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Tag: ridgeway town council

  • Five candidates file for Ridgeway election

    RIDGEWAY – Five candidates have filed to run for two council seats and for mayor in the Ridgeway general election to be held April 5, 2022.

    • Hartman
    • Martin
    • Johnson

    Former council member Robert Hartman, Rick Johnson and current councilman Dan Martin will be vying for the two open seats on council. Mayor Heath Cookendorfer and former Mayor Rufus Jones have filed to run for mayor.

    Both council seats and the mayor’s seat are for four year terms.

    • Heath Cookendorfer
    • Rufus Jones

    The election will be held at the Ridgeway Fire Station, 350 U. S. Hwy 21 S. Those desiring to vote in the election must be registered by March 5, 2022, at the Fairfield County Board of Voter Registration.

    This is a nonpartisan election and no party affiliation will be placed on the ballot.

    The polls will open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. on election day. The process of examining return-addressed absentee envelopes will begin on April 5, 2022, at the Fairfield County Voter Registration and Elections Office at 315 S. Congress Street in Winnsboro.

    On Friday, April 8, 2022, at 10 a.m., the Fairfield County Voter Registration and Election Committee will hold a hearing at 315 S. Congress Street in Winnsboro to determine the validity of ballots challenged in this election.

  • All media questions for Ridgeway now go to mayor

    RIDGEWAY – With Ridgeway Town elections coming up in April and filing closing at noon last Friday, The Voice called Ridgeway Town Clerk Vivian Case on Friday afternoon to find out who had signed up to run for office.

    Case told The Voice that she could not provide that information.

    “I’m no longer allowed to talk to the media,” Case told The Voice. “All media questions must now go to the mayor,” she said.

    The Voice called Ridgeway Mayor Heath Cookendorfer.

    “She’s ridiculous,” he said. “She can tell you. I don’t know why she’s saying she can’t tell you that.”

    Less than an hour later, however, Cookendorfer called back to say that Case was correct, that all questions from the media, including questions asking for the names of candidates filling for election, would need to go to the mayor.

    Unraveling Town Policy

    After initially saying that it was ‘ridiculous’ for Case to say she could not answer questions from the media, Cookendorfer said he would run it by council.

    “Let me confer with council. I don’t want to say anything without council saying yes or no. So, I’ll bring it up at the next council meeting, that if the press asks a question as general as ‘who’s running for election,’ is that something we (council) need to have her contact council prior to speaking to the media?”

    Asked by The Voice to define a ‘general,’ question, Cookendorfer said he would have council define it.

    While the next council meeting was not scheduled until Thursday, Feb. 10, Cookendorfer called The Voice back after only a few minutes with clarification.

    “I talked to one of the council members,” Cookendorfer said, “and we talked about something they brought back to light.” He clarified: “For any questions about the Town of Ridgeway, [the media] has to call the mayor,” he said.

    “For any question?” The Voice reporter asked.

    “Anything!” Cookendorfer answered, contradicting his earlier statement that she (Case) could answer questions from the media concerning who is signed up to run in the upcoming Town election.

    “Basically, it says that, ‘All media relations and public statements regarding the Town of Ridgeway should come from the mayor,’” Cookendorfer said.

    “Where does it say that,” The Voice reporter asked.

    “In a document that we have,” Cookendorfer answered, not specifying whether it was Town policy, Town statute or something else.

    “Can I get a copy of it?” the reporter asked.  Cookendorfer changed the subject.

    “So, if the media has any questions concerning the Town of Ridgway or about how things are going, like who’s running for election, you would have to go to the mayor for an answer,” Cookendorfer said.  He added that the press would also have to give him at least 24 hours to answer the question.

    “I’m going to [need that time] to ask council and then maybe speak with her (Case) to get the answer,” Cookendorfer said. “Some things may require a little bit more tact and understanding of the answer.”

    A Late Agenda

    When asked why the agenda for the Town Council’s Jan. 20 meeting was late, Cookendorfer placed the blame on Case, saying he had approved the agenda and did not know why Case had not sent it out on time.

    The agenda was emailed to The Voice at 11:49 a.m. on the day of the meeting, barely 6-1/2 hours before the meeting was scheduled to begin.

    According to Sec. 30-4-80 of the S.C. Freedom of Information Act, ‘An agenda for regularly scheduled or special meetings must be posted on a bulletin board in a publicly accessible place at the office or meeting place of the public body and on a public website maintained by the body, if any, at least twenty-four hours prior to such meetings. All public bodies must post on such bulletin board or website, if any, public notice for any called, special, or rescheduled meetings. Such notice must include the agenda, date, time, and place of the meeting, and must be posted as early as is practicable but not later than twenty-four hours before the meeting.’

    Councilman Rufus Jones told The Voice on Tuesday that when he had not received the agenda on the morning of the meeting, that he called Cookendorfer and learned that Cookendorfer had not yet approved the agenda. That approval, Jones said, was received via email at town hall around 11 a.m. less that the 24 hours required by law for the agenda to be posted.

    The next scheduled meeting for the Ridgeway Town Council is Thursday, Feb. 10, at the Century House in Ridgeway.

  • All Ridgeway, Jenkinsville candidates win seats

    • Ginyard
    • Prioleau
    • Belton

    JENKINSVILLE/RIDGEWAY – There were no surprises in the Jenkinsville and Ridgeway town council elections on Tuesday. Everyone who ran for a seat – and one who didn’t –  were all elected.

    Mayor Gregrey Ginyard was re-elected to his post for another four years and his wife, Betty will now be by his side at the dias. She was elected to fill one of two empty seats on council. Each received 10 votes – only 10 voters cast ballots.

    Joseph McBride, who did not file for re-election to his current seat on council, won via write-in votes. Nine of the voters wrote McBride’s name on the ballot.

    There are 54 registered voters in Jenkinsville.

    Ridgeway voters returned Councilman Donald Prioleau for a sixth term on council. Prioleau took 43 votes.

    Former Councilwoman Belva Bush Belton returned to council after a six-year absence with 44 votes.

    Neither Prioleau nor Belton were opposed.

    There was one write-in vote for a Ridgeway citizen.

    Of the 237 registered voters in Ridgeway, only 44 voted in the low turnout.

  • RW goats lose bid to live in town

    RIDGEWAY – Since July, the burning question of whether goats should be allowed to live in downtown Ridgeway has hung in the air.  

    When town resident Natalie Weathers brought two goats to live in the side yard of her residential property on Peach Street last summer, town council allowed her to keep the goats until council either amended the ordinance to allow goats or disallow goats in the town altogether.

    When the Town originally gave Weathers notice that she was breaking the town laws by keeping the prohibited livestock within the town limits, she emailed town hall, asking council to reconsider the ordinance. In the email, Weathers said she acquired the goats to mow her lawn. 

    Last week, after much ado by some members of council to accommodate Weather’s farm plan, council voted 2-1 against the goats.

    Councilman Dan Martin, who favored the goat mowers, proposed an amendment to Ordinance 6-1001 which prohibits [live]stock and cattle from running loose on the streets of Ridgeway.

    While Martin’s amendment was not aimed at reversing the ordinance to allow farm animals to run loose in town, if passed, it would have allowed them to live there – at least the goats – with the following three caveats:

    1) Enclosure: Owners must have a minimum of 1/3 acre per animal accessible at all times. This land must be completely fenced in with appropriate fencing at least six feet in height;

    2) Housing: Owners must have a minimum of 100 square feet of housing per animal with a minimum of 200 square feet. Housing must have a permanent roof and at least three permanent walls to protect animals from the elements;

    3) Owners must have a one-time written approval from all contiguous land owners to have goats on property. These approvals will be kept on file with the Town.

    The likelihood of Weathers meeting the third exception were next to nil since two of her neighbors had already complained to town hall about the goats.

    While Weathers never appeared before council to argue her case, one of her next-door neighbors did come to a meeting last summer to argue against allowing goats to reside in town. Some council members agreed.

     “We’re opening a can of worms,” Councilman Rufus Jones had groaned at the July meeting. “Goats are farm animals…what’s the point? Goats are as smelly as cows.”

    Jones was more direct at last week’s meeting.

    “I’m not changing the ordinance,” Jones said. “Let it stay as it is. No goats. That’s how I feel about it.”

    Councilman Don Prioleau shared Jones’ sentiment, joining him in the 2-1 vote against amending the zoning ordinance. Mayor Heath Cookendorfer cast the lone vote for the amendment.

    Council members Dan Martin and Angela Harrison did not attend the meeting.

    In other business, Council voted 3-0 to accept the county’s offer to purchase a 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe police vehicle for $25,000. It also voted unanimously to advertise the sale of a Ford Crown Victoria police vehicle.

    Council voted 3-0 to advertise the former police station for rent – $400/month for the first year and $500/month for the second year, with a two-year agreement.

  • Council leases former fire station for Ridgeway retail

    Carol Allen, right, owner of Laura’s Tea Room, announced that she will bring a consignment store to the former fire station in downtown Ridgeway. Her daughter, Kelly Quinn, and grandson, Seamus, who are visiting from Ireland, will be helping with the store opening. | Barbara Ball

    RIDGEWAY – Continuing concerns about how Ridgeway’s new water tower turned out, prompted an executive session at the beginning of the Town Council meeting Thursday evening.

    ‘Contractual Matter regarding Civil Engineering of Columbia (CEC),’ was the stated reason on the agenda for the executive session.

    Following the session, Councilman Rufus Jones made a motion to hire an independent surveyor to measure the height of the town’s new water tower which was constructed by CEC. The tower sits adjacent to Geiger Elementary School.

    “We continue to have concerns about the height of the new tank,” Jones said. “And we want a representative from CEC to be present for the measuring.”

    In a follow up interview with The Voice, Councilman Dan Martin said the measurement is needed to determine whether there is a discrepancy between the height of the town’s new water tower and the old one.

    “If the new tower is shorter than the old tower,” Jones said, “that could adversely affect the water pressure for the town’s customers.”

    The motion passed 4-1 with Councilwoman Angela Harrison voting against.

    Allen Leases Fire Station

    A second discussion in Executive Session resulted in a unanimous vote in public session to accept a request from Ridgeway resident Carol Allen to lease the former fire station at 170 S. Palmer Street, commencing Aug. 8.

    Allen, who owns Laura’s Tea Room down the street in the same block, said she plans to open a consignment shop ‘of sorts,’ but will not have enough room for booth rentals.

    “But we will welcome individual consignments, crafts and handmade items. We also plan to feature an assortment of nice pet items, plus we’ll carry some neat things that we don’t have space for in the Tea Room,” Allen said.

    “I guess I need to get together with my tea gang and decide exactly what we’re going to do over there, but I’m looking forward to having sort of an open air market as we roll those big bay doors up every day,” Allen said.

    Business License Fee Up

    Council voted unanimously to pass a resolution to amend Ridgeway’s Business License Fee schedule by increasing fees 20 percent.

    “The Town has not adjusted the business license fee schedule for cost increases or standard inflationary factors since the fee schedule was originally adopted,” the resolution stated.

    Councilman Dan Martin said the across the board fee increase is necessary to cover some of the increase in costs of providing services in the town.

    Rates are predicated on the class of the business and the income generated. The lowest fee is $48 for $0 to $10,000 in income, plus $1.35 per thousand or fraction thereof over $10,000.

    There are also specific daily license fees for peddlers and a $5 license fee for a yard sale.

    Persons or firms not licensed by the Town of Ridgeway must provide proof of a minimum $2,500 performance bond before they can receive a permit to work in the town.

    Councilman Jones pointed out the difficulty in monitoring the contractors who come to Ridgeway and provide services.

    Mayor Cookendorfer agreed.

    “I try to keep an eye on trucks, etc. in town, and when I approach them, they typically go to Town Hall and secure a business license for Ridgeway,” Martin said.

  • Goats could soon be living in Ridgeway

    RIDGEWAY – At last week’s town council meeting, council proposed an amendment to Ordinance 6-1001 which prohibits [live]stock and cattle from running loose on the streets of Ridgeway.

    While the amendment is not aimed at reversing the ordinance to allow farm animals to run loose in town, it will, if passed, allow them to live there. Well, not all of them. Just some of them. Goats.

    Mayor Heath Cookendorfer said the amendment tweaks an earlier amendment (Sec. 2 of the livestock ordinance) that was passed in October 2013 which reads:  “It shall be unlawful for any person or persons or corporations or firms or associations to keep swine, hogs, pigs, goats and horses within town limits of Ridgeway.”

    The newly proposed amendment, if passed, will remove the word ‘goats’ from the list of animals prohibited from living in the town.

    “With a situation that came up, we had discussion about removing ‘goats’ from the ordinance,” Cookendorfer said. “A resident has a goat and is asking to keep that goat.”

    Councilman Rufus Jones asked if the ordinance says residents can’t have a goat or horse in their back yard.

    “What the amendment is saying,” Town Clerk Vivian Case said, “is that someone is allowed a goat under the amendment, but they [goats] are still not allowed to run free.”

    “Every residence in town is not compatible to having a goat,” Councilman Dan Martin said. “If you don’t have a third of an acre then you might not be allowed to have a goat. They are farm animals and need to be treated as farm animals. There will have to be some stipulations for how many goats you can have on a certain amount of property,” Martin said.

    Goat Mowers

    The issue arose when town resident Natalie Weathers recently brought two goats to live in the side yard of her residential property on Peach Street. When the Town gave Weathers notice that she was breaking the town laws by keeping the prohibited livestock within the town limits, she emailed town hall, asking council to reconsider the ordinance. In the email, she said she acquired the goats to mow her lawn.

    While one of Weathers’ neighbors has complained about the goats in a letter to town hall and another in a phone call, Council dismissed the complaints and weighed in on Weathers’ side with a proposed amendment to allow goats to live anywhere in the town, with some guidelines.

    “Do you want to put a limitation on the number of goats [a resident can keep]?” Cookendorfer asked his fellow council members during the meeting.

    Councilman Don Prioleau suggested that council find a goat expert to say how much land a goat needs to live on.

    “Yes,” Councilman Dan Martin said, “they are farm animals and need to be treated like farm animals. So if you have one in a 12’ x 12 kennel, I’ll be coming down the street to check on that.”

    “We’re opening a can of worms,” Jones groaned. “Goats are farm animals…what’s the point? Goats are as smelly as cows.”

    “We’re restricting everything except goats and chickens. We’re saying we’re going to limit how many goats you can have on the size of your land,” Councilwoman Angela Harrison said.

    Weathers has both goats and chickens. While neighbors say she allows her chickens to roam free, that’s okay in Ridgeway, Councilman Dan Martin said. The town’s ordinance does not specifically prohibit chickens from running loose in the streets of the town.

    Weathers’ goats are currently housed in a 15’-or-so x 15’-or-so chain link fence kennel with several tarps draped over parts of it. Martin told The Voice that Council is allowing Weathers to keep the goats under those conditions until the amendment is resolved – passed or voted down – which likely won’t occur until mid-September.

    “We need to talk about minimum acreage and fencing. We need input on this,” Cookendorfer said, looking to his fellow council members for wisdom on the subject.

    Council members generally agreed they need more information before voting and tabled the issue until Martin can research how much land is needed per goat.

    So far, Weathers has not appeared at a council meeting to state her case. Council has taken the lead. Neither have any of her neighbors showed up to publicly address the issue, for or against the goats.

    Town Clerk Vivian Case told The Voice that a public hearing is not required for a text amendment to an ordinance.

    During the public comment session that followed, Randy Bright, a resident of the rural area outside the town, suggested Council contact the local Hoof and Paw organization to discuss the ramifications and space needed to adequately keep goats at a residence inside the town limits.

  • Ridgeway accepts bid for restroom

    RIDGEWAY – Before voting to raise water rates, accept a bid for new restrooms and clarify the cost of living increase for town employees at its May 9 meeting, the Ridgeway Town Council first voted to pass first reading of the Town’s FY 2019-20 budget of $751,959 with only Councilwoman Angela Harrison dissenting. Harrison said she wanted to see the audit for the previous fiscal year before voting on the budget.

    Council also clarified that the annual cost of living increase for Town employees will be set at three percent instead of the previously listed two-to-three percent.

    Water Bills Up

    The town’s water customers will see slightly higher water rates beginning with the July water bills if a second reading of the ordinance passes in June. The increase in wholesale water rates is a pass through from Winnsboro water service which supplies water to Ridgeway. Those rates will increase by $.18 per 1,000 gallons which amounts to a 3.5 percent increase for all customers.

    “We have no choice,” Councilman Rufus Jones said. “Council is not voting for any increase from the Town of Ridgeway by choice. Our water comes from Winnsboro and we are just having to pass along the same rate increase that we received from them.”

    Restrooms for Downtown

    Restrooms in downtown Ridgeway may finally become a reality. After a second sealed bid process was offered by the Town last month, a bid of $43,000 from W. T. Murphy’s Construction of West Columbia was the low and winning bid for two new public restrooms to be constructed in a building behind the Olde Town Hall Restaurant in downtown Ridgeway. The other bids opened at the council meeting were Taylor Made for $197,000 and Southern Renovations for $46,770.75.

    Council accepted Murphy’s Construction’s bid contingent on the outcome of a special called meeting at the construction site to discuss licensing, insurance and other details including a start and end date for construction. That meeting was held on Wednesday, May 29 at 6 p.m., just after The Voice went to press.

    The first set of bids submitted in March, ranging from $51,849 to $215,150, were rejected by Council.

    Farmers Market $ Request

    In other business, Council considered a request from Brad Hoffman of the Fairfield County Farmers Market for $1,500 to help fund the 2019 Ag + Art event.

    “What are they doing with the $1,500?” Councilwoman Angela Harrison asked. Councilmen Dan Martin and Rufus Jones also questioned how the money would be spent.

    “They had a booth at Arts on the Ridge and they sure weren’t full of customers,” Jones said. “So I think $1,500 is way out of line just for Ridgeway to be mentioned in the overall Fairfield County advertising. I suggest we give them $200 as we have in the past.”

    A motion by Harrison to reject the $1,500 offer failed for lack of a second. Council voted, instead, for Councilman Don Prioleau’s motion to meet with the Farmer’s Market people at the May 29 special called meeting to further discuss the matter.

    Council did approve a proposal for the Fairfield County Farmers Market to set up for two Thursdays each month in the Cotton Yard when available during the next six months at no cost.

    Historic RW Signs Tabled

    An agenda item put forth by Councilwoman Harrison to install “Historic Ridgeway” signage in partnership with funding grants was tabled for reconsideration in six months.

    Delivery Parking on Palmer

    Parking on Palmer Street, an agenda item regarding temporary blocking out of spaces on Palmer Street to allow access for 18-wheel tractor trailers to make the turn into the Ruff Hardware store for deliveries, was tabled until the next meeting to allow research from the DOT to be investigated.

    Family Night

    Council expressed strong support for the upcoming Family Night on the Ridge celebration on Saturday, June 8, from 4 to 8 p.m., at the Ridgeway Park. Proceeds from the event will go to support Ridgeway’s Barclay School.

  • Ridgeway water tower comes in at $669,258

    RIDGEWAY – It came as a surprise to the Ridgeway Town Council earlier this year when they learned that the town’s new water tower would cost a total of $669,258.13 – about $45,000 more than they were expecting.

    Armed with a $500,000 Rural Infrastructure Authority grant in November 2016, the previous Town of Ridgeway administration contracted with Civil Engineering of Columbia (CEC), for $39,800, to prepare a drawing and bid package for construction of the tower. CEC estimated that cost at $510,000.

    Phoenix Construction won the construction contract with the low bid of $549,153.

    Earlier this year the current administration learned that several required items had not been included in CEC’s bid package – $16,400 for necessary piping, $11,610.13 for grounding, $7,985 for communication equipment and $7,500 for three power poles for a total additional cost of $43,495.13. This did not include the $39,800 for engineering and $10,000 for attorney fees, bringing total cost for the project to $669,258.13.The Town’s portion of the cost, $169,258.13, was paid for out of the capital expenditures fund.

    During the regular meeting last week, Council voted unanimously to approve the additional $7,500 for the poles from SCE&G, $7,985 to Hobgood Electric for grounding and $11,610.13 to Collins Pumps & Controls for communication equipment.

    The bid was also short on fencing costs. CEC’s bid estimate called for only 360 linear feet of fencing for the one-acre parcel. Phoenix agreed to credit the Town for the $8,640 included in the original bid for 360 linear feet of fencing and gate. At a special called meeting last Saturday, Council approved Gamecock Fencing to fence the entire one acre with that credit for the lower cost, $8,320.

    “This completes the May 7 deadline to close the project,” Mayor Heath Cookendorfer said.

    Funding was also approved for the lease of a folding and inserting machine for town hall to facilitate the monthly billling for the water service. Town Clerk Vivian Case asked that she be able to demo the equipment in operation before making the decision as to which lease to accept.  Both leases are under $4000 for 48 months.

    Volunteers from the Church of Latter Day Saints will be visiting Ridgeway to clear pine straw from around the Century House/Town Hall, plant flowers and pick up litter on April 27, 2019.

    Brad Hoffman and Valerie Clowney were on hand to solicit sponsorship participation by the Town of Ridgeway in the upcoming Fairfield County Ag & Art Farm and Art Tour on June 15 and 16, 2019.  No decision was made.

  • Martin: RW deputy schedule works well

    RIDGEWAY – An opponent from the get-go of Council’s decision to contract with the Fairfield County Sheriff for law enforcement in Ridgeway, Councilwoman Angela Harrison asked for an update on the new arrangement during last week’s Town Council meeting.

    “I’d like to see a monthly schedule [of Deputy Sheriffs’ work assignments. When we met in December, you said you’d come back with an adjusted schedule to kind of mix things up each month,” Harrison said, addressing Councilman Dan Martin. “Also, before, we were getting reports on incidents and things that were happening in town, and the number of tickets being written. I know that you and the mayor said tickets are being written, so I would like to see some kind of documentation on that.”

    “We did talk about a staggered schedule for the deputies in the town,” Martin said. “When we contracted for 24-hour police protection for the town, it was to have security for the town. So that schedule that I forwarded Major Bradley could change weekly, change monthly. It’s not out there for general knowledge. They [deputies] are here when we ask them to be here. Crime is not scheduled. They’ve been very good about being here,” Martin said.

    “I know the schedule, Vivian (Case, town clerk) knows the schedule, Heath (Cookendorfer, mayor) knows the schedule. Quite frankly, I don’t think anyone needs to know the schedule beyond that.  I don’t think you need to know the schedule,” Martin added. He went on to say that putting those things on Facebook lets people know the deputies’ schedules.

    “That would compromise the security for the town,” Martin said.

    “I’m sorry,” Harrison broke in, “I’m part of the ‘we’.”

    “As for the tickets,” Martin continued, “They do write tickets. They pulled someone in front of my house yesterday,” he said. “I talked to Major Bradley and they know what’s being done in Ridgeway 24/7.

    “I don’t believe in micromanaging their job,” Martin said. “They are doing their job. The Sheriff can allocate the deputies anywhere in town. It’s a misuse of resources to not put them where they’re needed.”

    Martin said the Sheriff asked him if the Town had had any complaints about the [deputies’] service in the town.

    “We have not had one complaint, here, officially at Town Hall” Martin said. “He [the sheriff], in turn, has not had a single complaint from a Ridgeway resident. The deputies are here, they are on duty, they are writing tickets. And, no, there is not a [schedule] list.”

    “So what I’m hearing is that I’m not a part of ‘we,’” Harrison said. “And secondly my complaint about speeding down my road with my child riding her bike doesn’t count. My complaint to this council about the speeders down our road, doesn’t count. So as a resident, I’m not counted with my voice,” Harrison said.

    “There have been no official complaints,” Martin said.

    Councilman Rufus Jones said he didn’t think the town government needed to start telling Sheriff Montgomery how to run his department.

    In other business, council voted 4-0 to hire as an as-needed town attorney with no retainer fee. Councilman Donald Prioleau was not present.

    Council also voted 4-0 to award $1,000 for the second annual yarn bombing of downtown Ridgeway to help promote the 13th annual Arts on the Ridge event which is scheduled for May 4.

    A unanimous vote awarded MIKA Contracting the bid to repair the building at 160 South Palmer Street that previously housed the Ridgeway Police Department.  MIKA’s bid of $4,450 is contingent on a meeting with Councilmen Dan Martin and Rufus Jones to confirm the company is sufficiently licensed and insured. While there was some discussion questioning where the money would come from to pay for the work, no decision was made other than that the repairs are necessary.

    The three other bids included First Class Construction ($4,715.00), Southern Renovation & Construction ($7,003.62) and Taylor Maid ($35,400).

    Three bids for construction of four public restrooms in the building at 128 South Palmer Street (behind Olde Town Hall restaurant) all exceeded the $35,000 council allocated for the project from Hospitality funds. The three bids were submitted by Taylor Maid ($197,000), Southern Renovation & Construction ($51,848.55) and Catalyst Construction ($215,150).

    Council voted unanimously to rebid the project for only two handicap restrooms instead of two handicap and two regular restrooms.

    Following the public session, Council went into executive session to discuss a contractual matter regarding Civil Engineering of Columbia.

  • Ridgeway plans new downtown restrooms

    RIDGEWAY – The town of Ridgeway began advertising for bids this week for the construction of four public restrooms downtown behind the old town hall building, putting into motion a plan that has been two years in the making.

    The plans approved Thursday night during a special called meeting will allow for two restrooms each for men and women, with one of each designated for handicap access.

    At the Jan. 10 meeting, Councilman Rufus Jones said the plans could be reduced, if budgeting required, to allow for just two restrooms – one each for men and women. Both restrooms would also be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

    During preliminary discussions on the project last year, the county council had made conditional offerings to the Ridgeway council to assist with the construction of the restrooms if the town purchased the plans and materials. Councilwoman Angela Harrison brought up those offerings during the restroom discussions, questioning why it was still going out for bid. Cookendorfer said the town would still need to move forward with a bid process before it could consider any offers.

    “We don’t even know that this is something that is, first of all, feasible for the town to afford. I think we need to figure out what this is going to cost us and then we can go back to the county and ask what they can offer us – be it labor, additional funding or whatever,” Cookendorfer stated.

    Jones said that it would be a typical offer from the county to allow the town use of inmates from the local detention center for construction work. Cookendorfer said that would be information Jones could take back in his conversations with the project’s contractor for a discussion on the final cost to the town.

    The bids will be opened publicly at a future town council meeting.

    Water Tank Project Overruns

    The council also discussed Jones’ concerns over the water tank project located at the Geiger Elementary School that Cookendorfer said will be further fodder for the need of a town attorney.

    Jones said he found many things wrong with a contract pertaining to the work on the water tank project, and requested the panel enter into executive session to further discuss the matter. That request was denied, however, because the item was not designated on the meeting’s agenda as an executive session item.

    “All I know is the amount of money that we allocated for the tank project, and the things that I’ve seen, were overrun, are incorrect and were done improperly without going through the town,” Jones stated.

    He described one of the discrepancies as a change order in the amount of $16,400 that he said was never brought before the town council for approval before moving forward.

    Jones alleged that change order was the result of the engineer making incorrect measurements for the amount of pipe needed for the project, and he said that was something the town should not be legally responsible for.

    “The engineer misread the amount of pipe, the contractor put it in, and we never should have signed it. The change order is not correct, and the engineer owes it for missing it (the measurement),” Jones stated.

    The item was ultimately tabled by council at the recommendation of Cookendorfer to allow for further information to be brought forward at council’s regular meeting next month.