Full meeting transcript - May 14, 2024

» We're gonna call this meeting to order. Okay, if I could have quiet, please. Thank you so much. I'm gonna be chairing the meeting for about an hour. Chairwoman Gwen, she's representing Kershaw County and the South Carolina Association of Counties at the Cabinet High School Award Ceremony tonight. She's presenting a scholarship to the Cabinet High School senior, Leanna Williams. This council is very proud, at least I'm very proud of all the high school seniors receiving awards this afternoon. The award ceremony starts at 630 and Chairwoman Gwen will be here as soon as possible if that is adjourned. But anyway, so we'll proceed from there.

» If I could, Pastor Kenneth Carter, how are you doing? So would you mind coming to give us an invocation? And I'd like to understand, would you start us with the Pledge of Allegiance right after that, please? Can you handle that? Okay. All right, shall we pray? Eternal God, we thank you, Lord, for your presence with us today, all day long and even now. We invite your presence in this session of Kershaw County County Council. God, we pray that your presence will remain throughout this session and we ask God for your power to help us understand who we are and our servanthood. We ask for your power to help us plan and provoke good thoughts, that whatever is planned, that you will bless the planning and cause it to succeed for your pleasing and for your glory.

» Thank you for all who serve so faithfully. And God, we thank you for the privilege and the opportunities to serve in a number of ways as your people, as your servants. We thank you now, in Jesus' name, amen. May we stand for the pleasure of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to 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. Thank you so much, Pastor. Appreciate you doing that. Okay, we have adoption of the agenda. I have a motion. Mr. Chairman, I would make a motion to adopt the agenda as amended, and specifically, I would like to amend it to bring our public presentation by Sheriff Boehme just above public comments. Okay, do we have any discussion on that? No discussion? You, Mr.

» Tucker? I'm just seconding, that's all. Okay. Then discussion, but that's okay. Wait, we didn't get a second? No, sir. Don't do that to me. All right, is there any discussion now? Thank you, no discussion. Okay, all right, so we have a motion to accept the agenda, and also, as amended, to take the public presentation as crochet county Sheriff Lee Boehme, and bring that up to, that would be item six right under the number five resolutions. It's where we'll put it. And that is in between public comments and the Cannon High School girls basketball team. All right, all in favor? Let the record show that it's unanimous. Mr. Browse, Mr. Tucker, Mr. Shoemake, and Mr. Cato and myself, thank you so much. All right, going to number five resolutions. The Camden High School girls basketball team.

» Placed on the agenda by Mr. Sammy Tuckers. Mr. Tucker, let me get a motion, get on the floor first, okay? Is there a motion to accept this? I'll make a motion that we approve the resolution for the Cannon High girls basketball lady bulldogs. Is there a second? Second. Is there a discussion? Mr. Tucker? Yes, I just want to thank these young ladies and the coaches and the staff and all. I know that they are under a strict timeline and I'm looking kind of crazy because my eyes are dilated, so please forgive me. At least the room's not exceptionally bright. It is that too, but it didn't help. So I just want to say congratulations on a phenomenal season. Matter of fact, back to back, y'all to feel like USC over there where they've been on a big role and so have you.

» I think that you young ladies have a bright future moving forward for the ones that are leading and also for the ones that are remaining to finish out their high school career. So congratulations once again and once a bulldog, always a bulldog. Mr. Tucker? Yes, the resolution, you should have a copy before you and I am going to ask for some help because I can't see. So will you do that honors for me, Mr. Pryzel? Okay. Yes sir, please. Camden High School girls basketball team, the Lady Bulldogs, whereas the Camden High School girls basketball team, also known as Lady Bulldogs, ended another stellar season by defeating Wren High School for their second consecutive 3A championship.

» Whereas Camden High School girls basketball team, also known as Lady Bulldogs, finished the season with a 28 and two win to loss ratio with the only losses coming to the nationally ranked out of state competition. And whereas Camden High School girls basketball team, also known as Lady Bulldogs, has not lost to a team from the state of South Carolina in two seasons. Impressive. Yes. Whereas Camden High School girls basketball team, also known as Lady Bulldogs, also sport a four year home game winning streak and is the only team in Camden High basketball history to win back to back state championships. Whereas Camden High School girls basketball teams, also known as Lady Bulldogs, finished the season as number 29 ranked team in the nation according to Max Preps.

» Whereas coach Natalie Norris, assistant coaches and all players of the Camden High girls basketball team, also known as Lady Bulldogs, have done an exceptional athletic performance representing Camden High School and everyone in Camden, Kershaw County, South Carolina, we are proud to recognize the Camden High School girls basketball team, also known as Lady Bulldogs. With such a phenomenal season, congratulations. If we could have, hold on Mr. Vice Chair, hold on. Go ahead. And let me mention the coaches names. Sharnice Geary, Louis Mungo, Natalie Norris, and Cassandra Summers. Go to the next page. Hold on, there's more. Oh we've got more. Yeah this is the players. Good luck on this. Yeah help me. Oh god. Councilman Broussard, you might need to help him with what he's got to hold on to.

» Zaysha Carter, Morgan Champion, patients, Dayes, Kiercing Davis, Joyce Edwards, oh y'all gotta help me. Kaleana. Kaleana Jackson, Gianna Jeffcoat, Harmony Jefferson, Braylin Mungo, and Shinara Wright. Did I get anywhere close to the realm? Thank you for reading that. Now therefore be it resolved on this 14th day of May 2024, the Kershaw County Council do hereby honor the Camden High School Girls Basketball Team, also known as the Lady Bulldogs for winning their second consecutive Triple A State Championship. Go Dawgs. Go ahead Mr. Tucker. Thank you. So can we take the vote because we have another one to present as well from the House, from their House of Representative, Mr. Ben Connell. Where is he? He's not here, is he? He is. He is here somewhere. I saw him when I walked in the door.

» I saw him. All right. Can we take the vote please, sir? Yes, okay. On this we've already got the motion in seconds. Correct. All in favor. Did the record show that it is unanimous? Thank you so much. Congratulations. Thank you. Mr. Vice Chair, if it's okay, I'm gonna ask Mr. Shumate, Councilman Shumate to read the one from the House, from Representative Ben Connell please. That's bigger than ours. All right. Did you wanna read it? No. No. I have no objection. Thank you, Representative Connell. All right. Mr. Jones, call him down. All right. Listen, could we have the family, the friends, the students, excuse the athletes, coaches all come down? Anybody? I'm all down. It's like you said. Kellyanna. I can pronounce your name. Come on down. Okay, ready? One, two, three. One, two, three.

» Stand tight. Thank y'all. Congratulations. Thank you. Good stuff. Good stuff. You got it? It was raining this morning when I got it. It's all good. All right. This is good stuff. Very proud of the Bulldogs. Okay. Give everybody just a moment. Those that are leaving to leave. Okay. We're at item number six. It was moved on the agenda, amended to bring the public presentation dealing with the Kershaw County Sheriff Lee Bone talking about Police Officers Week, May 12th through 18th, and Peace Officers Memorial Day, May 15th. Before we do anything else, I want to tell you, Sheriff, I'm so proud of the job you do. And I'm so proud of the fact that you brought this to our attention. You got with the proper folks out here and y'all have made this happen.

» Not the politicians, but you and the folks have made this happen. And I appreciate some. We're excited to hear from you tonight. So would you come up and start us off and lead us through it, please? Chairman Jones, may we also invite up Representatives Newton and Connell? Okay. While he's giving his speech. Come on up, guys. Of our state representatives, Ben Connell, Brandon Newton. Stand beside us here. Thank you for the time coming here tonight and being able to present this to everyone. So I think this is a very special occasion. Happens every year. Started back in 1962, where President Kennedy signed a proclamation making May 15th of every year, Peace Officer Memorial Day. And the week that May 15th falls into, Police Week.

» And it's to recognize all law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty throughout America. This is local, state, and federal law enforcement. On average, there's about 163 officers that die in the line of duty every year in America. This is a very special day. We asked that any government agencies who fly a flag is to fly it at half staff tomorrow. Today, what I wanted to do is a little something different. Normally when we recognize our fallen officers, we recognize how they die. Tonight, I want to kind of make a spin on it and recognize how they lived. Because they're not heroes because of the way they died. They're heroes because of the way they lived.

» Tonight, I decided to bring the family on board and let you guys see the family and know that even though some of these deaths here has been a long time ago, the families are still affected by it. They still remember the loved ones who gave their life for the citizens of Kershaw County. Going to get the first slide. The very first deputy to die in the line of duty was Deputy Ted Turner. And you'll see EOW, that's the end of watch. That's gonna be the day that he passed. It's gonna be Thursday, April 29th, 1971. There's a description up there about the way he died, but I'd rather the family come up now so you can see the- Is Carrie here? She sure is. Yeah, she's getting up now. Now you know the, Ms.

» Turner, the wife here, she's gonna talk to you a little bit, but she also served Kershaw County. And Jimmy Jones, I'm sure you're familiar with it. Carrie Turner, I am the wife of Ted Turner. These are my kids, my oldest daughter, Cassandra. Timothy, Stacey, this is my grandson. And at the time of my husband's death, he was only six months old. He was what, four years old. And she was eight years old. But my husband came to me that particular day on my job as scholar, and he said, I'm getting ready to go, and my boy's a little hoarse. He said, I'm getting ready to go take a person to the mental intersession, and you wanted that thing? And I said, no, I'm good.

» So I came back to my job, and in the next two hours, here comes the sheriff, the nurse, and a deputy, and they called me in the office, and they said, your husband got killed. And I said, no, my husband just talked to me two hours ago. It can't be him. And I think I fell out, but the nurse put something to my nose. But anyway, the good part about it, after my kids got grown and they left, I said, I'm gonna pursue my husband's career. And I went to the sheriff's department, and I said, I wanna be an officer. And they said, we don't have a job open. We just had a female, but you could go to the jail and work. And I said, okay. So when I went to the jail, I said, okay, I'm not comfortable being an officer. So they sent me to school, and I became a sergeant.

» And I said, I'm not comfortable being a sergeant. They sent me back to school, and I became a lieutenant. And I said, you know what? I wanna carry a weapon. I wanna transport. My husband, this is what he did. He transported inmates and stuff like that. This is what I wanna do. I wanna pursue what he was gonna do. And they gave me that band with all them inmates and them leg eyes and chain. And that's what I did. And I stayed there for 17 years until I retired. Yes. And I am so glad that I've been posted. Thank you so much. So let's say one more thing. Is doing a productive job. We have someone that be on Facebook. Keep us alert on everything that go. Oh, you're a man. Let us keep it in our prayers. I used to say, leave on, but now I gotta say, sure, leave on. Thank y'all.

» Miss Turner, you remember him when he was a young deputy and walked in the jail. He was impressive. He was impressive back then. He was, they could spit at him. This is not about me. Hey, listen, listen. Hey, Kerry Turner. Thank you so much. Thank you, Turner family. That's our first example of the legacy that was created by one of our former deputies. You know, don't let Kerry Turner fool you, Sheriff. She was tough in that jail. Oh, I know. She was tough. We run the house. We can go ahead and do the next slide here. Our next deputy that died in the line of duty, his end of watch was Monday, July 2nd, 1973. This could be Captain Pat or, unfortunately, we weren't able to find any of his family members, his surviving family members.

» Pat was, had actually done his time to retire and stayed on one extra year. And then he died in the line of duty during that extra year he had. And also, unfortunately, the person who done it, which I won't give them the time to say their name, but was recently up for parole and was granted parole because we weren't able to contact any family members to come out here. So let's move on to our second, our third one. Can I say something about Captain Pat Orr? You know, having been retired law enforcement, worked for the Sheriff's Department, worked for the detention center and other things. I was young, but I remember the morning that he got shot, some things you'll never forget. And you just made the comment that his family, you weren't able to contact them. Well, let me just say this.

» Where is family? This is his family here at Kershaw County. The people in this room, we're his family. He's not alone. Thank you, Sheriff. Absolutely. Our third one, Ernest Christian, Chris Potter III. His end of watch was Thursday, February 21st, 1974. And we have his family here today. Miss Potter, his wife, who was- She's a legend. A legend. And she was actually pregnant with Chris's son when this took place. And here's Chris's son here, who also chose the path of law enforcement and currently working over at Richland County. I think they have a little something they want to say too. I'm not gonna prolong what you've got going on, but I want to share some stories with you.

» When Chris was joined the law enforcement arena, it was not my chosen profession for him as I'm sure it was not yours, Carrie. But that was his dream. And so I supported that dream because it was something he truly wanted to do. Chris joined the Sheriff's Department in November of 1973. We found out in February of the next year that we were expecting our first child, and this is him, and I'm proud of my son. Chris was killed in the line of duty in February of that same year, 20 days after we found out that I was expecting our child. Through the years, it's been a hard haul, but I want to tell you something. We have to be proud of our law enforcement family. Amen. They don't get enough recognition because they put their lives on the line every day. I don't care who they are.

» They're in law enforcement, they put their lives on the line, and we need to support these families. My son, when he chose to go into the law enforcement profession, he grew up in the Sheriff's Department. I worked for Hector De Bruyl after my husband was killed for 14 years. Chris grew up in that arena, so I had no doubt when he got grown what he was gonna do, and that's what he did, and I'm proud of him. But you have to understand, too, that it's been a hard road for all of us, but it's been a road that has brought many blessings. If we look at it in the right way, it's brought blessings. I'm proud of my family, my son, he's the captain with Richland County, my daughter-in-law, who is not my daughter-in-law, she's my daughter, this is Christy. Yes. Baby Brandala, Victoria Potter.

» This is my brother-in-law, Johnny, Chris' brother. And we are just glad, and we're so honored that y'all did this. Because so many times, people forget what people have given, and what the families have suffered through. But you know what, we're all family. The law enforcement family never changes. Amen. We'll always be a part of that law enforcement family, whether we're in it or not, because that is our family, and we feel a part of that, and we thank you for doing this tonight. We don't know what it means to all of us to have this honor, and to be able to stand before you and speak about our family. Thank you for the honor, and I really appreciate it. Thank you so much. Thank you, Gina. Thank you, Sheriff.

» I'd just like to thank, first of all, I'd like to thank Sheriff Bone and the County Council for this remembrance. These officers, thank you for remembering these families. And I'd just like to say that while death may take these officers from us, and from their families, death cannot take their names, and death cannot take their memories from us. Amen. Amen. Amen. Sheriff, if you want to get a picture or something. Another great legacy here. Our fourth deputy, Rob Evans, his end of watch was Wednesday, November 27th, 2013. It was just over 10 years ago. We have his family here today. His wife, Beth, and his daughter. Son couldn't make it today. He had other obligations, but I think his daughter wanted to say a few words. Thank you guys, first of all.

» I really struggle with things like this because I think about how my dad passed away, and I'm like, he wasn't in a car crash on duty. He wasn't shot or murdered. And so I struggle with things like this, but I also know that prior to November 27th, he had given 20 plus years of his life to being a police officer and former police chief of Ridgeway. And so I'm very grateful for things like this because I think the other thing that I also struggle with is, will he be remembered? Do people remember him? And it's great to come in here and see so many familiar faces, even though it's been coming up on 11 years. For us, it feels like yesterday, and I'm sure so many of the other families may echo the same thing. But we're very grateful for him being recognized along with the other families.

» And I hope that my dad is the last one and that we never have to have another presentation where we have to add a name to the list here. So once again, very grateful and thankful for your time and for Sheriff LeBone for setting this up and recognizing them tonight. Thank you. These are our four families, our four deputies that we recognize tonight. The families around me, cause you're next here. It's like I said from the beginning, it's not how these officers died that made them heroes, it's how they lived. And I think tonight we kind of brought the families up, give a chance to demonstrate the legacy they've created. And I'm almost ashamed that here in Kershaw County, three of the four has been gone for over 50 years and we've yet to come up with any kind of a monument.

» And I know that's none of our current councilman's problems, but this is our fault, I should say. And I know all of our councilmen are very supportive of law enforcement and we have a very good council here. But today, we are going to start putting together a committee, cause we wanna build a monument here in Kershaw County for our fallen heroes. And this is gonna be a process where we have to pick this committee and form a 501C3 and start figuring out how we're gonna raise money. And hopefully our legislators are gonna help us out with that. And if the county's got any extra money in their wallet, we'll be glad to take that. We're loaded, we're loaded. Shirt of check's in the mail. For this cause we are.

» Thank you for listening to us and I'm sure we get a good picture with all the families up here with council tonight. Beth, it's so good to see you. So good to see you. And we're very proud of what your husband did. And Chris, you know I love you. Good man, we're so proud. Carrie, and you know, Pat Orr. Lee Bone, thank you so much. And I tell you what, Brandon, thank you for being here. Ben Canale, you're always around. Thank you so much. All right, so you wanna get some pictures? Family to come up here in front of council. Sheriff Lee Bone, I got an assignment for you, please, sir. Can you recruit that young man over there and get him back over in the Wright County? Well, yeah, I couldn't help but to notice he works for possibly the second best sheriff's office.

» The second best, that's right. You can tell Leon we said that, right? Yeah. If we can get in as close and as tight as possible. All right. Hold on a second, guys. Hold on one minute. Can we just now get one with the wives? Yeah. Quit complaining, Jeannie. Quit complaining. We're not going to let you get out here that easy. Are we doing counsel? Absolutely. Absolutely. Yes, absolutely. That's what I just told you. That's what I just told you. You see how my reading's improved? You're doing good now. Come on, Brandon. Okay. Okay, ready? One, two, three. Thank you all again. You're going to come back, aren't you? Let me do this. I'm going to ask you about the... You're doing good. Mr. Brazel, do you have anything you'd like to say about what we just went through? A few words. Let me cry out.

» I think... Well, I think they are the ones you'd be talking to. They're all leaving. Sammy Tucker, you got anything you want to say? I just want to say thanks to all who put this together, Sheriff Lee Bone and all the others. And well-deserved, and we need to do more of this as we move forward in recognizing our fallen officers and their families and taking care of them, because as part of Set It Best, it is a family and will always be a family, because nobody does, and I say this with prejudice. The EMS folks show up at your doorstep and they save your life, pump air back into you and all those good things. The firefighters come, save nothing but the chimney. They're still heroes. When police officers show up, there's usually not a good ending because someone has to be taken away.

» And so in so many things that they do, they're always carrying a stiffness or a profile of being the bad guy, because you have to take people to jail or you have to take people where they can get help, whether it's mentally or physically. Can we turn our phones off, please? I'm going to always be pro-law enforcement, and always, if there's anything I can do in remembering these families, I'm happy to contribute. Thank you, Mr. Vice Chair. Well said, Mr. Tucker. I'd like to speak now that the room's quieted down. We know not the burdens that these families carry, and it's almost a very emotional thing to watch what we just saw tonight.

» We go through our lives working at our jobs, doing what we do day in and day out, not realizing that they're putting their lives on the line every day for us. And this is a big reminder of just how important our law enforcement are, and we certainly always will back our sheriff's department and other divisions of law enforcement. I want to say thank you to the families for being here, and it's very touching. Thank you. Mr. Shoemake. Yeah. Just kind of echo what my fellow councilman just said. What we saw in Charlotte the other week is a really good reminder of how dangerous that job is. I mean, those guys were serving the routine fugitive warrant. And I say routine because, you know, these guys do danger so much that danger becomes routine.

» And, you know, they came upon a place and, you know, several folks lost their lives. And so, again, just thank all our law enforcement officers, particularly those who gave that ultimate sacrifice. Well said. Mr. Cato. As a retiree in this profession, it's like Councilman Brazel said, it was very emotional to stand up and hear these families speak. And to know that I've got a son that's fixing to start his career Friday in this profession. You know, I can't imagine sometimes what my family went through wondering sometimes whether I was going to come back home at night or not, knowing some of the things I was going to do, but these families paid the ultimate sacrifice. And if you've ever been to a police officer's funeral or a military funeral, you know how hard that is.

» I personally worked with Rob Evans at the sheriff's office. He was a great guy and a great friend. And there's others that I've lost throughout the career and it's hard. It's hard. It's hard on law enforcement families as well as their families, their personal families. So I thank LeBone for what he's done. And I thank these families for being here tonight. Thank you, Mr. Cato. Thank you, Mr. Vice Chair. In Kershaw County, we are supportive of law enforcement. Thank you to each one of you here, to the families. Mr. Vice Chair, I don't know if this is the way we do it, but I'd like to make a motion. Do what you want to do supporting these folks.

» That we adjourn and honor, and I'm going to say the names, Sheriff Ted Turner, Sheriff Pat Orr, Sheriff Chris Potter III, Sheriff Rob Evans and their families. They've laid their lives on the line for the foundation of a community. They're the building blocks of what a prosperous community is. And we have sheriffs here wearing the badge. Thank you to each one. I never was. Thank you to my family and friends who do it. It's truly an honor and to all our first responders. You know, there's a lot of unsung heroes in first responders. You hear about military and everything. Our first responders get overlooked a lot of times. Thank you so much. We love you all. Councilman Wells said, Miss Tucker, you look at me funny.

» Yes, sir, because I just had a thought and Miss Turner mentioned it earlier, and I think it was an oversight. But last week was Correctional Officers Week. And I just want to say thanks to those folks as well. And I'm going to ask Miss Hannah that she noted on the calendar so we don't skip it next year. But because they do a tremendous job. And I've always said the trips I had to make to the jail, because I despise going to the jail, never like going there. And with that being said, those guys have to babysit a lot of bad people at times. And it's not an easy job. And transport, as Miss Turner was saying earlier. So I just want to say kudos to them for last week for Correctional Officers Week. Thank you. Thank you for bringing that up, Miss Turner. We'll get back with you in a second.

» One thing I would like to say is that I brought back a lot of memories for me as well. I'm retired law enforcement. I have a son who's second generation. Getting ready to retire, it's hard to believe that I have a son that old, because I don't look that old. But we can't do enough when it comes to recognizing or supporting some type of money for the folks who gave their all for this county. And they go out, they don't know if they're coming home. We have on this council five years highway patrol. Ten. Excuse me. Ten years highway patrol. We have retired. How many years? Seven. And of course, myself, 26 years, four months, and 15 days. Well, you know your exact numbers, don't you? Yes, I do. Because when you run into jail, you're doing your time with the headmates.

» You know, and it was time. But seriously, guys, thank you all for taking time tonight. You know, Sheriff Bones said, how much time do I have? I said, on this situation, if I'm running this meeting, you have as much time as you need. Simple as that. Because we can't say enough. We can't do enough for the people who gave their all. So thank you, each and every one of you. Thank you. Vice Chairman Jones, can I second Councilman Tomlinson's motion for a moment of silence? Yes, you can. Do you want to read their names off and do it individually, or do you want to do it all together? We do it individually. Each name should be honored with their families. And yes, I would love to have a moment of silence included in that. So we take a motion. One moment of silence for the fallen heroes.

» We don't need a motion. Call the names out. You call the names out and we'll do the adjournment. At the end of the meeting or now? No, no, no, no. I want to honor them. You call the name. And do a moment of silence. Do a moment of silence. Ready? And then I'll hit the gavel. We'll go to the next one. You call the next name. Let's go through it, guys. I'm ready? Yep. Go ahead. In honor of Sheriff Ted Turner. May we have a moment of silence. In honor of Sheriff Pat Orr. May we have a moment of silence. In honor of Chris Potter III. May we have a moment of silence. In honor of Sheriff Rob Evans. May we have a moment of silence. Amen. Thank you. Thank you very much. All right. Get my breath back. Love our law enforcement. Love our law enforcement. Okay. All right.

» We're moving to public comments. Each speaker has five minutes to speak. Folks, I'm going to tell you just the way it's going to be. You're not going to get up here and you're not going to talk about individuals. You can talk about an issue at hand. Something that we need to work on. Whatever. But we're not going to have any personal attacks or things like that. Five minutes if you all talk to us and give us input. Vice Chair Jones, would you like me to read the public comment guidelines? Sure, go ahead. But I'm going to go further than that. Go ahead. Go ahead. Now? Sure. You ready? Okay. Public comment is an opportunity for members of the public to share information with council. It is not a time for debate with or questions and answers from council.

» It is a time for council to receive input. It is not a time for council to respond. In short, during public comment council, we'll listen to the public comment but not comment on public comment. Offensive and inappropriate comments will not be tolerated. If a group would like to speak to council, we request that a spokesperson be selected and that this person indicate the group he or she is representing on the sign up sheet and in his or her comments. Public comment is a time to discuss issues. Public comment period is limited to five minutes maximum, allowed per individual speaker. Public comments to council as an agenda item shall continue uninterrupted to be live streamed by audio and video where available until public comments agenda item is finished and concluded. Thank you.

» Thank you, Mr. Brasler. How many speakers do we have? Mr. Vice Chair, we have nine people signed to speak. Okay, we have nine people and you have five minutes each. Would you call the first name, please? Yes, Mr. Vice Chair, it's Marty Daniels. The subject is Highway 521 expansion. Ms. Daniels, welcome. And if you would, folks, speak directly into the mic, because if you don't, the people that are watching us in TV land can't hear. How is that? That's good. Is that okay? Hello again, council members. Thank you for your thoughtful willingness to consider the negative impact Highway 521 would have on Kershaw County if it were expanded to four lanes. Actually, it would be much wider than that, six lanes with a median, like an interstate.

» The consequences? It would fuel even greater housing boom, loss of farmland, loss of Camden's green buffer. Putting at risk our waterways, wetlands, mill ponds, destruction of wildlife corridors and habitat, dividing farmers' lands and obstructing farmers' access. We know from national transportation data that it is not needed. Last week, we had a two and a half hour meeting with SCDOT's project manager, Ken Martin, and I'd like to share. SCDOT takes public comment seriously and will give us the opportunity to tell SCDOT what Kershaw County's priorities are and what is more urgent and more important than a highway to benefit Sumter. SCDOT will listen to you and to us, citizens, during this process about our real traffic issues.

» Disfunctional interstate exits, dangerous intersections that need traffic lights, Highway 1 to Lugoff and Elgin. We know the COG asked SCDOT for a four-lane highway, but SCDOT will assess whether there is a need at all and will consider a full range of options from no build, meaning no change at all, to alternate routes, a bypass to save Rembert, road resurfacing and other options. SCDOT's feasibility study will begin with a traffic study and will take about a year. Public comment and public impact will be given serious weight. This matters because people in Kershaw County were not given a fair opportunity for public comment.

» Compare this with the great announcement this week from Central Midlands COG inviting public comment with three public meetings, yesterday, today and tomorrow, on changes on Highway 1 from Spears Creek to Watts Hill Road. That was great. And so it's appropriate and fair for Kershaw County Council to pass this resolution expressing citizens' opposition to a four-lane highway. SCDOT wants to hear from us. SCDOT wants to take Kershaw County's needs seriously. SCDOT will conduct a fair and open process. SCDOT has a freedom of information officer who will make all the data available to us. Traffic counts, freight tonnage, safety data.

» SCDOT has a special category in their assessment entitled Place, which will assign ratings to things like cemeteries, wetlands, churches, historic sites, all of which are in this roadway. We, stakeholders, county council and citizens, will have a voice. As proof, SCDOT agreed to investigate the problems at Exit 98 as a result of our meeting. So this gives us all time to get it right. Watery Valley Preservation, the organization we founded, is moving on promoting conservation easements. Last week we met with South Carolina Farm Bureau Land Trust and the State Conservation Bank and Congre Land Trust. Kershaw County is one of the most productive farm counties on the eastern seaboard. But we lost 2,000 acres of farmland last year.

» Only 17% of American land is ideal for farming and yet 62% of housing and commercial development is taking place on farmland. This does not have to happen here. County council, you can champion your priorities to SCDOT for the county, road improvements, better safety for accident sites, and regulations on housing density and farmland protection. We support you for your work on reasonable zoning restrictions and housing density. We thank you. We might even be able to designate 521 as a scenic highway. We know we have to deal with phenomenal growth and we know a pipeline from Sumter will make it worse. It's appropriate and fair and in the best interest for all of us to pass this resolution. There is no downside to the vote. 20 seconds. 20 seconds.

» It's a statement that we're opposed to a rush for four lane before a careful process. SCDOT wants to hear from us and from you. Local government and our voices will be heard in the process. Thank you very much. Thank you so much, Ms. Daniels. Next speaker. Next speaker is Henry Walker, subject of sporting clays. Good evening. Welcome, Mr. Henry Walker. Thank you. Where have you been? What's the sir? Where have you been? I've been off shooting sporting clays. I got a text yesterday from someone with the gun club thing being on the agenda tonight and there was confusion. We got the requirements for a gun club to operate and we didn't know that that was already in place. We are totally in favor of allowing permitting permitted use and the three that y'all are voting on tonight.

» But we would like to open discussion with whoever we need to about the time frames and the qualifications of the people that are required. And the reason why I coach kids sporting clays and that sport has grown from 100 kids in a tournament to over 800 now. And in order to get these kids through in a one day tournament with 800 shooters shooting 100 clays apiece, they have to have three rotations. They start the first rotation at eight o'clock. The requirements say nine to five. So I don't know who we need to talk to, but we will be back to find out if we can get that modified and cleared up at some point in time. Mr. Walker, thank you. And Mr. Templer, make sure you get his name and number. Contact him. I can assure you we will take care of this.

» There are much other people that are much more qualified to speak to this than I am, but they're all out of town. Well, you're talking to a group that can do something about it. Thank you so much. You're welcome. OK. Next speaker. Next speaker. I hope I get this name right. Elisa McKim elections. Welcome. I haven't seen you in a while. Alicia. Yes. Good to see you. Welcome here. Thank you so much. As a 25, I'm just going to go ahead and read it because I'm a little bit nervous and I want to make sure I include everything. My name is Elisa McKim. I'm a Lugoff resident. I have some familiar faces up here and thank you for having me in your time and your service as a 25 year resident and voter in this county.

» I wanted to address the issue of election integrity and some simple steps that we can take to gain voters trust in Kershaw County for the 2024 election season. Recent surveys have shown that four out of five voters feel a sense of dread when thinking about the 2024 presidential elections. I am humbly asking for an investigation and verification of our electronic software and database used to administer elections in our county. I am not making any allegations of any kind or focus on any disputed elections in the past. I am I am simply concerned about the upcoming elections and many others are as well. I ask that you investigate and take any necessary actions to ensure that our future Kershaw County elections are fair and secure.

» The reason I'm concerned arises from a recent filing in the Supreme Court in the United States. It has been revealed that three highly qualified cybersecurity computer experts in the link below and I will email this to you all as well. I had some printer issues but I'll make sure that I get a copy to this to all of you. So anyway that it was discovered that critical encryption passwords were left in plain text in the election databases in some counties using dominions databases and also in some of the ES and S machines. And I have the link on the document. I'm not suggesting that these problems exist here rather I'm simply asking for verification that our systems are inspected and found to be in good working order. Passwords for election systems are easily discoverable by hackers.

» This would make it impossible to guarantee the integrity of our elections no matter which election vendor serves our country our county. It still warrants an examination like the recent slew of airline mishaps. If one airplane model is having problems it's a good idea for all systems to be checked to be sure that they are designed and working securely. I specifically asked that a bipartisan team inspect to verify if our election database user password is encrypted and if not demonstrate how the encryption will be turned on before this fall. If our election database has the same election database password keys as other counties which has been discovered. Please document how this will be corrected before voting begins this fall.

» To examine and turn on event system logging to ensure that our electronic voting systems and databases are auditable and traceable and that no database log file audit features are disabled. To ensure a clear auditable chain of custody for all devices that connect to our systems including thumb drives and related technologies. To verify election software contract in our county states that the election database should be certified and or encrypted. Added steps for continuous monitoring of processes and procedures during the fall election will increase public trust on a bipartisan basis.

» This is if this is not the official body with the authority over the election processes or the election database then if you could please direct me by email to the to the correct I'm also sending a letter the same letter to the local election office and dropping one off in person. I just want to make sure that all the relevant officials are fully aware of this potential problems that have already been found and make sure that that doesn't happen here. So I'll be sharing my concerns with in your future responses with our constituents and some local groups as well. So I thank you very much for your time and your willingness to look into these and make sure that Kershaw County is safe and secure. Well said and Mr. Templer would you make sure you got her name and her number and I'm asking Mr.

» Templer to personally look into this and get back with you. Thank you. You got it. Mr. Templer. Okay. Next speaker. Mr. Templer you go take care of that correct. Next speaker is Aldon Dunlop Moms for Liberty and I believe parent pledge. Welcome. Thank you so much. And while I see a number of familiar faces up here. And first and foremost I just wanted to thank you for this evening I have to say that this has probably been the most emotional council meeting that I have been at so I want to thank you for the recognition that you've already given our community tonight. And I am here tonight on behalf of our Kershaw County Moms for Liberty chapter I'm the chapter chair for our county. And I have something I would like to pass each of you. I'll just set it right there.

» But before I get to the paper. I just wanted to say, again thank you for the work that you have put in and that you continue to do so for the betterment of our community. As a chapter chair of the Kershaw County Moms for Liberty I'm here tonight to ask you to stand with the families of Kershaw County by signing our parental pledge. Whether you're making decisions on the size of lots, or where and when to put ball fields, and a number of other topics I asked that you always keep top of mind the future of our county or children. As council members you have the privilege of making decisions that affect each and every one of us. And with that responsibility I urge you to remember that every decision that you make will last for generations to come.

» So before I step away because I don't want to take up too much of your time I would like to read the pledge that I'm asking you to sign. And this pledge says that I pledge to honor the fundamental rights of parents including but not limited to the right to direct their education, medical care and the moral upbringing of their children. I pledge to advance policies that strengthen parental involvement and decision making, increase transparency and defend against government overreach and secure parental rights at all levels of government.

» So all levels of government is something that is really important I think that we recognize that things happen at every single meeting at every single level whether it is a PTA meeting whether it's a school board meeting whether we are in our council chambers. Whether it's city whether it is county whether we're at the state house you all have been elected to do a job and that is to represent us as as members of this community. And while I stand here before you and I see familiar faces that I respect very much tonight I urge you to stand with the parents.

» And I want you to know that this is not a partisan this is not I don't care what side of the line you're on our children's future is at stake and we need people that have a backbone that will stand up and say we will stand with you to protect our future. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Next speaker. I apologize if I mispronounced this the handwriting is not entirely clear to me but I believe it's Todd D Brunson. Okay, and welcome. The subject is studies okay. Welcome. That's okay. I've been accused of using hieroglyphics before. It hasn't taken off quite yet. I stood up here some time ago and asked what was the greatest park in the United States. Several people in the audience answered Central Park. And that's because Central Park was designated in 1852.

» As far as somebody who had the forethought two gentlemen said what did this place look like in 100 years, and it was great that Mrs Daniels pointed out the future and the decisions that we make here today as well as the young lady in green. I'm sorry I didn't get your name but talking about the kids. So the first two things that I wanted to talk about along with the future is looking at the traffic studies and the school impact studies that need to be done as not that we curtail development but finding the best way forward to ensure that what we have is prosperity and not just growth but in the proper fashion. I would imagine that the company that y'all have employed Herzl and Lang out of Chicago know what they're doing and y'all have spent a lot of the county's money to do so.

» So to sit back and take pause and think about what they're going to be able to present as we move forward in the next 20 years along with proper traffic studies and proper school impact studies. These are all things that we need to step back from and just say okay guys what we do do for the next year or so in this county council. I told y'all six weeks ago that this was going to be the toughest year of your life and I think it's coming that way but y'all accepted the challenge and move forward with it so everybody here appreciates that for sure. There was talk early on both from the city council and this council that a joint commission so to speak would be put together that would involve possibly a couple of people from this council a couple of people from the city council.

» People from the planning and zoning and also possibly even the equine industry to see how we can move forward with the history of what Camden is and hopefully what the history that Camden will remain as far as a equine centric and a place that people want to come to. And knowing that this is a constant revenue and just not something that's going to be a little bit of a flash in the pan. So I'll keep it short but there was one thing that that has been murmured in the crowd behind me so and in my usual I'll take it upon myself to say something on number 13 it says new business altering the rules of conduct for public comment.

» We think they're very clear and I don't think anybody has a problem with it but one of the things that was suggested or what has come back and hopefully I'm wrong that these comments be left down to three minutes and only 30 minutes in total. So what I did is I took a vote and asked for a motion that we remain at five minutes to have anybody a second there. We have a second. Everybody in favor of Mr. Brunson Mr. Brunson. No no no you're talking to us. No sir you're not going to present to the crowd you present to us. I'm presenting their vote. Sir I'm explaining to you that you're talking to us not the audience. I'm talking to everybody in the room. Well that's fine keep it directed towards us sir. Okay I took a vote. Keep it directed. You can say that. I'm looking at you. I took a vote.

» Don't take votes in here. Talk to us. It wasn't on the agenda where I could not say that. As I said don't present it to the crowd you present it to us. We're glad to have you here but just talk to us. I'm talking. Do I need to reclaim my time? No sir I'm not going to let you reclaim your time. Okay. We took a vote. We'd like to keep it at five minutes and not the three minutes because that shortens the amount of time. Y'all are elected here. We appreciate what y'all do. So keep it at the five minutes. Thank you Mr. Munson. Next speaker. Next speaker is Tom Webb the third. The subject is litter ordinance. Welcome Mr. Webb. I was going to talk about the litter ordinance. Are you speaking to Mike? Mr. Webb we can't hear you.

» I was going to talk about the litter ordinance but I see on your agenda you've got something about emergency management and curfews and emergency preparedness activities. I was going to hand in my can of beans because the litter ordinance actually makes it illegal for us to have cans in Kershaw County. So I guess I can't get to the beans because I've got a can. But I'll put this off till another time because I got I want to say something about this other thing. It seems like perhaps someone has come around to the point of view that we are on the verge of civil unrest. That's the reason for curfews and emergency preparedness. And it could certainly happen. There's millions of people in this country who don't belong here and some of them are hostile.

» We are facing a possibility with war with Russia and China and Iran is always there and North Korea. We could be in really bad trouble if the means of getting our food from one place to another stops. If the supply chain breaks, the grocery stores will empty out pretty quick. So I wish instead of just talking about curfews and emergency preparedness, you would set aside a great amount of corn, a great amount of it. Perhaps a couple of these tremendous metal buildings filled with corn and when it gets a little old you could sell it and refill it. But that would be insurance for the future for us. And these new people coming in, they're going to want to eat everything we're eating. We already would be on slim rations, but now they're going to eat what we want.

» So they're coming here to starve if the supply chain breaks. So please put aside some corn, please. That's it. Thank you, Mr. Webb. Next person. Thank you, Mr. Webb. Lynn Canto on development. Welcome. It's good to see you again. Good to see you. First, I want to thank everybody for taking a vote to consider a change in the ordinance for half acre lots when you're considering that for development. This is a big and bold move and I do appreciate it. One of the things I've been looking at is other developments in Kershaw County and had some concerns. I spent a good bit of time doing research, written research and actually video research on the topic. And one of the things I want to say is never sacrifice quality for quantity of homes.

» One of the developments that's coming about now is the D.R. Horton development called Dogwood Estates Highway One Farms. And I've shared with you a piece of paper to explain what I've looked up. Phase one is to be completed in two thousand twenty seven and the final phase two and three will be completed in twenty thirty. It's a three hundred thirty one acre property and they submitted a proposal on five twenty one twenty four and there's only twenty nine acres of open space. The project will allow four story structures, which concerns me due to the proximity of the airport. Also, one of the things that was listed was Lugoff Elgin Water Authority on the document and I don't think that's accurate.

» Each development should have a school study and counties should consult with the school districts in this process. Schools listed on this development are Jackson Elementary, Camden Middle School and Camden High School. One of my biggest concerns was that Camden Elementary, if the Camden Training Center is developed, is going to overflow into Jackson Elementary. So that would also create another problem if Jackson is already going to have its own development of students flowing into it. I gave a list of potential students based on each of the phases based on the information from Billy Smith of one point six per students per home. That could be a possibility of five hundred and fourteen students and that's a minimum. It could be more than that.

» And if you go over to the second column, it lists cars, the potential number of cars in this project. You have one, two to three cars per home. So we're looking at about six hundred forty two to nine hundred sixty three cars in this development. So what does this mean? Please take your time when you make a decision on approving these developments. Did you know that D.R. Horton set aside four hundred million dollars just to deal with construction problems? D.R. Horton will only allow a home inspector, not any framing specialist or other specialist before someone can purchase a home. D.R. Horton has lost building permits and other locations due to poor quality and problems. D.R. Horton requires a buyer to sign a mandatory arbitration contract.

» South Carolina has ruled this contract unconscionable and unenforceable. Airports have FFA rules that must be in compliance under Title 14, Part 77 regulations. Are we in compliance? There are liability concerns, hazard landing and takeoff concerns. Check out flightradar24.com. Who is responsible for the quality of large density construction? Who protects the buyer? If you look in the news, you'll see quite a few people are having to deal with the outcome of purchasing a brand new home, thinking they don't have any repair issues for ten years and they're already dealing with repair problems. How will the county help potential buyers if we have this issue? Here are some common D.R. Horton quality questions and issues.

» Moisture issues, HVAC issues, heat not working, units not the right size, doors not hung properly, stove installed but doesn't work, gas leaks, cracks, an exterior ceiling foundation, an uneven drywall, wood structures not covered properly before completing, water damage and warping of boards, garage doors fall off, gaps in bricks to sidings, gaps in windows, steel sidings, trim issues were not installed properly, missing pipes, insulation too thin, structural integrity of roof compromise, roof buckles, code violations, drainage problems and septic tank class action lawsuit. Keyword, not aware of any warranty items at this time. If somebody asks if there's a problem, buyers are left responsible for repairs. Need a light at the entrance of Highway 1 for this development.

» Need an infrastructure impact fee for large development. Require independent studies for infrastructure, wildlife protection considerations and moratorium on growth until comprehensive growth and development plans is in place. You did a great job. Thank you so much. Glad to have you here. Next speaker. Next speaker is Dada Bowes, impact fees and moratorium. Mr. Bowes, welcome. I haven't seen you in a while. Good evening. Thank you for letting me speak. Our forefathers were certainly thoughtful and creative in designing a beautiful town with many Charleston influences for future generations. As seen in our architecture, street names, gardens, et cetera. We have so much to be thankful for.

» Our historic neighborhoods, antebellum homes, our parks, historic monuments and churches, historic Hamden, Revolutionary War Park, Springdale Racecourse, along with the Carolina and Colonial Cups, the Steeplechase Museum, horse farms and agricultural areas. Unfortunately, and lately, we have been experiencing tornadic traffic and an unpleasing amount of development. It's very difficult getting to Columbia if you don't leave by two o'clock. And to return home is even more of a nightmare. This should not be happening. Imposing an impact fee on new developments and new home buyers would be one way to slow growth as you help fund expenses to pay for roads, water, sewer, parks, libraries, police, fire, recreation and schools.

» Southern South Carolina, a town very similar to Camden, has just increased their impact fees 373%. From $1,161 to $5,490, based on 2,500 to 3,000 square footage. The impact fee would be paid at the same time building permits are issued for new developments. And the more the units, the higher the fee as infrastructure will be taxed more. Taxpaying residents of Kershaw County would not be subject to this fee. Does Kershaw County have an impact fee? And what is its amount? I beg you, let's be creative as our forefathers were and protect our quality of life and open spaces by taking time to get it right in addressing quality growth. You all have jobs and families and we're so appreciative of all the work you do on behalf of Kershaw County.

» You do not need to feel rushed in establishing a well thought out comprehensive plan for all of Kershaw County. What is the status on the comprehensive plan? Again, I encourage you to take your time to get this right. We will only have one chance of this for our children and future generations. Again, I suggest a three year moratorium on all major developments. This does not include normal construction. This should allot you plenty of time for no regrets and no mistakes as to our lovely town's future. Thank you. Ms. DeBose, thank you so much. Well said. If I could, Madam Chair, she's back. I know it's a disappointment, but a lot of folks, I'm going to pass this back to you. Thank you, Mr. Jones. And thank you for getting the Camden High School girls at the awards banquet. Mr.

» DeBose, does that conclude public comments? One more public comment. Melissa Rice speaking on lot size vote. Okay. Hi, Ms. Rice. How are you? I'm fine. I came to South Carolina to work in 1982 in Northeast Columbia. There, I watched the growth and decided to move east towards Camden. I chose Camden for its history, heritage, horses, and small town charm as I grew up in Ipswich, Massachusetts, which like Camden is 25 miles from a state capital, rich in history, heritage, horses, and small town charm. Ipswich, Massachusetts, High Street, and High Street in Newburyport, Massachusetts, have the largest collection of 17th and 18th century homes still preserved by the National Register of Historic Places. That is one thing that I enjoyed driving down Littleton Street in Camden.

» As my parents stayed in Ipswich and were active in preserving the small town charm against rampant growth, I fully understand the necessity of having a strategic plan going forward, a plan with a vision as to what we, the townspeople, want to see in one year, five years, 10 years, or 20 years, is an absolute to maintaining the charm that attracted all of us to Camden. Increasing the minimum lot size is only a small check in going forward. We need to look at the various districts that make up Camden and Kershaw County and decide what aspects of those districts are necessary to preserve and how those districts can adapt to the population growth and development that are inevitable.

» Countywide, we need to address schools, traffic, emergency services, hospitals, green space, a park system, perhaps bike lanes, and perhaps some sort of countywide mass transportation system. In closing, I am in favor at this time of the proposed lot size increase and consider it a wakeup call for Kershaw County going forward to plan and understand that through this responsible growth plan, we will need to make a lot of hard choices as to how to balance growth, but limit it so as to preserve the history, heritage, horses, and small towns that brought us all here. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Rice. Okay, that concludes public comment portion of our agenda this evening. Madam Chair, you see there were some changes made within the structure of the agenda.

» I'm tracking item number eight was moved up, and that is complete. We're at public hearing now. We're at item number seven. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Tonight's public hearing is on the ordinance to amend the Kershaw County ZLDR Regulation Section 3.1.3, Table 3-4. Mr. DeBose, did anyone sign up for the public hearing this evening? No, Madam Chair. Okay. At this point, I'll give any citizens an opportunity to speak at the public hearing. If you would like to speak on the ordinance change, please approach the podium. Okay. We're going to close this public hearing. We're up to item number nine, approval of minutes. This is for the Tuesday, April 23rd, 2024, regularly scheduled meeting.

» Is there a motion at this time regarding these minutes? Madam Chair, I make a motion to approve the minutes. Okay. Motion to approve of Mr. Cato. Is there a second? Second. Second, Mr. Tucker. Any discussion? Okay. All those in favor of the Tuesday, April 23rd, Kershaw County Council minutes as presented, indicated by, indicate by raising your hand. And the vote is unanimous. Those minutes are approved. Item number 10. We do need an executive session tonight to receive legal advice. This will be covered under attorney-client privilege information. Is there a motion to go into executive session? Madam Chair, I make a motion to go into executive session for the reasons stated. Okay. Mr. Tucker makes a motion to go into executive session. Is there a second? Second. Second by Mr. Cato.

» Any discussion? Yes. Or questions? Yes, Mr. Jones. I really don't like executive session. I wish we could put them at the end of the agenda so that the folks wouldn't have to sit here while we're back there. I mean, is this something that's got to be done now at this point in time within the agenda? This is something that Mr. DeBose and I discussed at the agenda review meeting on Thursday. It's information that is needed for votes that are going to happen during ordinances. Thank you. You're welcome. Any other questions or concerns? Okay. All those in favor of entering executive session at this time, indicate by raising your hand. Mr. Brazel, Mr. Tucker, Mr. Shoemake, myself, Mr. Cato, Mr. Tomlinson, and all those opposed? Mr. Jones. We are now at an executive session.

» Madam Chair, I make a motion to go into executive session. Okay. There's a motion to come out of executive session. Is there a second? Second. Second by Mr. Shoemake. All those in favor of coming out of executive session, indicate by raising your hand. Great. Mr. Tomlinson, Mr. Cato, myself, Mr. Shoemake, and Mr. Tucker, Mr. Brazel, all those opposed? Mr. Jones. All right. We are out of executive session. County Council met to receive legal advice. No votes were taken, and no action will be taken at this point in time. We're up to item number 11, ordinances.

» First ordinance tonight, second reading of case 24-13, an ordinance to amend in Kershaw County, South Carolina Unified Code of the Zoning and Land Development Regulations, section 3, 1.3, table 3-4, to amend and increase the minimum lot size required for detached residential housing to no less than 21,780 square feet, and retaining the method of calculation for minimum lot size for single-family attached use types, town homes, and multi-family apartment use types by requiring a minimum lot size of 15,000 square feet and an additional 5,000 square feet of lot size for each dwelling after the first dwelling unit, and providing that single-family attached use types, town homes, patio homes, and multi-family apartment use types shall not constitute greater than 10% of the net developable acreag

» e of a major subdivision. Is there a motion pertaining to this ordinance? I'll make the motion. Okay, Mr. Braswell makes a motion to approve. I would second. Okay, second by Mr. Shoemake. Into discussion. Mr. Braswell, you have the floor. So we discussed this at length at the last meeting, and I think just to recap, single-family homes, minimum lot size is going to be half an acre. I think it's going to be good for Kershaw County. It's going to be good for the future of Kershaw County. It's going to be good for small builders and developers in Kershaw County. And we're still going to have the ability to mix town homes, apartments, and the like in these major subdivisions at a feasible density. So I'm in support of this tonight, and I think we're making good moves in Kershaw County.

» May I, Madam Chair? Yes, Mr. Shoemake. I agree with everything Councilman Braswell said. I think it's a great step forward. One point of clarification, because this question came up a little bit, is this does not lower the minimum lot size. Like we have a couple of zoning districts that require a minimum one-acre lot size. Just to be clear, this doesn't reduce those. So in other words, if you're in a zoning district where the minimum lot size is already an acre, it's still an acre. This doesn't reduce minimum lot size. In other words, that would be going backwards. So I just had gotten that question a few times. And just to be clear, this makes the minimum lot size half an acre. But there are some places in our county where the minimum lot size is more than half an acre. Thank you, Mr.

» Shoemake. Mr. Jones? Well, I've got something I want to say about this, and I want you to listen very carefully. Councilman Braswell and Shoemake, thank you all so much. This wouldn't have happened if you guys hadn't taken a bull by the horns and pushed it and followed it through. Thank you so much for your hard work on this, and of course the Council supporting it. But the two of you all are what brought it together, and I appreciate that. Thank you, sir. Thank you, Mr. Jones. Mr. Templer, can Planning and Zoning Director approach the podium, please? Yes. Question from a citizen for the good of the group. If a citizen has a lot size smaller than 21,780, are they allowed to build a house? Yes. Okay. They are. Can you explain if there's a process to that? There's not a process.

» It's actually covered in the ordinance right now that it's a non-conforming lot size, but they can still build on it as long as they can meet setbacks. And there's also a little bit of a setback variance that staff can administer as well. Okay. Thank you for that clarification. Can you get a copy of that ordinance for us? I'm sorry? Get a copy of that ordinance for us and give it to Danny Templer. Absolutely. Yes, and we'll get it to them. Okay. Tomorrow. I just wanted to make that clear. I want it tomorrow. I had a couple of citizens concerned that they might not be able to build if they did not have that minimum lot size, but they can. Any other concerns, topics of discussion? Okay. All those in favor of the second reading of case 24-13, indicate by raising your hand. Mr. Jones, Mr.

» Tomlinson, Mr. Cato, myself, Mr. Shoemake, and Mr. Brazel, all those opposed? And Mr. Tucker. Madam Chair, just for a point of clarity, too. Yes, Mr. Bose. Council's amendment at first reading effectuated numerous changes to the table, the notes in the table, as well as some of the findings within the ordinance. Just to be clear for the record, since that was an oral motion and not a written motion with strike-throughs and deletions, so that we're very clear, I just want to make sure that council's motion to adopt this second reading is precisely in the form set forth in the agenda package with the ordinance and the exhibit. And again, I think it's implicit by all's vote, but I just want to make sure for the record that it is explicit that it is adopted in precisely that form. Mr.

» DeVos, I read it correctly as it appears in the agenda, correct? Yes, ma'am. Okay. Do I need to read the entire ordinance title again or using case 24-13? Again, there's an additional finding in fact within the ordinance itself in the table. Okay. To clarify for the record, it's being adopted in precisely that form again because the oral motion to effectuate it required numerous chart amendments. Okay. So this second reading is adopted as presented in the agenda packet for all of us and the public. Madam Chair, if I would, it's not an amendment because it doesn't affect the passage of this, but I would like to make a motion that's related so I think it fits in the agenda because it's a related motion. Okay, go ahead.

» I'm not sure this entirely, I'm not sure it's entirely necessary, but extra process is never a bad idea. So I would move that Kershaw County Council refer a proposed ZLDR text amendment to the Planning Commission for its consideration and recommendation on the following, that single-family residential attached uses, town homes, patio homes, and multi-family apartment uses shall not comprise more than 10% of the net developable acreage of a major subdivision project. Okay, thank you. Thank you. Mr. Shoemake makes a motion to send a text amendment to the Planning Commission. Is there a second on that? I'll second the motion. Second by Mr. Braswell. Any discussion? Mr. Shoemake, anything else? I have a question if I could please. Yes, Mr. Jones.

» Do y'all prefer texts or do you just, on amendment changes like that with planning zoning? That's the vehicle in which we need to go through. Okay. I think because I made the amendment in an oral fashion, we just need to get it in writing. Usually, and that's something the county minister would handle for us, it would be done by text. Something was asked for by one of the members of the county council and usually the county minister would get that and take care of it. I didn't ask him. Who's going to send the text? The text amendment will be put together by our legal staff and refer it to planning and zoning and then we'll reconfirm it. Thank you. And then we'll get their recommendation on it, what they think, yes or no. But we'll move on with what we're doing simultaneously. All right.

» Any other questions or concerns? Okay. All those in favor of the motion to send a text amendment to Kershaw County Planning and Zoning Commission for their recommendation back to council on the single family attached use town homes, patio homes and multi-family apartment use shall not constitute greater than 10% of the net developable acreage of any major subdivision indicate by raising your hand. Mr. Brazel, Mr. Tucker, Mr. Shoemake, myself, Mr. Cato, Mr. Tomlinson and all those opposed. Mr. Jones. Okay, that will go to the Planning Commission and we look forward to hearing their recommendation.

» 11 Bravo second reading of an ordinance of Kershaw County Council to amend Chapter 12 of the Kershaw County code of ordinances related to emergency management of Kershaw County to provide for the powers and duties of the emergency management department and its director to set forth the powers and duties of the Kershaw County Council and its chair in times of emergency to set forth procedures for declaring states of emergency. The imposition of curfews and coordination of emergency preparedness activities. Is there a motion for this ordinance at this time? I so move. Okay, Mr. Jones with the motion. Is there a second? I second. Second, Mr. Shoemake. Mr. Jones, any discussion on? I do. I just want to say to Mr. Templin and his staff, great job.

» Hey, Gerald and your chief and you guys have really put this together. It looks great and I appreciate that. Thank you. And for councils, there has been no changes for the second reading. Okay. All those in favor of the second reading of the ordinance for Kershaw County to amend Chapter 12 of the code of ordinances for emergency management indicate by raising your hand. Mr. Brazel, Mr. Tucker, Mr. Shoemake, myself, Mr. Cato, Mr. Tomlinson and Mr. Jones. That passes second reading. Up to 11 Charlie. First reading of case 24-11. Mr. Shoemake, can I borrow your? Yeah, of course. Thank you. Okay. Case 24-11.

» An ordinance to amend the Kershaw County, South Carolina Unified Code of Zoning and Land Development Regulations to add Section 3.27 Gun Club and Skeet Shooting Ranges and to amend Table 3.3 to establish Gun Club and Skeet Shooting Ranges as a conditional use in the RD-1, RD-2 and MRD-1 Zoning Districts and to establish the conditions that must be satisfied for that conditional use. Is there a motion pertaining to this ordinance at this time? I propose an amendment. It's not on the floor. I'll make a motion. I'll second for the purposes of getting. What's the motion, Mr. Tomlinson? I will make a motion that we approve first reading of. Okay. Ordinance case 24-11. Okay, Mr. Shoemake. I would second for the purpose of Councilman Brazel being able to make his motion. Okay, Mr.

» Shoemake with the second. Mr. Tomlinson. You have the floor first. This ordinance, I know Mr. Brazel and Mr. Cato have been working directly on it and with staff. I will turn the floor over to Mr. Brazel now for his amendment to the ordinance. Okay, Mr. Brazel. I've got a brief discussion and then I'll make an amendment. For this case, this case is the parties here that are involved. Can you please come up and speak to whether or not this is a public or a private gun club? Mr. Brazel, may I say something real quickly? Go ahead. This is nuts. I mean, there's no way I'm going to put my hand on this. Yeah, okay. This is crazy. We're fixing to make it real easy. Madam Chair, members of the committee, my name is Matt Hill.

» Matt Hill, move the microphone just a little closer so we can pick up your audio. Thank you. There you go. I'm a lawyer in Columbia and I represent Friendship Road LLC on behalf of this application. As to your question as to whether or not it's a private or a public gun club, it's our understanding it's going to be a public opportunity. It's a private club. All right, so there'll never be anybody transferring money to come shoot skeet. It's for his private use with his friends and family, customers, church members, what have you. Is that correct? That's correct. Okay. I was born here in Kershaw County in 1978. I've been shooting guns in my backyard since I could hold one. I think I was 12 when I first started. I'm sorry we're even to this point that we've wasted your time.

» I'm going to move to strike everything that you've had to prepare, and I'm sorry that you've wasted your time and your money, and I'm going to make a motion to amend our zoning districts. I'd like to strike the entire section that refers to gun clubs and skeet ranges for private individuals because I know for a fact that we have, I think it's Boykin Gun Club, Mr. Canty's Shooting Sports, Hermanus Farms, I think it is, and we have the Crazy Quail all less than 250 acres. We're not going to make shooting skeet a rich man's sport by making someone have to have 250 acres. If this is a private situation, shoot your gun, sir. Thank you for that. We will move to strike anything in our zoning ordinance that refers to gun club and skeet ranges and allow them in all areas of our county.

» You're striking the acreage. No, I'm striking everything, and I'm referring to table 3-15. In the second paragraph it says, oh, I'm sorry. Page 315. Yes. Okay, I'm tracking. So I move to strike gun clubs and skeet ranges. For goodness sakes, people shoot pistols and long guns on two acres. One of my old neighbors has a field day every Sunday. It doesn't allow for a good nap, but it is their right as an American citizen, and you too shall have that right to shoot shotguns, which are far less dangerous in their projectiles than a 30-06 or a 38 special. Mr. Brazel, so you're taking section C of 2411 and striking it in its entirety, correct? Motion to strike under zone districts, page 3-15, table 3-3, gun club and skeet ranges. In its entirety, yes. In its entirety. I second that.

» Okay, second by Mr. Jones. Mr. Brazel, you still have the floor. Well, I have nothing further to say other than we live in America and we like guns and we shoot them. It will responsibly, and we're taught by our fathers and our loved ones how to be responsible. The people that abuse guns and misuse them for the harm of others don't share our heritage and certainly probably won't show up at a skeet range, will they? So, move to strike. Can we take a vote, Madam Chair? We have to go into discussion on your amendment, and Mr. Cato has a comment. I appreciate Russell for doing this. Me and him talked in length the other day about this, and we had been talking with these property owners for some time. I grew up, like Russell, probably started at 9 or 10 years old shooting a gun.

» It's kind of like when you're on the lake and you're running a jet ski and you're running a boat or high-speed boat. You're responsible for your wake. If that wake harms somebody or caused damage to somebody's property, that's your fault. If you fire a gun and that projectile hits somebody's property, a car, a house, or even a person, you're responsible. So, the safety part falls on that individual. Now, with that being said, we know that there are restrictions inside of municipalities in this county. You can't discharge firearms inside the city limits, but you can go out right outside the city limits and you could have a dove field. So, what's the difference in that and having a controlled environment such as a clay range or skeet range? So, I'm fully in favor of this.

» There's going to be some other things that we're going to have to look at in the future on this, but I fully support this amendment tonight. Thank you, sir. Madam Chair. Yes, Mr. Jones. I'm going to tell you something. We're telling people they could have 250 acres. Oh, by the way, what's the time limit on shooting a gun with what Mr. Cato there supported? From nine to four, you can shoot it. All that will be stricken. There isn't one now. There isn't one now. No, this is a proposal. So, you're accepting Mr. Brazos? Absolutely. Oh, okay. I'm in favor. Yeah, absolutely. Gentlemen, if I may, just for a second, and then we'll go to Mr. Tomlinson. Is Mr. Griffin here today? Yes. Hi, Mr. Griffin.

» So, what the citizen did is it went back and forth probably a year now about his private shooting on his own property. And so, what he did and Mr. Hill did is they came up with a change to our ZLDR. They took the initiative to submit it to Planning and Zoning and to submit it to Kershaw County so that they could be compliant. So, I commend them for doing that. And I am also sorry that you did all that work. I'm going to support Mr. Brazos' amendment because I also don't want to restrict any kind of gun activity on the other property outside of yours. I want it to be skeet ranges. If you want a skeet range on your property, then you should be able to in Kershaw County. Madam Chair, who in the world put this on the agenda? This is a current ordinance that Kershaw County has.

» Well, I'm glad we're getting rid of it. So, just to clarify, just for Councilman Jones' purpose, Mr. Brazos, we're completely eliminating gun club skeet ranges from every single zoning district regulated as far as Kershaw County is concerned. You're able to shoot a shotgun, you're able to shoot a rifle on your property as long as you're outside of a jurisdiction municipality that enforces no guns. You're dang right. It's America. I'm proud to support it. To clarify that point, and Mr. Adams Raskowski can speak to this. I think if that... Mr. Bose, can you speak into the mic, please? I think if that... With all respect, I just can't hear you. I think if the gun club and skeet range line is removed from the table for permitted uses altogether, it means it is not permitted.

» I think if the intentions to allow it in all districts, the amendment should be to have it converted from an N to a P in all districts. Otherwise, if it's not a contemplated use within the use chart, the implication, especially if it is removed altogether, is that it is not a permitted use. Well, we should take out llama forms, too, because it's not in there either. Hey, Russ. Yet I've seen a llama form. Mr. Brazos, I'm just trying to make sure that your intentions are factuated legally and it's not challenged later. Let somebody challenge it. I don't give a rip. Strike it. Move to strike the entire thing from the table. There is no law on it once we strike it. We've got a second amendment to uphold it. I'd love for somebody to challenge it. That'd be something fun to do.

» I'm going to make a motion that we amend. Just to explicitly say that it is allowed so that it's very clear that it's allowed versus it being omitted altogether. This is the first time in my life I've ever heard it challenged in Kershaw County. You know what the sheriff said about it, Russell? He said, I won't touch that with a 10-foot pole. Should we also include clay pigeons and terminology? Gentlemen, I have an amendment to table 3-3. I'm going to amend Mr. Brazos' amendment for zone district gun club and skeet range, permittable in R15, R10, R6, OI, B12, B3, I, Industrial 1, General Development, RD1, RD2, and MRD1. From non-permittable to permittable. Is there a second? Mr.

» DeBose, does that satisfy what you're talking about? Yeah, that was my suggestion to make it explicitly permitted versus removing it altogether and having any doubt with a future council perhaps or anyone wishing to legally challenge. This makes it explicit, if it is permitted, that it is permitted, which I think is what y'all... So it is permitted with what restrictions? It's just permitted. So you did away with the acreage. No acreage. It is an outright permitted use. You should go without saying in the United States of America that you have the right to bear arms. You have the right to use them unless you're using them to harm someone. I don't see how it has to be clarified any further than that. Mr.

» Brazos, in the zone district right above gun club and skeet ranges, it says hunt clubs and all other amusement except gun club skeet. So I want it permitted too. That's unnecessary. Where are we going to... Let's strike both of them. Okay, discussion on making it all permittable. I'm not in favor of striking the whole thing. I mean, we're talking about skeet ranges specifically. I mean, hunt clubs is a whole different kind of thing. You've got, I mean... I've never in my life seen a zoning district for a hunt club. I've seen people hunt deer in their backyard. No, it's not a zone per se. It's just saying what activities. This chart is actually much larger than this. It goes on for pages and pages of different activities. I don't support either of these two line items.

» Are these the only zoning designations? Just a second. Mr. Jones, did you second my amendment or not? Here's what I want to say. No, before we can move on, we have to do some housekeeping here. I made an amendment to make it permittable in every zone in Kershaw County. Is there a second? I'll second that. Okay, second by Mr. Shoemake. Mr. Shoemake, discussion on that item only, changing the non-permits in R-15 through MRD-1 to a permit. Madam Chair, can I make a motion to your motion? Yes, absolutely. Yes, you can.

» Can we extend that up to hunt clubs, all other amusement except gun clubs, skeet, and change the ends in every zoning designation to AP, and then also amend, have the same thing for gun club, and then do by individual review as far as required off-street parking instead of one per target area. Okay, your amendment is to change the non-permit in hunt clubs. To permitted use for hunt clubs, that zoning district, and then gun club skeet ranges. Okay. And then by individual review. Strike that. For both, by individual review, so it would be up to the individual owner, correct, of the property. So have that on both required off-street parking. Before we go any further, Madam Chair, can I say something? Is there a second to Mr.

» Tomlinson's motion? I need clarification on the definition by individual review. Who is the individual reviewing? I believe the review for parking requirements in the chart, that is noted by individual review, it is each specific property use that's contemplated for, say, a hunt club, the parking requirements are individually reviewed based on property size, et cetera, et cetera, by the planning director. I have never had anybody come to my hunt club. That is crazy. I think it's absurdly unnecessary. I'm just stating what the current ordinance is. Gentlemen, we are all on the same page. We need to handle these amendments correctly and orderly. So right now, we're on Mr.

» Tomlinson's amendment to extend permittable to hunt clubs, other amusement, except gun skeet and striking one per target area and adding by individual review. Is there a second on that amendment? Okay. Can I say something now? Okay. Mr. Jones, we're back to the second amendment, making it permittable in all ranges. You have the floor. I want to say what we came in here facing tonight, and this is what you wrote, Mrs. Madam Chair. We are creating new requirements.

» Why are we restricting gun usage on private property? Why are we requiring 250 acres to shoot skeet? What happens to the gun ranges that are less than 250 acres? Why are we assuming gun owners in Kershaw County are not responsible enough to operate skeet shooting at their discretion? Do we have any evidence from local law enforcement that skeet shooting has presented a safety concern? No, we have not. And may I just read what you wrote? And I thought it was very good. I urge the council to... You did say this allowed gun clubs and skeet shooting in all RD1s, RD2s, and MRD1s countywide and not impose these extreme restrictions that the average Kershaw County citizen cannot adhere to, thus restricting skeet shooting on private property for citizens with less than 250 acres.

» I'm going to tell you something. That was well written, by the way, and well thought out, but I am not going... So that was my amendment to do that. I understand that, but I want to strike it all. I want to accomplish what we're trying to accomplish and take legal advice. Who put this on the agenda? The property owner and his attorney processed it and applied for it because the existing regulations specifically... Did you guys get a stop work order or something? We've had continuing dialogue with the county. How's that been going? Well, we're here this evening to try to take the next steps. Obviously, it hasn't been going well. I'd like to strike. You've got to support this county councilman. I can tell you that right now. I don't support the planning and zoning on this.

» We should strike this and quit creating so much dagum bureaucracy, especially when it comes to gun orders. We're going to tell them how they can hold a gun. How about this, buy a new gun and rock it in a little crate like a little baby? Let's make them do that before they go out and shoot it. Come on, guys. We need to leave this alone. We don't need to touch this issue. We're telling people how to handle it. It goes, I have a gun. I keep a gun with me everywhere I go. Okay. We are on the amendment to make it... I have a knife, too. You guys are way overcomplicating this. We're making it too complicated. We just need to pass this thing and make it permissible to do this, put the right verbiage in there, and let's vote on it. That's what Chairwoman's amendment does.

» That's what I'm trying to do. Madam Chair. Mr. Templer. Can I say something? Yes, you have the floor. I don't think we would have been able to do it if we just turned the Novembers to Papas in this, because this would help remove the mental gymnastics that staff would have to go to in the future for any kind of complaint-based piece. This is why we're here tonight, is because this is complaint-based. This is a result of those complaints. We worked, I felt, pretty thoroughly and robustly with this gentleman here to try to find ways around this, but it just didn't work. We were honoring the complaints. We were honoring the complaint of that neighbor. So to, again, turn these not permitted into permitted would just really streamline operations going forward. Thank you, Mr. Templer. Mr.

» Brazel. One minute, please. You're 100% correct, and I want to support your term mental gymnastics, but is there anywhere in any zoning that refers to pistols, rifles, anything else other than skeet ranges? Not to my knowledge. Then why are skeet ranges specifically in here? Because if there was nothing in here, there'd be nothing to refer to. If I complained tomorrow that someone's shooting a pistol next to my house at Target, it's 1,000 rounds an afternoon, you'd have nothing to refer to, therefore you'd have nothing to follow up on. You would say it's a non-issue, we don't have anything in our zoning laws in the county, and that would be it. So because something exists in the zoning district, you had to respond to it, and I get that.

» But that's why I moved to Strike It All, because it's specifically targeting, no pun intended, skeet ranges. It's just an absurd, I don't know when it got in here, it was prior to me. I'd like to remove it in its entirety, but I don't even have to talk about this again. Because somebody down the road one day will want to do just what you said, unless, no, let's not permit it in here, and then there'll be a bunch of ins in there. But if you remove it, the problem is, if you remove the language entirely, because it's been in there already, for whatever reason, if you remove the language entirely, if a new council comes up here, they could just say because it's silent, it's not prohibited, and they could do it without a vote. That's right. And that's the issue.

» The issue is, because it's become an issue, you've got two options. You can completely strike this, and as long as these people are here at this table, we'll probably be okay. But in a generation from now, or less, new people are up here, they could just tell the county administrator, hey, in the future, don't allow this because it's not on the table. What we're doing is making a specific allowance. It fixes a problem. I mean, I understand what you're saying, Councilman Brazile, I get it, but what I'm telling you is having seen the law be used in a lot of crazy ways, I'm just telling you that the best way to protect people's rights that you're referring to is to change those into peace. Is to refer to the Second Amendment.

» Well, that's fine, but that's not going to work if you have a county, elected county officials that aren't going to, that are going to say, if that table excludes it, what you're saying is great in theory, and it'll work great at the Supreme Court probably, but for those landowners until it gets to the Supreme Court, they're the ones that are going to be stifled by it. That's why the Chairwoman's amendment makes sense. Okay, so if it didn't exist, they wouldn't have been stifled in the first place. Maybe, but we are where we are, not where we want to be. Mr. Cato. No, I, Derek, Derek kind of stole my thunder. That's kind of what I was saying. We just, it's going to do the same thing.

» It's just going to further protect the gun owners, the citizens, and this council by us just putting the verbiage in there that we permitted. It's simple. Walk carefully, guys, because this room will be crowded over flooding in the next meeting if we don't walk safely on this. Mr. Templer, I do understand how we got here in the complaint. We can't regulate common courtesy, though. Like, that's not something we can do. I don't want these people being harassed by any agency of government. I don't want them being harassed. Very respectful, and very good stewards to our community, and very responsible. I commend their patience on this. Yes, absolutely.

» How much money are you all spending? How much money are you all spending? I mean, investing? I believe the client has expended a lot of investment into this project and is pleased with this discussion and hopes to get to where we want to be. A lot of money. For the sake of moving forward, let me make an amendment that I can live with that I think some of my fellow council members would rather see. I would not, I'd rather strike the whole thing and just do away with it, but I'd like to make an amendment to permit everything and every zoning and strike by individual review and strike one per target area, and we don't have a required off-street parking when you're parking on personal property. Okay, Mr. Braswell.

» What about the acreage? Was that the amendment that I proposed earlier, except just removing? That's completely stricken. Yeah, so basically the same thing you proposed, but just strike by individual review. Second. Okay, thank you. Okay. For the convenience of council, since y'all have a multi-layered onion of primary motions, motions to amend, and again, Madam Chair, happy for you to work through them. I'm going down. I'm gonna go back up. I was going to suggest that all motions could be withdrawn and then restated and kind of what I believe might be the final consensus based on y'all's discussions, but that's for you to decide, Madam Chair. Okay. I'll withdraw all previous motions. I'll withdraw my motion. And I withdraw my original motion.

» With all motions withdrawn, I'll make a motion to permit in R15, R10, R6, O-1, B-2, B-3, I-1, general development, R-D-1, R-D-2, M-R-D-1, permitting hunting clubs and all other amusement except gun clubs slash skeet, also gun clubs and skeet ranges. In all columns, in both rows, permit all striking by individual review under required off-street parking and striking one per target area in required off-street parking. Okay. Is there a second? Second. Okay. Second by Mr. Cato. Any discussion? Okay. All those in favor of making hunt clubs, amusement, I guess it's all other amusement, gun activity, gun club and skeet ranges permittable in all zones in Kershaw County and striking the required off-street parking requirement indicate by raising your hand. Mr. Brazel, Mr. Shoemake, myself, Mr.

» Cato, Mr. Tomlinson, Mr. Jones, and opposed? Mr. Tucker. Okay. That passes. First reading as amended. Thank you for being here, Mr. Hill and Mr. Griffin. Okay. Item 11D, third reading of an ordinance of Kershaw County to amend the membership provisions for the Kershaw County Clean Community Commission by adding two at-large membership positions. This is the third and final reading. Is there a motion on this ordinance? I move that we adopt it. Okay. Move to adopt the ordinance change for the Clean Community Commission. Is there a second? Second. Second. Yell. Second by Mr. Tomlinson. And any discussion? I think it's good stuff. Any updates or changes, Mr. DeBose? Yes, Madam Chair.

» Council made an inquiry at the last meeting about changing the name from Clean Community Commission to Kershaw County Clean Commission. There was some question as to whether that might affect... Excuse me, Madam Chair. We have chatter and I can't hear everybody talking. The audience. We'll give them a second to exit. Okay, Mr. DeBose. There was some discussion about whether that might affect grants or any interface with, I guess, state enabling. It does not. Now, that being said, the commission may need to resubmit paperwork for various grants if they receive them. But this third reading version does effectuate that name change as well. Y'all deferred at last reading on that basis. Okay. But it's reflected throughout, Madam Chair. Okay. This third reading does remove the word community.

» Any questions on that? Okay. Any discussion on the other changes, adding the at-large membership positions? There's no changes there. Okay. All those in favor of this third reading of the ordinance, Kershaw County Council to amend the membership provisions for the Kershaw County Clean Commission by adding two at-large membership positions and removing the word community from the name indicated by raising your hand. Mr. Jones, Mr. Tomlinson, Mr. Cato, myself, Mr. Schumich, Mr. Tucker, and Mr. Brazel. Up to resolutions. First resolution tonight, a resolution opposing a project to widen U.S. Highway 521. I'll read the resolution. This was deferred. Whereas U.S. Highway 521 south of Interstate Highway 20 in Kershaw County is presently adequate, and whereas U.S.

» Highway 521 south of Interstate 20 in Kershaw County does not need to be widened to four lanes of traffic, and whereas the widening of U.S. Highway 521 south of Interstate 20 in Kershaw County is not an infrastructure priority for Kershaw County, and there are other areas in Kershaw County within sufficient road infrastructure, and whereas the widening of U.S. Highway 521 south of Interstate 20 in Kershaw County is opposed by the constituents living in the area directly impacted by the proposed project, and Kershaw County Council is supportive of those constituents. Now, therefore, be it resolved by Kershaw County Council that Kershaw County Council opposes a project to widen U.S.

» Highway 521 in Kershaw County south of Interstate Highway 20 to four lanes and requests that the project not be pursued. Is there a motion at this time for this resolution? Madam Chair, may I? Yes, Mr. Jones. I make a big fat motion that we accept this. Great, motion to accept. Is there a second? Big fat second. Okay, second by Mr. Brazel. Any discussion? There's been no changes or updates to the resolution. I know Council needed some time to do their research. Call the question. Anything? All those in favor of supporting this resolution tonight, a resolution of Kershaw County Council opposing a plan to widen U.S. Highway 521 to four lanes of traffic indicate by raising your hand. Mr. Jones, Mr. Tomlinson, Mr. Cato, myself, and Mr. Brazel, all those opposed? Mr. Tucker and Mr. Shoemake.

» Okay, I will get that resolution signed, and it will be available for the constituents as needed. 12 Bravo. Resolution of Kershaw County expressing no opposition to Camden Military Academy's pursuit of a judicial petition to close a portion of airline drive maintained by the South Carolina Department of Transportation that is bounded on both sides by real property owned by the Camden Military Academy, provided that the road closure will not unreasonably restrict access to real property of others or negatively impact public health and safety. Is there a motion at this time for this resolution? Madam Chair, I'd like to make a motion. We approve this resolution. Okay, motion by Mr. Tomlinson. Is there a second? Second. Second by Mr. Cato, and Mr. Tomlinson, you have the floor.

» Thank you, Madam Chair. We've been working directly with Camden Military Academy, and this has been over a many-year process. They've had a study done for the safety and the health of their cadets and realized that they are not secure on the backside. Airline Drive or Omega Drive meets, they've over the years have purchased up the adjacent properties on both sides of the roads, so now they own all the backside of Airline Drive. Camden Military Academy has been working with the Airport Commission. We have been the liaison helping to get them with the right people with the state, so this process will be handled between the state and Camden Military Academy.

» This resolution just expresses our sincere support of Camden Military Academy's approach to a judicial petition to close the road handled by the state and Camden Military Academy. Thank you, Mr. Tomlinson, and I did not read the resolution, so I'm gonna do that right now. I read the title. Whereas Airline Drive divides and runs between the southern portion of Camden Military Academy's CMA main campus and its baseball field and tennis courts, and whereas the portion of Airline Drive that divides the CMA property is a state road maintained by the South Carolina Department of Transportation, SCDOT, and whereas Camden Military Academy has informed Kershaw County Council that it is pursuing discussions with SCDOT to effectuate a judicial road closure petition to have a portion of Airline Drive t

» hat runs between the southern portion of its main campus and its baseball field and tennis courts permanently closed to public access and abandoned as a public road, and whereas Kershaw County has generally pursued a policy of not opposing judicial petitions to close public roads if access to real property or other property owners is not unreasonably restricted and if the road closure does not result in a negative impact on public health and safety.

» Therefore, be it resolved by Kershaw County Council that Kershaw County Council expresses and reaffirms a general policy position that Kershaw County Council does not oppose judicial petitions to close public roads, provided the road closure does not unreasonably restrict access to real property or other property owners, and if the road closure does not result in a negative impact on public health and safety. Subject to the aforesaid qualifications, Kershaw County Council expresses no opposition to CMA initiating a judicial road closure petition with SCDOT maintained portion of airline drive that runs adjacent to and directly between the southern portion of CMA's main campus and the baseball field and tennis courts.

» A factual determination regarding the reasonableness of property access for other property owners and the impacts on public health and safety that might result from the contemplated road closure must be made by a court of competent jurisdiction, and with the input of state and local public health and safety officials, and Kershaw County expresses no opinion to those factual matters. Thank you. All right, all those in favor of this resolution indicate by raising your hand. Mr. Brazel, Mr. Tucker, Mr. Shoemake, myself, Mr. Cato, Mr. Tomlinson, and Mr. Jones. Thank you, gentlemen. Up to item 13, new business. First order of new business is a rules of public comments appendix change. This was placed on the agenda by Councilman Tucker.

» You have the appendix three in your packet, and then entertain a motion at this time. Madam Chair, I'd like to make a motion that we approve the new business for altering the rules of conduct for the public comments. Okay, Mr. Tucker, with a motion to approve appendix three for the new public comment guidelines. Is there a second? I'll second. Okay, second by Mr. Shoemake. And into discussion. Mr. Tucker, you have the floor. Thank you, Madam Chair. You should have in your packet there. I can't see anyway. Yeah, there we go. Thank you, I got it. Need to keep stuff together, Mr. Tucker. Yeah, I can tell you what it says, but if you want to read it, that's fine, because I can't read it.

» So when this council came aboard last year, there were rule changes on public comments, and we've had some folks come up and really have taken advantage of that in doing things that is in direct conflict and violation of our rules. And besides, we're here to conduct the people's business, and it has been brought to our attention from everyone on this diocese. You know, spending two hours of public comments really digs into the night where people who want to come and know about what's going on in Kershaw County is either staying up late watching it, or they're here for quite a bit of time in the evenings. And so I'm proposing tonight that we go back to our 30 minutes, which will be the first 30 minutes of the meeting, so from 6 to 6.30. You will sign up before then.

» If you're not signed up before then, then you'll be considered for the next one in two weeks. And if it's six of you, it'll be five minutes apiece. If it's more than six, you divide that by the 30 minutes. So in other words, if there's 10 of you, then you'll get three minutes each. If it's six or less, you will get your five minutes. And that rule has been in play for a very long time. It was the brainstorm of this council that changed that last year. Thank you, Mr. Tucker. Mr. Schumacher, anything? Okay. Thank you. Any other discussion? So when I was elected in 2020, I think this is the exact guidelines that we went by. Is that correct? No, sir. It's different. It's different. Go back and look. It's very different. Yes. It's what he's got here now. It's what we had for 30 years.

» It changed a lot of that. Yeah, I'm saying to go back before that, to 2020 when I was elected, because I came on... Right, that's what we're going back to. Okay, that's what you're asking. You just forgot when I was elected. No, no, no. I misunderstood you. But yes, sir. So when you were elected, we're going back to that order of business, Mr. Brazel. Okay. So it'll be just the same as it was four years ago. Correct. And it was no problem then. We had a 30-minute maximum. Most of the time, it was divvied up. Usually everybody got at least three and a half, four minutes. A lot of times people got five minutes. So I don't have any issue with it. If it becomes a problem though, we can revisit this. One vote. Yes, sir.

» And so say we have a big issue coming up and there's 40 people who are really interested in giving their time. Could Madam Chair, as ruling over the meeting, extend the period from 30 to an hour? At that point, does she have the ability to do that? No, sir. No, sir. By the 30 minutes. No, sir. What we would encourage, if they're speaking on the same topics, they get a spokesman and have someone to speak. I'll rule state that now, that they need to get a spokesman for that group so they can speak. But the only way to, if you decide they want to extend something, you have to take a formal vote up here from council. I kind of enjoy hearing everybody come up and talk. It's the highlight of my meeting.

» And I've had quite a few people called talking about they didn't want their public comments stricken. I think a lot of people give a lot of time and effort to. They won't be. But what I don't want to do is I don't want to put our chairperson in a situation of having to make a play-by-play call every meeting being different. You know, oh, well, we got a bunch of people who are going to do an hour tonight. It needs to be consistent no matter what it is. I agree that it needs to be consistent. Mr. Tomlinson, to your point, one thing that is not being utilized right now is public hearing. So I would encourage the public, if there's going to be a public hearing on an ordinance that you sign up for that portion, then you'll get more time anyways and not sign up for a public comment period.

» I was a huge advocate to remove the 30 minutes. I'm going to support Mr. Tucker tonight in his recommendation. He's been sitting up here a long time. So I do respect his opinion. I do want to hear from people, but I do want to say this is a very accessible council. Everyone up here, I know, calls people back and gets in touch with people. We have an amazing clerk. If someone calls her for me, she texts me right away. So there are other ways to get in touch with us, and there's other ways to get things put on record if that's the ultimate goal as well. So I have no problem with the limit. And I will say I do think the individuals signing up do need to state their name and their topic and their phone number. I think that's appropriate.

» Address is not really necessary, but contact information. I know Mr. Templer has had problems in the past getting back in touch with citizens that I've asked him to because there wasn't a phone number. So that's definitely a needed change. So thank you. Madam Chair, if I may. I've lived in this county all my life, and I've been here. People have sent me back five times, and I'm probably going to run again. And I challenge anybody to run against me. Hey, if I win or win, I lose. I lose, but bottom line, you better spend some money and work hard. Now, let me say this. This is good for our business right here. Good for our business. To be in here two hours before we start the county's business is not good business. And we are accessible. I get more calls than you all do, I guarantee you.

» I get calls every single day. You don't get more calls than me? Probably not. But anyway, this is good stuff, good business here. And Branch, you don't know any difference because this is all you've known. But I've been here for the last 18 years. I mean that with respect. That's why you're so bold. So what? Bold. He said bold. And actually, when I first got on, it was like this for the first six months. But anyway, I call the question. This is good. Now, I would like to make an amendment. I think we should go up to 45 minutes. That way, at least nine people could talk. Today, we had seven individuals sign up, right? Nine. We had nine, right? Yeah, we had nine today. So that would have stricken individuals. And to be honest, we've had people come up here who couldn't get in touch with us.

» They didn't know how. And came up and had some really pointed issues. And if it was a point where there was 12, 13 people signed up, that person may be not able to express their concerns. So I'd like to propose a motion for 45 minutes. Okay. An amendment made to Appendix 3 to extend 30, strike 30, and make it 45. Is there a second? Come on, Mr. Jones. Going once. Going twice. Any takers? Three times, Madam Chair. I'm for public comment. Mr. Comminson. Well, we are, too, Grant. We're for public comment, too. Anyway, I call the question. I'm going to leave you here tonight so you can handle all of my questions. All those in favor of the changes presented to Appendix 3, public comment guidelines, indicate by raising your hand. Mr. Brazel, Mr. Tucker, Mr. Shoemake, myself, Mr. Cato, and Mr.

» Jones, are those opposed? Mr. Tomlinson. Next order of new business. Old Armory Gymnasium ADA and Environmental Assessment Project bid. In your agenda packets, there is a memorandum from Sarah Williams to Mr. Templer about the project bid. Is there a motion at this time? Okay. I'll make a motion that we accept the bid. Is there a second? I'd second. Okay. Second by Mr. Shoemake. And Mr. Templer, you have the floor. Thank you, Madam Chair, members of council. This is for another cooperative purchasing network bid to assess the old armory for the ADA needs and the environmental assessment to just look at any kind of materials that may need to be mitigated as we continue. This project has slowed down.

» We have, in the past, repointed the brick on the outside, and it's just in an effort to restore this facility and bring it up to speed in line with our other county facilities. As you know, it facilitates the indoor basketball courts for the rec department, and the ultimate goal is to potentially make it an event space. This money was this $41,340 is within the budget. We have $270,000 available from when the state apportioned money to us to restore this facility. So I am asking that council approve this bid. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Templer. Any questions for Mr. Templer or staff? I'd like to take a minute to brag on Danny. Don't do that. I'm going to Mr. Jones. Danny, you do a great job for the county. Thank you for all your hard work.

» We got a lot of balls in there, right? Multiple projects, a lot of needs, and I'm going to tell you, we've done more with less here in Kershaw County over the last three and a half years. It's impressive how much we've been able to do without raising taxes and keeping a budget in bounds. I'm very proud of you for that. Thank you. And you've done a good job as well, Russell Brazel. Well, I appreciate it. It's not about me. It's about Danny, right? No, I'm just telling you what I'm saying about you. I appreciate that. Thank you. Danny knows I support him. Great. No other questions. Everyone all in favor of the staff recommendation to award the bid to FH Passion for $41,340,000. This will be budget line item, old armory projects. Indicate by raising your hand. Mr. Brazel, Mr. Tucker, Mr.

» Shoemake, myself, Mr. Cato, Mr. Tomlinson, and Mr. Jones. Good job, Danny. Thank you. All right. We're up to item number 14, appointments. Appointments to the Kershaw County Clean Commission. We have two vacancies, one from the town of Bethune and one at large. Right? And we have two, do we have two applicants here? We have one applicant. Well, one is Bethune. I have one for Bethune. You do? Okay. But I don't have the, I know she's got the application. Good Lord. I know she's turned in the application, Ms. Cindy Hunter. I know we have her application. We just don't have it in front of us tonight. We've had it in front of us before, though. Well, if you want to make that motion, I think we can second it.

» And if there's an issue, we can always revisit it, since we're on reading number three. Or have your paperwork together when we come in here and do this, because we know this is on the agenda. We know we need to do it, guys. With all due respect. What's the name of the applicant, Mr. Kitchen? Ms. Cynthia Hunter. Cindy Hunter. Ms. Parler, does that ring a bell? Okay. I was not aware of that. I was not aware of that. I apologize. I was not informed. You don't know. There's no apology. Okay. No problem at this time. I was going to say I would. I was obviously leaving that other position open for Bethune. I would like to nominate Crescendo Torres for the Clean Communities Commission. She's actually come in here and spoke several times.

» And we've had to go through three waits because of the various ordinance things. So I'd like to go ahead and nominate her. Okay. Mr. Schumacher, with the nomination, Mr. Jones with the second. Any discussion or any questions? We've seen her application packet several times now. All right. All those in favor of appointing Ms. Crescendo Torres to the Kershaw County Clean Commission, indicate by using your hand. Mr. Jones, Mr. Tomlinson, Mr. Cato, myself, Mr. Schumacher, Mr. Tucker, and Mr. Brazel. Thank you, Ms. Torres. She's not here tonight, but thank you, Ms. Torres, for your willingness to serve. She does have some friends in the crowd, though. So tell her we said congrats. And, Madam Chair, I will work diligently with Bethune to try to find a representative for that municipality. Okay.

» Let me know if you need any help. Let me know if you need any help. All right. I'm going to move council briefings to right before adjournment and go to Mr. Templer next for administration. Wouldn't that be the Library Board thing? Oh. Library Board. Nobody's in there. I just wanted to make sure. Okay. Thank you. 14 by the Library Board recommendation for appointment to First Steps Board. I don't even know what that means. We discussed this on the agenda review, and I remember it. I just don't have anything in front of me. They just typically give us an update on it. Does anyone have in their packet the First Steps Board recommendation? Okay. I'll move to defer to next meeting. Okay. We'll defer 14B to next. 28th. Actually, just a second. Ms. Amy, can you come to the podium, please? No.

» This is our library right here, guys. My apologies. I do not have your recommendation letter in front of me. Can you verbally make your recommendation to the council? Sure. This is actually a slightly. It's not the Library Board. It's for the First Steps Board. The library has been affiliated with First Steps, which is a nonprofit that's funded through the state with the mission of trying to make sure that children ages zero to five are ready to enter school, which I'm sure we all know is an issue. So First Steps was recently granted by the state permanent funding, and because of that some of the rules of how their board appointments are made shifted. So the library has always had a seat on the board that went through the library.

» It's changed so that the library still makes a recommendation. Our recommendation is Jennifer Kelly, who is our collection development librarian. She's been with the library for about 20 years, and she served with First Steps for the past five. She's currently their chair. So this by law now needs to be approved by county council. So that's the suggestion. Okay. Yes. I would obviously withdraw my motion to defer. Okay. Thank you. And so do I. I'd like to make a motion that we appoint Ms. Kelly to the First Steps Board to represent the library. I would second. Okay. And a second by Mr. Schumacher. All right. And any discussion or any questions? Yes, ma'am. Ms. Amy, how are you? Good. How are you? Doing well. Phenomenal board. Ms. Kelly has her hands full. I've chaired that board before.

» They do a lot of good work here in Kershaw County and throughout the state. And she's set in a position where she can continue to make a difference and make decisions and drive that board. And we do not need to lose her position at this time. So if I'm incorrect on any of that, Ms. Amy, please correct me. Not at all. Okay. Thank you. Can I say something? Yes, Mr. Jones. Ms. Amy, we appreciate you so much. You know I do. And I'm going to tell you something. I'm so glad we got you back. You better never try to leave again. I won't. I'm telling you, she does a phenomenal job there. And just thank you so much. I really appreciate you. Thank you. And thank you for being here tonight. Thank you. I have a question. Yes. Don't start a fight with her. You won't win. I'm telling you that, man.

» And you're a bulldog. I'm not saying that. Mr. Brownwell. Mr. Jones. You know I like to be thorough in what I vote on. The First Step South Carolina website says that there's an imagination library. It's called Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. Am I looking at the right website here? I'm not sure what website you're looking at. But the imagination library is a Dolly Parton initiative. It is. Yes. Okay. I think I can support anything that Dolly does. Amen. Yes. I'm proud of you, Russell Russell. Dolly's brought us together. Again. I'll remember that night. Any other questions? Okay. All those in favor of appointing Ms. Jennifer Brownwell? Yes. Ms. Brownwell. Ms. Brownwell. Yes. Ms. Brownwell. Ms. Brownwell. Yes. Okay. All those in favor of appointing Ms.

» Jennifer Kelly to the First Steps Board? Indicate by raising your hand. Mr. Jones, Mr. Tomlinson, Mr. Cato, myself, Mr. Shoemake, Mr. Tucker, and Mr. Brazel. Thank you, gentlemen. I was going to try to make motion for Mr. Brazel at First Steps Board. And Ms. Amy, I will get with you or get with Ms. Hannah to see if what we need to do officially from the council's communication to the board. Thank you. Okay. Moving on. Mr. Schalke, can you go into the next with the Administrator's brief and then legal? Sure. So, my items are as follows the boat ramp sewer and Woodward Park. So, with the boat ramp, we are still working on the due diligence they're out there surveying or they were out there surveying today, so that is well underway.

» We expect a two-month process on gathering all the data to make the design and then ultimately going forward. So, we are working on A two-month process on gathering all the data to make the design, and then ultimately going out to bid around September. So that bid has to stay out for four weeks minimum, so that kind of gives you the timeframe. So it's looking like fall, which may benefit us because of typically the low water in that time. So a little slower than we hoped, but still there's a lot that goes into that project. The sewer system plans and specs are into DHEC. We're waiting on their approval, but the president is still working on documents to form the bid package on that.

» So we're still on time for that as far as the project completion, which is important because we have ARPA funds committed to it, and those funds have to be spent by the end of 26. So certainly we'll keep an eye on that schedule. The Woodward Park and the REC projects as a whole, as it relates to Casey West and up north Mount Pisgah and Westville, we're continuing to work on that. We've got the go-ahead for the Mount Pisgah and Westville parks to do the due diligence up there, some permitting, surveying, engineering, and looking at designing irrigation and lighting up there. So then the Woodward Park, the REC commission is still looking at paring down some of the plan to save costs there. So I look for that to kind of wrap up. We've got to get going on that.

» Casey West, we're going to meet this week on the parking lot. That's going to be one of the more important features out there, is to solve that parking issue. So I want to get going with that. I would like to have that done this paving season. And again, that's going to be one of the more important and has been one of the more needed features out at that park, is proper parking, and that will also give us another egress point. Do you have a project manager over there, Mr. Templeton? Alliance will be handling that. And then we've made some... It's not the REC commission. No. We don't want them handling it. No, sir. We don't want people, but I just don't let an advisor commission run the program. Correct. And to your point, they were just going to be offering some insight into...

» They're great people. They've got a lot to tell, but they just can't... They can't run it. Okay. No, sir. That will be a staff-driven project, and we will rely on Alliance on all of these projects, with the exception of the sewer. Thank you for the updates, too. Yes, sir. And, Madam Chair, that's all I have, unless there's questions. Any questions for Mr. Templer? All right. Mr. DeBose with legal. Nothing, Madam Chair. Okay. All right. Mr. Tomlinson, can you start tonight with council briefs, please? Absolutely. Thank you, Madam Chair. Tonight was a great night. We got to cry a little bit at the beginning, honoring the lost loved ones of former law enforcement. And again, thank you to each first responder law enforcement who are in this room.

» This is a great honor to have y'all, and our community is greater off because of you. Also, you know, the public comment, I understand where everybody's going with it. I just wanted to give the right to my people to be able to talk as long as they like. And if anybody needs me, my cell phone number is 803-427-9284. If you can't get up here and speak because your 30 minutes is cut short, please give me a call. That's my personal cell phone. You will love his voicemail greeting. There is no voicemail greeting. And also, I would like to Mr. DeBose and Mr.

» Templer, for next, before next meeting, and I'm assuming it's probably going to have to go before planning and zoning prior to this, or the planning commission, but I'd like a brief on a moratorium, going about a moratorium on building permits for large subdivisions, so greater than 10 homes, until July 2026. Basically, that gives us time for the comp plan, ZLDR rewrite, and it gives us a couple months, six months of time prior so our staff can get ready for the upcoming thing. I would just like a process on that, and also, I think, I would like to see if possible for sewer, for all sewer expansion for residential to be prior to staff responding, see if we can get it because of, until the rewrite, same timeline.

» Have that also included where it comes before council, for either approval or recommendation that then goes back to staff prior to them sending expansion of sewer to large subdivisions. So, just for clarification, that would be any time a subdivision requests sewer capacity? Any time a subdivision requests sewer capacity, until we get the ZLDR rewrite comp plan, so I'm guessing July 2026 will be the timeline on that, so I would like to include both of those if that's possible, and if it has to go through planning and zoning, or planning commission, would like it prepared and briefed.

» Do you think that we get the new sewer plan expansion built first before we offer more sewer? Is that? No, I'm saying that it comes to us prior to a letter being sent out saying that we're going to grant access to a sewer that we have no response over. I think it gives us an opportunity to be able to control growth. If it's possible, I'm not sure of the exact ordinances or regulations based upon the state authority for municipal sewer, but if it is possible, I think it gives us the opportunity for our hands to be in it, for us to know about it, instead of they just going through planning commission, getting approved, subdivision, and then the sewer getting, you know, just pushed out by the staff.

» But that wouldn't impede on someone who's building a home currently or a business or anything like that? It would only be on large subdivisions, ten or more homes. A proposal? For? A new proposal, is that it? Yes, a new proposal for large subdivisions. Mr. Thompson, I'm just going to tell you straight up how I like it. Well, I appreciate it. I didn't like your vote on the- I don't care. I didn't like your vote earlier. I didn't like your vote earlier. I still love you. Well, I love you in a manly way. I've taught way too much tonight. Staff, thank you so much. Danny, I really appreciate it. Mr. DeBose, Ms. Hannah, everybody, thank you. Mr. Jones. Yeah. I see that we have one of our celebrities here from the Fine Arts Center. Welcome. I guess you just couldn't stay away.

» You certainly haven't asked for any money or anything yet, but it's good to see all of y'all here. Christina, good to see that prosecutor back there behind you as well, too. That young lady told me, she said, I'm not a lawyer, I'm a prosecutor. So there is two different- there is a big difference. I think we did some good things tonight. I like what we did with the skeet shooting and keeping out of that as much as we can and some other things. And I'd like to ask y'all to keep my family in your prayers. My son who goes to Carnegie Mellon, they had a fire in their kitchen. He had to head back up there. No one was hurt. It was a rude accident by the fire department, but bless their hearts, they had nowhere to stay and they had their gerbils in the car.

» My wife goes up there and rests there, B&B for them. She's going to be up there for another week. Mr. Jones, they're chinchillas. Chinchillas, what I call them. Gerbils. I'm not going to tell you what I really think. That would be very offensive to your son. But anyway, anyway, just keep me in your prayers and, you know, good son. And I want to thank this county council for working together as well as we do. We have disagreements. We argue with each other. I say it time and time again. I just can't believe after 18 years I've got a council that I enjoy working with even though they don't vote the right way sometimes. You guys are great to be with. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Jones. Mr. Brazel. I got a few things I'd like to say. Sorry, I know it's been a long night.

» I'd like to start off by thanking the sheriff and the families that came. It was my honor to be a part of honoring the Turner family, the Orr family, the Potter family, and the Evans family. And it lends perspective to life. We all come from different backgrounds. We all do different things. But there's one thing that we all love. We love our family. We love our mothers, our fathers, our children. And I know there were at least two families that had kids raised without a father because of their service. And again, we'll just never know how that affects someone and how tough it is to be raised because your loved one or your father or your mother was lost in the line of duty. So Godspeed and God bless them. I'd also like to recognize some other officers that sometimes are overlooked.

» I'd like to recognize all of our detention officers and EMS for EMS Week 2024. Last week, May 5th through the 11th, was National Correction Officers Week. President Ronald Reagan once said, no group above Americans have a more difficult or less publicly visible job than the brave men and women who work in our correctional facilities. I couldn't agree more. They have a tough job. Secondly, our brave men and women in EMS are celebrating their week of recognition next week, May 19th through the 25th. This year marks the 50th anniversary of National EMS Week. EMS responds to over 10,000 calls annually in Kershaw County where they take advanced medical care to the streets. Thank you all. Thank you all for what you do. Again, I'd like to publicly thank Danny Templar for what he's done.

» I tell you, we've been working together for almost four years now. And Danny, as you've moved into your role as our administrator, I've seen you grow and I think you've probably seen me grow in my role as a council person, or at least I hope I have. And I want to say it's been a pleasure to grow with you. I admire you and your position. You have a tough job. You take a lot of heat, but at the end of the day, you get the job done and you use common sense in the place of rules and regulations when necessary. And the public needs to know the kind of job you're doing for our county. Really appreciate it, Danny. I really do. And anybody that disagrees with me is wrong. Okay, Jimmy. I'd also like to take a moment to say thank you and God bless all of our mothers.

» We had a wonderful Mother's Day this Sunday. Raising kids is tough. I've got three of them and I couldn't do it without my loving wife. I'd also like to further mention her mother, Kathy Merritt, has been fighting stage four cancer that was found probably about two months ago. And she's been through six rounds of chemo. And in the next seven to ten days, she'll have more tests. And she believes in the power of prayer, as I do. So if anyone's watching, people in this room, if you believe in the power of prayer, her name's Kathy Merritt, and we'd like to lift her up. We'd like for you to lift her up. We've had you on our prayers. We will continue to have you on our prayers. Thank you. And I will say the more the merrier. But she's a strong woman. She's a good woman.

» She's been good to me for a long time. And I just wanted to publicly say that she's a beautiful and wonderful human, and that we're praying for a miracle soon. Yeah, are you in the dog house? No, sir, I'm not. You do have a beautiful wife. She is a precious woman. Well, thank you. I already knew that, but thank you for confirming that. And that's it. That's all I had tonight. Thank you, Mr. Brasman. Mr. Tucker. Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to say thank you for the vote of confidence into the rules. And I would say to you, Councilman Donaldson, if you truly, truly want to give them time and not waste the other folks' time that wants to come here and see us conduct business, let's look at moving it. Madam Chair did some stuff tonight that I kind of like.

» Let's put them down there right before us. We can have public comment, and then we can have council briefing. And let's see how many stay and do the people's business like we have to do the people's business. I like that, because then we could remember how to respond to their questions. Just a thought. Mr. Tucker, you say a lot of things I agree with. I can't see you sitting so low. Do you need a booster seat or something? But listen, you did good tonight on that issue, and I appreciate your hard work on it. Well, thank you, Mr. Jones. It's not that I sit low. You're just going blind. Fair? Fair enough. Okay, that concludes my report, Madam Chair. Thank you, Mr. Tucker. Mr. Schumacher. Yeah, just a couple of brief things. I was a prosecutor, now I'm just a lawyer.

» I knew it, I knew it, let's go. Also, also a shout out to our prosecutor in here, Christina Hallard. I love to see when people running for office come to these meetings, especially one that lasts this long, so thank you for coming. Also, really appreciate the Law Enforcement Memorial today. It's always, it's always tough. You know, I've had the opportunity to work with some really great law enforcement officers, many of which who were injured, so I thought it was really special. And especially to Miss Potter, who's been a dear, dear friend and supporter of mine when I first even thought about doing this, so I just really appreciate her being here.

» We do, speaking of office, we do have some races coming up, June 11th is the primary, whatever your preference, whatever your choices are, we have a very active, whatever part of the county you live in, there's a contested Senate race on at least one side or the other, and there's also a clerk of court race. I'll say this as a lawyer, that the clerk of court is one of those things that nobody thinks about until it goes wrong. If you look no farther than Hampton County and what happened there when the clerk of court started doing some crazy stuff. So clerk of court is one of those critical things that nobody thinks about, and I encourage you, we have three candidates for clerk of court. On the Republican side, no Democrat opponents, the current incumbent is not running again.

» I encourage you to research these candidates. There's several forums coming up this week. If you go to my Facebook page, you can see them, but just, there's several forums coming up with all these candidates, so please stay involved. Third thing, and I think you may be mentioning, are you gonna mention the feasibility study? Okay, I was just gonna say there's one more meeting on the feasibility study that's on Thursday, May 16th, the Britt Event Center, 533 Clemson Road, five to seven. So a lot of questions about this. Nobody's made any decisions yet. This isn't a meeting to run a bus line. It's not a meeting to expand a road. It's a meeting to get the input.

» This is the feasibility study, and it's also a chance to get folks input about what they want to see for number one from Spears Creek down to Watts Hill Road. So it's really, really important. So I'd encourage everybody who can to attend that. Again, there's one more public meeting Thursday, but if you can't make those, connectingsandhills.com, there's a little survey you can fill out. So please do that. Take a little point of personal privilege. Louisville High School Baseball, which my son is a member, won their region, but failed in playoffs, but that's okay. They had a really great region. They're banquet is tonight. I couldn't make it because I was here with you wonderful people. I will not miss it next year because it'll be a senior year.

» Also two of the boys, Maverick Grisby and Billy Robertson, two great players were named to the baseball all-state team. So congrats to the Virgin Baseball. The last two things, I'm going to tell a little secret involving Councilman Jones. He has been helping me work out these last couple of weeks. He is a beast in the gym. So we fight sometimes and we'll probably get some arguments as we get into budget season, but we are friends and I've really appreciated his help in the gym, where I do not feel as confident as I do up at this podium. It's working. It's just working. I was a Marine. I know how to do it. I just haven't done it in a long time. So the last thing I want to do is a special sort of a word of, I guess, prayer and condolences to the Korenchek family.

» For those who don't know the Korenchek family, Jason Korenchek is one of our public defenders. His sisters, Amy and Ashley. Amy teaches here and then Ashley's there in Columbia. They lost their mother last year and today actually just a few hours ago, they lost their father. Joseph Korenchek lived in Elgin. He is a retired Marine Colonel, retired DEA agent, and all around just real bad ass dude. And I'm gonna miss him. He was a great, great guy. And so I just want to send some prayers to that family and that is all I have. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Shoemake. Please don't cuss. Mr. Keiko. I hate going last because everything's pretty much done been said, but I'm gonna say some stuff over again. I'm gonna start out with a couple of things in the community.

» June the 8th, Mount Pisgah Community and Resource Center. Well, they will be having a family fun day. They'll have food trucks, vendors. I think they may be gonna have a bike ride. So anybody interested in that, please follow them on Facebook or call the Mount Pisgah Community Resource Center. Congratulations to the North Central Lady Knights softball team. They won the district championship this year. First time that's been done since 1999. So congratulations to them. I don't know if they got the second game of the playoffs in tonight or not, but congratulations. They've had an exceptional year. I want to congratulate our graduates.

» Graduation to be next Friday, if I'm not mistaken, for all of Kershaw County and congratulate all the graduates and well wishes for them in the future, whatever they set out to do. I know they'll do well. I want to thank our first responders. I want to thank our fire, our EMS. You know, there's a lot of time that they take away from their family. It's a lot of hard work, a lot of training. And I want to thank our correctional officers. And I know it was Correctional Officers Week, but law enforcement has a dear place in my heart. 27 years, I, you know, and I want to say that to say this. I believe it was Russell said something about Mother's Day, you know. My mother's always been there to support me. And she done the best she could to try and raise good youngins. So I think she done okay.

» But my wife, you know, people do not realize the sacrifice that a family makes to someone that's in law enforcement. My wife was left at home many a night and many a day with three children while I was off doing whatever I had to do, whether it was kicking in doors or stopping cars or whatever it was, she was left there to take care of the kids. And I thank her for that. And I thank her for her service on that end. But to the ones that paid the ultimate sacrifice, it's near and dear to my heart. I've lost some friends through the years and we need that memorial. We need that memorial. I want to see that memorial here in Cushaw County. And that's something we need to get to work on. That's something that's overdue.

» Any much more I can say to that? Just thank the families for being here tonight for the ones, and there was others. I know there's some from the city that was lost. Dear friend of mine, Eddie Cato, was no relation. He lost his life in the line of duty from the city of Camden years ago and he was a dear friend. So there's just so many, not just here, but all over the nation that have paid that ultimate sacrifice. And I thank them for that. That's all I have. Thank you, Mr. Cato. I want to thank the sheriff for being here tonight for the National Peace Officers Memorial Day. And I apologize that I wasn't here. Excuse me. Thank you, Mr. Brazel, for bringing up EMS Week and National Correction Officers Week. You know, they're over there at the detention facility 24-7.

» So I think sometimes we forget about them. And law enforcement, EMS Fire 9112, all our first responders. But we go home and we go to sleep and we wake up and they were there all night. So sometimes they are forgotten about. So thank you for bringing that up. The Highway One Flyer, Mr. Shoemake already touched on it, but please use this code or just go to the website if you can't make the meeting and say what you need to say about Highway One. We were very fortunate to be included in this study. The Central Midlands Cog was not going to include us. COTA made them, so we're happy about that. And hopefully we can use their information at Santi Lynch's Cog. There was a town hall on Thursday that Mr. Templer and I were honored to participate in. And it went very, very well.

» It was put together by the concerned citizens of Kershaw County. A lot of SCDOT questions about our roads and infrastructure. I wanna say for the good of the county, it is confusing and there are studies that are required to make certain steps forward. One of them is on this Highway One corridor. So those are processes. We just simply have to follow the bureaucracy of government, but this council is working very diligently on it. Ms. Allard, thank you for being here. I have to give her a shout out. I serve on the Opioid Coalition for Kershaw County, and she has prosecuted many fentanyl trafficking cases. So thank you for your efforts in that. I feel like I'm serving this near and dear to my heart and this county. So I appreciate that.

» Lastly, I want to say to the citizens of Kershaw County and my council members, it is an honor to sit up here. It's an honor to be the chairwoman of Kershaw County. When I meet members of the public and get to solve problems, I truly feel like I'm serving my purpose. Like God's purpose for me on this earth. When I get to sit with someone and resolve something that they need in their life. This community has embraced my son and I as part of their family. And every citizen I meet with, I build a relationship with, and it's very meaningful for me. I don't take the gavel lightly. I take the responsibility very seriously. The lives of the citizens in this county matter tremendously to me. There are many nights that I don't sleep trying to figure out how I can navigate something for someone.

» And it might not even have to do with county council. Many of you know last June, I lost my mother unexpectedly. And subsequently after she passed away, I went through a divorce. Now as a single mother, I've been diligently working for a full-time job to support us. And we're entering a new season of our life. So I have applied for several positions with several government agencies. All of which will require me to adhere to the Hatch Act. I have not accepted it, but in full disclosure, I plan on doing so. And as I prepare for what the future holds for my son and I, I am residing my at-large seat as chairwoman of Kershaw County Council. In the months to come, I'm going to spend as much time as I can with my son. His entire life has been in the public eye.

» And I think he's done a great job at it. He's like a little Kershaw County ambassador. And he is very patient, waiting after meeting, after meeting, after event, to go get a Sonic Slash. And that owe this time to him. I knew that this position would be in the public eye and I've enjoyed it and we've embraced it. And to be as transparent as possible with the citizens I've served, I don't mind that at all. Being chairwoman has been one of the greatest gifts that God has led me to do. Serving in this position has been amazing. So I want to thank the community for how respectful you've been and my fellow council members, how embracing you've been, how supportive you've been of my family. My purpose right now in this season of my life is to be Eli's mom.

» So we will navigate what's next for us, but this council meeting will be my last council meeting as your chairwoman. So thank you for trusting me and thank you for allowing me to serve you. Madam Chair, can I say something? Yes, Mr. Jones, you can. I'm gonna pass right now. Madam Chair. Yes, Mr. Tucker. Wow. I've been blindsided before, but never like this. And as you navigate these waters of being a mom, a single mom, having a career, my prayers and all my best wishes will be with you and behind you. I've watched you go through your trials and tribulations and I have had some of the similar experiences that you've experienced and all of them weren't fun, but you managed to get through them.

» But I commend you for taking the time out for that little boy called Eli and yourself because nothing is more important if you can't take care of yourself. You are no good to anyone. Amen. You have no service to anyone if you don't take care of yourself. And I just wish you Godspeed and the best. And if I can personally do anything, you've always included me, just like you included all of us for the big fifth birthday party Saturday. I appreciate that. That lets me know that I have a personal spot in your heart and in your family's life and that will always be. So don't hesitate. My number's been my number for 30 years. I'm gonna try to hold onto it for 30 more and by then I'll go to heaven to see our moms and chill out with them.

» But I say to you, Godspeed, best wishes and I have enjoyed serving with you. And I'm sorry about the abrupt end tonight. I was hoping that we'll be able to get through budget season because we would need you to get through this, but we'll be in touch. Yes. You stay healthy mentally and physically and you press on. Thank you. Thank you. And I meant no disrespect by or blindsidedness. I personally chose to tell everyone at the same time. Yes. And I understand that was, it's your business and you get to pick the terms on when you wanna tell them. Yeah. And I'm okay. Yeah, he needs me. It's a great loss for Kershaw County here. But I admire this chair lady so much. She has broken the barrier. She's the first female to have a server on county council must list as the chair.

» And nobody ever works as hard as I do when it comes to reelection. Cause if I get an election and run, I plan to win. But this lady, I said, I'm ready to go home. No, we got enough street houses to go to. I mean, she has such a strong work ethic and she's a wonderful mom. She's a wonderful friend. I supported you in the beginning. I support you now. And I wish you God speed. Thank you, Mr. Jones. Anybody say anything about my tears? I slap them. Chairwoman. I'm not a baby. It's good to see you cry. I'm not crying. Okay, it's good to see water in your eyes. Katie, I wanna tell you that the change that I've seen in you from a year ago to today is amazing. You have developed yourself into a true leader. Thank you. And one that I'm proud to call my friend.

» And I had absolutely no idea that you had any intention in doing this. You will be missed. You were doing a fantastic job. But I know how being stretched as a single mother and in this leadership position must have been. As far as anything that someone said about you in the past, publicly, people that pick on women and children are cowards. Amen to that, Russell. And they're pathetic. Amen to that. You were tough. You were strong. And I'm proud of you. And I'll be proud of you tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that. Amen. And I certainly wish this salary could support this, but yeah, stretched a little bit, so thank you. Madam Chair. Yes, Danny. Good Lord, I very seldom at a loss for words, but I just don't know what to say, I'll tell you.

» You know, we started out on this journey together, so to speak, running our elections at the same time and spending many hours talking with you and getting to know you. And man, I just, I'm shocked. I just, I really don't know what to say. I hate to lose you. I really do. Now it was starting to get real good, wasn't it, all of us? I know, it was, we as a council really, I feel like we're really doing a lot of good things up here. And even though, like Jimmy says, even though we don't always agree, that's the way it's supposed to be. If everybody had the same opinion and the same knowledge, then we wouldn't get anywhere. So it's, I'm just, I hate you leaving. But I do wish you the best. And I understand you've got to take care of that sweet little boy.

» You've got to look after Eli and your family and yourself. So I wish you the absolute best in the future. Thank you. Madam Chair, I again concur with what everybody said. I'm shocked too. You know, we were just arguing, we were just arguing over text three days ago. So you were, you know, talking about, you know, pushing it to the end. So no, it's very sad to see you go. And I'm again, wish you the best. And I like everyone else said, that there's everything I can do. It's a very, very difficult decision because I love this job. Well, when you started reading, I noticed you hit your paper because I was trying to read ahead. Because I knew you were gonna read it. I know, I was trying to read ahead. So I'm shocked in real time. Mr. Shoemake reads my notes over here.

» I will share a secret with this council. If Mr. Shoemake's done. I'm finished, I'm finished. I will share a secret with this council and the public. She has not been my friend. She's been like a daughter. We knew that. Well, I'm not dying. I'm just gonna exit. I'm just gonna exit this chair. She never called me daddy, but. She'd still be your friend. Madam Chair. Yes, Brent. What you just said, you just reaffirmed to Kershaw County why they overwhelmingly voted you in. Yes. Because of the person you are. Your morals, your values. You came in like a bat out of, I don't even know if I say it. Don't say it. Don't say it. You're in trouble for cussing. Ever since you've been serving, you've never given up since day one.

» And at the end of the day, you knew that your family is where you're needed right now. Hold your head high. You will be missed, but you're not going forever. Thank you. All right, thank you, gentlemen. Now, just for clarity. Yes. Templer. We're not two years or less, so there has to be a special election. Correct. So can you please, by our next meeting, have that outlined for council and the public because there's a lot of inquiring minds out there as of now, just trying to figure this out. They better think hard. And I will have a press release go out first thing in the morning. Okay. And so I just want to make sure that we're being transparent along with we're knowing the path that we have to tread. Thank you, Madam Chair.

» But until then, you'll have Vice Chairman Jones who is very efficient. Sometimes. The most. The most efficient. All right, back to our agenda. Madam Chair. We're up to item 18. Yep. Adjournment. Is there a motion to adjourn? Yeah, one more thing. No, that's it. Madam Chair, for your final time, motion to adjourn. Motion to adjourn by Sammy Tucker, Jr. Is there a second? I'll second. Well, don't be so excited about it. Second by Mr. Brazel. Any discussion? We're gonna miss you. I'm so excited about it. All right, all those in favor of adjourning tonight's meeting, indicate by raising your hand. Mr. Jones, Mr. Tomlinson, Mr. Cato, myself, Mr. Shoemake, Mr. Tucker in. All those opposed? Mr. Brazel. Madam Chair, one last. Motion passes. This meeting is adjourned. Madam Chair. One last.