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Tag: Donald Brock

  • Attorney calls for Country Chronicle, Franklin to cease and desist

    • Brock
    • Franklin

    BLYTHEWOOD – An attorney representing Town Councilman Donald Brock has demanded that Country Chronicle editor Tonya F. Page and Blythewood Mayor Bryan Franklin “immediately cease and desist from speaking, writing or otherwise publishing all false, injurious and otherwise damaging statements about Mr. Brock.”

    In documents obtained by The Voice, the attorney, Kevin Hall, with Womble Bond Dickinson law firm in Columbia, sent a letter to Franklin, stating that, “We have been advised of numerous false and/or actionable statements made by you in the Sept. 23, 2021 edition of The Country Chronicle, as well as statements made via email dated Sept. 21, 2021.”

    Hall also addressed Page as having quoted and/or published “numerous false and/or actionable statements in the Sept. 23, 2021 edition of the Country Chronicle.”

    Hall wrote that the quotes and statements he addresses include but are not limited to:

    • “That Mr. Brock has lied to the public and swayed votes of other council members based on blatantly false information.
    • That Mr. Brock has engaged in misconduct that has cost the town $40,000 in outside legal expenses.
    • That supporters of Mr. Brock expected to be paid back in some fashion for their support.
    • That Mr. Brock conspired or is conspiring with an outside marketing company or a local newspaper.

     “Publishing these false statements is not protected free speech,” Hall wrote, “but, instead, is a malicious and intentional decision on your part to defame and damage Mr. Brock. By doing so, you subject yourself to tort and other claims including but not limited to defamation, libel, slander and misrepresentation.”

    The letter demands that both Page and Franklin issue a public retraction and apology.

    “If you ignore this demand,” Hall wrote, “we are prepared to initiate litigation to recover (1) damages for harm done to Mr. Brock and his reputation, (2) punitive damages, (3) injunctive relief, (4) attorneys’ fees and litigation costs and (5) all other recoverable damages and costs.”

    The letter further asks both Page and Franklin to provide Hall with written assurance via email by close of business on Monday, Sept. 27, 2021, that they are willing to comply with the foregoing request.

    “Failure to provide such assurance may result in further legal action,” Hall wrote.

    Hall also notified Page and Franklin that they are to “preserve all documents, recordings, phone messages, text messages, emails, and all other materials (electronically stored or otherwise) which reference or relate to Mr. Brock, the Town of Blythewood and/or members of the council of the Town of Blythewood. Mr. Brock will be seeking these documents and others in discovery If litigation is necessary.”

    The Country Chronicle is published out of Camden, but a website for Georgia-based Morris Multimedia lists the newspaper as one of its 60 publications. The company describes itself as one of the largest, privately held media companies in the U.S.

    Related: Town attorney resigns; councilmen not notified

  • Franklin wins mayor’s seat

    Subhead: Brock, Beauman elected to council
    Bryan Franklin, center, was elected mayor of Blythewood, and Donald Brock (left) and Eddie Baughman (right) were elected to the town council Monday evening. | Barbara Ball

    BLYTHEWOOD – Blythewood voters elected a new mayor and two councilmen Monday night.  

    Current Town Councilman Bryan Franklin received 330 votes for mayor, besting former mayor Keith Bailey with 252 votes and Town Councilman Malcolm Gordge with 121 votes.

    Planning Commission Chair Donald Brock was the top vote getter for two open council seats with 412 votes. Town Councilman Eddie Baughman captured the other seat with 389 votes. Planning Commissioner Sloan Jarvis Griffin, III received 311 votes followed by former planning commissioner Marcus Taylor with 157 votes and political newcomer Barry Belville with 39 votes.

    Four Ridgeway/Fairfield precinct votes were accounted for on the posted results, but there was no indication as to who the votes were cast for. Richland County Voter Registration provided The Voice with Ridgeway/Fairfield numbers Wednesday morning – 4 ballots cast with 12 votes: Franklin, 2; Gordge, 2; Baughman, 4; Brock, 3 and Griffin, 1.

    According to Richland County, 731 ballots were cast with a 23 percent voter turnout.

    The mayor’s seat and the two council seats are for four-year terms. Franklin’s election leaves an open seat on town council that will be filled by a special election.

    Story updated 11/6/19 at 2:41 p.m. with information from Richland County Voter Registration Office.

  • Commision endorses vendor ordinance

    BLYTHEWOOD – After more than a year of handwringing over whether to allow temporary vendors in the Town Center District, the Planning Commissioners voted Monday night to recommend that Council adopt the City of Columbia’s vending ordinance, presented by Town Administrator Brian Cook, with a few tweaks. That modified ordinance, basically, allows temporary vendors and food trucks the same rights and privileges as brick and mortar buildings, but with almost none of the costly architectural or other restrictions imposed on brick and mortar buildings.

    That modified vendor ordinance would allow vendors to sell merchandise, goods, services, or forms of amusement from a temporary structure, such as a tent, awning, canopy, umbrella, stand, booth, cart, trailer, from a vehicle, or from his person. A temporary vendor does not include a person who conducts the majority of his business from within a permanent and enclosed building located upon the same lot.

    Unlike brick and mortar buildings, vendors would not be required to provide handicap restrooms or any restrooms at all.

    While the Commissioners initially worried that aesthetics of temporary vendor’s vehicles, tents, trailers, etc, could become a problem, they concluded that aesthetics for vendors would be too difficult to regulate by ordinance and moved on. Brick and mortar buildings in the Town Center District are required to adhere to certain types, quality and colors of building materials, architectural styles, signage, lighting and landscaping. There are no such restrictions on vendor vehicles, tents, trailers, etc.

    Cook said he presented the same modified ordinance to the Board of Architectural Review two weeks ago and they expressed concern regarding the fairness issue when it came to food trucks locating within 100 feet of a brick and mortar food establishment.  The Commissioners responded by requiring a distance of 250 feet between vendors and certain businesses.

    Commission member Rich McKenrick suggested that multiple temporary vendors might want to set up on a single property.  Cook indicated that the ordinance itself did not prohibit that but that other restrictions regarding number of parking places, safety regarding ingress and egress would apply.  The modified ordinance also restricts vendors from operating within 400 feet of residences.

    After flirting with a few concerns, the Planning Commission voted unanimously to adopt the modified City of Columbus ordinance with the following tweaks:

    Allow the Town Administrator to have sole authority to give written permission for a temporary vendor to operate in the Town Center District,

    Increase the distance between a vendor and the front door of a lawfully established restaurant from 100 feet to 250 feet, and

    Limit occupancy of a vendor to no more than 10 hours a day (24 hours). At all other times the vendors must vacate the parcel they occupy.

    It was confirmed by the Planning Commission Chairman, Donald Brock, that the modified ordinance would not affect Grace Coffee. After Grace Coffee refused to continue moving its trailer off the parcel every night as it had initially agreed to do, Cook interpreted the Town’s zoning laws to confirm that Grace Coffee is now a business in good standing, compliant with the Town’s necessary zoning approvals.

    Town Council will vote on the Commission’s recommendation on the vendor ordinance at its next regular meeting on June 25.

  • Horton cottages fail PC rezoning criteria, Brock elected PC Chair

    BLYTHEWOOD – The Planning Commission members unanimously elected Donald Brock to chair the Commission Monday evening. Brock replaces Brian Franklin who was elected to Town Council last month. Brock is a resident of Oakhurst neighborhood.

    Brock

    Developer D. R. Horton was back on the Commission’s doorstep Monday evening requesting the rezoning of 4.76 acres near the Cobblestone Clubhouse from Planned Development/ R-3 (PDD, R-3), single family attached townhomes to Planned Development/R-2 (PDD, R-2, single family detached residential).

    A Horton representative said Horton plans to build 12 to 13 cottage-style homes on the parcel.

    In October, the Commission recommended that same rezoning request based on several residents’ expressed desires to have cottages over townhomes.

    However, when the issue came before Council, the residents switched gears, telling Council they were afraid the cottages were not going to come up to neighborhood standards and asked Council to turn Horton’s request down.  Council obliged.

    When Horton came back to the Commission Monday night asking for a re-do of the October vote, the Commissioners weren’t as eager to comply.

    New chair Brock cited a memo from Town Attorney Jim Meggs stating that generally the same rezoning can’t be resubmitted for a year unless the Commission determines either: 1) there has been a substantial change in the character of the area or 2) factors exist which were not considered in the previous deliberations which might substantially alter the basis for the Commission’s recommendation.

    Brock said neither was the case, and the Commission voted unanimously against recommending the rezoning.