Full meeting transcript - March 25, 2025

» - All right, let's call the meeting to order. This is the Kershaw County Council meeting for March 25th, 2025. Thanks everyone for coming out tonight. Before we move to the invocation, I'd like to see which council member do we have online? - This is Derek. - We've got Mr. Shoemake online. I think we're gonna have a couple others calling in with various family or sickness obligations tonight. And so with that, we'll go ahead and move to the invocation. We've got Councilman Danny Cato on the agenda. - The most kind and gracious of my father, we just come to you again tonight. Dear Father, we thank you so much for all the blessings you've bestowed upon us. And dear Heavenly Father, we just thank you for this great county.

» Lord, we just ask that you would be with us tonight as we make the decisions that govern this county. And Lord, I just ask that you would just give us all the wisdom and the courage that we need to do what we need to do. Heavenly Father, I just ask that you'd be with the ones that are sick, the ones that are bereaved. Lord, the ones that just need your healing touch and your comfort at this time. Dear Heavenly Father, I just pray that you would be with them, that you'd lead God and erect each and every one of them and their families and their caretakers. Heavenly Father, again, we just thank you for everything you do for us. We just ask that you'd lead God and erect us and forgive us all of our sins. Of course, in Christ's name we pray. Amen. Amen.

» Okay, the point is just given the sheer time. It's all in the most part today. Now the states of America, to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. For those who are remote, I just ask that you please mute your phones. Thank you very much, Councilman Kato. All right, this moves us to the adoption of the agenda. I'm aware of at least one motion. Do we have any other motions on the agenda other than straight approval? Oh, yeah, yeah. I'm sorry, I was really not listening. Under executive session, Mr. Chairman, I'd like to strike personnel. There won't be any need to do that tonight. Which item? Personnel. Okay, that's item 16D. All right, so we've got a motion to strike item 16D under executive session.

» Is there a second? I'll second. All right, we've got a second. Any discussion needed? Seeing none, we'll move it to the vote. All those in person, raise your hand if you can support. Okay, and I think we maybe have one or more remotely. Mr. Shoemake, how do you vote as to removing a personnel matter from the executive session 16D? Aye. That's a yes. Do we have anyone else online, staff? Yes. Mr. Tucker, how do you vote? Yes. Mr. Tucker votes yes. Okay. So that passes unanimously from those voting, Ms. Hannah. We've got one more motion. Mr. Tucker, I know you're remote and sick, so I'll go ahead and make that for you. Motion to amend the agenda. It does require exigent circumstances.

» It's a finance report to be included for time-sensitive matters, including the council retreat and related matters. And that would be included under new business. That would be proposed item 12C. That's the motion. Is there a second? Second. Mr. Thompson with a second. Any discussion? Sure. Seeing none, we'll move to a vote. All those in person in favor, raise your hand. It's unanimous in person. Mr. Shoemake, how do you vote? Yes. That's a yes. Mr. Tucker, how do you vote? Yes. That's a yes. And we don't have anyone else, correct? I'm on the call. Okay. Russell, that was a vote on adding a finance committee report on a new business. How do you vote? Yes or no? Yes. That's a yes. Ms. Hanna? Yes. It's unanimous by those who are voting. All right. The amendments that passed.

» Do we have a motion to approve as amended? I'll make a motion. We approve the agenda. Mr. Tomlinson, is there a second? I'll second. We have a second. Any discussion? Seeing none. For those in person, we'll vote. All in favor? It's unanimous in person and then we'll go to those who are remote. Mr. Brazel, how do you vote? Yes. That's a yes. Mr. Tucker, how do you vote? Yes. That's a yes. Mr. Shoemake, how do you vote? Yes. Okay. We've got the agenda approved. Thank you, gentlemen. It passes unanimously. Ms. Hanna. That moves us to the next item on the agenda. That's item 5A. It's a proclamation placed on the agenda by Mr. Tucker, Mr. Tomlinson. Mr. Tomlinson. Yes. I would like to have the proclamation. I'm going to read it and then I'm going to pass over to Mr.

» Jimmy Jones to let him talk. I have the big frame back there, so I'll just read off the paper here. Whereas, Brock Benton was truly a legend. His silky voice enchanted many, a testament to his enduring legacy. Whereas, born Benjamin Franklin P. In 1931 Camden, South Carolina, Benton was destined to make a musical mark with unparalleled style and grace. Whereas, from his early days in gospel choirs to his New York movie in the late '40s, Benton was more than ready to charm the world as a gifted songwriter and singer. By 1959 hits like "It's Just a Matter of Time" and collaborations with Dana Washington on "Baby, You've Got What It Takes." Showed, showcased not only his talent, but his soulful depth that resonated widely.

» And, whereas, Benton's versatility knew no bounds from tear-jerking ballads to uplifting tunes like "Rainy Night in Georgia," which felt like personal serenades. Whereas, even as musical taste evolved in the 1970s, Benton's baritone never wavered. Continuously captivating fans. And, whereas, more than a chart topper, Benton was a pioneering black artist who bridged racial divides with his music, embodying the power of songs and connected people. Whereas, his legacy was further honored with Brooke Benton Boulevard in Lugoff, South Carolina, a tribute to his profound impact in music and hearts worldwide. Whereas, despite his passing in 1998, Benton's legacy remains vibrant, cherished through his timeless music and the many artists he inspired. To fans, Benton was more than a singer.

» He was more than a source of inspiration and a constant presence in our lives. Bringing joy, solace, and a sense of companionship through every note he sang. Brooke Benton's spirit continues to sing, leaving an indeligible mark on the hearts and the fabric of American music. Now, therefore, be it resolved that Kershaw County Council do hereby proclaim the memory of Brooke Benton. Brooke Benton, a true legend right here in Kershaw County and celebrates the 25th day of March 2025 as Brooke Benton Day. Thank you, Mr. Thompson. I'll take all that as a motion. And, Mr. Jones, I assume you have the second. I do have a second. Okay, it's on the floor. Mr. Jones, anything else to share? Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the county council, and thank you, sir, for going through that.

» Listen, I'm honored here tonight to do this. I think some of his family are in the room, some supporters and folks. You know, he was older than I, but I tell you what, he left his mark on Kershaw County. The first time I realized that "Rainy Night in Georgia" was written by someone who even lived in Lugolf. West have been coming a long ways. You know, folks, I tell you what, this is just a mere token of this county council to show our respect for someone who beat all the odds. I mean, he beat all the odds. Not only did he beat all the odds in the industry, but as a minority in the industry. The struggles he had to go through, I can only imagine. I'm very proud to be a part of this tonight. I say to his family and friends, God bless y'all, and I'm so glad you're here for this tonight.

» But I think they had some music playing right before we walked in here, and that we couldn't do it during the meeting due to probably copyright issues. Lawyers, yeah. Lawyers, yeah. But bottom line is, I would like, Mr. Chairman, it's okay with you after you finish letting everybody talk, that we get the family up here and take some pictures and when we finish all that. Absolutely. We'll do that. Any further discussion from any council members who are in person? I just got to say that some of these are my favorite songs, so what a great tribute and what a great legacy. From those who are remote, Mr. Tucker. Yes, sir. I just want to say thank you to the Brooke family for sharing these moments and the legacy with the community and with the citizens and with council.

» And we wish you Godspeed moving ahead. I'm sorry I'm not there, but you wouldn't want what I have, so it's best I'm not there. Thank you, Mr. Tucker. Mr. Brazel. Thank you, Chairman. Sounds like Councilman Tucker does have a cold. I hate that I'm not there as well. I'd look forward to this. I'm super excited to learn these same things that Councilman Jones was speaking of and having such a wonderful individual from Lugolf with these talents. Such a blessing to have and just wish I was there to celebrate with you all. Thank you so much. Thank you, Councilman Brazel. Councilman Brazel. Councilman Shoemake. Yeah, I just, again, echo everyone's sentiment. Sorry that I can't be there as well, but thank you for putting us on brand, Councilman Jones. Really appreciate it.

» Thank you so much, gentlemen. We would like to have the family members come up. But first, I'd like to afford the opportunity if there's a family representative that wants to share anything at all in honor of his legacy. Feel welcome to do that if you'd like. If not, you can just come on up and we do have- Or any friend of the family that might- Any friend of the family might be- Yeah, or a friend of the family. Anyone who's with the group tonight that would like to say something, you can feel free to step up to the mic. Come up to the mic. So folks can hear you if you'd like to share something in honor of his legacy. And then we'll get a picture of everyone and present this proclamation after we have a vote. Very much for the proclamation, making this day a very special day.

» John, push the mic. Yeah, pull the mic down a little bit, sir. Just kind of move right now. You take your time. It's been quite a long time. We went through all the trials and tribulations and in the industry and just everyday life. You know, when God gives you a calling and he tells you to move on it and you move on it, there's nothing that will stop you. Nothing. I thank you. And all I want to say, no more rainy nights in Georgia. Rainy nights in Lugolf. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. I want to say thank you. Thank you for recognizing father. And as we know it's a long time coming, but just to be recognized and to be done that way in a humble fashion. Just saying thank you. Yes, sir. Thank you.

» I actually think rainy night, rainy night in Georgia must be one of the most covered songs in history. I'm trying to think as I sit here through all the artists who've done it. It's everybody. Gentlemen, I've heard what I need to hear. Let's take it to a vote. All those in person. Unanimous in person. Those who are remote. Mr. Shoemake. Yes. Mr. Tucker. Yes. I'm sorry. Was that a yes? Yes. Yes. Okay. Mr. Brazel. All right. We got unanimous vote. All in favor. Family, I'm sorry. If you would come up, we'll take a picture with you. You have a proclamation to present to you. Yeah. Come on. Come right on up here. Come on up, gentlemen. You stand up. I'm not this guy right here. Yeah. That's right. One, two. All right. Cool. Awesome. Short. Congratulations. Thank you.

» Thank you again to the Benton family. That just goes to show in little old Kershaw County, you can have some of the best artists in the world or best karate folks in the world or best wrestlers or best doctors. I mean, this is a wonderful place. All right, gentlemen, that puts us back on the agenda. Mr. Chairman. Yes, sir. I'd like to recognize Councilman Wesley Herndon, also school board member. Thank you for your service for all you've done. It's good seeing you here tonight, too. Yes, sir. Thank you. I think we're going to get to hear from him in just a little while. Good. Good. Thanks so much. All right, gentlemen, that puts us back on the agenda. We're on item number six. Mr. DuBose. We have two speakers signed up. All right. We're on public comments.

» Who do we have? Krishanda Torres, Financial Literacy. Okay. Ms. Torres, please. Good evening. Oh, sorry. That was a little bit loud. Good evening, esteemed members of the Kershaw County Council. Again, my name is Krishanda Torres, and I just wanted to share for a few minutes tonight how financial education has the power to transform lives and uplift our county as a whole. I want you to imagine, if you could, a single mother living right here in Kershaw County. She works hard to provide for her children, but struggles to manage her debt or build savings. Or think about a young high school graduate who's eager to start life but unaware of the risks of predatory loans or poor credit decisions. These are challenges that countless families in our county face every day.

» Financial illiteracy can lead to mounting debt, poor credit, and missed opportunities for not only education, but home ownership and entrepreneurship as well. National studies actually show that two-thirds of Americans would struggle right now to cover $1,000 emergency, and many lack basic budgeting or saving skills. But this problem isn't just about personal finances. It impacts the economic health of our entire communities, including ours here in Kershaw County. My work actually focuses on closing this gap for our community through tailored financial literacy programs, such as proper protection, helping with debt management, emergency fund preparation, and investing.

» Through free interactive workshops and seminars, for lack of a better word, I make complex financial concepts accessible and actionable. Let's imagine for a second what an investment in financial literacy could mean for Kershaw County. It would mean a more financially literate community, meaning fewer families living paycheck to paycheck, more residents able to purchase homes, and even more small businesses contributing to our local economy. In closing, I'd like to thank you for your time today. And I'd like to thank you for listening to me about the commitment that's necessary to improve the lives of Kershaw County residents. I also invite you to support financial literacy initiatives by partnering with me to expand these programs.

» Together, I believe we can provide every resident with the knowledge and resources they need to succeed. Because financial literacy is not optional in these times. It's actually a necessity. And so, I know you can't comment right now, but I did leave an information packet for every single member of the county council board. And if you have any questions for me, my contact information is on the back of those packets. Thank you so much for your time. Oh, and one more thing in closing. I'd like to also personally thank Councilman Brant Tomlinson. I do live on Colony Drive in the King Hagler community. And we did have an issue with the UPS driver, the FedEx driver, and the Kershaw County School District bus driving like it was the Darlington Raceway.

» But after I reached out to Councilman Tomlinson and made my concerns known, he was able to put me in contact with Canty. And we now have about six new 15 mile per hour signs over there in our neighborhood. And it seems to have changed the tempo. So, I'd just like to thank you guys for your time and attention to that matter as well. Thank you so much for letting me speak tonight. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Torres, for coming out tonight. Mr. DuBose. Next speaker is Tom Webb III, Litter. Mr. Webb. I've talked about the Litter Ordinance again and again, and we'll do it again, yet again and again, blaming the source as being perhaps German. But it could just as well be English. They're very similar these days. Britain is in a mess.

» If you go back to King George I, he was King of England, but he couldn't speak English. And then his son, King George II, King of England, was a tyrant. And he waged war against the British. I mean, against Britain, Scotland and Ireland. It could have been considered genocide, really. Hadrian's wall had been built by the Romans, probably with forced labor. And he took a good bit of it down and used it to pave roads to help his troops get into Scotland to do damage. But a friend of mine who knows more about history than I do said that Hadrian's wall, it said that Hadrian's wall was built to keep the Irish out. But he said it was built to keep the Irish from rustling cattle. They built the wall just high enough so you couldn't get a cow over it.

» And so the British couldn't rustle cattle from the Roman supported south part of the wall. But George II was quite a tyrant. And then George III was the King of England during the revolution. And he loved the colonies, but he didn't seem to love the people. And so he was also nuts. He was actually in a straitjacket at times and locked up in his little palace. I don't know how you can do that to a king, but they did it. They kept him for a while and made use of him. But here we are with our litter ordinance. And I don't know how it could happen except maybe we're crazy too. And we could, I could be charged $250 for this plastic bag flying out the window. If the wind gets just right, it could take it out the window.

» If the right person or wrong person is watching, I could be charged $250 for this plastic bag on the side of the road. And I wonder, what does it cost to pick up a plastic bag like this? Practically nothing. We just had a litter pick up. I picked up all kinds of stuff. Volunteers mainly. And even if you pay somebody, the Department of Transportation, to pick up litter, it doesn't cost hardly anything to pick this up. So how do you justify fining somebody $250 if it flies out the window? Or if it flies out of the trash out of the back of their truck? Even if they're trying to cover it and it flies out and it gets out, it's $250. Governor McMaster signed a litter law. And under it, the minimum fine for something like this would be $25.

» Not $250, which sounds to me like Nazi Germany or maybe England today. Crazy people. So they don't have a Bill of Rights. And under the Eighth Amendment, it says you're not supposed to have excessive fines. But $250 for something like this is definitely excessive. I think even $25 is on the verge of excessive, but it's better than $250. So what I'm doing today is I usually turn something in. I'm going to turn in my plastic bag today because I'm afraid that it might blow out the window somewhere. And I'll be in a heap of trouble, $250. And it was a blowout again. It'd even be worse. So I'm turning in my plastic bag for y'all to do whatever you want with it. There it is. And thank you very much. Thanks for coming out tonight, Mr. Webb. Does that conclude public comment? Yes. Thank you, Mr.

» DuBose. All right, gentlemen, that takes us to item number 7A on the agenda. This is a public hearing amending Chapter 32. This is the DES, former DHEC definition cleanup amendment we've been talking about for a while. I'm going to go ahead and open up the public hearing first. Do we have anybody signed up? No one signed to speak. Okay, I'll go ahead and open it. Anyone wishing to speak on this particular proposed amendment later in the agenda? Seeing none, we'll close the public comment. That takes us to item number 8A on the agenda, placed on by Vice Chairman Russell Brazel, South Carolina American Revolution Trust, aka SCART. We've got a few representatives in the crowd tonight. Mr. Brazel, do you have a motion? Yeah, I'd like to make a motion to hear from Wesley Hernan.

» Okay, do we have a second? I'll second. Mr. Cato with a second. Gentlemen, please, Mr. Brazel, do you have any preface or would you like for us just to hear from him? No, no. Being on the call, it makes it more difficult. So, I'll let you guys welcome them and take it from here. We'll let them loose. Wesley, please. Thank you. Thank you, Council. Thank you, Councilman Brazel, for putting us on the agenda tonight. With me is Tom Persons, our chairman of the South Carolina American Revolution Trust, which we abbreviate by calling ourselves SCART. Also on our board is Julian Burns and others who you will see in the packet that is at your desk tonight. So, again, I'm going to yield most of my time to chairman Persons, but, again, appreciate all the work that you do.

» We're excited to call Camden and Kershaw County our home. We were founded within the past two years as a kind of an offshoot of the SC-250 commission. Mr. Persons will share some of that with you as well. But we're excited about our work to save collections that are endangered related to the American Revolution and particularly South Carolina's role in the American Revolution. So, again, I'm going to share the mic with Mr. Persons. Thank you, Wesley. Yes, sir. Thank you, Council Chairman and Vice Chairman and all of you. I'm very excited to be here tonight. I was thinking as I walked in, I heard Brooke Benton singing and I thought, you know, what an appropriate time.

» I wish the family was still here because a rainy night in Georgia and Brooke Benton, when I was 13 years old, I was on a shrimp boat in Savannah, Georgia. I worked for my aunt. She had six shrimp boats. And as a kid, 10, 11, 12, 13 years old, I heard that song, "Rainy Night in Georgia." I'm going to tell you a million times from the time the captain picked me up in the morning until we got to the boat and he put it on the loudspeakers. So I just thought, what an incredible evening it is. And I just wish they were still here because I would have sang a little bit of a rainy night in Georgia. The reason I'm wearing this bow tie, I've already talked to the chairman. And he said, well, you certainly look really nice. And I said, well, I'm representing Major General Julian Burns.

» And, you know, I've never seen him. Even when we go out and do some archaeological digs, he always has a bow tie on. So I thought I would wear a bow tie tonight. So y'all can all tell him when you see him that I look really, really good tonight because he may be watching us now. He's somewhere we don't know where in the world. But I did want to talk a little bit about what we're doing with the South Carolina American Revolutionary Trust. We're very, very proud that just a few weeks ago we signed the lease. We're now housed and will be housed for at least the next three to six years in the bottom of the Robert Mills Courthouse. And we have a number of collections. We have our first big collection came from someone you all know, which today is his birthday. It happens to be.

» And five days from now he will have passed away. And that's Charles Baxley. And what an incredible gentleman he was. I call him our state's historian. And he's the reason I'm involved with what we're doing today. And I got to tell you, it's been more fun than anything I've ever done in my life. I haven't dressed up in a long time because when I left AT&T after 30 years, I said, I'm not going to wear a tie anymore. I'm going to just be in my blue jeans and my flannel shirt. So anyway, y'all bear with me this evening. Our mission, as Wesley stated, is simple. It's to find information, artifacts, and places that shaped our understanding of the Revolutionary War. And as you all know, this is where the war was won, was in Camden. I know my granddaughter tells me, no, Papa, it was in Yorktown.

» I said, maybe the way you read it, but the way I read it, it was here in South Carolina. But our four main purposes is to preserve, protect, and promote. And as Gina and I love to say, perpetuate in her perpetuity. And so that's what we're doing. And I invite you all to come over and visit with Wesley and I. We'll be in the building. Wesley says probably three days a week. I'm about 20 minutes from the office, so I'll be there some. And we'll have some flags outside to let you know that we're up and running. I want to let Council Tucker know that I'm really sad he's not here tonight because I wanted to talk to him a little about Brookvention. We're a sister organization of the SC 250. And if you'll look, I've left a pen in each one of your places.

» The 250 is the governmental part of the South Carolina 250, which is the ones that are really putting on a lot of the new things that are happening within the state as it regards to the Revolutionary War. We are the nonprofit arm, and we will have everything that when the commission sunsets, we'll pick up all of those responsibilities. And Wesley is our executive director and doing a heck of a great job. You all know Wesley and what kind of person he is. Our website, I will leave a business card over here with Ms. Parler and see that you all get our website. But it's www.sc-art.org. And I'll leave that business card with you to know. We're doing some really interesting things, and I'll cover those within just a few minutes.

» But over the last two months, we had a group in for an entire month. You all were kind to us. You were kind to those individuals that came to town. It was AVAR. This is an American archaeology. These are veterans that have learning disabilities, have had some PST, some other dysfunctions. But they were here, and they said they've never been treated better than what they were treated here in Lugov and in Camden. And it's just incredible. They have worked and found a number of relics. We have been digging in some locations and found relics. I heard a gentleman here talk about King George. We found a King George III coin in one of our digs.

» And sometime in the next few months, we'll be announcing that we have, in fact, found another battleground that you'll be impressed with because no one has found this particular one. The AVAR, these people were just absolutely incredible. We're also doing war pensions. If you look on our website, you'll see Francis Marion Symposium and some things we're doing there. There's a new movie that's getting ready to be filmed here in Camden and Lugov County. It will be Huck's Defeat. And this gentleman is from California. He now lives in Spartanburg. And this past week, they have around 500 people notify these individuals that they want to come to Camden and get in the film. So that's going to bring, we think, some economic development dollars to this area here that's going to be very important.

» You've got the 250 pens. I hope you'll wear those. I wear mine almost everywhere, and I try and give them out as many as we can. We get those from 250 so it doesn't cost us anything. Like I said, we're a nonprofit, and we appreciate very much your support because you've also been involved in helping us get in this building. And my wife and I, it really started with Russell. Russell, if he was there, I'm going to say thank you very much. Russell called us and said, "I've got a building I want you to look at." And we came out and looked at it. Russell said, "Tom, Wesley, I don't think this is going to be big enough for what y'all are looking at." We have to date received, I'm going to say right out of 1,000 books, revolutionary maps, relics, and other research information.

» And we're calling our center, the Center of Research for American Revolution. And again, it's because of where we're here today. When my wife walked in, she looked at this bottom floor of the courthouse, and she looked and she said, "No need to look any further." I called Wesley, I said, "Wesley, it's a done deal. We're moving into the courthouse. We've got to figure out how to do it." So thank you all very much for allowing us this time tonight. I could talk on for hours about how excited we are about what is happening at the courthouse. The Center of Excellence for American Revolutionary. And we're thinking about maybe even calling it the Charles Baxley Center for Research. So thank you all for your time. I appreciate very much your being a supporter. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Persons.

» Mr. Herndon, anything else before we go to council members? Well, again, it's an exciting time. The country is going to be really focused on July 4th, 2026. But as we know, the Revolutionary War, where it affected us, was fought years and years after. So the country will be celebrating the 250th anniversary next year. But it's really the kickoff for us in Kershaw County with the actions, the skirmishes, and all the activity that took place. So it's an opportunity for tourism. We think our new facility office and being based here is going to offer and enrich the research and opportunities to tap into tourism and just make it for visitors and locals who, you know, we have several authors that's based out of here that do research. And Charles Baxley's library has been used for research.

» So we think that's going to, along with the digital assets that we're securing and protecting, we're kind of a unique niche where we're building an online museum, but also a tangible, physical, where we keep artifacts and protect them and we'll eventually be sending them out to other museums and venues. So again, we look forward to being part of the community in Kershaw County and just adding to the value for tourism and quality of life. And we can answer any questions that you might have. Thank you, Mr. Herndon. I'll just say there's a few individuals who've had such a lasting impact in Kershaw County that you name stuff after them. I think of Mr. Woolard and the Woolard Technology Center, but I also think of Charles Baxley.

» And I think that would be an outstanding idea if you had the Baxley Center of Excellence or some iteration thereof would just be beautiful. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Brasley, you had the motion. Do you have any comments, questions? No questions. Just like to thank them for being able to present. I'm sorry I'm out of town this week, but I know that they've got a lot of artifacts and it's going to be interesting to be able to walk into the Robert Mills Courthouse and see everything that they're putting together in their collection. So that's cool. I'm looking forward to seeing that. And Wesley, I appreciate you reaching out. And I've known Wesley since I was a little guy. Him and my older brother used to bully me. We've known one another for a long, long time.

» So thanks for being here tonight and y'all have a good night. Thanks so much, Mr. Brasel. Mr. Tucker, hearing none, Mr. Shoemake, any comments or questions? Yeah, I appreciate the presentation. I also want to just extend a heartfelt thanks to Mr. Herndon for those of you who may be due to the area. You know, he has been a true public servant since he was 18. In fact, I was in high school when he got elected to school board. I think he was still in high school. And one of the reasons I got into public service was because of Mr. Herndon. So thank you guys for coming out. Thank you. Thanks so much. I got it off mute now, Mr. Tucker. Oh, go ahead, Mr. Tucker. It was on mute. Yes, thanks to all that came and special thanks there to Mr. Wesley Herndon. We miss you.

» We appreciate all that you continue to do. You and your family in the Pershaw County area. And we look forward to a lot of more good things that you'd like to bring to the table, you and all of your counterparts. So appreciate the good work. Thank you, Mr. Tucker. Thank you, Mr. Tucker. For those who are present, any additional comments or questions? Mr. Jones, please. I would too. One, Mr. Tom Perkins, thank you for being here. Councilman Herndon, thank you for being here. I just have one question. You were part of the wrestling champions from West Watery when he was coming along. He had to go there. How did you do with him? I'm much older than Ben. I did have the chance to tumble around with him a little bit.

» He kept me humbled, and I hung in there with him a little bit, but I wasn't in the shape and young and physically fit as Ben was. That's enough. We won't be able to get out of this room and keep on talking. But seriously, thank you all so much, and it's good seeing you too, Councilman. I mean that from the bottom of my heart, and I think this is great. I appreciate the pin. I'm going to wear it, and I'm available if you ever need anything. Thank you. Anything else, Councilmembers? Just thank you all so much for coming. I appreciate all y'all are doing. Glad to be here. Absolutely. Thank you for coming out and sharing tonight. I look forward to what the future holds.

» It's very interesting to be able to take a look back in time after all these years and see some of the things that are still out there. It's very interesting. It's exciting. I mean, with the Avar group, finding things that hadn't been touched for 250 years. The collections that we're involved with bringing in and protecting. We already have some exciting things to bring in to protect and preserve. And really, the opportunity and potential is great. Thank you so much. And it will be based and centered out of Kershaw County. Thanks so much. This provides a great segue to talk about some of the lasting impacts Charles Baxley's had here in education, but also with the Education Foundation, which we'll hear about probably in the next month, month and a half, maybe in May.

» We'll hear more about that. So just thank you so much. Amen on Charles Baxley. Yeah. All right. Appreciate you, gentlemen. All right. Council members, that takes us to item number 9A with no vote being required. Now we're on to approval of minutes. Do we have a motion? I'll make a motion we approve the minutes as written. Mr. Cato, is there a second? Second. Mr. Thompson's got a second. Any discussion on the minutes from those in person? Seeing none. Any discussion from those who are remote? Hearing none, we'll move it to a vote. All in favor in person? It's unanimous in person. For those who are remote, Mr. Brazel, how do you vote? Yeah, I vote yes. That's a yes. Mr. Tucker, how do you vote? Yes. That's a yes. Mr. Shoemake, how do you vote? Yes. That's a yes. It's unanimous, Ms. Hanna.

» Thank you. Mr. Jones is 10A, a discussion item placed on the agenda by Councilman Jones regarding a salary study. Is there a motion? I so move. Is there a second? I'll second. We've got a second. Mr. Jones, you have the floor. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the county council. I'll keep it very quickly, very short. What I'd like to ask is, I asked for a salary survey that we may have had in the past, and it came back to me, there wasn't one done. I said, no, that was before you were born. There was one done back in 2000, which means we need to have another. I think a salary study or some kind of salary plan, I've talked to the administrator about this as well. He agreed would be a good tool for them to have, you know, moving forward.

» So having said that, I just wanted to say it for the record and appreciate your cooperation on that too, Mr. Templer. But that was about it. Thank you, Mr. Jones. Any further discussion from those who were in person? Go ahead. Could we maybe put a little time line on it? Like maybe within next? Well, is this something that needs to be referred to finance? Are you expecting a budget associated with it? Or you just want the staff to return back and recommend something? Yeah, I think during the budget process, this is the right time to do it. Not that, hey, we may can implement part of it. None of it. I don't know. But you know, we don't, but at least we could have something or some kind of guidelines.

» So are you requesting that incorporated into one of the workshops or something? Yeah, I'm going to get there. Okay. Okay. So as I said, I would like Mr. Templer to do a salary, to do a study, a salary study, and bring it for the finance committee and implement it within the finance committee for the budget this year. And as I said, I understand there may be money for it, there may not be money for it, but it would still be good to have that tool out there as a guideline to try to achieve or go to. Thank you. So staff's going to get us an idea on cost and refer it to finance. Sure. Okay. Any discussion from those who are remote? Mr. Brazel? Not much. I think that's probably a wise move with as many different types of jobs as Kershaw County offers.

» It pays to know where we're at and to be competitive in the workplace and to know where we can cut when we, if we need to cut budgets or add money to budgets. I think it's a good baseline to have. It's been 25 years since one's been done. We're long overdue. So appreciate that, Councilman Jones. Thank you, Mr. Brazel. You're welcome. Mr. Tucker, any comment, questions? You might be on mute, Sam. He can't hear you. None. None. Just thank you, Councilman Jones. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Tucker. Mr. Shoemake, any comment, questions? No, I'm good. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Shoemake. All right. No vote required. Thank you, Mr. Jones. Thank you. Item 11A. This is third reading on the item that we had public hearing on just earlier on the agenda.

» Amendment-related Chapter 32, particularly rated to sewer, formerly DHEC and DES, definitional changes and cleanups. Do we have a motion? Mr. Chairman, I make a motion we approve third reading. Mr. Tomlinson with the motion. Is there a second? I'll second. Mr. Cato has a second. Any discussion? I... You pretty much explained it, what third reading is, just kind of updating, making sure we're meeting federal regulations. It's the separation from DHEC and DES, so I look forward to voting on it. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Tomlinson. Mr. Cato, you had a second. Any comment? No discussion. Any discussion from those who are personal? Ms. Jones? Could we have some clarification from our attorney, the county administrator? Sure. Yes. Mr.

» Cato, this is basically a cleanup for the pretreatment provisions of the sewer use ordinance that are required under the Code of Federal Regulations if the local government has a pretreatment program that it set forth certain requirements. DES, upon last review, informed the county that, yes, we think you've checked these requirements, but the ordinance isn't quite explicit or direct enough, and some of it was just rearrangement and being a little more explicit in what aspects of our ordinance ties to the Code of Federal Regulations. So it's more or less a cleanup ordinance. Thank you. Anything else, Mr. Jones? No, nothing. Okay. For those who are remote, any comments or questions? Any other discussion, Mr. Brazel? No. None here. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Mr. Tucker? No further comment.

» Thank you, sir. Mr. Shoemate? Yes, I'm good. Okay. Seeing no further discussion, we'll move it to a vote on third reading. This is 11A. All in favor in person, raise your hand. It's unanimous in person. Mr. Brazel, how do you vote? I vote yes. That's a yes. Mr. Tucker, how do you vote? Yes. That's a yes. Mr. Shoemate, how do you vote? Yes. That's a yes. Ms. Hanna, it's unanimous. Thank you. All right. That takes us to item 11B. This is third reading regarding form contracts and license rate setting for private hangars at the airport. Do we have a motion? I'll make a motion. We approve third reading. Okay. Mr. Thomason has a motion. Do we have a second? Second. Nobody wants to second. Mr. Tucker seconds. Mr.

» Thomason, I do have two motions to amend, but any discussion that you want to address first? No. Go ahead, Mr. Chairman. Okay. First motion to amend, so we'll just call this Connell 1. This relates to Exhibit 2. Under the ordinance, it inserts one sentence related to aircrafts that are going to be housed in one of these hangars. If someone wants to build their own hangar, they can get a 20-year ground lease under certain circumstances with no lease rate associated with it. The insertion, the amendment is the aircrafts must be registered in Kershaw County and property taxes must be paid on the aircrafts in Kershaw County. Okay. So it can be singular aircraft or plural aircrafts. That is my first motion. Is there a second? Second. Mr. Jones has a second. All right.

» And so just a little bit of discussion on this. We're trying to modernize the airport, take care of legacy contracts, provide ways for some economic development opportunity out at the airport as well. In particular, the ordinance and form contracts before us as it relates to this first motion could allow for someone to come in, build their own hangar out at the airport space on their own cost. The county would have a 20-year ground lease with them at no cost, though they would cover essentially triple net insurance, cost for utilities and the like. And this ensures that if they do that, the airport is in fact registered in Kershaw County and the tax is applied here. And there's actually a locus or a location requirement that says taxation principles should apply that way.

» And so that's my motion. Any further discussion, comments, or questions? I'm happy to talk to anyone about it. Seeing none. You have two amendments, don't you? I do have one. This is the first one. We've got to get through the first one first. Any questions or comments from those in person? Okay. Remotely, any comments or questions? Mr. Brazel? Yeah, Chairman. How many opportunities would we have for people to do that, to build their own hangar? So we've got to be limited on space. Yeah. Whenever I speak with staff about this, and I can let them speak to it, but they tell me that we have plenty of space. It's obviously on a first-come, first-served basis. And so it would be parceled out based on availability and on a case-by-case basis. But, you know, I don't know.

» Gerald, who has looked at it in significant detail with staff, I'm not sure how many, if you've ballparked the number of hangars that you could do, Gerald's coming up for those who are remote. Thank you. Any studies from square footage out there? But we actually have three separate locations that could have, you know, multiple corporate-type hangars. One down on the southern end, I guess it would be the northern end, and the eastern end of the airport. So for those three locations, maybe at least three hangars of a respectable size at each location? Absolutely. Okay. So you're looking at least nine to ten? Correct. Just ballparking it? Yes, sir. Okay. Mr.

» Brazel, any other discussion, comments, or questions? Do we have any kind of detailed materials that would need to be used, or is that still open for discussion, or how do we handle that whenever someone says, yeah, I want to build one, and I want to build it out of brick? Yes, sir. It would be on a case-by-case basis, and it would have to be approved by the planning and zoning department. They'd have to comply with all building requirements and standards. And so it's what exists now, or as we go through the code and amend, it would be what we amend it to in the future. But it'd be under all modern requirements. Okay.

» So post-20 years, how does the lease work after the 20th year? So for this particular amendment, after 20 years, there's a 50% abatement or reduction of whatever the lease rate would be. And then after that, so it's a 10-year period after the first 20 years. First five years after that 20, so years 21 through 26, would be 50% abatement on the lease rate. And then after that, it's a 25% abatement or reduction on the lease rate. Okay. And the lease rate is determined in the documents that we have been updating currently. Is that correct? That's correct. You have the lease rate that's been laid out on the prior readings.

» But that does not tie in the economic development factors that we've been discussing by and by, which is going to relate to the second motion that's coming up, assuming this one passes. So the first amendment is open to anyone who would like to, because if they- Anyone that has a plane that they, or anyone that has a plane, they want a hangar in Kershaw County and they have the funds to build a hangar, they can work with staff to identify a location out there, build a hangar to the county specifications, whatever legal permitting requires. On a triple net situation, they can build out there, no cost to the county, and have it essentially rent-free, lease-free for 20 years. The ground, the ground will be lease-free. That sounds fair. Someone wants internet sort of agreement. Okay.

» All right. Any other questions from those who are remote first? Yeah. That's what we currently have done in the past, Vice Chair, is what he just described, but I don't think he's been in writing anywhere where we could dig it up out of the archive. Yeah, Mr. Tucker, it's been done in the past on a couple or a few occasions. Some of those contracts have expired, but we're trying to formalize it so that it can be done again in the future and make the process easier to work with staff and also the county and people who are coming in understanding what the rights and obligations and opportunities will be as they have a presence out at the airport. The whole point is to encourage people to have a presence at the airport.

» increase the traffic out there if we're able to have that in some ways, if possible, tied to economic development, have people purchasing fuel, getting lessons, whatever it might be, just see the activity increase. What's good for the airport overall, in my view, is good for the county. Anything else, Mr. Tucker? No, sir. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Tucker. Mr. Shoemake? I'm good. Okay. Circling back to Mr. Jones. Well, right quickly, the ordinance definitely was going to change, and I didn't support that, but I appreciate your work on these amendments, because I do support these amendments, and thank you. Yes, sir. Thank you. I'm looking forward to the second one as well. Yes, sir. Thank you. Any other questions or comments? Okay. Hearing none, we'll move to a vote on the First Amendment.

» All those who are present in favor, raise your hand. It's unanimous in person. We'll move to those who are remote. Mr. Brazel? Yeah, I can support the First Amendment, Chairman. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Mr. Tucker, how do you vote? Yes. That's a yes. Mr. Shoemake, how do you vote? Yeah. That's a yes. All right. So, First Amendment's unanimous. Ms. Hanna? And if there are no other motions, I have one more motion to make. This one, I think, might be put up on the screen, but I know you've been emailed the information, and there's a draft copy that's been placed at each of your desks, respectively. And so, this would be the second motion. So, I move to amend the ordinance as follows under Section 1B.C. This is going to be a reduction in a lease rate price per square foot.

» I move to amend as follows to provide that it's a $0.14 price per square foot rate for the wooden hangar at the airport as it's not comparable to the other hangars. And so, staff, in looking around, had that price at a higher rate per square foot, but it seems to make more sense and be more fair in the marketplace. It's incomparable to reduce it down to $0.14 per square foot for that Section 1B.C. related to the wooden hangar at the airport. The motion continues. And I move to add two new sections to the ordinance. There will be a new Section D and E, which, again, you should have printed out before you.

» New Section D will allow for rent abayment for economic development prospects that meet certain criteria to incentivize those prospects to build private hangars at the airport, and it's provided before you as written. New Section E will allow for rent abatement for existing private hangar tenants that satisfy certain economic development criteria. And then there will be a correction of a scrivener's error to allow for proper numbering of the subdivisions amendments and subheadings if the amendment actually passes, okay? And so, that's a long way to say, well, that's the motion. Before I get into any more discussion, is there a second? Second. All right, we've got a second from Mr. Tomlinson. All right, I'll continue on with the discussion just to explain Sections D and E.

» So, if you look at Sections D and E, this means that if you hadn't a current contract that expired already, we've got a few people in that situation now at the airport, but in the past, they had satisfied meeting a FILO eligibility environment, or they had created or maintained 30 more jobs in Kershaw County, and they have a plane out there that's worth at least $500,000, we can, on a case-by-case basis, enable ourselves. This gives us the power to abate any lease payment. So, we could reduce it down above the 50% that's provided for in the original ordinance that we were just talking about.

» We could reduce it down further, based on a case-by-case basis of economic impact in the community, perhaps number of jobs, but this enables the council to make those discounts on lease payments and reduce it down as far as we see fit for economic development purposes. Okay? As long as the aircraft is taxed in Kershaw County, right? Correct, yeah. The aircraft has to be registered and taxed in Kershaw County and valued at at least $500,000. And the trade-off on that is, kind of working rough arithmetic, planes are all kinds of different values. But if that same space were leased out post-20 years, you're trying to find a value of a plane that would at least equate to the lease rates that you could get in that square footage, perhaps.

» And so, that's kind of the rough math on looking at those numbers. Any other questions or discussion for those who are present? Very quickly. Mr. Jones. Yeah. Thank you again, Mr. Chair, for working on this and what you've done for the corporate. I really appreciate. I spoke with some folks before getting here that said they felt that was not here, but from the airport. They thought that was very fair. If I could, though, how is it going to affect the folks out there that are not corporate? I mean, how much of theirs is going to go up? Well, I'll let staff speak to that. Gerald has all the numbers. At the 19 cent per square foot number for hangers that have electricity only. Currently, hangar one, which is a small hangar, 3,000 square foot.

» We are charging nothing currently because that contract expired. But at 19 cents per square foot, that hangar would become $570 a month. Hangar two, which is a 3,700 square foot hangar. Currently, again, we're not charging anything because that contract expired. It will be 19 cents per square foot as well. That hangar, because it is larger, will be $712 per month. Hangar three, electricity only, 19 cents per square foot. No charge currently. That one would be $741. Hangar four, which is the hangar that is actually a wooden framed hangar at 13 cents. We are currently, we receive nothing for that hangar. That hangar will go up to $546 a month. The hangar to five, we're currently billing that at $1,000 a month, which is 24 cents per square foot. It will go up to 24 cents per square foot.

» That is the life net hangar. It simply goes up $8 a month because they were already tracking where we needed them. And hangar six, which is the large hangar. It has water, electricity, and office space. It too is at 24 cents per square foot. Currently, we're charging $833. As of 10 years ago, that individual has not had a new lease in five years, so he's actually been rent-free for five years. That hangar will be going up to $13.50 per month at 24 cents per square foot. Is there any leniency to anybody who's built their own hangar and had a prior lease for 20 years? Is there any leniency for them? That's what I just described. If it ties into economic development in particular. Corporate, yeah.

» We have abatement prospects, and it's legal to consider economic development as an incentive to abate certain rates here. And keep in mind, gentlemen, the reason we're looking at this issue is the airport has an obligation to try and stand on its own. So there are times when someone who has nothing to do with the airport has taxes that go into the general fund, and some money from that has to transfer, as I understand it, to go cover issues or costs at the airport. We've got space out there where we just haven't had contracts for a period of time. And some of them are paying because there's a contract in place, but some of them, these rates haven't been set.

» So we've got to modernize and formalize this process and have agreements in place, in part because the revenue, it needs to stand on its own, but also for liability and other issues. If you don't have a contractual relationship with someone who's in the space, and sometimes there are multiple planes, multiple users within the space, and heaven forbid one of them bumps into the other one and damages the plane, we've got to have these contracts in place so that the county is protected and therefore the taxpayer is protected, so we're not on the hook for some liability that's occurring out there that we didn't intend or have anything to do with. Yeah, and I appreciate that. I had a little research done. I don't think there's many airports that are self-sufficient.

» However, I know we need to clean this up. I know there need to be some things done. I just was concerned about someone who maybe they built their own hangar and they were there for 20 years. They're not corporate. You know, they're not business. I guess it's just recreational or whatever. Were there any provisions in this law that would allow us to work with them in some other fashion than just black and white? Not that I'm aware of, not that I'm aware of, not that I'm aware of at this point. Yeah, most, for historical context, most of these build your own hangars contracts originally provided, and the builder agreed that in 20 years it would transfer to the county and they, you know, normal rent payments would resume.

» The FAA certainly views local government amortizing the cost of that capital improvement made by a private individual to provide for essentially no rent for a period of time so they can recoup it. But, yeah, for the versions that do not have an economic development component as drafted, this ordinance would basically convert those 20-year contracts and collect rent on them as originally envisioned 20-plus years ago, originally agreed by the builder 20 years ago. And, Mr. Jones, I think that, and correct me if I'm wrong, Mr.

» DuBose, I think that there is a revenue avoidance issue that comes up if you don't have some type of economic development aspect tied to it to abate a lease payment because we're required under the FAA, as I understand it, to make sure we collect all revenue that's possible unless you have a legal reason to abate or reduce the lease payment or the rent. Thank you. Yes, sir. Any comments or questions from those who are remote? Yes, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Tucker. Okay, so everything I completely understand, my question is now, so if I've had a hanger, say, I built one of the ones that we're talking about with the 20-year lease on the property with no rental for 20 years. That expired in 2020. This new amendment you just introduced, I'm five years in that abatement if I qualify.

» I've got an issue with that because you're taking five years of eligibility away from someone. Can we amend or whatever we need to do to make sure that whoever those folks are who have done their 20 years and they fell into that donut hole, that they actually do have the opportunity to take advantage of the whole abatement, not just half? Well, Mr. Dubose has his hand up, but my first comment would be for some of these folks, they've had five years of no rent or no lease payment. And so that is a 100% abatement that they've already benefited from that council didn't vote on, if that makes sense. So they already got a complete five years of no rent or no lease payment, excuse me. But they do have another five years that the council could vote on if they qualify.

» And I think the folks we're discussing would, where we bring up for motion and memorialize officially. There's no confusion, no dispute about what the terms are that the councils agree to. Does that make sense? Yeah, let me hear from Mr. Dubose, please. Sure, yeah, he had his hand up. I was going to defer to Mr. Blanchard, but Mr. Connell, I think, precisely addressed the theory and concept of starting that abatement in whatever the present year would be related back to the original contract. is that in many, if not all, of these instances, there's been no rent for the last three years, four years, five years. So essentially, as Mr. Connell said, 100% abatements already occurred for some period of time. It's a long way of saying Mr. Connell said what I was going to say. Thank you, Mr.

» Tucker. Anything else, Mr. Tucker? No, sir. No, sir. That was the only question I had. Thank you. Mr. Brazel. Okay, hearing none, Mr. Shoemake? I'm good. Okay. Can you go back and see if Mr. Brazel is available? Russell, were you on mute? You still there with us? Yeah. Yeah, I'm here. I'm sorry. Okay, we couldn't hear you if you had any comments or questions. Just checking in. No, no, I didn't. I'm fine. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. So if there's no further discussion or questions from those who are in person, we'll move. This is amendment number two to a vote for those who are in person. All in favor, raise your hand. It's unanimous in person, Ms. Hanna. We'll go to those who are remote. Mr. Tucker, how do you vote? Vote yes. That's a yes. Mr. Shoemake, how do you vote? Yes. Yes.

» That's a yes from Mr. Shoemake. Mr. Brazel, how do you vote? So I think this will create a conflict for me potentially. So I'm going to have to abstain. All of the qualifications that you listed would qualify me. And I don't want anything for less than what anybody else has to pay for. So for those reasons, I'm going to abstain. Okay. Mr. Brazel abstaining. Otherwise, it's unanimous, Ms. Hanna, for all who are voting. All right. Now we bring this back to as amended. So we've got two amendments that have passed unanimously for those who are voting. And that brings us back to the original amendment. Do we have a motion to approve as amended? I make a motion we approve the ordinance third reading as amended. Mr. Tomlinson has the motion. Is there a second? I'll second. Mr.

» Cato has the second. Any further discussion on this one on 11B and third reading? Seeing none in person. Anything from those who are remote? Mr. Chairman. Yes, Mr. Jones. I'm really torn on this with someone who's been there 20 years. And they may have been rent-free. But I don't know whose fault that was that they were rent-free. But I wouldn't want someone to be punished for that. Not that that would be the case. But I really wish there was a provision in there that would allow us to work with someone who's been there for 20 years, built their own hangar, you know, as we are with the corporate. Mr. Jones, I think after we pass this, we're welcome to amend it at any time.

» If something's not working, if there's a particular individual you think of has either a hardship case or something like that when you look at it, we certainly can. I would just say, too, that there was a contract signed whenever that was 20 years ago. And they had a meeting of the minds when I wasn't around and many of us weren't around that would provide for rent occurring in year 21. I don't think rent has been collected. I don't know who you're specifically referencing, but I don't think rent's been collected or lease payments have been collected from many individuals for three, four, or five years. But we can't amend it, but this can be amended at any point in time. Yeah, like any order. I mean, another three readings and public hearing, we can change it. But this is the first step.

» I think it's the cleanest first step after talking with everybody, talking with economic development, interacting with folks who have planes out there, talking with staff and council members. I think this is the cleanest first step to get to a modern, formalized process of bringing our airport up to speed. No pun intended. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Jones. Any other comments or questions? All right. We'll bring it to a vote then for those who are in person. All in favor, raise your hand. Mr. It's unanimous by those who are in person. And for those who are remote, Mr. Tucker, how do you vote? Yes. That's a yes. Mr. Shoemake, how do you vote? Yes. And Mr. Brazel. Chairman, I'm going to abstain for the same reasons as I stated a few minutes ago. We'll note that for the record. Ms.

» Hanna, if you would, please. All right. It passes on third reading. Unanimous for those who are voting with Mr. Brazel abstaining. All right. Thank you, gentlemen. That takes us to item 12A. This is placed on the agenda by the administrator. Construction Contract Award recommendation. Mr. Templer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of council. So what you have before you is a simple contract award recommendation. We had one bidder. You see it in your packet. That amount is $15,467,915. So this is not to be confused with us going to 3 million gallons a day for capacity, but we are adding one more million gallons a day capacity to an already functioning 2 million gallon a day facility. Okay.

» And you're seeking a motion for approval of? Of the only bidder we had, they were the MBCon Water Works. And you see that note below there that some value engineering was performed to get that number carved down. And this is related to the skip grant as well, where $10 million is funded from that. Okay. Is there a motion? I'll make a motion. We accept the bid. Mr. Tomlinson has the motion. Is there a second? I'll second. Mr. Cato has a second. Mr. Tomlinson. I think the value of it's good. I appreciate the value engineered and then coming down on the price and to have that additional 1 million gallons will be a huge benefit to Kershaw County or economic development specifically. Thank you, Mr. Tomlinson. Mr. Cato. No comment. I think Mr. Tomlinson covered it all. Thank you.

» Anything else from those who are in person? We'll go to those who are remote. Mr. Browse, any comment or questions? Chairman, could you get the administrator to repeat the dollar amount, please? I'm sorry. I missed it. Yes, sir. Go ahead, Mr. Administrator. It is $16,467,915. That's the overall project with $10 million of that being funded through the skip grant that we were awarded. So I'm having to reach back in memory. The skip grant that we applied for through the Rural Infrastructure Authority, they awarded us $10 million to our $6 million. Is that correct? Correct. So we have a total of $16 million. So we have enough cash on hand to perform the 50% expansion. Is that correct? Correct. Okay. All right. I just wanted to make sure that I had my facts clear. Thank you, sir.

» Appreciate it. Yes. Thank you, Mr. Brazel. Mr. Tucker, any discussion or questions? So I just wanted to tell Danny and staff, thank you. This is long overdue and really going to help with all the growth and industry we're trying to attract that's coming here. So I appreciate the hard work. Thank you, Mr. Tucker. Mr. Shoemake, any comment or questions? Nope. All right. Thank you. Seeing no further discussion, we'll move it to a vote for those who are in person. All in favor, raise your hand. It's unanimous. In person, we'll go to those who are remote. Mr. Brazel, how do you vote? Vote yes. That's a yes. Mr. Tucker, how do you vote? Yes. That's a yes. Mr. Shoemake, how do you vote? Yes. That's a yes. Thank you. Ms. Hanna passes unanimously.

» All right, gentlemen, that takes us to item number 12B. I talked with the ministry about placing this on. We're going to let him give us a little bit of background before we have a motion. Mr. Templer, please. Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of council. What you have before you is an opportunity through the Santee Lynch's Regional COG to apply for a safety action plan grant. This is an initiative through the federal government with $5 billion funding overall throughout the entire country. But this allows us to tap in to a potential grant award of $1 million with just a $200,000 grant match, and this would go to improve the safety of our roadways and pedestrian paths for bicycles, public transportation overall.

» So what the area of focus for this would be the White Pond Road area and the Highway 1 corridor. Now, not just understanding that $1 million, we could find some low-hanging fruit, some signaling, some signage, and things of that nature just to improve some of the areas over there, especially in the White Pond Road area. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Templer. I'll go ahead and make a motion that we accept the terms of this grant in application. Is there a second? Second. Mr. Jones has a second. Discussing just a little bit further, is it, remind me again, I know we talked about beforehand, is it $1 million, including our $200,000, or it's $1 million and we put up $200,000? So we would end up with $800,000 on top of it. Okay, that's what I thought.

» So it's a $1 million overall funding of the project, $200,000 towards their $800,000. Correct. And I know we're going to hear from Mr. Tucker on this because he's the chair of the Santee Lynch's COG, but I think it's a great opportunity to take care of some safety issues. As we heard Ms. Torres speak recently about Mr. Tomlinson's assistance, even a few signs in the area made a difference in one subdivision, and those don't cost too much. So there's some low-hanging fruit, as you say, that we might be able to take care of in these areas that are growing. And if I may, in the past when we've engaged DOT just for one signal light, your standard traffic signal light to probably about four or five years back, that was at $200,000 alone. Okay. Yep. It's more than that now.

» It is more than that now. All right. We'll hear from those in person first. Any comment or discussion from those who are in person? Seeing none, we'll go to those who are remote. Mr. Tucker. Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Absolutely. Thank you, Mr. Administrator, for getting us on the agenda, you and the chairman. I think it's a fantastic opportunity. As you probably can tell, DOT is doing work in the area. If you look at exit 98, there's a traffic light that is about to become active there. If you look at Highway 601 there by the gas station, I'm trying to remember the name of it there, Flying J. There's a traffic light going right there by Bojangles. So they're trying to help us out.

» This is just another opportunity to work on the most congested areas of the west of the Watery, so this was identified through a study that the COG had done, and they're very particular about where it goes, and we won't have a lot of say in that as far as council members, so give me your input so I can influence the ones that are making the decisions. It's going to be along that corridor that Danny talked about, US1, from the river back over to Ristling County and down White Pond Road. And I'm happy to have any conversations with anyone that has some concerns or input or suggestions. Thank you. Mr. Tucker, this is Mr. Connell. Just one quick question for you. Is this directly tied to us moving from the CM COG to the Santee Lynch's COG? Absolutely. That's what I thought.

» As an example, proof in the pudding, all those years we talked about moving from the CM COG where we didn't see any funding to the Santee Lynch's COG, here's the first instance of an $800,000 opportunity, whereas it had been, I think it was previously 20 years when we counted that we hadn't gotten funding from the CM COG. Is that right, Mr. Templer? Yes, sir. Yeah. All right. Thank you for Mr. Tucker with your leadership on that and getting it switched over. No problem. Thank you guys for support. Okay. We'll move to the next folks who are remote. Mr. Brazel, any comment or questions? Well, I'd like to thank Sammy for his work with the COG and Dennis Cypress for his leadership as well. We've certainly been more successful in looking after our community and our town.

» I think as an American taxpayer, I don't mind seeing our own communities improved. This is certainly something that's long overdue. U.S. 1 and White Pond are highly congested areas and getting to the point of danger. So, I support this 100% and I appreciate everybody that's worked on it and has influence over the project. Thank you, Mr. Brazel. Mr. Shoemake, any comment or questions? No, I'm good. Thank you. Seeing no further discussion, we'll move it to a vote. All in favor, in person, raise your hand. It's unanimous in person and we'll move to those who are remote. Mr. Tucker, how do you vote? Yes. That's a yes. Mr. Brazel, how do you vote? Not quite as emphatic, but yes. That's a yes. Mr. Shoemake, how do you vote? Yes. That's a yes. Ms. Hanna, it's unanimous. Thank you, gentlemen.

» That'll move us to Mr. Tucker's finance report placed on the agenda. Do we have a motion? I'll make a motion. Mr. Thomson makes a motion. Is there a second? I'll second. Mr. Shoemake has a second. And Mr. Tucker, we'll go ahead and hear from you on the finance report. Okay, thank you. I'm going to be rumbling through some papers, so y'all bear with me here, please. A couple of motions here that we need to go to entertain if possible. I think y'all can all hear me. I think I'm off mute. We can hear you. You can hear me. Okay. My phone's acting up, too. All right. With that being said, the finance committee met twice last week. We met back on the 21st, and we also met on the 17th of last week.

» We have some dates that we would like Council to approve, first being the dates for our annual retreat, which is going to be April 3rd through the 5th of 2025, held at the Economic Development Training Center, 95 Innovation Way in Camden. So I would like to make a motion that we approve that first, if I can. What was the date again? April 3rd through 5th. All right. We've got a motion on the floor. Second. There's a second from Mr. Tomlinson. Any further discussion? All in favor, in person? It's unanimous in person. Mr. Tucker, how do you vote? Yes. Mr. Shoemake, how do you vote? Yes. And that's a yes. And how do you vote, Mr. Brazel? I can support it, but I won't be able to make those dates, unfortunately. Okay. That's a yes as well.

» Some of us are going to be popping in and out, gentlemen. I think we're going to make it as we can and get debriefed if we miss something. But we do have it set. Thank you, Mr. Tucker. It passes unanimously. All right. Thank you. Also, in that, you're going to have your different department heads along with your nonprofits. Everybody will be coming in those time frames. Ms. Lauren will publish that and get that to you as soon as he can get the confirmations on who's coming, when, and where. The other matter that we took up from the Finance Committee was our first, second, and third reading. We have first reading in title only April the 22nd, second reading May the 27th, and third reading June the 24th.

» These are proposed dates to Council for reading of the budget of the 2025-26 budget year. I make a motion that we approve these dates. Second. We've got a motion and a second from Mr. Tomlinson. Any discussion? Seeing none from those who are in person. Any discussion from those who are remote? Mr. Tucker? No further. Mr. Brazel? No discussion. Thank you. Mr. Shoemake? No. All right. Seeing no further discussion, we'll move to a vote. Those who are in person, all in favor, raise your hand. It's unanimous. In person. For those who are remote, Mr. Tucker, how do you vote? Yes. That's a yes. Mr. Shoemake, how do you vote? Yes. That's a yes. Mr. Brazel, how do you vote? Yes. That's a yes. It's unanimous. Ms. Hanna, Mr. Tucker, you still have the floor. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

» Last thing that I have that we discussed and decided on was our committee dates moving forward through April. So as I stated earlier, we had one March 17th, March 21st, April 1st, April 7th, April 24th, and April 29th are our next finance committee meetings. They will be at 4 p.m. at the government center, and those will be in room 207. So with that being said, I make a motion that we accept these dates from the finance committee. Okay, we've got a motion. Is there a second? Second. Second from Mr. Tomlinson. Any discussion for those in person? Seeing none, any discussion from those who are remote? Mr. Tucker? No, sir. Mr. Shoemake? No. Mr. Brazel? No discussion, Chairman. Seeing no discussion, we'll move it to a vote for those who are in person. All in favor? It's unanimous.

» In favor from those who are in person, we'll move remote. Mr. Tucker, how do you vote? Yes. That's a yes. Mr. Shoemake, how do you vote? Yes. We got you. Mr. Shoemake, how do you vote? Yes. That's a yes. Mr. Brazel, how do you vote? Yes. That's a yes. All right, Mr. Tucker, that passes unanimously. You still have the floor. Well, Mr. Chairman, I just want to say thank you to all of you for your support. Finance Committee and Council has a tremendous job to get done this year to come up with a workable budget that staff needs to continue to give great service. So we're looking forward to everybody's input and everybody's suggestions. That concludes our report. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Tucker. No further vote required. All right, gentlemen, that takes us to Council Member Briefings. Mr. Cato.

» Got just a few things I want to share this evening with everyone, and I'll be quick. First of all, I want to, yeah, I've got another congratulations to the North Central High School. This time it's to the weightlifting team on a back-to-back state championship. They won last year, and they also won the state championship this year. I also have an individual state championship with Mr. Aiden Wiles, but I'd like to congratulate them and their coaches, and I'm sure we'll have them here at some point. I try to recognize all the state championship teams from there and anywhere else in the county that has state championships. I believe they deserve to be recognized here at county council, so we'll be looking forward to seeing them here soon.

» April 26th is a family fun day at the Mount Pisgah Resource Center. There'll be vendors and a car show and different things going on that day. Also, I want to give a special thanks to this council, to our administration, to our rec department. If any of you saw the pictures that were posted of the new playground that was put in at Mount Pisgah, that was something I wanted to work on when I first took office, and it looks great. And I thank you all for helping me with that. That was a complete team effort, and the people up there are very appreciative, and it's really one of the first things they've had there in many years besides the resource center that was put in place right before I came on. So a special thank you to all the people that made that happen.

» And lastly, it's the Carolina Cup weekend, so I wish you all a great weekend, and I hope you'll stay safe and enjoy the cup, and maybe the dust and the pollen don't tote everybody away, but just stay safe and have fun. Thank you. Ends my report. Thank you very much, Mr. Kato. Mr. Tomlinson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I don't have much. I would really like to give a huge shout-out to the Kershaw County Recreation Department and their staff. They did a wonderful job this past weekend. It was opening day in Jamboree games, pitchers for softball and baseball across the county, hosted at Larry Doby. From the numbers I heard, there was over 700, 800 children, kids that were there playing games, getting pitchers taken, a couple thousand, including parents and family. They did a wonderful job.

» Dills were in great shape. It went seamlessly. Parking was wonderful, so it was a great turnout. And as always, appreciate everything the staff does. I look forward to the Finance Committee meetings and the budget retreats coming up. Thank you, Mr. Tomlinson. Mr. Jones. One quick thing. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the council. I'd like to give a shout-out to Mr. and Mrs. David Osteen, who celebrated 60 years of marriage from Lugo. Thank you. That is my report. Thank you, Mr. Jones. We'll go to those who are remote. Mr. Tucker, any report? No report. Thank you very much, everybody. Have a safe week. Thank you, sir. Mr. Shoemake, any report? Just very briefly, I also did the community cleanup this Saturday. I appreciate everybody coming out. And I know Mr.

» Webb and I will forever disagree on the letter ordinance, but if I could, I'd make the fine $25,000 after Saturday. Thank you all. Thank you, Mr. Shoemake. Vice Chairman Brazel, any report? Chairman Connell, thank you. Appreciate your leadership tonight. I don't have a report, but I do have a comment. I would like to thank Councilman Cato and just acknowledge the fact that he's done an excellent job representing his community. You've gotten some things done up there, and I think you're doing an excellent job representing the rural part of Kershaw County. And I know your constituents are lucky to have you sitting at the table with everybody on council, my friend. Thank you, Mr. Brazel. Just briefly, I'll reiterate that the Carolina Cup is this weekend. That's the rite of spring.

» I look forward to seeing many of you out there. I've been going since I was a kid. Just a great time and a great way to put a good face, hopefully, with College Park being significantly reduced, a good face on Kershaw County. Enjoy a beautiful day with family and friends. And that concludes my report. Mr. Administrator, do you have any briefing? Just a small tidbit on the projects. We've obviously been having some rain, so we've got some wet areas we're dealing with, but our contractors are doing a really good job of keeping us on schedule. And looking for alternative ways to keep the projects moving forward. On the budget note, I know it's tough to get everybody in one spot for budget stuff, but please, if you missed something, let me know. Let staff know.

» We will get you every bit of information you need. Make sure you make an informed decision. And if we need to set up an individual meeting with you all just to make sure that we're tracking on everything, to make sure we are communicating our needs and desires and wishes as it relates to the up-and-coming budget cycle, feel free to just let us know. We'll carve out some time for you all. That's my report. Okay. Mr. DuBose, any report other than executive session? No, sir. Okay. That takes care of all items prior to executive session. We do have five after the amended agenda. We have five executive session matters. I'll take them as a group. We've got two matters regarding potential legal claims and receipt of legal advice under attorney-client privilege. That's 16A and B, 16C.

» We have discussions of negotiations into a proposed contractual arrangement. That's 16C. 16E is receipt of a briefing and legal advice regarding a matter covered by attorney-client privilege. And 16F is discussion of a personnel matter. These are all executive session items under SC Code 30-4-70. Do we have a motion to... The F was deleted. The last one was... No. Well, there's a different personnel matter. Oh, my God. I'm sorry. Yes, sir. The one that was deleted was item D. Gotcha. Okay. There is one other personnel matter on there, but it's five items total. Looking at them as a group for executive session, do we have a motion in executive session for those five items? So moved. We have a motion for Mr. Thomason. Is there a second? I'll second. Mr. Cato seconds.

» Seeing no discussion in person. Is there a vote expected? Any votes expected? I think there might be one vote expected on one of the personnel matters. Okay. Any discussion from those who are remote? Mr. Tucker? Done. Okay. Mr. Shoemake? None. Mr. Brazel? None, Chairman. All right. We'll move to a vote. All those in person in favor of going to executive session on these items, it's unanimous for those who are in person. Mr. Tucker, how do you vote? Yes. Mr. Shoemake? Yes. That's also a yes. And Mr. Brazel, how do you vote? I vote yes. It's unanimous. We are in executive session. Motion we exit. We've got a motion. Is there a second? I'll second. We've got a second. Any discussion? There's no vote that's going to be taken related to any executive session item.

» Seeing no discussion, we don't have anybody else on line. So those in person voting in favor, raise your hand. Passes unanimously for those who are voting. We're out of executive session, Ms. Hanna. Seek a motion to adjourn. I'll make a motion. We adjourn. We've got the motion. Is there a second? Mr. Tomlinson with a second. Seeing no discussion, all in favor? It's unanimous, Ms. Hanna. We are adjourned. Thanks, everyone.