Full meeting transcript - February 25, 2025

» good evening ladies and gentlemen let's call the meeting to order this is our Kershaw County Council meeting February 25 2025 we've been called to order we have the invocation councilman Jones has invited pastor Herbie Harris to give the invocation and start the Pledge of Allegiance tonight we have pastor Harris here mr.

» Harris please yes sir yes everyone well if you'd speak into the mike i'm gonna pray for us okay bow your heads god first we're just going to say we're grateful because you first loved us and help us just to be reminded of that and just have open hearts and open ears tonight to just listen to our neighbors and just remember that you are the ultimate servant help us just remember to have a servant's heart allow the holy spirit to really just guide us and permeate this room and just help us just remember that we're not here by chance we're neighbors on purpose and it's our job to love each other and to make each other's lives better and that helps us in the long run and we're just thankful for that help us just to remember to be a good steward of all the resources and time you've given us give

» us many opportunities to be a blessing to others i think of every person in this room and i ask you bless each and every one of us just help us just to make the most out of these opportunities help us remember that you've giving us grace so that we can give it back to everyone we meet and we just thank you for this time we thank you for these opportunities help us just to remember to have a grateful heart and we just praise you tonight in Jesus name amen thank you very much pastor Harris gentlemen that brings us to item number for on the agenda adoption of the agenda i'd seek a motion to move item number five the proclamation to the next scheduled council meeting do we have a motion to make a motion we move it to i believe it's march the 11th yes sir is there a second second we've got a sec

» ond any discussion you want to get some clarification uh just to give a little clarification on it uh this was a proclamation in memory of sly robinson a guy who give a lot of his time to kershaw county in many different ways including law enforcement and the family is having a memorial for him this saturday so we found it fitting if we wait till after the memorial service so we're going to move it to march the 11th thank you very much any further discussion yes mr chairman if i may i'd also i'd also like to make an amendment to if you turn to number 11 new business i'd like to delete the stormwater regulations on large common plans till uh future meeting that's 11b it's 11b okay is there a second second all right we've got a second from mr tomlinson any further discussion on that one let's

» vote on the motion as amended and then we can get back to the original vote all right voting on mr jones amendment to the agenda for mr brazel no oh i thought you were you're raising your hand for something all right all in favor of uh the amendment for mr jones raise your hand all right the agenda has been amended one second mr robinson uh anything else we're back to the original amendment to remove uh the robinson proclamation this is a family member just stay on behalf of the family we want to thank you all for uh doing this for my brother and uh considering the family in this really appreciate it we'll see you next month hey look sly had a huge impact on so many people in this community it's the least we can do to accommodate you let us know what's good for you okay we'll be in touch ye

» s sir all right gentlemen that brings us back to the original amendment for the agenda all in favor of um moving the proclamation to the next scheduled meeting as stated raise your hand if you're in favor miss hannah it's unanimous on both counts and mr tucker is on his way from work he's held up at work so we do anticipate him coming later but he will not be calling in all right um now let's approve the agenda as uh as amended i move that we adopt the agenda as amended all right second second needing no uh other discussion all in favor raise a hand if you're in favor ms hannah it's unanimous thank you very much gentlemen that takes us to public comments um as mr dubose is tallying the names in time i just would ask everyone to silence their phones we had a few phones going off last time in

» terrupted folks during this public comment session it's not a time for question and answer it's time for the council to hear from the public which we look forward to doing mr de bose six speakers tonight mr chair okay we've got speakers scott chambers mr chambers you're the first speaker mr chair yes sir if we may could we inform everybody including ourselves and staff to let's pull the microphones close to our mouth sure i'll remind them each time as we do my comments right here and we'd like a copy of okay seeing you all again my name's scott chambers i'm a kershaw county resident and a member of the woodward airfield air commissioners board and a pilot so i'm speaking on behalf of the aod and the airport thank you for the opportunity and it's not been the first and i've spoken with sever

» al you individually on other items as well but so i'm going to speak on behalf of the airport and friends here that you know we all have opposing opinions but i think we have more in in common and very nice people but there's just you know difference of opinions here so I like the prayer being friendly since I have my back to these folks right now but anyway many of the problems at airports today are the direct result of poor or non-existent planning for a compatible land use by the same token almost every concern about airport and safety can be eliminated through reasonable and long-term land use planning. The object of airport compatible land use planning is to ensure that the airport and surrounding community coexist in peace.

» Failure to plan and the resulting encroachment of incompatible development such as homes, schools, too close to airports are at the heart of most airport closures today. Effective planning can eliminate this conflict and ensure that airports remain open with the support of the communities that they serve. Inappropriate land use leads to neighbors being subject to potential noise vibrations and other hazards. Reduction on airport utility which may lead to closure or very important local of a very important local resource asset and worst of all unhappy citizens. Currently airports are closing at the rate of 1.4 per month. I'd like to reiterate what Woodward Airfield means to our community.

» Woodford Woodward airport supports jobs the airfield serves a vital basis for services like medical airlifts disaster relief power and air pipeline inspection power company rotor blade aerial trimming law enforcement sled dnr department of natural resources 40 service coast guard training civil air patrol flight academy and charter aircraft and many more i'm grateful that we have thoughtful and experienced professionals in the south carolina aeronautics commission that have worked with woodward airfield kershaw county administration and stakeholders to develop best practices specific to woodward airfield and the surrounding community incorporating the best practices developed from historic outcomes successes and failures i'm very appreciative of the kershaw county administrative team that's

» demonstrated an exceptional effort doing their very best to try to find the best outcomes possible i know these gentlemen have spent a lot of time and and a lot of effort trying to find the best path forward on this thing and i'm sure it's not easy so in closing i've heard it said that when a community loses an airport it's similar to losing an interstate an exit off of an interstate i liken it to communities along route 66. so in closing i support the request and request that the council support the aod thank you yes sir thank you mr - Mr. DuBose, next speaker. - Next speaker is John Paul, Airport AOD. - Mr. Paul. - Thank you guys for having me here. I am a fellow pilot that has two airplanes housed-- - If you could speak into the mic a little more, thank you. - So again, it's John Paul.

» I'm a Kershaw's County citizen and I have two airplanes stationed at the Woodward Airfield. The biggest thing I wanna say is safety. The AOD, I'm in support of the AOD from the safety standpoint. always say my motto with flying is live to fly another day take off and landing is the most crucial part if we want the safety of the pilots and residents that live near the airport provide for an increased life for those that live near the airport by taking noise and aircraft into consideration prevent for high density development from encroaching upon critical areas of the airport such as runway protection zones and transition zones ensure future funding for physical security of the airport by meeting federal and state expectations regulated by the acceptable land use, so I hope that you guys wil

» l take consideration and vote for the AOD. Again, thanks, safety and the citizens that live in this county. Thank you, Mr. Paul. Mr. Bowes. Next speaker is David Smith, Airport AOD. Mr. Smith, please. Thank you. My name is David Smith. I'm a longtime resident, Kershaw County. I also serve as a project manager for South Carolina Aeronautics Commission and assist compatible land use efforts across the state's 58 public use airports and I'm sorry to say but that number is 57 as I learned today of the closing of an airport today I want to talk about something that's close to home literally and figuratively the the Camden Woodward Airport it's not just a couple of strips of asphalt with planes coming and going it's a lifeline it's an economic engine and a vital resource in our community, Hersche

» l County, and the City of Camden. Let's start with neighbors. For those living nearby, Woodward Field is more than a local landmark. It's a connection point. It brings visitors, supports small businesses, and offers convenience just four miles from downtown Camden. But the value goes deeper. In times of crisis, think natural disasters or medical emergencies, this airport becomes a portal. Emergency resources, whether it's medical evacuation relief supplies can reach us quickly because of this facility. It's not just a convenience, it's peace of mind. Now let's consider industry. Woodward Field supports businesses like Koenig Aviation, local flight training, employing local folks and serving aircraft that keep commerce moving.

» It's a hub of general aviation with over 8,000 operations annually. Everything from small piston airplanes, to air taxis, to jet corporate. This activity ripples through our economy, supporting jobs, tourism, and even attracting new opportunities. The study from the South Carolina Aeronautics Commission highlights how airports like our Woodward Field contribute millions to local economies statewide. Woodward Field isn't just holding its own. It's driving prosperity for Kershaw County. For other users, pilots, visitors, and even military personnel, the airport is a reliable asset. A 5,000-foot lighted runway and historical significance from training World War II pilots like Robert K.

» Morgan of the Memphis Belle B-17 World War II to serving today's aviators make it a point of pride and utility. But with growth comes responsibility. That's where compatible land use protective overlay comes in these zones ensure that the airport can operate safely while respecting the needs of those nearby they prevent hazards like tall structures or incompatible developments keeping pilots safe and noise management manageable for residents and this brings me to the public process we're engaged in right now the airport overlay district I want to applaud everyone who stepped up: residents, property owners, county officials, and the Planning Commission. You've tackled tough questions.

» How do we balance aviation safety with property rights? How do we protect our equine heritage while modernizing? It's not easy, but your input has shaped the document that we're considering tonight. Residents have voiced valid concerns, and county leaders have listened and crafted amendments to address these concerns. The collaboration is what makes our community strong. The overlay process benefits everyone. For airport users, it ensures operational safety. For neighbors, it preserves quality of life while allowing existing uses like barns and horses. Barns and horses make good neighbors to airports, by the way. And it is a compromise that reflects Camden's spirit, forward thinking yet rooted in tradition. We're not just complying with FAA guidelines.

» We're building a future that works for all. As we approach the third reading of this AOD, I'm reminded of a quote by Helen Keller that says, alone we can do so little, together we can do so much. That's what's happening here. Your engagement, your voices have brought us to this point, and I'm hopeful that this step forward will solidify Woodward Fields role as an economic and emergency cornerstone while keeping our community safe and thriving. I support the AOD. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Smith. Mr. DeVos. Next speaker is Tom Webb. The third subject is litter. Mr. Webb. I have a little present for y'all. But first, Scalia, Antonin Scalia, Supreme Court Justice. Died nine years ago this month under unusual circumstances. He went hunting down in West Texas.

» Didn't come for breakfast at the bunkhouse. They went and found him dead in bed with a pillow on his face and he never got an autopsy. If they suspected that he died of natural causes, I think he would have got an autopsy. Somebody's hiding something and I haven't heard anything since then that indicates what happened. Could have been assassinated. Anyway, about your litter ordinance, it seems kind of German to me, German. No vases or flower pots on private property, even out in the boondocks of Kershaw County. How can you get away with that? Maybe we need J.D. Vance to come here and visit a little bit and straighten some things out. I think we supposed to have freedom, but seems like maybe it gets nibbled at, nibbled, always nibbling at it a little bit.

» So our litter ordinance seems like it came from the Charleston County Litter Ordinance, cut and pasted, but it probably came from somewhere else too. They did the same thing before, cut and pasted, maybe from Maryland and maybe eventually from Germany because of the authoritarian way that it's presented. You can get fined $250 for having a flower pot on your property. I know you're not going to make that happen, but it's what's in the ordinance. It's in there. So why let it be in there if you're not going to enforce it? Well, somebody might enforce it someday, if not you, another council. You're setting the stage for something egregious. So I guess I'm getting ahead of it all a little bit.

» Since I can't have crockery or a flower pot or I can't have a base glassware on private property out in the boondocks or nobody else can maybe the next thing will be no flowers I won't be able to have flowers so you know me I'm trying to make a point I'm going to turn in flowers I'm getting ahead of the game if you're going to outlaw flowers I'm going to turn them in them my grandma planted them over a hundred years ago bags so if you want to take some home you're welcome to them I'm not being very mean but I'm really angry with what y'all have done I really am about passing an ordinance that steps on us you know the old flag don't don't tread on me well you're treading on us and our constitutional rights and our bill of rights and that's what Vance got onto Germany about and in the europea

» n union you fussed at them and it had an effect so uh these are antique flowers and you're welcome to them my grandma planted them over 100 years ago and she used to sell them she sold them during the great depression there was a market downtown and some people still had a little bit of money and she was going to get it so thank you very much thank you mr webb mr de boas next speaker is lynn canto aod and comp plan miss canto my name is lynn canto i live at 1265 sanders creek road and the first thing i want to do is thank you for the previous amendments to the aod and listening to the people in the community especially in the horse community because horses are important and they are part of a business as well and my big request today is for you to consider grandfather clause to protect curr

» ent farm owners their houses and their barns in the future and if they were to sell the property not against the aod as i've said many many times i just don't want it to infringe on the horse community so to add to this the comprehensive plan spots spotlights key businesses and events in kershaw county and i want to talk to you a little about the horse events in kershaw county the carolina cup brings in 35 000 people a year the colonial cup brings in 10 000 people a year skep has 21 500 visitors eight to ten disciplines three clinics and olympus honors in the year they have 27 events this past year we're supposed to have 30 but where three were canceled due to weather the camden hunt has 28 people on average hunting 43 hunts in a year 62 people come in from other places to cap and 35 riders

» come in from outside of town for joint meets the horse and hound polo has up to 400 people at a time the camden hunter trials has 66 people this past year the camden hunter pace which is also off red fox road has 75 people the camden hunt horse show which is connected to hunt country had 40 people this past year and has had up to 100 people at a time the watery hunt has 25 per hunt and 130 members 50 people came in from outside for sporting week watery polo had up to 300 people the endurance ride which goes through hunt country which is off red fox road had 71 to 75 people last year inspecting up to 90 people this year the camden equine circuit has 30 to 60 people per horse show up to 100 it has 14 shows a year 10 of which are in kershaw county four shows are within an hour of kershaw cec's

» members have ranged anywhere from 69 to 80 to 100 members depending on the year the carriage company has 20 to 30 events a year for tours weddings and special events and rodeo you have up to about 300 people depending on the rodeos there are two different rodeos in town the steeplechase museum also rents 30 times a year typically 100 or more people for each event so what does this all mean to everyone it makes brings in many people for the weekend for restaurants gas stations stores hotels airbnbs this definitely needs to be spotlight it's just not just the carolina cup and it's not just skep there's hundreds of people coming in and out of kershaw county also in the comprehensive plan page 80 you need to remove clarksville and montgomery and add kershaw county because it's the kershaw count

» y comprehensive plan you need to spotlight historic homes and less focus on cookie cutter homes it's images in the comprehensive plan because that's what makes camden include the airport in this in this important document because it is part of kershaw county less trains and more planes let's have a balance in the comprehensive plan thank you for your time thank you very much ms canto and all those who participated all right gentlemen that concludes public comments one more more oh i'm sorry there's one more uh yes ned towel on aod oh forgive me ned come on up mr towel there we go thank you all for having me i'm just uh i'm glad i'm going last because i get to follow up on everything they all said i agree completely uh with everyone everything they all said about the airport and the equine c

» ommunity this uh this ordinance has been a the bane of mine existence and i think many of y'all's since the beginning it's been tough but i think it's been handled very well uh the airport is incredibly important to the county i know and to my family we've got i'd say my parents my family's customers use it about 30 times a year they've got jets to fly in so and that's just with our farm so when you broaden that out to the entire community the equine community i'd so it say it gets tremendous amount of use it is um it it is it has been a a tough issue to handle i know that in my house i cannot say the word airport overlay anymore when brant calls me i have to walk outside you know when we got this came across our desk initially yeah it was a for lack of better word a template and it needed

» a little kershaw county twist to it and um brant as the representative for district 2 i know he got 90 of the calls and complaints and uh did a lot of listening and i want to uh thank him for doing that and i know that a lot of the people that called me got sent his way now i apologize for forwarding all those calls and emails to you but you know i want to tell the equine community that this in my opinion this version of it absolutely covers all of the amendments that the the planning commission sent to kershaw county council and then i feel very comfortable with it and then i think that no no ordinance is going to be perfect do i love love it all no you know um it's like you know sausage making sausage it's not pretty but the outcome tastes pretty good you know so you know i appreciate wha

» t y'all done putting into it you know uh where i in y'all's shoes you know councilman jones councilman brazil when i served on city council i i definitely was uh opposed to most anything and everything that government did so y'all voting against it absolutely wouldn't hurt my feelings either but uh understanding the uh the way in which things look like they're going i just want the equine industry in the agricultural community to understand that i feel very confident that 90 of it feels good to me um and and that the council has done there y'all have done a great job in working through it because it is when i look at that land use table it is like a rubik's cube and there's nothing easy about it uh in addition to the agricultural community the equine community you've also looked out for the

» religious community right i know you've done a lot of work for uh malvin hills baptist church dany i think you've worked looked out for them as well and you know that that was a big issue and uh so i appreciate y'all y'all really digging into this um we're going to try to do as as uh expedient a process with the comprehensive plan as we did with this get it to y'all as quickly as we can and you know hopefully it'll go as smoothly as this although again like uh like making sausage it's gonna be ain't gonna be pretty but it's gonna be good you know we want i know derek is a stickler for how things are done and i've always enjoyed working with derek on these types of things because he has a way of looking at things from a lawyer but also very um realistically and the process is important as we

» ll so we're going to try to make sure that we uh we cover our bases we dot every i we cross every t and we send something to y'all that everyone in our commission is happy with and that y'all can work with you know there's a one of the major things that i i feel confident needs to be addressed that our agricultural community or i'm sorry agricultural sector has doubled since from 2017 2022 from 180 million dollar economy economic impact to over nearly 400 million a lot of that has to do with the cal main expansion, the New South expansion, and the general and the Prestige Farms new facility. So we have, and we have recently been voted number one for-profit in the country county, most profitable farming county in the country.

» So these are things that have happened since we began the process, and we're going to do what we can to get it all in there. And I want to thank you all again for your hard work, and have a good evening. thank you mr towel appreciate that that concludes public comments that concludes it okay all right thank you that does conclude public comments that takes us to item number 7a which is a public hearing before we get into it um just remind folks that we've got a few people signed up for the public hearing each speaker has 10 minutes the conversation and remarks need to be germane to the actual item for the public hearing according to county council's rules the first one under item 7a i'll open up a public hearing regarding much of what we heard about tonight this is an ordinance to amend the

» unified code of zoning and land development regulations in kershaw county the airport overlay district i'll go ahead and open the public hearing do you have anyone signed up mr chair there's one person signed to speak at public hearing on this matter mr richard osworth mr osworth did i pronounce that correctly osworth yes osworth okay mr osworth my name is richard Osworth, and I live at 768 Red Fox Road. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to speak on the proposed amendments to the airport overlay district and to enter into the record our concerns to the proposal. We are among any amendments to the proposal. We are among that. Oh, I'm sorry. We're going to start over again. Yes, sir. You've got time. Go ahead. All right. We have three points to make tonight.

» Point number one, we hate the proposed amendments to the AOD. One among you previously and rightly stated that there will always be a small percentage of the public who cannot be pleased by any amendments to the proposal. We are among that small percentage. We contend, however, that while most of the public is indifferent to the proposal, There are only a handful of people, that is five of you and three or two down here, that think this is a good idea. It's pretty apparent that the proposed amendments, if passed, will cause unnecessary hardship to the owners of existing horse farms on Red Fox Road. While the blame lies in part on the federal government, it also lies with you, the county council.

» First, the concept of extending the airport's rights to land beyond its own through the ever-increasing expansion of the runway protection zone to the point of now wanting to clear it of the homes of 50-plus years is a government taking without compensation. Second, the FAA regulating by advisory circular bypasses the rulemaking process required under the Administrative Procedures Act. Third, making the guidance and recommendations to an advisory circular mandatory as a condition of receiving grant funding is coercion, plain and simple. Fourth, deeming Red Fox Road landowners' homes nonconforming limits what can be done on those private properties, devalues those private properties, and threatens their insurability. That's a taking without compensation.

» The FAA is violating the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution provides that private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation. The FAA is violating Red Fox Road landowner's Fifth Amendment right, and because it wants airport improvement program grant funding, the council is a willing participant in the act. Point two, you have suggested that development, new or existing, is an encroachment on the airport. We, however, see it as quite the opposite. In 1971, 13.5 acres and a clear zone easement over an additional 30 more acres was enough, as so it seemed. Fast forward to 1989, when the clear zone became the runway protection zone, and instead of encompassing the airspace overhead, now reached down and touched the ground.

» Then, the distance calculations began not at the end of the runway, but 200 feet beyond that. And then, in or around 2016, the pasture-like fencing around the airport on the Red Fox Road side came down, landscaping cleared, and a 10-foot chain-link fence went up. And after its last attempt at on-site stormwater management, a slew of concrete culvert, I quote, spare parts, unquote, were left up against the fence along Red Fox Road It's an eyesore, it's offensive, and just plain disrespectful to the horse farm owners on Red Fox Road. Now, by your proposed amendments to the airport overlay district, again, the airport is in effect taking private property without just compensation. In short, the airport has encroached upon the Red Fox Road community and, to be frank, is not a good neighbor.

» In fact, some of its recent improvements make it a bite to Red Fox Road and Hunt Country community. Point three, the airport layout plan submitted to the FAA, which has received conditional approval, must be amended. The FAA-approved Ultimate Airport Layout Plan includes the installation of a medium-intensity approach light system and runway alignment indicator lights, a.k.a. Mauser lighting system, and the taking of properties at 517, 529, 539, 540, and 550 Red Fox Road in order to do so. When installed, the lighting system will cross over Red Fox Road, the concerns of which are threefold. First, and by definition, Mauser consists of a combination of steady-burning light bars and flashers. The sequenced flasher array consists of five white flashing lamps.

» collective flashing of all lights in the sequence flasher array gives the appearance of a ball of light traveling toward the runway. We got this definition straight from the FAA. The results from a quick Google search on the effects of flashing light on humans, I quote, it's alarming, flashing lights can cause a range of effects in humans, including discomfort, disorientation, headaches, nausea, and most significantly seizures in individuals with photosensitive epilepsy. Other potential effects include rapid blinking, muscle rigidity, and difficulty with fine motor control, flicker vertigo, visual discomfort, cognitive effects, and distraction and anxiety for individuals with conditions like ADHD or autism. Go ahead, Google it yourself.

» Second, will Red Fox Road be closed at Dicey Creek in order to accommodate the Mouser installation? We heard that it would. Will the airport be erecting a 10-foot chain-link fence there too? Will the only way in and out of our properties now be via Highway 1? Third, regardless of whether or not red fox road closes at dicey creek the taking of property on both sides of the mauser lighting system will be a community disruption drastically reducing our long-established red fox road hunt country communities cohesiveness surely this can't be your intent this is hunt country the sign on the corner proclaims it to be so even though the staff have given the concerned citizenry verbal assurance that the properties at 517 529 539 540 and 550 red fox road will not be purchased and the miles or lightin

» g will not be installed we want it in writing amend and resubmit to the faa the airport layout plan this concludes the three points we'd like to make on why this aod proposal is a bad idea i'm leaving copies of our remarks here for you and i'd like a copy to go to the recording secretary also for the record thank you very much thank you mr osworth mr dubose do we have anyone else signed up for this public hearing no further speakers for this public hearing no further speakers for this public hearing we'll close the public hearing on 7a for the aod gentlemen that takes us to item number 7b a public hearing authorizing a philo in relation to creed solar again this item is also on the agenda uh later for a vote we'll go ahead and open the public hearing mr dubose do we have anyone signed up ye

» s two speakers first speaker is craig bell mr bell craig bill from robert into the mic mr bell so just so we can hear you yes sir thank you um so uh i'm a beekeeper and remember we raise honeybees and make honey greenergy reached out about this creed project they were bringing the county was wondering if i was interested in keeping bees on their solar project after learning a little more about what they were doing and how we could work together i agreed and i'm looking forward to having the increased production by putting bees on their project we'll keep the our honeybees near the solar array the bees will travel over two miles gathering nectar from flowers and providing fruits nuts and berries as a byproduct of their pollination for wildlife i was just coming to speak in favor of the proje

» ct thank you mr bill thank you appreciate you coming out tonight mr debose who else has signed up next speaker is sandra dollar miss dollar ms dollar did not pronounce that correctly okay thank you please thank you um when i first heard that we were going to have a solar farm about a mile from where i live on cassett road i was delighted i am so thrilled that this county is undertaking a project like this because it is from what i can see there are no downsides to solar the sun is free. It's a resource we have a lot of here in South Carolina. Why not take advantage of it? We don't have to build any big nuclear plants or dig any wells or anything like that to make this work. It's quiet. It's clean.

» It doesn't disrupt anybody else because it's going to be well planned and set back from the road and well buffered. I'm thrilled, and I'm hoping that you will consider more projects, more solar projects in the County, because I think as we've grown, I've been down here 23 years now and this County has grown enormously in that time. We have a lot of needs. This is a great opportunity to bring revenue into the County and serve our citizens while lowering, hopefully lowering the cost of electricity and providing a real stable source of electricity as well. So again, thank you. Thank you for bringing this up and bringing it into our County. I hope you We'll do more of this and I look forward to being a neighbor to the Green Solar Project. Thank you very much. - Thank you, Ms. Dollar. Mr.

» DuBose, anyone else signed up? - No further speakers. - We'll go ahead and close the public hearing. Again, appreciate everyone's participation tonight in the public hearings. Gentlemen, that takes us to the next item for a motion, public presentation. This is Central Carolina Technical College update. I see that we have in the audience Dr.

» Kevin Pollack, board chair paul napper and several other members from uh foundations and otherwise do we have a motion i'll make a motion uh mr shoemake has a motion second thompson has a second any discussion take it to a vote all in favor raise your hand is unanimous miss hannah for the record yes sir mr pollock dr pollock would you please come up and whoever else you need to join you if you would please recognize any other uh chair or foundation members board members that you have We have Mr. Sid Isler here as well. Hey, Sid. I do have a hand up for you, counsel. Okay. They'll get that up. Thank you. I'm here. It's all positive. So relax and sit back. Nothing to complain about. I wanted to provide you, first of all, I want to recognize our chair, Mr.

» Napper, Paul Napper, who's done an awful lot of good for the college and for the county. fact that he's working hand-in-hand with all of us is been allowing us to do a lot of the things that we're doing and I'm going to share a lot of that with you so what I wanted to do is provide a little bit of an update answer any questions you might have but so some of our highlights the handout that you have one of the questions we get a lot of is how many students do we have from Kershaw County so if you look at this our enrollment for 23 24 and we call that an academic year starts in the fall and runs through the year we had 944 kershaw students that year this year our average for the last five years is 684 and please remember that also includes the pandemic time so we average over 700 about 700 stu

» dents a year but last year we went up to 944. the scholars money that you provide us uh we used a little bit less of it during the pandemic but we were able to roll it in and kershaw gets that money back in more than what is going out last year scholars from 23 24 43 students benefit from the scholars money that you put in and you put in by the way 25 000 a year they received 87 245 last year in scholars money so it goes right back into the scholars that are needed here part of the reason we didn't utilize all of it during the pandemic years because there was a lot of federal funding and we have to go through a process of federal funding first before we come down to local funding so it has all been utilized though and it was certainly helpful for our students to go through we invest in kers

» haw county and i'm going to just give you what we've done in the last few years i said this when i spoke at city council last week i said this has all happened during the time i'm here but that makes it sound very egotistical this is just what's happened in the last four years we put nine four hundred eighty four thousand dollars into the kershaw revolutionary war visitor center they came from the college. Century Boulevard landscape, we have a half a million dollars to redo that road. We will plan on doing that road, but you'll hear that we have other projects first, so there's no sense for us to do the road and then tear up the road by doing some large-scale projects. But the money is set aside and it's already been allocated to us from the state.

» Our signage project, we have $250,000 that we can utilize to put a new sign in by the main road before you come to the campus that would be allowing us to have better recognition and it also better recognize the campus and where its location is for people coming in the colonial arts center we are putting 995 000 into that facility as well part of this again is is every one of these facilities and things that we do have an educational component to them so we will be working uh hosting courses and classes and programs out there as well finally over the past two years we requested and were allocated 10 million dollars each of the last two years to do projects here in kershaw county we left it open-ended we put names of the projects as county as college expansion new county building a new colle

» ge building so that we could have some flexibility with that really what we're saying is we have 20 million dollars available to us to put into our campus we also have 22 acres that were purchased many years ago that's really adjacent to our college when you come in off the main road you go past the mcdonald's and you turn right and our campus is on the left it's the wooded area to the right of that right across from our campus so we have 22 acres a few of those acres we can't utilize because they're wetlands but we have a funding and the ability to do that so we are in negotiations right now with several large businesses and I don't feel comfortable sharing all the names of them at this time because there's nothing that's been signed. But we are looking at training facilities.

» We're looking at health care options. We're looking at programs that we could go out and do. Our master facility plan is currently being updated and we could either create a large building or we could create perhaps three smaller size buildings depending on the needs. We will probably have a better idea over the next six months what options we will have available to us but that is exciting for this area in a sense over that time frame we will have put 22 and a half million dollars or so into the county um just so you're aware and as you know the state is going through its budget right now we also requested additional funding this year as well the first ways and means committee did allocate some to this county but i wouldn't hold my breath yet until it goes through the entire process as ther

» e'll be a lot of changes i'm sure before that but we did ask for additional funding we are also asking you as well for some um additional fund not additional funding but to just continue the funding that you currently do with us we have a mill the two mil at local appropriation and we just ask that to continue and we do ask for the 25 000 to continue in the in the scholars program. It's utilized by the students that are here. The actual program is coming to the end this summer, and what we'd like to do is do a five-year renewal with you. We've asked each of the county chairs. I've spoken with the four counties. All four counties are agreeable to that, and we'd like to try to negotiate an additional five-year extension of that.

» If there's something that you don't wanna do with that, we could certainly do a different timeframe. But it is certainly benefiting the students here in the county. Couple other pieces, just so you're aware. everybody asks where do the students go majority of the students actually go to our kershaw campus only about 25 percent of them come to the college go to kershaw and end up going to sumter for a course or some finishing of their programs 35 of our students from kershaw are totally 100 online that is also a result of the pandemic but normally two-year schools like ours are 50 full-time 50 part-time students we are about 75 part-time students right now and reason for that is everybody's working and so they're only taking one or two classes so our students have a variety of options for th

» em to take courses what are they going to the Kershaw students from this last year we had students going into accounting basic mechatronics welding general technology pre-nursing certifications nursing management computer technology and 339 of them went in to take transfer degrees so they could go to a four-year school so our students go into a variety of things here from Kershaw I'm here to answer any questions you have we want to thank you very much for your support it's been very important for us and we feel that we have a great partnership with all of you mr. chair dr.

» Pollack I was gonna say before we have any questions chairman Napper anything you want to share excited about the new college that we're looking at bringing to Kershaw County and I like to thank you chairman you have really come forth and bringing prospective tenants to our new college And at this point, we have $20 million in the bank to start building. Hopefully, we'll get another $10 million this year, and we'll have a $30 million project coming to Kershaw County. Should be a game changer for the next 25 to 30 years. Thank you, Chairman. Dr. Pollack, Mr. Schumach, go ahead. Yeah, just a couple of things. This is near and dear to me. It's difficult for me to overstate, Dr. Pollack and Chairman Knapper, how much I value this Central Carolina school.

» so a couple quick things um i to do the job i have of course i have a doctor i went to law school and i say that not as a brag but to say the only reason i'm able to do that is because of a community college when i got out of the military i was working full-time and i got an associates in general studies it was my first degree and it was that degree that allowed me to transfer to a four year which allowed me to then go to law school had it not been for that stair-step ability which is also an affordable approach which i did not have the money to do it um the gi bill back then pre 9-11 was a much smaller gi bill so i would not have been able to do what i've done today without that college system my mother got her associates and became a nurse when i was 15 years old and it transformed the en

» tire dynamic of our whole family so our entire family from when i was an infant you know until my own success has been attributable to these types of colleges and i have two students that are both central carolina students they're both dual degree programs and for those of you that have students going that direction a little thing that I learned and this is no disrespect to our wonderful school system which I also very much support but you have two options if you want to take college classes a high school student AP or dual enrollment problem with AP is you have this all your class and you take this exam it's possible to be in a class where the exam is maybe not what you thought it would be and you end up taking an AP exam and not getting a certain number and that entire year I don't want t

» o say is wasted but you get no college credit for it with dual enrollment, you know all along how you stand and you'll know if you'll get the credit. My son, against my advice, when he was a sophomore, told me that he wanted to step out of AP, do no APs and do all dual enrollment. I told him it was a bad idea because I didn't know much about dual enrollment. And this is one of the few times he doesn't ever listen to these, so when I tell him that he's right, he won't hold it against me. He's going to Clemson in part because he was able to take these dual enrollment classes.

» The college saw them no differently than they did the ap classes his peers were taking they were treated exactly the same in gray point average um and they have you know again it's not that they have better teacher access but the people that will ultimately decide if he gets a college credit are the same ones teaching the class as opposed to some anonymous you know board of examiners one of his very good buddies has taken the mechatronics program and is already looking at jobs and you know around here i mean we want our kids to be able to come back here and that college is a huge part of it so whatever this body can do to help count me aboard because again i'm a huge fan for your work and thank you both for coming thank you just just for your own edification 37 percent of our last year stud

» ents were dual enrolled so i appreciate that very much thank you mr shoemake i can see where this is going it's so substantive mr mr chairman first can i get a motion to suspend the time limit under our rules tonight for the purpose of this conversation sure i'll make that motion is there a second second okay all in favor all right we're suspended go ahead just to make one more point mr shoemake 93 to 94 percent of our students has a ratio of graduation to work in other words 93 to 94 percent of our students depending on what you look at step off our stage into a job that's great thank you any other questions or comments mr jones it's good to have you here i'd just like to say how did you keep paul never so quiet in the beginning i took him to dinner first yeah he's just full you guys do a

» good job and i'm not going to go on as long as mr shoemake did he was giving a dissertation over there but bottom bottom line is my daughter graduated with a surgical tech and it turned her life around unless she doesn't use it she does with her husband he provides everything but uh but bottom line is i've seen the results that you guys do i have a quick question the scholarship money yes sir is it going to continue i'm hoping so that's what we'd like to have that's why we're asking you as formally this is a form of the sea - C-Average. - Yes, C-Average. It really does help our students.

» With that money, a majority of our students, along with Pell Grant money and a variety of other things, even now do not have to pay tuition costs because those are covered if they can come in with a C-Average or better. Yes, sir. - Thank you. - Thank you, Mr. Jones. Any other questions or comments? - I'd like to add a quick comment. - Mr. Thompson, please. - Thank y'all for being here. And Mr. Knapper, we are blessed. We are blessed to have the chairman of the commission be right here from Kershaw County. That is a blessing for our technical college and for us to have a trained and ready workforce. I too did a dual enrollment programs in high school, was blessed to have English and math credits when I went to college.

» And then also I got to see the inner workings when I served on the Technical College Foundation Board of Trustees. I got to spend three wonderful years doing that. I support everything the college does and I really appreciate y'all ensuring that we have a trained and ready workforce for the future. Thank you. I'll say this for Mr. Knapper because he's modest, but he will, I've heard him say this in the past. He's the only, I know he's modest. He is the only chair of the, in the history of the college not to be from Sumter. So the fact that you have the chairman from Kershaw is really a big thing. And he's, he's been, he's been chair since I've been there. He's a good man. Thank you, Mr. Jones, Mr.

» Tomlinson, any other questions or comments? So I'll, I'll wrap up then by saying it's been a joy to work with both of you gentlemen on these various companies that we've been recruiting and showing them how great Kershaw County is. Yes, these are confidential at the moment. These are very proprietary interests that companies have and where they might move or what they might do. But I am encouraged by the prospect of having regional training facilities for some of the top companies in the whole world here. So that serves people who already have jobs and need to be recertified in the particular job regionally in South Carolina or adjacent North Carolina or Georgia or Tennessee areas, but also the training that you would look at would heavily benefit Woolard.

» I was just talking with Director Morris last night on some of these opportunities, and you're talking about sophomores, juniors, and seniors being exposed to this right across from their campus between the dual enrollment credit and program and then direct exposure to working on some of the coolest stuff that's out there in the world, top technology, top equipment, top training. know it really puts Kershaw County on the map in many significant ways and so I thank you for that.

» There's no doubt that Kershaw County invests in education between the millage that you've been allotted to help with scholarships and otherwise and the requests you have about the scholarship program to focusing on these training facilities and training opportunities that brings jobs in and just for for one more general point I'm really excited about it because the FILO funds result in a benefit to everyone without additional or significant residential increase. Just as an example, we calculated FILO revenue coming in over the last two years to 18 months and then that's going to trend towards the end of 2025.

» Investing in education, this is going to be over a million dollars that looks like it's going to go towards the school district and then some comparable fund based on different calculations that will go to the county because businesses are coming and locating here. And so they're bringing jobs in that 10,000, 12,000 people keep harping on that leave every day and work somewhere else far away they get to work here now and then the students coming up we don't have to experience the brain drain and have them go to some other community and take the great moral compass that hopefully we've raised them with here in kershaw county at least that i've witnessed with many of the students and so i just wanted to share that and say thank you again for those who participate in the foundation and the oth

» ers in the room affiliated with central carolina and no pun intended central carolina is central to all development prospects in kershaw county in a positive way gentlemen any other comments or questions okay thank you so much thank you sir yeah appreciate that maybe they get an arts program in for two years what's that an arts music and arts that would have saved me a hundred thousand dollars okay gentlemen that takes us to item number nine a uh approval of minutes is there a motion like a motion will approve the minutes mr cato is there a second second mr thompson has a second any discussion on the minutes seeing none all in favor raise your hand miss hannah it's unanimous the minutes were approved all right gentlemen that takes us to item number 10 a this is going to be third reading on

» one that we've obviously read two times before and had the public hearing just earlier tonight this is the airport overlay district amendment and codification in the zoning and seek a motion is there a motion to approve mr chair i make a motion we approve third reading of the aod okay is there a second second mr schumacher we've got a motion in a second you have the four mr tomlinson uh yes mr chair i have i make a motion that we amend i have three amendments um that i would like to include um at their public hearing or meetings with the public again between staff public we've had the opportunity to sit down a few times um i have three additional amendments i would like to do two of them are kind of just housekeeping um and one is an amendment and i will go through um kind of mr jones last

» after first reading requested that we really break it down line by line and i agree it really helps with the transparency with the public so i will break it down line by line and then i will ask for a second and i'll get some commentary uh regarding d3 a quick point for clarification are you making a motion to take the three at once yes um you got the floor i moved to amend the aod text as follows In section 3.7, subsections 1 through 6, titled Permits, insertion of additional language so that the current Senate's approval of such submissions shall take into account the presence of airport land use zones and airport safety zones.

» will now read approval of such submissions shall take into account the presence of airport land juice zones and airport safety zones and all submissions sal to the extent practical locate structures in the least restrictive zone and as far as possible from the airport runway surface and aircraft flight paths my next amendment in section 3-7 subsection 1-8.3 titled non-conforming uses abandoned and destroyed or destroyed in the additional of the following sentence the abandonment and discontinuance time limitations of this section are not applicable to existing bona fide residences that become non-conforming due to these aod restrictions amendment number three adding a c2 conditional to table 3-19 a for accessory uses to residential uses in zone a mr chairman i now ask for a second and then

» i can expand on i'll second there's a second on the thomas amendment you still have the floor um so the the first amendment that i have as i said it's just a clerical error kind of a housekeeping note um in the section titled permits is to further safety is to further um watch over safety concerns and quality of life concerns by requiring when practical that structures new structures be cited on the safest portion of the property when considering flight paths and safety zones uses this is not a requirement it's put in there as a as a use of safety just for existing noise as we said tonight with a lot of the people who've spoke is for quality of life purposes going forward the next amendment is the grandfather amendment this amendment in section non-conforming uses or abandoned or destroyed

» provides further protection for existing bonafide residences that would become non-conformities under this ordinance. Most of the residences that would become non-conformities under this ordinance have been around for decades. A home is the most important thing most people will own and is our refuge and where our family memories are made.

» I believe that allowing existing residential uses to continue as non-conformities without further worry of the three-year timeline of outage is a fair and balanced policy and consideration to preservation and protecting existing residential uses the last amendment which is the c2 conditional use and accessories to residential uses and zone a was intended to be one in the second reading amendments when i had about four pages worth of amendments that i've lined out i i've skipped over that i apologize this is included just to clarify that second reading amendment um amendments that i advanced and but simply overlooked in the long list this amendment is for a policy consistency as c2 condition has been applied to all conditional uses allowed in zone a um mr chairman i i would further like to s

» ay that i really appreciate all of staff's hard work as i said before i appreciate all the community and their input i've had conversations with people that i have never talked to regarding and would not have the chance to talk to this has all been a community-based ordinance every single decision every minute of time spent on this ordinance has been based upon the residents concerns i have really enjoyed working with each one of you i know our staff has worked tirelessly hard working hours that would not have been if we wouldn't have had this aod to put together a community ordinance that is best for the airport to coincide while we protect and preserve our national natural resources our heritage of our community um especially the equine community and then we have one of our beautiful stat

» e parks here not far from the airport good all state park we have some beautiful streams and and creeks that run right through that area this is all an uh an ordinance that helps protect and preserve our natural resources at first reading i agree it was not perfect i do think now we have worked hard to make sure that we have answered and addressed every concern that the citizens have had and i am very glad to stamp my name on this third reading and approval of it thank you mr thompson mr schumacher the second yeah just very briefly um i appreciate all the comments uh not just today but yeah i think there's been what uh mr templar five community meetings on this four or five i think we ended up with seven or eight okay seven or eight i mean that that's a lot and it should be this is a this i

» s a big ordinance that helps protect our airport but also it protects those homes it protects horse country it protects those farms i think the amendments do all the things that we talked about and then today's amendment addresses the the one concern moscanto raised and grandfather's in most of that if not all those uses um i want to point out too you know to the to those who think that this is unnecessary and i respect that opinion again it's an agree to disagree situation but i would note that you know very recently we had a very large subdivision that was built planning commission said no to in part because of the airport overlay that hadn't been fully developed yet because it was in our comp plan and wasn't done and you know there was a lawsuit the county lost that lawsuit without going

» into the legal stuff the reality is a large development now exists because we didn't have a proper aod and those large developments are going to continue to come and what we don't want is neighborhoods right next to the airport in very dense dense populations right next to the airport and that's what we get without an aod so i appreciate everybody and the last thing i just want to say is obviously every citizen that came out that's participated this is because of them but three very specific people i'd like to just say thank you to is uh my fellow councilman brant tomlinson who's taken the lead on this project um our planning uh planning commission chairman ned towel who's also taken a lot of time and attention on this and our entire staff but particularly mr gerald blanchard who's been sor

» t of the staff lead on that these three gentlemen uh came together to make a very very good aod that will stand the test of time and protect our airport that's all i have thank you mr shoemake any mr jones yes if i may and that is much better mr thompson but i have some questions what about the uh the when we talk about the grandfather and we talk about a three-year term explain the difference in the two or explain give me some explanation clarification on each one mr debose can i get a legal um definition of that so often non-conform reads will have these discontinuance timeout periods you'll recall at second reading of a amendment was approved that pushed that to a three-year time period members of the community have expressed concern that even three years on a discontinuance might impact

» someone's home they're trying to sell it or it's tied up in probate that they would run the risk of a three-year discontinuance of use causing that home not to be viable as a single-family residence anymore this amendment that mr tomlinson is advancing as i understand it would remove that timeout period non-conforming single family residences are already allowed to be rebuilt under the base zldr regulations even if completely destroyed the base zldr treats non-residential uses in a different way as far as destruction but this essentially means that those non-conformities non-conforming homes are allowed to stay unless those people decide to leave and that was my next question so when they decide to leave what happens well right now uh a home could sit vacant for four years and then be reocc

» upied and it would be fine there's a horse farm yeah yes the homes accessory structures that are in existence are conditional uses what about new what about people buying property out there and they build new barns uh new barns right now under this ordinance are treated as a conditional use with the hurdle that uh scacby consulted the south carolina aeronautics commission to make sure that that use does not create a hazard to airport operations or so it's up in there well um i think it's probably a fairly low bar given the uh mainly for the topography of that area a lot of these properties are kind of below grade for the airport and it's a conditional use in all zones Correct. So zone A, B1, B2, C is conditional use within all zones. Yes, other than zone B, which is pretty permissive.

» Yes. Thank you. A, B1, B2, and C, correct. So if you want to have a horse in any of those zones or structure. Thank you. And let me finish up here right quickly. What about the taking of property? I think taking properties adjudicated. In a domain, is there anybody that's beneath the overlay district? Are they in jeopardy of having to get out of their home or relocate? I understand at present no one is not aware of any funding plans or... Mr. Jones, if I may. Go ahead. As long as I still have the floor. Mr. Joan Yields. To further your question, I had a phone call from Congressman Ralph Norman's office.

» it was an 84 year old woman who was very upset very kind sweet lady she wanted to know if she had to move out of her home the congressman's office wanted somebody local to bring it to everyone's attention and to consult with her and explain what the airport overlay district means to her to her and her home i don't have her address on me i do have her name i do know that she lives on red box road she's widowed she's 84 and um she was basically terrified that she may lose her home my question for you is this is there a list of names and tax map numbers currently in the aod that could potentially be taken is there a list russell the property is 550 red fox lane the airport overlay district is distinct from the airport improvement plan I mean, there's no list within the airport overlay district

» ordinance. I believe there are some capital improvement plans that have been discussed with the public that were approved by FAA that have property acquisitions, potential property acquisitions, far out. But, again, those acquisitions, as Mr. Templer has explained to the public, are contingent on county funding matches, and you all control the county purses. No council can buy in future councils. I can't promise what will happen 20 years from now or eight years from now, but I can certainly defer to the administrator on those details.

» But, yeah, there's a publicly available document, capital improvement plan, that's been discussed quite a bit that does have earmarked far into the future potential property acquisitions, but i think those would only be triggered by again other improvements that would require council funding as well so is there an amendment that requires the property owner's full agreement without a taking so anytime a local government tries to acquire property they first contact the property owners to try to acquire at arm's length that doesn't occur the eminent domain procedures act in south carolina does allow a process where the government can initiate an action to acquire property but that requires that an appraiser appraisal be produced provided to the landowner ahead of time and if they object to the

» appraisal they're free to hire an appraiser themselves or just come and give their opinion here's what i'm getting at this 84 year old widow doesn't want to have to do all that and i don't want her to have to do all that and my words to her would she would leave her house over my dead body and that is my rub with this airport overlay district everything that has been said and everything that brant's done has been positive but if it's one person that could be potentially forced out of their home this sweet lady is 84 years old my grandmother is 97. she's been widowed since 2011.

» if anybody dared touched her property they'd have one hell of a fight on their hands and it doesn't need to be her let's be real clear when we're talking about personal property and how this could affect others if it was your grandmother how would you feel i want each and every one of you to ask yourself that question tonight we need to understand what we're doing we need to understand what this could do in the future who's gonna be 84 in a decade when it's a new council when they do decide Thank You councillor Jones you will be 84 in a decade that is correct my point in saying this is I was in tears by the end of the conversation this is tough this isn't this isn't something I can agree to and and if you can that's okay everyone maybe you have a more complex understanding of the document b

» ut if i understand that there's a potential taking of an of anyone's home much less an elderly person that's just flat out wrong i yield okay thank you mr jones go ahead okay thank you so much councilman brazil i appreciate that it does words and let me say something else too i don't usually brag on members of county council but they usually brag on me but the thing that is i commend him he was been in hawaii for seven days he flew in at 4 30 he was in atlanta a couple hours before this meeting he flew in to make sure he was here because this issue was important to him on with red fox road now i want to just just a couple more questions what about the flashing lights this beautiful couple we're talking about when they stood up the aod doesn't put the flashing lights out there or control tha

» t at all the aod um doesn't affirmatively acquire anyone's property okay litigation that would have to be initiated some later day that's not designed or triggering a purchase of properties but it opens a door here i am here's where i'm at so we can for for time's sake because i'm not going to change my mind well first off let me say this and i want everybody to hear this there's been mention of uh trying to do things at airports that would be self-sufficient i don't think there's an airport that's compared to us that is owned by counties or cities that is profitable in the state of south carolina based on some information that i was told and i know mr temple and i appreciate his his uh looking into it for me when i asked him to and giving me some of that information and also the fact that

» we want to keep our airport we'd never have been in jeopardy of losing our airport that there's no there's no talk of us losing our airport and i don't think that was going to be that's not even in the equation but here's where i'm at and i'm going to stop if my colleagues can get these folks who live on that road who are directly affected by this issue i'll vote for it other than that if these folks on who are impacted by it don't support it i'm not going to support it but thank you mr chair members of council thank you for your time mr jones mr thompson before i recognize you anyone else that hasn't spoken yet i've spoken okay mr cato mr thompson go ahead yeah um and those russell i appreciate so russell also sent me miss bobby snyder's um number and i had a wonderful conversation with he

» r for a while she lives at 550 red fox road um and mr jones to your point this is this is about land use this is not about uh the airport expansion has nothing to do with um lights or anything else this is about land use and preventing high density development within critical zones of the airport nothing more not not about taking of property has nothing to do with any of that and if i can get some clarification so the last time the airport expanded was in the late 2010 time frame is that right 2014 2014.

» and at that point that would have been a an agreement to where they went to property owners and purchased property upon an agreement of taking as we discussed there was no aod in place and that happened this right here is strictly a land use regulation and it's for a reason of preventing high density development nothing further than that i yield mr chairman mr chair the shoemake yes sir yeah just just to be really direct in case it got kind of lost and uh the airport improvement plan is a totally separate thing than what we're discussing that's the document you were just talking about that would as mr dubose pointed out would have these contractual arrangements there is nothing in this aod that makes it easier or harder for airports to acquire property has no role in that so you ask does it

» make it easier there's nothing in this aod that makes it easier or harder for an airport to acquire property that's the airport improvement plan process which is a totally separate thing that isn't before us i just want to make that clear i have a question mr jones thank you mr chair and then i think i'll be wrapped up would you consider postponing this third reading and meeting with folks on red fox road make sure they have a clear understanding of what they're looking at before you pass it if you're asking me i think seven meetings is enough and i think i've talked about everybody on the road yeah but i mean i'm just that that's where i'm at would i'm asking would y'all be willing to do that to sit down with every concerned citizen on red fox road for one last time talk to them see if you

» because if you can convince them you can convince me you know when i ran for office 19 years ago since we're all going to brag on ourselves and talk about it i'm going to talk about me for a second when you bottom line is i said 19 years ago i'm going to you know run it's not gonna be about my agenda it's gonna be the people's agenda and uh it you know i truly believe my heart and i say this because i don't need y'all's vote anymore so i say this from my heart same thing i've always felt i feel like god put us on the serve to serve not be served i think too often we get in political positions they get in positions of authority and and you know bureaucrats and politicians think i'm not accusing anybody anything i'm just saying facts bureaucrats and politicians think the result of every issue

» they got to spend money and and and inquire regulation to be successful and that's exactly the two things i don't stand for is spending a lot of money and creating more regulations and making it hard for people in our community to build a shed or to worry about their properties because government's going to come in and you know form some kind of overlay district or whatever i think the airport needs that i do and i support airport i support i'm one of the reasons the airport commission is still in existence myself and sammy tucker so you're welcome airport commission because you wouldn't be here if sammy tucker myself hadn't fought to keep y'all and ron prestige didn't even state to that and kirby tupper many many years ago and and y'all do a great job and i thank you mr chairman therefore

» because you do a great job and you're a good neighbor and we're just going to disagree on this one but anyway thank you so much but but that that uh i stick that out there that if y'all have a group meeting i'll be i will certainly be there with you guys and talk to people we'll see what we can do thank you mr jones any further comments or discussion okay i'll wrap up the comments or discussion and we still haven't been able to reach uh mr tucker tonight no sir connectivity issue so um if anybody was going to take some property from someone's grandma i'd be right there with whoever wanted to fight about it and utilize every single wrestling uh and athletic capability i have to to whoop that person to say it lightly my grandma as long as we're talking about grandma's actually grew up not too

» far from where the airport is and her grave's not far from there either and so no one's trying to take anything from anybody's grandma that's either just a misunderstanding or misconception of what the vote is actually about tonight there is no eminent domain takings or other vote that's occurring right now for actual eminent domain and purchase of property as mr thomason explained that the county can have a vote on any piece of property in the future someone made the motion and aligned with state law to try and do that but you know That's not how this council operates. This is, in some ways, thinking on what Mr. Jones just said, this is a piece of regulation that, while we may not like it entirely, is necessary. Think about stormwater regulation.

» We don't like regulation, but due to a lack of stormwater regulation over an extended period of time, we've got several communities in Kershaw County that are having issues. And so we are now trying to figure out the best way to formulate stormwater regulation make sure that new developments as they come don't have those same problems, that people's property is better protected and more secure. And so having poured through this and trying to catch up for the short period of time relatively that I've been on council, I know a lot of work has gone into this. I can support it tonight on third reading. I think it's necessary. I think amendments have been made to accommodate existing uses or those which would be grandfathered in in the future, and for that reason, I would support it tonight.

» Any other comments or discussion before we vote? All in favor, raise your hand. We're voting on the amendment. Yeah, we're voting on the Tomlinson amendment first, and then we'll get to as amended if it passes. So all in favor of the Tomlinson amendment, raise your hand. If you make Connell, Cato, and Tomlinson in favor, Ms. Hanna. All opposed? Mr. Jones and Mr. Brazel. All right, now we've got the third reading as amended from the Tomlinson Amendment. It's still the Tomlinson motion on the original. Any further discussion on that before we take it to a vote? Seeing none, we go to a vote. All in favor, raise your hand. Hugh Make, Connell, Cato, and Tomlinson in favor. All opposed? Mr. Brazel and Mr. Jones opposed. Ms. Hanna, for the record, it passes on third reading.

» All right, gentlemen, that takes us to item number 10B, another third reading. This is what we've known as the FLO approval on CREED Under relevant state laws project creed is the solar project that has been mentioned in previous meetings and tonight. We have a motion I would make a motion that we adopted on third reading. Mr. Shoemake has emotions. They're second second. Mr Tomlinson has a second. Mr. Shoemake.

» Yeah, I'd like to make an amendment specifically I'd like to move to amend Project Creed's field ordinance and that exhibit to the field ordinance in the form labeled on the agenda package which is in the agenda package as proposed third reading version of the project creed filo ordinance and filo agreement identifying the project sponsors creed solar LLC and Populating the field agreement with final terms and property descriptions and I can explain if I get a second. Okay, we've got emotions or a second Yeah, I'm like a second. Mr. Brazel has a second understand. This is essentially a housekeeping motion.

» It is mr Chairman basically as we do with these projects This is and this is in the agenda packing in front of everyone But basically this just actually plugs in all these final terms and make sure that every T's crossed and I's dotted So it plugs in for example the project sponsor and the specific property descriptions into the ordinance itself Yeah, essentially in the draft documents creed solar LLC has not been fully identified and this amendment to handle that Okay, any other questions or comments on the amendment? Mr. Browse we have the second. Yeah, I'd like to think councilman she made from clarifying everything I was unaware of the Verification needs so I appreciate you doing that. Yes, sir.

» All right seeing no further discussion of questions We'll move the shoemake amendment to a vote all in favor. It is mr. Shoemake. Mr. Brazel. Mr. Connell, mr Tomlinson in favor all opposed. Mr. Cato. Mr. Jones opposed So the amendment passes that takes us to third reading as amended any further discussion questions comments Mr.

» Cato, could we just just for the public could we get exactly? what would be the yearly income to the county on this project and the number of years that this project is going to exist mr burgess they should have that did you get the question jeff yes sir it was the yearly amount and the number of years i know it's based off of um a megawatt so if you would share it's 3 800 um per megawatt produced so it's 48 megawatts you're looking at at 182 400 per year and the time period for that is a 40-year timeline 40 40 years i believe so that's how we ran the numbers who's going to be here in 40 years sorry mr kato still has a floor anything else uh i thought that this was a 30-year timeline when we started i've not heard anything about 40 years i can double check one of the projects was and i coul

» d very simply have just mis-transposed it so while we're doing that maybe there's a so what percentage of this this philo goes to school district what percentage do we have of that it depends on how the breakout comes from the treasurer's office so you're looking at it could be anywhere from 40 to 60 percent 40 to 60 i've just been pouring over the numbers recently on other projects and depending on the type of equipment type of investment and how it gets reported dor it could be anywhere from 40 to 60 and this is a little bit more than half a meal well no this is based off megawatt okay yeah but he said 180 000 that is a correction on 30 years 30 years it's 40 in the document okay that would be something that we'd probably have to look at correcting would you like to make an amendment woul

» d you like for one of us to make an amendment to change that tonight so we can move forward i would i would recommend okay i'll propose a amendment on page three of the creed philo agreement that the phase exemption period be 30 years instead of 40 years um second well mo we've got well we do have a motion in a second but we also have representatives from the company present yes sir and i just want to make sure that any amendments align with the negotiation that's already occurred with you all or if we need to take an executive i'd like you to align with what we have in front of us in the ordinance that's great but you can't bind the company to uh i'd ask that we just bring them up and ask that's fine too on third reading yeah just one second my name is dayton riddle i'm an attorney represe

» nting the company the original negotiation was for a 40-year term um and that's been consistent over the over the drafting of the documents throughout the entire process so it is 40 years it was just misspoken i'll withdraw my motion leave it at 40. okay and so i just want to make sure everybody's on the same page because we had a motion in a second before i put on the table if you're going to withdraw your motion is everyone satisfied with the documents as stated with the 40-year term the company is satisfied okay and mr cato i want to make sure i was just i don't understand why there's a difference between the two i was under the understanding it was 30 and then i seen it 40 in the documents and that's why i questioned it i mean i just want to make sure that whatever you do is done right

» i just want to track down i mean where'd you get that understanding from so we can make sure sure thank you it may have been a verbal and i mean i don't i don't blame councilman no can't tell at all i mean all the previous ones have been for 30 years so yeah and you've had i mean before i got here you had three or four came before they came through none of which had the um the extra rental connection agreement correct other philo agreements are only for 20 so 20 and 40 or 20 and 30.

» yeah but some are renewable is that correct correct yeah upon further discussion um just uh to clarify you know um on the outset legally you are allowed to do a 40-year term under the under the terms of the fee agreement or under the terms of the fee statute you're allowed to do a 40-year term um obviously the company would prefer to do a 40-year term if that's something that the county council is amenable to if they're not amenable to it the company would accept 30 years however they would much prefer a 40-year term if that's okay with you yeah well i mean for the for the reasons previously stated i don't think we're gonna lose this deal tonight um based on and we just want to make sure you're understanding that no one's made a misrepresentation to you mr cato because it definitely lands i

» n your area and so you'll be reporting to folks on potential votes or not and how it impacts the area i personally have no objection to additional 10 years of philo in an area that's next to an existing farm unlikely for residential development already has an interconnection agreement and will result in an additional 180 000 182 000 if i heard that correctly um to kershaw county any other questions or comments after the withdrawal of uh vice chairman browser no i'll withdraw it um the reason i made the motion was due to the concern but it's it's merely a contractual thing it's not going to look any different it's not going to feel any different it's not going to make a different impact on the community so i'm okay with 40 years and um i can support that tonight no no problems at all okay an

» y further questions or comments and y'all you have to hold my hand one second did we vote on the shoemake amendment we did and it passed okay that's what i thought i had a check mark right here i want to make sure that it passed 4-2 because y'all threw me a little bit of curveball the other thing i want to mention before we go to a final vote is I was really glad that Mr.

» Bell came out tonight so I have beef cattle which I do I try to do as a business but I have completely amateur bees I've got the stings and pictures of stings to prove how amateur and how how much I thought I could just pull one of these YouTube moments and go out there and be one with the bees and be zen and it don't work that way at least not for me that maybe it's the way I smell I don't know but I tell you what after we started doing bees on our little family farm we put in four hives the production of fruits and vegetables and virtually anything that would need pollination it just tripled it was amazing to me and i'm really excited that you have this opportunity in kershaw county to expand bee production pollination we've planted perennial flowers and i've actually consumed lots of bel

» l honey at the farmer's market or otherwise we've we've come into it and use it regularly on biscuits and toast and all kinds of recipes and so i was really glad to see that a local business could work with creed solar on this to have a pollination field that's going to benefit not just that area but they will travel quite far as i've noticed mine whenever the flowers die down in my area they're going over to the neighbors properties and hitting various flowering trees or plants and so i think that was a great addition to this project as well any other questions or comments before we pull it to a vote all right thank you gentlemen thank you mr burgess all in favor of passing uh on third reading uh the philo amendment as amended raise your hand we've got mr shoemake mr brazel connell and tom

» linson in favor all opposed we've got mr cato and mr jones opposed for the record miss hannah thank you all right gentlemen that takes us to item 10 c this is going to be second reading this will touch on um laser form i'll just give a brief summary but it's a a joint multi-county business park with lee county as required by state law for ssrc credits and fellows and otherwise do we have a motion i'll make the motion mr brazel has the motion is there a second second mr jones has the second mr brazel you have the floor uh this is again just one of those technicalities that we have to do to create a multi multi-county business park it's uh more of a paper trail i think was it 99 percent goes to kershaw county and one percent to lee is that some that's some sort of state law that we have to fo

» llow is that it's well it's standard 99.1 i mean i've seen 97 3 or 98 but the the gold standard is but this is something as a county we have to do yeah um to place the property into a multi-county park and to allow the industry to reap those benefits um yes it's a technicality thank you and lee county for what it is worth is passing a counterpart um ordinance they also have to bring it into the joint park by ordinance as well thank you good neighbors thank you mr brazel any further comments or discussion seeing none we'll move to a vote on second reading all in favor on second reading yeah jimmy second yeah jimmy second okay all in favor on second reading raise your hand it's written ms hennett's unanimous for those who are present thank you all right gentlemen that takes us to item number

» 11a placed on the agenda by councilman jones representative for uh from engineering study for pecan orchard is there a motion i still make the motion all right is there a second i'll second this is you make seconds mr jones yeah russell walked out at the right time what's your motion or is it just is it just to have someone come up and speak yeah first of all let me say this I made the motion that we have a representative from an engineering study come up, we'll speak to him, and there's the possibility of a vote, possibility. - So you'll be making a subsequent motion? - Yes. - But do we need, I don't think we need a motion for Mr. Jones to ask a representative of the county to come up here and speak. I think he'd just do it. - Yeah, well, thank you. And you know, here's the thing, too.

» You know, the chairman and I talked, and I had it under discussion, but we talked about leaving it all under new business, you know, for the sake of time and cleaning things up a little bit, too, well as as long as we were able to get the the information out there that i was interested in so so all in favor of having this um representative come up raise your hand well just quickly do we have to have i mean i just for future business i mean i don't think that is that required i mean since he's got a second and he's on the floor yes he asked him someone to come up without a vote as i understand it we are required to we haven't voted uh on having the person coming up otherwise a council member in particular could have 50 items on the agenda right but i'm saying like asking someone to come up a

» nd speak to an issue under discussion that doesn't require a vote i think it was going to tie directly to a funding request later which is i think the subsequent vote yeah exactly that mr mcgown will thank you very much for your concern on that and trying to clear that up i think mr chairman's got us on this one i actually think you're on you're you're just now of course i'll defer to mr dubose well yeah but i'm going to lead it off my understanding has been consolidated under this for the purpose of a potential vote coming out of it um rather than have a discussion and then re-discussing it under new business yeah or any potential votes it was essentially combined i'm going to start it off all right the question directly is vote required for a particular person to come up and present prior

» to any request for funds no i don't think so under a discussion item okay there we'll go all right so you've got the floor mr jones okay and i may amend that discussion i had to take a vote probably will but you don't know what my amendment will be yet um some while back you know we were talking about the storm water and the pecan orchard and i had asked mr temper do we have them on do you have some pictures on the screen i wanted to yeah this is the pecan orchard i i don't know if you guys can see it in the audience but it's on your screen and uh this was after one of the storms they've had i've seen it like this quite a few times as you see you have two animals over there and i believe this home this may be where the septic tank was filled and overran and if you got another can you move t

» o another slide because i want to move along quite quickly look at this this looks like a pond and this is coming down the road and it's almost in some way it's part of someone's front yard as well too just bleeds over into it go to another one here's another this is this is niagara falls that is well this is that is absolutely almost where somebody's driveway is got another slide as you can see the water running down how strong the water is and how it's tearing up everything in its path keep moving okay let's stay right there for a second folks listen here's here's where we're at back in 1998 1999 the county took the pecan orchard under its jurisdiction mr.

» Templer this County Council we all inherited it okay now we've got some storm water issues and they've gotten worse when you've got when you've got people's homes that their foundations are weakening that their septic tanks are running over because the water is flowing over top of it when we have a subdivision like this that their quality of life not only that the possible mold that has gotten into some of those homes causing sickness and yet I do appreciate the fact that whenever this first occurred mr.

» Templer said I'm going to declare a stormwater emergency but with this this neighborhood because bottom line is we got 2.3 million dollars into stormwater we had 2.6 but we took 300,000 out to go ahead and pay for our study which is what what we have here tonight and that's why I wanted these you here as well to talk about it but this is what this subdivision has been faced with and I'm I would be absolutely great with making a motion and passing to 1.2 and go ahead and do and follow every every uh guideline that this um engineer firm did for us it's a 200 000 study and i just don't see another study go sit on the shelf and collect dust you know there's a sense of urgency here you know just by nature you know nature controls it but there's a sense of urgency here and uh i'll ask you as mr u

» m brazil so eloquently said about his grandmother a beautiful lady i also knew chairman cornell's going what a beautiful lady she was as well but i'll ask you in the same manner um what if it was your home what if you lived out there now every home is not affected the same but i think we you know as i said when mr templer offered to do that uh the council decided no we're going to do a study so we pulled 200 000 out i believe was it 200 300 mr templer well we had there were two different items in there and it was three hundred thousand dollars uh or 285 that council authorized uh meets you spend and that was a stormwater study um that was conducted as it relates to stormwater problems overall in kershaw county and then we had the engineering for pecan orchard that went forward so that's goi

» ng to be the bulk gotcha funding gotcha it was like 130 000 that was for pecan orchard and the balance was for the yeah i think it might have been inverted but that was a smaller uh for the the study all right well let me let me get to thank you mr both of you thank you very much listen here's where i'm at we have maybe five six neighborhoods that that council had reminded me of that have these stormwater issues but i'll tell you this there's not a single neighborhood in this county that is as bad as this and somebody said we got to figure out where to start i said you prioritize you start with the worse and then you keep moving forward till you get them all taken care of you know we have an obligation responsibility to to these families that are out there and you know when i talk to a coup

» le of neighbors and they say well jimmy nothing's going to change we appreciate what you're doing nothing's going to change they're not going to do anything i mean i'm just quoting what people say i i just can't let it sit there i think this council is better than this i think this county council cares about people and that's why i know this county council will not vote with me to support doing this tonight but that is exactly why i will make a an amendment or whatever a separate motion that will ask after we hear from mr temper and after we hear from the engineer that the finance committee take this upon themselves and come back within two weeks with a plan even and i know it's been talked about i don't want a phase plan but it's been talked about but a plan or something back to this count

» y council first take a vote folks listen this is a personal this is health safety and life this we talk about people's properties all i'll ask is each one of you out there how would you like it if that was your front yard just think about it and you know what's so crazy and i said i'm going to do this one we'll find 10 million dollars to do what we want to do with it but we can't find the money or we know we won't spend the money to do what's right for these folks in pecan orchard and yes they're in district four that was brought up on this council well that's in your no it's not my dad blasted district whole county is my district and it always has been it always will be but i i feel like in my heart that these these folks up here do care i choose to believe that they do care and that i don

» 't get too personal with this um but i'm i'm asking you all to to support this tonight to go before the finance committee after we hear from the engineer miss templar and that um they come back to us within two weeks with with a start or a completion or whatever and uh that that i would really appreciate mr temper did you have someone here represented from the company i do i have joe and dylan from michael baker international could they come up please sure this is also you will find in your emails you've been sent a copy of this uh engineering report i think it's all of 251 pages if i could mr chairman yes i'll yield to you go ahead if i could just ask you a question for clarification i was involved in the community meetings with um with gerald and danny and myself and councilman jones and

» it was my understanding that once we found a clear path forward we were moving on it is is that where we're at because it's been i don't know if it's been a few months now since we've discussed it um can you give me clarification as to where we're at and how we're moving well the overall price is is going to be something um we're gonna have to chew on and but that was the goal was to get the engineering to understand the scope of the project and these gentlemen can describe that to you tonight um i can tell you that the impact to all of the neighbors is just simply not there but moving forward uh this this project has a price tag of around 1.2 million dollars which way exceeded what i thought but fact remains it's it's it's still a project this is the uh this is the reason why we have been

» serious with stormwater uh over the past few years of course now in all fairness this was pre-stormwater yeah this is a different deal we get this confused with stormwater yeah we can't we can't compare this to the i mean thank The way we develop property post-2000 versus how this was developed is night and day. We all know that. There's no detention pond. There's no way to carry water from a paved road to a detention pond. It's a dirt road. This is – there's a word for it, but I don't want to say it. This is a non-typical situation, a non-typical road structure, and it was probably built with a John Deere tractor and a box blade.

» so my my recommendation was is this is a county road is that is yes correct so my recommendation was that was after we uh surveyed and called 8-1-1 and all that fun stuff is utilize county equipment to make the ditches bigger um crown the roads and rock the roads we could have probably done that for 200 000 i was looked at like i had two heads and uh the idea was shot down said it simply wasn't going to happen so here we are with an extra million dollar price tag we've got to fix the if here's where i'm at i'm not afraid to tackle the project as a county i'm not afraid to to bring on additional help or a short-term contract with uh someone to help i mean all we've got to do is dig ditches um crown roads and put gravel out you got an engineer standing there yes yeah i know i got one that i g

» rew up i know you did i'm just joking um and you did a good job but my point being is upon their recommendations we can do the work or we could pay somebody to do the work is that a fair statement i can assure you that we do not have the ability to do what they have outlined in this study in-house we we the intensity in other words correct and because we have around seven individuals on a good day that are out there doing ditch work and other types of things throughout the county and the concern was that it would draw away from that sure but there's some companies mr brown's the local companies that could do it well i mean i think we can do i think where there's a will there's a way i know we can do it um but let's hear from the gentleman that's here thank you for being here we appreciate y

» ou being here hear me okay good job as well too thank you um so i guess just general overview of what we did or what we were asked to do we looked at the neighborhood analyzed the existing conditions and then focused our efforts of what can the county do within their existing right-of-way to maximize storage and convey runoff to the ultimate outfalls and alleviate flooding on adjacent properties so essentially what we've done is we've proposed various projects throughout the neighborhood to improve the stormwater and get it to their ultimate outfall safely and as part of this what we've also in the process of doing is we're helping the county apply for a south carolina rural infrastructure authority grant to help with some of the construction costs if successfully awarded so that applicatio

» n is due to the ria on march 17th so we are actively helping prepare that to submit so what that would ultimately entail is if if successful the RIA would cover 75% of construction costs and the county would be on the hook for the additional but we could start our work now and reimburse ourselves when the grant came in I'd have to check to verify with our grant folks for that answers we've kicked the can down the road no pun intended you guys did a great job we've kicked the can down the road time and time again and this doesn't get any better and these people would if a fund if it thunders outside they start cringing I mean just nobody should have to live like that and you know they bought their homes in good faith nobody nobody told them this was gonna happen thank you mr.

» Jones it was a your motion any other questions or comments mr. browser do you have anything else oh I was do you have more to speak on he's done yeah I got plenty of questions do you have like a three phase um like scope of work or single phase what do you have as a proposal what we were originally scoped to do so come up with the prepare the original um study which is what we've done that was kind of phase one phase two was then developing these projects which we kind of also lumped into phase one to get ahead of it um so then phase two would be taking what we've presented discussing with county and then basically developing construction plans ready to be then constructed and built to improve the flooding within the neighborhood so would there be any problem with ditching blackberry place

» holly berry and uh the the bottom third of crab apple in phase one and um purchasing and developing an attention pond on 421 lot 421 and then later phase it the plum thicket and guillotine's paved so what do you see as far as a construction phase do you think we should do it in a single phase project so there's what we've kind of developed there's three main outfalls within the neighborhood um so projects were kind of geared towards improvements within each of those outfalls so there's one on crab apple way um kind of in between um holly berry and the furthest western road drawing a blank on the name there gian or plum thicket sorry between plum thicket and holly berry on crab apple way there's outfall one and then outfall two is by 417 and 419 blackberry place at the corner on the i guess

» south eastern side of the neighborhood and then up towards along blackberry there's an existing cross-line pipe and runoff being conveyed kind of across that property on the corner just south of latchicott so those are the three main outfalls so we had various projects um proposed within each of the outfalls so you could theoretically phase some of that work from a construction standpoint but what we were ultimately proposing was to go ahead and show everything at once and not phase construction well i think if we can get a 75 grant then that would be the way to do it clearly and do a single phase construction the bulk of the problem is sediment ditches are full you got you got concrete boxes that are junction boxes that are that are full there's no way for the water to move from point a to

» point b uh throughout the whole subdivision so um i didn't i had no idea that there was an opportunity for 75 grant i think that's wonderful and i'm glad to hear that when will we hear back if it's a march 17th deadline they have an eight to ten week turnaround time on selections all right well that's a long time that's a long time but that's a lot of money and if we can get a grant for 800 and some odd thousand dollars it's worth it and i I know, but you know what I'm, listen, this same situation could be in Bethune. Oh, Mr. Jones, please, you'll. Yeah, yeah, I'll go ahead, Mr. Jones. We were kind of going back and forth, Mr. Chairman. Thank you so much for your keeping us in line.

» Danny, this could, and I'm not picking you out to pick, but this could be in Bethune, and I feel the same way as I feel right now. This isn't about where it's located. This is about the people need help. We have an opportunity to help some folks. We won't be able to make it perfect, but we can certainly create and and and make their life somewhat better and i just don't i'll be honest with you i just don't get the pullback i don't understand the pullback you know on on this is too much money because we certainly spend millions of dollars on whatever else we want to spend it on but mr brasil that's where i'm at and uh thank you for your input and thank you for driving that area and looking at it and checking it out and appreciate that very much yeah well we're in it together i want to see it

» happen too i mean i'm i'm i'm right there with you but if if there is in fact an opportunity to cover that much of the project through a grant then i am for that and i am for moving as quickly as possible we could pay ourselves if we could if we could even pay ourselves back we start immediately and he could and he could let us know that question maybe i'll check it on that okay thank you yeah that'd be great to hear back on that what i'd like to do mr chairman if uh if i could since i still basically have the floor well i do have the floor um is here for mr templer if he has anything he would like to say pertaining to this so just um i was uh was sent a text that if we start the work prior to award of the grant then we will not be eligible for reimbursement yeah well then we need to we nee

» d to wait we will not oh we will not be no sir and that's you know we we would have to um on that grant piece we we just met on this the other day uh with michael Baker and my staff, we have the obligation to identify those funds, the grant match, in writing to the RIA. Just to let Council know, if we choose to go further down this grant path, that I'll need some sort of either tacit approval or voting approval. I'll leave that to Mr.

» DuBose to allow me to identify those funds and commit those funds to this grant um if we go down this road when is the deadline march 17th is the um submittal date hey miss you may think about this you know what if we don't get the grant we're just going to forget about the the photo no we're going we're going to cross that bridge when we get to it but i don't want to i don't want to miss an opportunity for 800 and some odd thousand dollars i mean it just that doesn't make good business sense so i mean i've been with mr jones since the beginning we're We're gonna figure this out, there's no question. - Gentlemen, let's let other council members have an opportunity to be heard who haven't been heard yet. Any other comments or questions? - Well, I was just gonna say our next meeting.

» Sorry, Mr. Chairman. - No, go ahead. - Our next meeting is March 11th, so what I would suggest, and in line with what Mr. Jones said earlier, is have it go to the finance committee. We can take a look at where funds are, talk to staff, talk to Ms. Tremple, come back with a recommendation, of course, subject to your approval.

» And then, obviously, we could take a vote on the 11th whether to approve and how much to approve for a 25 to hold back for the grant and then on the 11th then we submit the grant on the 18th i can tell you personally i i could not support any funding expenditure knowing that there's a grant out there and i know that we hate waiting but i mean we got to we got to see if we can get grant money because that changes everything as long as we're going to to do something mr kato i agree with mr jones we've got to do something i've never denied that i also agree with both of you um and i agree that i think that this does need to go to the finance committee to have a proactive approach between now and the time that we look into this funding so i i personally think that's the way we need to go and as

» a reminder uh my regulation of the rules is we don't need a vote to send something to finance mr jones you've already asked for it so that's a referral to finance and we'll get in touch with mr uh tucker and make sure that that gets that happens thank you what i'd like to say mr chairman to the people that are affected by this is that we're not going to forget you we're not going to kick the can down the road i know you may think that's what's happened tonight but it but it isn't i believe this council is truly truly committed to figuring out how to start and i'm going to believe in that till otherwise just see otherwise so thank you colleagues for that and i'd like to just make sure that my neighbors and my friends just i hate to use trust but to trust me that it's not going not going to b

» e it's not going to fall by the wayside something like mr brownsville said danny said something and even derek something's got to be done so let us exhaust the bureaucratic bureaucracy let us look into the grant and we will be doing something soon thank you thank you mr jones mr thompson anything okay just two questions i have for for staff primarily when will the overall study be complete i understand we have some engineering or specific engineering done on peach orchard but is there any other uh remaining study portions to be done um jonathan get the status of that he was working closely with the group mr chairman uh what study are you talking about there's two concurrent studies going on one about pecan orchard and then one county-wide the county-wide study so the So we've progressed as

» far as we can until we can meet with the ad hoc committee to help guide our engineering firm into What kind of level of service that they believe the county should offer its residents? so once the ad hoc meets and starts discussing the needs of Kershaw County and How they envision it to look? then the study will be Will continue to move forward.

» Okay, so assuming that you you have the meeting within the next month or so How much longer will the study take after that? I believe it's a there's there's three one-month meetings So at least three months to get through All the recommendations and probably another month or two to finish the study and then by that time we would have an idea of Somewhat overall spend or would you have to wait for the engineering? to have an idea of overall spend required to handle the rest of the county. No, by the end of the study, you should have an understanding of if there is going to be a fee structure, how that would look, how much money it should bring in. The complete study should be done in about five months. Mr. Chairman, if I may. Well, I've got one other question, but yes, Mr.

» Jones, if it's directed to this gentleman. If it's directed to everybody here. You know, we have folks standing on the edge of a cliff. This has nothing to do with the pecan orchard request. You have two different animals here. have an a and a b and i don't like the way people have been treated i'm going to slow down a minute but this is two separate issues i don't want to convolute it with the stormwater overview i'm talking about the pecan orchard as if i would be talking about a residence in bethune or wherever else if if they were living on the edge like these folks are and as i said we're better than that and then to just mix it up with with as i said that that's fine what jonathan you guys are doing but it has nothing to do with what we're trying to do with the pecan orchard okay well

» since i still have the floor actually i view them kind of tied together because based on projects or quotes or mobilization or who actually ultimately gets bids there's dollars to be saved in doing these projects that's what i'm primarily interested in and to that point i was going to ask mr templer on these ria grants we've had success with one recently primarily because we had mr yao advocating heavily for sewer related grants 10 million dollars that the county didn't have to raise taxes for or fees for otherwise to fund that we received from the state correct so i'm just wondering how much success have the county had previously with other r.a grant applications and i understand each one is going to be a case-by-case basis but just generally whenever you submit i know we've done it before

» is it 30 50 100 how are you hitting with ra we have to this scale, we have spoken with RIA in the past, we being Vic Carpenter and I, but they were very amenable because of just the rural settings we have. So this is kind of what they're geared for. This is why they exist for items like this. I have seen them deny some things in Kershaw County, but it was for a special purpose tax district as it relates to a water provider in the upper part of the county so but with this these types of grants these types of needs to me this is what specifically they are for in follow-up questions that is in your experience would ria like to see a holistic application that says hey this is all the money we need related to stormwater or do they want to see it piecemeal and which way they're going to be more f

» avorable to to granting us the funds to benefit these folks yeah the to do look at this and then on top with the the other added layer saying look we are going to look across our county to make sure that we are addressing this these issues and preventing them or correcting to me that looks very favorable so gentlemen i'll just share having lived at the state house for two years um there's a best way to go about doing these things and whatever they prefer i mean you you know the staff there at ria and we know some the board members um just between now and next meeting and we should probably consult with them a little bit more in detail and see which method is easier for their staff and most likely get us to get us the most funds possible for kershaw county so you're saying mr chair that we'r

» e going to combine the two if i may no no that's not what i'm saying what i'm saying is i think we need to gauge the preference of the state entity that we're seeking a substantial grant from and make sure that we align our applications with their preference exactly so that we get the best result i say we apply for the pecan orchards grant money and we move forward chairman if i may intervene yeah go ahead mr bradley um our dear sweet administrator danny would it um be too complex since this is we did go into this engineering study as a and a b can we can we keep the appropriation separate and then have a total use that could be clearly defined as to we know what the price for the pecan orchard is we have a actual firm number 1.2 million is what we're being told is that correct but that's a

» budget that's a budgetary number that's as a county that's about as good as we're going to get we're going to get a budgetary number until it goes to bid so can we apply for that and then can we also apply for the B that gives us a total and that way when it comes back to us there's no way for anything to get intermingled or intertwined so that the projects can move forward clearly and there not be a tangled debate amongst this dice but what I'm going to do and what I've made a note to do is just reach out to Bonnie at RIA and just specifically have this conversation I I know there's a deadline for this and I I think this grant itself recycles in-- - How long, Joe? - Who's gonna do the grant writing, Mr. Templer? - Michael Baker, and they will do the submission.

» But yes, I'll do my fact-finding to beat the clock for the submission and get everything I need to know to maximize the efficiency. So if there is an aggregate of funding that we can get for an overall larger scope, to your point, Mr. Canale, If we can pull in more dollars, but I also understand your... Well, I just don't want to turn into a fight. Right, right. You and I and Gerald and Jimmy stood before, what, 75 people, 100 people, and made a commitment. And I want to stand good on that commitment. All at the same time, I completely support our chairman's overall objective of making sure that Kershaw County has a holistic view on what we're doing.

» i what i say is we do both and we do both clearly not to be confused or intertwined with one another it is a similar problem but again it's apple and oranges if it's a if it's a subdivision with issues that's paved with asphalt and has curving gutter and has a detention pond that's not the pecan orchard the pecan orchard has substantial issues because of when and how it was built and how it was approved prior to the county being the approval agency i mean we all know that so we just want a clear path forward we want a clear path forward for everyone and i don't disagree with any of the comments made tonight i think everybody's roughly on the same page i just don't want it to be a point of contention i'd like clear direction given to us by you our administrator and a clear dollar figure for

» each project and keeping them separate and looking at the holistic view of kershaw county's um improvement plans or preventative maintenance plans or whatever they may be that's my goal any further questions or comments all right looks like no votes needed mr jones if there's no actual request for funding and by reference to the finance committee i think you've got your request thank you thank you gentlemen all right gentlemen that takes us to item number uh 11c comprehensive plan update mr templar if you could give us a brief update i'll just have a few comments excuse me seek a motion for that i'll make the motions or second second second all in favor this unanimous was handed by those who are present mr temple if you would please give us a brief update so as as you heard some of the publ

» ic comments tonight the the draft is uh available um we again i think it's important to note that it is still just a draft i know there's some typos in it i found those as well as i read through it so we will continue to move along with that there's it's there's a long process ahead um the the public input has it is going to be important i still have some input that i think i need to have in there just reading it so i feel like a few items are not stated clear enough or not dated often enough uh one of those items were stormwater but understanding that this is a guiding document not a regulatory document as will be the zldr so this is still as i've said with the aod many many times it's wet cement we have opportunities to still make changes and adjustments okay thank you mr templer i put th

» is on the agenda primarily to address some of the feedback i was hearing from the planning commission we had chairman towel here tonight thank you for your remarks earlier on various items that um came before us on this agenda but i think before we actually set this up on a agenda before this body we'll probably look at another two plus months somewhere around there for the planning commission to do their work they've been very deliberate on a lot of the aod work and i believe they're also going to be very deliberate on the comprehensive plan update and recommendations as we've heard before these are folks who volunteer in the community and who have taken on the mantle of making recommendations to county council and giving feedback that's very helpful and we got to lean on them hard unfortu

» nately it's probably been the hardest lean in the last four or five six years or more and it'll happen again as the statute requires updates from time to time but through some of the goal setting documents and other things i think we can make the comp plan in zldr a little bit more proactive and easy to change when needed and so it's just a general update no vote required just as a heads up that i think the planning commission is going to need a little bit of additional time and so staff will be flexible and also council members that also accommodates additional meetings for the public and additional attendance at public meetings and comments therein any other comments or questions on this topic quick question what's the deadline for us to have a cop the cop plan third reading done by i don

» 't have that deadline um can we hear from the chairman of the yeah well ideally sooner you know so so the reason i ask you is obviously the other important piece of that is the zldr rewrite which we can't do until we get the comp plan and i'm eager to get that done as well but you know i don't see any reason why you know and i know mr tyler i've spoken with you about you know the need for two months i have no issue with that and i think you know within two months we'll be getting into our budget votes and i don't see any reason mr chairman why it would seem like it would be good timing for it to come to us after we've already voted on the budget so we're not doing those both of those at once but just a thought but you got to let them finish mr shoemake i understand but we also have a zldr r

» ewrite that's going to take a year and a half to do it and we'll get it done we need two years going into this yeah i hear you mr the chairman of the planning commission mentioned two months and i think you know what what i'm suggesting is even greater than that okay any other comments or questions from council members seeing none no votes required that takes us to the next agenda item this is 12a clean community commission district one is there a motion yeah i'll make a motion to appoint um nicola garcia to a three-year term to the clean community commission upon recommendation of jill wolf and i never say no to jill she is always right and uh happy to make that appointment tonight is there a second i'll say all right you got a second you got the floor uh not a whole lot to say uh just uh

» sounds like working well together and want to want to clarify it and make the appointment happen and keep things moving for the commission for the next three years and just a point of clarification for me um for reappointments no new applications required in the packet i mean the person's already serving that's right yeah correct there we go any other comments or discussion seeing none we'll call for a vote all in favor raise your hand miss hannah is unanimous by those who are present takes us to item 12b gentlemen placed on the agenda by mr thomason santee watery swrta appointment mr thomason yes i'd like to make a motion that we appoint miss mrs whitney marsh dechant to the santee watery regional transportation authority all right is there a second i'll make a second mr brazel mr thomason

» yeah thank you mr chairman I'd just like to add a little bit Whitney. I know her by Mars. She grew up here Her family was part of owning her field farms. She's lived here all her life. She spent a little bit of her professional career Up north where she met her husband And now they live back here in Kershaw County. She's a huge staple She's came back and taken on a big role at the United Way here where she helps with transportation of people to medical appointments along with many other things Whitney is a is going to be a huge resource to Kershaw County as Kershaw County's appointment To the RTA and this this has been a vacant a vacancy on the board for quite some time now, so I'm excited to get County Council's appointment, and I really appreciate Whitney agreeing to serve on the RTA.

» Thank you. Mr Thompson any further comments or discussion seeing none will move it to a vote all in favor Miss Hanna it's unanimous by those who are present that takes us to council briefings. Mr. Cato. Would you start us off? I have no report tonight. No report. Thank you. Mr. Thompson any report. I don't have her any report either. Mr. Chairman. Thank you Mr.

» Jones any report? things very quickly one our thoughts and prayers out to Steve Vinson's family and I know they coping with quite a bit tonight and also sly Robinsons and I really appreciate the council being lenient as far as very flexible when it comes to the resolution and this is going to be a very important thing at the next meeting that we have crucial county thank you i have no further report thank you mr jones mr shumate in the spirit of the brevity just a reminder and i'll remind again but saturday march 22nd 9 a.m to noon is our spring community cleanup sponsored by our clean community commission casey clean commission gmail.com please please help thank you mr shumate mr brazel any report sorry uh councilman cato and i were clarifying something um a good customer and and friend an

» d cousin of of danny cato's passed away mr bobby watkins um passed away and we just want to um wish his family peace and and and grace during this difficult time um bobby lived it was he live in bethune or bethune area wonderful wonderful guy he he installed hardwood floors had a hardwood flooring business and he was a customer of mine and my family's for over 20 years and he passed away suddenly and i just wanted to make mention of that that we're thinking about the family during this difficult time thank you mr brazel um yes deep condolences go out to those who passed away recently as you can tell there's a deep impact on the community from those who've led lives of leadership and and given so much and sacrificed and so our prayers go out to them as well um kind of tough to stick your che

» st out about picking up so much trash but i think each one of these times we do these community cleanups it's like hey you know you're high-fiving over picking up 300 bags of trash and you're like hold on that's not good we we don't want to be able to do that or have to do that so yes to uh councilman shoemake's point please come out and help um and then of course on the 29th march 29th is the carolina cup which is a gateway and exposure for kershaw county for um okay it is a exposure for kershaw county to many people many businesses many new friends many family members and so we look forward to that event coming up and i hope to see you all out there also wanted to mention um someone else passed away recently uh lenny haston passed away haston part of jimmy's family thank you for that note

» um and so our condolences and prayers go out to them as well and you jimmy very much sorry to hear that lenny haston thank - Thank you, Mr. Chair. - That concludes my report. We've got Administrator's Briefing up next. Mr. Templer. - I just want to thank Tom Webb for the flowers. Everything he brings up here in defiance of the letter ordinance mysteriously ends up in my office, so this will actually look good. I have firewood and crockery and paper and vase and just, so thank you, Tom. I appreciate that if you're still here. That's my report. - Okay, thank you. Any legal briefing? - No.

» - Okay, we have two executive session items a and b both under relevant code sections 34-70 seeking legal advice or relating to a threatened pending or potential legal claim do we have a motion going to executive session i'll make a motion we're going to executive say mr cato is there a second second second seeing there's no discussion that's uh from mr tomlinson all in favor of going into executive session raise your hand ms hennessy unanimous by those who are present we're in executive session I'll seek a motion to conclude the executive session. I'll make a motion. We have a motion. Is there a second to end the executive session? Second. Mr. Shoemake has a second. All in favor of concluding the executive session? It's unanimous by those who are present. Ms.

» Hanna? Motion for adjournment. Can I get one? So moved. I'll make a motion to move. We've got Mr. Tomlinson and Mr. Cato. All in favor of adjourning, raise your hand. And we are adjourned. Thank you, everyone.