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  • Apartments tabled for traffic study

    The proposed 2.86 acre apartment complex would be located next to IGA. | Graphic: Ashley Ghere

    BLYTHEWOOD – The site plan of a 48-unit apartment complex proposed next to the IGA in downtown Blythewood was tabled Monday night by the Planning Commission over concerns about the amount of traffic the complex would foist upon Blythewood Road near the I-77 on/off ramps.

    If the site plan for the complex, called The Park, is approved and built, it will be the second apartment complex Prestwick Companies of Atlanta has brought to Blythewood. Prestwick built The Pointe, a low-income apartment complex, in October, 2017 on Main Street.

    “So, you’re aiming for similar clientele at The Pointe?” Commissioner Malcolm George asked Devin Blankenship, Senior Development Manager for Prestwick Companies.

    “This one [The Park] is a senior housing facility,” Blankenship said, “but it’s financed through the low-income tax credit program, so we consider it workplace housing. Same product.”

    Town Administrator Brian Cook told The Voice that Prestwick is not restricted to use the property as a senior living use.

    “They can use it for senior living or other uses,” Cook said. “It’s still multi-family housing that is permitted in the Town Center District no matter whether it’s low income housing or senior living.”

    Asked by Commissioner Ed Kessler who Prestwick would be marketing the complex to, Blankenship said it would be marketed to seniors age 55 and older. He also suggested that because most of the residents would not be driving to work, the traffic from the complex would be about 25 percent of normal traffic.

    “Most 55- and 65-year-olds I know are working,” Commissioner Ernestine Middleton said. “They are working because they have to work for one reason or another. It’s not like it was 25 years ago.”

    Cook said that because the complex will have less than 150 units, it will not require a traffic study.

    The complex has only one access point – Creech Road – which empties onto Blythewood Road where vehicles from two hotels, McDonald’s, San Jose, Hardee’s, Carolina Wings and several other restaurants and businesses already come together in a traffic whirlpool a short distance from the on/off ramps of I-77. In addition to the proposed apartment complex, an 88-room Hampton Inn is under construction across Creech Road from the apartment complex and will add to the traffic congestion.

    The hotel traffic will have to pass twice in front of the entrance of the apartment complex to reach Blythewood Road.

    Planning Commission Chair Rich McKenrick said the traffic out of the Hampton Inn’s parking lot, under an agreement with the Town, will have to turn right on to Creech Road, go past the apartment building, then around the cul de sac at the end of the road and back up Creech, past the apartment building a second time to reach Blythewood Road.

    “The difficult part is going to be trying to make a left turn onto Blythewood Road from Creech Road to get to I-77,” Commissioner Derrek Pugh said. “As we speak right now, there are probably people sitting there trying to get out on to Blythewood Road.”

    “We’re making a big mistake here,” Commissioner Ed Kessler said. “We have a major traffic problem at that intersection today without the traffic that will come from the new hotel and apartment building. We need to get the infrastructure in place first before we commit to putting more cars on Blythewood Road. The citizens of Blythewood are upset now and we don’t even have the hotel and apartments built. It’s going to be a mess,” Kessler said.

    “I think the only way we’re going to have any success is to enforce a right turn only from Creech road to Blythewood Road,” Gordge said. He suggested that Prestwick collaborate with the S.C. Department of Transportation regarding a traffic study that was required for the Hampton Inn and come up with a feasible plan to move traffic more efficiently from Creech Road to Blythewood Road and on to the interstate.

    If the site plan is not approved by the Commission it can be appealed to General Sessions Court.

    McKenrick said he would hate for the project to not go forward, that Blankenship had worked so hard on it. He suggested the applicant follow Gordge’s suggestion, but stated that any expense for a traffic study would have to be borne by Prestwick.

    Gordge made the motion to table the plan until Prestwick could get with SCDOT to come up with an acceptable answer for the traffic issue. The commission voted 5-0 in favor of the motion.

    Prestwick is expected to come back before the commission in June.

  • Driver of UTV rollover crash identified

    BLAIR – The driver who was killed in a rollover crash of a UTV in western Fairfield County has been identified by the Fairfield County Coroner’s Office.

    Elly Gross, 18, of Columbia, died when the 2019 Kubota side-by-side UTV she was driving left the road, causing it to roll over, ejecting Gross.

    The crash occurred at approximately 2:15 p.m. Saturday on Fort Wagner Road, east of Blair, according to S.C. Highway Patrol Trooper Joe Hovis.

    Two passengers were injured in the crash and were transported to the hospital. Their conditions have not been made known to the media at this time.

    The two passengers were restrained, but the driver was not according to Highway Patrol officials.

    The accident remains under investigation by the South Carolina Highway Patrol and the Fairfield County Coroner’s Office.

  • County sues over failed roads, bridges

    RIDGEWAY – As Fairfield County plans a major economic development investment by building a water and sewer plant, pending litigation has complicated another multi-million dollar infrastructure project.

    Fairfield County says an engineering firm and general contractor are responsible for the failure of several support walls at the Fairfield County Commerce Center in Ridgeway, according to pending lawsuit.

    Filed February 10, the suit names Alliance Consulting Engineers, Wiley Easton Construction Company and Mutual Casualty Company as co-defendants.

    The suit seeks actual, incidental and consequential damages in an amount to be determined at trial. It also seeks legal fees and interest.

    “As a direct and proximate result of design and construction defects at the Project, the County has suffered and will continue to suffer numerous damages,” the suit states.

    Those damages, according to the suit, include “water infiltration and resultant property damage to the retaining walls, standing walls, asphalt degradation and separation, erosion, costs to repair the defective conditions and damaged property, and additional maintenance expenses.”

    Alliance, Wiley and Mutual Casualty have filed responses denying most of the assertions in the litigation.

    Alliance and Wiley have also filed counterclaims against F&ME Consultants, a subcontractor working for both firms, naming the company as a third party defendant.

    Wiley has filed two additional counterclaims against subcontractors S&ME, Inc. and Soil Reinforcement Contractors; and a fourth counterclaim against Fairfield County, according to court documents.

    No court date has been set. A deadline of September 7 has been set for pre-trial mediation.

    Fairfield County says in its lawsuit that it contracted with Wiley for $6.54 million to build a road and perform water and wastewater improvements at the Fairfield County Commerce Center in Ridgeway.

    Alliance provided some design and construction administration work related to development and construction of the commerce center. Mutual Casualty provided a performance bond to Wiley for the contract amount, court documents state.

    The work involved building mechanically stabilized earth walls, or MSE walls. The walls were built in pairs at three drainage crossings at three culvert locations along a new access road, according to the suit.

    Fairfield County says that in January 2019, it learned the walls were exhibiting evidence of severe failure, and that the defendants knew about the failures as early as November 2018.

    “The excessive deformation and strength failures will require extensive remediation and stabilization to satisfactorily perform for their intended service lives,” the suit states. “The defective conditions are a result of design and construction errors related to storm water management and site drainage.”

    The county also said that the initial contract required substantial completion within 436 days from the Notice to Proceed. However, various change orders pushed the substantial completion date to 836 days.

    The commerce center issue crept into budget discussions during a county budget workshop Monday night.

    “We need those sites open in the industrial park. Those roads and bridges and stuff that need to be redone, what’s been done to Alliance to make them get off their behinds and go to work?” asked Councilman Jimmy Ray Douglas.

    Taylor pointed to the ongoing litigation, noting it would likely impact next year’s budget. The county anticipates spending at least $100,000 extra in legal fees, according to draft budget documents.

    “That’s one of the things that you’ll see reflected in the budget. We do have considerably more in legal fees this time,” Taylor said. “That’s one of the main reasons we do, we do anticipate having to fully go to court with Alliance.”

    In its response, Wiley denies most of Fairfield County’s allegations, including the allegation that Wiley knew about the wall failures weeks before notifying the county.

    “Defendant asserts that it has learned of potential wall failure and has been working with contractors, engineers and architects in an effort to try to repair the issues with the wall,” the response states.

    Alliance’s and Wiley’s counterclaims assert any deficiencies in the walls is the responsibility of F&ME, citing negligence, breach of contract, warranty breaches and other breaches.

    “F&ME undertook and had a duty to Alliance to exercise and use due care in design, construction, inspection, maintenance, management and/or repair of the Project and to avoid injury or damage to Alliance or the work,” Alliance’s counterclaim states.

    Wiley’s counterclaim also blames the other subcontractors, too.

    “The damages alleged by Plaintiffs, if any, were due solely to the actions of S&ME, Inc., F&ME Consultants, Inc. and Soil Reinforcement Contractors, LLC and were not caused by any act or omission on the part of the Defendant,” the countersuit states.

    Neither F&ME nor Soil Reinforcement Contractors had filed a response as of press time, according to the Fairfield County Public Index.

    On April 7, S&ME filed an answer that denies most allegations in Wiley’s countersuit.

    S&ME says it was retained by Soil Reinforcement Contractors to perform some professional design services for the project, and that Soil Reinforcement Contractors build the walls.

    S&ME’s reply also blames Wiley for the wall failures, saying the contractor “contributed to more than fifty percent (50%) to the cause of the damages,” the response states.

    “The intervening and superseding acts of third parties over whom S&ME had no authority, responsibility, or control” were also responsible, the response continues.

    S&ME has asked that the litigation filed against it be dismissed and seeks court costs and other relief deemed proper.

  • Doko Meadows walking trails open; park, Manor, playground, restroom closed

    BLYTHEWOOD – During a two-hour zoomed town council meeting Monday night, council spent an hour discussing whether or not to re-open the park’s walking trail before voting 4-1 to open it. Councilman Larry Griffin voted against.

    At issue was the fact that the trail has been used steadily since it was officially closed by a vote of town council on March 16.

    Councilman Larry Griffin said he was not against the trail being open, but he felt opening it would be an invitation to citizens to use the entire park.

    Mayor Bryan Franklin disagreed.

    “We opened the Farmer’s Market on Wednesday afternoons until November. If we open the walking trail, and then a bunch of kids show up down at the [park’s] rugby field, now they’re violating the governor’s executive order [for social distancing] and they can be prosecuted. So, when you say if the trail’s open, the whole park’s going to be open, that’s not true,” Franklin said. “We are allowing only for the walking trail to be open. But if someone wants to get out of their truck and walk their dog, get back in their truck and go home, to me that’s common sense. They’re doing what the governor has mandated in his executive order. I trust the people to use common sense. But if a crowd gathered in the park and I found out about it, I would call Deputy Kevin Dukes and have him go over there and break the crowd up because they would be violating the law.”

    Councilman Donald Brock said he didn’t believe access could be restricted to just the walking trail.

    Franklin again said that if people are congregating in the park, a law was put in place by the governor that can be enforced to break up crowds. He said separate families have been seen picnicking in the park and people have been using the walking trail, but he doesn’t see that as a violation. But he reiterated that a bunch of people congregating is a violation of the law that is enforceable.

    “Don’t go down this road of ‘We can’t enforce it,’ Franklin said. “If someone steps off the trail, should they go to prison? That’s not what we’re saying. We’re saying, ‘Come out and walk in this public area, walk your dog, walk your kids, push a stroller, and then get in your car and go home. Don’t congregate.’ I think people are using common sense.”

    Franklin suggested the town could install signs stating that the walking trails are open, but the rest of the park, restrooms, playground, Manor and town hall remain closed to the public.

    After making several attempts to call for a vote during the almost-hour-long discussion of the trail closing, Councilman Eddie Baughman made a motion to open the trail only. Even then, there were questions from other council members about whether coronavirus germs might be lurking on areas of the amphitheater that could infect park visitors and whether or not the germs could live on concrete surfaces.

    “The bottom line,” an exasperated Franklin said, “is that many, many public areas are open now that are known as grocery stores where the public congregates. You get my point.” Baughman’s motion passed just before the clock struck 9 p.m

  • National women’s golf tourney planned for Blythewood

    BLYTHEWOOD – The Women’s South Carolina Golf Association’s (WSCGA) 3rd annual South Carolina Open Championship is moving from Seabrook Island Club to Cobblestone Park this summer, Mayor Bryan Franklin announced at the Monday night zoomed town council meeting. He said the nationally televised tournament will be held Aug. 12 – 16, promising to bring as many as 3,000 – 4,000 spectators to the town.

    Franklin said the event will bring over 500 touring professionals, senior tour and amateur players and nationally ranked amateurs. Players’ families, caddies, ancillary staff and several national publications and media will also attend, Franklin said, generating substantial revenue for local area hotels, restaurants and businesses in the town.

    The change of venue came after the Seabrook Island Club course was closed this year for major renovations.

    “This is an opportunity for Blythewood to host the event and, of course, if we do a great job with it this year, it might come back,” Franklin told council. “It’s something we may allocate money to.”

    To bring the tournament to Blythewood, the WSCGA is requesting a $20,000 hospitality tax award from the town to go toward the projected $68,000 total budget for the event.

    “That’s a lot of money, but once we get people coming to the tournament and the television stations start covering it, people in Blythewood can rent their homes out. All the hotels will be full. You can do Airbnb, all those kinds of things that will be a shot in the arm for the town,” Franklin said.

    He said admission to the tournament will be free this first year to encourage citizens to come to it and see what’s going on.

    Franklin said much of the credit for bringing the event to Blythewood goes to Kristi Coggins, a former University of South Carolina golf coach and a member of the Ladies Professional Golf Association, who lives in Blythewood.

    “Kristi and her husband Buck have worked hard to bring this tournament to Blythewood,” Franklin said. “Everything here has been shut down and this event could start bringing people back to Blythewood, to get some much needed money in here to stimulate our local businesses and tourism – all that H-Tax and A-Tax revenue that we’re missing out on. This will help our town.”

    Council also discussed awarding H-Tax and A-Tax funds to three other events.

    The Big Red Barn has asked for the most – $25,000 (double what it received last year) – for a music event to be held in September or possibly next spring in Doko Park. The event’s organizers said the top attendance has been around 1,000. 

    A new event, Queens of the Castle Basketball Showcase at Westwood High School is requesting $20,000 for a tournament to be held Dec. 3-5.

    Bravo Blythewood has requested $5,000 for its annual Holiday Market to be held at the Manor, Nov. 5-7.

    All H-Tax and A-Tax requests will be voted on at a later meeting or as event dates are finalized in conjunction with COVID-19 social distancing restrictions.

  • Panel plans wastewater upgrade

    WINNSBORO – A proposed capital projects sales tax to help finance a new wastewater treatment plant is expected to generate roughly $11.5 million over the next eight years, according to Fairfield County estimates.

    Particulars of how those funds should be allocated and administered rests with a newly created capital projects sales tax commission, which held its inaugural meeting April 15.

    The commission is tasked with developing a proposed referendum question, which Fairfield County Council must adopt by August 15 for it to appear on the November general election ballot.

    The need for a wastewater plant is simple – economic development, said County Administrator Jason Taylor.

    “A sewer plant is essentially a means to an end. That end is a better quality of life for our citizens, economic opportunity for our citizens,” Taylor said. “We have a declining population. We have to do something to turn that around, to make Fairfield County sustainable economically.”

    The proposed wastewater plant would be built at a location that hasn’t been disclosed because property negotiations are ongoing. Once the land is purchased, the county plans to build the wastewater plant there.

    If voters approve the referendum, the tax would go into effect in May 2021 and generate about $1.4 million per year in the first three years, with modest growth possible in future years, said C.D. Rhodes, an attorney assisting Fairfield County with the referendum.

    Rhodes spent most of last week’s meeting briefing committee members on the nuances of state law regarding capital projects sales taxes.

    The proposed tax would add a penny of sales tax to most items except groceries and medicine. Revenues raised could be used to leverage additional funding via general obligation bonds, Rhodes said.

    “I think in this case, that’s going to be a necessity,” he said. “It really is an excellent tool. It’s a flexible tool for counties to use to fund these large-scale [projects].”

    At least half of the state’s 46 counties use capital projects tax revenues to leverage bonds, and four to five others have done so in the past, Rhodes added

    “This really is on a statewide basis. It’s being seen as an essential tool to fund capital projects,” he said.

    Fairfield County officials say a new wastewater plant is imperative to luring new industry.

    Ty Davenport, the county’s economic development director, said Fairfield is one of five finalists to land a new industry.

    That industry, he said, anticipates using 30,000 gallons of wastewater per day, nearly matching the county’s current daily capacity of 34,000 gallons.

    “That will leave us with 4,000 gallons per day of capacity, which is basically zero,” Davenport said. “If we don’t expand our capacity in the county, economic development basically stops. If you lose a company, you’re going backwards.”

    Economic growth isn’t limited to big industry. Fairfield County officials note that housing growth is at a virtual standstill too without adequate wastewater service.

    “We can’t build a residential neighborhood in the county because it would be difficult to get sewer service. We want good housing stock and good places to live,” Davenport said.

    Tax commission members said they understood the need for economic development, but also wanted more details about the proposed wastewater project and process for funding it.

    To that end, they asked county staff to generate an FAQ list to proactively answer questions that may arise from the public.

    “We need to have sewer and water just to, at a bare minimum, interest people to come into Fairfield County,” said Commissioner Rick Gibson. “But I’d like to be just a little bit more informed before we push off from the shore.”

    Others also inquired about accountability, specifically asking for oversight of how the tax money gets spent.

    Rhodes said the S.C. Department of Revenue (DOR) provides administrative oversight to ensure tax money is spent as intended.

    He also said the judicial system provides another layer of accountability, referencing civil litigation challenging how Richland County’s road tax funds have been spent.

    “In the event that the county council attempts to spend this money in a way that’s outside the bounds of the act, then they would be violating the law, and they’d be subject to a lawsuit,” Rhodes said. “Richland County has been the poster child for playing fast and loose with [sales tax money].”

    Commissioners also asked if tax revenues could be posted online.

    Taylor said that shouldn’t be difficult since the DOR disburses funds quarterly. Rhodes concurred, saying the county and commission should act with transparency.

    “If you are not being transparent, if you’re not engaging the public, then someone out there is going to flush you out,” Rhodes said. “They are going to lambaste you on Facebook and make your life miserable. There is no hiding in this day and age. Being transparent and having lots of public engagement is an absolute necessity if you are going to be successful in one of these initiatives.”

    In other business, the group appointed Herb Rentz as chairman, Charlene Herring as vice-chair and Harriet Brown as secretary. Other members include Randy Bright, Rick Gibson and Russ Brown.

  • Free COVID-19 testing in Fairfield

    WINNSBORO – After four days with no increase in the number of coronavirus cases reported in both Fairfield County and Blythewood 29016 ZIP code, on Tuesday, April 21, DHEC reported those numbers rose again from 25 to 26 in Fairfield and from 35 to 38 in Blythewood 29016 ZIP code by Wednesday.

    The rate of cases in Fairfield County per 100,000 population remains high – 8th highest for the 46 counties in South Carolina according to charts on DHEC’s website. The state has not yet reported any deaths from COVID-19 in either Fairfield County or the Blythewood 29016 ZIP code.

    Governor Henry McMaster and State School Superintendent Molly Spearman announced Wednesday morning that schools in the state will continue to be closed for the remainder of the school year in an effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

    A new site provided by Cooperative Health for drive-thru COVID-19 testing is now available in Fairfield County and is free, but testing will only be administered to those who have an appointment. Insurance is not required for testing or treatment for COVID-19. The tests and treatment are provided at no charge to patients.

    For information about how to receive free testing in Fairfield County, see below.

  • Murder suspects arrested

    • Smith
    • Trapp

    WINNSBORO – Two men have been arrested in connection with a murder and an attempted murder that occurred last weekend in Winnsboro.

    Rondell Trapp, 35, was arrested early Tuesday morning in Richland County by the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. Neil Smith, Jr, 26, was arrested early Wednesday morning in Lexington County by Fairfield County Sheriff’s Deputies along with members of the Lexington County Sheriff’s Office and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED).

    The two men are accused of shooting Juan J. Williams, 46, in the chest during an altercation at about 8 p.m. on Saturday in the 200 block of Birch Street according to incident reports. Williams was transported to Prisma Health Richland where he was pronounced dead.

    Trapp and Smith are also accused of shooting a second victim who was transported to Prisma Health Richland where he was treated for, what were believed to be, non-life threatening injuries.

    Both suspects are charged with one count murder, each, and one count of attempted murder, each, and are currently being held at the Fairfield County Detention Center where they are awaiting bond. 

    In a previous case, Trapp was acquitted last November of murdering R. J. Gadsen in October, 2015.

    Another suspect, Joseph James Turner, 23, was arrested following the Saturday incident and charged with disturbing the peace, according to reports, and has been released on bond.

    Second Shooting

    As officers were investigating the Birch Street shooting, another shooting occurred about 9 p.m. a few houses away in the 100 block of the same street.

    Broome

    There, deputies found Dydreekus D. McDaniel, 22, lying on the ground, with a gunshot wound in the upper abdomen, according to reports. He was transported to Prisma Health Richland where he was treated for, what was believed to be, non-life threatening injuries.

    A bystander stated that the person who fired the shots was driving a white crown Victoria with polka dots on the rear of the vehicle, according to the incident report.

    Shortly after the shooting occurred, the Winnsboro Department of Public Safety reported its officers had detained a vehicle that matched that description near a residence on Frazier Street in Winnsboro.

    An individual at that address, Shawn Alston Broom, 25, was arrested for attempted murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime and taken to the Fairfield County Detention Center, where he remains.

    Both investigations are on-going.

  • Fairfield councilwoman countersues JWC

    JENKINSVILLE – Jenkinsville Water Company’s lawsuit against one of its fiercest critics “is atrocious” and “utterly intolerable in a civilized community” according to a response and countersuit recently filed in Fairfield County Circuit Court.

    On March 4, the JWC filed a slander and defamation lawsuit against Fairfield County Councilwoman Bertha Goins, alleging her criticisms damaged the organization’s reputation.

    All told, Goins’ response to the lawsuit lists 13 defenses and six counterclaims. Several defenses note that the JWC has had a long history of trouble with state and federal regulatory agencies.

    Among them is a new revelation that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has labeled the JWC as a “serious violator,” according to the litigation and EPA website.

    The website notes that the EPA found the JWC in non-compliance for nine of the past 12 quarters.

    Further, the site states the JWC has had two quarters with “significant violations” and 20 informal enforcement actions in the past five years.

    In bringing suit, the JWC has said Goins’ past comments that Jenksinville water is “substandard” and contains sediment are untrue.

    “The above-referenced statements are false, defamatory and impugne [sic] the good reputation Jenkinsville Water Co. has with respect to the quality of its water,” the original lawsuit states.

    The JWC and its lawyer have also touted recent state water tasting contests the organization has won.
    However, only a small fraction of the state’s water companies actually entered the contest. Also, the contest officials said they didn’t verify the authenticity of submitted water samples, relying instead on an honors system, a representative of the state rural water association told The Voice.

    The JWC has faced additional violations from the S.C. Public Service Commission and S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, according to the counterclaim.

    In her response, Goins asserts the JWC has a duty to provide water “water that is safe for them to drink, to cook with, to bathe in, and to otherwise use in their homes.”

    Upon information and belief, Jenkinsville Water Company has a long history of failing to comply with the rules and regulations of the Public Service Commission…[and it] does this to avoid appropriate oversight of its operations,” the litigation states.

    The counterclaim goes on to say that the JWC routinely violates the state’s Freedom of Information Act, and that the water company is using the legal system to harass and intimidate Goins.

    Goins has requested a jury trial and seeks a slew of unspecified actual, punitive and other damages.

    “Defendant asserts that Plaintiff’s conduct as described herein, and as will be shown at the trial of this matter, is atrocious, utterly intolerable in a civilized community, and so extreme and outrageous as to exceed all possible bounds of decency,” the countersuit states.

    Read more about this developing story in Thursday’s edition of The Voice.

  • R2 board suspends public comment

    SCSBA Recommends Districts Not Accept FOIA Requests During Pandemic

    COLUMBIA – In an effort to curtail the spread of COVID-19, the Richland Two school district has followed the lead of other government agencies by streaming meetings electronically.

    No member of the public may attend meetings in person nor participate in public comments. They can listen to audio on the district’s website.

    By a 6-1 vote, the Richland Two board voted Tuesday night to suspend policy BEDH, which spells out the district’s public participation policy. Board trustee Lindsay Agostini opposed the measure.

    In a related vote, the board also voted to cancel the April 7 meeting, citing a lack of business to address. That vote passed unanimously.

    Agostini said she voted against suspending policy BEDH, fearing it would prevent parents with students facing expulsion hearings from addressing the board.

    “While not frequent, on more than one occasion we’ve had parents come and address the board in public participation,” she said. “As long as we’re having a board meeting and talking about appeals, I can’t support this.”

    Trustee Amelia McKie said suspending the policy doesn’t prevent parents or the community from communicating concerns to the board. She said it’s imperative to make meetings “more skeletal” to protect district staff, students and the public from COVID-19, also known as the novel coronavirus.

    Initially, the board agenda only stated that the board planned to vote to take action on policy BEDH, without any explanation. Board agendas typically include supporting documentation further explaining the measure being voted on.

    After The Voice brought this to Richland Two’s attention, the district amended the agenda to state that the board planned to suspend policy BEDH.

    The decision to suspend public participation came at the recommendation of the SCSBA, according to the revised agenda. On its website, the SCSBA recommends “temporarily eliminating public comment” periods as a way to curtail COVID-19.

    “If your board policy allows for public comment, the board should make a motion and approve temporary suspension of the associated policy… until the COVID-19 threat has ended,” the SCSBA site states.

    Jay Bender, a media law attorney with the S.C. Press Association, of which The Voice is a member, said there’s no law requiring local governments to provide a public comment period. Public bodies are only required to allow the public to speak at meetings where there’s a public hearing, such as during budget passage.

    The S.C. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) also allows public bodies to conduct business electronically. Streaming can be by video or audio; the law only states such meetings be broadcast electronically.

    “It would be better if they could stream it,” Bender said.

    Richland Two’s audio streaming encountered some hiccups Tuesday evening.

    “The school board association has never thought anything should be public. They are run by superintendents whose goal is to keep all unfavorable news about schools out of the press.”

    Jay Bender, Media Attorney

    The Voice attended the meeting remotely and experienced occasional interruptions in audio. Sometimes audio volume fluctuated and other times, audio cut out altogether.

    During a discussion of cancelling the April 7 board meeting, Agostini reported that she couldn’t hear Superintendent Dr. Baron Davis’ explanation of the measure.

    “That was a very bad echo. I didn’t hear a word that was said,” she said.

    Other board members reported not being able to hear portions of the meeting.

    Richland County resident Gus Philpott, a frequent critic of the board, vehemently objects to suspending public input. He also takes exception with virtual meetings as well as board members participating remotely versus in person.

    “There is no need to suspend BEDH. If the Board is successful at prohibiting the public from attending the meeting, there won’t be anyone to speak, will there?” Philpott wrote in an email to board members.

    “Please consider how very serious it is to attempt to silence the public,” Philpott continued. “You might benefit by re-reading the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which refers to abridging the freedom of speech.”

    The South Carolina School Board Association (SCSBA) also recommend that school districts not accept any FOIA requests submitted during the coronavirus crisis and de-prioritize requests filed prior to Gov. Henry McMaster’s state of emergency declaration.

    Bender disputed the legality of those suggestions.

     “The law establishes deadlines and I don’t think the governor or anybody else can suspend the law,” Bender said. “The school board association has never thought anything should be public. They are run by superintendents whose goal is to keep all unfavorable news about schools out of the press.”