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  • Bell casts blame for Teacher Village failure

    WINNSBORO – Although a proposed deal with a North Carolina hedge fund to build a “Teacher Village” appears dead, Fairfield County Council hopes the proposed subdivision catering to teachers can still be built. 

    At Monday night’s council meeting, several council members said the project might find success with another developer.

    Gorelick Brothers Capital had planned to invest $3.6 million to build the subdivision in exchange for a seven-year tax abatement of up to $600,000. But the hedge fund pulled out when it and the county couldn’t agree on an indemnity clause the county wanted in the deal. 

    “I’m saddened the Gorelick project fell through,” Council Chairman Neil Robinson said. “You don’t just lay down on the ground, you get back up on the horse and ride again. Gorelick isn’t the only developer we can depend on.”

    While several council members expressed optimism about finding another developer to revive the project, one council member blamed the media for the Teacher Village deal falling through. 

    Bell accuses media

    Councilman Moses Bell took issue with The Voice’s reporting of an email from Gorelick that spelled out the hedge fund’s objections to the indemnity clause.

    A Gorelick representative authored the email on Aug. 30.

    The Voice obtained the email, addressed to Fairfield School’s Superintendent Dr. J. R. Green and the district’s Foundation president Sue Rex, on Sept. 13, or about two weeks after its origination. It had been shared as information to multiple county officials according to Rex. The Voice obtained the email in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

    “The puzzling thing to me was a letter shared with the press and not shared with me and some members of the council knowing we were in negotiations,” Bell said. “How did [The Voice] know the letter was there and its contents?”

    Rex told The Voice in an interview last week that Gorelick’s objections have been common knowledge for some time.

    Rex said in a statement that the email “that was reported in the press, was shared on the day it was received from investors, August 30th, with both the County Manager and the County Council Chair.”

    The email was not labeled confidential, though Bell said he considered the email sensitive and part of ongoing negotiations.

    Developer was not all in

    Councilman Clarence Gilbert said Monday night that the county shouldn’t be blamed, because it was the developer who pulled out.

    “The developer was not all in,” Gilbert said. “In every major deal if there are differences, you meet and talk about those differences. Gorelick wouldn’t meet with us. So those of you accusing council of sabotaging this project, let’s get our facts together. We did everything we could to make this project work. The only thing we refused to do was to sign a blank check that may or may not have caused the county problems in the future.” Gilbert said. “If you believe strongly in something, and it didn’t work out, don’t blame someone else because it didn’t work out the way you thought it did. If Plan A doesn’t work, find a Plan B.”

    Indemnification not new

    Indemnification has not been new in the Gorelick discussions. 

    Fairfield County has been publicly pushing for an indemnity clause since at least November 2018, when former Council Chairman Billy Smith raised the issue at a joint county-school board meeting. 

    The issue arose again two weeks ago, at the Sept. 9 council meeting, when County Administrator Jason Taylor said Gorelick did not support the indemnification clause, but that indemnification clauses protecting the county are common to any contract the county enters into.

    The county is a co-defendant in a similar multi-county business park lawsuit filed over a student housing project in downtown Columbia. The county is incurring no legal cost on the lawsuit, however, because it has an indemnification clause in the deal that protects the county from liability. County leaders feared a similar suit could arise from the Teacher Village. For that reason, county officials sought similar protection with Gorelick.

    County Attorney Tommy Morgan said at a recent council meeting that legal bills stemming from any Teacher Village litigation could cost “six figures” without an indemnification agreement.

    Gorelick opposed indemnification, saying that it was already bearing the brunt of the risk. The hedge fund also wanted Fairfield County to be “invested” in the Teacher Village. 

    “If they [the county] believe in this project, they should be willing to bear some of the risk,” Gorelick stated in an email obtained by The Voice. “If we are forced to bear the cost of indemnification the risk-reward equation is too negatively skewed for us to continue.”

    Rex, Green respond to Pauley

    In her statement, Rex said that Gorelick’s withdrawal was a serious blow to Fairfield County. 

    Rex and Green also responded to past comments from Councilman Douglas Pauley, who’s previously questioned the Teacher Village.

    On Sept. 9, Pauley read a prepared statement in which he said, “other parties involved have been unwilling to help the county mitigate and manage its associated risk.”

    In a subsequent statement to The Voice, Pauley was even more blunt.

    “At best, it [the email from Gorelick confirms our concerns. At worst, it exposes those we considered partners trying to pull the wool over our eyes and over our citizen’s eyes, all for public risk and personal gain,” the statement said. “If Council is the least bit sane, this will end the circus act.”

    On Monday night, Green responded to Pauley’s remarks, claiming they were directed at him, although Pauley did not mention Green in his remarks.

    “I generally don’t comment on those things unless they assassinate my character or question my integrity, accuse me of being duplicitous,” Green said. “When those things occur, I am compelled to address them.”

  • Council defers final industrial park vote

    A large crowd attended a controversial town council meeting Monday night to weigh in on an industrial park zoning requested by Richland County on property in Blythewood. Jeff Ruble, Director of the county’s Office of Economic Development, is shown at the podium. | Barbara Ball

    BLYTHEWOOD – Richland County’s request for Blythewood Town Council to rezone 162 acres between Fulmer Road and I-77 from Development (D-1) to Limited Industrial 2 (LI2) hung by a thread Monday night. Things weren’t looking good for approval when Councilman Bryan Franklin made a motion to defer the issue until Monday, Sept. 30.

    That motion passed 3-2 with Mayor J. Michael Ross and Councilman Eddie Baughman voting against.

    The acreage is part of the 1,300-acre Blythewood Industrial Park the county is proposing to develop west of i-77. Much of that property is in the Town of Blythewood.

    At issue is the credibility of Richland County Council concerning promised covenants and restrictions to protect the community from any adverse effects that might arise from the industrial park.

    “Tonight’s vote for or against is probably the most vital thing to determine the future of Blythewood since I’ve lived here,” Cobblestone Park resident John Moore said in his address to council during public input. “It is my feeling that it is political suicide for Blythewood to vote ‘yes’ without written assurances from Richland County regarding traffic, recreational areas, fire protection, etc…I have absolutely no confidence in Richland County Council,” Moore said. “I am not against the industrial park, but without assurances, we are going down the wrong path.”

    Cobblestone resident Tom Utroska agreed.

    Utroska insisted that council maintain control over the section of the industrial park that is in the Town of Blythewood.

    “Richland County (should) agree to change the county’s proposed covenants and restrictions to provide for the Blythewood representative on the design review committee (for the industrial park) to have veto power over the balance of the design review committee with regard to any action occurring wholly or in part within the town limits of Blythewood. We need to maintain our control,” Utroska said.

    “I think this rezoning, if approved, should be contingent upon a binding agreement between the town and Richland County similar to an IGA (intergovernmental agreement) wherein Richland County agrees to a time frame and funding for a new fire station near Blythewood Road to service the new industrial park.” Utroska said. He also asked for full funding for the current Blythewood fire station.

    He also called for an agreement between the town, county and SCDOT that addresses the use of Blythewood Road and the proposed traffic circle at Community Road by truck traffic seeking ingress to and egress from the light industrial park to development on Community Road.

    “If we don’t maintain it, it will be a traffic nightmare,” Utroska said.

    Bill Shives, who’s residential property is adjacent to the proposed industrial park, urged council to consider what they are getting ready to turn Blythewood into.

    “You say you want a class A industrial park,” Dennis Lane resident Jim Christopher, a commercial real estate developer said.  “The way to have a class A industrial park is by putting covenants and restrictions in place. Reading it, I thought, ‘Well, it could be worse.’”

    But Christopher said he also felt it could be better.

    “They [covenants and restrictions] don’t address traffic on Blythewood Road, and nothing is dedicated to public spaces,” he said. “Nothing about limiting railroad access. If you eliminate railroad, you won’t have a lot of the noxious uses in the park. I’d like to see the design development committee address that in [the covenants and restrictions].

    When you put this document in place, that’s the most restrictive it will ever be. It will go backwards from there. Developers ask for this and that. Whatever you don’t get up front, you’re not going to get later after you guys vote on it. You need to get it now, up front,” Christopher said.

    “Everyone wants a Class A industrial park,” he said. “So let’s design that in to it.”

    “We’re trying to do everything we can to work with you.” Jeff Ruble of the Richland County Economic Development office, told the speakers and council. “We’ve listened. We’ve heard everything you said. I promise we’re not trying to do anything underhanded. We’re trying to work with you as best we can. The reason we’re doing this is to create good jobs and to bolster the tax base.”

    Addressing traffic, Ruble said that any project in the park over 25,000 square feet needs a traffic study.

    “And that traffic study will lead to results,” Ruble said.

    Middlefield Road resident, attorney Stuart Andrews, disagreed.

    “The reason traffic studies are inadequate,” Andrews said, “is that in virtually every case, they result in the identification of what improvements need to be made to accommodate increased traffic,” he said. “We don’t want a larger road on Blythewood Road, or a four-lane road with several traffic signals or even a six lane road with more traffic signals. That does not protect the integrity of the community. It invites and encourages more and more and more traffic. So traffic studies simply identify the increased volume of traffic,” he said.

    “And there are a couple of sleeper provisions that I hope the council is aware of,” Andrews added. “First, there is an additional property loophole that expands without approval, without review and without any public participation. It is the incorporation of any unlimited amount of additional property into the 1300 acre industrial park. Zoning of course, would have to be complied with and as you say other laws would govern. But in the absence of that, if zoning is consistent and it’s certainly outside the county, the county can do whatever it wants. They can bring in other parcels that don’t even have to be contiguous to the park. So they could go behind the elementary school, behind Cobblestone and, frankly, anywhere they wanted to, and designate the additional property as being part of this very industrial park. And that is an ability that is open ended, without limitation. Without any review. It’s a unilateral right the county has reserved to itself that I see no justification for. I would suggest you strike it out,” Andrews said.

    “There are a lot of things that can come up and bite us in ways that are unintended and unexpected,” Andrews told council. “And that’s the risk of rushing through too quickly with two days to review and negotiate it. And we’d like to ask you to permit more time to review it.”

    Ross, who has spoken in strong support of the industrial park, said he believes the industrial park is the best and highest use for the property.

    “If the industrial park doesn’t go there,” Ross has said in several meetings, “we could have thousands of more houses there and more traffic.” He said the council has been working almost two years with the county on the project.

    Ross said Monday evening that the covenants and restrictions would be voted on at a later time, perhaps a year later.

    After the vote to defer, Ross suggested that the deferred vote for the rezoning might be taken on Monday, Sept. 30 during a special meeting called for the final vote on the sale of the Doko Depot.

    However, on Tuesday, when asked by The Voice what leverage would be available to the town to influence the covenants and restrictions if they are negotiated after the vote is taken, Ross said he felt sure that the county would have revised the covenants and restrictions and have them in place before the rezoning vote. That vote, Ross said on Tuesday, might now be delated until Wednesday or Thursday of next week when all five council members would be available to vote.

    Richland County Council passed first reading Tuesday evening to rezone another parcel of the industrial park to Light Industrial (LI) that is in the county. These are the last two parcels of the 1300 acres to be rezoned.

    For specific information about the date, time and location of the Blythewood Town Council meeting, call town hall at 754-0501.

  • Vulcan opens quarry in Fairfield

    FAIRFIELD COUNTY – Vulcan Materials announced last week that it plans to build an $18M facility in Fairfield County just north of the county’s 1,500-acre megasite – just south of State Road 41 between I-77 and U S. Route 21.

    In a statement released on Sept. 18, Scott Burnham said Vulcan expects to hire 15 new full-time employees with a payroll and benefits of $1.3M.

    “Fairfield County should reap significant tax revenue from the facility and equipment.” said Ty Davenport, the Director of Economic Development for Fairfield County.

    Vulcan operates 16 facilities in the state, including its Blair Quarry in Fairfield County and Columbia and Dreyfus quarries in Richland County. It will open another quarry in Lexington latter this fall.

    “The Fairfield Quarry will growth and will supply building materials for nearby homes, businesses and infrastructure while creating good-paying jobs and generating needed revenue,” Elliott Botzis, vice president and general manager for Vulcan Materials in S.C., said.

    Of its 909.7 acres along I-77, officials say only 127.7 (14 percent) will be mined. Approximately 86 percent of the site will remain unmined, including setbacks, buffers, natural landscape and wildlife habitat areas.

    Vulcan is the nation’s largest producer of ready-mix concrete and asphalt, according to the statement.

    The company is in the process of applying for the necessary permits from Fairfield County and the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC).

  • Shelter seeks person(s) responsible for dog’s torment

    $250 Reward Offered for Conviction of Anyone Responsible

    WINNSBORO – Around noon on Sept. 11, a Fairfield County Animal Control officer picked up a young male Pit Bull stray with wounds so gruesome that after he was brought into the shelter and photographed, the staff felt the need to attach warnings ‘before opening’ on some of the photos they posted on the shelter’s Facebook page.

    Pepper was found with a two-inch deep gash around his neck caused by an embedded tether.

    Those photos showed a gaping wound on the dog’s neck, a gash about two inches deep, completely circling the neck. A tether (cord) around his neck had cut through the flesh and was embedded in his neck.

    “The cord was so tight around the dog’s neck we could only see it from underneath his chin [where the ends of the knotted tie were hanging down] near his jugular,” Samira Yaghi, a shelter volunteer, posted on the shelter’s Facebook page along with several horrific photos of the dog’s injuries. “Sliced through like a knife, the cord was so tight and so far in, the staff could not remove it. We could smell the infection from a distance,” Yaghi added.

    In addition, the dog’s neck was swollen with fluid from the restricted circulation caused by the cord, according to the veterinarian report.

    Unable to extract the cord, the shelter staff transported the dog they named Pepper to Blythewood Animal Hospital for emergency surgery.

    Within hours, shelter volunteers had raised enough funds over social media to pay for the life-saving surgery to remove the cord.

    At the animal hospital, doctors discovered two other lesser cuts circling the dog’s neck consistent with the beginning of other cords or objects embedding into the neck according to vet reports.

    A veterinarian at Blythewood Animal Hospital removes the cord embedded two inches deep in Pepper’s neck.

    The tether could have been embedded for up to three months, the report stated.

    And there were other problems.

    Malnourished and infested with heartworms, Pepper needs more donations for heartworm treatment.

    The dog was reported to the shelter as a stray after he reportedly roamed onto someone’s property in the Greenbrier area.

    Members of the Hoof and Paw Benevolent Society say someone in the community must know the dog and are offering a $250 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the dog’s condition.

    “We are hopeful that by offering this reward that someone will recognize this dog and come forward,” Kathy Faulk, a Hoof and Paw board member said. “When you see something like this, say something so we can all put an end to animal abuse and neglect.”

    For now, Pepper remains hospitalized and will continue on extended use of antibiotics and pain meds with consistent cleaning, Bob Innes, Director of Fairfield Animal Control, said.

    “What this poor dog has endured, for who knows how long is deplorable,” Innes said.

    “Despite his painful injuries when Pepper was brought in, he was very sweet, wagging his tail, soaking in the kindness and care he was receiving.” Yaghi said. “We would like to thank everyone who donated toward his medical care. That support is the only way we can tend to these emergencies efficiently and immediately.”

    Anyone wishing to provide information about the person(s) who neglected or abused Pepper, can contact the Fairfield County Sheriff’s office at 803-635-4141.

    To donate to Pepper’s heartworm treatment, go to: https://www.paypal.me/friendsoffairfield.

    Hoof and Paw Benevolent Society is offering a $250 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for Pepper’s injuries.

  • Dickerson leads vote to defeat TROS

    COLUMBIA – Without providing documentation guaranteeing a promised 250-foot buffer between Crickentree residents and an undetermined number of homes proposed on the adjoining former Golf Course of South Carolina, Blythewood’s representative on County Council, Joyce Dickerson, led the charge on third and final reading Tuesday night to rezone the golf course from Traditional Recreational Open Space (TROS) zoning to Low Density Residential (RS-LD) zoning.

    The vote was 8-3 with council members Calvin “Chip” Jackson, Allison Terracio and Jim Manning voting against. The county planning commission voted last spring to recommend that council not approve the request.

    While the property owner, investment firm E-Capital, has proposed no more than 170 homes on the property, the zoning designation allows for several hundred homes. Robert Fuller, attorney for the firm, has said it plans to flip the property to a developer.

    Over the last year, Fuller and the developer proposed deed restrictions to protect the environment of the Crickentree neighborhood from what could be a much higher density of homes on the golf course property. Those deed restrictions never materialized.

    During 20 minutes of discussion, Jackson, Terracio and Manning said they were dismayed that Dickerson had not produced documentation that would establish the 250-foot buffer in perpetuity as residents had been promise.

    Jackson reminded Dickerson that the meeting had been deferred from July to September to allow her and E-Capital sufficient time to finalize plans with the neighboring Crickentree community and provide documentation of those agreements.

    Dickerson said it was her understanding that the 250-foot buffer would be placed into a conservation easement. When Manning asked if that had been done, a member of the county said no documentation for the easement had been filed with the conservation commission.

    Several county council meetings over the last year have been marked with dissension between some members of council and the residents who pleaded their case. At one point Dickerson accused the residents of sending her threatening emails. She dismissed the emails as not that important, however when asked by The Voice to produce them.

    Jackson said he had hoped council would do the right thing. He expressed concern with the out-of-control growth in the northeast and said he had hoped for a deferral of the matter until everything had been properly worked out.

    “This is too important to rush this kind of decision through,” Jackson said.

  • R2 gives super generally high marks

    COLUMBIA – Superintendent Dr. Baron Davis received generally favorable scores on his annual evaluation, though one Richland Two board member marked Davis down in a few key categories. Two others were critical of the board majority’s decision to not allow board members to discuss a requirement that only a supermajority (5-2) of the board could dismiss Davis.

    Board trustee Lindsay Agostini gave Davis 2s and 3s on a 1-5 scale in categories assessing communication and employee retention, according to documents obtained by The Voice. 

    Agostini was the only board trustee submitting an individual evaluation. The other six board members evaluated Davis collectively. 

    On the joint evaluation, Davis received 4s and 5s in virtually every category, resulting in a total score of 139 points out of a possible 150. Davis received an overall “distinguished” rating.

    In a letter summarizing Davis’ performance, board chair James Manning lauded Davis for his professionalism and communication skills.

    “We appreciate your responsiveness to the board and the relationship you have developed with each board member,” the letter states. “You respond to our communications in a timely manner, and you take care of issues that are brought to your attention.”

    Agostini felt differently. 

    She rated Davis “2” out of “5” on a performance standard that says “the Superintendent works with the school board to develop and implement policies that define organizational expectations.” In the comments section, Agostini noted the presence of typos and grammatical errors.

    Agostini also gave Davis a “2” on “identifies, analyzes and resolves problems using effective problem-solving techniques.” She wrote “defensive” and “knee jerk reaction to support staff.”

    Davis was also marked down in teacher recruitment and retention efforts. “Not finding out why people are leaving,” Agostini wrote. She also added the phrase “sorority/fraternity,” public records show.

    At the last board meeting, trustees voted 5-2 to extend Davis’ contract another two years and award a 12.3 percent pay raise, a substantially greater raise than the 4 percent increase most teachers received in the state budget.

    The board also voted to increase Davis’ annual annuity contribution by 2.5 percent every year for five years, beginning in September 2020. The perks are provided he receives at least a “satisfactory” rating on future annual evaluations.

    Davis’ base pay is now $221,973, fifth highest in the state, according to public records.

    Trustees also inserted a clause that says the superintendent can only be dismissed by a supermajority (5-2) vote of the board, stoking pushback from some board members. They thought any vote to dismiss should be 4-3.

    Agostini and Monica Elkins-Johnson voted against the contract revisions on those grounds. Trustee Teresa Holmes also voiced concerns about the supermajority provision, but ultimately voted for the contract.

    Elkins-Johnson voiced additional concerns that “we were not given an opportunity to discuss this matter,” referencing the supermajority clause. She said the board majority would not pull that part of the contract out for a separate discussion.

    “Because the board will not allow us to pull one item out, I’m going to have to decline the entire contract,” Elkins-Johnson said. “I want to publicly apologize to you Dr. Davis because I support 75 percent of your contract.

    “There is only one item that I have an issue with and that is the super majority,” Elkins-Johnson continued. “Because the board has refused to allow us to pull that out, my vote tonight will be a no.”

    Board member Teresa Holmes also opposed the supermajority and voiced concern that the board wouldn’t permit a separate discussion on the clause, but ultimately voted for the contract.

    “As Dr. Elkins said, we could not pull that particular part out,” she said. “I am not in agreement with the five-vote contract. We have a vote for four for everything that we do.”

    Manning said there was ample opportunity to discuss the contract. The letter summarizing Davis’ performance states the board evaluation was discussed in executive sessions held on July 23, Aug. 6 and Aug. 13.

    “We did have the opportunity to discuss this as a board in executive session before coming to a final decision,” Manning said.

    “We did not have an opportunity as a board to discuss salary or concerns,” Elkins-Johnson responded. “We had an opportunity as a board to discuss our concerns only to the chair.”

    In a telephone interview with The Voice, Manning said supermajority clauses are not unprecedented in Richland Two, noting one was included in a proposed policy revision that the board considered in January.

    A proposed revision to Policy BD would’ve allowed the board, by supermajority vote, to strip a board member of their officer position “for cause.”

    Manning, Elkins-Johnson and Agostini voted for the policy revision, according to board documents.

    The vote failed, but not because of the supermajority clause. Some board members objected to ambiguity over the phrase “for cause.”

    The policy was introduced at a time when two trustees facing legal and ethics issues could have been impacted by the policy changes.

    Former board chair Amelia McKie owes nearly $57,000 in ethics fines for failing to file several campaign reports. A judgment has since been filed in Richland County Circuit Court.

    In January, Elkins-Johnson, then vice-chair of the board, was charged after an altercation following a board meeting. The case is pending.

  • Green: Gorelick pulls out of Teacher Village

    EDITOR’S NOTE: Minutes before press time, The Voice was notified by Fairfield County officials that Fairfield School Superintendent Dr. J. R. Green had informed County Administrator Jason Taylor that Gorelick Brothers Capital, developer for the Teacher Village, announced the company is withdrawing from the project. The Voice will update the story online as information becomes available. The following story reflects events prior to Green’s announcement.

    WINNSBORO – A North Carolina hedge fund seeking generous tax breaks to build a controversial “Teacher Village” housing project won’t budge on a stipulation that would protect Fairfield County from future lawsuits.

    In an email obtained by The Voice, a representative of Gorelick Brothers Capital of Charlotte, North Carolina, said investors won’t move forward unless Fairfield County shares in the legal risk.

    “The reason why indemnification is an issue is that we are not willing to bear the risk of indemnifying the County,” the memo says. “There is an unpredictable liability for us and we also want the County to be ‘invested’ in this project.”

    Dated Aug. 30, the memo was addressed to Dr. J.R. Green, superintendent of the Fairfield County School District; and Sue Rex, chair of the Fairfield County School District Education Foundation.

    The school district’s board of trustees created the foundation to facilitate development of the Teacher Village, which seeks to build affordable rental homes catering to teachers.

    In the email, the Gorelick representative proposed telephoning Green and Rex to further discuss possible options. He suggested a date of Sept. 4.

    “Do you have some time on Wednesday morning for a call? Maybe 10 am?” the email states. “We received feedback from the County and are at an impasse on one business point (indemnification), but there may be a solution that you could provide for the project.”

    Green said he’d not spoken with Gorelick and could not confirm he had seen the email. He wouldn’t comment further on most other aspects of the email or indemnification.

    “It’s Gorelick’s decision on how they want to handle that with the county,” Green said.

    A Gorelick official couldn’t be reached for comment as of press time.

    Rex affirmed that Gorelick adamantly opposes adding an indemnity clause to any Teacher Village deal.

    “The Gorelick Brothers will not sign an agreement that requires them to indemnify,” she said. “They want this to happen but if that’s the final straw, they’ll walk away.”

    Rex added that the foundation would bear some financial risk with the Teacher Village. If occupancy falls short, the foundation would have to cover any rent shortfalls, she said.

    “We’re responsible after that occupancy rate to make sure that the rent payment [for unrented units] is made every month,” Rex said. “We’d have to still make the rent payment at the end of the month.”

    Teacher Village critics say the email from Gorelick and lack of transparency surrounding it serve as further proof that the county’s indemnification is necessary.

    “They [school officials] were still pressuring the county to make this thing go forward without telling the county they had received an email,” Fairfield County Councilman Douglas Pauley said. “For a year now, the thing we were most concerned about was indemnification for the county, and they knew that.”

    Clause common in county contracts

    Gorelick (pronounced guh-RELL-ick) wants the development designated as a multi-county business park to make it eligible for a tax abatement. The company is seeking a seven-year tax abatement totaling about $600,000 to finance the project.

    Fairfield County has said it’s open to those requests, but also wants an indemnification clause to protect taxpayers.

    County Administrator Jason Taylor said during the last council meeting that indemnification clauses protecting the county are common to any contract the county enters into.

    The county is a co-defendant in a similar multi-county business park lawsuit filed over a student housing project in downtown Columbia. The county is incurring no legal cost on the lawsuit, however, because it has an indemnification clause in the deal that protects the county from liability. County leaders fear a similar suit could arise from the Teacher Village. For that reason, too, county officials say they are seeking similar protection with Gorelick.

    County Attorney Tommy Morgan said at a recent council meeting that legal bills stemming from any Teacher Village litigation could cost “six figures” without an indemnification agreement.

    But Gorelick won’t budge, saying indemnification essentially is a deal-breaker.

    “If they [the county] believe in this project, they should be willing to bear some of the risk,” the email states. “If we are forced to bear the cost of indemnification the risk-reward equation is too negatively skewed for us to continue.”

    Gorelick rejects offer

    County Administrator Jason Taylor recently said the county pitched an alternative option establishing an escrow account into which Gorelick could periodically deposit funds to cover any possible future legal costs of the county.

    “We were told by Gorelick that they would not do that,” Taylor said at the Sept. 9 council meeting. “Then we reached out to the school district and the foundation. We have not found that’s going to happen either.”

    Green said Gorelick should ultimately decide whether or not to pay into an escrow account.

    “That’s [part of] negotiations between Gorelick and the county,” Green said. “The school district doesn’t have the authority to pay into an escrow account on behalf of Gorelick. It’s Gorelick’s decision.”

    Asked directly for the school district’s position on indemnification, Green said “that’s between Gorelick and the county.”

    The indemnification issue first arose at a special Fairfield County Council meeting in November 2018.

    At that meeting, Green called the inclusion of an indemnity clause to protect the county “not reasonable.” The county’s former council chairman felt otherwise.

    “If we are going to be the ones to accept the risk for what many of us see as [someone else’s] property, then there are some conditions that we’d like to talk about,” former council chair Billy Smith said.  “It’s not our project, we’re helping with someone else’s property. They should be willing to pay and hedge that bet on the risk.”

    Since then, several council members have also said any Teacher Village deal should include legal protections for Fairfield County. Council members Bertha Goins, Clarence Gilbert, Jimmy Ray Douglas, Neil Robinson and Pauley are among them.

    Email irks council member

    Some Teacher Village supporters, including education foundation vice-chair Shirley Green, think the county should approve the deal despite the risk.

    At the Sept. 9 council meeting – 10 days after the Gorelick email was sent – Green urged council meetings not to be deterred by potential litigation.

    “Are we afraid to take a chance with someone else’s money? Are we afraid of failure or are we afraid of success?” Shirley Green said. “Don’t let the fear of a lawsuit or failure as it’s known to hold you back from the opportunities for success.”

    Green didn’t mention the Gorelick email in her remarks.

    Pauley thought it was particularly disturbing that neither the district nor the foundation officially disclosed the memo prior to the Sept. 9 council meeting.

    “They are not even considering the taxpayers of Fairfield County. It is very disturbing to me that they were still willing to pressure the county go to forward,” Pauley said.

    “At best,” he continued, “it [the email from Gorelick] confirms our concerns. At worst, it exposes those we considered partners trying to pull the wool over our eyes and over our citizen’s eyes. All for public risk and personal gain.  If Council is the least bit sane, this will end the circus act,” Pauley said.

    The Teacher Village proponents propose offering rent reductions for educators of about $300 a month. Phase I calls for 30 homes with up to 70 homes constructed if the development reaches 100 percent build out.

    If teachers don’t fill the homes, first responders would receive dibs on housing followed by district staff. If empty houses still remain, the general public would be allowed to rent them according to Rex.

    Only teachers, however, would qualify for the rent subsidy.

    But school board trustee Paula Hartman doesn’t think teachers will flock to the Teacher Village as backers hope.

    “I personally don’t think this is going to bring teachers here,” Hartman said. “There’s no proof anybody’s given us that teachers will be the ones in there.”

    Gorelick anticipates spending up to $3.6 million on the development, contingent upon receiving a $600,000 tax abatement from the county. The proposal also includes at least $100,000 from a proviso in this year’s state budget, which would help fund the $300 rent subsidies.

    Green, the school district superintendent, has said he thinks the proviso will be renewed in subsequent years, ultimately becoming permanent, though he acknowledged at a past council meeting there’s no guarantee.

    Rent increases in subsequent years are also possible. In October 2018, Green told council members that rent could increase up to 2 percent a year.

    Gorelick Letter

  • Lt. Col. Charles Hodges of Blair honored by King of Thailand

    Lt. Col. Charles D. Hodges, U. S. Air Force, (center) receives a royal decoration, “The Most Admirable Order of the Direkgunabhorn, Knight Grand Cross, First Class,” at a decoration ceremony at the Royal Thai Embassy, Washington, D.C. Sept. 17, 2019. (From left) Carrye Hodges, Mary Lee Hodges Reynolds, Judy Hodges, Lt. Col. Hodges, Ambassador Thani Thongphakdi, Richard Hodges, Joseph Hodges. | Photo courtesy of the Thai Embassy

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – A former resident of Blair, Fairfield County, S.C., was formally recognized by the king of Thailand for his exceptional service to the Thai nation in a ceremony Tues., Sept. 17 at the Royal Thai Embassy in Washington, D.C. 

    Lt. Col. Charles D. Hodges, U.S. Air Force, was raised in the Salem Crossroads area of Fairfield County from 1984-2000. He is a 1996 graduate of Richard Winn Academy and a 2000 graduate of The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, Charleston.  He is a member of Salem Presbyterian Church and the son of Rev. and Mrs. Richard Hodges.

    The king of Thailand, Maha Vajiralongkorn, through his representative, the appointed ambassador to the U.S., Thani Thongphakdi, conferred upon Hodges a royal decoration, “The Most Admirable Order of the Direkgunabhorn.” The particular award made was “Knight Grand Cross, First Class,” the highest possible award of the order. The award has seven levels.

    The award was established in 1991 by the king’s father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej to be bestowed upon those who have rendered exceptional services to the Kingdom of Thailand. Direkgunabhorn is a Thai word meaning “noble order of abundance and quality.” 

    Hodges receives a royal decoration, “The Most Admirable Order of the Direkgunabhorn, Knight Grand Cross, First Class,” at a decoration ceremony at the Royal Thai Embassy. Representing the king of Thailand and in the background is the Thailand appointed Ambassador to the United States, Thani Thongphakdi. | Photo courtesy of the Thai Embassy

    Hodges received the high-level honor for his participation as the U. S. Air Force on-scene mission commander at the Tham Luang cave rescue in northern Thailand in which a dozen young Thai soccer players and their coach were rescued in June 2018.  Also receiving a similar award was MSgt. Kenneth T. O’Brien, U. S. Air Force, a pararescue specialist and one of the Air Force’s 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year for 2019. O’Brien received “Commander of The Most Admirable Order of the Direkgunabhorn, Third Class.”

    Both Hodges and O’Brien are assigned to the Air Force Special Operations Command, 353rd Special Operations Group, 320th Special Tactics Squadron located at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan. Hodges is the squadron commander; O’Brien is a Special Tactics Team Element Leader.

    The award, which is rarely given to non-Thai citizens, recently was bestowed upon 188 people by the king including 114 foreigners and 74 Thai nationals all of whom were involved in the rescue operation. At the peak of the rescue an estimated 1,000 rescuers and 10,000 support personnel were involved in finding and extracting the Wild Boars soccer team and their coach from deep within the cave.

    Airmen from the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) meet with Royal Thai military officials and a Thai engineering company to advise and assist in the rescue operation June 30, 2018, at Chiang Rai, Thailand. The United States, through USINDOPACOM, sent a search and rescue team to Tham Luang cave in Northern Thailand at the request of the Royal Thai government to assist in the rescue of the missing Thai soccer players and their coach. (U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Jessica Tait)

    The Rescue of 12 young boys in Thailand

    Jennifer Wallace, The Citadel

    It was the story of the summer that everyone was talking about. In the northernmost province of Thailand, 12 young boys and their 25-year-old soccer coach were exploring a cave when they became trapped by flooding after a sudden heavy rainfall. It was June 23, just the beginning of the four-month-long monsoon season, and the world sat on edge, waiting for news of the missing boys and their coach. In the midst of the rescue operation that included the assistance of roughly 10,000 people from around the world, Air Force Maj. Charles Hodges, ’00, became the face of the U.S. effort in the rescue.

    There’s a rich Citadel and military history that runs through Hodges’ family. His uncle, for whom he was named, Air Force Capt. Charles G. Hodges, III, ’65, was on a combat deployment in the Philippines when he died of accidental causes. His father, Reverend Richard B. Hodges, ’72, now a pastor in a Presbyterian church, is retired from the Air Force as well as the National Guard. His brother Joseph Hodges, ’07, formerly a striker platoon leader in the Marine Corps and later a logistics officer in the Marine Corps Reserve, is now a civilian nurse in a VA hospital in St. Louis and a flight nurse in the Air Force Reserve. Another brother, who did not attend The Citadel, John Daniel Hodges, served in the Marine Corps and is now in the Marine Corps Reserve. Hodges himself graduated from The Citadel in 2000 with a degree in Spanish. He is currently an Air Force special tactics officer stationed in Okinawa, Japan, and in late June, he was standing ready when Thailand called for support.

    When the Royal Thai government sent a request to the U.S. government asking for assistance in the rescue effort of the 12 soccer players and their coach, the request was routed to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, which sent the request to Special Operations Command Pacific, which sent the request to the 353rd Special Operations Group. This relay occurred in the span of an hour. As commander of the 320th Special Tactics Squadron, which falls under the 353rd Special Operations Group, Hodges is in charge of ground forces—pararescuemen, combat controllers, special operations weather technicians and tactical air control party members. About 19 hours after the initial request, Hodges found himself in a Thai cave immersed in a tactical mission planning operation.

    “We approached it as if it were a standard military-contingency type of response, and we applied every single tool that we could to try to find these kids and then ultimately to rescue them.”

    Hodges was interviewed by multiple news outlets following the successful cave rescue. Here, Hodges discusses the rescue with CBS News.

    Hodges credited his time at The Citadel for his leader development. “It was not an easy experience, but I look back on it with fond memories. It was a time to challenge me. It was a time that I learned a lot. What I learned there was specifically applicable to the Thai cave rescue scenario—just never giving up, not having the option to quit, and sticking with it until the job was done,” he said.

    The likelihood of finding the boys and their coach, however, was bleak. Hodges, who has four children with his wife Julie, felt the weight of reality.

    “So for me, before the children were found was a challenging point emotionally. We were fully committed, but at the same time we didn’t know if those kids were going to be found. I try to think of myself as a realist, but in this situation I was pretty pessimistic.”

    More than two weeks after the ordeal began, however, all 12 boys and their coach were safely out of the cave in a rescue operation that had all of the riveting elements of a best-selling novel. According to Hodges, teamwork—a theme that runs deep at The Citadel—was responsible for the success of the operation.

    “We had civilian entities. We had Department of State entities. We had Department of Defense entities, both in the U.S. and on the Thai side, Australians, British, Canadian, Chinese, a European contingent. We had for-profit. We had a nonprofit. We had those who spoke perfect English and those who didn’t speak any English at all. We had everybody and their brother coming together to do this, and still there were never too many people there…. The teamwork aspect of this effort could not be overstated.”

    There’s a rich Citadel military history in Thailand. In 1963, Thai Cadets Chokechai Hongstong, Charoensak Thiengtham and Viruch Tangoi graduated—the first of dozens of young Thai students who have come to The Citadel on a Royal Thai Army Scholarship for military training and an education in engineering or one of the sciences. Geographically, Thailand and The Citadel are separated by 9,000 miles, but in spirit and ambition they are aligned, and last summer, they were brothers in arms in a death-defying rescue mission that showed the world the value of teamwork.

    Related Articles: Blair’s Hodges is a global hero

  • RCPC OKs industrial zoning in 29016

    COLUMBIA – Richland County Planning Commissioners voted unanimously Monday afternoon to recommend that Richland County Council approve the rezoning of 483.55 acres of property adjacent to the Town of Blythewood – 456.01 of those acres would be zoned Light Industrial (LI) and 27.54 acres would be zoned General Commercial (GC). The two parcels lie in Richland County’s zoning jurisdiction and are bordered by Blythewood Road, I-77, Ashley Oaks subdivision and North Pointe Industrial Park.

    While Town Administrator Brian Cook was in attendance and was asked several questions by the commissioners, no residents from the Blythewood community attended the meeting. The rezoning request will go before county council Sept. 24.

    The two parcels are part of about 1,300 acres that the county has been seeking to rezone for a Blythewood Industrial Park. The remaining 864 acres of the proposed industrial park lie in the Town of Blythewood.

    “I feel that this (LI) rezoning request will create a positive economic impact in the area.”

    Heather Carnes
    Richland County Planning Commissioner

    While the county’s staff recommended disapproval of the rezoning Monday afternoon, County Zoning Administrator and Deputy Planning Director Geonard Price said that disapproval was based on the 2015 comprehensive plan which designates this area as neighborhood low density for future land use.

    “Within this zoning [neighborhood low density] designation, the plan discourages industrial uses that will have significant community impacts, meaning noise, exhaust or heavy traffic. The uses allowed under this (LI) zoning district includes potential users which would be incompatible with how this general area is currently developed,” Price said.

    Price pointed out that the Town of Blythewood has already rezoned (in 2015) about 678 acres of the 1,300 acres for Limited Industrial 2 (LI2) uses and is in the process of rezoning 163 more acres as LI2. Town council will have second reading on the 163 acres on Sept. 23.

    “I point that out,” Price said, “because when you compare the location of that zoning request to what has been proposed, it may make this more compatible with the surrounding area.”

    In 2015, the county persuaded the Town to rezone the 678 acres to LI2, a new zoning designation created by the Town for county officials for that property. County asked Blythewood for the rezoning at that time for an industry it said was coming to the property. After the rezoning, the industry never materialized. At a recent town meeting, county officials disclosed that the rezoning of the 678 acres was part of their five-year master plan for a Blythewood Industrial Park.

    Jeff Rubble, director of the county’s economic development office, told commissioners that since March, his office has taken all the steps to get the zoning approved so the county could sell bonds to purchase the entire 1,300 acres. He said the bond closing is set for Nov. 1.

    “The folks that would purchase the bonds told us they want to see the land zoned consistent with how it will be used. And that’s why we’re going through this rezoning process before we purchase the land.” Rubble said. “We want to build a tax base, create quality jobs. This is another big, big piece. This is the next two decades of growth. We want to reserve the front edge along Blythewood Road for mixed use development, hotels, high end restaurants, offices. We don’t want growth to happen to us. We want to do what we want to do proactively.” Rubble said. “This is a major step.”

    Asked by Commissioner Heather Carnes what makes the area particularly appropriate for this industrial use, Tiffany Harrison, also with the Richland County Economic Development office, said it is prime for industrial grade use.

    “You have full infrastructure out there. You have 15 million gallons a day of water, telecommunications infrastructure, access to the land from two interchanges,” Harrison said. ”The area is primed for growth and development. It’s the idea of setting aside property to bring in industry to create jobs, to invest in the community. That’s what we’re trying to do here.”

    “With I-77, we’ve had companies like Sony, IBM, United Technologies all come in and buy big tracts of land,” Rubble said. “The interchanges at Farrow Road, Clemson Road, Highway 21 and Blythewood Road have all been swallowed up by commercial and residential. Some of these sites were our best industrial sites but were bought by car dealerships, etc. It (industrial land) just keeps disappearing. If we don’t act, this, too, will get swallowed up.”

    In making a motion for a recommendation of approval of the rezoning requests for the two parcels, Commissioner Carnes said her reason for going against the comp plan is that this is an opportunity to create a unique, well situated industrial park for the future.

    “The comp plan just didn’t anticipate this opportunity. But now that it presents itself to us, I think we should encourage it,” Carnes said. “I feel that this rezoning request will create a positive economic impact in the area.”

    Asked by Commissioner Wallace Brown if the county’s request is compatible with what the Town of Blythewood has in mind, Cook said it is.

    “Yes, based on the town council tying it together with the covenants and restrictions and their overall idea behind this project. But we need these assurances in place with the covenants and restrictions,” Cook said.

    Richland County Council will meet Sept. 24 in council chambers at 2020 Hampton Street in Columbia, to consider the planning commission’s recommendation.

  • Fairfield First Steps scores in SC’s top four

    WINNSBORO – There are only three school districts in the state whose five year olds are more ready for kindergarten than those in Fairfield County, according to the statewide First Steps Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA) scores released in August.

    “It’s an indication for the county as a whole not just for our First Steps program or the school district,” Patti Wilkes, executive director of the county’s First Steps program, said. “Our goal, of course, is for every Fairfield County child to be ready for success when they start kindergarten.”

    According to the report, 49 percent of them are.

    Only preschoolers in Georgetown (50%), York 4 (55%) York 2 (51%) are more ready than those in Fairfield. Charleston, Lexington 3 and Fairfield all scored a 49 percent overall.

    The state funded program was introduced in South Carolina in 1999 and a First Steps office now exists in each of the state’s 46 counties. The school district offers K3 and K4 kindergartens throughout the district. The 2017-18 KRA reported Fairfield County was one of only 13 of the 46 state-wide First Steps programs that met or exceeded the state average.

    Wilkes said the KRA provides a snapshot of students’ abilities at the beginning of the five-year-old kindergarten school year in four domains: social foundations, language and literacy, mathematics and physical development and wellbeing. Students are scored according to their level of readiness – emerging readiness, approaching readiness and demonstrating readiness. (See KRA charts)

    While the First Steps offices in each county share the same goals, they use different methods to achieve those goals. Fairfield uses five programs that are designed to prepare children for a successful start to their school career.

     “Literacy is the number one indication for success in school,” Wilkes said.

    One program Wilkes uses to improve literacy is 1000 Books Before Kindergarten.

    “We go into the classroom, read to the students and give books to the classroom as well as to students to take home,” Wilkes said.

    Other programs, like Parents as Teachers and Countdown to Kindergarten focus on home visits to equip parents and caregivers with the confidence and competence to be their child’s first and best teacher.

    Because many of the children served in Fairfield live in poverty, First Steps makes some scholarships available to cover the costs of child care. Last year, Wilkes’ office provided 22 children with scholarship assistance so their parents could work or attend school.

    “To spark the love of reading, Fairfield County First Step distributed 6,614 free, age-appropriate books to 746 children last year.

    “If a child has any developmental delays, we try to address those before they enter five-year-old kindergarten. If children are not ready for kindergarten, we lose instruction time in the classroom,” Wilkes said.

    Wilkes says she uses programs that strengthen relationships, all kinds of relationships, but particularly between parent and child.

    “As part of our Countdown to Kindergarten program, we partner with the school district, United Way and get funds through the preschool development grant to hire all 5K teachers in the district to make six home visits to each participating student during the summer before they start school,” Wilkes said. “These visits incorporate a full curriculum of core subjects. Last summer we funded six teacher visits to each of 70 students.”

    “Our goal is to prepare these children to be successful in school,” Wilkes said. “That preparation starts early, but the parents have to buy in. We wish we could get to these children at birth. The parents have to see that success in school is their child’s way out of poverty.”

    Fairfield First Steps is located at 101 N. Congress Street, Suite 1, Winnsboro. For more information, contact Wilkes at 803-635-1590 or email pywilkes@truvista.net.