Full meeting transcript - November 21, 2024

» Yes, you are. 1701, sir. See there? Mr. Jones. All right, let's go ahead and call the meeting to order. This is the Kershaw County Council special called meeting, November 21, 2024, at 5 p.m. We've got a few items on the agenda today. This is kind of in lieu of the meeting that we canceled next week in view of the Thanksgiving holiday and people traveling and spending time with the families. We've been called to order. We're going to have the invocation and Pledge of Allegiance by Councilman Cato. Let us all stand. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we just thank you so much for this time that we have to come together and discuss the business of this county.

» Heavenly Father, we just thank you so much for this county and for this wonderful state that you have allowed us to live in and grow up in and be a part of. Heavenly Father, we just thank you now for these blessings that you've given us, Lord, this week coming up as we celebrate Thanksgiving. Lord, we just thank you for everything that you've given us and allowed us to be a part of. Heavenly Father, I just pray now that you'd be with us as we conduct the business of this meeting. That you'd have us to conduct ourselves in a way that would be pleasing to you. That you'd lead, guide, and direct us throughout the remaining part of the year and in the years to come as we serve on this council. Lead, guide, and direct us now and forgive us all of our sins and shortcomings.

» First, in Christ's name we pray. Amen. Amen. You told us it's a church, didn't you? 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, Mr. Kato. Thank you, Councilman Kato, very much for that. The next item we have on the agenda, gentlemen, is adoption of the agenda. Do we have a motion? I make a motion, Mr. Chairman, that we adopt the agenda as presented. Mr. Tucker, is there a second? Second. Mr. Brazel, it's on the floor. Any discussion? Seeing none. All those in favor, raise your hand. And do we have Mr. Tomlinson on the line? So all in present, all there are present in favor. I'm on the line.

» All right, Brant, how do you vote on the agenda? I vote yes. It's unanimous, Ms. Hanna. Thank you. That takes us to the first matter of business. Item number five, under ordinances, this is a second reading. The first reading was in title only. We had a bit of a summary last time, and I'll just summarize briefly. It allows a business to receive a tax credit from the state based on certification of abandonment. And that would be the second reading. We need a motion. I would move that we adopt this ordinance. Mr. Shoemaker, Mr. Tucker has the second. Any discussion on this ordinance? Seeing none, we'll pull it to a vote. All those in favor, raise your hand. It's unanimous by all who are present. Mr. Tomlinson, how do you vote? I vote yes. It's unanimous, Ms. Hanna. Thank you.

» Item number six is new business placed on the agenda by the administrator, Mr. Templer. Mr. Templer, any, well, let's go ahead and get a vote for it, or get a motion for it. Who's going to make a motion on that one? I'll make a motion. Second it. Okay, we got Mr. Brazel, Mr. Tucker. And let's hear from Mr. Templer on it. Thank you, Mr. Chair, members of council. What you have before you is a series of bids for the Watery River Veterans Park boat ramp project that's been in the works for quite some time. So this will officially give us the go-ahead to get moving on this. I must say I'm very pleased with these numbers just in light of today's construction costs.

» So I ask that you all approve the bid for contractor services of Kershaw, LLC, out of Kershaw, South Carolina for the sum of $873,597.17. A little background on this company. We have worked with them in the past. They have done a vast majority of phase one out at the River Parcel. They're very familiar with that property. We're familiar with their work and I'm excited to have them do the work and I'm excited about the price that came back. Thank you for the summary, Mr. Templer. Mr. Brazel, you had the motion. So this is everything complete, including the floating dock, asphalt, parking, two concrete launch points, everything. Nothing was left out, right? No, sir. Sounds good. Do we have a rendering that we can show or do we not have that in a packet? I don't have it.

» We'll get it available. But it's the same concept that we've been talking about. Since it is moving forward, I'd like to be able to push it out at least maybe let Johnny push it out to the press. Maybe if Martin would show it in the Chronicle, it'd be nice for the public to see what's happening. So I appreciate all the work getting to this point and looking forward to seeing it happen. What's the time frame that they gave us for the contractor to work in? Was it four months that they had to complete the project? Yeah, and then the ramp or that's for the ramp piece and then the dock, we were waiting on that four piece. I think it was by early spring, somewhere in there. Good. We'll be putting those in in the spring. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Brouss. Mr. Tucker, you have the second.

» I just want to tell Danny and staff thank you for staying persistent on this and getting this finally close to the finish line. I've been here and done quite a few projects myself and so has Mr. Jones with this local company and they do good work and they've got skin in the game because they've got relatives and family here as well. So I feel very comfortable with the bid, even though a couple of them almost doubled his. Yeah. Yeah, you saw that. Yeah, it was a good number. But I appreciate all you and your staff's efforts of seeing this to lead. Thank you, Mr. Tucker. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Here's the discussion. Mr. Shoemake. Three things with last logistics.

» First, I want to give a special shout out to our chairman and our vice chairman because I know this is something that was really started on before I came on and I know Councilman Brazl's been pushing this hard and when Chairman Connell was our state representative, he helped get some state money that made this a possibility. So, because I know you gentlemen won't toot your own horns, let me just say that I don't think we'd be here today without both of you guys and your work on this. So thank you both. And just to the administrator as we move forward, now is I think the time to pivot and make sure we're talking pretty regularly over these next two months about some of our next rec style projects, specifically KC West and Woodward Park.

» I know that's not on this agenda, but as we move forward, I'd like to start getting updates on that so we can keep the foot on the gas pedal there as we've done with this project. And then third, Mr. Chairman, do we need to make another motion to accept this specific bid or is the motion on the floor sufficient? Yeah, I understand that was the motion. Okay. I just want to make it. So the motion on the floor now is to accept the lowest bid? As proposed. Okay. Gotcha. Just want to make sure. Can we restate the motion, please? I'll restate it. I'd like to make a motion to accept the bid from Contractor Services of Kershaw LLC for $873,597.17 to construct the boat ramp and parking lot on the Watery River at Veterans Park. Second. Same second. There we go. Thank you, Mr. Shoemake.

» Any further discussion? If I may. Mr. Jones. Mr. Chairman, thank you. I would like to echo what Mr. Shoemake said. No question about it. Chairman, you got us some money over here and that really made everything look realistic. Or at least it gave us an opportunity where we could upgrade it to where it's nicer than what we would have done before. And Councilman Broussler, you've stayed on it. No question about it. You have stayed on it. You have annoyed me sometimes talking about it so much. But I'll be honest with you, I appreciate, as I said, I have to echo Mr. Shoemake's comments. I echo his comments that you guys have done a great job and I appreciate that. And so what's the target date to get it completed? Spring of the year. Spring of the year. Four months, yeah.

» That's broad, but we'll live with it right now. April 1st. That's better. Mr. Chair, I just... Yeah, Mr. Tucker. I can answer, just say ditto to what Mr. Jones and Mr. Shoemake said. I'm giving you guys your two flowers while your eyes open because I know for a fact both of y'all really, really beat the bushes to make sure this is happening. As Mr. Jones said, Mr. Broussler, some days I didn't want you to talk about this, but I'm glad it's done and I'm glad you did stick with it and see it out to its completion. So thanks again, guys. Mr. Chairman, what was that amount that you got awarded to the county? I couldn't remember. 500,000? More than that. 600 somewhere. It was enough. Right. It's never enough. Well, it was just about enough. He did a good... Thank you, though.

» He did Kershaw County a great service. Right. Any further discussion? Mr. Tomlinson, any discussion? I have no discussion. Okay. Hearing none, I have just a few comments. This was a great team effort, I think, from the county and also the state. It wasn't me, or just me, anyway. There was a delegation that had to fight for $500,000 to make sure we could repatriate those tax dollars back to Kershaw County for a great project. And the frequency with which Mr. Brazzel said boat ramp almost rivaled the frequency with which Mr. Snodgrass would have said East Camden whenever he was on council. Isn't that the truth? For those who were here, you would know that he would say East Camden every other sentence. And that's the kind of... He'll appreciate that. He'll appreciate that. Yeah, he will.

» That's the kind of dogged pursuit and attention that is required, I found, in government. You have to stay on it and hold people accountable and get it done. And I think Mr. Shumake's right, along with others. We've got some other projects that we've committed to. We're going to get them done and make sure that we bring those across the finish line for the benefit of Kershaw County citizens, as we should. Those were my comments. Any other discussion before we vote? All right, for those in person, if you're in favor, raise your hand. Unanimous in person, Ms. Hannah, Mr. Tomlinson, how do you vote? I vote yes. Yes, for Mr. Tomlinson, it's unanimous. Ms. Hannah, thank you. All right, that passes. It takes us to the next agenda item, number seven, gentlemen. This is appointments.

» It's on the agenda by Vice Chairman Brazzel. Do we have a motion? Yes, sir, Mr. Chairman. I'd like to make a motion to appoint Mason Wolfe to the Planning Commission Board. We have a vacancy in my district. I would second. I've got a second from Mr. Shumake. We've got a motion that's on table. Go ahead, Mr. Brazzel. Thank you. So I've known Mason for a long time. I've known his parents for a long time, Kip and Jill Wolfe. We have them here in the audience. And I couldn't think of a more level-headed person to put in a position with as much power as the Planning Commission has. Development and growth in Kershaw County is the hottest topic. And Mason will do a good job of being fair and not leaning one way or the other, making his own decisions.

» And very proud that he accepted the opportunity. It took me three or four weeks working on him, but we got him in the room. And Mason, thanks for being here. And thank you all for being here tonight. Thank you, Mr. Brazzel. Mr. Shumake, you had the second. Yeah. First off, your entire family is a family of service. You know, obviously our Clean Community Commission Chairwoman. And happy to have you aboard. I think that, and I've said it before, with what's happening right now, I think the Planning Commission is one of our most important commissions. And you've seen a lot of activity just in the last month or so that shows that. It's going to be hard work because there's a lot of controversial stuff coming.

» And just obviously, you know, listen to what you think is right, along with the applicable law. And I mean, that's all you can do. But congratulations, man. I haven't got a chance to know you as long as Russell has. But, you know, not only what's your agreement to serve here, but the work you do at the Watery Trash Festival every year is fantastic. I've been out there every year since I've been on. And again, I just thank you and your whole family for the work you guys do for this county. So thank you so much. And if you guys will stick around just for a few minutes, we'll grab a picture just as soon as we adjourn. Thank you both. Any further discussion? Mr. Jones, the same deal. Mr. Tucker. You up to the man with the new haircut over. Mr. Tucker. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

» You are full of yourself, Mr. Jones. I want to say also to the Wood family, thank you so very much for all y'all have done and will continue to do for this community and this county. Mason, I want to say to you, I don't know you that well, but here's what I can say. You're a lot young and a bunch of these old farts up here sitting with me. And it's good to have young, brilliant people on boards and commissions because that's a step where you can one day hopefully come up here and serve and be a bright shining star for the citizens throughout Kershaw County in a different position. So I want to say thank you and I'm happy and just excited for you. Continue to continue a good serving heart. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Tucker. Any further discussion? Mr. Jones? Yes.

» I had an appointment at 3.30 today and I'm not trying to brag on myself, but when I heard you were going to be here, there's no way I would have missed it, Mason. That's not what you said in a text. But Mason, I have to tell you, son, I'm so proud of you. I really am. And I remember you when you were just a young boy too and your dad and mom, we've all been close friends in our community along with Russell and everybody. But this is probably the most important appointment we make because it's mandated by state law and there are certain requirements you have to meet, which with your education, where you went to college, you have no problems with that whatsoever. But thank you, Mason. I love you. I love your family. Appreciate you so much. Thank you, Mr. Jones. Mr. Cato.

» Always wait to last. I let everybody get everything out of the way before I speak. But Mason, congratulations. Mr. Jones is correct. This is one of the most important commissions we have and it's a big responsibility. And I'm glad to see some young blood stepping up to take these opportunities to lead Kershaw County in the right direction. You come from a great family. I've known some of them all my life or they've known me all my life. And your mother does a great job on the clean commission. So congratulations. Look forward to what you're going to do for us in the future. You've got Ms. Bethune sitting out there. I've got Ms. Bethune sitting. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Cato. Mr. Tomlinson, any discussion? I would just like to say congratulations. And you do come from a wonderful family.

» And you have some big shoes to fill. And we look forward to working with you. Congratulations. Thank you, Mr. Tomlinson. I'll just remark that I've witnessed your family do service in the community for a long time. So no doubt you grew up saying the same thing and it's just natural to you. I'm also pleased to have young people or younger people get involved because Kershaw County experiences a lot of brain drain. We raise up wonderful kids with great moral compass. They're bright. They're smart. They go to good colleges or develop a lot of skills through vocational training programming and community college. And then they can't have a job around here and they go and live somewhere else. And so all those, that great human asset goes somewhere else.

» And so it's just exciting to have you here. And I know your wife's very proud of you. I know your parents are proud of you. And really, I don't know if it's like an early Christmas present or something to tell you that you're going to have a new boat ramp for your next watery river festival when we clean up some trash. So maybe that's part of the silver lining of the announcement and having that on the agenda earlier. But congratulations. Mr. Chairman, can I make one quick comment? Sure, go ahead. I didn't mean to interrupt you, but I'm sitting here and when I start thinking things, it gets dangerous. Did you know that that's a third generation business in our community? Kip's dad, Kip, and now Mason. And do you know we have another third generation, Mr. Braslow, here.

» We're the same, his grandfather, his dad, and them. I mean, if that doesn't make you proud, when you have third generation families running the – and let me tell you, they take it to the next level, Kip. He's going to probably surpass you as you go to the business. I have no doubt. Your retirement income should go up with that. I have no doubt. Every parent would want that for their child, wouldn't they? I want it for my kids, too. Well, okay, I think we've discussed it. Let's go ahead and pull it to a vote for those in person. Raise your hand if you're in favor. 200 percent. Unanimous in person. Ms. Hanna, Mr. Thomason, how do you vote? I vote yes. It is unanimous, Ms. Hanna. Thank you very much. That concludes that item.

» We want to hop up and take a picture and hug on your neck and everything, but let's go ahead and get a motion to adjourn. Make a motion we adjourn. All right. Second. We got a second. Any discussion? Seeing none, all in favor, raise your hand. Unanimous in person. Mr. Thomason, how do you vote? I vote yes. We are adjourned, Ms. Hanna. That's the shortest thing you've ever had.