BLYHEWOOD – Town Administrator Brian Cook gave an overview of the Town’s proposed FY 2019-20 budget last week and announced a workshop schedule for council to work out the details of the $1,621,696 budget, which is up from $1,565,114 last year.
Looking at possible changes in budgeting for the coming year, Cook said council will be giving some attention to how it allocates hospitality funds in the future. He said there are several ways council might want to make changes.
“In the past, we’ve allocated sporadically without knowing at any one time how many groups we are allocating money to for the entire year,” Cook said in an interview with The Voice. “I would like to see us look at the allocations for the whole year at one time so we don’t spend it all before we get to an event or project that we really want to do and then realize we don’t have any left for something that we feel is important. Council is going to look at the best use of the money.”
Cook said he would like to also look at specific projects that can be paid for with hospitality tax funds but that have been overlooked in the past. The new budget includes $10,000 for re-sodding and landscaping plantings and $500 for a new weed eater. About $7,000 was allocated from the current budget for a lawn mower, Cook said.
“We are going to do the mowing of the park and town hall area in-house now and discontinue the contract we currently have for mowing the park. We’re going to be saving money right out of the gate,” he said. “We’ll pay for the lawnmower in the first year.”
“There are a lot of things we can use hospitality funds for that are not event based,” Cook said.
“This [hospitality] money can be used to beautify the town and landscaping,” Cook said. “The entrances to the town, maybe lay some new sod at the entrance to the park, places that are weedy and pretty much dying. When you go around to other places like Killian’s Crossings and look at the medians planted with color, we could be looking at doing some of that.”
“Once we get to the May workshop, that’s when we will really get down to it,” Cook said.
Cook said council will also be looking at other ways they allocate hospitality tax money – where it’s going and how it’s being used.
At the April council meeting, Mayor J. Michael Ross told one event group that if they did not turn out better attendance numbers, the town might not continue to allocate hospitality funds for that event. He addressed the lack of local advertising by the event organizers.
At the April meeting, council heard requests for event funding from Blythewood Bikes & Beers for $8,750; from The Red Barn for $12,051.20, and The Blythewood Chamber of Commerce withdrew a request for $20,500 that Chamber Chairman-elect Phil Frye said would be requested at the May 9 workshop.
COLUMBIA – More than a hundred residents of Crickentree breathed a sigh of relief Tuesday night at a Richland County Council public hearing after the Texas investment firm, E-Capital, withdrew its application for the rezoning of the former Golf Course of South Carolina.
The withdrawal was announced by County Councilwoman Joyce Dickerson at the beginning the hearing on the rezoning. Dickerson represents much of the Blythewood area, including Crickentree.
E-Capital’s proposal to rezone the golf course from Traditional Recreational Open Spaces (TROS) to medium density residential (RS-MD) would allow up to 600 homes to be developed on the 183-acre property. TROS is a zoning category designed to protect golf courses, ensuring that they remain open green space.
Residents fear smaller lots and hundreds of additional homes will lower their large-lot home values and further congest already unmanageable traffic in the area.
Robert Fuller, attorney for E-Capital, spoke with The Voice after the meeting. He was asked if E-Capital plans to come back to council and request a different zoning classification for the property.
“I don’t know,” Fuller said. “I can’t say what they will do. Nothing has been decided.”
In attendance at the meeting and signed in to speak in support of the residents, Mayor J. Michael Ross has been forthcoming in public meetings about his desire for the county to purchase the golf course property and turn it into recreational opportunities for the northern Richland County area.
A story on the front page of The State Monday morning laid bare Dickerson’s irritation with Ross over that proposal.
“If he wants a park, he can put it in there,” Dickerson was quoted in The State. According to the newspaper, Dickerson was miffed that Ross had “approached the Richland County Recreation Commission before the rezoning request was filed.”
The story quoted Dickerson as saying that “caused some ill will when the mayor skirted County Council and pitched a plan for land not in the Blythewood city limits.”
Later in the day on Monday, Ross emailed County Council members.
“I wanted to reach out before tomorrow night’s meeting and express to you my concerns about the rezoning of the Crickentree property. Even though it was pointed out in The State newspaper today that the property being discussed is not in our town, it sure is close!!! If you don’t think another development of 200, 400 or 600 homes right down Langford Road doesn’t affect our town and its citizens, well I know you do! I encourage all of you to do what you and I were elected to do and hear the people’s wishes and vote in favor of preserving this wonderful green space in northern Richland County. If this is rezoned and the TROS classification is lost, it will only be the first in this area to go. The Windermere Golf club property will be right behind it. I hope you, like me, would like to see a pause or hold on all the home development in northern Richland County especially when it devours ‘green space!’”
The email ended with Ross’ trademark lightheartedness.
“Thanks for all you do and, Mrs. Dickerson, I still know we are the best of friends no matter what!”
BLYTHEWOOD – Mayor J. Michael Ross presents a check for $5,000 to Pam Dukes, Director of Senior Resources and Board members Warren Benson, left, and Ed Garrison.
Approximately 200 people packed Doko Manor in Blythewood to hear ECapital’s plan to develop the golf course at Crickentree. | Barbara Ball
BLYTHEWOOD – Representatives of Texas investment firm ECapital unveiled a revised proposal for a residential development proposed on the former Golf Course of South Carolina property in the Crickentree neighborhood last week at a meeting held at Doko Manor. More than 200 residents of Crickentree and other area golf course communities attended.
After proposing 480 homes on the property in August, ECapital’s Ryan Buckman said Thursday night that the company had dropped the number of homes to 249 homes in response to residents’ pleas for lower density in August.
Another concession, according to Shaun Tooley, an engineer representing the land design firm that produced the plan, is a 150-foot natural buffer of trees and shrubs that would shield the existing neighborhood homes from the new development. That buffer, Tooley said, would be deeded to the new development’s homeowner’s association who would also be responsible for maintaining it.
The revised development consists of homes clustered together on minimum 8,500-square-foot lots, leaving 60 percent of the property in green space, Tooley said. He said the homes would range from 2,500 to 3,500 square feet in size and be priced at $350K to $425K.
Much of the 183 acre golf course property borders the Crickentree subdivision which is accessed off Kelly Mill Road.
One side of the golf course is the back yard to many of the 145 upscale Crickentree homes that boast large lots, some up to two acres in size.
ECapital bought the mortgage on the golf course for $1 million and initiated foreclosure last July. The mortgage was foreclosed in August. Now ECapital has moved into the development phase.
To transition from a golf course to a residential property requires rezoning from the current TROS (Traditional Recreation Open Space) zoning classification to a residential zoning classification.
That rezoning effort is where the residents feel they have a foothold to stop the development of hundreds of homes on small lots in their backyards.
The TROS zoning classification dates back to 2007 when the Richland County Planning Commission added it to the Richland County land use plan specifically to protect golf course communities throughout the county from becoming the victims of rampant residential development.
The question from residents of these golf course communities such as Crickentree, is, now, will County Council vote to change the zoning to protect ECapital’s investment and satisfy the developer, or keep the current zoning in place to protect the Crickentree property owners’ investments which the TROS was designed to do.
After presenting slides of the proposed development, residents expressed their concerns about the plan. Jerry Rega, a resident of nearby LongCreek Plantation which has experienced similar issues, said the Crickentree residents will experience loss of property values, traffic congestion and school congestion. He also questioned how storm water drainage would be mamaged since the golf course, where the new homes would be built, now provides that drainage.
“But you guys don’t want to listen,” Rega said to thunderous applause and cheers from the audience. “Every time one of these big companies has a problem, Council has a way of bailing them out. What about bailing out the people in this room? We need to put a moratorium on new construction until Richland County figures out what the heck is going on,” Rega said.
Other residents at the meeting said the proposed development won’t benefit the county financially because the developer is based in Texas. “These [ECapital] people are going to go back to Dallas with $3-4 million and we’re going to lose $3-4 million in our property values,” Crickentree resident Larry Ellis said. “We need some support,” he told Richland County Councilwoman Joyce Dickerson who represents a portion of 29016 and called the meeting.
“There’s no value in rezoning for anyone in this room except the people up front,” Rega added.
ECapital is expected to submit a proposal to the Richland County Planning Commission to rezone the property in the next several weeks.
The Mayor’s Option:
Mayor J. Michael Ross, center, talks with residents who are protesting the development of the golf courses protected by TROS zoning.
Although Crickentree is not within Blythewood’s city limits, Mayor Mike Ross told the crowd that traffic and infrastructure is also the town’s biggest concern. And he said that while the town limits do not extend to Crickentree, he said Crickentree as part of the 29016 family.
“We don’t want any more people coming down Langford Road trying to get to I-77,” he said.
Ross proposed an alternative plan to convert the golf course space into a county park with soccer fields, walking paths, bike trails and other amenities. He said preliminary talks are underway with the Richland County Recreation Commission to buy the property.
Ross then read a statement from Town Councilman Bryan Franklin.
“We have an option we would like you to consider. We have massive development in this area,” Ross said, listing a number of developments in the works or planned. “We will have 6,000 new homes in the next 10 years. If there is one child per home, we’ll have a massive youth population that needs a place for outdoor activities. We don’t have the real estate in the town to provide those opportunities.
“The Crickentree residents have somewhat been betrayed – they purchased homes with the intent of living in a golf course community. The golf course business failed and needs to offload real estate to close the books under bankruptcy to allow this builder to build 250 – 300 homes.
“These homes will create more traffic, more schools, but no recreation area.
“An excellent, common sense compromise would be for the county to purchase this [golf course] for pennies on the dollar, designated as a county recreation center/park and create soccer, Lacrosse and baseball fields as well as senior citizen facilities, walking and biking trails. This would not even require rezoning and would benefit the community.
“It would pay for itself in 20 years with revenues from travel ball and state and regional sports tournaments.
“Let’s not let this jewel in the rough go. Save this open space and help our kids.
“Maybe the Town of Blythewood doesn’t have a horse in this race, but the people will be doomed by traffic. This is something we want to talk to Richland County about.”
BLYTHEWOOD – The sale of the Doko Depot has been delayed since December, 2017, for myriad reasons. In September, 2018, Mayor J. Michael Ross announced a new delay – this one caused by the discovery that property title restrictions had not been disclosed to the Town in prior financing efforts with Santee-Cooper.
“We are in the process of remedying this issue,” Ross told The Voice in August.
When asked last week about the progress of the remedy, Ross said the Town has not yet reached a resolution with the owners. The Town received both parcels for community use only. Both parcels contained reversion or repurchase clauses.
Those clauses kicked in when in 2016 the town re-designated park property that include sections of the two parcels.
If a resolution cannot otherwise be reached with all parties, Ross said he is looking at other options – two of them drastic – including cutting a portion of one end of the building off or moving it a few feet off the parcels in question.
Ross said one parcel was sold on favorable terms directly to the town government for community use and could be repurchased by the owner should the parcel no longer be used for community use. Records show that parcel was owned and donated by Margaret DuBard. The other parcel was originally conveyed to the Blythewood Volunteer Fire Department by Charles W. Proctor in 1971.
Proctor reserved a reversion of title if the property ceased to be used for fire department or other community uses. When a new fire station was built on Main Street, the land was donated to the Town. But the parcel was still subject to the reversion clause, documents state.
Proctor passed away in 1976, leaving no children. His wife died shortly thereafter. The heirs, Ross said, are being contacted and a civil action will be brought to determine their interests and compensation.
“According to the documents that were signed,” Ross said, “there’s not that much money involved. It’s just a percentage of the value of the land the building sits on.”
Not knowing about the title issue at the time, Council voted in December, 2017, to authorize Ross to sign a sales contract with Columbia developer Wheeler & Wheeler to purchase the property.
Last April, Don Russo told The Voice that his company, Freeway Music, was negotiating a contract to lease part of the building from Wheeler & Wheeler.
It was also announced that a popular Lexington restaurant is planning to lease the other part of the building.
Ross said on Tuesday those plans are now on hold. He further stated that the Town and Dubard have agreed to obtain an appraisal in order to get an appropriate purchase price for Dubard’s interest.
“We’re going to lose our tenants if the sale is delayed much longer,” Ross said. “So we have to come up with a plan of how to alleviate the connection of the owners with the Depot building.
“If the title to the properties had been clear when the building was built, we wouldn’t be in this fix right now. There are a lot of things we’re looking into,” Ross said.
Still, Ross said he understands the previous property owners’ perspective.
“They wanted to see the land used as a public park or other public use. The Town took the land and commercialized it in the pursuit of economic development,” Ross explained. “Now it’s a mess. We’re trying to figure out how we get around this mess.”
While the issue was discussed in executive session Monday night, Council did not discuss or vote on it in public session.
BLYTHEWOOD – Mayor J. Michael Ross is inviting members of the Blythewood community to an On the Table breakfast at Lizard’s Thicket Oct. 24 at 8 a.m.
“The occasion is a one-day opportunity to build personal connections and explore how we can work together to make our community stronger,” Ross said.
Those who participate in the breakfast are then invited to complete a short email survey about the conversations they had at the breakfast that cover important issues. A report highlighting the survey response will be issued by the Community Foundation, which is committed to bringing people together to create a more generous, vibrant and engaged community, Ross said.
Seating is limited. If interested in attending, call Town Hall at 754-0501 by Oct. 19.
As many as 600 homes are proposed to be built on acreage adjacent to Town Hall. | Ashley Ghere
BLYTHEWOOD – “Lord, what will this do to the traffic on Langford Road,” Mayor J. Michael Ross said after Town Administrator Brian Cook explained Tuesday evening during council meeting that a new residential subdivision with a total of 601 lots is being proposed on approximately 249 acres across Langford Road from Town Hall.
Even though the proposed development, Blythewood Farms, is a stone’s throw from town hall, it is located in Richland County, giving the Town of Blythewood no jurisdiction over the development of the project.
The acreage, being developed and owned by Great Southern Homes, is bordered by Langford Road, Rimer Pond Road and Highway 21.
“It’s a big piece of property that will have a big impact on the town,” Cook said.
The property was rezoned by Richland County in 2000 from Rural to a Planned Development District (PDD).
“It’s a permitted use for a residential subdivision in the county,” Cook said.
Because the land is zoned for that use, the project doesn’t have to go before the planning commission or County Council before becoming a reality. It is only required to go before the county’s design review team, tacted by a principle of Great Southern Homes who has offered to come to the town hall for a meeting with the mayor and Cook.
“They plan to phase it [build, perhaps, 200 homes to begin with], looking at potential turning lanes, road widening, water and sewer providers and talk to the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCOD).”
“We see the plans, and there will be traffic studies,” Ross said. But neither offer him much encouragement about the effect the traffic will have on the Blythewood community.
“There are only going to be three ways in and out of the subdivision – two on Langford Road and one on Rimer Pond Road,” Ross said.
However, Ross said the development is not a surprise.
“It’s been here a long time. We just didn’t know when they would actually start.”
During the Amoth administration, in the early 2000’s, some effort was made by town hall to reach an agreement with the developer to annex into Blythewood, but that agreement never came to fruition.
“While it’s not in our town, it affects us,” Ross said. “I promise we will keep residents abreast of how our meetings go with the developer.”
BLYTHEWOOD – The Blythewood Christmas parade planning and funding are underway. Included in the plan is a float for Santa.
Paul Richter, representing the Knights of Columbus, came before Council Tuesday evening to request $8,663 to finance this year’s Christmas parade. That’s about $3,300 more than the group requested last year.
Additional funds are needed to provide a second reviewing stand and a second sound system on Main Street, Richter said. For many years, the reviewing stand was on Main Street but was moved to Blythewood Road three years ago when the Blythewood Chamber of Commerce was organizing the parade.
“The shortest stretch of the parade route is on Blythewood Road,” Richter said. “And the longest route is on Blythewood Road. The majority of our citizens viewing the parade are on Main Street and they don’t have a clue what’s going on at the reviewing stand on Blythewood Road.”
The cost for the second reviewing stand and sound system is about $3,000, Richter told Council.
The $8,663 also includes an additional $500 for a nice float for Santa this year.
“I did get comments last year,” Ross said with a laugh. “People didn’t like seeing Santa riding in the back of a pickup truck.”
Councilman Eddie Baughman and Ross commended the Knights for the work they do on the parade.
“You took this over when we had nowhere else to turn,” Ross said. “You all have done an unbelievable job and even refunded a check back for us two years ago when you didn’t spend all the money we gave you,” Ross said.
Because the parade is a town event and is not specifically intended to bring in tourists, Ross said it will be funded from the hospitality taxes now and in the future instead of from accommodations taxes as in the past.
The application stated that about 15,000 spectators are expected to view the parade this year.
Annexation
In other business, Council passed first reading to annex two properties on Syrup Mill Road into the town. William and Sandra Tomes, owners, petitioned for their three-quarter acre properties (R12810-05-01 and R12800-01-07) to be annexed with an interim zoning district classification of Rural.
Both lots were zoned Rural in Richland County and are contiguous to the town to the east. Cook said the couple plans to ask for a permanent zoning classification of Rural.
BLYTHEWOOD – Blythewood Mayor J. Michael Ross announced via email on Wednesday, July 25 that the 2018 Big Grab is on for Sept. 7 and 8, and that the Town would be organizing and funding the event this year since two vendors, the Greater Blythewood Chamber of Commerce and merchant Teresa McKenrick, had backed off their requests to manage the Blythewood section of the event after the council said it would only fund them for the actual costs of the event.
“Phil Frye, as chair of the chamber’s Big Grab committee, called me around noon today [July 25] and informed me of the [chamber] board’s decision to decline the town’s offer of $5,000 to organize this year’s Big Grab. Our staff, under the direction of Events Coordinator, Steve Hasterok, looks forward to this challenge and being ready Sept 7 for the 2018 Big Grab!” Ross stated in his email.
About 9 o’clock the next morning, however, Mike Switzer, Executive Director of the Chamber sent out an email he said was a ‘Big Grab Joint Press Release from the Town and Chamber,’ stating that he and the town (not council) had reached an agreement to jointly support the Blythewood section of the Big Grab. The email stated that the Chamber would continue to manage the Blythewood Big Grab web page and Facebook page, and continue to coordinate vendor sites as it did last year. For information about security, trash and portable restrooms, however, questions were directed to Steve Hasterok, Director of the town’s conference center and events, at 803-754-0501.
The Voice had not received the ‘joint press release’ from the Town Hall at press time.
The question of who would manage the 2018 Big Grab became an issue at the July 23 town council meeting. That ended without a decision being made as to who would be heading up this year’s Big Grab. Two applicants asked for $10,000 in A-Tax funding, but both presented much larger budgets. Merchant Theresa McKenrick’s budget came to $15,000 and Greater Blythewood Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Mike Switzer’s budget came in at $14,500. Both wanted to use the park for vendor setup, sell sponsorships to raise extra money and pay salaries for staffing – McKenrick, up to $4,000 and Switzer, $5,000.
Merchants had been vocal that they did not want vendors in the park, which they said hurt the sales in the town’s brick and mortar businesses; they did not want to have to pay sponsorship fees of $75 each and they objected to A-Tax funds going to pay thousands of dollars for salaries for the organizer’s staffs.
After council listened to both parties and other merchants, Ross offered $5,000 to cover actual expenses, with no allocation from A-Tax funds for staff salaries. McKenrick turned the offer down at the meeting, saying she would not run it without paid staff. After taking the option to the chamber board for a vote, Frye notified Town Hall on July 25 that the chamber, too, was turning down the offer.
“The Town of Blythewood is always sensitive to the needs of local merchants, businesses and individuals,” Ross stated in his email. “We recognize the desire to return The Big Grab to the way it was before, to have it ‘get back to its roots,’ to be a family friendly event that highlights small businesses and individuals selling items in a true ‘yard sale’ environment,” Ross wrote.
Ross stated that Doko Park would not be open to vendors during The Big Grab event this year. Instead, vendors will be encouraged to find spaces around the town and in empty lots where they can set up shop as they did during the first years of The Big Grab. Some of the merchants, including Blythewood Consignment, Bits and Pieces and Sweet Pea’s Ice Cream Parler, have offered vendors the opportunity to set up on their lots at no charge by calling ahead to reserve the spot. Others may charge nominal fees.
Ross assured merchants and vendors that town hall would pay the costs of whatever is needed to make the event safe, enjoyable and successful such as arranging for sheriff’s deputies for traffic control, trash receptacles and portable restroom facilities along Main Street and other areas where they are needed.
“We want to highlight the wonderful community that we have here,” Ross wrote. He referred questions to Hasterok at 803-754-0501 or at hasteroks@townofblythewoodsc.gov.
Applicants offered $5K; Mayor: Take it or leave it
BLYTHEWOOD – After the Accommodation Tax (A-Tax) committee passed last week on choosing one of two applicants (the Greater Blythewood Chamber and shop owner Theresa McKendrick) to receive $10,000 in A-Tax funds to run the Blythewood portion of this year’s Big Grab event, council was left to make the choice with the only recommendation from the A-Tax committee being that it limit funding for the event to $5,000.
Rich McKendrick, who addressed council Monday night on behalf of his wife, Theresa, criticized merchants who, he said, supported her to apply for the A-tax funds to spearhead the Big Grab, but on the day of the A-tax committee meeting did not support her application. Those business connections, however, said that when they found out McKendrick’s application included $4,000 in staff pay, the assignment of vendors to the park and the sale of sponsorships – expenses they said they opposed from the get go – they could not support it.
Those merchants said they were looking for an alternative to the chamber’s Big Grab megasite of vendors in the park last year that took much of their Big Grab business out of the town where it was originally designed to go. They also expressed their opposition to having to pay for sponsorships and for the A-tax money going to pay for thousands of dollars for staff pay.
Kitty Kelly, office manager for the chamber, told council that the chamber did not receive any of its staff pay from A-Tax funds.
“I don’t know where that’s coming from,” Kelly said.
“Kitty, on the application you filled out for A-Tax funds, you designated ‘Blythewood chamber/visitor center staff, $5,000.’ That’s what your organization asked the A-Tax committee for to pay the chamber’s staff…$5,000 to administer the Big Grab,” Ross said, holding up the chamber’s application.
“It’s $5,000 just to rent the park and pay Richland County (sheriff’s deputies),” Kelly said.
As Switzer approached the podium, Ross told Kelly, “I think you need to let Mr. Switzer explain this.”
“Yes, there are staff costs involved. Sponsorship and vendor fees have covered our staff costs,” Switzer said.
However, the chamber’s application for A-Tax funds for this year and past years clearly listed staff salaries as coming out of A-Tax funds. Further, while the chamber’s application listed its Big Grab budget at $10,000, the budget was actually $14,500. McKendrick’s budget was $15,000.
Ross said council wanted to cover all the essential expenses for putting on the Big Grab – sheriff’s deputies, port-a-johns, marketing, etc. – with the caveat that council would receive receipts for those expenses. He said he felt the $5,000 would cover those expenses.
“We’re not fools,” Ross said. “If we don’t give a dime to this, the Big Grab will happen and the vendors will set up in town and the businesses will do well.” He also suggested that the town could take over running the event but said he didn’t want to take an opportunity away from organizations that want to do it the right way.
“We don’t want to bring people into our park to take them away from the businesses,” Ross said.
Councilman Brian Franklin, however, ignoring merchant’s claims that the park vendors drastically reduce their business on Big Grab weekend, suggested still having as many as 50 vendors in the park.
Mayor J. Michael Ross first offered the $5,000 for management of the event to McKendrick who declined, saying she would not run it without staff pay ($4,000) and allocations for other things such as rental for the park.
Ross then offered the $5,000 to the chamber. Switzer said he was not turning the offer down but said the application was for $10,000 and that’s what he needed.
The mayor countered that the option was take it or leave it. Switzer left the room and did not return.
Council voted 4-1 to fund the chamber with the $5,000 if the chamber wanted to accept that amount and limit park vendors to 50. Councilman Eddie Baughman voted against. Otherwise, Ross said, the town would take over the Big Grab.
The chamber was to notify town hall of its decision by 5 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 25. That decision had not been made before The Voice went to press on Wednesday.
Much of the 183 acre golf course property borders the Crickentree subdivision which is accessed off Kelly Mill Road.
