named the 2020 South Carolina Teacher of the Year last night in Columbia.

    Jefferson received a total of $25,000, use of a BMW for a year and will serve a one-year residency at the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement.

    Jefferson teaches biology at Fairfield Central.

  • E-Capital files for new zoning request

    BLYTHEWOOD – Texas investment firm E-Capital has filed a second application for a zoning change of the Crickentree Golf Course. The request this time is to change the golf course’s current Traditional Residential Open Space (TROS) zoning to Low Density Residential (RS-LD) zoning.

    Low Density zoning allows for 3.63 homes per acre on the 183-acre property.

    Two weeks ago E-Capital withdrew a request before County Council to rezone the TROS to Medium Density Residential (RS-MD).

    The new rezoning request will first go before the Richland County Planning Commission on June 3 at 3 p.m. That body’s recommendation will then be sent to County Council on June 25, for a public hearing followed by the first vote on the issue.

    “That meeting will be the only time that citizens can voice their opinions in person to County Council,” Crickentree resident Michael Kosca said.  “If Council votes for RS-LD, we could end up with 600 homes in our back yard.”

    Both meetings are held at the Richland County Administration Building at 2020 Hampton Street.

    “Our primary concern right now is to reach out to the other golf courses who are also at risk of losing their TROS zoning and being developed – Woodcreek, Windermere and others,” resident Russell St. Marie said.

    The TROS ordinance was passed by Council in 2007 when golf courses in Richland County began to struggle financially, and developers began eying them for residential development. The purpose of TROS, according to the ordinance, was to ensure “the preservation of conservation, recreation, and/or open space; and to lessen the diminution of property values from the loss of open space commonly provided for in a community; and to provide opportunities for improved public and/or private recreation activities; and to provide for a community-wide network of open space, buffer zones and recreation spaces.”

    For those reasons, residents say they want Council to leave the TROS zoning in place.

    Planning Commissioner Heather Cairns also clarified that TROS pertains to golf courses with a neighborhood component, not to golf courses in general.

  • Geiger teacher’s summer reading initiative sparks community effort

    Nicole Hunter’s Child Development class at Geiger Elementary proudly displays some of the books donated by the community for summer reading. | Photo: Nicole Hunter
    Hunter

    RIDGEWAY – What started as a request to friends on Facebook by Geiger Elementary School Child Development teacher Nicole Collins Hunter quickly turned into a community effort.

    Hunter knew that most of her students would not have access to books over the summer and worried about them battling the ‘summer slide,’ so on March 26, Hunter posted a request to her Facebook friends.

    “I need your help,” Hunter wrote. “Studies show that access to books during the summer prevents drastic loss in reading skill, especially for kids in need… I am determined to send my students home with five books for summer reading.”

    Hunter’s students are excited to take their books home for the summer.

    Hunter’s status was quickly shared by community members, and the effort was contagious. Her original goal of five books per student was swiftly met, and, as of May 8, Hunter has received 200 new and gently used books for her 15 students.

    As a way of making the donated books even more special, Hunter asked that donors send a message with the books that she could share with her students. An anonymous Geiger faculty member purchased and donated canvas totes, which will be personalized in a collaboration with the art teacher, for the students to carry their books during the summer.

    “Thanks in advance for helping instill a love of reading that lasts throughout a student’s life,” Hunter concluded in her Facebook plea.

    To contribute to Hunter’s summer book drive, drop new or gently used books off at Geiger Elementary or mail to Nicole Hunter, Geiger Elementary, 150 T.M. Cook Lane, Ridgeway, SC 29130.

    One student looks over his options as he chooses summer reading books.

  • McKie fails to file ethics form… again

    COLUMBIA – In January, after racking up $51,750 in fines over unfiled ethics forms, Richland Two school board chair Amelia McKie vowed she would remedy the problem.

    “I am working with my legal counsel to address the fines and penalties imposed,” McKie said at a January board meeting. “I’ve learned a lot from my experience. It’s a problem that certainly will not happen again.”

    Apparently, it has happened again.

    As of Tuesday, McKie had not filed her quarterly campaign disclosure report with the S.C. Ethics Commission, according to the agency’s online database.

    The disclosure report was due April 10.

    Replying via email Tuesday evening, McKie disputed she had any missed ethics filings.

    “All my filings are compliant,” the email said.

    Disclosure reports not filed between 2016 and 2018 prompted the ethics commission to fine McKie $41,000 in July 2018. Another $10,750 was tacked on after she failed to pay a percentage by Dec. 31, 2018.

    At the Jan. 22 board meeting, while reading from a prepared statement, McKie publicly apologized for the ethics flap.

    “I made a number of mistakes and trying to address them simply got out of hand,” she said. “I am human. I’m not infallible. I am responsible and I am not running from those problems. I am taking action to fully resolve and address them.”

    News of the missed filing comes as several public citizens and a fellow board member have called upon McKie to step down as board chair or the board altogether. McKie has said she’s not stepping down.

  • Eagles on the hunt for state title

    Cam Bass (18), Tyler Tanner (6), Luke Martin and assistant Coach Brent Silvia celebrate Monday’s walk-off win at the plate. | Photos: Martha Ladd

    WINNSBORO/EHRHARDT – Monday night’s matchup against Andrew Jackson Academy was one for the storybooks. Trailing the Confederates for almost the entire game, it looked to be a bleak ending for the Eagles in game one of the three-game SCISA 1A Semifinal series. In true hero fashion, sophomore Zack Taylor drove in the winning run with a walk-off double to give the Eagles the 4-3 win.

    It was a pitcher’s duel kind of night. After three scoreless innings, the Confederates took control of the game in the fourth on some key Eagle fielding errors, scoring two on passed ball. With a 2-0 lead, the Confederates looked to be in the driver’s seat.

    Luke Martin led off the bottom of the fourth with a single to right and scored off of Confederate fielding errors. The Eagles added two more base runners, but couldn’t plate any runs before ending the inning.

    The 2-1 score remained until the Eagles took the field for the top of the seventh. Richard Winn quickly got the first two Andrew Jackson batters out. Then, a Confederate runner reached first on a dropped third strike. A fielding error on the next at bat scored a run to put Andrew Jackson ahead 3-1 heading into the bottom of the frame.

    With one out looming, Hudson Wade singled on a ground ball to short that ignited the Eagles’ rally. Then, a strikeout left the Eagles with no outs to spare.

    Taylor’s seventh inning double was his 13th of the season.

    Martin reached first on an error by the shortstop, advancing Wade to second. Dru Caldwell reached base on an error from a fly to center that scored Wade and put Martin in scoring position. Brandon Miller followed with a line-drive single to center to plate Martin and tie the game at 3. Then Taylor blasted his sole hit of the night, a game-winning, walk-off double to left.

    Taylor picked up the win on the mound for the Eagles, facing 29 batters in seven innings of work. He struck out eleven, allowing only one hit and three runs.

    The Eagles took the 1-0 series advantage into Tuesday night’s rematch in Ehrhardt. The Eagles looked to be championship-ready. They took a decisive 5-1 win, punching their ticket to the title game and eliminating the Confederates from playoff contention.

    Game two started off in similar fashion with three scoreless innings, but this time the Eagles took the lead and never relinquished it.

    Austin Lancaster led off the fourth with a line drive double to right. Will Carvalho, courtesy runner for Lancaster, advanced to third when the Confederates made a fielding error from Jimmy McKeown’s ground to third. The Eagles loaded the bases with no outs when Hudson Wade was hit by a pitch. The next two Eagle batters followed with outs. Richard Winn looked to end the inning scoreless again until a shortstop error from Dru Caldwell’s grounder plated the Eagles’ first run of the night.

    The Eagles struck again in the top of the sixth. McKeown led off with a walk. Wade put McKeown on second with a fielder’s choice, and John Russell followed with a single, putting runners on first and third. Martin plated McKeown on a line-drive double to right and landed Russell in scoring position at third. Brandon Miller gave the Eagles a 4-0 advantage with a two-out single to left, scoring Russell and Martin.

    Andrew Jackson got on the board in the bottom of the sixth with a solo homerun to left, but a solid Richard Winn defense would not allow any more Confederate runs.

    The Eagles added an insurance run in the top of the seventh when Cam Bass doubled to left, stole third and scored on a sacrifice fly to center from McKeown.

    Wade picked up his fifth win on the mound for the Eagles with the 5-1 victory. He pitched a complete game, allowing only three hits and one run against 25 batters.

    Martin and Lancaster each went 2-4 at the plate with a double.

    Richard Winn’s sweep of the Confederates places them in the SCISA 1A State Championship series against Dorchester beginning Monday. Game one of the three-game series will be played at Dorchester, and the Eagles will host game two at Billy Ladd field on Tuesday. The third game, if needed, will be played on Thursday at a neutral site to be determined.

    The Eagles look to repeat history as the baseball program claimed the SCISA 2A State Title in 2007 with a 2-0 sweep of Dorchester.

    MONDAY: RICHARD WINN 4, ANDREW JACKSON 3

    AJA – 0-0-0-2-0-0-1 – 3, 1, 6

    RWA – 0-0-0-1-0-0-3 – 4, 4, 4

    HITTING: RWA – 1B: Martin, Miller, Wade. 2B: Taylor. RBI: Miller, Taylor. AJA – 1B: Chen (1-3).

    WP – Taylor 7.0 IP, 1H, 3R, 0ER, 11K, 1BB (RWA). LP – Bryce 6.2 IP, 4H, 4R, 0ER, 6K, 3BB (AJA).

    TUESDAY: RICHARD WINN 5, ANDREW JACKSON 1

    RWA – 0-0-0-1-0-3-1 – 5, 8, 0

    AJA – 0-0-0-0-0-1-0 – 1, 3, 2

    HITTING: RWA – 1B: Martin, Miller, Lancaster, Wade, Russell. 2: Lancaster, Bass, Martin. RBIs: Martin, McKe- own, Miller(2). AJA – 1B: Bryce, Colyn. HR: Brunson. RBI: Brunson.

    WP – Wade 7.0 IP, 3H, 1R, 1ER, 1K, 1BB, 1HR (RWA). LP – Brunson 7.0 IP, 8H, 5R, 4ER, 3K, 1BB.

  • Bengals punch ticket to State

    Blythewood claims Upper State Championship with 3-0 shutout of J.L. Mann
    Michael Gregory went 2-2 at the plate with a double and triple. | Photos: Martha Ladd

    BLYTHEWOOD – Two freshman pitchers and two big hits from Michael Gregory and Landon Lucas were just what Blythewood needed Wednesday night.

    Davis Wright and Kevin Steelman combined for seven innings of shutout ball, Gregory tripled in a run in the third and Lucas hit a solo home run in the sixth, and the Bengals clinched their first upper state championship with a 3-0 victory over J.L. Mann.

    “Unbelievable,” head coach Banks Faulkner said of Wright and Steelman’s 4-hitter. “They’ve got unbelievable poise and composure. They’re very mature beyond their years and we’ve got all the confidence in the world in them.”

    Blythewood (25-8) will play Dutch Fork for the 5A state championship in a best-of-3 series. Game one will be at Blythewood Saturday at 7. Game two will be on the road for the Bengals Tuesday night. If necessary, the deciding game will be set at a neutral site Saturday.

    “This just another step in the journey,” Faulkner said. “One of our goals in the offseason was to win the last game we played, and to do that, it’s going to take an unbelievable effort.”

    “It’s been three long years”, Faulkner, who came to coach the program from Summerville in 2016, said. “When I got here this was such a young program that looked nothing like what I left. To see them get to this point has been a process, and we’ve had some guys that have been really committed to being great. It’s been gratifying to see them accomplish this after their hard work and dedication.”

    Freshman Davis Wright picked up the win for the Bengals.

    Wright, third in the team’s rotation, had six starts on the year, but he was still a little nervous in starting the upper state title game.

    “A little bit but once I got through the first inning I was good to go,” Wright said. “It means a lot, all the work we put in, my dad, my mom supported me, all my coaches believed in me. They called the pitches and I executed, and it worked out for us.”

    Gregory provided the run support in the second inning.

    Nate Hinson led off the inning with a double and moved to third after Josh Cowan walked.

    With two out, Gregory got to the plate and took a passed ball that enabled Hinson to score the first run. Gregory then lashed out a triple that easily scored Colton Harman, Cowan’s courtesy runner.

    “It’s crazy, Gregory said. “The top of our order wasn’t performing very well at the beginning of the game and I knew I had to get something started. I went up, not worried, just trying to get the job done. I got a runner in scoring position and found a way to make it work.”

    With two runs on the board, and later Lucas’ sixth-inning shot, Wright and Steelman made it work for them, too.

    “That’s huge,” Gregory said. “They are both so talented, just being freshman and being able to have the poise to go out and combine for seven innings and that’s a huge stage for them.”

    Wright worked a clean first inning. He gave up two hits in the second with one out before striking out two straight Patriots to get out of the jam. He got into trouble in the fourth inning but escaped a bases-loaded jam when Cody Nichols grounded into a fielder’s choice.

    “Throughout the season I’ve been put out for about four innings,” Wright said. “Coach knows what he’s doing and he made the right move.”

    Freshman Kevin Steelman (24)

    Steelman found out he would take the mound last weekend, when assistant coach Trey Dyson was playing in a local golf tournament with Steelman’s dad.

    “I was working there, and I went up to him and (Dyson) tossed me a baseball and told me to change my grips and stuff,” Steelman said. “He just told me to be ready because I would be playing on Wednesday.”

    When Davis finished up, he set the stage for Steelman.

    J.L. Mann’s Tomas Frick got on board with an error to lead off the inning, but Steelman got Reed Morrissey to hit into a 6-4-3 double play on the next at-bat. Ben Lumsden flied out in centerfield to end the inning.

    The right-hander struck out two in the sixth and two more in the seventh innings—generally the territory for closer Josh Cowan, the team’s starting catcher. Because High School League rules wouldn’t allow Cowan to catch in the nightcap of a doubleheader if he pitched in the first game, Faulkner opted for Steelman to stay on the mound for as long as possible.

    “The rule makes it difficult,” Faulkner said. “If we bring in Josh, and then things don’t happen to go our way, and we can’t use him (for the deciding game). It’s a really tough rule. We were prepared to go to Landon, not an ideal situation, but I felt like Kevin was in control of the game. We were gonna give him a base runner and just let him go.”

    Steelman’s three innings of no-hit ball evaporated Mann’s chance of a comeback.

    “It was crazy. It was scary.” Steelman said. “But I believed in my stuff and just went out there and did my job, threw strikes. My coaches are always building me up. Coach Dyson and Coach Faulkner they always believed in my stuff. I’ve been working on my changeup with Coach Dyson and it really paid off today.”

    Now the Bengals set their sights on winning their last game of the season. The team knows all about Coach Faulkner’s ups and downs with the team over the last three years, and Gregory said Blythewood will do all it can to go one series further.

    “He’s our coach,” Gregory said. “It doesn’t matter what happens, we all love him. It’s been three rough years, but we’re here.”

    Blythewood 3, J.L. Mann 0

    JLM – 0-0-0-0-0-0-0 – 0, 4, 0

    BHS – 0-2-0-0-0-1-X – 3, 4, 2

    WP: Davis Wright (6-2) LP: Freeman S: Kevin Steelman

    Hitters: J.L. Mann – Blythewood – Michael Gregory 2-2, 3B, 2B. Landon Lucas HR (6). Nate Hinson 2B.

  • Part 2: Retreat focused on changing image

    WINNSBORO – During Fairfield County Council’s retreat last month, County Administrator Jason Taylor and his staff – Community Planner Chris Clausen, Economic Development Director Ty Davenport and Deputy Administrator Davis Anderson – guided council members through what Taylor called “thoughts, ideas and discussions of where we want to take the county and how we want to work to improve it.”

    The focus leaned heavily on projects to change the county’s image.  The first seven of the 14 projects discussed were published in the April 25 issue of The Voice. The following is a review of the second seven projects discussed.

    Commerce Welcome Center

    “The economic development building is a nice building at the commerce center but it is not really set up for an [economic development] office,” Taylor said. “We’ve looked for a number of ways to add on to that facility. But to show the county off and to do something that’s nice and impressive and get people’s attention, I would suggest we look at something bigger and better out there that helps sell Fairfield County. Something that would let people know we’re forward looking and not just some small, unimpressive office.”

    Davenport said an addition to the current building is estimated to be $400,000. A new stand-alone building is estimated at $1.2 million on the high end.

    “We need to do something that is the face of the community,” Davenport said. “It’s the first thing that prospects see. We need to keep up with the Jones. It needs to be as nice as those in Orangeburg, Aiken, Richland, Chester and York. They all have great facilities. We need to be at this level,” he said.

    ‘I would love to build a new building up near the front of the park so that when you pull up to the park, it catches the eye, like, “Wow, this is Fairfield County?” Taylor added. He conceded, however, that a new build might not be financially feasible when council looks at the budget.

    “We’ll have to see what happens,” Taylor said, adding several possibilities to help fund it.

    “It could house the Water Authority which is a separate entity that generates its own revenue, so it would pay rent in the new building,” Taylor said. “We hope to bring Mitford in and are working with Winnsboro…we’d have 900 new customers almost immediately which would actually generate revenue to help support a new building. We have to have a place for the Water Authority and this would be an appropriate place for it.”

    Sewer Plant Property

    “We need to purchase property for a sewer plant and get it nailed down,” Taylor said. “That’s a top priority.”

    “We plan to design a two million gallon plant expandable to four-million gallons that will initially discharge up to 2 million gallons of effluent a day.” Davenport said.

    “We’ve been working with DHEC on this for a long time, Taylor said. “Commerce awarded us $2 million to survey and preform engineering studies on the megasite. A portion of those funds were also used for engineering studies necessary to design the wastewater treatment plant. We are working with Thomas and Hutton Engineering to get the permitting and design engineering approved by DHEC,” Taylor said.

    Then, when we have someone who wants to locate on the megasite, we drop the hammer and build the treatment plant. They’d be looking at only 15 months of construction instead of 3 – 4 years if they had to start from ground zero.”

    Farmer’s Market

    “Economic Development brings jobs. Community Development makes people who get those jobs want to say here and spend their paychecks here. And that’s what the Farmer’s Market and the Market parking lot are about” Taylor said.

    The County has restored the stable building on East Washington Street with $35,000 from the Chamber of Commerce. Taylor said that while it is being restored for use by the Farmer’s Market, it can also be used as an event center for weddings, reunions, parties and other events that will bring in revenue.

    The County also plans to repave and upgrade the parking lot behind the Market building for parking. Taylor said the idea is to bring people to the downtown area. The events would also bring in revenue for the County. He said it would be a draw for the downtown area.

    “Mom and pop stores and boutiques are what we want downtown. We need an anchor drawing card restaurant downtown. The buildings in downtown are cheap, but it takes a pile of money to get them up and going. We’re looking for more retail and restaurants downtown.”

    Upgrade Fire Stations

    All but about four of our firefighters are volunteers, so if we have a fire during working hours, we have a bad situation,” Anderson said. “To make sure we have round the clock service, we’re going to start improving our fire station living and sleeping areas and showers.”

    “We also need to move toward having more paid staff,” Taylor said. “If we have a huge plant located at the megasite, we can’t tell them we have a volunteer fire service. No, they’re going to want dedicated service. For economic development, we have to assure them that if they have a need, someone’s going to show up.

    Court House

    Taylor said the Court House must be restored because of moisture, mildew and mold and other problems. It is a bond project that was allocated about $2.1 million.

    “But that’s an old number and we’ll need to add about 10 percent more now,” Taylor said.

    Anderson said about $1.3 million is allocated for repairs of the HVAC, lighting and infrastructure for computer systems. To save money, the county asked engineers to estimate costs to work on the building without moving out the employees.

    “So they will be in there working on it at night and by 9 a.m., the employees can go back in to work during the day. The night and weekend work will cost another $300,000,” Anderson said, “plus an additional 10 percent. So we’re going to try to do that – working at nights and weekends and stay within budget.”

    Drawdy Parking Lot

    “When you go down to Drawdy Park in the afternoon, it’s chaos with 200 – 300 kids,” Anderson said. “So we’re going to try to put a parking lot there by the old Everett school, so people can actually park and walk down to the fields instead of cars parking on the graveyard and other places they shouldn’t be. This should make it a better municipal park for the citizens.”

    A-Tax & Penny Sales Tax

    “We recently passed the A-Tax ordinance with projections of revenue at about $250,000 a year,” Taylor said. “This revenue stream will do a lot to help community development. We won’t see immediate results because we’ll let it build up about a year.”

    “We’ve got our attorney working on a penny sales tax,” Taylor said. “That’s something that a lot of communities use to a great effect for growth,” Taylor said. “But before we pass it, we have to figure out exactly where we’re going to designate the revenues to go.”

  • Council adopts RC animal ordinance

    BLYTHEWOOD – Town Council voted last week to amend its animal care ordinance to be compliant with the Richland County animal care ordinance.

    In a memo to Council, Town Administrator Brian Cook commented that because the Town contracts by intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with Richland County for animal care, the town would have to operate under the County’s animal control agreement.

    “To secure the enforcement and uniformity of animal control regulations within the Town [and be] in compliance with the animal control ordinances of Richland County and in accordance with the laws of the state of South Carolina,” it would be necessary to adopt the County’s animal care ordinance into the Town’s.