Full meeting transcript - October 22, 2024

» What's that? Hey, hey, how are you? Good man, good. I'm taking Sammy's seat since he's calling in. Oh. Are you missing some lighting in here or something? John. Is that Jimmy? In my house. 50 years. 50 years. 50 years. Yeah. 50th anniversary of the Kershaw County Fire Service. Do you have Sammy? He hasn't called in yet? Alright, we got a form. You talk to Brandt? He's coming in later. It's 6 o'clock. Yeah, we start. Welcome everyone. Let's call the meeting to order. It's Tuesday, October 22nd, 2024. I'll just mention that Mr. Tucker will be calling in at some point, we believe. And Mr. Tomlinson let me know that he's got a family obligation. He'll be getting here a little bit later tonight. So thankful to have a full house tonight.

» And we'll be rearranging the agenda a little bit to take care of some of the folks who are here. And particularly the firemen as well who are working and need to get back on the job. We're going to start off with an invocation by Pastor Karen Belton with Victory International Ministry. And then the Pledge of Allegiance. Pastor. Let us look to the Father. Father, we thank you for this day that you've given to us. And Lord, as we come now to do your business for this county. Father, I ask that you would grant wisdom, knowledge and understanding. And even compassion to our elected officials at this time. God, we thank you for their service. And we ask now that you would give peace to the hearts of their constituents, God. That we would work together.

» And that this meeting, God, would be done with a decency and an orderly fashion. We thank you for all of those things that will take place on the agenda. We thank you in advance for it being done the way you would have it done. And we thank you now for the hearts and the minds of those who care about this county. God, we just ask that we would all continue to work together in love and in peace with you, oh God. And we ask now, Lord God, that you would have your way and your way alone during this time of meeting. And we thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. I pledge allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you very much, Pastor Belton.

» I appreciate that. Next item on the agenda, gentlemen, is adoption of the agenda. Do I have a motion? I so move. Is there a second? Second. All right, we've got a second by Councilman Braswell. Any amendments at all? I would like to make an amendment to move. Or can you do that by prerogative? Yeah, we'll approve the agenda first and then move. Okay. All right, any further discussion? Seeing none, we'll call it for a vote. All those in favor, raise your hand. Ms. Hanna, it's unanimous by those present. Do we have Mr. Tucker on the phone? Thank you very much. And then I'll take Chairman's prerogative. We will move item number 11, a resolution recognizing 50 years of service for Kershaw County up to effectively item number six. We'll put number 11 right below number five.

» With that move, that takes us to item number five on the agenda. Proclamations. Do I have a motion? I would make a motion that we adopt this proclamation. Okay. Is there a second? I'll second. All right, we got a motion and a second. Mr. Shoemake. Yep. Would you like me to read the proclamation first, Mr. Chairman? Yes, sir. So we have a proclamation tonight in recognition of Ms. Amy Brown, who's here with us along with all her amazing supporters in red, and I would like to read that now. Proclamation in honor of Amy Brown. Whereas, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS, is a devastating neurogenerative disease that affects motor neurons, leading to muscle weakness, atrophy, and eventual paralysis.

» And, whereas, individuals living with ALS face significant challenges, including loss of independence, physical and emotional pain, and the constant threat of respiratory failure. And, whereas, despite these hardships, many individuals with ALS exhibit remarkable courage, resilience, and a determination to live life to the fullest. And, whereas, Amy Brown has demonstrated exceptional strength and perseverance in her battle against ALS. And, whereas, Amy Brown has made significant contributions to Kershaw County as a former employee of the Parks and Recreation Department, Amy worked for 18 years as an athletic coordinator, and Amy made a very special impact on many adult volunteers and youth participants.

» Now, therefore, be it resolved, Kershaw County Council proudly dedicates this 22nd day of October, 2024, as Amy Brown Day in Kershaw County, South Carolina, in her honor for her courage, resilience, and unwavering spirit in the face of ALS. Let us celebrate Amy Brown and her achievements, and let us continue to support the ALS community and their efforts to find a cure for this devastating disease. Mr. Shoemake, you have the floor. Any further discussion? Well, I'd like to, I know some folks in the family may want to speak, but I think maybe first we could have Ms. Brown and her baby group come up for a picture, and then allow those folks in her family that want to speak to speak. Does that work with you, Mr. Chairman? Well, let's go ahead and vote on the proclamation, and we'll do that.

» Sounds good. Okay, any other first, no further discussion? We'll go ahead and call it for a vote. All those in favor, raise your hand. Ms. Hanna, it's unanimous in favor from those present. It passes. If we could, let's have the family support. Thank you, Ms. Brown. Please come on up. Any others who have been invited? Please feel free to join us for the picture. Any direct family members? Everybody smile. Testing, testing. Thank you. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you, Ms. Brown. What a group and support. Obviously, you're well loved and well liked, and we have a few remarks that I understand are going to be shared on behalf of the family by Ms. Cobb. Thank you to all of you, county council folks, for being so accommodating, and this is a very special day.

» We appreciate your kindness and your support of Amy and this horrible disease. We are proud to be able to call this day the Amy Brown Day, and all of the supporters that are here and those of you that can be an advocate for everyone as they deal with challenges like Amy has dealt with. So we, again, thank you for your kindness. Thank you for being here, all the family and friends. Those of you that know Amy know that she's a lot of fun, and she likes to have fun, and so she prepared a few remarks that I'm going to read, and so none of us wanted to cry, did we? We were going to cry. And so these are remarks directly from Amy that I'm going to read on her behalf, and I hope you'll enjoy and feel the spirit of Amy Brown.

» Well, I don't have an acceptance speech because I didn't think I would win. No, seriously, I should have gotten ALS sooner because I could have avoided moving lots of heavy pitching machines. Right, Jane? Joe? My faith, the people you see standing and in this room tonight, as well as a few that are missing, and her sweet daddy, and my sweet daddy, have supported and guided me through various stages of life, including 18 years at Kershaw County Parks and Recreation. My village, my tribe, to them I am hopelessly devoted. And then I'm supposed to sing hopelessly devoted to you, but I'm not going to do that. Do you want me to sing a little bit of it? Hopelessly devoted to you. A wise man who you all may know once told me, you can leave recreation, but it never leaves you.

» And how true that has proven to be. Now he is a Clemson fan, so take that for what it's worth. Thank you for this honor. I am beyond grateful, and I will leave you with one more Joe-ism. Tough times never last, but tough people do. Say I won't. Drop the mic. Mr. Chairman. Any further discussion by council members? Mr. Chairman, if I may. Mr. Jones. Amy, if you can hear me. I remember the day, Amy, you were hired. And it's always been a pleasure throughout the years. She kept me straight when I had my karate school there. She was bossy, but she did her job. And I love you. I got you in my prayers, and I'm so thankful I'm here to be able to be here tonight with you. And as I said, we're blessed to have known each other.

» You're a wonderful person, and I pray God will wrap his arms around you and move forward with your life. Thank you for being here. I'm very proud to be a part of this, Amy. Like I say, when you work with each other like we did, sometimes it's almost like a marriage in a way. You know, you see each other more. You see us spouses. But you are absolutely a strong influence in recreation. And you always will be. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Jones. Council members, any further discussion? I'll add to that. Mr. Jones, she had to be tough if she was dealing with you, sir. And God bless you. God bless you. We only wish that we could do more when we pray that God is with you every day and that you are able to fight through this disease and just do as well as you possibly can.

» With much love and respect, ma'am. God bless you. Thank you, Councilman Brazel. Any further discussion? Just thanks for everyone who came out to and support. It's amazing. I'm not sure we've ever had a group this big for one single photo like that. So that says a lot to you and what you've done, and I'm sure we'll continue to do. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Ms. Brown, as you're pulling off, I'll just mention that it's very rare that someone as young as you already has a legacy of blessing so many involved in recreation and in Kershaw County through your service. You're obviously an inspiration, and we thank you very much. Thanks for inviting the spirit here to our meeting tonight. Thank you very much, gentlemen.

» The next item on the agenda that we have is regarding Kershaw County's 50th anniversary for service. Do I have a motion, Mr. Brazel? Yes. Chairman Connell, I'd like to make a motion to present this resolution for the 50th anniversary of the Kershaw County Fire Service. Do we have a second? Second. Got a summary? Okay. Yes, sir. Go ahead, Mr. Brazel. Okay. We'll just give everybody a few minutes to finish off. Take your time, no rush. I think the Kershaw County Fire Service wanted to challenge me on my reading skills. They sent a resolution that was like 13 pages long, and then they said, well, we'll shut it down for you to about six pages.

» And then, much to my surprise and gratitude, I received a summary that's about a page and a half that's a resolution regarding how the Kershaw County Fire Service started. So, let's begin. The Kershaw County Fire Service has prepared a resolution, but to be able to capture all of the historical information that has never truly been presented, this resolution is about seven pages in length. And to keep with the good use of time during this meeting, I'll read this summary. This is a resolution to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Kershaw County Fire Service.

» Prior to 1974, fire protection to those residents outside of Lugoff Fire District and the city of Camden was dependent on those two agencies, along with the town of Kershaw, the town of Bethune, and the town of Elgin, because there was not an established fire protection for these county residents. From 1973 to present day, a lot of events and milestones were reached for Kershaw County. The county council contracted with the Santee Watery Regional Planning Council, now known as the Santee Lynch's Cog. The first steps included the hiring of Mr. Alan Guy Mayer, who was the first fire marshal in Kershaw County. Originally hired as the Director of Civil Defense, Mr. Mayer was the driving force for the establishment of the Kershaw County Fire Service. Mr.

» Mayer served Kershaw County for 10 years as their fire marshal before resigning to accept the position of Fire Chief with the city of Camden. During his tenure, Mr. Mayer would get the first six departments up and running, beginning with Pine Grove Fire Department in October of 1974. These original six departments would include Pine Grove, Westville, Cassett, Shepherd, Charlotte Thompson, and Beaver Creek. During these years, a fire truck cost $26,300 and a fire station $16,000. Mr. Mayer would go ahead and add the Antioch Fire Department in the early 80s. After the resignation of Mayer, Kershaw County hired Gary Elliott to serve as the fire marshal. Mr. Elliott would lead Kershaw County through a series of challenges for the next 17 years.

» Over the course of this time, major milestones were completed. Two include additional fire stations, improvement in the communications, the first two accelerant detection canine units in the state, grant funding to build fire stations, grant funding for dry hydrants around lakes and ponds, the hiring of the first deputy fire marshal, and the county's first and last to date tragic line of duty death of Chief Thomas Buff, Jr. from Blaney. In December of 2000, Gary Elliott would retire and the first deputy fire marshal, Mr. Samuel Eugene Falconberry, better known as Gene, would be promoted to fire marshal and emergency management director. During the tenure of Mr. Falconberry, Kershaw County would continue to grow to where it is today. Mr.

» Falconberry would hire the first full-time fire fighter in Kershaw County to work Monday through Friday, 8 to 5. He would go on to be promoted to director of Kershaw County Department of Safety and Emergency Services overseeing emergency 911, county fire, code enforcement, EMS, the jail, and emergency management. With his new duties, it was in 2013 that Mr. Falconberry promoted deputy fire marshal, Keith Ray, who was hired in the year 2001, but it had been a volunteer fireman since 1974 to fire marshal. In July of 2018, all county fire departments would be joined together as one department, and the county fire marshal would become the fire chief over all departments. Fire marshal Ray would become the first fire chief of Kershaw County Fire Service.

» By this time, Kershaw County had hired full-time battalion chiefs and several part-time employees to help respond during the daytime around the county. On December 21, 2019, Kershaw County was devastated by the sudden passing of Mr. Falconberry. The entire county was affected by this loss, and it showed by the number of people and vehicles that participated in the procession in the days to follow. Mr. Falconberry's commitment and service to this county will forever be remembered, and through the history of the department will continue to live on. In 2021, fire chief Keith Ray retired from Kershaw County, and deputy fire marshal Scott Wiles would serve as interim until May 2021 when Will Glover was hired as fire chief.

» Later in 2022, chief Glover would hire deputy fire chief Matthew Bullard. In present day, Kershaw County Fire Service is operating 12 main stations, five substations covering approximately 640 square miles of Kershaw County. Because of this history of the department, we have 21 full-time shift personnel, 20 part-time personnel, and 148 volunteers. In July of 2024, chief Glover was promoted to executive director of emergency services, similar to that of Mr. Falconberry. And now overseas, EMS, emergency 911, code enforcement, and emergency medical services. Deputy chief Bullard was promoted to fire chief. Now, imagine had I had to read all 13 pages. Thank you for the summary. And thank you and congratulations to the Kershaw County Fire Service. 50 years is a milestone.

» It was established just four years before I was born. So it's been around quite a while. And we've made vast improvements in the four years that I've served on council. And I'm real proud of all you guys and gals that are involved. And I'd like to have you up if anybody would like to speak. Chief, chief Bullard. Yeah, Mark, come up for a photo. You want to do it afterwards? Just like to speak. Thank you for having us tonight and having this resolution for us. This resolution is for everybody that helped pave the path for the fire service. Chief Bullard and his crew have done an amazing job putting this resolution together to pay tribute to everybody that came before us. Right now he's passing out a challenge coin for everybody.

» That's a 50th year anniversary challenge coin that is being handed out to a select few people. So we want to thank you all again for your support and everyone that had to do with this resolution. Also, on top of this resolution, because there is so much history and it hadn't been captured before, Chief Bullard and his team, Battalion Chief Stephen Till, have spent a lot of time doing a lot of research on the department trying to put all the pieces together in one place. So hopefully soon there will be a paper or a research paper, if you will, of all the history of the fire service that will be available for anybody to read. So thank you all. Do I see a Kato out there? Is that Mr. Sidney? Mr. Sidney Kato and Charlie Kato are here. I'd like to recognize them and their family.

» They've been committed to volunteer fire and fire service in Kershaw County longer than I've been alive for sure and probably before it was established. Thank you all for being here tonight and God bless you. Thank you, Councilman Brousel. Any further discussion? Glad to see Sidney Kato out there. It's been a long time. I would just say from that historical recitation we just heard, we're steeped in volunteer history in Kershaw County and all those involved in fire service, including the leadership, have been very patient as we transition to a full-time fire service that also relies heavily on volunteers. Thank you so much. Gentlemen, without any further discussion, let's call it for a vote. All those in favor? Ms. Hanna? All those present, vote in favor. Thank you very much.

» Let's get those affiliated with the fire service to come on up and take a picture. We've got a large plaque for you as well. Thank you. Russell, will you grab that mic please? Yes sir, we'd love to hear from you. A lot of people don't know that Pine Grove was left hanging. A man got the building up and then he left. Got his money, he got some of his money and left. So we had to finish it by the help of the good Lord. I wired it, plumbed it, done a lot of work there. I've done a lot of work with the others. I worked for the county 25 years and I enjoyed every dime. I had a lot of friends and all, but now I just sit in the house and watch television on the machine. 24 hours, I'll tell you just about. I thank the Lord for it. Thank you. Thank you, Cindy. Thank you so much.

» Thank you Councilman Brazel for bringing that resolution forward. And just as a reminder, these gentlemen don't just run into burning houses whenever you or your loved ones need help. It's car wrecks, it's first responders. So anytime something goes wrong, it can be on the Watery River, at the lake, they respond and they're there to try to save life. And so I'm grateful to them and I know we all are. Thank you so much again for coming out tonight. I know you'll have to get to work. I know some of you are on call. Thank you. Thank you again, Councilman Brazel. All right, that brings us to the next item on the agenda. Mr. DeBose, do we have anyone signed up for public comment? Yes, three speakers. We've got three speakers. Who's the first one? Terry Davis. The subject is flooding concerns.

» Okay, I'll just remind folks that this is not a question and answer time. It's time to hear from the public and council to listen and take all that in. You have five minutes and Mr. DeBose will keep the time. Thank you so much, Ms. Davis. Mr. Templer, you can deliver it to us. Good evening, council members. My name is Terry Davis and I'm a resident of the Canterfield neighborhood. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. I'm here to address ongoing flooding issues affecting my property and several of my neighbors due to improper drainage from a neighboring property. Despite bringing this to the attention of county officials and the property owner, the issue remains unsolved and I'm seeking your help in finding a solution.

» For some time, our properties have experienced severe flooding during heavy rains due to runoff from a neighboring property. This leaves our yards unusable with standing water persisting for weeks. Children and pets cannot safely play outside and the standing water creates a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes, flies, and other pests which present a public health risk. I initially brought this to the attention of Dan Canty, the county's public works director, who confirmed in writing that the flooding was caused by runoff from a property owned by Ascension LLC, which is local business owner, Mark Mason. When I reached out to Mr.

» Mason about this, his representative informed me that all further communication needed to go through his lawyer, who is now the current chairman of our county council, Ben Connell. Additionally, the deputy county administrator, Gerald Blanchard, was copied on the response to the email. Despite these efforts, no concrete action has been taken to resolve the issue, leaving my neighbors and me dealing with consequences after every significant rainfall. Although the property is currently vacant, there are future building plans for the land adjacent to the property. These include potential construction of a community space for the YMCA. A potential access road from Ward Road would be built on the property in question.

» While development generally is good for a community, I am concerned that without addressing the current drainage issues, any future construction will only exasperate the flooding problems. This could lead to even more severe flooding, affecting a larger number of homes and properties. While property owners are responsible for maintaining their land, I also believe that the county has a duty to enforce drainage standards of both vacant and developed properties to protect homeowners. Despite my efforts to bring this issue to light, no concrete steps have been taken by the county to mitigate the flooding problem. This leaves me and my other homeowners in the area stuck with yards that are unusable, unsafe, and unhealthy.

» The residents deserve fairness, transparency, and immediate action to resolve the issue. The potential conflict of interest due to the property owners' legal counsel being the chairman of this council, as well as the law partner being part of the council, also heightens our concerns about whether this matter will be treated with urgency and fairness it requires. We're not asking for restitution for property damage we've already endured, though our fences have been damaged, trees have fallen, and the rest of our home's foundation is real. All we're asking is that steps be taken to protect our properties and prevent future damage.

» If action is not taken before construction begins on any future projects, we risk permanent damage to our property and further degradation of our neighborhood's quality of life. Today, I am respectfully asking the county council to one, conduct an immediate inspection of the vacant property and enforce drainage regulations such as the addition of a retention pond to prevent further flooding. Hold the property owner accountable by withholding future building permits until the drainage issues are fully resolved. Three, ensure that any future development plans on the property, including potential access roads, community spaces, all comply with strict drainage standards to protect neighboring homes.

» Four, act with transparency, speed, and fairness in handling this matter given the legal representation involved and the potential conflicts of interest. In conclusion, I urge the county to prioritize this issue before it escalates. Our homes and quality of life are at stake, and we need proactive solutions that will protect our properties and ensure responsible development in our community. I thank you for your time and attention, and I look forward to your response and hope to see positive steps taken to resolve this matter. In your packet, you actually have photographs that are part of my property and my neighbor's properties, and you can see standing ponds of water that are constantly there for weeks. We have attempted to fix this.

» This issue continues to worsen, and unfortunately it is definitely time that we get some kind of resolution and figure out who exactly is at fault in all of this. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Who's next? Melita Rabin, Flooding Issues. My name is Melita Rabin. I'm here representing my parents, Wanda and Howard Rabin, on 41 Ward Road for over 40 years. This property has been in my father's family for more than 100 years. Historically, it's also the site where the original Lugoff Mercantile... Ms. Rabin, if you could, with the mic, so people can hear you. Yeah, just a little closer. Okay. Sorry.

» Where the original Lugoff Mercantile stood, specifically at the back of our property, where now we're dealing with severe flooding issues that have been brought to your attention previously by Terry Davis. My parents' property is at the heart of this issue, situated between the Canterfield subdivision and a portion of Mark Mason's land, both of which are regularly affected by flooding, particularly after heavy rains. The water that collects on Mr. Mason's property also flows onto the back of our land, creating standing water that is becoming an increasing problem for us and our neighbors. This situation has led to legal threats from neighboring homeowners whose yards back up to the flooded area.

» They have been advised to pursue lawsuits against my parents for the standing water, which in turn would force us to file a lawsuit against Mark Mason as the water flows onto our yard from his property. This scenario has been described as a funnel-up lawsuit, and while we have no interest in suing anyone, we feel caught in the middle of a situation that we didn't create and cannot control. While some neighbors believe the standing water affects their property, it is important that I note that there is a raised area which was an old road bed from the early 1900s that acts as a natural levee between our property and theirs. This suggests that the water isn't flowing directly from our yard to theirs.

» This flooding was never an issue in this area while I was growing up, or before the development of the Canterfield subdivision. In fact, as I mentioned earlier, the original Lugolf mercantile stood in this area for many years, and there was no issues. The land functioned properly without standing water until the landscape was changed due to the development of the subdivision. According to the Kershaw County GIS map, the gradient of the subdivision land shows a significant slope, nearly 15% from Ward Road down to the wetlands, where phase two of Canterfield subdivision was built. Additionally, the area between Ward Road and the homes backing up to our property also has a 10% gradient.

» Historically, this area was a watershed designed to prevent flooding, but that watershed was backfilled and several homes were built directly on top of it, which I believe is an irresponsible decision by the developer. When I was younger, that entire area was a field. There were never flooding issues because the watershed was in place to capture the stormwater, aided by the freshwater lands associated with Bug Creek, which runs behind the properties involved. However, the counterfield development was constructed without adequate drainage. The wetlands and watersheds were backfilled, altering the natural flow of water, which now collects on Mr. Mason's property as well as our own.

» According to the 1991 Clean Water Act, proper stormwater management should include storm drains, culverts, and watersheds to prevent flooding and erosion, none of which were adequately considered in this development. Excuse me. As a result of this poor planning, my parents can no longer use a large portion of their land for months at a time due to standing water. In addition, they have faced legal threats for an issue that stems from the developer's failure to account for proper drainage. Over the past several months, I have dedicated much of my time to researching this issue. I've met with several people, studied land gradients, watersheds, and also consulted with a representative from the Army Corps of Engineers.

» They confirm that this is not a situation we should be dealing with, let alone facing lawsuits or harassment over. There is little we can do to resolve this on our own. Any attempt to change the flow of water on our end would only complicate the problem and likely lead to more flooding elsewhere. We believe it is in your power to hold the developers accountable and implement proper drainage systems so that my parents and our neighbors can move forward. We appreciate any advice or action the council can provide. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. DeBose, who's the third speaker? Third speaker is Coralyn Buring. Thank you. Pekane Orchard. July 25th. That was the day my family and community decided that we were done. Done waiting on council and done waiting on administration to do their job.

» July 26th, I filed a Freedom of Information Act request. August 13th, I signed up to speak at a county council meeting for the first time. At this same meeting, a council member requested for a meeting to be held on site in the Pekane Orchard. I happily agreed to facilitate this and hand delivered a flyer to every home in my neighborhood. The meeting was held on August 21st where we had around 50 people in attendance. August 27th. This was the second meeting that I signed up to speak at. My husband and neighbor also signed up to speak. Pekane Orchard was on the agenda, placed there by county administration. Consider my surprise when the administrator requested for this item to be removed from new business to discussion in order to take it to the finance committee.

» The same finance committee that outright refuses to take minutes even though the South Carolina FOIA law clearly states that this is not okay. Under section 30-4-20, a public body means any department of the state, a majority of directors or the representatives of departments within the executive branch of state government as outlined in section 1-30-10. Any state board, commission, agency, and authority, any public or governmental body or political subdivision of the state, including counties, municipalities, townships, school districts, and special purpose districts, or any organization, corporation, or agency supported in whole or in part by public funds or expending public funds, including committees, subcommittees, advisory committees.

» Meeting means the convening of a quorum of the constituent membership of a public body, whether corporal or by means of electronic equipment to discuss or act upon a matter over which the public body has supervision, control, jurisdiction, or advisory power. Quorum, unless otherwise defined by applicable law, means a simple majority of the constituent membership of a public body. The chair of the finance committee was asked if he would support taking minutes at the finance committee and he responded with, quote, come sit and join us and then you take minutes. September 23rd was the day that my FOIA request was required by law to be completed. It wasn't.

» On September 24th, I learned that a councilman sent a request to DES, formerly DHEC, to come out and make sure that our groundwater was safe. This is a legitimate concern given the amount of flooding that we experienced in Pecan Orchard. A representative from DES reached out to me and they were very concerned. September 24th was also the day that we learned that there was no pipe or easement for a pipe that was installed that begins on a neighboring property and ends on mine. However, it was stated that this was done at the request of the property owner. I didn't get permission, my husband didn't get permission, and I'm pretty sure the other property owner did not get permission for her property.

» At the time this was installed, my husband and I were actually told by administration that there was an easement. September 25th, I filed a formal complaint with county council about the failure of administration to fulfill what they were required to do by law. I did not hear back from anyone. October 2nd, I sent the second follow-up email to the county council about the failure of administration to comply with FOIA. I did not hear back from them, however, I did finally receive the remainder of the documents. In these documents, I officially learned that there is no easement for the pipe. And I also learned that the county can't even locate a permit or a builder card for my property.

» According to one county employee, planning and zoning didn't exist during the time my home was built, which seems odd considering this was in the mid to late 90s and the other homes in my neighborhood that were built at the same time were permitted. October 3rd, I sent a follow-up email to confirm that this was in fact the case. The email was sent to the county administration and the county attorney. Nineteen days, that's how long I gave both parties to provide this information and only heard back from the administration after I sent another follow-up email. Do you see why we are all concerned? Why there is an overall lack of trust of this county? Why the general consensus is that this administration and most members of county council can't be trusted? Thank you.

» Does that conclude the speakers today? Yes. Thank you, Mr. DeBose. Alright, gentlemen, that takes us to the next section, which would be public presentations. Votes not required. We've got on the agenda Mr. Cletus Ray regarding the Special Olympics. Mr. Jones, would you like to introduce it all? Absolutely. Mr. Ray. You're not Cletus tonight, you're Mr. Ray. Come on down. First of all, let me say this about this man right here. This man has worked so hard with the Special Olympics, working with the Academy, out on Highway 1, the Camden Military Academy. Cletus, thank you so much for all you've done for the folks out there and the children. Well, I appreciate that. Initially, I contacted Councilman Jones about I was going to do a public speaking saying that officially I'm stepping down.

» For those who don't know me, I'm Cletus Ray. I work at Denko America. I'm a Supply Chain Manager there and I'm also the Kershaw County Special Olympics Chairman by default. I started in 2011 and I've been doing it for 14 years. I've been Chairman for 12 years. My number two lady is right behind me. She didn't know I was doing this, by the way. When I first started 13 years ago, I had eight teachers and two volunteers, me and the Chairman, which was Billy Newman at the time. After a year, Billy said I got personal things I need to step away, so I took over. As of right now, I have one teacher. The rest of my people are volunteers. I've approached the school board twice, maybe three times, about adding this position as a stipend for a special ed teacher for an outside source.

» It doesn't matter. I mean for $1,500, $2,000 because me and my girls, they're the staple of this thing. I'm just pointing them in the right direction. They do all the work. We start January, the first Wednesday in January, and we meet every Wednesday from January until the day of the events. Colonel Boland does a great job of hosting it for us. I've had coaches, athletic directors approach me and try to do it at their schools. We did it during COVID. My girls pulled it off, made it happen, had it at the school farm. But as John Coffey said in Green Mile, I'm tired, boss. I'm wore out. My girls, they're mad at me for leaving. The teacher, Tom Ritchie, great guy. He's been there by my side the whole time.

» Whenever I told him I was going to step down, he told me, he said, I hate it, but thank you because I was going to stick with you. My point of being here tonight is I need counsel's help with going to the school board to make this happen because I do not want this to fall into cracks. These kids deserve their day. It's a great day. I don't know if you've ever been out there for it, but if you get a chance, you should go out there because to see the smiles on their faces, the laughter, the joy, it's just unbelievable. I'm going to get emotional. Kalitas, we love you, brother, and we are so appreciative of what you do.

» We're so fortunate in this county to have the Camden Military Academy and what they bring to us and to have you, sir, and the ladies that work with you, each and every one of you. Everybody's important. Everybody brings something to the table. But sir, you are a shining star in that. And I recognize that. It's the first couple of times I showed up there. Well, I appreciate that. But like I said, I say I'm stepping down, but if nobody steps up, I'll make sure they have their day. I'll do something. We'll do something. But it won't be to the extent of what they're used to. But I'm begging you to approach the school board. I meet with him November 12th. I invite any of you to show up if you like. Or it's a great day. That's all I can tell you. Mr.

» Chairman, can I ask a question since we're in public presentations? Yes. So I just want to be clear. What exactly are you looking for? You mentioned a teacher and a stipend. I'm not entirely clear, so I just want to understand. What is it that you're asking the school board for? Well, let me back up and explain to you, Councilman Schmidt, that for the past 14 years, we've never received a dime from the school district, never asked them for anything. They pay for materials and stuff like that. But it's a lot of work. It's a lot of work on my part, on my lady's part. And I don't mean to sound derogatory when I say this, but the school district is loaded with staff there. I mean, they've got a bullying specialist. They've got all this other stuff.

» Why can't they have a special ed teacher that controls Special Olympics? Because when COVID hit, we had to stop doing it at Military Academy because Colonel Boland shut down Military Academy, which I condone him for. I mean, there's nothing wrong with that. I mean, he was protecting his cadets and his families and stuff. So for the first year that happened, we had to shut it down completely. The second year we had it at schools. But I guess my whole answer to that is we've been doing it for free for 12 years. Why would the school district want to hire somebody when I'm doing it for free? I mean, I've sent a letter. I sent one to Councilman Jones. I sent one to Dr. Goodwin. I sent one to Ashley. Dr. Ashley Felt, I think her name is. Just let them know that I'm stepping aside.

» And what I'm looking for is somebody to take my spot. I'm willing to help them for a year. This coming year, if they want me to help them, I'm willing to do that. No charge. I mean, we've never been paid for anything we've done in the past, but I'm willing to help them transition over to because I mean, there's a lot. I mean, you've got to deal with Colonel Boland, the County Military Academy, which he makes it. He shuts down the campus and he opens the door. He just said, come on in, boys. It's yours. I mean, if I need tables here, I was like, I need two tables here with three chairs. Cadets do it. Cadets do it. Cadets do it. You need to have coordination with the buses, the parades, the t-shirts. I mean, it's a lot. I mean, it's a lot.

» And what I'm looking for is for mainly I'm looking for the school district to say, OK, please, we got this. That's kind of what I'm looking for is, OK, we got this. Don't you worry about it. It's taken care of. And I'm willing to help them with that transition period to be the lame duck or whatever I need to be. But I'm just it's just I think it's time for them to take over and us step back. There was a time when I first started the first year, Ron Blackman stepped up, Coach Ron Blackman. We had to pay for buses to take him to the Military Academy. And he's like, why do I have to pay for buses? The football teams, the soccer teams don't pay for buses. I mean, but I mean, and I told Ron, I said, we'll raise enough money. We'll pay for them.

» Coach Blackman was like, no, we're going to treat them like athletes. And that's what we've done. When COVID hit, we had we kind of got away from the state sanction being part of Special Olympics. That's a whole different story that I could tell you about about the money they get from us or take the 20 percent off. And we raised money and Lee County did and Lee County got to use our money in a general fund. But that's a whole different story for another day. But we're pretty much self-sufficient in Kershaw County. I mean, they really, to be honest with you, there's other counties that came and said, how did you all get WL checks? How did you get WIS? How did you get WOTS 57? We just contacted him and said, hey, we haven't just come out.

» And like Richland County is like, we didn't have that coverage. We didn't reach out to the right people. And that's what I'm looking for. I'm looking for somebody to step in and take my spot. That's exactly what I'm looking for. Thank you. Thank you. Council members, any other questions or discussion? Cletus, thanks for doing this for all these years. I honestly didn't know you were involved in leading the charge, man. I'm proud of you and proud to be a friend of yours, knowing you since I was little. Very little. Yeah. Your family and my family, we've always been close. And I'm thankful for having you here tonight. And I'll be thinking as to how I can lend a hand. Well, I appreciate it, and I appreciate you guys giving me the time to speak.

» Like I said, an issue is going to be public speaking, but Councilman Jones talked me in to come up here because he wanted to interact, which is fine. Well, I think they wanted that, too. And that's fine. They care just as I care, as you care. We just meant to have as great of involvement as you do, but I'll do whatever I can to work with you on that, Mr. Brouser. Who is here with you that works with? Dawn Carnell. Please, Dawn, stand up. Thank you. Thank you so much. She's mad at me because I didn't tell her I was doing this tonight, and she happened to be here for Amy. Well, it was a wonderful coincidence. So she will be there for a school board meeting, but I thank y'all, and I appreciate your time. Thank you, Cleaves. Appreciate what you do. Thank you.

» All right, gentlemen, that will conclude public presentations. Next item on the agenda is approval of minutes, number eight. Do we have a motion? I'll make a motion. We'll approve the minutes, Mr. Ritt. Thank you, Mr. Cato. Do we have a second? I'll second. Mr. Shoemake, thank you for the second. Any discussion at all? Mr. Chair, I'll be abstaining due to my absence. Okay. We have Mr. Tomlinson abstaining. No further discussion. We'll call it for a vote. All in favor, raise your hand. All present in favor, except for Mr. Tomlinson, who's abstaining. Ms. Hannah, thank you. Next up on the agenda, we've got number 9A. This is planning and zoning update on pecan orchard and stormwater placed by Mr. Jones. Do we have a motion? I so move. Is there a second? I'll second the motion. Mr.

» Brazel, you got a second? Go ahead, Mr. Jones. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the county council, for allowing this time. I was hoping, and Mr. Temple, I was hoping that you could kind of give us an update on where you're at with the hiring of the contract workers that are out there doing the surveying. Surveys already began. It's probably maybe a week and a half into it. It'll be completed at the end of the month. What about any other work? Have you gotten any feedback or any information on the fact that they may – when are you all going to start maybe going in there and trying to trim out some of the ditches? We've already started. We have plans to – I think they were scraping the roads today. We're going to get a jet vacuum truck out there. We've got large riprap in the ditches.

» Pulled the silt out that way. They've been jetting some pipes. So the maintenance phase will start out there. I sent an email today to Pekin Orchard Group that we have a communication letting them know that because I was not aware of the parameters of what was going on with the DHEC complaints out there, it didn't make any sense to go ahead and scope our engineering. So I had to submit a FOIA request to DHEC. I received that back late last week that there was nothing out there that would impede our process. So late last week, we let our engineers know to go ahead and proceed with the engineering. The timeline on that, it's going to take a little while. There's two phases. So they will – they're going to do hydrology and just – it's going to be pretty involved.

» So it looks like maybe late May or June while they finish that up. And so we received a timeline or a timetable. It's not in stone, but I feel pretty good about it. They're also going to start – there was a rural infrastructure authority grant we were going to go for. So that will – I want to say they're going to start that process ASAP so we can meet the deadline on that. And then of course – well, yeah. So those three – everything we had funded through that, those funds that you all approved, it's all in work now. And I think the total – 132,000 went to the PCAN. I wish I think the rest of it was going to the other areas of concern. This study, yeah. Seventy – a little over $70,000 was going to the study. That is going to help us – like Ms. Raven and I think it was Ms.

» Williams were talking about Canterfield. So it's going to allow us to look at the county as a whole from a stormwater – And they will be part of it, too. Yes, sir. They're on the list. Yes, because it's our belief that Buck Creek and all that area there, it's a contributing factor, if you will, to a lot of what's going on, not just in their neighborhood but in other neighborhoods as well. So that's – I want to get a handle on that. Is there any way that we – the council – and if I ask for anything, certainly we want all the councilmen to have it as well, because I know if they ask for something, you'll send it to us as well to be a body of seven. Is there any way we can get a list of the areas where the stormwater is concerned that we're having problems with? Yes, sir. Absolutely.

» That would be great. And that way we all can be on the same page, and we'll see the priority as you're moving forward, at least this way those folks know also that they're part of the survey and the concern. You know, we talked about the complaint being filed with DHEC. It wasn't a complaint. I did it. It was a request for information. And I think you and everybody else would agree that was the right thing to do, because when you've got septic tanks overflowing and groundwater coming – you want to make sure that it's not a danger for folks. And to me, I don't care how much money it would cost us, a life is more important than a million dollars. So if there was contaminated water out there, I wanted to know it.

» And I felt like I got a little chastised by even – which nobody's going to chastise me. I shouldn't say that. I said I just got an eerie concern talking to folks about why I would do that. Well, I did that because it was the right thing to do when it comes to public safety for people. And as I said, that's – your health is worth more to me than money. I noticed tonight that we had some – and this is all still standing within the perimeter of what we're talking about, what I asked you to have a discussion on, the planning of zoning. I think I can answer that. The planning of zoning was established, I think, in 1987, somewhere around 86, they said. I was here. And, you know, I remember that it was established. I don't know – we don't know when permits were started.

» It was after DHEC handled the permitting and it was a land disturbance permit. And so that was about all you had when you did a subdivision. Right. So those are – Are you – is he asking for a house, though? Are you referring to the permit for a home or neighborhood? I'm talking about just the neighborhood overall, when the permitting start. Or basically in the county, when the permitting start in the county, I'm sorry. So it would be, from what I understood, the mid to late 90s. Wow. Well, say mid, probably not so much late. And I realize you weren't here then, but nobody else was. I think I might have been the only one still here, Ken DeVos. But I thought it had been sooner than that. There's no record on it for us to get. No, sir.

» And in reference to four-year requests, I mean, we can't produce what we don't have. So there's just – we don't have it. It didn't exist. That process, that mechanical portion, in terms of workflow, did not exist back then for Pecan Orchard. And it's obviously apparent with the problems it has today, the way it was set up. Well, this also pertains to this, and I heard this tonight. And I would hope that we are working very diligently on freedom of request, FOI, four-year request, and that we don't wait till the last minute to get it to the citizens. If anybody requests something, we get to them as soon as possible. Well, and I take it serious. And when people ask for any and all, that's a very broad, encompassing request.

» And then that gets very cumbersome in terms of staff time and costs, and we always want to make sure that if you want things back quicker, any and all is – it takes a long time to find any and all items related to a particular piece of property or particular issue, so that is going to be slower. And I think there was a communication that went back out to see when people ask for any and all items, just to make sure that if they want to narrow their scope to get that information quicker, then we're not talking them into not getting the information that they have a right to. But if it's timely, then again, an any and all request is going to probably not meet their deadline. I believe you could probably ask for an extension if it's timely.

» But unfortunately, I understand what you're saying when you say it's time consuming. No question about that. But bottom line is we ask for this job. We've got to get it. If people need it, we've got to get it for them to the best of our ability. And that was just – I wrote that down tonight because when that was said, I just want to make sure that we are doing everything we can to make sure we get FOI requests out there ASAP as fast as possible. And talking about sewage plains only and storm water, the sewage leak that we had, was it Burdell and Highway 5? When was it? It was a few weeks ago, maybe a month ago. I think it was right after those heavy rains or something. There was a sewer station or something that was kind of shooting raw sewage up in the air.

» I don't know how much – what the spill was, but I do know what you're talking about now. Was it turned into DHEC? Was it reported to DHEC? They always do. They got it? Yes. Can I just have a copy of that? Yes. If you would get that for me. And every other member as well, too. A copy of when it was reported to DHEC. You know, because I was concerned about that creek right there, if any of you got to it. And, you know, we talked about it. If it's watered down, it's still dangerous. It's still raw sewage if it's watered down or if it's entire content. And from what I understand, it did hit the creek, you know. So I don't – We had no indication of that, but I'll certainly check with staff. If you would. Maybe you have – I don't know if they need to go back out or whatever.

» If we need to know if I DHEC to go and do another test. But I would like to see those – basically the concerns and the questions of the public be met to the best of our ability. And we're with you one minute. I got some comments I'm going to make, but I think I'm going to hold those, Mr. Chairman, to my council briefing. Okay. Thank you so much. Any further discussion on this item? None here. Seeing none, no votes required. That takes us to item 9B on the agenda. Airport update placed on by Councilman Jones. Do we have a motion? Oh, I made the motion. Okay. Is there a second? I'll again second the motion. All right. First and second. Go ahead, Mr. Jones. Okay.

» Once again, I'm just kind of – and I did talk with some folks that I think I got some information pretty much correct about where we stand with our contracts and how we're moving forward. And some of this I know is executive session, but I do not want to ask for an executive session. But what can you tell us in open session about where we're at with the contracts? Gerald's been doing a great job with that. I think he's got a vast majority of the tea hangers, the community hangers, and things like that. I feel like that's kind of cleaned up. And then some of the outliers, some of the more complicated pieces are where individuals have entered into an agreement where they build a hanger or a structure on county property.

» And then after 20 years, that hanger becomes the property of the county. So looking back, Gerald's been combing through documents both here and over at the courthouse basement and just finding in some cases old contracts, the individuals themselves don't have copies of updated contracts. They have kind of marked through contracts. So in terms of looking at what the past contracts were, they're so old. Some of them are almost 20 years old. So it doesn't really give us anything to go on. We are in conversations. I feel like those conversations are going really well with those individuals. They understand the spirit in which we're trying to operate out there. The airport is, of course, a special revenue department. So it is not fed by the general fund. So it has to make its own money.

» And we are just trying to make that department out there more solvent. A lot of these fees, it's to no fault of these individuals who are in these hangers. But we are just trying to go and clean that up and just get what is a fair market value for the spaces we provide. So we're even in conversation with LifeNet. And it's just bringing these contracts up to date. They should renew periodically a little more frequent than 20 years. So just trying to what I think our approach is going to be is to set up a one- or two-year contract and just kind of get everything cleaned up and then go with a contract that may go a little further along and maybe a five-year or something like that. But that's all we're working with legal.

» And I think there's three or four individuals out there that are in this bucket, if you will, to where they occupy county-owned hangers. But just getting the fee structures in line and any kind of tax considerations. It's just not as easy as where somebody just rents a space in our tee hangers or our community hangers. And I appreciate that broad update. Let me say this. My concern is with a commitment that Mr. Tuck and I made years ago, we've got two people out there that they actually built the hangers out of their own pocket. They put their money into it so that they could support our airport. And I would just hate to see. I'd like to do everything we can to make sure we work with those folks because they were there for us 20 years ago.

» And as I said, we didn't have to pull a dime out of our pockets. They paid for the entire hanger themselves with the understanding, 20 years or whatever. But I just want to make sure on the fees, too, if Mr. Chairman, I'd like to maybe get a legal question on this. Should council not set those fees as we do recreational fees and things like that? Or should they not be making recommendations to us and we vote on that? I know we do for recreational fees. If I may, it's in our ordinance that the administrator sets the fees. Well, we need to change that. We need to change that. That'd be great. Okay, because I think that's no punt towards you. It could be anybody sitting out there, the county minister, I'd say the same thing.

» Well, would the airport commission not weigh in on that? They're an advisory commission. Okay. To your point, Mr. Brazel, back when we had an FBO and the airport commission was more of a functioning body in terms of they were able to legally enter into contracts on the county's behalf. But once we took over, we being the county, took over operations of the airport, the airport commission was kind of retooled into just an advisory committee and the commission went away and it was a committee. Well, between hobbyists and then folks flying in on jets for business, it brings a variety of people to Kershaw County for different reasons and different price points. I don't know what a reasonable fee for a hangar is. I'm clueless. I don't fly. I'm not a hobbyist.

» I would like council to at least have a shot to review it. I know that we've had to review things in the past, like I think the amount of money that was going to the pay-for-T-shirts or something as irrelevant as that was brought before us maybe four years ago for the recreation department. I think it would be fair for the airport commission to at least review it and then us together looking at an opinion. They can make a recommendation, Mr. Brazel. I agree with you on that. Honestly, as the administrator, I would be opposed to the airport commission handling anything like that because we're simply not tooled for that. I feel like this is by ordinance, this is the administrator's job and I'm just not comfortable with an advisory committee setting our fees. Wow. That's interesting.

» Yes, sir. But I disagree with you on that. They're an advisory committee. If they were a commission, then I would... But advisor, I'm not saying to tell you what do you just help. Those folks on the airport commission work very hard. They're very dedicated to that airport. And to get their input, that's getting the citizens' input. That's why Sammy Tucker and I fought years ago to stop this county council at that time because they wanted to cut off any and all input from any of the citizens out there. And I don't think this council is like that. What I'd like to do, Mr. Chairman, or Mr. DeBose, do we need to... I need to put something on the agenda.

» All I'm saying, and I think it's not fair to you, sir, because you're going to make recommendations and do it and we don't know anything about it. I think it would be better if you seemed more fair to the administrator for him to make the recommendations and bring them to us and let us make decisions. We were elected by the people up here and we hired him to run the county. So we set the policies, we set the fee rules, we set things like that. Mr. DeBose, tell me how right I am. And I have something to add to when I get a minute. Mr. Jones, if I might suggest, perhaps we could have a work session on it to learn more about fees and setting. What you're suggesting implicates several other areas where the administrator already has discretion below $25,000 to expend funds.

» And so it's an interesting question. Maybe we need a work session on it to learn more about aviation like Mr. Brazel. I don't recreationally fly. I'm kind of big boned and I don't like to get in planes too much if I can avoid it. And so maybe we could learn some more about it. But you're welcome at any point, of course, to put something on a future agenda if you want to make a motion. Well, what I'd like to do is ask that we do a workshop session sooner than later to look at this. If I may, I don't understand the reason for the complexity of this. If basically we are so close to the finish line and if I think it would be more appropriate for an agenda item, if so be it, that I will put it on there and maybe an executive session and we can discuss fee structures.

» But to have a work session or, I mean, you know, we get beat up for being a bureaucracy and red tape and things like that. Let us do our job. Let me do my job. Let me do my job. We're letting you do your job, but we set the policy up here. But I don't need a work session to do my job. Well, you don't need, but I may want one, sir. And that's fine. I was elected by the people to sit up here. I understand that. And by the way, I think we've given you too much control on that. I think you hire a professional administrator and in the ordinance, there is. Mr. Templer, I'm not going there with you. You know that. We're not going there. We're having good dialogue. Don't take it personal. I'm not taking it personal, but there is an ordinance that says, all right, administrator will set the fee.

» Excuse me, Mr. Chairman. Don't get upset, though, Mr. Administrator. I'm asking questions. Gentlemen, Mr. Templer, please. One of my responsibilities is to make sure that we have order and decor in here. Absolutely. Mr. Jones, you have the floor. Do you have any further discussion? Well, I just want to make sure that if we could. And this puts the, see, this kind of attitude now really bothers me. And this puts the attorney in a bad position. But bottom line is, I would like this county council, however we have to do it, if I had to put it on the agenda, to either have a work session or whatever, because let me tell you something. We owe it to the folks who have been there at that airport for years. The Airport Commission has a right.

» I mean, I'd like to see their involvement and input on this. They're probably going to disagree with what I'd like to see done out there. But at least this council is accepting responsibility. Listen, we need to make sure we're doing our job and not having the county ministry do every single thing. I tell you, I think it's just overreach. This was not the way we intended it years ago to go down. We're going to vote to raise the $25 fee on baseball. But we're not going to vote to raise the $1,000 fee at the airport. Well, if I may. Yes. Mr. Jones, would you give up the floor? Yeah, absolutely. Mr. Broussle, you have the second. Please go ahead. To be fair, we don't know what the fees are proposed. So I'm okay with your suggestion of hearing it in an executive session.

» I think we can make a decision quicker that way. I concur with that, Mr. Broussle, because it's also implicating direct contractual relationships and negotiations. And just food for thought. We have an individual out there that's been paying $50 a month for well over a decade. For a ground lease? For an entire hangar. He's for a ground lease, right? Mr. Chair. Yeah. He built it. Anything else, Mr. Broussle? No, that's fine. Work it out without. I just want to make sure this council doesn't, just hold on. You get to go again. Remember, Robert's rules of order. Yeah, I just wanted to say I concur with, you know, I concur with the administrator on this one. I think, you know, in terms of a comment about, you know, this is not what the council intended.

» I obviously don't know what the prior council intended, but they put it in an ordinance to give the administrator the authority. So obviously a council specifically intended to do that. I personally am not inclined to take that away. That's all I have. Thank you. Any other discussion? Yeah, I disagree with that wholeheartedly. And what I'd like to see is, Mr. DeBose, how would I need to go about it and put it on the agenda, too? Anything that was done by ordinance has to be undone by ordinance. Three times. It's an equal dignity rule. Thank you, Mr. Jones. Any further? Wait a minute. I'm thinking. And that's when I start thinking, it gets dangerous. Let me just say this. Guys, come on. This is not personal. This is business.

» You know, we're elected to look out for the people of Kershaw County. And if we're going to put that much, give that much authority without us even looking at it or being brought to us and asking us for a recommendation, you shake your head no, sir. But you're the county administrator. We're county council. And I'm not going away. And I don't plan for you to go away. This is not about that. But the bottom line is you got seven bosses up here. And simple fact is that. So can we conclude and agree to at least talk about it during executive session? Yes. I would do that. Thank you, Mr. Schumacher. You're certainly welcome to put it on the agenda. I love the agitation that this causes when you ask questions. Thank you. Thank you very much, gentlemen.

» That leads us to the next item on the agenda, item number 10A. This is third reading, case 24-22. It's an ordinance regarding the ZLDR section 33.26 regarding large scale commercial standalone solar energy farms and requirements related there to. Do we have a motion? I'll make a motion. I'll make a motion. We accept the third reading. Thank you very much, Mr. Cato. Is there a second? I'll second. Thank you very much, Mr. Tomlinson. Mr. Cato. We've been through two readings on this already. It's kind of setting the standard for any solar project that comes towards Kershaw County to meet certain requirements of notifying landowners in the area of the proposed project. Make them adhere to certain standards to make sure we don't get blindsided by something when it comes to council in a vote.

» So I think this is already passed two readings and I urge my colleagues to pass it on the third. Thank you, Mr. Cato. Mr. Tomlinson, you have the second. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I agree with Mr. Cato. I think it's been vetted very well. I really like what we're doing here as far as increasing the distance from a quarter mile to a mile distance for contacting residents. There's first class mail requirements and that's going to be costly and timely for companies wanting to come in, but it gives the citizens an opportunity to be contacted and be aware. And I think this is the right step forward. Thank you, Mr. Tomlinson. Any further discussion? None here. Mr. Jones, please. Mr. Tomlinson, this should be directed at you. So this has nothing to do with bringing them here.

» This is just setting the guidelines if somebody tries to apply to come here. Yep, absolutely. I support that, yeah. Good stuff. Thank you. Seeing no further discussion, we'll bring it to a vote. All those in favor, raise your hand. Ms. Hanna, it's unanimous by those voting in person. Thank you. Item number 10B on the agenda. This is third reading, case 24-24. It's a rezoning ordinance, 10 acres roughly, in the eastern portion of the county in Cassett. Do we have a motion? Mr. Chairman, I'd like to make a motion that we accept the third reading of this ordinance also. For the rezoning of the 10.43 plus acres in Cassett. Thank you very much. Is there a second? I'll second the motion. Thank you very much. You have a second, Mr. Cato.

» Again, we went through two readings on this particular item, this particular ordinance. We've heard from the landowner. We've heard of his intent of what he wants to do with the land. I believe this would be a positive move for the rural area up there to see some type of business come in of that nature. So again, I asked my colleagues, if they would, to approve the third reading on this. Thank you very much. Councilman Brousel, you have the second. I'd like to note that the gentleman's been here for every meeting. I appreciate his attendance and being here and happy to support you and your family business, sir. Yes, sir. Thank you. Any further discussion, council members? No, I'm going to vote for him. I think it's also a family effort.

» It's very earnest from the reports we heard last time from the owner and what he's trying to do out there to improve his own community. So thank you very much. Absolutely. No further discussion. Let's go ahead and bring it to the vote. All in favor, raise your hand. Ms. Hanna, it's unanimous by those who are present voting. All right, gentlemen, that takes us to item number 10C. This is another third reading. This is an ordinance by the council to authorize the conveyance of a parcel of land, one acre, to the community medical clinic. Do I have a motion? I move we adopt the ordinance. Thank you, Mr. Shoemake. Do we have a second? I'll second. Thank you, Mr. Tomlinson. Mr. Shoemake. Yeah, we have some members of the medical clinic here.

» I would just like to ask them because we've had some back and forth. I guess we had asked Mr. DeBeaux, you, to talk to those guys. So let me ask both. Does this document that we have here represent what the medical clinic wishes to happen? Yeah. Okay. And you concur, Mr. DeBeaux? Correct. I've discussed the matter with William Cox. He's on there for an act that is essentially a de facto legal counsel forum. And we've come to an agreement on both ordinance verbiage and verbiage contained in the deed. And that's the ordinance we're about to pass on third reading? Correct. Okay. I just wanted to, you know, our last meeting, there was some back and forth to make it amenable to both entities. So I just wanted to confirm that it occurred, Mr. Chairman, before we move forward.

» So with that, I'm certainly very supportive of this. Thank you, Mr. Shoemake. Any further discussion? Mr. Tomlinson, you have the second. I'm in support of it. Ready to vote. Okay. Thank you. Any further discussion? I got a question, Mr. Shoemake. Go ahead, Mr. Jones. Are you 100% in support of this? Yep. Completely. Yep. Thank you. Okay. Any further discussion? Hearing none, let's call it for a vote. All those in favor, raise your hand. Ms. Hanna, it passes unanimously from those voting in present. Thank you. Good job, Mr. Shoemake. We've already, thank you very much. We've already addressed item number 11 on the agenda. This takes us to item number 12A, discussion and likely a vote regarding holiday meeting schedules.

» Can I get a motion to discuss holiday meeting schedules? I'll make a motion. We open it up for discussion. Thank you, Mr. Cato. I'll second. All right. Thank you very much. Mr. Cato, if I can go ahead and take the liberty to discuss this item. Absolutely. Thank you so much. Just looking at the calendar coming up and looking at setting agendas, which is one of the things I'm supposed to do, I notice that a bunch of us might get in trouble if we hold these meetings on Thanksgiving Eve and Christmas Eve coming up respectively in November and December. We can address them individually if you want to, if you have an objection to that. But I would suggest we have a motion that cancels both of those meetings with the understanding that we'll probably have a call meeting sometime in November.

» Staff will have some items contractual and otherwise that we might hold the week before Thanksgiving actually occurs. So that would be the third week in November. But I'd make a motion at this point to cancel the second meeting in November and the second meeting in December. Those are dated 11-26-24 and 11-24, excuse me, 12-24-24. Can we get a second on that? Yeah, I'll make a second. Thank you, Mr. Brousel. We got a second. Any further discussion on that motion? Mr. Jones. I normally don't say much, but I want to speak on this one. You know, since I've been here and since prior to me being here 10 years, I think council always shut down on Christmas because of the obvious reason you're Christmas Eve.

» What I'm concerned about, I have no problems with November, but we've got so many important things to do here. 30 days you get disconnected. I like what you said, Mr. Chairman, about the possibility of probably going to have a special call meeting in November. With that, I can go along with this, but I just, and you didn't say this, nobody said this, but just to point blank say, we're going to council both those meetings for November. And you said it would bother me because I think 30 days is a long time, you know, especially with the things we've got going on. But if we can be assured we'll probably have a special call meeting in November, I'm all in. Yeah, well, it bothered me too, which is why I just mentioned that. I believe that.

» In the chair's discretion, I'd be calling a special meeting based on items that we need to cover. So actually, it'd be a compressed time period, not 30 days. There'd be 20 or so days roughly between meetings, at least for the November meeting when we'd be able to discuss these matters. And having talked to multiple council members regarding both of the dates, people have travel plans. People are going to be cooking out of town and be with family. I do. And so I'm, you know, I'm happy to run the meeting as long as we have a quorum here, but we're at risk of not even having a quorum. And I don't think we have enough people to call in to comply with the rule. So the motion's on the table.

» Any further discussion? I'd like to have a meeting to make sure that we move the boat ramp along a called meeting. So I'm happy to do that at any point in time. There's a lot of other things out there. There's a few other things that need a meeting for November. Yeah, and you all can please submit a list and we'll stack it up on the called meeting likely in the third week of November, pending your schedules. We're happy to work with that. Any other discussion? Okay. All right. So we'll call it to a vote all in favor of canceling the second meeting in November and the second meeting in December. Raise your hand in favor. All right. All those opposed. Mr. Jones is opposed and all others present voting in favor. Miss Hannah. Thank you. All right.

» That takes us to item number 13A on the agenda. Planning Commission vacancy for district number one. Councilman Brazel, I understand you'd like to push this to the next meeting. I'd probably push it more than one meeting. We're still looking for the right candidate. Okay. I'll let you communicate directly with Miss Hannah on getting that on or just send it to me again when you're ready for somebody with the agenda packet or agenda application in the packet for the appropriate amount of time. Thank you. No vote required. We'll move on. Council member briefings. Councilman Jones, would you please start? You started with me last time first. Best for first. You started with me last time first. Yes, sir. Go ahead. You're going to start with me first again? If you'd like. No, I'm fine with it.

» I'm fine with it. That's good. I'm glad to be first or something. I have just some comments I want to make. Now, if anybody comes back and disputes something I'm saying up here, I'd like to have another time to respond to that as well. But anyway, I'd like to say that first, okay. But to start off first, I'd like to get this, I would hope to get the entire council's support in resolving the stormwater issues throughout the county. This is why I've been so passionate about the questions and things that have been handling up here on county council. October 8th meeting of county council, I asked the county administrator how much money the county had invested in subcontract or contract employees that we had hired outside the county employees.

» The administrator either misunderstood my question or just assumed the question was asking about building inspectors. However, I was inquiring about all subcontractors, how many stormwater woods environmental bakers international and would like to know how much money we as a county have spent for these folks combined because I know we've had them on board for a long, long time. You are listening to me, aren't you? Absolutely. Go ahead, sir. Okay. We as a county in 2024 should have the capabilities to perform the work ourselves or at the bare minimum, put these out for bid to ensure the best cost for the citizens of Kershaw County. The reason I'm bringing this up is that it has come to my attention that, of course, I don't know if we voted on it, but the pecan orchard is I think 130,000.

» We got up to 300K total for everything for the total packages. The administrator is going to be very kind and gracious to give us a copy of that. But when it comes to survey and et cetera, you know, we have people like Robbie Lackey, Bill Lindler surveying that could do this work with our engineering department. And I know Mr. Lackey has over 30 years experience in Kershaw County and has a reputation of quality service and so does Mr. Lindler. And they're just two of many surveyors here. Maybe we could get a bid from them and do the work and keep everything here and ensure, I think, better accountability because we've got strangers working here. We've got strangers going out there and planning and zoning and inspections and surveying and things like that. I say strangers to our county.

» I think it's time for the council to review the contracts and find out what the obligations are. We had these agencies for years and we're still having problems. And I feel like I should not be the only one that's asking questions up here on county council. And the taxpayers deserve to know where the tax dollars are going and just how much we're spending in those. And having said that, I'm done for tonight. That concludes your report. Thank you, sir. Thank you very much, Mr. Jones. You're quite welcome. Mr. Tomlinson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'd like to apologize for being late to the meeting today. It was my little boy's last soccer game of the year, so I wanted to catch a little bit of that.

» How did he do? They were winning five to nothing when I left and they still had a period left to go. And he scored three goals, so it was good to get to see him score some goals for the last one. But I do apologize for being late. And if you need me, if I missed anything, please feel free to call me. My cell phone number is on the website. So feel free to call me at any time. Also, I'd like to mention and thank staff. We had a community leaders meeting in East Camden on October 16th that the pastor of Maverin Hill Church, Pastor Craig Thompson, helped organize. Mr. Councilman Russell Brazel was able to attend with me along with staff. We had Gerald and Danny there. Some other community leaders. It was a great meeting.

» It was kind of an update on what's going on with the moratorium and ordinances, very open conversations and was very much needed. But I appreciate all of the staff's support and hard work to put into that meeting. I thought it went really, really well and I appreciate Mr. Brazel for being able to attend. More conversations like that are very much needed for Kershaw County and the future of it. Also, I'd like to mention there is a fall festival coming up at Pisgah Baptist Church in Rembert. It is October the 26th. So it will be 11 to 1 p.m. Last year I think they had over 1,000 people come and join. It's a group of 15, 20 local churches from Kershaw County, Sumter County and Lee County. Kershaw County emergency responders, fire law enforcement will be there, also Sumter County.

» And I believe Richmond County Sheriff's Office is coming. It's a wonderful time. My family and I will be out there and we'd love to have you come and join us. That is all I have. Thank you very much, Mr. Tomlinson. Mr. Cato. I have a few things. First, I want to remind everyone of the 100 year celebration at old Mount Pisgah Elementary School. Now it's the Mount Pisgah Resource Center. That'll be on November the 9th and it'll start at five o'clock. The board of the Resource Center has sent each council member a ticket for that night and a direct invitation. So I hope maybe some of us can get up there that night and celebrate this 100 year celebration with them. Also, there's a fall festival at North Central High School. That'll be Sunday the 27th. It'll start at five p.m.

» If you are interested, this is a huge event. I couldn't even begin to tell you how many trucks and different spaces they have and decorations they have for the kids set up there. And if you're going to set up a truck, you need to be set up by 430. And last year it was on the practice field of North Central High School. But they'll direct you. But there's plenty of food, fun, and games up there. So I encourage you to check that out this weekend also. I appreciate some of the ones coming out speaking tonight. I'm glad to see, Mr. Templer, that you're starting the process of trying to get this corrected. I think this is something that we really need to look into and get corrected. And I'm glad to see that you're getting started on it. So thank you for that. I have no further questions.

» Thank you, Mr. Gator. Mr. Schumacher. Yes, sir. So I have a couple things. I wanted to talk just a little bit about something I talk a lot about, which is growth. So we recently had in the last month the U.S. Census Bureau released its, it's called the American Community Survey. And basically this is data they do every year to give us kind of a best guess about what population looks like. So they just released their data for 2023. And what that data has shown us is that Cursall County under the American Community Service data has an estimated population of 69,905. That's up from 65,403 at the census. That number is critical because we have now, as we sit here, and this is numbers only through 2023 and we're already almost through 2024. Through 2023, Cursall County grew 6.88%.

» That is almost an entire percentage point more than it grew the entire preceding decade. So we have already surpassed our entire decade of growth as of January. And we're still 12 months into this year. If you look at the past three years, the lowest amount of growth we've seen is 1.1% in year one, up to 3.18%. That matters because if you take our lowest growth that we've had in this decade and assume that's where we stay, which is unlikely, then we are still at the end of this decade going to be at a 75,506 population number, which is 15.4% growth, which is astronomical. Under the 2023 data, for the last three years, we have been the 21st largest county in overall population. Under the 2023 American Community Surveys data, we jumped two spots to 19.

» That may not sound like a lot, but when you're talking about 46 counties, the statistical significance of jumping up two spots in a single year is enormous. So we've done a lot on this council to work on growth. We're obviously going to have to look at this for seven, eight months to see exactly what that did, because all our numbers tend to be about a year behind. But we need to be prepared to continue those actions. This council, at least since I've been on it, has acted with very, very deliberate nature. You know, Mr. Jones and I may disagree on a lot, but this is one area I know we've reached great agreement on and everyone up here. And we just need to make sure that we don't forget these numbers, and we need to keep looking at them, because again, we're going to have that delay.

» With sort of managing growth, but we may have to look at, you know, building permit caps, the fight to manage growth and balance that against the need to bring an industry as opposed to just bedroom community houses is very real and isn't going away anytime soon. It's something we need to be thinking about every month and looking at these numbers as soon as they come out. And I just think it's critical we continue to do that. We have been doing that for the sake of the whole county, not targeting any person, any specific group. The goal in this county is to manage our overall residential growth. It's why I ran for office in the first place. So I just wanted to point those numbers out there just to say we need to keep an eye on them. The other two things are less sort of doom and gloom.

» I was really happy to see Amy today in the rec department. My son and two other members of the Lugoff-Elgin High School baseball team are coaching a fall rec ball team. The past couple years, the baseball team at Lugoff has sent a couple of kids to go coach a school for the kids. My son just texted me they won tonight. So they have a three in one record for the fall. So congratulations to my son, Coach Farrell, as the kids call him. And I had a chance to do Real Men Read Week with Chairman Connell was up there as well at Dobies Mill Elementary School. Betsy Long, the librarian there, has done a really great program because not a lot of children growing up see men reading. And they've done studies that show there's a real big impact when you see fathers, uncles, grandpas read.

» And it can help these young boys become readers. And so for a week, they bring in men through the community to come in and read to these kids. So it was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed it and thank those folks at Dobies Mill for putting that on. And that is all that I have. Mr. Chair, thank you for putting Amy on the agenda tonight. I really appreciate that. Thank you, Mr. Shoemate, very much. Mr. Brasley, you have any report? Yeah, thank you, Chairman. Councilman Shoemate, I also had the opportunity to do real men read, but I did it for the fire service. I didn't get to do it at Blaney. A couple of things, what a touching moment to have Ms. Amy Brown in here.

» My heart goes out to her and her condition and I just pray for her strength and her ability as she moves through fighting her disease, fighting ALS. I'm so proud to have her in here tonight. The fire service, what a fantastic moment to have a family in here that's been committed to this community for so many years with Mr. Sidney Cato. And for him to speak a few words to all of us, I just thought that was really nice tonight. So kudos to him and the Cato family and many more that actually had to finish wiring buildings and go above and beyond just so that we have a fire department that we still use. We still use that very building. Same wires. So what a special night to have him here.

» And Cletus Ray, to have Cletus come and talk to us about the Special Olympics, that's a wonderful organization and what a wonderful day for all of those involved. To continue the topic of stormwater, I do think we've headed in a good direction. We don't ever think that we don't hear what you're saying. For those of you that spoke, we hear you. And we have made motions in the right direction. Unfortunately, things move, it seems like, at a snail's pace. My recommendations always grab the track hoe, go out there and dig some ditches and they keep telling me we just can't do that. So proper channels, engineering, things have to be surveyed correctly. We can't go out and move dirt that's considered a wetlands or the county will be in trouble. So there's a lot of red tape.

» We've been in trouble before, I'm sure. So there's a lot of red tape that we must go through. But I know progress is happening in the Pecan Bay area. And I think we got to that fairly soon. It was a pretty short timeline that we were able to get things started. And I think most of you guys are served by Lugoff Elgin Water Authority. I'm sure there are some wells. But I hope and pray all the water is safe, all your drinking water is fine, and that we do get this stormwater situation handled soon. To touch on Councilman Tomlinson's situation with East Camden, I think we can come up with a scenario that fits everybody. Maybe circle E for everything. We've got a situation with folks with hangars that the documents are out of compliance, the contracts. We can fix that.

» We can work together and we can fix that. We know that the airport is very important for commerce for Kershaw County, and we want to protect the airport. But we also want to let East Camden grow. We want a vibrant community, new neighborhoods, larger churches, potentially commercial and maybe even a new grocery store within the community that was in question in the meeting. And a school. What a wonderful thing to have a charter school potentially come to Kershaw County to help ease the burden of growing community. So for me, I like to find solutions and I'm thankful for everybody that was at that meeting. I'm glad to be a part of it. And lastly, I'd like to sadly comment and mention that it was last Friday morning we lost an uncle originally from something, Archie Gettings.

» He was living in Lugoff. Actually, Archie was living in one of the new communities and he was, he'd had a stroke nine years ago and was in a wheelchair and he loved, as well as my aunt, his wife, my aunt Sandra Gettings, she grew up in East Camden and she loved being back in Kershaw County. She loved being here. She still loves it. But his funeral was yesterday and I just wanted to put on record that for the Gettings family and my extended family, we love you and we care about you and we know that you're still grieving. But in the days and weeks ahead, may God be with you and you find peace. That concludes my comments. Thank you Chairman. Thank you very much Mr. Brausel. I appreciate that. I have a few remarks. Project New Life, you may have noticed, was not on the agenda tonight.

» They're sorting out some contractual arrangements and negotiations and agreements and proposals by the consultants. And we anticipate having that as a $16 million expansion and bringing many jobs to the community on the agenda for next meeting as they sort through those contractual issues. And in closing, I just want to share one uplifting story, one uplifting experience. We did a brief service mission with the church over to Augusta. I had no idea how bad Augusta was hit. From Augusta up to western North Carolina. Western North Carolina, of course, receiving the worst of it, but Augusta got hit hard. And so we went out to do this service trip and cutting up trees, using tractors to move them around. And we went to a small church in that community called Jesus is the Way Church.

» And there was a lady named Sister Mitchell who had a walker. And the whole day she didn't stop working. And I'm talking about picking up some logs. I mean, some of these trees were big enough it'd take two or three of me to put your arms around it. But she would pick up, you know, logs that big. And she had one of those walkers that she could sit on. She'd take a couple steps. And then she'd pick up some sticks and a log and put it on. And she'd walk the full 30 plus yards over to the brush pile and just stack it on. And when she got exhausted, she'd sit down and her husband, Brother Mitchell, who had a cane, I don't know how they got around between the two of them with one walker, but he had a cane, he'd take the walker and stack stuff on.

» And that experience made me think how grateful we have to be. You know, whenever I think I have it tough or I think something's rough in my life, I'm going to think about Sister Mitchell and Brother Mitchell. I'm going to think about Amy Brown and the message that she shared tonight through one of her close friends and those family members that came and supported her. And so overall, I just wanted to share an uplifting message about being grateful and working hard because Sister Mitchell and Brother Mitchell's service to their local church and the people they cared about was so uplifting to me. I think it's going to stick with me for a long time. That concludes my report. All right, gentlemen, the next item that we have on the agenda is the Administrator's briefing. Mr. Templer.

» I don't have a whole ton to put out, but I do want to say that our handicap elevator over at the courthouse is up and working and I just want to give a little detail on what happened there because it was a new elevator. It was installed and it came up for an inspection from LLR as all elevators have to be and it was out of compliance and it was found to have a manufacturer defect in it. This started in April or May. So they had to re-manufacture the door on it. That's what had failed, so this company is in Canada. It just took a long time to even have that part made and then once it was shipped back over here, it was caught in customs.

» So it, I felt like staff and just the amount of communication they had and the frustration they felt you could clearly see in these email chains between the installer courthouse security clerk of court and our maintenance staff as well as administration was just very involved in that. It was just a perfect storm against us. It's up and running now. LLR had inspected it. It's ready to go. So hopefully we don't have to deal with that for a while. But I know it was the point of interest. Just want to let everybody know that it is up and running. We did learn some lessons from it and on some communication pieces but for any inconvenience that caused any of our folks, our citizens, going over to the courthouse and needing that device to better get up to the second floor, I do apologize.

» We'll always look at that stuff. ADA stuff is important to us. It's not something we ignore. So it was unfortunate. It was frustrating. But we're past it now and it's fixed. But I do apologize for anyone that had any inconvenience trying to access one of our buildings over there. That is my report. Thank you for that update Mr. Templar. Any legal briefing outside of what we'd need for executive session? No. No legal briefing. The next item we have on the agenda, gentlemen, is two matters for executive session, both of which are under Code Section 30-4-70 A2 regarding pending or threatened legal claims seeking attorney-client privilege information. Do I have a motion? I move to go into executive session. Do we have a second? Second. Mr. Tomlinson, thank you very much.

» Any discussion at all? Let's put it to a vote. All those in favor of executive session? Ms. Hanna, it's unanimous by those who are present. We still don't have Mr. Tucker, do we? We still don't have Mr. Tucker. Who do you want in there? We're going to have Mr. Templar, the attorney, and then Mr. Blanchard. Is that correct? Thank you. And no votes anticipated. Executive session. I'll make the motion next to executive session. I second. We've got a second. Thank you, Mr. Brazel. Seeing as there will be no discussion and no vote, I seek a motion to adjourn. So moved. Second. Ms. Hanna, did you get those? Mr. Brazel and Mr. Shoemake. Alright, we are adjourned. All in favor? I assume. Alright, we are adjourned. Thank you. Hey, Danny, do you need these? I gotta go. Something about shirt sizes.