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Tag: Fairfield County Library

  • Council OKs, then denies library funds

    WINNSBORO – They actually did vote for the $521,000 before they voted against it.

    At its Oct. 14 meeting, the Fairfield County Council inadvertently voted to award $521,000 in matching funds for the Fairfield County library in Ridgeway.

    Later in the meeting, the council voted to reconsider the library vote, meaning the county now is not awarding any funds. The do-over vote passed 5-2, with council members Moses Bell and Mikel Trapp opposing.

    The library vote paradox unfolded when council members considered a proposal to spend $521,000 to match a Community Development Block Grant, or CDBG, for the “purchase, renovation and future operations” of the Ridgeway library.

    The county’s administration and finance committee had recommended disapproval of spending the money.

    When Council Chairman Neil Robinson asked for a motion, Councilman Jimmy Ray Douglas promptly stated, “I make a motion that we don’t do it.”

    A few minutes of discussion followed.

    In calling for the vote, Robinson simply asked “all those in favor?” Nobody replied.

    “Opposed?” Robinson asked.

    “Nay,” all seven council members answered, a majority of them believing they were voting against the money. In reality, they voted for it.

    “That’s a win,” Trapp stated.

    “That’s a win,” Bell affirmed. “It makes no difference, we’ve taken that vote.”

    “The nay was a winner,” Trapp added.

    A period of confusion followed before the meeting continued. Councilman Douglas Pauley introduced the motion to reconsider later in the meeting.

    Pauley’s motion came following a legal opinion from Tommy Morgan, the county’s attorney, who said any council member was entitled to bring the matter up for reconsideration.

    “There was a double negative that was used, ergo the seven nay votes that all voted against not taking action ended up voting to take action,” Morgan said.

    As it stands, the money is not being awarded.

    County Administrator Jason Taylor said conditions of the CDBG match would have required the county to keep the library open 40 hours a week, which is not currently the case. Taylor said finances proved problematic as well.

    “We also had a situation where the library had committed to a portion [one half] of the purchase,” Taylor said. “We’d have to purchase the building for $180,000, and they withdrew that support of $90,000, or half. That left us with a situation where we had to pay $521,000.”

    Robinson said he reconsidered approving the money until the library backed off its commitment to pledge $90,000 toward the project.

    “When the library withdrew their $90,000, it kind of led me to a little hesitation as far as, ‘do we need to go through this project?’” he said.

    Taylor said the Ridgeway area has great potential, but noted that infrastructure remains the county’s top priority.

    “Water and sewer is one of those things we have to concentrate on. Growth follows water and sewer,” Taylor said. “The library is something we hoped we could do. It is an area we need to concentrate on.”

  • Story Walk moves kids around town

    RIDGEWAY/WINNSBORO – Summer fun is making the rounds in Ridgeway and Winnsboro as Story Walk brings kids and their families on to downtown sidewalks to read the “big book”, Good Food, written by DeMar Reggier, Much like a progressive dinner where participants eat from house to house until they finish the meal with dessert at the last house, so the book is read from store to store to store until it’s finished.

    The giant pages of the book are taped in merchant windows up and down the streets of Ridgeway and Winnsboro, and the book is read as the reader moves down the street from store window to store window.

    Book pages pasted on Ruff Furniture doors in Ridgeway.

    Participants read each page and then follow the sequential numbers and simple instructions telling them where to walk and find the next page.

    “This is a committee project initiated by the 15 members of Eat Smart Move More Fairfield,” explained the group’s chairperson, nutritionist Earnestine Williams. “We teamed up with the Fairfield County Libraries for the project.”

    This combined effort to get folks out and moving and kids from pre-kindergarten through third grade reading more this summer is William’s first effort in this format.

    “The merchants have been very supportive,” said Williams.  “If the program is well received, we would continue it again next year.”

    “The Good Food book has 28 pages”, she explained.  “I believe we have 7 or 8 merchants in Ridgeway, and 14 merchants in Winnsboro with the enlarged pages in their windows.”

    In Ridgeway, participants start at R. H. Lee & Co, 100 S. Dogwood Avenue, and proceed down Dogwood and around the block to Palmer Street and down both sides of Palmer Street.

    In Winnsboro, the walk starts at Napa Auto Parts, 152 N. Congress Street, and continues down Congress Street, crosses over and continues down the opposite side of the street to finish at the library.

    “We have already had some children complete the walk,” Beth Bonds, Circulation Desk Manager for the Fairfield County Library in Winnsboro, said.  “After the participants have finished the whole walk by reading the book pages either in Ridgeway or Winnsboro, they can then come to the main branch of the Library in Winnsboro and receive a certificate, a prize and have their photo taken.”

    The walk began June 8 and will run until July 31, 2019.

    Sponsors include the Fairfield County Library, Eat Smart Move More Fairfield and Fairfield Community Coordinating Council.

    For more information, Contact Williams at 803-635-1052 Ext. 2050.

  • Readers Turn Out

    WINNSBORO – About 250 children and 50 adults attended the Winnsboro Library’s annual read-in held at the Fairfield County Recreation Center on March 29. The program lasted from 9 – 12 a.m. and was followed by lunch.

  • Friends of Library honor Dr. Clyde McCants

    Dr. Clyde McCants, center, receives the Lifetime Membership Award with Hannah Phillips, former Library Director Sara McMaster, Library Director Eric Robinson, and FOL President Michelle Taylor.

    WINNSBORO – “It has been a beautiful friendship for me and a life of service to the Fairfield County Library,” Sarah McMaster, former director of the Fairfield County Library, said as she and Library Director Eric Robinson presented a Life Membership Award and other mementos to Winnsboro resident Dr. Clyde T. McCants during the Friends of the Library’s annual meeting on Sunday.

    “Dr McCants visited the Library when he first came to Winnsboro and has provided his time, talents and financial support ever since,” McMaster said.  “Dr Clyde has donated books and CDs from his own personal collections and provided the financial support that has allowed us to purchase a stellar collection of art and music books.  He has been involved in everything from book sales to our very well received music related programs. I was not very much into opera, but he converted me,” McMaster quipped, as a round of laughter erupted from the crowd.

    A retired teacher, McCants is a pastor and has authored four books relating to music and is currently working on his fifth.

    With nearly 50 Friends of the Library in attendance, FOL President Michelle Taylor opened the program announcing that, “We are now a 501C(3) organization,” which, she explained, will allow donations to be considered tax deductible.

    “We are also a part of Amazon Smile so please use this when you make online purchases,” Taylor added.

    Taylor said a goal for the Friends for this year is to replace the Book Drop.

    “We currently have $445 dollars toward the project, and we need $2000,” she said.  “In our effort to go green, we are moving our newsletter distribution to an email where possible, and we are changing our membership schedule to the calendar year to make it easier to keep track of when a membership is due,” Taylor said.

    The evening’s speaker was Hannah Phillips, 90, a lifelong resident of Fairfield County who took the evening’s patrons on an eclectic journey of Fairfield County through trivia – from the time that Scotch-Irish settled Fairfield County to when Richard Winn surveyed it and steam engines watered in White Oak.

    Wine and cheese refreshments were served.

  • County leases facility for RW library

    The old Ridgeway Post Office is being renovated for the temporary library.

    RIDGEWAY – During a special meeting last week, county council voted unanimously to execute a two-year lease on the old Ridgeway post office property at Palmer and Jones streets for a temporary library site in the town.

    The deal includes an option to renew for another two years and possibly purchase the property. Rent would cost $850 a month the first year and $892 a month in year two.

    Fairfield County Administrator Jason Taylor said at its previous location, the library had already been paying $600 a month out of its millage for operations. The county would pick up the difference, he said.

    “[The property owner] wanted to go up in the other two years, and we pushed back on that,” Taylor said. “We looked at a number of locations and did determine this was the best. Others would need a lot more upfitting, or had no parking or would be much more expensive.”

    When the time comes to build a permanent site, the county will consider pursuing a Community Development Block Grant, or CDBG, to help pay for it.

    Eric Robinson, director of the Fairfield County Library has told Council that the library board wants the permanent site to be in the town.

    Ridgeway resident Moses Bell, who has announced he is running for the Ridgeway District 1 seat on county council, voiced concerns at the June 25 council meeting that the proposed temporary site is near what Bell said is a liquor store.

    Bell told council members he was contacted by a woman who called him, hysterical about the temporary site at Palmer and Jones street.

    “She had stated that in many municipalities, they have ordinances stating that liquor stores and bars cannot be located next to a public building,” he said. Bell did not identify those municipalities or the ordinances.

    Bell said he wants a library built outside the town next to the county waste and recycle center.

    Councilman Dan Ruff, who represents District 1 on county council, said the Palmer and Jones site is only temporary, noting the long-term plan is to build a permanent library elsewhere.

    “We’ve looked and looked. I’ve been looking for months for a good location,” Ruff said. “This one became available.”

    “We’ve been without a library for a year now,” Ruff continued. “We don’t want to wait two to four years until we can get another permanent site.”

    As for the library’s surroundings, Ruff didn’t see any issues.

    “Actually there’s a road and a cyclone fence before you get to the convenience store (City Gas) which has a liquor store attached,” Ruff said. “There’s also a church behind the liquor store, directly behind it. We have not had any issues with the store and I just don’t think that would be an issue.”

    County administrator Jason Taylor said the county will take over the leased property on July 1, and that renovations should be completed before the start of the school year in August.

    The Ridgeway branch of the Fairfield County Library closed in September 2017. It shut down after the building experienced leaks and mold issues.

    On June 15, the Ridgeway Town Council considered five proposed sites for the permanent library location.

    “[The county] asked us as a council to review some options that have been floating around for a while,” Ridgeway Mayor Heath Cookendorfer said.

    Those sites included:

    • Old Fire Department, Palmer Street
    • Teacherage, Means Street
    • First Citizens Bank property, Palmer and East Church streets
    • Charm Parking Lot, Means and Church streets
    • Fork of U.S. 21 and S.C. 34.

    Ridgeway Council members identified the Teacherage location as the preferred site, with the Charm Parking lot location as the runner-up.

    The Town of Ridgeway owns the Teacherage site. Fairfield County would have to purchase the Charm Parking lot site, though Cookendorfer said that when the county leaves a location, the property typically reverts back to the town.