Full meeting transcript - October 14, 2025

» Can you guys hear me? Hello? Hello. Yes. Good evening, everyone. Thank you for coming out. Let's be called to order. We've got a quorum for this Cushall County Council meeting Tuesday, October 14th, 2025. Thanks so much for being here. We've been called to order. Let's have an invocation and pledge of allegiance by Councilman Brant Tomlinson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Please join us. I will bow our heads for prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, we come before you with grateful hearts, seeking your wisdom and guidance in all that we do. Grant this counsel clarity of mind, humility, humility of spirit as we make decisions that affect our community. Help each member to listen with respect, speak with integrity, and act with compassion for all who call Kershaw County home.

» Lord, we hold your promise in Proverbs 3, verse 6. In all your ways, acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths. In your holy name we pray, amen. Amen. The flag of the United States of America, to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you very much, Councilman Tomlinson. That brings us to item number three on the agenda, adoption of the agenda. Do we have a motion? Mr. Chairman, I make a motion we adopt the agenda. We have a motion. Is there a second? I'll second. we got a second one mr. Cato and I just want to make sure I believe we have mr.

» Tucker calling in remote yes sir I want to make sure you're able to hear us thank you for being here I know you're dealing with a health issue right now any any discussion at all mr. Tomlinson none mr. Cato any further discussion from council members hearing none we'll move it to a vote all in favor raise your hand and mr. Tucker it's me Nana's in person how do you vote remotely yes all right miss Hannah it is unanimous the agenda is approved that brings us to Item number five, public comments. Mr. DuBose. Mr. Chair, there are three public speakers signed up tonight. The first speaker, I believe, is Rochelle Alexander, property tax. And I apologize if the first name is not correct. Mr. Alexander, thanks. Just as a reminder, this is a time for counsel to hear from the public.

» It's not a question and answer. You have five minutes. We look forward to hearing from you. Yes, sir. Go ahead. Thank you. I'm here about property tax. I brought a copy. I said, you like the copies? Pass them out. What they did was, they charged me twice. I had built the house. It was all on the same property. And I said, why didn't they just send the same bill at the same time? On one part of the property, they charged me $161. Then the other part of the property charged me $1,018.74. And I said, how come you're going to send it at the same time? And I said, it's all the same property. Then they told me it goes back three years. So I said, how can you go back three years on the same property charging me taxes? And they said, it's the law.

» So I said what status is the law and they've sent me for 100 from the market kept on it's the law So I like to know where I can find a law that they go back and charge in three years taxes on the same property Thank you, sir. Did you already put your contact information down with your name? Okay, we have that and someone will reach out to you Thank you so much administrative. He can reach out to him if we can find out who his representative is as well Mr. DuBose next speaker is Shonda Johnston data center. Miss Johnston.

» Yes, ma'am uh from some of if you could speak into the mic please so folks can hear you yes ma'am thank you yes from several of my neighbors i understand that this this permit has been withdrawn i know that this is not an answer session okay a couple of things that i wanted to bring to your attention with regards to the data center within south carolina our particular area is being targeted because of the amount of groundwater and aquifers that exist in this particular area. With the data centers, there is quite a bit of impact on the water, and the water is lost. It does not return back so that anyone can use it. It is not usable.

» In addition to any type of data center, at this particular time, South Carolina is dealing with droughts, wildfires, also the saline problem that they're having in Hilton Head. In addition to that, we also have water right usage with neighbors. South Carolina shares three of its river basins with North Carolina, Georgia, a demand on the Savannah River, which forms much of the border between South Carolina and Georgia, because of the increasing population growth and the metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia. In addition to that, we also share also with upstream with regards to North Carolina, which affects our waters and streams here in South Carolina.

» Please with regards to the permit being withdrawn, I suspect that it will probably be resubmitted Please keep in mind that the water resources that we have here are limited and do not allow a data center to come in and remove that. Thanks for coming out tonight, Ms. Johnson. Mr. DuBose. Next speaker is Lynn Conto, Comp Plan. Ms. Conto. First, I want to say I'm very happy that the data center group withdrew their application. That pleased me greatly. Today, you get to cast your final vote on the third reading of the comprehensive plan, which will determine updates on county zoning and land development regulations that will impact our special community. This is the first time this has been addressed in 20 years.

» If you think about this, 20 years from now, this is gonna impact your grandchildren. That means your children's children are gonna either reap the rewards of what you decide to do today or suffer the consequences of that. will prevent residential overgrowth except excessive population growth and ensure the county has appropriate zoning rules this plan will provide the template for many council members in the future it has addressed public service infrastructure economic growth transportation and traffic and appropriate guidelines for land use when this plan is approved the smart growth committee will begin updating county zoning and land development regulations i hope one of the things that is addressed is traffic in the future 30 years ago there was very little traffic in the charlotte are

» a i used to travel there quite a bit for horse events recently this past week during fall break i traveled to cincinnati and back through charlotte and spent 30 minutes stalled in traffic on one side of charlotte and 30 minutes stalled in traffic on the other side of charlotte so why am i telling you this because columbia's traffic's moving this way and if we don't have some type of traffic plan in kershaw county with the amount of growth that we have coming we're going to have the same problem so what do i suggest one of the things i'm most concerned about is who is hiring the traffic analyst for these developments is it the county or is it the developer because if it's the developer it's always going to be in their favor if it's the county then it can follow a comprehensive plan so please

» make sure you're looking at this fact factor in the future because apparently charlotte hadn't planned ahead let's not be like charlotte thank you thanks for coming out miss conto does that conclude public comment mr repose all right public comments concluded it takes us to approval of the minutes for the september 2023 excuse me 23 2025 meeting i'll note um that all council members were present do we have a motion i'll make a motion to approve the minutes mr shoemake has the motions they're second second mr thompson has a second any discussion mr shoemaker anyone else no discussion here those who are present and voting raise your hand if you're in favor ms hannett's unanimous for the record the minutes approved this takes us into our ordinances we'll start with number 7a this is a second r

» eading it's a zoning ordinance for amendment on a approximate 0.5 plus or minus parcel we've talked about it at length but mr administrator anything new on this one before we seek a motion no sir nothing further okay do we have a motion on 7a mr chairman i make a motion we approve 7a mr tomlinson is there a second i'll second mr shoemake mr tomlinson you have the floor thank you mr chairman um i know that we we talked about this last meeting um pastor jones is here in the audience and from from last time you spoke this was in regards to being able to have a piece of your property in the back that you were able to then partner more with united way and other services to be a community provider for those needs in the community is would you like to give any commentary well um i think i would um

» again i don't really know how this works um i want to tell you a quick story so uh whoever three years ago my dad passed away he's my best friend um but when i was a young boy we always watched westerns and i love to watch westerns with him but i had a question one day because uh i was wondering why is it that you know uh clean eastwood and uh some of the other ones roy rogers why they always win and i realized my dad said it was in the script really he said yeah it's always in the script for the the good guys to win well when we left here last time my wife chewed me out she said it was in the script i typed up your notes and you didn't go by your notes a smart man listens to his wife right right so there is just a couple things and i'm just going to read from the script what she had typed

» up that i need to say it won't take two minutes okay yes sir as our church continues to grow and serve the community we would like the residential part of our property to be resolved to business we are not sure what the lord has in store for us in the future but this would change a lot of things and she's got one two three and four so I'm just reading them extend and improve our facility for worship and community outreach continue to provide service to our church and community ensure proper insurance requirements and local regulations for the activities and conduct that we do on site number four was the biggest one and I skipped it last time if we are to decide to build on to the church we can't go to the right because that's the Camden IGA can't go to the left because that's our parking lo

» t and there's really no room in the front to build on so we have to go to the back our property line ends in 26 feet so from the back of the building to the adjoining property this residential is 26 feet so we would have to build that way and chances are with our church growing we're probably going to be building on within the next five six seven years we would have to build that way and it would have to be zoned commercial anyway because we would go into that part of the property and then she put I would also like to note that the property is very small and half an acre and the adjoining and surrounding by many other business such as our church the Camden IGA the Dollar Tree and much more our mission is to serve the community effectively and responsibility responsible and aligning with the

» zoning of our property with this actually use is an important step toward the goal so I went in the script thank you pastor yes sir you got brownie points tonight right yeah i appreciate you providing that um legal would can we get just a brief on what what this rezoning is um and is it any kind of conflict for kershaw county no there's no spot zoning concerns uh the requested rezoning district b2 their adjacent b2 zone properties staff didn't again identify any spot zoning concerns and there wouldn't be one with adjacency and there's a chart within the staff report materials that shows the uses on adjoining properties it's ultimately a legislative determination whether the use is on b2 would be compatible with surrounding properties but again there are many surrounding properties that are

» already zoned business and it would allow this uh potential future expansion of an existing v2 property thank you mr bez thank you pastor johnson um i asked council to to support this tonight um i've been to the church many times not only is this a place of worship is also a staple for the east canada community it houses many different civic organizations boy scout troops meetings and everything else and i appreciate all you do for the community and the stewards you are i ask council to support this passing of second reading thank you mr thomas mr schumacher the second anything yeah just very briefly you know generally speaking as a as a rule i don't love taking um rezoning things to more permissive uses but there's no i mean like anything there's always an exception i think this is an exac

» t example of when an exception is appropriate you're bordered on two sides by the zoning you want to go to at least two sides you're talking about a small parcel the concern i always have is like when you the data center for example involved a rezoning of 100 acres and in that kind of thing you can start seeing huge developments you're at a half acre so no matter what zoning you're in you have to put more than one house there not that you ever would but uh so i'm fully supportive of this this is a perfect example of an exception to what i think is a pretty important rule and i appreciate the work you guys do any other comments or questions from those who are present just one quick question mr brazel pastor i like your shirt thank you sir now is anything on the back that's the chair creation

» museum we went one moment mr tucker church went to uh the where they build the ark uh in kentucky and the creation museum did you take pastor boom with you sir did you take pastor barry boom with you i didn't but i know eric eric's a great guy i thought he went now listen i just had a suggestion i i didn't know if your church made those yes sir you bought it well if you ever make any you can leave the front alone and then on the back foot and so did my wife yes sir but listen i'm happy to support the church in any way that i can including this this is a no-brainer so thank you for being here thank you for clarifying what your intentions are but um we know your intentions are good and god is good so church might be getting into the t-shirt business with this rezoning who knows um mr tucker y

» es sir you have the floor yes if uh reverend jones can hear me i'm just wanted to commend him um on his uh being the shepherd on his flock i had an opportunity to meet one of his congregation members friday at the dialysis center where they're providing blankets uh for uh the folks there that's going through dialysis and the young lady uh pastor was um she had already had some unfortunate luck through dialysis with her family members I can't remember her first name but spoke very highly of you the church church members and I just want to say thank you because it seems like you always have some type of what I would call ministry in the community and doing good things and so for that we say thank you and God bless thank you sir thank you mr.

» Tucker any further comments or questions seeing none we'll move it to a vote for those in person raise your hand if you're in favor of passage it's unanimous for those who are voting in person mr tucker how do you vote yes that is a yes from mr tucker miss hannah it's unanimous and passes second reading thank you pastor let me ask one question if i can what's next you got one more reading okay yeah there's three readings okay and then um what's what's the uh next november meeting we have one meeting in november 18th november 18th okay all right so i gotta be here november we don't have to be here but your third reading will be here i will i will yes sir thank you thank you thank you all right that's 7a 7b is third reading on a joint multi-county uh business park do we have a motion mr chair

» mr tucker i think it's supposed to be the uh we're not doing it the 11th because it's a holiday is that the reason why yeah i believe so right okay the second tuesday is 11. okay yeah i think it's a holiday under our scheduling yeah that's veterans day okay gotcha i just want to make sure we're giving correct information yes sir i got it from from Ms. Hannah, so I'm pretty sure it's accurate. All right. That takes us to 7B, third reading on a joint multi-county business part. Do we have a motion? I'll make a motion. Well, I'll make a motion if anybody's deaf up there or dead. All right. We've got Mr. Shoemake with a motion. Mr. Tucker, is that a second? Yes, sir. All right. Mr. Shoemake. I think we got a briefing on this last time. I don't have any comments. Okay. Mr.

» Tucker, any commentary or questions? No comment. All right. From those who are present. No comment. Yes, sir. From those who are present, any comments or questions? Seeing none, we'll move to a vote on third reading for 7B. All in favor who are present, raise your hand. It's unanimous for those who are present. Mr. Tucker, how do you vote? Yes. That's a yes from Mr. Tucker. Ms. Hanna, it's unanimous and passes on 7B. 7C, next item on the agenda. This is third reading on the comp plan. Do we have a motion? I'll make a motion that we adopt the comp plan. Mr. Shoemake has the motion. Is there a second? Second. Mr. Tomlinson. Mr. Shoemake, you have the floor.

» yeah so i mean obviously we're at third reading now and i appreciate all the well one everyone that's come out and spoke uh about the comp plan at our meetings but also the planning commission and all the residents who came out for all the year plus i remember we had one planning session in the evening that probably had 30 people in the community there where people drew maps and that was given to the to the consultants so i appreciate all that i think this is a good comp plan it's not perfect i did want to address two issues uh in our last meeting miss knatz or uh people get onto me being on the phone i'm reading off my phone for this um miss can answer made a comment about there being an error about the field being the second oldest in the nation uh i've confirmed with uh planning commissi

» on chairman ned towel who confirmed it is not the second oldest field in the nation it is the third oldest in the country and second oldest in the states that wasn't an error that she flagged that i ran that down and based on the data that i could fine the comp plan is accurate in that regard um also regarding the traffic uh i agree traffic is a huge issue i wanted to point out to miss contour that by and large that's typically a dot issue one of the things we're looking into now on the rewrite committee for the zoning is what if anything we can do if we can increase standards because that's really a dot area about what traffic flows are what traffic counts are the county doesn't really have a direct role in that doesn't mean we can't look at other options um but i wanted to uh i wanted to

» just flag that again this is not a perfect document as we're rewriting the zoning code if we come to a place where we feel like the comp plan may be inconsistent or incompatible with the zoning use we're about to adopt we can always simultaneously change the comp plan and the zoning code if necessary but i don't think we'll get there so that's all i have thank you mr schumacher mr thomason you have a second i don't have anything any other comments uh questions from those who are present mr mr tucker remotely go ahead i just want to say uh to all my colleagues um have some discussion too from the last meeting on this um let's not do like we have done in the past when i say we i'm talking about council as a whole a lot of y'all were not up there but i know um i have been customer jones rememb

» er this is a uh a living document so let's not let it suffocate let's breathe air into it as we need to as things change so don't be afraid to review it or as derek just said councilman she may you know make amendments but let's do at least every couple years pull it off the shelf and look at what may be effective changes need to be taking place thank you thank you mr tucker any other comments or questions seeing none for those who are present uh if you vote in favor raise your hand it's on 7c it is unanimous for those voting in person mr tucker how do you vote yes that's a a yes from mr tucker remotely miss hannah it passes unanimously on 7c gentlemen that takes us to appointments on the agenda first item we have placed on by councilman cato this is 8a planning commission reappointment mr

» cato yes i would like to bring mr lanny gunter back up for reappointment as a in way of emotion for his reappointment lanny to give you a little background is already on the planning commission uh lanny is very well known in this community uh he's a he's a super great guy he's he's a youth pastor out at i'll give you a second go ahead at the cab baptist church go ahead sorry what no before we do discussion i got to get a second for you i got you go ahead okay go ahead all right second go ahead oh okay all right i'm sorry no worries i was rushing it along wasn't it he's a great man i want him back on there too so anyway just um um just a little background on him and and when i put him on the commission i appreciate the job he's been doing he does a great job on there so i asked the council t

» onight to support his um reappointment all right i had the second i don't have any commentary for those who are present any questions or comments seeing none mr tucker do you have anything remotely no sir hearing none we'll move it to a vote all those who are in person uh if you vote in favor of the appointment as made by uh mr cato raise your hand it's unanimous in person mr tucker how do you vote remotely yes it passes unanimously miss hannah for the record that takes us to item 8b this is a recreation advisory commission reappointment placed on by vice chairman russell brazel mr brazel thank you chairman i'd like to make a motion to reappointment to make a reappointment for rick j for the recreation advisory commission okay do we have a second second mr jones has a second mr brazel thank

» you chairman thank you councilman jones um a lot of us know rick and have known rick i think rick knows everybody in kershaw county he's played a vital role in in this recreation development project that's been going on for several years now and i know he wants to see it through so i'd just like to uh see him serve another term thank you mr browns mr jones you have second i agree with everything councilman or vice chairman brazil said and the good thing about rick jay comes from good blood because i knew his dad rick jay in school and those are some good folks and he's worked hard on this commission and he cares about the direction it's going so thank you russell for also allowing him the opportunity to serve by making the nomination absolutely thank you mr jones any other comments or quest

» ions from those who are present i would just say rick's a great guy and he's helped me out a lot so i always like to see whatever we can do to help people that help kershaw county stay in service i second that mr tucker anything remotely no sir all right hearing none we'll move uh move it to a vote for those who are in person all in favor of the appointment is made by motion for mr brazel raise your hand is she unanimous in favor for those who are voting in present um mr tucker how do you vote yes that's a yes for mr tucker remotely miss hannah it passes unanimously on 8b the appointment for rick jay that takes us to 8c on the agenda planning commission reappointment uh regarding mr mason wolf placed on by vice chairman russell brazel mr brazel we have a motion yes sir chairman i would like

» to make a motion to reappoint mason wolf to the planning commission mason was fulfilling a um a term that was vacated early i'm not sure if that was it's been a little over a year year and a half time flies maybe it's been two years but um i'd like to see him get a full term uh subsequently he's doing us a great job mason's family the wolves jill and kip wolf uh obviously uh let's get you a second strong we got the emotion you got a second for mr shoemaker thank you go ahead mr brazel thank you did the same thing danny i got ahead of myself i got so excited um strong members in the community uh jill leading the charge with the uh with the clean community commission so um with that i'd like to uh take that to a vote all right uh mr shoemake you have the second um no again that's great i mean

» you know mason represents this sort of generation next generation of kershaw county is going to take over the reins at some point you know hopefully we can hold it for a couple years longer but you know he's he's waiting in the wings and if if everybody in his generation were like him we're in a really good spot especially the river cleanup that i know councilman brazil has helped a lot with but the river cleanup they do is i mean if you haven't been out there i mean a whole dump truck full of trash they pull out of the river so the whole family is wonderful i don't do anything with anymore i just started it you just started it mr jones they took the reins yeah mr jones thank you mr chair members of county council uh good people good family long lifetime friends of mine and uh i'm honored t

» o be able to place a vote for mason wolf i don't think we do any better thank you so much thank you mr jones any other comments or questions for those who are a person? I've said it all. Yes, Mr. Tucker, anything remote? Our boat is yes. Your boat is yes, thank you so much. I'll just mention that for the river cleanup, it's one of those really encouraging and a little bit discouraging events. It's encouraging because the community shows up in force, they got a great raffle, people are out on the river cleaning up, but every year it's like a 30 or 40 yard container of trash that we pick up and, you know, a lot of that comes down from other bodies of water, I presume, but I'm glad they keep it up, and I'm glad we keep trying to keep one of our best natural resources clean.

» So with that, we'll move it to a vote. All those who are in person, how do you vote? Raise your hand if you're in favor. It is unanimous in favor, and Mr. Tucker already voted remotely, so it passes unanimously on 8C for the appointment for Mr. Wolf. Mr. Jones. I don't know if there's a point of personal privilege or whatever, but I'd like to say something that I should have said at the beginning. I'm embarrassed I didn't. Go ahead.

» thank you we have out here john lee who's a former county council member for 12 years that john lee he worked hard he served his served his county well and i'd just like to say good to see you here buddy he's serving me eight on those 12 years yeah we'll accept the tip of the hat thanks so much for your prior service you feel better on that side of the dice or thank you thank you so much thanks so much for being here executive sessions five executive sessions five executive sessions if you got an itch okay uh thank you gentlemen that moves us to council member briefings mr cato would you start us off please yes sir very short very sweet tonight um the town of bethune wanted me to announce about their ribbon cutting which will be next um wednesday that will be uh the ribbon cutting for the n

» ew town hall it will start at 11 a.m the new town hall was moved over to the what was the old high school so anyone interested in attending that they would love to have you next thing is october the 26th and this is always a big deal um it's it's up at the north central high school uh pastor craig in blanket ship with bethany westville baptist church that plays a huge role in getting this together every year but it's a big fall fest they have vendors food vendors they have games they have trunk-a-treat they have blow-ups music they have just it's just a huge event that night that evening and that night and lots of people come out to it and it's just a night full of fun with the kids and the families so they want to make sure that you know about it and you have an opportunity to come out and

» enjoy the festival that's all i've got thank you thank you very much mr cato mr tomlinson thank you mr chairman i'm going to be brief as well appreciate everybody coming out tonight and all the input that we've received especially with things like the rezoning of the data center those you know that wasn't about a data center but it was about a rezoning that could change the face of of kershaw county in the future and i appreciate all the community's input one and i appreciate um my colleagues up here and our staff and all their hard work just to kind of get educated that i can tell you i'm i'm not educated on those type of things however the issue of rezoning to to be at risk of of taking a large chunk of property and the rezoning to our least restrictive use without any confirmation um i g

» et people want to make money and i i hope everybody makes money um this that's the american dream but it's not at the risk of the of the person the citizen in kershaw county so i really appreciate that and then also um next next meeting so november 18th i've i've spoken with my planning commission member or not planning commission recreation commission member and he agreed to get to serve again for another term mr jack carrington so i'd like to have that on the agenda and make sure that we reach out and he has any paperwork or he has to do another application filled out and then also i'm in talks with a few individuals who've reached out about the planning commission seat that i have open so i will also be having that on our next agenda but if individuals who are willing to serve we have we

» have a lot of openings in different commissions we need good people who are willing to give their time and serve the clean commission is one that we have quite a few openings the library board there's There's some openings, there are many others, but if y'all are interested, please reach out to staff or one of your council members and fill out an application. We need people to serve and I appreciate y'all being here. You being here tonight shows that you're willing to serve our county. So if you would like, please fill out that application. And as always, thank you to staff for all of your hard work, Ms. Hanna especially, having to put up and take all of our notes. So that's all I have, Mr. Chairman. - Thank you very much, Mr. Thomas and Mr. Jones.

» I don't have anything myself, but I do want to tell my councilman next to me that I appreciate bringing Jack Harrington, but he's done a great job. And I know they've worked very hard on that project and they've done well. Thank you. - Thank you, Mr. Jones. Mr. Shoemake. - Yeah, just a few things. I second Mr. Carrington's great work. I know he's worked hard with Shane Kirkland and some others on some of these rep projects. It's always good to see former council members in here. I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you 'cause I'm one of the new guys.

» fact you made me think it would be a really good idea if we did a better job like on our website of having you know the pictures and stuff of former council members because you know i mean this work is unpaid and uh it's it's well it's paid but barely and uh you know it's basically volunteer work and it's really important work so i do want to say thank you because serving especially at this level is a lot of work and takes a lot of time so thank you sir i appreciate you being here i imagine that when people leave this they never come back in the building so i'm always interested to see that they choose to come back um also it's fall break uh well it's fall break for some schools it was fall break last week for my kids my son just went back to clemson today so to all those are who are just c

» oming out of fall break or just going into it uh again congratulations for having your kids home if they're away a special birthday i'll save that for you we have a special birthday of one of our council members sons up here um and lastly i was was at the state fair with my wife and she loves to look at the agricultural stuff i think you know you've had a certain age when you're in that building more than the rides um and so she was pointing out some of the stuff and there were so many people from kershaw county that won big awards in that agricultural building and the different fairs one i wrote down because he was from lugo is uh bruce hill from lugo one the blue ribbon for the largest gourd and i just think it's really interesting because you know when we talk economic development kersha

» w county has a per capita has some of the largest agribusiness uh investment in in a county of any county in the united states much less south carolina and you really see that represented at local places like the fair and you just see how kershaw county the work we're doing is touching all these places which is why it's so important that we as a council keep this community special and keep those things about it that are special intact that's all that i have thank you mr shoemake mr tucker yes sir mr chairman very very quickly if i may uh councilman shoemake you really really don't think you're over age until you go on wednesdays to the fair when it's seniors day that's tomorrow but you're not old enough yet um wish i could go but i can't walk with that um i just want to uh let everyone know

» that um we're still working on the 208 water quality um your representation for kershaw county which is i think if i'm correct nine of us on the cog board will be meeting um over this month and next month we're actually going to meet uh thursday at 3 p.m via zoom to hash out some particulars and myself and chairman connell had an opportunity to talk to des today and that conversation went well so um none of that has been finalized and uh your representation from the county so that's the town of elgin town of bethune and all the representatives elected and appointed um will be uh sitting down and having some brainstorming that concludes my report thank you mr tucker mr brazel chairman thank you sir i got a couple of things i'd like to wish my oldest son merit a happy 22nd birthday he is maki

» ng me feel old today so um he's he's up in virginia in school and unfortunately we won't be able to visit with him until next weekend not this weekend but next but looking forward to that um this thursday night at the uh gosh i guess revolutionary war park um there's going to be a town hall the concerned citizens of kershaw county and there's quite a few of us on on the panel it'll be moderated by a gentleman from Fox News out of Columbia and looking forward to doing that this Thursday at 6:30 if anybody would like to come I think it's gonna kind of be a town hall forum Q&A and my first time doing it but I'm looking forward to doing that regarding the data center I kind of took it upon myself to get some information from Cassett water and Black river electric and in the responses that i rec

» eived um not to say they weren't dissatisfactory they they were very um proactive and saying that they especially black river electric said that they had an obligation to provide power but anytime there was a large-scale project that they would be very diligent in their work and making sure that central central electric is who they buy their power from that they would make sure that it was feasible and would not let anybody be affected in a negative manner and i thought that was a wonderful response knowing very little about the project if it does come back around just i want everybody to understand that we are diligent and we do care cast at water also responded stating that they would make sure that there was there would be no negative impact if in fact they proceeded with um such a proje

» ct so there's a lot of research that would have to go into something of that scale and that's probably why we saw them pull the project um they they heard the pushback and and realized that it was going to be a very diligent process by this this council and and that's what we're here to do that's that's what we're supposed to do so with that being said if it comes back around we'll we'll go through those processes and we'll make sure that people are protected in homes and businesses are protected so we would never let somebody come and kind of ruin our our electrical grid or our water source so those are very important items obviously for everybody here at kershaw county on our council um i'd like to brief everybody kind of just in person regarding a really a neat opportunity that we're goi

» ng to have in december we're going to have miss myra reese she is the director of des formerly known as dhec she and i had some wonderful conversations about stormwater management and she wants to be able to educate counties across the state as to how our role in their role will interact at times council members have felt like well if we if we don't do this or if we do that we're going to get in some sort of a violation some sort of penalty i'm going to tell you one of the finest conversations i've had with with an agency director in my five years on this council with with her and really looking forward to having her and her team here in december we're going to get a very direct briefing from them and they're going to work with kershaw county to ensure that anything that that we need to add

» ress will be addressed we're going to work together and find solutions and we're not going to have major issues here in kershaw county that's what relationships do when you have positive relationships with others is that you're able to find common ground and solve problems and i was really impressed by her in our conversation this last week so i think a couple of people have seen some some invites in their emails thank you miss miss hannah for helping with that and looking forward to having those conversations and solving those problems moving forward with that is the last thing i had on my mind i hope everybody has a great night tonight we've got a couple of things in executive session so with that i'll shut up thank you mr brazel um a few things i have post 17 has their veterans day progr

» am november 7th at 11 a.m it's always an outstanding program they usually have rotc or jrtc from local high schools participating and so if you're available and want to support them it will be at the american legion in camden for staff if you would for next agenda please place a reappointment to the recreation commission for mr kevin colpon with my name i spoke with him and he's interested in serving much like those we heard previously he's been working on these projects for a long time and he's done a lot of good work and i think he needs to see them through and have another term also mr administrator for next meeting if we can place on and we've talked about this a little bit but it was a prior request related to permits for pole pole barns picnic shelters and similar structures trying to

» streamline that don't know that we necessarily need to have engineered drawings and all the expense associated with that but if we could get some draft language we can consider and look at a text amendment to address those type of structures make it easier for folks in kershaw county to put up those types of structures i'd appreciate that thank you mr chairman yes sir mr jones um and then um lastly i'll mention uh mr shoe makes exactly right about the agricultural prowess of kershaw county out of 3 300 counties i think is the number the department of agriculture ranks them and we are number one as of the last ranking for profits per capita in uh in the united states of america it's pretty amazing to think about the kershaw county with a smaller population but a lot of agrarian land were abl

» e to do that and there's a lot of things that go into making that happen you have to have farmers who are competent you've got to have inputs and feed supply that supply chain has to be really strong so you can actually reach those kinds of numbers and so that's my report mr administrator do you have any report for us yes sir i do um just a few updates uh woodward park is starting to look like a park with uh scoreboards and baseball fields uh coming along uh we've got some items ordered basketball goals and some of the the disc golf baskets aside for the baseball fields and soccer area are scheduled for installation this week so again that's going to start to take shape out there to look a little bit more like the finished product we hope to have mr templer are we still january of 2026 time

» frame of opening quarter so far thank you and i know we with on that is put an asterisk we ran into a little snag with some of the irrigation which um uh you know with our luck or my luck they went down about 15 feet and hit rock so we're just kind of navigating around that and we're coming up with a workaround um obviously the goal there is to not tap into city water just from a cost standpoint long term so working that one but uh everything else is going along but i'll certainly keep y'all updated on that especially as these come to a close kc west parking scheduled for paving this week boyd young and copeland rehab irrigation and lighting has has been installed that that's again really starting to look like a park up there so power meters a lot of things are really starting to fall in pl

» ace panels wiring for panels for irrigation um you know and i i love the fact that we're irrigating these fields something we haven't done in the past and so we spend money time and effort on some of these parks only to have uh nature come and take away our grass and it's just not as so as aesthetic or uh any um you know just not a good look so with all the time and effort we're spent putting into this um i'm just real happy that we're doing it right with the irrigation so small victories pecan orchard uh we're wrapping up construction plans uh we've got a checklist coming in for final documents that will be submitted to the county for review next week um we're going to work together to get the package submitted via e-permitting up to des and with that once we get an actionable plan out the

» re we will have we'll start to brief that actionable plan to the utility owners because there's a lot of utilities out there in that right-of-way so a lot of work is going to have to be done out there so a lot of a lot of that stuff is contingent upon utilities and things out of our control So we would look to potentially advertise the first phase of the projects sometime in February. But, again, keep you all briefed on that. I do have Mr. Alexander's information, so we'll follow up with him on his tax issue, get him some background tomorrow for that. I'd also like to just give a shout-out to MUSC Health. I had the opportunity to be a secret shopper out there last weekend and just go and visit the ER.

» But I just, you know, I did something silly and hurt myself in Georgia, but I decided to really take shopping local to the next level, and I came back to Camden to seek medical treatment. But they were amazing out there. From the young lady that checked me in for triage to everything to the doctor, Um, x-rays, I just, I can't say enough about, you know, I was just some guy covered in Georgia clay, you know, with some broke bones, and, but they, the way I was treated out there was just amazing. Even the lady that was taking my billing information to make sure I paid my bills out there, she was as nice as can be, too.

» So, we hear a lot about some of our services out in various places, and I think it's about expectations but um i went in there needing some help and i certainly got it and uh you know i i let um had a conversation with daryl augburn today and just let him know as well and um but i um dr killian and his staff out there were just amazing so i i always believe in and especially where i sit as it relates to county leadership it's it's important to hear those things that that what your staff is doing right and it was from beginning to end nobody missed a lick and that's that's to me it was the epitome of customer service so very uh very impressed very grateful and in in many ways and um so just wanted to mention that and uh you know while i was out on my extended stay lauren and gerald just real

» ly kind of took over and um they allowed me the uh the opportunity and the comfort to break bones and not be here so and and keep the show running so um i appreciate what they did and they they just they are very it's complimentary leadership so when somebody's out they fill in and it's just to me i feel like it's seamless so i'd be remiss to not mention their efforts throughout uh you know last couple weeks and just overall they're just very consistent team players so thank you all to them and uh that's mr kano i have those two action items for you for next agenda meeting and that is all i have sir okay thank you very much mr templar and glad you're feeling better mr buzz any legal briefing beyond executive session no sir all right gentlemen we've got five executive session items um we'll

» take it as a joint motion i'll go through them uh executive session item a is regarding a pending lawsuit item b 12b is a matter subject to attorney-client privilege item 12c is a personnel employment matter item 12 d is regarding another pending lawsuit item 12 e is regarding a contractual matter and this is all under se code 30-4-70 and relevant sections for the public's benefit we do anticipate three votes or up to three votes a potential vote on 12 a 12 c and 12 d do we have a motion to enter executive session just one one correction i believe there are uh four votes um what's the fourth one um a b hold on a c d okay i didn't know if we had the documents ready for e uh i believe so all right well we'll find out in executive session so four potential votes is corrected by uh the county a

» ttorney thank you mr debose all right i think i heard a motion from mr cato make a motion we enter executive session we've got emotions they're second i'll second mr shoemake has a second any discussion none from those present mr tucker any discussion all in favor raise your hand it's unanimous uh in favor for those who are present mr tucker how do you vote on executive session mr tucker we'll get you in the conference room on the phone okay we are an executive session thank you sammy can you hear me yes sir i can okay we're just waiting on one or two more to come in he survived the long walk we just went to the restroom who did oh i think we got it we got a quick bathroom break then have you seen that movie yet the long we got a few votes we got to take and then we'll be done anything else

» after that y'all got me on mute let's go live all right thank you gentlemen uh we've just finished up with executive session i seek a motion to end executive session i'll make a motion we end executive got a motion is there a second second we've got a second any discussion seeing no we'll move it to a vote for those in person all in favor of any executive session raise your hand it's unanimous by those who are in person and voting uh mr tucker how do you vote yeah yes it's unanimous miss hannah we are out of executive session as previously reported to the public we have uh four votes that we'll be looking at we'll take them in order of a d e and c do we have a motion on executive session item number a yeah i would like to make a motion mr chairman mr shoemake i move that we authorize the co

» unty administrator to take all necessary actions and to execute and ratify all documents needed to effectuate settlement of the pending lawsuit hintamaya versus kershaw county at all upon the terms and conditions discussed in the executive session okay we've got a motion is there a second second we've got a second from mr cato um any discussion seeing no discussion any discussion remotely mr tucker hearing none no sir no sir okay mr tucker how do you vote yes that's a yes vote on 12 a from mr tucker for those who are in person raise your hand if you're in favor of the motion miss hannah it is unanimous and uh motion passes on 12 a all right 12 d excuse me 12 yeah no 12 d e and then c 12 d okay 12 d 12 d i move that we reauthorize and ratify kershaw county council's prior standing authorizat

» ion allowing the county's local outside council for the opioid litigation cases to execute settlement agreements on behalf of kershaw county we have a motion is there a second second mr thompson has a second any discussion um i'll just mention for the public that opioid litigation has resulted in significant revenue recurring revenue for kershaw county and this is part of that as various defendants get named in lawsuits or as the litigation expands you'll have settlements that come up from time to time and that's what this is any further discussion or questions for those in person seeing none mr tucker do you have anything remotely i'll vote yes that's a yes vote for mr tucker on 12 d on the motion for those who are in person vote uh raise your hand if you vote in favor it is unanimous miss

» hannah for the record and the motion on 12 d passes next up is 12 e and mr chairman i have a motion there as well i move that we authorize the county administrator to take all necessary actions and execute and ratify all documents needed to quick claim and decommission an old sewer pump station that was the subject to frequent odor complaints in return for dedication of a new pump station the new sewer pump station has been constructed within the sylvain ridge subdivision and will benefit and improve overall county sewer infrastructure for the surrounding area all right we've got the motion is there a second second mr thompson has a second any discussion for those who are in person just i appreciate the county doing this that's in my district and these people have had the complaints and thi

» s is some great proactive work so thank you thank you mr shoemake mr tucker anything um remotely or how do you vote yes that's a yes vote yes that's a yes vote on 12 e from mr tucker on the motion for those who are in person if you go in favor raise your hand miss hannah it's unanimous in favor and passes on 12e and i'll say thank you mr chemek on this one thank you mr jones all right last item for the evening before taking up adjournment is a motion on 12 c i believe and i do have a motion on that it's my privilege to move that we offer the administrator the contract discussed in executive session commencing october 15 2025 and ending october 15 2026 had a salary of 165 000 per calendar year with one year renewal options that may be canceled by either party on 60 days notice plus a 9 600 a

» nnual vehicle allowance okay we have a motion by mr shoemaker is there a second second mr thompson has the second any discussion um since i made the motion i'll jump in i just again look forward to another year with mr temple art at the helm a lot of challenges a lot of things we need to do in the upcoming year i i have said this before and i firmly believe the next year or two are going to be about the most important in our county as we build a foundation um you know growth with infrastructure you know the jail um and i would i wanted to say this earlier but it's germane to this particular motion i want to point out to my gentleman here and mr tucker remotely fielding pringle who is the debt the solicitor for the the Fifth Circuit, which is originally in Kershaw County, sent me an email on

» October 1st and she informed me that on September 26, 2024, there were 167 inmates in the Kershaw County Detention Center. As of 9-26-25, just the other week, that number was down to 130. They were actually got all the way down to 126 a few days ago. They do expect the number to come up a little bit because unfortunately Kershaw County doesn't have a resident judge, so they go three weeks without court every set every month but that number is 37 lower than it was this time last year and i would note that this council as a whole took efforts to help the solicitor's office with paralegal we've been working with the public defender's office for budget and it's wonderful to see real improvements and that's the kind of stuff we need to keep doing thank you mr make i agree thank you mr schumacher

» mr thompson you have the second any discussion i look forward to voting on it and congratulations look forward to you leading the county going forward for those who are present any uh more comments or questions any discussion seeing none mr tucker any discussion uh and if not how do you vote i uh just want to say uh congratulations danny looking forward to another year and many more and i vote yes that's a yes vote for mr tucker remotely for those who are in person raise your hand if you're in favor on the motion on 12c it is unanimous and passes miss hannah for the record on 12c thank you for your support and trust thank you thank you mr templar for your work that concludes um our business for tonight is there a motion to adjourn make a motion we adjourn mr cato is there a second second i'

» ll second it any discussion seeing no discussion on motion to adjourn uh mr mr tucker how do you vote bye that's a yes it's a yes vote for mr tucker for those who are in person how do you vote on adjournment raise your hand if you're in favor it's unanimous we are adjourned have a good night