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Tag: Blythewood Town Council

  • BW town council votes 4-1 for referendum to change form of government

    Councilwoman Andrea Fripp said the strong mayor form of government allows for one person to “have a chokehold on town hall,” and that the council-manager form of government would allow a more fair and equitable governing body for Blythewood.

    BLYTHEWOOD – Blythewood Town Council voted 4-1 Tuesday night to pass the first of two votes that are required to pass an ordinance calling for a referendum on the question of a change in the town’s form of government.

    The 4-1/2 hour meeting was marked throughout by the continued crippling dysfunction of a divided council and unruly outbursts from several members of the audience. Mayor Sloan Griffin’s supporters heckled council members throughout the meeting, but no one was gaveled.

    The main attraction of the night turned out to be the donnybrook that ensued during the discussion and vote on the referendum which, if passed, will change the form of Blythewood’s government from mayor-council, in which the mayor oversees the day-to-day functions of the government, to a council-manager form of government, which is a system where an elected town council (including the mayor) is responsible for policymaking and budget approval, while a professional town manager, hired by the council and mayor, handles the administration.

    The bickering that you see is about us trying to hold this mayor accountable.

    — Andrea Fripp, Councilwoman

    Hours before that, at the beginning of the meeting, the council’s dysfunction was showcased during approval of the minutes. Minutes from 12 different council meetings were submitted in the agenda to council for approval by the clerk to council, who is hired by council but overseen by Griffin. The minutes, dating as far back as February, 2025, had not been submitted to council for approval until last month when, because of errors and missing minutes, they were deferred until Tuesday night for approval.

    Community Speaks Out

    During the public hearing for the referendum, five members of the audience spoke out against the referendum and two spoke in favor of it.

    “The United States has a president,” said speaker Kent Boone who said he was opposed to the change in government. “The state has a governor, and this town has a mayor. We believe in the unitary executive principal and the executive. This theory that you will have a council-administrator form of government, you need to look at the history of where it started,” Boone said. “It was part of the progressive movement.”

    Huffman Brown said he would vote against the referendum. “My suggestion for this council is that you all find a moderator that can help you all better communicate with one another. If you change this form of government, then you’re going to be shielded by persons who are not elected, but who are making these decisions. There ought to be a single person making decisions for the town.”

    Cindy Merritt said she supports not changing the form of government. “That’s not going to help one bit. It’s been going on since this panel was elected. It’s not going to change anything,” she said before asking Griffin about his opinion of the change in government.

    Griffin said he thinks everybody’s been lied to about the real truth behind changing the form of government. 

    “Communications go both ways,” Griffin said. “There’s plenty of residents out here that have called me. You have called me numerous times,” Griffin said to Merritt. “It’s a lot, and that’s the best way I can put it. Do your research, find out exactly and ask those tough questions. That’s a problem when men and ladies can’t conversate with their differences. So that’s where we’re at. That’s my opnion.”

    Geraldo Jurado spoke in favor of changing the form of government. “It still gives the mayor the authority and responsibility to do his duties. It prevents corruption, waste, fraud, and abuse we see when you got too much power in the hands of one person,” he said. “We have to have that balance of power – checks and balances. It prevents one person from having all the power. It gives our elected council members more of a say-so on critical issues, contracts, and expenses.”

    Edwin Sanchez placed blame for council’s current dysfunction on Griffin. “As a leader, if you communicate up front, many of the problems that occurred tonight, could have been avoided with advance notice and advanced information,” Sanchez said, “While a strong mayor can work in some places, it doesn’t here. A lot of the questions asked by council members seem reasonable, Mr. Mayor, if you had provided that information up front. If there is dysfunction in this group and this body of government that represents us, the buck stops with you,” he said pointing to Griffin.

    The referendum, if it passes, must be held within 90 days after the day council votes to pass the referendum ordinance. According to Interim Town Administrator Ed Driggers, that would put the vote at Aug. 6, 2025.

    Council Says Why

    Following the public hearing, council members had their say about the referendum prior to the vote.

    Griffin said it would be a waste of the town’s money to hold it before the Nov. elections.

    “So what’s the rush that you got to do it then and spend $15,000?” Griffin asked.

    “It’s an important issue, sir,” Brock said. “Four people [on council] feel like we are in the dark,” he said.

    “So you lied to the people in your press conference,” Griffin said.

    “We have told you countless times that there is a breakdown in communication from you to this body,” Brock said.

    Councilwoman Andrea Fripp spoke up.

    “This strong mayor form of government allows for one person to have a chokehold on town hall. Under this form of government, this mayor threw himself an $18,000 Christmas party, and it was paid for by you, the taxpayers. Council had no involvement with the cost or the invitation list,” she said.

    Fripp also talked about the generous bonuses and gifts Griffin bestows on the staff without council’s knowledge or budget approval.

    “And those bonuses all said, ‘from the mayor,’” she said.

    “Without council knowing, this mayor hired Ms. [Tiffany] Cooks, knowing that she was under a SLED investigation for allegedly stealing money from Williamsburg County where she was manager. Yet, he was so determined to bring her to Blythewood to report directly to him, that he issued an executive order. Council had to take legal action to stop him, and the judge ruled in our favor,” Fripp said. “His friend was later indicted on over 25 counts.

    “Then this mayor asked us to use your tax dollars to pay his legal fees to the tune of thousands of dollars after he told you in the news that there was nothing for you to worry about,” Fripp said. “Yet you’re led to believe that he’s concerned about the cost of a special election.

    “Be mindful of those who call this a coup, a cabal, or even make this racial. This has been a one-man show. The bickering that you see, that you all complain about, it’s about us trying to hold this mayor accountable,” Fripp said.

    Fripp explained that under the council-manager form of government, an administrator, who is accountable to the entire council, including the mayor, would run the day-to-day operations.

    “It would be a more fair and equitable governing body, and at the end of the day, this mayor, pass or fail, will still be the mayor. He will still be the CEO,” she said.

    Councilman Rich McKenrick told the audience that once the mayor was elected there was a shift from transparency, which he (Griffin) campaigned on.

    “He used the slogan, ‘Town Hall is open for business,’ but it’s not open for business for council members when it comes to information,” McKenrick said.

    “On Tuesday, May 20, after receiving the agenda for tonight,” McKenrick said. “I emailed the mayor, saying, “Mr. Mayor, will you please provide the information/competitive pricing on the items to be discussed on the agenda? The longer we have to review those, the better.”

    “My email was not answered,” McKenrick said. “In good conscience, I cannot approve spending $100,000 on HVAC equipment without the proper information.”

    McKenrick addressed Griffin’s secretiveness concerning the management of town hall, saying he (McKenrick) requested information concerning two different compensation adjustments given to an employee over a couple-month period. He said the employee is one who was hired by council. Council hires the clerk to court, the administrator, and the town attorney.

    “[The mayor] said he had nothing to do with the individual’s [compensation]. We were discussing what was done by prior administrators,” McKenrick said. “I called both administrators. One said he had absolutely nothing to do with it, that those compensation adjustments were made prior to his hiring. The administrator who was employed by the town [at that time] told me he had nothing to do with it. He was operating under the mayor’s direction.

    “So I was lied to,” McKenrick said.

    McKenrick also said that the mayor instructed him that council members would have to submit Freedom of Information Requests to obtain town hall documents such as emails.

    “When council members requested information on how many times the Manor has been rented, what for, and how many times it was donated to an organization, we couldn’t get it,” McKenrick said. “What we got was a hodgepodge of entries in an antiquated financial system that we cannot match up. Ed Driggers can’t match up. But what we do see is our mayor donating this facility on his own accord for a banquet…a $4,500 rental fee forfeited by the Town.

    “Sloan Griffin is very good at being the mayor who is the up-front face for Blythewood. He represents Blythewood very well when you’re at a ribbon-cutting ceremony, meeting people, explaining what Blythewood is all about,” McKenrick said.

    “What he is not good at is the day-to-day financial operations of this town,” he said. “That should come from a duly qualified person sitting in a manager’s seat.”

    Councilwoman Erica Page said she anticipated something completely different when she was elected.

    “I really wanted to do good for our community,” she said. “This form of government prevents the staff from engaging or providing us information because there is a fear of retaliation.”

    Page, too, questioned Griffin’s ability to manage town hall and do his job as a member of the Central Midlands Council of Governments.

    “Mr. Mayor, when’s the last time you went to one of the COG meetings?” Page asked. Griffin avoided answering, but Page persisted. “When was the last time you went to one?”

    Griffin paused, then answered. “It was earlier this year,” he said. “I tuned in on Zoom.”

    “When you’re not able to attend, are you looking at Mayor Pro Tem Brock? Or the administrator [to attend]?” she said. “Has that been the case?

    “No,” Griffin answered.

    “That’s why I’m frustrated and why you have the team you have,” she said, adding that Griffin was under-utilizing the interim administrator who she deemed offers a wealth of knowledge.

    “I tried not to make this a public thing, but today,” she said, “I am speaking up.”

    Council voted 4-1 in favor of the referendum ordinance, with Griffin voting against. The meeting ended at about 10:30 p.m.

    Another meeting will be held at 6 p.m., Thursday, May 29, for council to discuss the budget and park safety.

    Related: Blythewood public hearing for referendum for change of gov set for May 27; BW Council holds press conference, first vote on referendum to change form of government

  • BW Council holds press conference, first vote on referendum to change form of government

    Andrea Fripp, center, and fellow council members Rich McKenrick, left, Donald Brock, and Erica Page, right, present the referendum to change Blythewood to a council-manager form of government. | Barbara Ball

    BLYTHEWOOD – During a press conference held by four members of Blythewood Town Council Monday afternoon in front of Doko Manor, Town Councilwoman Andrea Fripp announced that the Town would be introducing an ordinance calling for a different form of government for the Town.

    The ordinance was initiated by Fripp, Mayor Pro Tem Donald Brock, and Council members Rich McKenrick and Erica Page. The ordinance calls for the Town’s form of government to be changed from mayor-council to a council-manager form of government in which the day-to-day operations of the town government would be managed by a town administrator, who would still be hired council.

    Fripp said council would vote on the first reading during the regular monthly council meeting that followed the press conference.

    Fripp said that while Blythewood is still small, it’s growing.

     “While Blythewood is still a small town, to some, the changes that are happening and those to come call for forward thinking as well as fair and balanced governing,” Fripp said.

    “We are on the verge of an economic explosion in and around our town,” she said. “As the elected body, we are charged with ensuring the future is bright, prosperous, and equitable for all citizens,” she said.

    Fripp pointed to cities that successfully operate under council-manager forms of government, including: Columbia, Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson, Greer with BMW and Somerville with Volvo.

    “Even our very own Richland County operates under a council-administrator form of government.”

    During questions from the media, Fripp was asked to address whether a council-manager form of government might dilute the power of the voters.

    “I don’t know that anyone would feel that [Columbia’s] Mayor Rickenmann’s authority or his role is diminished at all by governing in a council-manager form of government,” Fripp said. “The mayor will still be the mayor, but I think that the council-manager form of government is more equitable.”

    Council passes first vote for referendum

    While most action items on the Blythewood Town Council agenda Monday night were deferred to the next meeting, Council did vote 4-1 for a referendum on a proposed ordinance to change the form of government in Blythewood from mayor-council to a council-manager form of government.

    After a half-hour of pro and con comments from six members of the public regarding an ordinance calling for a referendum on the question of a change in the form of government, council voted 4-1 to approve it. Brock and Councilmembers Rich McKenrick, Andrea Fripp, and Erica Page voted for the ordinance. Griffin voted against.

    The ordinance will require two readings (votes) by council. The second reading is planned for Monday, May 26. A public hearing will be held at that meeting. If the ordinance passes, a 90-day process will follow. There will be a 30-day pause and another 60 days to execute with the referendum falling sometime in August.

  • Blythewood Town Council may raise FY 2024 legal budget to $500,000

    BLYTHEWOOD – With no discussion, council passed first reading of a budget amendment Monday night that increases the budgeted amount for the Town’s outside legal expenses from $200,000 to $500,000 for the current fiscal year 2023-24.

    David Black, outside counsel for the Town of Blythewood

    According to budget information on the Town’s website, it spent approximately $152,500 on outside legal expenses in FY 2021-22 and $200,000 in FY 2022-23.

    The Town and its attorneys have refused to reveal how much of that legal expense is for legal issues related to MPA Strategies.

    In an interview immediately following a February, 2022 council meeting, Councilman Rich McKenrick told The Voice he believes that outside counsel David Black is the payee for most of the Town’s outside legal expenses. Black heads up the Town’s legal team for the various MPA Strategies lawsuits and the Town’s countersuit.

    “Because they (Mayor Bryan Franklin and Administrator Carroll Williamson) won’t release [a breakdown], we have to assume that 100 percent of the outside legal fees went to Black [for MPA].” McKenrick said.

    The Town’s budget for outside legal expenses has mushroomed from $25,000 to $500,000 over the last three years.

    Second reading will be held Wed., Sept. 20, at 6 p.m. at Doko Manor.

  • Chronicle editor, others answer MPA lawsuit

    BLYTHEWOOD – The editor of the County Chronicle named in a conspiracy lawsuit along with the Town of Blythewood and its mayor is asking a judge to throw the case against her out.

    The Country Chronicle was previously owned by Camden Media, a partnership owned by Charles H. Morris of Savannah, Ga., and Mike Mischner of Camden, SC.

    It has since been sold and is now owned by Paxton Media Group and is published out of Paducah, Kentucky.

    Meantime, the Camden media company that employed the editor and that is a co-defendant in the same suit, has denied most of the allegations against it in a recently filed response.

    In January, Ashley Hunter, the chief executive of MPA Strategies, sued the Town of Blythewood and Mayor Bryan Franklin over comments suggesting MPA landed a town contract because of a romantic relationship between Hunter and Town Councilman Donald Brock. Both Hunter and Brock have denied the allegation.

    The lawsuit originally accused Page of defamation, negligence, civil conspiracy, and tortious interference against a contract, and Camden Media of negligence.

    MPA has since dismissed the defamation and negligence causes of action against Page, but the remaining parts of the suit remain active.

    In a motion to dismiss filed May 30, Page asserts her news coverage of Franklin’s comments about the MPA contract was “substantially accurate,”

    Franklin told people at a Blythewood Chamber of Commerce function that Hunter and Brock were “having an affair,” and that it was why she got the marketing contract, according to the original suit.

    The Town and Mayor Franklin have filed motions to dismiss on procedural and technical grounds.

    Page’s attorney argues in a memo that the “fair report” privilege protects journalists even when they quote false statements, provided said statements appear in government records or are stated in public settings.

    “Plaintiffs cannot make an ‘end run’ around the fair report privilege and other protections afforded to the media against defamation claims by calling their claims by another name,” the motion states. “This Court should dismiss Page from the present lawsuit, with prejudice, because Plaintiffs’ remaining causes of action against her are an improper attempt to avoid the protections provided to news reporters by the fair report privilege and other defamation defenses.”

    Further, Page’s attorney said there’s no proof his client worked in concert with Mayor Franklin to defame Hunter.

    “The Complaint fails to sufficiently allege that Page and Franklin had any sort of agreement or acted in combination,” the memo states. “Nor does the Complaint sufficiently allege that Page’s primary purpose was to injure Plaintiffs.”

    Camden Media has denied most of the assertions in the MPA lawsuit.

    The newspaper group denied that any articles “overly favored” any person or position. Camden Media acknowledged, however, that Page didn’t contact Hunter to seek comment before publishing content in some of her stories. The group also asserts that many of Page’s stories quoted public records verbatim. The content included remarks where Franklin accused Hunter of “trying to drag [Blythewood] in the mud with totally unfounded claims that appear to benefit her and Councilman Brock, according to court records.

    Camden Media has asked for the MPA suit to be dismissed and is also seeking attorney fees and other costs related to the suit.

    A deadline of August 28 has been set to complete mediation.

  • Council authorizes Franklin to sue The Voice and others

    BLYTHEWOOD  – Blythewood Town Council voted 4-1 Thursday, May 5, to authorize Mayor Bryan Franklin, Town Administrator Carroll Williamson, and the Town’s outside attorneys David Black and Shannon Burnett to take legal action against The Voice and its publisher.

    While the Town has already sued MPA Strategies owner Ashley Hunter and threatened to sue Councilman Donald Brock, this is the first time the Town government, with the backing of all but one council member, has raised the specter of a lawsuit against The Voice and its publisher.

    Increasingly over the last year, Franklin and Black have accused The Voice and its publisher of conspiring with MPA Strategies and Brock against the Town and Franklin.

    No documentation or other evidence has been offered by Franklin or Black suggesting conspiracy by The Voice or its publisher.

    Nevertheless, McKenrick, who stated during a council meeting March 7, 2022, that, “I’m all for ending it,” reversed himself last week and made the motion to authorize the mayor’s legal actions retroactively and in the future.

    He said his motion was “not intended to dovetail on [The Voice] newspaper’s coverage of this issue, nor the mayor’s responses to the coverage,” McKendrick read from a prepared legal statement.

    He said he was, instead, addressing Brock’s statement of April 21, 2022, that he (Brock) did not recognize Nexsen Pruet as the legally hired law firm for the Town of Blythewood, nor the counterclaim [against MPA] filed on behalf of the Town of Blythewood.

    “I, as councilman, have seen nothing to make me believe the Town of Blythewood has procedurally handled the MPA lawsuit incorrectly, but Blythewood deserves to know that this council is unified in its position to protect the Town and to do what is legally necessary and required in regard to the actions and the lawsuit filed by MPA Strategies and countered by the Town of Blythewood,” McKenrick read.

    He said he wanted to help the Town move forward in a legal and equitable manner.

    “To that end,” he said, “I would like to make a motion, that this council affirm and approve all actions taken on behalf of the Town by the mayor, Carroll Williamson, the town attorneys Shannon Burnett and Nexsen-Pruet law firm regarding all matters regarding MPA Strategies, State and Frink Foundation, Donald Brock, The Voice, Barbara Ball, et all, and that such representation by and of such attorneys is hereby reaffirmed and shall continue until further resolutions of same, including any claims, counterclaims filed, answered, appealed or any ancillary issues.”

    The Voice had reported that, in April 2021, Franklin hired the Nexsen-Pruet law firm to represent the Town against MPA without council’s knowledge or consent, and that in July 2021, Franklin, Burnett and Williamson filed a counterclaim against MPA Strategies, without council’s knowledge or consent.

    A second motion was made by Councilman Eddie Baughman at the same meeting to try to right the ship of a council vote that was taken on July 20, 2021 to terminate the Town’s contract with MPA Strategies.

    The Voice had earlier reported that the July 20 vote might not have been legal since the meeting, itself, violated Title III, Chapter 30, Section 30.12 (a) of the Town of Blythewood’s Code of Ordinances, as amended by Ordinance 2020.009, which states, “The council member acting as the presiding officer must be physically present at the meeting.”

    Franklin presided over the meeting via zoom, and was not physically present at the meeting.

    “I would think a violation of the ordinance would provide a basis to challenge the action taken,” media attorney Jay Bender said at the time.

    Commenting on both of council’s votes on Thursday, May 5, Bender said, in an email interview with The Voice, “I guess the adage ‘better later than never’ is a guiding principle for this group which seems to have a difficult time following the law.

    “Maybe council hopes nobody remembers what was done without authorization. Ratification of previously taken action is legal, while at the same time revealing that the town is governed by a gang that can’t or won’t shoot straight,” Bender said.

    “Take your pick. Would you rather have a council that is sloppy or one that is devious?” he asked.

    After McKenick’s motion passed 4-1, with Brock voting against, the Town’s outside attorney David Black said the motion was made, “to actually save the Town money.”

    “The Town has been advised that in order to pursue the return of the funds that were improperly paid to MPA Strategies, the counter claim had to be filed,” Black said.

    According to MPA’s contract with the Town, however, the amount the Town actually paid Hunter is likely less than $200 and possible as little as zero. 

    Hunter’s contract called for her to be paid $48,000 annually to market the town, plus 10 percent of any grants she brought to the Town.

    After approximately 11 weeks of employment, the Town terminated her contract on July 20, 2021. The Town would most likely have paid MPA approximately $10,000 ($333.33 per week) toward the annual contract. After subtracting the $10,000 grant awarded to the Town through Hunter’s efforts, the Town’s loss through alleged “improper” payments would have washed out.

    The Voice is waiting on an answer from Black after emailing him last week to verify that amount.

    Cost to the Town so far for the MPA lawsuit and countersuit is approximately $100,000, and the town administrator has proposed budgeting $200,000 for legal expenses for outside attorneys for the FY 2022-23 budget year.

    The Town’s legal costs are being paid for out of the general fund, not out of the mayor’s and council member’s pockets. Baughman stated during a March 7, 2022, budget session, “I could care less if it adds up to $100,000.”

    “Their wrong-doing is fully documented and will be revealed to the public at large very soon,” Franklin said of MPA, Brock and The Voice.

    But that revelation could have happened as early as Monday, May 9, when the case was set for a hearing where the judge could have ruled on whether to dismiss the case or send it to court.

    Instead, on Friday, May 6, three days earlier, Black filed a motion and proposal to continue the case, delaying it further, assuring a continuing cost to The Town.

    The next hearing is set for Monday, June 13, at 9 a.m.

  • In searing public speech, BW mayor confuses conspiracy with routine journalism

    BLYTHEWOOD – Mayor Bryan Franklin delivered his most chilling verbal attack to date on The Voice’s publisher and Councilman Donald Brock at the end of a joint town council/planning commission meeting Monday night. The subject matter was rambling, with multiple undocumented claims.

    Explaining that his speech was in response to The Voice’s editorial in the April 28, 2022 issue of the newspaper, Franklin never mentioned the subject of the editorial – the almost $70,000 the Town’s outside attorney erroneously claimed the Town had spent responding to 6 or so FOIA requests from The Voice. 

    Instead, Franklin veered into the weeds, alternately mocking The Voice’s professional awards and accusing the newspaper of pressuring the Town government “to take certain actions”, though he did not identify those actions.

    In his 15 minute uninterrupted diatribe, Franklin made numerous random claims that he could not or would not provide evidence for. The speech can be viewed in its entirety above.

    Franklin claimed, for instance, that there had “never been an outright vote to hire MPA strategies” [to provide marketing and grant writing services for the Town].

    However, a YouTube video of the Feb. 22, 2021 council meeting, posted on the Town’s website, shows Councilman Sloan Griffin making a motion to take a vote, and it shows the 3-2 vote, as each councilman specifies to whom he prefers to award the RFP (Request for Proposal). Franklin and Councilman Eddie Baughman voted for The Blythewood Chamber of Commerce.

    Franklin also claimed that he voted ‘Yes’ to enter into a contract with MPA, while in fact he voted ‘No’ in the same Feb. 22, 2021 YouTube video. It was not until three weeks later that he voted ‘Yes’ when a motion was made to execute (finalize) that contract.

    Referring to what may have been a campaign pledge on Brock’s part (to become mayor), Franklin claimed it was “a conspiracy to commit fraud against the Town.”

    More than once in his speech, Franklin characterized the newspaper’s routine communications with MPA’s attorney as The Voice’s out-and-out conspiracy against the Town. The State, Post and Courier and other newspapers, like The Voice, frequently quote attorneys and their clients in regard to their lawsuits. The Voice also emailed questions (other than FOIAs) to The Town’s outside attorney, David Black.

    Franklin also declared, for some unexplained reason, that The Voice “profits three times as much as the other paper [the Country Chronicle].” He did not credit a source for that information or present any proof of his calculations.

    Franklin noted, again for an unstated reason, that “MPA submitted its FOIA for my, the mayor’s emails, communications, etc. after the contract was signed.”

     According to records obtained by The Voice, MPA’s attorney submitted the FOIA to The Town requesting Franklin’s documents on April 15, the day before Franklin signed MPA’s contract on April 16, not the day after.

    Franklin sought throughout his speech to elevate himself as the authority for determining who’s right and who’s wrong in regard to the Town’s lawsuits with MPA.

    “If any citizen wants a balanced argument, you call me directly,” Franklin said. “I’ll return your call … or visit you on your front porch to … clear up these falsehoods…” he stated.

    In conclusion, Franklin noted that, “I’ve just disproven 5 or 6 items in the editorial that could have been disproven by picking up the phone and calling somebody.”

    However, it was not obvious in the speech what those “5 or 6 items” were, or how he had “disproven” them.   

    Franklin has made multiple undocumented claims in the past against The Voice that were proven to be false.

    For instance, in the Sept. 23, 2021 issue of the Country Chronicle, Franklin was quoted as saying he had been “informed by [Town Administrator Carroll] Williamson that he had received ‘numerous inquiries’ from Voice publisher Barbara Ball regarding Town Attorney Shannon Burnett’s resignation…”

    Franklin was quoted as saying that those “numerous inquiries” amounted to “intimidating and bullying” Williamson.

    The Voice sent a Freedom of Information request that same day to town hall requesting copies of the “numerous inquiries” that The Voice allegedly sent to Williamson regarding Burnett’s resignation.

    In a Nov. 18, 2021, response to that FOIA, the Town’s outside attorney David Black confirmed that the Town did not possess “numerous inquiries” from The Voice concerning Burnett’s resignation letter.

  • Taco Bell to request COA in Blythewood

    NOTICE – CORRECTED DATE OF TACO BELL appearance before BW Board of Architectural Review The Blythewood Board of Architectural Review will consider a Certificate of Appropriateness for a Taco Bell Tuesday, Feb. 22 (not Monday, Feb. 21 as printed in the Feb. 17 issue of The Voice) at The Manor. 

    BLYTHEWOOD – Plans for a Taco Bell with a drive-thru will go before the Board of Architectural Review on Tuesday, Feb. 22, to be considered for a certificate of appropriateness.

    The applicant, National Restaurant Designers, is representing the owner, Flynn Restaurant Group, in its request to develop approximately 1.1 acres for the construction of a 1.944 square foot restaurant with a drive-thru lane, according to the application.

    The property, located at 209 Blythewood Road, is in the Town Center (TC) District.

    If approved, the restaurant will sit between Zaxby’s and Blythewood Dentistry.

    The Town requires a buffer between adjoining commercially zoned lots in the Town Center District to be a minimum of 10 feet in width, or 7 feet if a wall, fence or berm is used between adjoining properties on both sides and to the rear.

    This will be the second time since 2018 that Taco Bell has considered opening a franchise in Blythewood.

     The Board of Architectural Review will meet at 5:30 p.m., Monday evening at the Manor to review the application. The meeting is open to the public and will be live streamed and available on YouTube via the town’s website, townofblythewoodsc.gov.

    Board-of-Architectural-Review-Taco-BellDownload

  • Blythewood’s legal expenses skyrocket as MPA lawsuit simmers

    Bender: Meeting In Which MPA Contract Was Terminated May Have Been Illegal

    BLYTHEWOOD – After Blythewood Mayor Bryan Franklin failed to timely turn over documents including texts and emails to MPA Strategies’ attorney Joseph Dickey that Dickey had asked for through a Freedom of Information (FOIA) request, MPA’s owner and CEO Ashley Hunter filed a lawsuit against the Town to shake those documents loose.

    Since April, 2021, when the Town hired outside legal counsel David Black with Nexsen Pruet law firm to handle legal matters with MPA, the Town’s ‘other legal and professional’ expenses listed on its monthly online financial report have mushroomed beyond the budgeted amount of $60,000 to $93,929.13. That amount has climbed every month since Black was hired.

    The Voice has submitted an FOIA request to the Town for a breakdown of the $93,929.13, since one is not provided on the online report and could possibly include expenses for two other lawsuits the Town was previously involved in.

    A Contentious Hiring

    After council discussed in the fall of 2020 the possibility of hiring a firm to provide marketing and grant writing services to the Town, the S.C. Municipal Association and the Town’s then Administrator Brian Cook, both of whom were familiar with MPA’s work with other S.C. towns, suggested Hunter’s name.

    Ashley Hunter, owner and CEO of MPA Strategies

    After council asked Hunter to submit a proposal in December, 2020, the Greater Blythewood Chamber of Commerce also expressed interest in vying for the marketing/grant writing contract. The Town broadened its search for marketing/grant writing services by issuing an RFP (Request for Proposal).

    MPA, the chamber and NP Strategies, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nexsen Pruet law firm, responded to the RFP. From then forward, the council and mayor have been consumed by contentious wrangling.

    The mayor and Councilman Eddie Baughman wanted to hire the Greater Blythewood Chamber of Commerce. Councilman Sloan Griffin and Donald Brock wanted to hire MPA. Councilman Larry Griffin was initially on the fence until he heard the two applicants’ presentations, then went with MPA, saying that he didn’t think the Chamber had the resources and experience that MPA has.

    “I’m looking for the best for the town,” Councilman Larry Griffin said at the January council meeting, questioning the Chamber’s ability to manage a number of separate services.

    On Feb. 22, 2021, council voted 3-2 to hire MPA for approximately $48,000 a year to provide marketing and grant writing services, with Franklin and Baughman voting against.  That vote was followed by a turbulent contract negotiation that lasted almost two months and involved myriad rumors and accusations concerning Hunter and Brock.

    Dickey filed an FOIA request with the Town on April 15, 2021, asking for copies of Franklin’s texts, emails and other documents concerning MPA and Hunter.

    The next day, April 16, Franklin signed the contract.

    On April 21, Franklin, without council’s consent – as publicly confirmed by former Town Attorney Shannon Burnett at the May 27, 2021, council meeting – approved for Town Administrator Carroll Williamson and Burnett to hire outside counsel David Black to represent the Town pertaining to MPA.

    Hunter went to work at town hall on May 1, 2021.

    During her first month working with the town, Hunter brought in a $10,000 grant from International Paper Company with another $10,000 to follow a couple of months later, which amounted to almost half the Town’s first-year payout to MPA.

    But the FOIA documents requested from Franklin were still outstanding.

    Franklin’s FOIA response to MPA was due May 24, 2021. While Franklin announced in the May 24 town council meeting that he turned his devices over to a third party vendor that day for the responsive documents to be scanned and copied, he did not turn those responsive documents over to Dickey on May 24 – the due date – as required by law.

    It is a violation of S.C. FOIA to not respond to an FOIA request within the statutorily-required time, according to media attorney Taylor Smith, with Harrison Radeker & Smith law firm in Columbia.

    On June 28, 2021, after Franklin’s FOIA response was almost 25 days overdue – not counting weekends and holidays – MPA filed a complaint in the Fifth Judicial Circuit Court of Common Pleas seeking declaratory relief from the Town’s FOIA violation.

     “When information is turned over after a lawsuit is served, that usually means prevailing party status is given to the requester which almost assures they will win and their attorney’s fees and costs will be paid by taxpayer money,” Smith said. 

    Franklin subsequently turned his documents over to Dickey on July 9, 2021, 11 days after MPA filed the FOIA lawsuit.

    More missteps

    There may have been other missteps in how Town officials handled the termination of the Town’s contract with MPA Strategies in a special called town council meeting on July 20, 2021, according to Jay Bender, media attorney with the S.C. Press Association.

    The only business on the agenda at that meeting was an executive session for the stated purpose to “receive legal advice relating to claims and potential claims by and against the Town and other matters covered by attorney-client privilege.”

    Following that executive session, council voted to terminate MPA’s contract, an action not listed on the agenda as a reason for going into executive session. Councilman Sloan Griffin made the following motion: “With the advice of our legal counsel and with the health and harmony amongst this council and your office, I am making a motion to execute in accordance with the advice of our attorney, our 60-day opt-out clause in the MPA contract.”

    Councilman Eddie Baughman seconded the motion.

    Bender said the reason for the executive session was insufficiently specific.

    “Since there was nothing on the agenda to indicate a decision would be made to terminate a contract, no vote could be taken on that matter unless notice was given or a vote taken to amend the agenda to act without notice to the public because of exigent circumstances,” Bender said.

    No notice had been given nor vote taken to amend the agenda.

    In addition, it was disclosed at the special called meeting that Franklin, Town Administrator Carroll Williamson and Town Attorney Shannon Burnett had signed and filed a countersuit against MPA earlier that evening. Three of the five council members – Brock and the two Griffins, the three who had voted to hire MPA – later told The Voice they were not informed that a countersuit was going to be filed against MPA, had not approved it, and had not been asked to vote on it.

    “I would think a vote of council would have been necessary,” Bender said, “unless council had previously given authority to the mayor to make the decision.”

    It had not.

    One other action Bender found possibly illegal about the special called meeting was that the presiding officer, Franklin, was not present at the meeting. He presided virtually via Zoom.

    Town ordinance 30.12 (Remote Meeting Attendance and Participation) passed by council a year earlier states, “The council member acting as the presiding officer must be physically present at the meeting.”

    “I would think a violation of the ordinance would provide a basis to challenge the action taken,” Bender said.

    The only action taken that evening was to terminate MPA’s contract with the Town.

    “Bottom line,” Bender concluded, “the executive session was likely illegal, the vote to terminate the contract was likely illegal, and the entire meeting may have been illegal given the ordinance requirement that the presiding officer be present.”

  • Blythewood election results

    • Sloan Griffin
    • Rich McKenrick

    BLYTHEWOOD – Current Town Councilman Sloan J. Griffin, III and Planning Commission Chair Rich McKenrick handily won the two open seats on Blythewood Town Council Tuesday night.

    Passed over for an endorsement by the Blythewood Chamber of Commerce and openly campaigned against on Facebook by former mayor Mike Ross, Griffin, with 364 votes (42.72%), was the top vote-getter Tuesday night of the three candidates. Rich McKenrick, who was the chamber’s pick, garnered 301 votes (35.33%).

    Roxann Henagan, a political newcomer, received 141 votes (16.55%).

    Sitting Councilman Larry Griffin, whose name was on the ballot even though he withdrew from the race shortly after filing for a third term, received 36 votes 4.23%). There were 10 (1.17%) write-in votes.

    Just 519 of the 3,267 eligible electors voted Tuesday, for an almost 15 percent turnout. Griffin swept three of the town’s four precincts – Blythewood 1, 2 and 3. McKenrick took the only two votes that were cast in the Ridgeway 14 precinct.

    The chamber board of directors voted to endorse only one of three candidates for the two open seats on council prior to the candidate forum and without interviewing the candidates. Ross, who is chairman of the Blythewood chamber, went after Griffin on Facebook the day before the election, urging town residents to think twice before voting for Sloan Griffin III.

    In its endorsement of McKenrick, the chamber board of directors noted that McKenrick has “repeatedly demonstrated his support of our local Chamber of Commerce.” The chamber depends on the town council to fund many of their public events.

     “I just want to thank all the voters who came out today, who believed in me, who trusted and voted for me,” Griffin said. “Now, I’m looking forward to serving the citizens of Blythewood for four more years,” he said following the win.

    Griffin recently worked with Blythewood’s State House Representative Kambrell Garvin to bring $250,000 of the House’s earmarked money to Blythewood to be used to upgrade park infrastructure and security in Doko Meadows. He said he’s looking to continue to improve and maintain the park.

    “It’ a wonderful asset for the town and for our families, and I want to be sure we continue to upgrade and maintain it.

    “And we seriously want to work toward better traffic control in the town. That’s a priority on my list,” Griffin said.

    McKenrick, who organized a recent survey of 29016 residents and chairs the town’s planning commission, says he wants to continue moving Blythewood in the right direction. That direction, he says, has to do with paying attention to the comprehensive plan that is currently being written for the town.

    “I also think this council needs to rise above petty differences and concentrate on what’s best for everyone. It’s time to listen to new ideas and maybe change the way things have always been done,” McKenrick said. “I would particularly like to see the town get itself out of this mess of lawsuits and move on to a better place. That’s important.”

    The election was held at Blythewood Recreation Park on Boney Road.

    Winners Sloan Griffin and Rich McKenrick congratulate each other. | Barbara Ball

  • Council votes to rezone two properties

    BLYTHEWOOD – During a lengthy meeting Monday night, town council approved first reading on two rezoning issues.

    In a unanimous vote, council approved a zoning map amendment for a 10.4-acre property on Langford Road, rezoning the property from Rural District (RU) to Multi-Neighborhood Commercial District (MC) within the Architectural Overlay District. One of the property owners, Jim McLean, represented the applicant, JNT. The MC zoning district has a medium land use intensity for residential, civic, office and retail categories, according to the town’s zoning ordinance.

    The property (TMS# 17800-01-01) is located on Langford Road across from the new Blythewood Farm subdivision and near the intersection with Sandfield Road.

    Council also approved in a 5-0 vote, first reading to rezone .410 acres owned by Barbara Ball, the applicant, from Town Center District (TC) to Community Commercial District (CC), also within the Architectural Overlay District.

    The property (TMS# 15214-03-01) is located at 500 Main Street.

    According to the Town’s zoning ordinance, the Architectural Overlay District is intended to require the review and receipt of a certificate of appropriateness from the board of architectural review for

    • new construction, major improvement or exterior alteration of existing structures which
    • meet the requirements for review. It is intended to promote the development of
    • aesthetically pleasing commercial areas which invite business establishments and will
    • attract resident and visitor patronage $50,000 to

    The second and final vote on both property rezonings will be taken at the October, 2021 meeting.