Full meeting transcript - April 22, 2025

» This guy's retorted right here. Yes, sir. You got one at your thing, but I'm going to get you that one back. Do we have a gavel? I was just looking at the thing right here. Who put that on there? Oh, Lord. Mr. Teplar. Hey, I'm on the phone, guys. Mr. Teplar. We don't care. I'm doing all right. You ready, Mr. Teplar? You got a gavel. You want me to bang with my fist? I get it. The gavel broke during the junior leadership year. I think we had a temporary one. I'm not sure what happened to that. All right, we're ready to start. Mic's on. Sorry, we don't have a gavel tonight. We were looking for it, but a 2000 class ring from Clemson University should do the trick. I'd like to welcome everybody to our April 22nd, Kershaw County Council meeting.

» To start, I'd like to ask Councilman Cato to do our prayer tonight. Let us pray. The most kind and gracious Heavenly Father, we just come to you tonight. We just thank you for another day here on earth. Heavenly Father, we just thank you so much for all the blessings and goodness that you bring to us and that you give us each and every day. Lord, we're all so unworthy, but we thank you so much for your love and grace. Dear Heavenly Father, I just pray for this meeting tonight. I pray that you give us the ability and the knowledge that we need to carry out through this meeting and do the business of this county. Dear Heavenly Father, I pray for our men and women in law enforcement and our military that's protecting our great nation and protecting our community.

» Lord, I pray for them and our first responders and their safety and well-being. Dear Heavenly Father, just lead, guide, and direct us throughout this night and throughout the rest of the week to come. Thank you again for all you do for us. Forgive us all of our sins. For us in Christ's name we pray. Amen. 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, Councilman Cato. I'd like to have a motion to adopt the agenda. Do I have a motion? Make a motion to adopt the agenda as presented. Councilman Tucker makes a motion. Do I have a second? I'll make the second. I also have an amendment. Councilman Jones, go ahead with your amendment, please. Thank you.

» I would like to delete the item under new business. All right. We can delete the request for reimbursement damages citizens' private property. Administrator's taking care of that, and thank you so much. Good. Okay. Do I have a motion to amend? Motion to amend item 10A on the agenda. Do I have a second? Second. All those in favor? It's unanimous. One's on the phone. Oh, yeah. Who do we have on the phone? Councilman Shumate? Yes, and I vote in favor of that as well. All right. We've got it. It's unanimous. Thank you. Now adopt the agenda. Vice Chair, I also have another amendment. Okay. Go ahead. We need to amend the agenda to allow us to have the third proclamation on the agenda tonight. Good catch. Okay. So we're going to add a third proclamation. It's already listed.

» That's your motion, sir. Do I have a second? Second. All right. All those in favor? Councilman Shumate, how do you vote? I'm in favor. All right. All those present and online, vote in favor. Now I'd like to, do we have a motion to adopt the agenda as amended? Make motion we adopt the agenda as amended, Mr. Chair. Second. I second. All right. A first and a second. How do we vote? Councilman Shumate? I'm in favor. Okay. It's unanimous. By those present and by those online, Councilman Shumate, thank you. We'd like to start with a proclamation. Proclamation A. April is Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month. This is put on the agenda by Councilman Danny Cato. Danny, would you like to make the motion, sir? Yes.

» I'd like to make a motion that we accept this proclamation on Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month for Kershaw County. All right. Do we have a second? Second. I yield. Councilman Jones has a second. All those in favor? I'll start with Councilman Shumate being that you're on line. I'm in favor. All right. All those in present? How do we vote? It's unanimous. We'd like to hear from Councilman Danny Cato as he reads the proclamation. I will have some comments a little bit later, but let me start with the proclamation. This proclamation is Kershaw County Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month. Whereas Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASD, is a developmental disability that can cause significant social, communication, and behavioral challenges.

» Autism is the fastest growing development disorder that affects about 1 in 44 children that causes them to communicate, interact, behave, and learn differently than others. The learning, thinking, and problem-solving abilities of people with ASD can range from gifted to severely challenged. Some people with ASD need a lot of help in their daily lives. Others need less. Whereas there is no cure for autism, love, patience, and endurance are a great dosage. But families are encouraged to get involved with early intervention, treatment services, and can improve child's development. Ask questions and speak with the health care provider if you feel your child is not doing developmentally what they should at certain ages.

» Whereas autism impacts people regardless of race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic backgrounds, no one is exempt from the possibility of being diagnosed. Now, therefore, be it known that families deal with autism every month, but Kershaw County Council would like to acknowledge the month of April as Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month in Kershaw County as we strive to support, promote, and strengthen our families with children who have autism to help them achieve a better quality of life. Amen. Thank you, Councilman. Do we have any comments? Anybody want to make any comments regarding this proclamation? I'll start with Councilman Shoemate. No, I just appreciate you guys putting this on the agenda. I think it's a very important call. So, do I, Councilman Kato. Thank you.

» Anyone else? Any comments? Jump ahead of you. I would just like to say that out of all the things that we do here at this County Council, this is probably, to me, one of the greatest things we can do is recognize this. You know, these kids are angels. And God bless them and God bless the parents and the loved ones who care for them. And thank you so much. Thank you, Councilman. Anyone else? I just want to say, and you normally don't hear me talk about the federal politics, but I think sometimes, well, most of the time they get it wrong on the federal level up there. But I really, I don't know who put this together, but I really appreciate the title that it was written in, because autism is not a disability, it's a difference in ability. And I think that says it all right there for me.

» A lot of people like to take this as it is a difference amongst men and women who don't do things exactly like we do things, who says that we're normal. They may be the normal ones, and we may be the ones that's having issues. And it looks that way from the way that we're leading our citizens here in America. I say that because there was a lot of kickback on social media on some of the comments that came from the federal government about autism. And I think rightfully so, they deserve that. But thanks for you, Ms. Hanna, and whoever else had a hand on this proclamation. And I wish autism programs and nonprofit organizations nothing but God speak. Thank you. Thank you, Vice Chair. Very quickly, can I give a shout out? Of course.

» You know, I didn't really see this until the other day and didn't have been out of town, just came in town to be in this meeting because we were running short of bodies. And I want to give a shout out to my buddy, my hero, Austin Brownham. And if I had enough time, I would have notified him, but I didn't get to. And I just wanted to say that. Thank you so much. Of course. Councilman Kato, anything further? Yes. First of all, I would like to thank Ms. Hanna for putting this together. Ms. Hanna has an autistic child, and she knows the struggles daily of what that's like. We have several employees here in the county that have autistic children. They include Sheriff Lee Bond and others. And I tell you, it's humbling. It really is humbling.

» My daughter worked for a year or so with autistic children up in Greenville. She's now with special resources. And I have a heart. It's just deep in my heart for these families and these children. And I thank you for sticking by your children and standing with them. I really do. I admire you. And I hope this is just a small piece of what Kershaw County can do to show our appreciation for what y'all do for your children. So thank you all. And I'll add as well, God makes no mistakes. Every child is loved, and acceptance is something that we all must work on from time to time. Praise God for our families and our loved ones. With that being said, we've already voted on it. Would we like to have a picture made tonight? Yes. We'd like to present the proclamation.

» Who's here to receive the proclamation? We're going to present this. It's in Kershaw County, and I think we have some of the employees with some of their children that's here tonight, and Ms. Hannah, and whoever's here. I want Mr. Bone to come up here. Well, if you're here for this proclamation and you want to come up for a photo, please come up now. Come on, folks. One last thing I wanted to say. See that the council members are wearing these autism ribbons for autism awareness month. Ready? Ready? Look over here. Say cheese. Heart cheese. Thank you so much. Congratulations. And Dalton Bone, we're so glad you're here this afternoon too, buddy. And glad you came up front. He said, that's enough, Jimmy. Thank you all for being here.

» Our next item is a proclamation for the North Central High School Weightlifting Championship 2025, also placed on by Councilman Danny Cato. Do we still have Derek online? You do. Councilman, I'd like to make a motion. Councilman Cato, would you like to make a motion to accept this proclamation? I'd like to make a motion to accept this proclamation for the North Central High School Weightlifting Team State Championship 2025. Okay. Is the motion stated? Do we have a second? Second. Second by Councilman Tucker. Derek, you might want to hit the mute button. I think we just heard a home run. Hope it was a look-off, right? So, with that being said, how do we vote on this item? Councilman Shoemate? I voted favor. That was batting practice. That was batting practice. All right.

» And all those here, how do we vote? Everybody in person voting in favor and also online voting in favor of unanimous vote. Thank you. Danny, I'll let you continue with the proclamation, sir. This proclamation is in honor of the 2025 2A Team State Championship. And it reads, whereas the North Central High School Weightlifting Team located at 3,000 Lockhart Road, Kershaw, South Carolina, has been titled with the 2025 2A Team State Champions. Whereas the members of the North Central High School Weightlifting Team have accomplished an outstanding record, which has led them to winning season, winning, a winning season of two consecutive years as 2A State Champions.

» Whereas Kershaw County Council is proud to recognize the parents, staff, athletic director, coaches, and athletes for their hard work and dedication that led the weightlifting team to become the 2025 2A Team State Champions. Also, it lists on here the Principal Davey Branham, Assistant Coach Dennis Stephens, Head Coach Ryan McDonald, and Daniel Siss, Athletic Director. We also have an individual state champion in this unlimited weight class, Aiden Wiles. He squatted 570 pounds, he benched 370, and had a broad jump of 101.5. Double-A State Champion Weightlifting Team members was Aiden Wiles, Jalen Wesley, Zemaine Bennett, and Kalen Bradshaw, and Jonathan Coates, who was part of the JV Team.

» Now, therefore, be it resolved, the Kershaw County Council do hereby honor the North Central High School Weightlifting Team on the 22nd day of April 2025 for winning the 2025 2A State Championship. Wow, congratulations. And I've got some comments. Well, I'd like to say this real quick, and then we'll move into discussion. I just hate that Ben Connell isn't here so he can challenge him to a wrestling match or something. All these guys are pretty strong. I couldn't even arm rouse him. My money's on Aiden. Mr. Vice Chair, Ben is getting older, so. He's still a pretty tough guy. Let's not talk about age. Any comments? I do. I have some.

» I'm honored anytime I can recognize any school for a state championship, but lately I've got to do it quite often for North Central, and I'm very proud of this school. I'm very, very proud of the coaching staffs at this school. This takes a lot of hard work and dedication on their part, as well as the athlete. And they really and truly put a lot of time and effort into developing these young people. And it doesn't happen overnight. It takes a lot of training. Aiden, I know you're the only one here tonight. The other members had a rescheduled track meet, and they had to attend that to live up to their expectations of their teammates, and that's totally understood. Aiden, you excelled as the individual state champion. And these are some pretty impressive numbers. I'm very proud of you.

» And if I'm correct, and correct me if I'm wrong, but you're going on to play football with the Citadel. Is that correct? All right. So congratulations on that achievement also, following in Coach McDonald's footsteps. But I am really, really proud of the accomplishments y'all have had, and back-to-back years. It really says a lot about y'all's dedication and the coaching's dedication and the way y'all handle yourself. And I thank you so much for being here tonight. And we're going to, after all the comments, we're going to get y'all up. We're going to present you with this proclamation, and you can proudly put it in the trophy case there at the school, and you can always go back and show your kids your name on this proclamation. Thank you, Councilman. Anyone else? Comments? I'm next.

» Councilman Jones. Thank you. I want to see this guy, Aiden. That is some big numbers. You know, I used to guys work out a lot. Let me tell you something. I was part owners in the first gym that ever opened up downtown Camden, and we used to go in there and squat and lift, never, ever hit those numbers. Never. My gosh. But that's something to be proud of. And then going to the Citadel as well, congratulations. You have a bright future ahead of you. Stay with your weightlifting, though. It'll always benefit you. Thank you. Councilman, he may have a black belt as well. I'm not going there. Any other comments? Thank you, Mr. Vice Chair. As Councilman Cato has stated, and I often remind people out here and the citizens in Kershaw County that North Central is a hidden jewel.

» A lot of people don't believe that, but I've had the opportunity to work with the staff and students at all three, actually all four high schools, County County Military Academy, here in this county. And it is a place that is special, maybe because I like the country and maybe because my dad's from Cassett. So there might be a little bit of partiality there, but it is a hidden jewel because I think that you guys have all the amenities that any school would want, and you have less of the headaches that some of these bigger schools have. And then you have staff, coaches, teachers, and parents that do nothing but love up on students. And that's amazing to be a part of that.

» And it reminds me of some of the older days as some of us came up with wooden paddles, Jimmy Jones, and myself, where people really cared about you getting your education. They encouraged you to do other things, but they really made sure that you got your education. So congratulations. Keep pushing them through. Some of you, I've actually got my fingerprint on. I won't call no names, but I really, really am proud of all of you out there and continue to make good men and women for this place called Kershaw, South Carolina. Thank you. Mr. Tucker, you know, when I listen to you talk about that, this brings back memories to me when I was in the bodybuilding, Body Beautiful. Body Beautiful. Back in 1978. You know, you guys wouldn't have known me then. That's the year I was born, Councilman.

» Coach Noah Dixon. Does anybody here know Coach Noah Dixon? Yes. I actually helped him learn to pose on one of his contests. Noah was, I don't know how he looks now. I haven't seen him in years, but he was a man in his day as well. Good memories. Good memories. Well, look, as much as we all like having a little fun and joking around, I suppose we should move on. We've already called the vote. Next thing we need to do is invite y'all up for a photo. Come on up. Oh, Councilman Schumann, we voted beforehand. Does he want to? Derek, would you like to say anything to these fine people? I just, I think that's awesome. I'm at a high school sporting event myself. The things you guys are learning in these high school sporting events are laying a foundation for the rest of your life.

» And the skills that you're going to learn here are going to reverberate through your 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s. So congratulations. Amen. He's doing so well. I'm so sorry I keep forgetting about you up there above us. Don't let you forget it. Y'all come on up. If y'all can squeeze in just a little bit more, that'd be great. One, two, three, two, three. Congratulations. That was good stuff, Danny. Thank you. Well, that young man is a grown man in my book. He's a big dude. Yes, he is. Congratulations to North Central. Big accomplishments from a smaller school. Smaller schools do great things. That's, I have to agree with Councilman Tucker in the way that teachers are able to teach in a smaller classroom. It's a good setting. All right, we're going to move on here.

» We've got one more, our third and last proclamation, and this is put on by Councilman Tucker. The month of April is Fair Housing Month. I'd like to go ahead and have a motion. Yes, sir, Mr. Vice Chair. If I can, make a motion that we approve a proclamation for the month of April as Fair Housing Month. With the motion stated by Councilman Tucker, do we have a second? I'll second. All right, we've got a second from Councilman Cato. Go ahead and take a vote and get that out of the way. Yes, sir. How do we vote, Councilman Shoemate? I'm in favor. All right. And all those here, how do we vote? All in favor. Thank you for that. Would you like me to read that? Councilman Tucker, go ahead and read that, sir. Thank you, Mr. Vice Chair. Proclamation for proclaiming April as Fair Housing Month.

» This is something that we do at the Santee Lynch's Regional Council of Government, so I'll read this. I don't have my glasses, so bear with me. Whereas Title VIII of the City Civil Rights Act of 1968, known as the Fair Housing Act, was established on April 11th, 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson enshrined into the federal law the goal of eliminating racial segregation and ending housing discrimination in the United States. And whereas the Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, sex, family status, national origin, disability, commits recipients of federal fundings to affirmantly further fair housing in their communities.

» And whereas Kershaw County is committed to the mission and intent of Congress to provide fair housing, fair and equal housing opportunities for all. Whereas our social fabric, economic, health, and environmental are strengthened in diverse, inclusive communities. And whereas more than 50 years after the passage of the Fair Housing Act, discrimination in the housing market still exists, and many communities are self-segregated. And whereas acts of housing discrimination and barriers to equal housing opportunities are refunded to a common sense of dignity, fairness, decency, fairness, and dignity.

» And now, therefore, Kershaw County hereby proclaims this month of April 2025 as Fair Housing Month and encourages all citizens to prevent discrimination in reverse housing segregation by increasing opportunities for minority homes, ownerships, and invest in affordable housing across our county. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Are we going to present this proclamation, sir? Yes, sir, we can, and I'll be happy to. We have another board meeting next month, April, I think, May 5th, and I will present this back to the board. So I'll be more than happy to accept this. Are any members here? No, no one's here because I actually thought we read it last month in my absence, so I didn't invite anybody today. Okay. So any need for a photograph, or are we okay? We're okay. All right. Perfect.

» Thank you so much, Councilman. You're quite welcome, and thank everyone for their support in this. And I would say that, you know, the paragraph in there that I really take to heart is the second to the last when it says that the common sense of decency, fairness, and dignity. I don't care where you live, what you look like, how much you have or don't have, you should never be deprived of those things. We're human beings, and any one of us could fall on hard times, bad times, or whatever that, but none of that should ever be taken from you. Thank you, Councilman. Any other comments? All right. With none, having no more comments, we'll move on to item six, public comments. How many folks do we have signed up, sir? All right. We'd like to welcome them to the podium.

» Leanne Fishburne, Lake Watery. Did I hear Lake Watery? Yes, sir. Welcome. What was your name again? I'm sorry. Leanne. Leanne, yes, sir. Fishburne. Fishburne. Welcome. That's Lake Watery. My husband and I have had property. Oops, sorry about that. You're good. We've had property at Lake Watery since 2002, and we've really seen a change in the water quality, and I know that there have been other people that have come here to talk with you about it, and, you know, I don't want to rehash that and waste your time. I am simply here myself with my sister, who is here for moral support, who lives next door to me. What I have seen since the time that we bought property at Lake Watery, the algae around her house in particular, but now it's migrated to my house, is causing a problem for boating.

» And I do know that the lingvia has been discussed here, and what I'm here for is just to ask that you please fund taking care. We can't eradicate it, but we can certainly bring it under control. What's happening, and in one particular case, it was about 10 o'clock at night, and I heard a boat that obviously was stuck. They went in where the lingvia was, and they were stuck. So I was watching them get out, and what happens is, without them realizing what's happening, is it's getting around their propeller, and as they get out of that situation, then they go over to another part of the lake, and what they're doing is they're bringing in the lingvia.

» And the cove that we actually live in is where the Camden Watertake is, and I went on the GIS mapping software that the county has today, and from where the mass mat of algae is, between my house and my sister's house, it is a little bit less than half a mile to the Camden Water Intake. Now, the problem with the lingvia is that it can clog it up. It ends up costing more money overall. So that's what I'm here for, and I just ask that you guys please send the money. We need it. We need to take care of this. So that's what I'm here for, and thank you. I can't imagine you have any questions for me. Well, in this forum, we can't have dialogue, so we're here to listen, and we support Lake Watery, and Lake Watery is in my district.

» So thank you for coming and speaking tonight, and be happy to give you my number, my email address, if you'd like any further communication. Oh, that is wonderful. Thank you so much. Y'all have a blessed day. Mr. Vice Chair, would you also let folks know they're never bothering us by coming and speaking? We need that. Absolutely not. We need to hear that. We do. Thank you. Thank you so much for being here. Y'all have a wonderful night. Okay. With only having one public comment, that moves us to approval of minutes. Do I have a motion for the approval of minutes from our April 8th meeting? Make a motion. We approve the minutes from April 8th. Okay. Do I have a second? I'll second it. How do we vote? Councilman Shoemate, how do you vote on approval of minutes? It approved them. All right.

» Mr. Vice Chair? Yes, sir. I will be abstaining. We have one abstaining. Yes, sir. And then how do we vote? Gentlemen? Unanimous with one abstination from Councilman Tucker. All right. Minutes are approved. All right. And now we have, under item 8, first reading in title only, an ordinance to provide budget. I'm sorry, sir. No, no. I didn't say anything. Oh. I just moved my papers. I thought I heard somebody come after me from my right.

» Item 8, first reading in title only, an ordinance to provide budget appropriations for county purposes in the county of Kershaw for the fiscal year beginning July 1st, 2025, and ending June 30th, 2026, and setting the millage rate for Kershaw County for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025, and adopt and implement the charge and collection of service and user rates and fees, and for other tax purposes and county appropriation purposes. And matters related there, too. Do I have a motion for this ordinance in title only? Mr. Vice Chair, I'd like to make a motion that we read our first reading in title only of our 25-26 budget. All right. Do I have a second? This is Councilman Shoemate called second. Okay. Thank you, Councilman Shoemate.

» The ordinance in title only, do we have any discussion? I would like to just make a couple of comments, if I may, please. I know dealing with the finance committee and having to work with staff so closely that they're doing all they can. We've had some tough times before since I've been here, but I think this is going to be one of the toughest. And so we'll be prepared next month for second reading to have the breakout of the budget, am I correct by saying that, Mr. Templer, down to the last penny. We're still just working on details and trying to figure out what state's doing, what federal's doing, and where are we going to be able to put the puzzles that make the best sense.

» It is, I'm telling you guys, you don't hear me say this a lot of times, but it's very challenging this year, and we're trying to make a lot of chicken salad out of chicken. Thank you, Mr. Vice. Thank you. Thank you. Any further comments on our budget, Councilman? Not tonight. Councilman Kato. I'll wait to second reading. Third reading. I've got a question regarding, since we just heard from a homeowner on Lake Watery, I had sent in a budget request to the Finance Committee. Was that request received? I'm sure staff has it, but we haven't gone down line item by line item yet. In our Finance Committee meeting, we have one this Thursday, which I was going to announce during my council briefing, and we'll get those requests all in order.

» So we have not plugged any numbers in on the request yet, because we've had some disruption since we've had some unfortunate tragedies up here on this diocese. We had the council meetings, as well as y'all know. So that's where we're at, and we're arranged. Yes, sir. So I'd like to state for the record that there has been a financial request from the Lake Watery's Homeowners Association of $30,000 to help fight the algae problem before it gets out. It's come from lakes north of us in the watershed, and I do support tackling it now before it becomes a major problem for the people that live on Lake Watery and everybody who enjoys spending time on Lake Watery, and especially the months ahead. It's getting warm. People are going to want to water ski and fish, and we do not need a mess.

» With that being said, I'm pretty blind when it comes to the rest of the budget. I'll support it in title only, but we've got a lot to dig into this year and a lot to hash out, and I'd like to see numbers on natural growth versus where we were at last year. I'd like to see a year-over-year cost analysis, and I'd like to make sure that we're spending that money as wisely as we possibly can. We will have that. Is that what you're talking about? At the second reading. At the second reading. Yes, sir. Yeah, not tonight at this reading, but just as an overall statement. That's good stuff. So with that being said, we'll take it to a vote. Councilman Shoemate. I vote in favor. All right. All those here. We support the first reading of the budget and title only. Yes, sir. Thank you.

» We'll dig into the specifics at second and third reading. Moving on. Under ordinances, second reading, an ordinance to amend Kershaw County, South Carolina Unified Code of Zoning and Land Development Regulations to require the installation of fire hydrants for minor subdivision development where existing public water infrastructure is capable of sustaining fire flow. Initially, well, let's first get a motion. Do I have a motion for this second reading? I'll make a motion. I'll make the motion. I yield. Okay. I'll make the motion then. Councilman Shoemate has the motion. Do I have a second? I'll second. Councilman Kato has a second. Let's put this on the floor for discussion. Councilman Shoemate, do you have anything that you'd like to discuss? No, I mentioned it in our last meeting.

» I mean, I'm supportive of this. I think it's necessary, and the reality is we end up having to pay these prices down the road if we don't have adequate fire systems, so I'm fully supportive of this tonight. Okay. Thank you, sir. Mr. DuBose, there were some unclarified topics that we discussed at the last meeting. Do you recall the specific questions you'd like me to kind of go over my concerns? Yeah, I recall some of them. A review might be helpful, or I can proactively address what I do recall. Mr. Bullard, Chief Bullard is here as well to speak to the genesis of this.

» So I can understand that we had an issue on Pine Grove, in which I requested a couple of fire hydrants where some homes had been built, and I understand the premise of it, but I have a concern in which if someone wants to just break land in two, say they have three acres and they want to make it two or three, one or one and a half acre lots, what's the tipping point? So a minor subdivision involves, well, does not involve more than 10 lots, creation of a new street, extension of public water and sewer, all various other factors kick something into a major subdivision definition, other than exempt subdivisions, which are in the support materials in the agenda package, most other subdivisions would qualify as a minor subdivision.

» One important exemption are gift conveyances by deed, as long as no new streets are involved. And those are more or less among nuclear family, but inclusive of grandchildren. So those conveyances of gifts among family would not be included in minor subdivision, but in a hypothetical scenario where someone wants to, say, subdivide two or three one-acre parcels out and then build homes on those for sale, conveyance or just sell the lots, those would qualify as a minor subdivision. So they would have to install a fire hydrant? Yes. Under this ordinance, they would. Now, that is premised on them not satisfying some other exemption, like one of the state law exemptions. If the parcels are greater than five acres and there are streets involved, then it would fall under state law exemptions.

» But yeah, a hypothetical scenario of, say, a five-acre parcel that has three one-acre tracts chopped out of it, so it's four total parcels, three one-acre and one two-acre remainder. That would meet the definition or requirement of a fire hydrant insulation if sufficient flow exists there and if that subdivision is not within, I believe it is 500 feet of an existing fire hydrant. But again, Mr. Bullard can kind of speak to the specifics of the ISO rating and the public health and safety aspect of it.

» So if I were to walk into planning and zoning with a plat to get approved, in your scenario, and I said, "Hey, I'd like to get this plat approved," and they say, "Oh no, you've got to get these fire hydrants," who would I write a check to to have those fire hydrants installed? - As this is drafted, it would be the developer's responsibility to install it. Just, I mean, not dissimilar to if a developer's developing eight lots with single family, and they are responsible for getting the utility services to those lots. They would have to interface with the water provider and make sure that the hydrant was installed. - Well, is the the water provider or clear on these items? Because we have many in the in the county that we deal with. - Correct.

» Again, it would be premised on fire flow existing from those providers. And I will say that Chief Bullard is interfaces with Lugov-Elgin Water, Kershaw-Lee Regional Water Authority, etc. He could speak to, again, the specifics of how those conversations for fire flow and fire hydrant requirements for, like, major subdivision, major group projects already occur within the development of the workflow. - And I understand that, and the concern is that those developers, they're building roads. And so, of course, you have to install infrastructure. We're asking someone to go back in on a state right-of-way and have work done. It may be challenging for the person to navigate that. We're creating a law that is well-intended, and I understand that completely.

» But I still have more unanswered questions because if, say, someone has to go to Lugov-Elgin Water and say, "Hey, we need to buy two fire hydrants because we're breaking up seven lots or whatever it is." At that point, who sets the price on the fire hydrants? - And I defer to Mr. Bullard on the logistics of that infrastructure installation. - Chief, you want to speak to this? - Yeah, that's kind of development services minutiae that I'm typically not involved in. - Yeah, so to kind of address your concern or question a little bit about the right-of-way, so for these hydrants to be installed, the infrastructure has to already be there. So therefore, the utility right-of-way will already be in existence because the water line will already be there.

» So they will just have to basically go where that utility right-of-way is along the DOT or the roadway right-of-way to install the hydrant. So there won't be anything changing because that utility right-of-way already pre-exists if the infrastructure is there. What we're running into and what we're finding is that because the ZLDR does not already have it in writing that says that a minor subdivision requires the installation of a hydrant, that developers are bypassing it and doing these road frontage strips, whereas even a major subdivision, it's already in the verbiage to where the infrastructure exists. We do have a subdivision already that's actually currently under construction now to where the infrastructure does not exist.

» It is a major subdivision, but we don't have hydrants in it at all. And we're talking probably over 100 houses that's going in, but there's no water there, so therefore I can't enforce it to make them actually put hydrants in. So it's the same kind of principle with this as well. If the water's not there, then I cannot make them put the water there. Now I will say that there's plenty of municipalities and counties across the entire state that actually make developers get the infrastructure upgraded to actually get it to the point.

» So they either have to come up with some type of water storage enough to meet the largest structure within that neighborhood's fire flow requirements, whether that be an above-ground storage tank or they actually have to take and actually increase the amount of lines with the water districts. But those are the kind of things that there are municipalities and counties around the state that are requiring. That was my question. Yeah, and I did too when you finish. The donut holes, because I know we don't have water in 750 square miles of this county. That's right, that's right. This is not going to be an all-inclusive situation. So there are areas in Kershaw County, like you mentioned the Pine Grove Road area, to where we purchased those hydrants.

» That infrastructure existed for us to be able to, but we had to purchase those hydrants as a county. This would actually, yes, it puts it back on the developer to put those hydrants into place. And to what Mr. DeBose said, you know, if the infrastructure exists, the hydrants would be required. Now, if there is a hydrant on that line, you know, the way the code and the way the fire code reads, it has to be within 500 feet. So therefore, the house may be within 500 feet of an existing. So therefore, if you build a thousand foot strip along the roadway, you may not necessarily have to do another hydrant, because if it's within 500 feet either direction, you're good. But then again, you may have nothing, and you may have to go 500 feet from the first one, put a hydrant.

» Then you can actually go 1,000 feet, because you would be able to go 500 feet on either direction of that hydrant. Another hydrant would be installed to cover the other 500 feet in between, and you end up with two hydrants. Right. Mr. Vice Chair, what about this? Will this will be part of the land use ordinance? Yes, that's correct. Why don't we send it back to planning and zoning? They already voted on it. They've already voted on it. They did vote on it. 6-0. Very good. And I respect that, Chief. Thank you. Yes, sir. So how much are, may I ask Mr. Vice Chair, how much is a fire hydrant? About $6,000.

» So could we write, could we write it so that the developer could pay the county and the county could work it out with whoever is providing the water? Because what happens in these situations is they get put on a merry-go-round of nobody knows what's supposed to happen. And I'd be happier with this if the developer were to write a check to the county and knew what they were writing a check for, the county understood what was happening, and then they could send the funds to the appropriate people. Therefore, they could go ahead and approve the plat. They could keep moving. It wouldn't stop the project. I'd feel a lot better about supporting it if we made an amendment instead of just saying, well, I don't, I don't know. You got to go talk to, you know, so-and-so down there at their office.

» Right. Yeah. I know typically when we do approved subdivisions and I know, you know, developers typically when they're doing this or whatever, they normally go through the water district and they, they do the installation. They purchase everything straight through the water districts. I'm, that's, that's normal everyday practice for developers when building subdivisions. Um, but, but I would imagine this would not be anything any different. This just kind of includes the minor versus, you know, not trying to go too deep in the weeds with this, but just, this would include the minors in with the majors as well. Chief, with all respect, Mr. Vice Chair, I think you make a valid point because we see people going around in a circle, maybe has nothing to do with this issue.

» And this is a good issue by the way, but he's trying to get it spelled out so that the protocol will be set. And I agree with everything you just said, Ms. Vice Chair. We, I'd feel better if the protocol was set in writing to where we knew they would know exactly what is and what isn't. So we don't get caught in this circle. Right. And Mr. DeBose, I mean, is there anything that, I mean, can that be done as far as the going, running that through planning and zoning just like as a fee for doing that or? Yeah. I mean, I think one, one issue with that is, um, I think there could be slight variability in the cost, um, perhaps based on hydrant type, et cetera, et cetera. Um, but that would be, I think that would be stated.

» I think, uh, an operational concern would be that, um, many of the minor subdivision developers are true construction kind of development parties. And, and again, it's, it's council's prerogative, but, um, it essentially might delegate and interject the county as a pseudo agent for the developer and having to make those calls and undertake those efforts and furtherance of a, um, development requirement that as Mr. Bullard, uh, pointed out, at least the major subdivisions is a hundred percent born by the developer. Um, you could have a hypothetical situation where ABC builders builds a major subdivision and they have to do the interfacing, but if they build eight lots, the county suddenly has that job of doing the thing that they, ABC always does, which is contact the water authority.

» Well, I don't, I don't think there's anything legally prohibited, um, prohibitive of collecting the funds and trying to facilitate it. I just, um, could be a, could be an operational and administrative issue. I, I like the fact, I'd like this council to set the protocol for that, for me to support it. But councilman Cato. So if, if the county puts in a hydrant, if, if we put in a hydrant, who puts it in and what's the protocol for doing that now? Do we contract that out? We would contact the water district and call the water district to go install the hydrant. And they've got most, I mean, some of them actually do it, you know, but most of them have third party contractors that actually do the same thing for burying and adding water lines that you see Cassette water or somebody doing.

» It would be the exact same thing. They would, they would have them go out, they'd create a work order and go out and have them install it. So in turn, doing it this way would actually probably add more cost to the contractor than doing it the way you propose? Yes. Correct. How would it add more cost? Because they would have to go through third party. Contractors typically are going to be able to do it cheaper than what we're going to be able to do. No, I'm not asking that Kershaw County perform the work. No, no, no, no. I'm not saying that either. What I'm stating is that we make it simple. We create a simple, we're creating a process that I'm not really thrilled about to be honest with you because this wasn't an issue until the major subdivision showed up.

» This, this became an issue when major subdivision showed up and started building two, three hundred houses. And then this came behind it. For years and years and years, people have been building houses on roads. If every road you drive down between here and home, you're going to pass houses on those roads. And this was, this was not, this was not necessary. But now that we've seen a few little blips here and there that caused a little bit of a headache. So then we're going to push this headache back onto the consumer. I'm not a big fan of it. I'm trying to stomach it. I'll make the amendment to support it. Otherwise I'm going to not support it. Mr.

» Vice Chair, can I give a word of advice here that I wasn't here for first reading, but you know, you do what your heart and your conscience tells you to do. We still got another reading. I think if we can get with staff and our county attorney, maybe come up with some language where we can amend with some better understanding, a third reading versus, you know, just voting against or trying to hodgepodge the amendment now. And the reason I'm saying that is because if the big subdivisions can contact the water authorities, why can't the small, and it keeps the burden off of staff? Well, let me tell you why. If you want to talk about it, we can talk about it. And I have something to say when you think. I can tell you exactly why.

» Because as I've said many, many times, I have done business with people that build homes for people like you and me and everybody else in this room, that can afford to buy a small parcel of land, divide it up into four or five or six lots, and they can feed their family. That's their trade. That's their craft. They're getting hurt because of the big guy. The big guy has attorneys on staff. He has 20 people in the office. They're building houses nationwide. It's not the same thing. And when we apply the same rules across the board, we hurt the little man. And they're already having trouble keeping up with the way these national builders come in and build on slabs. They're building a better house, a custom house, a house that they take pride in. These people take pride in their work.

» So when we put more headache, more problems on them, that affects them in their home, their household, how they feed their children. So we can make an amendment tonight, or I can vote no. That's going to be totally left up to you. But also the same way you're talking about the little guy, I'm concerned about staff being able to produce to all citizens, being in the minutia of trying to figure this out for small contractors. I don't know how much burden it will be or how little it will be, but I do know it will be some administrative actions there. And then if you turn around and say, well, we're going to have to charge them from that, then you're going to say, okay, well, now we're not being fair or they can't afford it.

» So where's the balance to our staff administration? Well, the staff is the one that's proposing this. So we ought to be able to do the work. Mr. Chair, you're asking for communication to the people that are going to be affected by this. And I think there's nothing wrong. Chief, I applaud you for coming. I support the hydrant, the hydrants being installed. We just are trying to figure out the communication we want between folks that are going to be hit with it. And I'm sorry, I think it can be quite confusing. I've seen simpler things in this get very confused. We get calls on it with planning and zoning. I think it needs to be spelled out. We need to have some good, direct communication, Mr. Vice Chair, and I appreciate you handling it this way.

» Can I make a suggestion? And maybe this is a legal question. So can we table this second reading of the ordinance for 30 days and allow- Postpone, postpone, not table. Postpone, I'm sorry. Postpone the ordinance for 30 days and allow staff and the fire service to maybe come up with a solution before we have a vote on the second reading? Sure. Yeah. Again, council has a broad array of options on any pending ordinance unless it has a hard and fast deadline like a budget ordinance. I will note for the record that a public hearing has already been advertised on this as required by ZLDR, but a public hearing can always occur in isolation from an actual reading.

» So council could hold the advertised public hearing, receive input from the public on it, and even hold a second reading isolated from that public hearing. It's easy. Well, maybe that would give us, maybe that would give us and Vice Chairman, the opportunity to maybe find common ground in Jimmy Jones. It would give, it would certainly give staff and legal an opportunity to kind of explore what we can and can't do. The collection of funds and facilitating the install, whether that's super viable, whether it's operationally too much of a burden shift. Why would it be too much of a burden shift? I think, excuse me, to communicate with the citizen.

» I think the issue is the only essentially becoming, stepping into the shoes of the developer and accomplishing the developer's development task with outside parties. It's not a perfect analogy, but it would be too dissimilar from saying county. If you're going to require additional driveway installs, county staff is charged with getting in touch with DOT and getting the encroachment permits. It's not a perfect analogy, but again, I don't think there's anything that prohibits a deferral for 30 days to study the matter, get y'all some additional information, and explore how that is to collect the fee and do the contact with the water authorities, but that's typically outside the flow of a typical development approval project.

» A single-family home that gets subdivided and needs power from Fairfield Co-op, they have to call Fairfield or whoever. So nothing you said just now. Hey, can you guys, can anybody hear me? Yeah, go ahead. Oh, I was just going to say that I think tabling it is a, I would not support tabling it. I think that, you know, I do agree with some of what John's concerns are, but we don't have a lot of things where we shift that burden back on staff. And I know this is unpopular to say, but I'm going to say it. Some of our most egregious violators of our planning and zoning laws are some of our smaller builders. And I think we, I think we need to have these regulations. So obviously, you know, the vote's going to be what it is, but I won't support tabling it tonight or amending it.

» All right, then let's call the vote. But hold on, Vice Chairman. Go ahead, Councilman. Administrator has something to say. Just from an operational standpoint, just gives me a little bit of pause to shift the burden back on to staff that I think we're kind of dabbling or putting our toe into some water that we're unfamiliar with. It is a fire plug, but when we talk about flow, and I think it has to be a four-inch pipe, and it's just, I don't know if that would be the way to shift that load on to, because it's going to be the fire staff more than likely. And then, because they know the, they know the playbook for the most part, but as far as, I just have some hesitancy. Well, any time we create a law, we create red tape.

» And the question herein lies, are we willing to cut the red tape, or are we going to ask the citizens to do one more thing that they have to do on top of their day-to-day life that they have more red tape to cut through? That's, that's really what this boils down to. And that, for me, I understand that fire hydrants are necessary. No issue with the fact that they're necessary and that we want homes to be safe. But for hundreds of years, we've managed without this one burdensome piece of ordinance that, frankly, might cover 12 to 15 percent of the county. The rest of the county is probably not going to comply anyway. Go ahead. Would you like to say something? No, no, no. I just, I just don't understand why we couldn't postpone for 30 days and work on this.

» I mean, why ram it down our throats if we have some concerns? And you could possibly get more of us on board, but I'm not willing to vote for it as it stands tonight. There's just too many unanswered questions. I mean, I understand, I understand some of what you're saying, Russell. However, I think we're comparing the past till now. And at this particular point, the density in these particular areas, the growth has grown so much that now if we was to have a fire and we look at it from a fire aspect, if a fire was to break out, say, like it did in Myrtle Beach or like it did up in Oconee County, if that fire breaks out and they don't have the water sources, you know, how many homes would be destroyed.

» And, and it's come to a point where I don't think the county has the resources, nor the finances to put these, these hydrants into place. Now, with that being said, and I know this from being on a rural water board, the systems up in the northern part of the county can't sustain fire hydrants. They don't have the water flow, they don't have the water pressure, the water line, they don't have it. So what the county has had to do, and I applaud them for this, that they've had to go to alternate water sources. And they go to landowners that have ponds and streams. And, and you'll see those marked and the landowners sign off on the agreement so that they can come and pump water.

» But there again, then you got to haul the water, you got to take the tanker back and forth and from serving on the fire department years ago, way before technology we have now. I know how that works. But I can support this, I really, I really hope that maybe we can dig in between now and third reading to answer some of these questions. So maybe these guys can support it on third reading. So I would ask that even if we don't table it, I would ask that maybe y'all just come back with some of these answers to try to provide a little bit clearer view. And we can look at it again on third reading. But I can't, I cannot support it because I think it's very important that we have these hydrants. Mr. Vice Chair. Councilman. Thank you. Mr.

» Dubose, any of those things that you spoke about a few minutes ago, if we take second reading prohibit us from doing due diligence is my first question. The list of things you went down about making sure that staff and that we're, you know, not in any legal trouble if we decided to run it through the county and things of that nature. And Vice Chairman Russell's questions, Councilman Jones questions. There's nothing said that this has to be on the first meeting in May. We can put it on the agenda when we see fit to do so. And they can make and bring their amendments as many as they like for third reading. And it doesn't prolong today. That's where I'm at, guys, gentlemen, when it comes down to is second reading. Mr. Jones, if it was third reading, then I probably would punt with you.

» But I can't punt with you on second reading when I know there's a number by that disabled. Thank you. Thank you. If I may. I'm just, we're the regulation county. I did, there's so many regulations on the books now. And there's so much confusion, confusion within citizens going to the planning zoning. And that's just a fact. We hear it all the time. And I think they're working very hard. They're trying to do it. And I appreciate the chief and the staff bringing this before us. I am pro-hydrants. I just want some communication so that when the public comes in and they have to do something, there's a protocol set. And I'd like that protocol to be set by this county council. That's what I'm asking for.

» And because right now, if the protocol is not set, we haven't gotten any clear cut answers to how they'd be installed or paid for as it stands now, no clear cut. We've gotten a somewhat. So if we're getting that here, what's going to happen if we pass it in the state that it's in now? I think it needs to be clear communication by us on what we expect staff to carry out as far as policy on our behalf. And then I would support it if the communication was there. But I won't support it in its present state. I respect that. All right. Let's call the vote. Councilman Shumate, how do you vote? I vote in favor of the amendment as is. All right. Everybody in presence? Councilman Tucker, Councilman Cato, vote yes. Councilman Jones, Councilman Brazel, vote no. Second reading passes, 3-2.

» I would still ask, Mr. Vice Chair, if I can state that we get your questions answered. I appreciate this. And if it's not in a timely manner within the two weeks that we have, then let's push it into the fourth Tuesday of May. Well, I really appreciate that. Nothing says that it has to be done the second Tuesday is what I'm saying. So you still have your time for us to do due diligence. Thank you. Well, frankly, I'd like to have heard that tonight, but both comments I heard from administration were of the negative nature. So I don't feel like it was going to change between now and third reading, and I bet that it doesn't. So with that being said, we're going to move on from this and we're going to move to item C.

» Second reading, an ordinance by Kershaw County Council authorizing the conveyance of certain water facilities and the public right-of-ways of Black River Road and the Mount Olivet Road to Kershaw and Lee County Regional Water Authority. Do I have a motion? I'll make a motion that we approve a second reading. Do I have a second? I'll second. I'll second. I yield. All right. We've got a motion from Councilman Tucker. We've got a second from Councilman Cato. We talked about this some in the last meeting. This is basically gifting the water line to the Kershaw County and Lee Regional Water Authority from Kershaw County. Is that correct? Yes, that's more or less correct. I believe the county has approximately 48,000 of its own money in the line.

» Most of it was paid for through grants and this line was put in place to serve Governor's Hill Business Park and I believe specifically put in place in contemplation of the prestige. So Kershaw County acted on behalf of a business in making sure that they have water? Yeah, this is all part of an economic development project and initiative to make that business park viable. So Kershaw County actually did what we just talked about. Kershaw County wasn't able to do. Well, this is a little different because Kershaw County doesn't require developers to upsize lines and bring water for specific flow amounts to where they're located. The industrial park with a high water user required upsizing of the line, but again, part of an economic development project project.

» Well, I'm pro economic development and pro prestige farms, but I'm also pro small builder. Okay. And coming from a household that that survived off of a small builder, I find it interesting that we can support large projects, but we cannot support the small projects when it comes to building because building homes is economic development as well. Because everybody who moves here to cut turkeys apart or to make fiber-op cable, they deserve a home. And anything that we do that we can do to help them, we should help facilitate no differently than we facilitate this. We've got a first and a second. Councilman? Thank you, sir. Mr.

» DuBose, so by turning this line over to Preston's Farms, how does that advance or hinder our future access to Governors Hill using that line, increasing capacity, things of that nature? So this turnover is to what was formerly Cassette Water, Kershaw Lee Regional Water. Point in fact, they are currently supplying the water out there. Right. This just has them in direct control of the infrastructure. If there's issues with the water line, the county is not the party repairing them or replacing them. The county's not making any money selling water to Preston's. The county's not in the water business. The background of this was the county had a bulk water purchase agreement with the city of Camden.

» When it needed Camden's water, Cassette Water can now supply it, and I think, again, has been supplying it. This just gets the installed infrastructure that was, again, a vehicle for that part becoming viable in the hands of the actual water suppliers and water authorities. So, I mean, my understanding is the, for lack of a better term, the asset of this water line is not independently capable of being utilized by Kershaw County, and if anything is a kind of contingent liability right now for repairs, the county's not monetized it at all. Oh, the other parties agree? I'm sorry. No, no, go ahead. I'm sorry. Correct.

» I did want to point out that in the support material, and this is an ancillary document already authorized by the terms of the ordinance, there's a certificate of termination and waiver of notice for the city of Camden water agreement. I think it's exhibit B. That is a just extra document. It's not attached as an actual exhibit, but it's an ancillary document that upon third reading, the city and the county would execute it. Yes. The current agreement, and both parties agree, the current agreement would theoretically run for another nine and a half years, but neither party's operating under it. So, this just formalizes the termination. I did want to point out that material was not in first reading.

» It's been included here, and City of Camden's attorney and I have worked together to get mutually agreeable language in that termination document. And I guess my last question to you is that, I know it's grant money, but it's still our money. That line had no monetary value that we could have sold? Not to my understanding. Mr. Burgess, I believe, is present tonight and is intimately familiar with this project. But yeah, I don't know that it has any real independent intrinsic value. And there was some contemplation in the original agreements. I want Mr. Burgess to come and give us an explanation. Yeah, there was a contemplation that the county would lease to Cassette or convey to Cassette, leased it for many years. Now it's kind of in the conveyance realm.

» Yeah, section three in exhibit C I think would be what you're looking for, Councilman Tucker. It's a lease of waterline maintenance and repair compliance with all regulations. Kershaw County hereby leases to Cassette water the line which extends to Governor's Hill Business Park. It is further agreed that during the term of this lease, Cassette shall be solely responsible for all repair, maintenance and upkeep of the line provided. However, that responsibility for repair, maintenance and upkeep of the line shall not commence until a customer is online and using the water therefrom.

» During the term of this lease, Cassette shall totally be responsible for compliance with all governmental regulations concerning the use of the line and the sale and conveyance of the bulk water through the line. This includes but is not limited to DHEC rules and regulations and all testing requirements provided. However, Kershaw County shall be responsible for initial testing and startup testing at the time of the usage begins. Thereafter, all DHEC requirements shall be Cassette's responsibility. I think that speaks to some of your questions maybe as to how it was originally written and the way I understand it is for $10 we're just turning this line over in a quick claim deed. Is that correct, sir? Correct.

» So we we helped fund it, helped get it there, installed 12 fire hydrants on this line, 9,539 lineal feet of a 12-inch PVC line that we put in for a great project that we're glad they're here. We're thrilled that Prestige Farm is here in Kershaw County and and they decided to build their plant here as well. So with that being said, if there's any further clarification that's needed. Yeah, I wanted to, who put this on the agenda? Economic development. I want to hear from Mr. Burgess. Mr. Burgess, you available, sir? Good evening. Yes, sir. Good evening. What you need to know about it, I mean anything direct. Just basically why you felt the need to put it on the agenda. The request came from Lee Cassette Water because that was part of the agreement going down the line.

» This was brought up back, I would say, prior to Vic Carpenter leaving. The line is just sitting out there at that point in time. So she asked if we were ready to turn the line over to them. We started the process. It started in a legal process between their attorneys and ours. And at some point. Well, you know what, Mr. Burgess? Let me tell you something. I was going to vote no on this, but I'm going to vote yes now. Thank you. No, you're welcome. Thank you, sir. Anytime. Thank you. Appreciate it. Jeff Burgess does us a great job here at Kershaw County. A few of us got to visit Sterilite Industries and Business Parkway today. Very fascinating how they manufacture the fiber optic cable here. He also gave us a very quick to the point clarification. I appreciate that.

» Jeff Sharp, thank you, guys. I didn't say all that. I just said he did a good job on this. All right. Let's call the vote. Councilman Shoemate. I vote in favor. All right. All those in present, how do you vote? Do you vote yes? Councilman Jones, it's unanimous. All those here vote in favor of. With that, we will leave ordinances. We have one resolution, a resolution authorizing the assignment by Denke America of the 2011 fee agreement and the 2021 fee agreement by and between Kershaw County, South Carolina and Denke America. I'm probably mispronouncing that. Formerly known as Oak Mitsui and all economic development property related there to Camden Copper Holdings LLC and Camden Copper Re LLC and other related matters. Do I have a motion for this resolution? And to be fair, Mr.

» Burgess, I'm so sorry. We may need a little clarification from you. I'll make a motion, Mr. Vice Chair. All right. Do we have a second? I'll second. I'll second. I'll yield. All right. We've got a motion by Councilman Tucker and we've got a second by Councilman Shoemate. Is there anyone here from Camden Copper Holdings that would like to speak or would like Jeff Burgess like to speak on their behalf? Yeah, I'd like to hear from them if they're here. They're here. Welcome. Poor time getting back up here. It's my pleasure to introduce you tonight. Adam Johnson, CEO of PMC, the group that is purchasing, that has purchased the Denkai assets along with Wes Spurlock, who is the COO of the facility. They will be having their announcement tomorrow, basically the unveiling.

» I hope you can all make it. I know that Chairman Connell is going to be there to speak as well as Mayor Shaheen for the event. But basically, PMC came in, as unfortunately as it was, Denkai did file for bankruptcy. And Denkai Nippon, which is the home office in Japan, liquidated all of its assets. The one immediately impacted by this was, of course, the Denkai America facility. In 2021, we entered into a philo agreement with Denkai for a $14 million expansion plan. To let you know where that stands, we just went back and looked. They invested over $30 million. So they were well above it. The problem was Denkai basically went bankrupt. So in a mad scramble, there was a lot of work done behind the scenes to find a group willing to come in and pick up this asset.

» This is the first time that this facility will be American-owned. So with that, I'm not going to take away any of the highlight because these guys are doing a ton of the work behind the scenes. So I will let them tell you what they plan on doing and how it goes. I'll answer anything to do with the philo and what this means. But basically, what they're going to do is it's basically striking the name of Denkai off the philo and putting Camden Copper in its position as that sponsor for it. So basically, they're assuming the same role, producing the same item, hopefully more of it, better of it, because it is the only supplier for copper in its nature of this type in the U.S. and in North America, basically. So it's filling a vital role. But I'm not going to steal your thunder.

» One quick question before you leave, sir. Oh, I'm going to stay right here. Just one quick question for you. A fee-in-lieu tax agreement is typically between one entity and the county. This name's two entities. PMC can be the sponsor of the actual company that's going in. We have that, in effect, kind of with Sterilite because Weston owns the property. You were out there, but Sterilite actually has the equipment. So they can sponsor a group going into that building. Okay. What's the amount of the philo? The philo that was in place for Denkai, it was $14 million on that one. And as I said, they've already invested $30 million. So that's well above what they originally projected to do. What was the rate? The rate? The terms. The terms was 20-year philo, locked, millage.

» Locked at 6%, 4%? 6%. Yeah. 6% instead of 10 and a half. Correct. And 4% is only if it's $125 million or more. If they decide to do that, I'll be more than glad to bring that up to you. We would talk more. Thank you so much for the information. Welcome. My first time addressing a group like you all. So thank you so much. We're really grateful to be here. You know, it's amazing to see, you know, the care that you all have for your community here this morning or this afternoon, evening, I guess. Whatever time it is. I don't even know what day it is. But we're here to, you know, hopefully get this thing running right. Keep all the jobs. Keep producing copper foil here, Kershaw County. And happy to answer any questions we can for you.

» So you bought the operation to continue it as it was? Hopefully not as it was, but yes, sir. Yeah, better. Producing the same product. Yes, sir. Are you, just out of curiosity, are you in this business already as well? Or is this a new venture for you? So we've been in critical minerals and materials for quite some time. Had some meaningful success bringing rare earths, lithium, other things to the United States. We were called because we had shown some success in that before by some friends who wanted to see this thing be successful, unlike what we feel like the leadership of the previous company had done, meaning outside of the United States, not the leadership on the ground. And we were asked to come and see if there was something valuable here. And we believe that there is.

» And so we're here to do whatever we can to turn this into a very successful business. Let us be the first to welcome you to Kershaw County. And thank you for your investment in our community. Yes, sir. Absolutely. And we're going to continue to do that. That's fabulous. We have good plans and we're meeting everybody on the ground. We're spending our time here and we're going to continue to do that. Okay, is that your bodyguard next to you? This is my co-founder and COO, Colonel Wesley Spurlock. I'll let me introduce himself. Glad to have you guys. Thank you guys so much. And I have to echo your comments on Jeff. He's been amazing, making us feel welcome, helping us figure out the community. And also, I think it's really the double tap.

» The reason we're here also is it's a matter of, it's really a national security thing. This is a critical national security, this copper foil. I am 20 years. I've just retired from the Air Force. I've been doing this a long time. And this is as important a mission as I've ever been a part of. And to meet the people in this community and the people at now Camden Copper, they are very much mission aligned. And we're really excited to hit the ground running and get to work with them. I think they're as committed to this as we are. And we look forward to being a part of the community, part of this mission, and getting to meet each and every one of you guys. So thank you for having us. And thank you to Jeff for bringing us tonight. We just, as a target of opportunity, they get to meet you all.

» And to be up on the big screen. But thank you guys so much. And thanks for having us. Thank you. Mr. Fisher. Councilman. If I may, remind me of how many folks you guys employ out there? We anticipate it will be about 50 and maybe a little more. Okay. And I will say this to both of you and your entire company. As you begin to get your foundation here and your footing, lean heavily on your resources. Jeff Burgess, our administrator, the mayor. And when you meet that council, they're not as good as we are, but they're okay. But don't hesitate. Raise your hand or pick up the phone and call. If there's something that we can assist you with versus stumbling through some things that you might just need a tad bit of guidance or help with. So welcome and thank you.

» And thank you so much for saying that. We are very grateful. We will need it. But also, same thing. So, you know, I don't know how often the previous owners were out here. But I can tell you what they look like. I can tell you this. If there's any issue, anything that comes up, anything that you all see that needs to be done, like my business card, brought it for you all, like we're the ones who you need to call, like what buck stops with us. Like we're here. We're looking for a great partnership. Appreciate it. Yes, sir. And Jimmy lives next door, so he can come visit with you. We look forward to it. Where is this at? Thank you. Thanks. Thanks for coming up. Thanks for speaking. All right. Okay. We had a lot of discussion. Mr. Burgess, thank you as well, sir.

» All those there, you still there? I'm here. How do you vote? In favor. All right. Thank you, sir. And all those here, how do we vote? Vote aye. All in favor? It's unanimous. Resolution 9A passes. All right. Item 10A has been stricken from the agenda. So now we'll go to council member briefings. Council Councilman Shoemate, would you like to go first, sir? Sure. And I don't have much. Thank you guys for letting me call in again. My son's only got a couple more weeks of baseball, so I'm trying to watch all his games. So thank you guys. And I look forward to being back in person in two weeks. We'll see you then. Thank you. You going to hang around? Are you going to drop off? I'll probably drop off since we're done with voting items. Yep. Okay. Have a good night. Councilman Tucker. Yes, sir.

» I just want to say thank you again for y'all's support on the Fair Housing Act. And I'm looking forward here within next month. I don't know if it's going to be the first meeting or the second meeting in May of giving you an update on some of the projects west of Watery on our safe roads. I have to get with the administrator and also the Mr. Dennis Cypress with the COG and we should have an update from DOT. But I hope everybody had a blessed Easter and continue to have a blessed week. That concludes my report. Thank you, Councilman. Oh, and I do want to say this because I just found this out this afternoon. Keep the most important person in Councilman Jones' family on a recovery. Ms. Mara, she had a little freak accident and so she's trying to recover. So keep her in your prayers.

» Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Councilman Tucker. Councilman Jones, would you like to? I have no comment. No comment tonight. What's wrong? The beach is waiting on me. Councilman Cato. I'm shocked. He caught me off guard. Just a couple things. This Friday at the Camden Military Academy, we're going to have the Champions in Action, which is kind of like the Special Olympics. There used to be the Special Olympics. So that'll be taking place this Friday at the Camden Military Academy. I think all the athletes leave the Chick-fil-A around 8:45 and head out to the Camden Military Academy. So if you can go out and support these athletes, that would be awesome.

» The next thing is this Saturday, April the 26th, as you see on the screen, everyone's invited to the ribbon cutting for the new Mount Pisgah Community and Resource Center at the Mount Pisgah Community Resource Center. This playground is in the back, the old school playground. We've turned it into Mount Pisgah Buffalo Community Playground. And we're going to do the ribbon cutting there at 11 a.m. So I would ask that anybody that could attend that. And lastly, I just want to wish my oldest daughter a happy birthday tomorrow. Hard to believe that I'm going to have a child 34 years old. Happy birthday. Happy birthday to her. Happy birthday. Absolutely. So that ends my report. Thank you, Councilman Kato. I'd like to briefly say that I appreciate everybody, all my colleagues.

» You know, not every time we agree on a topic, but yet we're civil and remain cordial. And I appreciate you all on that. You know, there's rarely an item that I don't really in my heart want to support. But some items, I've been in the shoes of these small builders. And I just, I know how these things can affect people that are trying to make a living. So thank you for enduring my passion on that topic. And to all of our firemen and our safety, my vote is nothing to do with you and your job and what you provide for our community completely support safety. It's just about process for me and the way that we handle things for every customer and citizen. I would like to share something regarding the pecan orchard. I wrote a letter to Ms.

» Bonnie Ammons, the executive director of the Rural Infrastructure Authority. And she wrote me back stating, I wrote a letter on behalf of the pecan orchard in support of the grant. She wrote me back, dear Vice Chairman Brazel, thank you for your letter supporting a funding request from Kershaw County for an infrastructure project to make stormwater improvements in the pecan orchard subdivision. The application is being considered by the South Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority under its competitive basic infrastructure program. Projects are reviewed based on a comparative analysis of need, impact, feasibility, and leveraging. Funding announcements are expected to be made by the end of May 2025. I appreciate your interest in this project.

» If you have any questions, do not hesitate to call and then she gives me her number. I'd just like to say to her, thank you so much. And I would like to say to anyone that lives in the pecan orchard, if you'd like to write a letter of support to the Rural Infrastructure Authority, feel free to do so. They're great people. They do great work all across the state and they support people in situations like we have. And I hope that that comes to fruition. With that being said, thank you all for a nice short meeting. And that concludes my remarks. Mr. Jones didn't have anything to say tonight. Uh-uh. He did not. He was ready to go. But we will move on to administrator briefings. Mr. Templar. Yes, sir. Just a couple updates on some of the rec projects.

» As Jato mentioned, the Mount Pisgah Playground is completed. We're looking forward to that ribbon cutting this Saturday. 11. Veterans Park boat landing construction is still ongoing. The estimated completion date looks to be around mid-June. Woodward Park construction is still ongoing. It's made a completion date for that is January of 2026. We do have a groundbreaking ceremony scheduled for Wednesday, April 30th at 10 a.m. So everybody's welcome to come out for that. Boyd Young Park and Copeland Park. The pre-construction meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 23rd, 9:30. And that will be on site at the Boyd Young Park in Westville. KC West Park and Expansion. We're waiting on a permit from South Carolina Department of Environmental Services.

» Once that permit is issued, we will schedule a pre-construction meeting with the contractor on that. That's all I have, sir. Thank you. Any legal briefings? No legal briefings. And I don't think we have an executive session tonight, sir. Mr. Vice Chair. Yes, sir. Motion to adjourn. Second. We've got a motion to adjourn in a second. How do we vote? All here in favor. Everybody have a good night.