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  • New hurdles to Mt. Zion relocation

    WINNSBORO – During Monday night’s county council meeting, Council Chair Moses Bell called on several county officials to voice their concerns about plans to relocate the county’s administration operations into the newly renovated Mt. Zion building when it’s completed in October, 2021.

    Bell and Councilwoman Shirley Greene took the lead in voicing those concerns, stating repeatedly that the cost of the renovations to the county has now reached $10 million, up they said, from the initial $8.7 million.

    “That $8.7 million was adjusted to $8.9 million two years ago when council voted to add the teacherage to the project,” according to County Councilman Clarence Gilbert.

    “And the county’s costs are still at $8.9 million, I don’t know where they’re getting those amounts,” Rory Dowling, principal of 1st and Main (the developer), told The Voice on Tuesday, the day after the council meeting. “If they’re including the $900,000 state allotment for the 911 call center, or the [Dominion settlement’s] monument or museum, those are outside the county’s project. The county is only paying $8.9 million for the project.”

    “I think this project is on an extremely high budget,” the county’s newly hired consultant Ed Driggers told council Monday night.

    “You’re going to have cost overruns. Most of those cost overruns have already been approved. That was true with the 911 call center and the changes required to do that. You can’t reverse those types of things,” Driggers said. “Those decisions were made and you’ve moved forward. But they will have implications as you move forward,” he warned.

    Asked following the meeting whether the county’s costs were actually at $10 million, Driggers said he didn’t know.

    “Those are their (council’s) numbers, not mine,” Driggers said.

    Almost a million dollars of those cost overruns, however, were earmarked for the 911 call center’s relocation and upgrades that are state-mandated and state-funded and were not paid for out of the county’s general fund, according to Councilman Doug Pauley, during an interview following the meeting.

    “Those funds are restricted and could only be spent on upgrades for the call center whether the call center relocated to Mt. Zion or stayed in its current location,” Pauley said.

    Fairfield County Interim Administrator Brad Caulder called on Fairfield County Sheriff Will Montgomery to talk about his office’s concerns regarding relocating to the Mt. Zion campus.

    “We have some concerns about our offices being at Mt. Zion, mainly safety,” Montgomery said.

    “The windows are on ground level in the investigator’s office and in my office. So anytime the public is in these places somebody would be able to see them talking to us or could do some type of harm to them.

    “We also have 75 sex offenders who come to our offices every month to register and we’re going to have the rec building right next to our offices,” he said.

    “Another problem is space,” Montgomery said.

    He said the space is smaller than where they are now and that they have lots of training equipment they will need storage space for.

    Driggers added that another concern for Montgomery is that the space that was designated for the Sheriff’s office has since become smaller.

    After Montgomery spoke at the podium, Bell prompted him to lay blame on Taylor.

    “Did you bring these concerns forward with Mr. Taylor and others about the safety and space?” Bell asked.

    “The concerns were brought up day one when we started this project,” Montgomery said.

    Later in the meeting, Bell again prompted Montgomery.

    “I want to be clear,” Bell said. “I really need to be clear. You’re telling us that you shared all these concerns prior to when they started building?”

    “Absolutely,” Montgomery responded. “Everything but the windows.”

    Asked about Montgomery’s concerns, former County Councilman Jimmy Ray Douglas, who voted for the Mt. Zion renovation in 2018, said he never heard Montgomery express these concerns previously and that Montgomery never came before council with them that he could remember.

    Dowling told The Voice that he is not aware that any space designations for the Sheriff have been modified.

    “Their space has never changed. The Sheriff’s department approved the plans two years ago and we have never heard anything more from them or anyone else about their space changing,” Dowling said. “They have the entire first floor and about a third of the second floor. The 911 call center, which is separate from the Sheriff’s offices, is also on the second floor.”

    Former County Administrator Jason Taylor, too, told The Voice that he has not been made aware that the space for the Sheriff’s offices changed after he left the county in June.

    “I went over there with the Sheriff and went over everything about a week before I left,” Taylor said. “We had numerous meetings with all the departments and everyone was always encouraged to look at the plans and tell us how we could make it better. And we had a number of public meetings.”

    Asked by Pauley if he would prefer to relocate or stay in his current building, Montgomery said he would leave that up to the county to decide, but he added, “We’re comfortable where we are.”

    Caulder then called on Driggers to express his opinion about the Sheriff’s concerns.

    “Mr. Driggers has done a great job digging into the construction and contractual obligations of the Mt. Zion renovation,” Caulder said.

    “Mr. Bell, you do remember that you’re about to spend $3.5M on recreation that could be used for a new Sheriff’s building, right?

    — Douglas Pauley, Fairfield County Councilman

    “Talking with Mr. Caulder, I believe the most cost beneficial path for the county would be to allow the Sheriff to stay in his existing situation, to allow resources to be used for the building we are in now,” Driggers said. “For upfit of that, we have some engineering studies that have given us some costs on that.” He did not say what those costs are.

    Bell said another eleventh hour concern is parking.

    “What you (Driggers) told me is that we don’t have near enough parking,” Bell said.

    Asked about the parking, Dowling said that, based on the amount of parking they currently have, there is ample parking at the new facility.

    “And there’s still plenty of space for overflow parking,” Dowling said. “No one from the county has consulted us about this.”

    Bell continued expressing his dissatisfaction with the building.

    “The way you heat it, they got all them open glass windows, so you’re going to have heat and air blowing out the windows. I cannot understand,” Bell said, raising his voice, “why a Sheriff, elected county wide, would not have his voice listened to by the decision makers. It is beyond me to understand that. We’re at a cross roads. This is a bad situation.

    “This is beyond where we ought to be,” Bell continued, becoming emotional.

    He then read from the 2018 council minutes when council approved the Mt. Zion project.

    “‘He (Bell) feels we made a grave mistake,’” he quoted. “‘There are other builders who build new buildings with this type of financing. He said this is a bad mistake.’”

    “People talk about my decisions – that was one,” Bell said.

    “Mr. Bell,” Councilman Douglas Pauley addressed the chair. “You do remember that you’re about to spend $3.5 million on recreation that could be used for a new Sheriff’s building, right?”

    After a pause, Bell shot back, “Mr. Pauley, I’ve not directed any questions to you, and you’re not to direct any questions to me. And it ain’t $3.5 million. It’s $2.5 million. Get your facts straight,” Bell said.

    “What about the mini park?” Pauley asked. “That’s another $1 million, right?”

  • Neighbors of proposed granite quarry speak out

    About 75 people attended the Ridgeway public hearing for proposed Luck mine. | Photos: Mike Fanning

    RIDGEWAY – Neighbors of the granite quarry proposed in Fairfield County expressed their concerns at a public hearing last week that the water usage required by the project will drain their wells and ponds, impacting the water supplies they and future generations will rely upon.

    They told the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) and operator Luck Stone that they had very real fears that the water supplies of landowners and the nearby town of Ridgeway could be destroyed by the project.

    “We’re only addressing Ridgeway, and yet the landowners’ wells are going to dry up based on these models,” said John Lyles, one of several neighbors of the proposed project who spoke at the hearing, citing analysis of the data that’s been made publicly available so far.

    “The model isn’t complete. It’s missing calibration wells… and because it’s lacking, I would like to see Luck or rather DHEC delay the decision on this application until that well is drilled and they have an accurate drawdown measurement or at least a drawdown model based on real pumping in that area.”

    With the proposed usage of 100,000 gallons a day for the quarry’s first 12 years of operation, Lyles said the potential impact on the neighbors’ water supplies is of real concern, both for his own spring-fed pond 900 feet from the proposed pit and the wells and ponds of his neighbors.

    Citing the available data, he noted the details of several neighboring water sources that would be highly impacted and even dry up based on the predicted drawdown.

    The 417-acres site of the proposed quarry is near the intersection of state highway 34 and Simpson Circle in Fairfield County, about three and a half miles west of Ridgeway, roughly five miles from Winnsboro, and one mile from Interstate 77.

    About 260 acres is proposed for excavation during the development of the project, and the plan includes buffer areas where the property adjoins neighbors’ land.

    Citing generations of family ownership – in some cases extending back to the 1800s – neighboring residents said that if a 100-year permit is granted to Luck, they fear future generations won’t be able to enjoy the land as they and their ancestors have.

    “A hundred thousand gallons of water per day for the first 12 years of operation. That’s far more water than the towns of Winnsboro, Ridgeway, and all the private landowners in the vicinity collectively use in a day. It’s a lot of water,” said Robert Seibels, another neighbor of the proposed quarry.

    “We’ve been promised an intense transparent and responsive monitoring program. Even if that becomes a reality, we would like to know how Luck Stone or DHEC is going to revive a spring-fed pond with no spring,” Seibels said.

    About 40 people spoke at the hearing, which was part of DHEC’s permitting process for the project. For the quarry to operate, the state agency must approve both a mining permit and an air permit. According to DHEC, public comments will be considered if submitted in writing through Aug. 20.

    The first person to speak in the public hearing portion of the meeting was State Rep. Annie McDaniel, D-Fairfield, who said that, as with a similar project in Chester County (part of which is also in her district), she intends to advocate for constituents.

    “I am very concerned not just about this mine but any industry that comes into our county that could disrupt our environment, that could disrupt our individuals’ properties and communities and could lead to lifelong damage,” McDaniel said.

    Many of the other speakers echoed each other’s concerns, either registering opposition to the quarry or seeking information about the mitigation of potential impacts.

    “No one has adequately answered our question should the mine happen to impact drinking water,” said Morris Lyles, who owns adjacent property along with family members, acknowledging the likely realities if neighbors’ water supply is disrupted.

    “You can’t snap your fingers and dig a new well, nor can you run a water line quickly, nor can you shower very well using bottled water.”

    He asked for clear communication about what would happen and how the company would fix any problems that arise with neighbors’ water sources.

    Residents and other stakeholders also expressed concern about the potential for dust and impacts on the quality of Lake Wateree and the tributary stream near the project, both of which are already impaired by unrelated activity.

    Another concern expressed was the need for transparency and accountability with regard to air, water, and seismic monitoring data if the quarry becomes operational, as well as noise restrictions and communication about blasting schedules.

    A representative of Luck Companies, Ben Thompson, spoke toward the end of the public hearing. He did not address the water quantity concerns directly, but he did promise to engage and partner with the community about water concerns and establish a citizen panel board, and he invited people to call him.

    “All of the monitor wells, dust regulation – all of those things are captured in the regulatory environment. However, they are also open book, so that is public information. Anything we capture is there for public consumption as desired,” Thompson said, “We’re more than happy to share in any conversation.”

    “This is a community of people who are good neighbors, who look out for their neighbors…and I understand that with this project Luck Stone says it wants to be your neighbor,” said Lauren Megill Milton, an attorney with the South Carolina Environmental Law Project.

    “I want Luck Stone to hear me tonight, and what I have to say is if you want to come to this community, you need to commit to being the kind of neighbor to them that they are to one another, and what that means is transparency. It means sharing the information that you have. It means making promises and keeping them.”

  • Doko Park vandals truck ID’d

    BLYTHEWOOD – Following an incident of vandalism in Doko Meadows Park on Saturday, July 31, Mayor Bryan Franklin and Town Administrator Carroll Williamson said during the Aug. 2, town council meeting that the incident had been captured on park cameras.

    Williamson said he didn’t know if the incident had been reported to the Richland County Sheriff’s office, that he had so far been working on gathering information on the incident and would report it soon. “We’ve been figuring who it was and capturing it,” Williams said.

    On Tuesday, Aug. 3, Steve Hasterok, Director of the Conference and Event Center (Doko Manor and Park) filed a report with the Richland County Sheriff’s office about a pickup truck caught on the park cameras doing ‘donuts’ in the backfield of the park leaving deep ruts that damaged the grass.

    The incident, according to the Sheriff’s report, occurred in the daytime at about 6 p.m., July 29. According to Hasterok, the incident may have been associated with a group picnicking in the park.

    Hasterok told The Voice that the pickup truck license plate was caught on camera and identified, but the suspect has not yet been contacted or arrested. He said Franklin and town attorney Shannon Burnett are waiting for Williamson to come back from vacation later this week when they will discuss what action to take on the matter.

    Talking about the vandalism at the Aug. 2 council meeting, Franklin said the town has been far too lenient on park vandals and promised to start enforcing the law to the fullest extent for vandalism of town property.

    Time to Enforce Law

    “I’ve instructed the town attorney to prosecute that individual to the full extent of the law,” Franklin said. “If the barricade doesn’t work and Richland County can’t assist us in enforcing it, then we’ll do a security force of our own.

    “We’ve been far too lenient and far too patient and now it’s time to enforce the law,” he said. “And we plan to do that.”

    Hasterok said there have been at least 15 incidents of vandalism in the park over the years.

    It was similar to another ‘donut’ vandalism during the winter when a Blythewood teenager was identified after digging deep tracks and ‘donuts’ in the grass in the park with his pickup truck, causing approximately $1,500 in damage.

    The incident was captured on the town park’s surveillance cameras in conjunction with a group of teens who were using the park as a nightly hangout, according to Hasterok.

    Hasterok told Richland County Sheriff’s deputies that the problem had been ongoing.

    While the town did not take that ‘donut’ case to court, the town’s attorney, Shannon Burnett, working with Town Administrator Carroll Williamson and Mayor Bryan Franklin, reached a settlement that Burnett called ‘stiff,’ with the teen’s attorney.

    “He was required to pay $1,500 for the damages and must work 40 hours at the park. Except for his required work there, he is banned from the park for two years,” Burnett said. “If he completes these requirements, the issue is settled. If not, we have the option to prosecute, and we will.

    “We’ve also had vandals breaking lights along the walking trails and ladies have complained about harassment as they go on morning and evening walks,” Franklin said. At least one man has been prosecuted for harassment in the park.

    New Security Options

    Town council has in recent months discussed taking steps to stop the vandals, including upgrading surveillance cameras so they will pick up greater detail, keeping a closer eye on park goings-on after dark, and town hall is currently installing an additional gate just past the town Christmas tree in front of Town Hall. That is the only remaining road open to the park after hours.

     Franklin said Monday night that “the Eagle scouts are coming to put a fence along Freeway Music and then on the south side of the farmers market.

    “That will be a physical barricade, physically impossible to get in unless they violate the ordinance,” he said.

  • Man charged with 19 sex offenses

    COLUMBIA – Fairfield County resident Jonathan David Neel, 23, was arrested on Thursday, Aug. 5 and charged with 19 counts connected to the exploitation of minors. 

    Investigators received a CyberTipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which led them to Neel. According to investigators, Neel solicited a minor for sex, encouraged them to produce child sexual abuse material, distributed child sexual abuse material, possessed child sexual abuse material, and distributed nude images to a minor.

    Neel is charged with four counts of criminal solicitation of a minor, a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment on each count; three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, first degree, a felony offense punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment on each count; three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, second degree, a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment on each count; eight counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, third degree, a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment on each count; and one count of disseminating obscene material to a person under age eighteen, a felony offense punishable by up to ten years imprisonment.

    Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Attorney General’s Office made the arrest.  Investigators with the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), both also members of the state’s ICAC Task Force, as well as the Fairfax (VA) County Police Department, Tuscaloosa (AL) Police Department, and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) also assisted in this multistate cooperative investigation. The case will be prosecuted by South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson’s Office.

    Wilson stressed all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.

  • Honoring Purple Heart Recipients

    BLYTHEWOOD – The town of Blythewood hosted an observance of Purple Heart Day on Friday, Aug. 6. Mayor Bryan Franklin introduced the featured speaker, Purple Heart Recipient Sergeant First Class Harold Palmer (Retired).

    Above, Franklin presented a Purple Heart Day Proclamation to Palmer. At left is Town Councilman Eddie Baughman. At right is Town employee Hazel Kelly, previously a protocol officer at Fort Jackson who worked with Palmer when he was named Fort Jackson Drill Sergeant of the Year.

  • Body of Winnsboro man found near BHS stadium

    BLYTHEWOOD – Richland County Sheriff’s deputies were called to the 10000 block of Wilson Blvd around 9:45 a.m. Monday, Aug. 9 to reports of a body found.

    A deceased male was located near the bushes by the road outside of the Blythewood High School stadium. The Richland County Coroner’s office identified the man as 38-year-old Robert Branham of Winnsboro.

    “We are working with the Richland County Sheriff Department to fully investigate this matter,” Richland County Coroner Rutherford said.

    Rutherford’s office will do an autopsy to determine Branham’s cause of death and will provide an update when available.

  • Body found along Hwy 21 near Blythewood High School

    BLYTHEWOOD – Richland County Sheriff’s deputies were called to the 10000 block of Wilson Blvd around 9:45 a.m. today, Aug. 9 to reports of a body found.

    A deceased male was located near the bushes by the road outside of the Blythewood High School stadium.

    The Richland County Coroner’s office will do an autopsy to determine how the man died and will provide an update when available.

  • MUSC purchases Fairfield Providence ER, Providence NE

    WINNSBORO – The Fairfield Providence Emergency Room awoke to a new name on Monday. It will now be called MUSC Health Fairfield Emergency and Imaging.

    The purchase of the Fairfield health care facility in June was part of a $75 million dollar deal in which the Medical University of South Carolina purchased four health care facilities in the midlands. 

    The Charleston-based MUSC is rebranding each of those facilities with new names.

    On Monday, ceremonies were held at each of the hospitals, which will now be known as:

    • MUSC Health Columbia Medical Center Downtown (formerly Providence Health on Forest Drive in Columbia)
    • MUSC Health Columbia Medical Center Northeast (formerly Providence Health Northeast on Corporate Boulevard in Columbia)
    • MUSC Health Fairfield Emergency and Imaging (formerly Providence Health — Fairfield in Winnsboro)
    • MUSC Health Kershaw Medical Center (formerly KershawHealth in Camden)

    The Providence sale includes the hospital’s main campus — on Forest Drive – plus its 74-bed full-service hospital near Farrow Road and I-77 and its Winnsboro emergency room that opened in 2018.

    The acquisition by MUSC gives the health care system a larger footprint in South Carolina and in the Midlands region, where it will join Prisma Health and Lexington Medical Center.

    “Incorporating them into our regional hospital network is another step toward fulfilling MUSC’s charge: to provide the right care in the right place at the right time to every patient and family that we encounter,” Dr. Patrick J. Cawley, the CEO of MUSC Health and vice president for health affairs for the medical university, said during opening ceremonies at the Fairfield facility on Monday.

    Cawley said the 2,000 LifePoint Health employees at the hospitals were offered to stay once MUSC took control, the Post and Courier reported.

    The MUSC medical school includes a teaching hospital along with six colleges that, combined, have more than 1,800 faculty members who educate and train around 3,000 students and 800 residents each year.

    MUSC, one of the oldest medical schools in the South, was founded in 1824 as a small private college.

    MUSC doctors and other dignitaries traveled to each of the four newly purchased facilities for ceremonies to speak to the change and what MUSC will bring to each community where these four facilities are located.

    Joining them in Fairfield were Dr. Roger Gaddy, an MUSC alum and primary care physician in Fairfield for the last 40 years, Mayor John McMeekin, and Fairfield County School Superintendent Dr. J. R. Green.

    Also speaking were Dr. James Lemon, chairman of the MUSC board, Dr. David Cole, president of MUSC and Dr. Patrick J. Cawley, CEO of MUSC Health and vice president for health affairs.

    “We are all seeing a transformation across health care,” Cawley told the 50 or sitting under a tent in front of Fairfield’s emergency facility. “This transformation is upon us. It is being demanded by patients, by families and by those who pay for health care. They are demaning high quality care in its broadest definition – some of what Dr. Gaddy mentioned to us today.

    “We’re also looking for health care to be less expensive. We at MUSC fully embrace that,” Cawley said. “We know that quality health care is about safety, effectiveness, efficiency, equity and patient consideration. We want to be part of that transformation. But more than that, we want to lead that transformation. That’s who we are.”

    Dr. David Cole, MUSC president, said one of the goals of MUSC is to “improve the lives of those we touch in the communities we serve.

    “We do that,” he said, “by working with the communities and by putting a plan together to deliver whatever care that community needs – from primary care to specialty care. That’s what we do.”

    Cawley told the audience that, as a not for profit organization, “We will invest our resources back into the community. We are leaders, innovators and educators. We are community focused and that’s what MUSC promises.”

    Mayor John McMeekin said, on behalf of the community, that he is very thankful to have the number one hospital in South Carolina now in Fairfield County.

    Also attending from Fairfield County were County Councilman Clarence Gilbert, Midlands Tech President Ron Rhame, former board member for Fairfield Memorial Hospital Randy Bright, Interim County Administrator Brad Caulder, Winnsboro Community Services Director Chris Clausen and Fairfield resident Karen Chapman who is the Public Relations Director at MUSC Lancaster.

    From left, Superintendent Dr. J. R. Green; Dr. James Lemon, Chairman of the MUSC Board; Dr. Patrick J Cawley, CEO of MUSC Health; Dr. David Cole, President of MUSC, Dr. Roger Gaddy and Mayor John McMeekin
    • Lebanon resident and PR Director for MUSC at Lancaster Karen Chapman
    • Winnsboro Mayor John McMeekin
    • Dr. Roger Gaddy
    County Councilman Clarence Gilbert, Randy Bright and MTC president Ron Rhames

    A chance meeting of doctor & patient 11 years later

    WINNSBORO – When Fairfield County’s Interim County Administrator Brad Caulder received a phone call Tuesday morning to be at a ceremony at the Fairfield Providence Emergency Room where MUSC hospital officials were to celebrate MUSC’s purchase of the ER, he got in his car and drove over.

    Brad Caulder and Dr. David Zaas

    Little did he expect for the event to reunite him with the doctor who had, 11 years ago, helped prepare Caulder for a double lung transplant – a lifesaving procedure – at Duke Medical Center in Raleigh.

    Dr. David Zaas, who for 20 years was an integral part of the lung transplant program at Duke, is now CEO for the MUSC Health Charleston Division, Chief Clinical Officer for MUSC Health and an associate professor of medicine at MUSC.

    After bumping into each other unexpectedly during the ceremony, both expressed surprise and happiness at seeing each other again after the many years since Caulder’s transplant.

    “It was a nice surprise,” Zaas said. “Especially after 11 years. I had the privilege of being his pulmonologist prior to the transplant to help prepare him for the surgery,” Zaas said.  “I was part of the team that oversaw his health care over about four years.”

    Zaas became part of the MUSC system just over a year ago, he told The Voice.  

    “It brought back a lot of memories,” Caulder said. “It was really nice to see him again.”

  • Council defers vote to rezone

    BLYTHEWOOD – The owners of a 10.4 acre property located at the intersection of Sandfield and Langford Roads and for years generally known as the Tom Boney cow pasture, applied to have the zoning of the property changed from Rural (RU) to Multi-Neighborhood Commercial District (MC) with Architectural Overlay District (AO).

    “The property is located at an ‘activity center,’ a designation on the future land use map, which means a mix of uses, traditional town-scale walkability,” Williamson said. “The MC district has a medium land use density for residential, civic, office and retail categories. It’s one level below Town Center which is heavy for those categories.”

    “Is there any indication what they are proposing or thinking about what they plan to use the land for down the road?” Commissioner Ed Kesser asked.

    Williamson said it is supposed to be something that will be complimentary to what is coming across the street (Langford Road) which is the Blythewood Farms subdivision.

    While Commissioner Malcolm Gordge offered up a motion to approve the rezoning request, there was a pause with no one second the motion.

    “Mr. Williamson, everything behind this property is rural, right?” Commission Chairman Rich McKenrick asked.

    Williamson confirmed that everything north of the property is Rural and residential.

    “The applicant is not here, right?” Commissioner Erica Page asked.

    “That’s correct,” Williamson said.

    Asked by McKenrick whether the applicant, Jim McLean, gave any information to go on as to his plans for the property, Williamson said he (McLean) did talk about the benefits of the MC zoning district over Town Center District which allows some uses that are more intense than he (McLean) would like.

    “Is he currently marketing this property for sale?” McKenrick asked.

    “Not that I’m aware of,” Williamson said.

    “It’s always disappointing when the applicant doesn’t represent themselves in their interest,” Gordge said. “This is purely a zoning request at this point.”

    Kesser said he would like to talk with the applicant, and Page said she needed more details before she could make a decision to change the zoning.

    McKenrick said he didn’t want to delay the vote, but that he would like the opportunity to ask the applicant questions.

    The Commission voted unanimously to defer the vote until next month when they would like to be able to have the applicant in attendance to answer questions.

  • Town prepares to receive millions

    BLYTHEWOOD – Anticipating millions of dollars in new funds to be coming to the Town in the near future, council voted unanimously Monday night for Town Manager Carroll Williamson to prepare the Town’s budget funds for the additional revenue.

    “Significant revenue funds are anticipated in this budget year that we didn’t know much about as we were going through the budget earlier in the year,” Williamson told council. “I would like to get approval from council to move forward setting up accounts in anticipation of coming back with a budget amendment before you sometime in November.”

    Councilman Donald Brock asked Williams to explain where the anticipated funds are coming from.

    “The ARP (American Rescue Plan) is sending approximately $2 million,” Williamson said. He added that another $250,000, coming from the state, is earmarked for Doko Meadows Park security upgrades. Williamson said there might be other grants coming as well.

    “All that was not in the budget that we currently have,” Williamson said, “so we will have separate accounts for all that and then bring that before you for your approval.”

    Local Gov Investment Pool

    Council also voted 5-0 to utilize the Local Government Investment Pool.

    “The Town has accounts in the local government investment pool held in the state treasurers office,” Williamson said. “It’s a state savings account that many municipalities, counties and schools use to save their excess cash to generate some interest. The Town currently has no funds in these accounts, and we do have excess cash that needs to be in there,” Williamson said.

    “The [Town’s] CPA did recommend that we move the excess cash to this account so, even though interest rates are extraodinarily low now, there is something,” Williamson said. “I think we need to get them in those accounts. The exact amount we’re needing, I’ll go by the Town’s CPA for guidance and I will brief you on that as well.”