Full meeting transcript - February 10, 2026

» - Did you knock a hole in it? - No, I did not. Sorry, a little bit stronger in 2026, excuse me. My mama-- - Oh, Julie Burns is back here for a moment. - I have a story to tell you next time about that. Let's be called to order. Thank you so much for being here tonight. This is our Kershaw County Council meeting for February 10, 2026. We are convened and getting on the agenda, we'll have an invocation and pledge of allegiance that will be led by Councilman Derek Shoemake. - Will you please stand? - Let us pray, dear Heavenly Father, please watch over us as we do the business of the people of Kershaw County and guide our hearts and minds so that we can do what is right and what honors your name.

» And Lord, please watch over us as we get into our budget season and all these other big decisions that we have to make for the county. And Lord, please watch over Councilman Jones as he enters his 75th year with us. In your name we pray, amen. - Amen. - Amen. - Very kind, thank you. - You gonna start off with a pledge of allegiance there, sir? - Oh, yeah. - 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 Shoemake. That brings us up to adoption of the agenda. Are there any motions on the agenda? - Make a motion that we accept the agenda as submitted by our clerk to council. - I'd like to make a motion to amend.

» - Okay, let's get a second on the motion to accept and then we'll do a motion to amend. - I'll second. - We got a second. All right, motion to amend. - Motion to amend. - What's your motion? - I'd like to add a proclamation, please. - Okay, what's the proclamation? - It's just a small event that we're having here today. - Is there a second? - Second. - All right, any discussion? Seeing none on the agenda, all in favor, raise your hand. That's on the amendment for a small quote-unquote event. - What is it for? - And then we have to vote as amended. And then we have to vote on the agenda as amended. Seeing no further discussion, all in favor of the agenda as amended, raise your hand in favor. - And we don't know what it's for. - It's unanimous, Ms. Hanna. It's unanimous, Ms. Hanna.

» The agenda is amended. - Well, I mean-- - That will be five B. - Try to get along with y'all a little bit. - That will be five B. - That's the best thing. - I hope it'll last 30 years. - This brings us up to item number 5A. This is a proclamation regarding National Black History Month placed on by Councilman Sammy Tucker, Jr. Is there a motion? - I make a motion that we approve the Black History Proclamation, Mr. Chair. - Is there a second? - Second. - Mr. Tucker. - Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to read, if I can. My eye's about half bad, but we'll go. Black History Month proclamation for Kershaw County, South Carolina.

» Whereas the Black History Month is a time to honor the significant contributions and achievements of African-Americans throughout history, recognizing their resilience, excellence, and influence in shaping our nation's past, present, and future. Whereas our origins of Black History Month date back to 1926, when Dr. Carter G. Woodson established Negro History Week, which has since evolved into the month-long celebration observed every February across the United States and the country. Whereas the African-American community has played a vital role in the history of Kershaw County, South Carolina, contributing to the professions of education, business, culture, government, and civil rights, while enriching the fabric of our community.

» And whereas this year's national theme for Black History Month, African-Americans and labor, e.g. black resilience, celebrating black invocation, innovations, calls on us to reflect on the ongoing struggle for the justice and quality, and to celebrate the triumphs and resilience of African-Americans throughout history. And whereas Kershaw County acknowledges the significance of proclaiming equality, inclusion, and understanding among all citizens continue to strive toward a community where all people are valued and celebrated. Whereas it is imperative to educate current and future generations about the accomplishments and contributions of African-Americans to honor their central role in the achievement of our society.

» Now therefore, Kershaw County Council do hereby proclaim February 26th as Black History Month in Kershaw County, South Carolina. We encourage all citizens to join this observance by participating in local events, educational activities, and community programs that honor and celebrate African-American heritage, culture, and achievements, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Mr. Tucker. Any further discussion or comments? Yes, I have a comment. Mr. Jones. Thank you, members of the County Council. Every year we do this, and I always vote in honor of my brother, George Gibson and Evelyn Gibson. Evelyn's been fighting some health issues lately, but she's winning, she's moving forward. And Robert and Cynthia Sumter, who are two very close friends of mine. So I do this in their honor. Thank you. Thank you, Mr.

» Jones. Any other comments or discussion? Duly noted, thank you for having this on the agenda. Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Brazel. Any other comments or discussion? Seeing none, we'll move it to a vote on the proclamation. Do you have anybody who needs to be recognized at all tonight, Mr. Tucker? I don't see anybody from any of the organizations, but I will get it to the appropriate folks. All right. Let's move it to a vote. All in favor, raise your hand. Ms. Hannah, for the record, it's unanimous and passes. Thank you very much, Mr. Tucker. That takes care of item 5A. Now for the cryptic item number 5B. Mr. Brazel, is there a motion? I'd like to make a motion for a proclamation honoring Councilman Jimmy Jones on his 75th birthday. Second. Second. Mr. Brazel, you have the floor. Yes, sir.

» We'll have a proclamation honoring Councilman Jimmy Jones on his 75th birthday, whereas Jimmy Jones was born February 10, 1951 and has spent the past 75 years as a beacon of wisdom and strength, sharing his knowledge in the community and on the Kershaw County Council. And Jimmy Jones' achievement remarkable, has achieved remarkable milestones in his life, in his military career, law enforcement and in government, all while raising a family. And whereas reaching the age of 75 is a testament to a life well lived and an inspiration to all that know him.

» Now therefore, Kershaw County Council do hereby proclaim today, February 10, 2026, to be Jimmy Jones Day, and call upon family and friends to celebrate what is known to be a Diamond Jubilee celebration with great joy and gratitude, all for this proclamation to my friend. Thank you, Mr. Brazel. Any comments? Thank you. I really wasn't, I was going to vote against this, because I didn't know it was wrong. Please did. He sits here and says, "Well, you voted for it." I said, "Well, I'm trying to get along with y'all for 30 days." I mean, I got 11 more months. And gentlemen, I never expected, Darrell Aubin, I don't think you either. Darrell Aubin, I don't think you either would ever expect that I'd get a proclamation from the County Council.

» But I think this speaks volume of, I don't agree with y'all on a lot of things, a lot of things. But bottom line is, I respect y'all. And all of you are doing what, even though you're wrong, you're doing what you think is right. And I'll be honest with you, I admire that. I really do. So from the bottom of my heart, and this wasn't necessary, I certainly didn't see this coming, but thank you so much to each and every one of you. Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Jones. We couldn't let a 75th birthday go past during a council meeting unnoticed. Thank you, Russell. Thank you. Whoever wants to sing happy birthday is welcome to come up to the mic. Darrell, would you like to lead us? Thank you. I can sing, but I'm not going to do it, and I'm certainly not going to administer the birthday spankings.

» I think we should pull a Jimmy Jones and vote against it. I think that would be the only fitting. He's torn. He doesn't want to vote in favor. That's all right. Any other comments or discussion? Congrats, Jimmy. Thank you so much, Jared. Thank you, Sam. Happy birthday. All in favor of the proclamation? Raise your hand. Of course, it's unanimous, Ms. Hanna. The proclamation passes. May I vote for myself, sir. Could we get a quick picture just for Jimmy's birthday? Since we're here, it won't take me just to have a second. Do you guys mind? Let's do it. Come on, Jimmy. Come on up front, Jimmy. This is not going to change my votes on any way. We don't want you to vote for anything. Go against there. You got to get in the middle, ma'am. Right in the middle. Cool. Okay. We're good.

» Sorry to vote again. Yeah. Great. Thank you. Thank you for indulging us, Mr. Jones, and being here with us tonight. All right. That moves us to public comments. Mr. DuBose, do we have anyone signed up? Yes, Mr. Chair. There's one speaker signed up, Jacob Hodges, Boy Scout. Are you with us? Come on down, sir. Come on up front, Mr. Hodges. If you'd please speak into the microphone. You've got five minutes. It's not a time for question and answer with council. It's a time for council to hear from the public. Thank you, sir. Good evening, council members. I am Jacob Hodges. I'm a star scout in Troop 316 in New Gaul, and I needed to come here today. I needed to attend a county council meeting for my citizenship in the community merit badge. Thank you. Thank you. Congratulations.

» I got put on a committee. We're just not sure which one yet. Yep. Lots of openings. The Troop 316 is thriving. It's doing well, and it's nice to see young men like this coming up and speaking to us and introducing himself. You've got a bright future, young man, Jacob. You've got a bright future. Thanks for coming tonight. Do you have your scoutmaster or parents with you? Thanks for coming tonight, sir. He's a big fellow, too. I can tell you that now. Congratulations. Thank you. Yes. All right. Back on the agenda. That takes us to public hearings. This is item number 7A. This is an ordinance as a precursor to third reading to amend chapter 24 regarding boat landings. Do we have anybody signed up? No, Mr. Chair. No one signed up. I'll go ahead and open up the public hearing.

» Anyone present wishing to speak on item number 7A regarding boat landings, feel free to do so now. Do we have anyone present who wants to speak? Seeing none, we'll close the public hearing on 7A. That moves us to item number 7B on the agenda. Mr. DuBose, do we have anyone signed up for 7B? No, sir. This is regarding an ordinance to prohibit the sale and distribution of various items, including nitrous oxide and kratom and regulations related thereto for retail display and labeling requirements. I'll go ahead and open up the public hearing. Anyone present wishing to speak on item number 7B, you can do so now. Seeing none, we'll go ahead and close the public hearing. Now we have a series of public presentations. Thank you very much, Rick Jay, for being here tonight.

» This one's placed on by Vice Chairman Russell Brazel related to the Recreation Advisory Commission. Do we have a motion? I'll make a motion to hear from Rick Jay from the Recreation Advisory Commission. Do we have a second? Second. Yield. We got a second? Jones. Seeing no discussion, all in favor of getting the report, raise your hand. It's unanimous. Mr. Jay, please. Good evening, Councilman. I believe you all know me, but I'm Rick Jay from Lugolf, South Carolina. And have had the privilege of serving on the Advisory Commission for the Rec Park and Recreation for the past three years. Entering my second term, it's been a very good time. I've enjoyed it. You guys have all put together a great board over there. Everybody brings something individual to it.

» You know, we have everything from accountants to construction supervisors. We have Ms. Larimore who is, she works with ADA of all time. So she was able to bring that to the table when we were building these new parks. So everybody contributes on different levels, and it's all working out great. I want to thank y'all for the investment that y'all put into the parks and recreation. It's really going to make a difference in the community, along with the Health Services District, MUSC. I think this is going to go a long way in the community, making everybody healthier and happier. Just having a beautiful place to be proud of, be outside, and just enjoy it. I'm sure y'all want me to jump ahead to where we stand on these projects. Well, at KC West, we're about 98% complete.

» We've got some grass that needs to be done. A couple of things need to be done to the sidewalks for some ADA. Stuff that I personally don't understand as well, so I don't really want to get into that. I'm hoping to have it turned back over to us, the county, within the next week or two. Having the final walkthrough on the 12th, so everything's good then, then it'll be ours again. Copeland Park, 100% complete. Just, you know, right now, grass ain't growing. Past few weeks have really hindered the coverage of that. That's the only thing we're waiting on there is grass coverage. But other than that, all construction is done. Boyd-Young Park, we're right at 99% complete. Have another walkthrough on the 16th, hoping to get the 100% right off on that. Again, waiting on grass.

» You know, we laid all this aside. It's dormant. So, once we get back to one of these spring times, hopefully here in the next week or two, that'll start taking roots, start to green up and everything will be lush and pretty. Woodward Park, we're about 80% to 85%. A little bit further behind than what we anticipated or wanted, but again, weather hit at a crucial time. Having a hard time getting our compaction test where we can go to lay an asphalt, stuff like that because of all the rain. Supposed to retest, I believe, at the beginning of next week. And hopefully we'll be able to move forward with that, have an opening ceremony. Not sure that the fields are going to be ready for opening day to play on because of the SOC.

» Last thing we want to do is put them out there, the seams out and field in, a kid roll an ankle, somebody get hurt. We waited as long as it's not worth it to risk it, when we're that close to it being 100%. That is our four big things that we have going on. I wanted to share with you all some participation numbers and how everything is growing. In youth basketball, from the 2024 to 2025 season to the present season, 25-26, we had 46 additional participants signed up. We were able to field, I believe, two teams out of the North Central area, which we haven't been able to do in years. They were all having to come to Camden, and now they had enough participation out there to field teams so they could practice out there and not have to travel as much.

» With the baseball, we're up 41 players from this time last year. Softball, we gained six. Football, we gained six. And then fall baseball, we gained 38 additional players. It's not going to take long before those numbers. I mean, for our biggest sport, which is baseball, we have 741 kids playing this year. That's a lot of kids. And we want to thank you again for being able to provide them facilities to play on that are worthy of this great county. Anybody got any questions for me before I turn it over to you? Thank you, Rick. Mr. Brasley, you have the motion. Well, I'd like to say thank you, Rick. Thank you for providing us common sense feedback and clarity as to where we stand.

» We knew that we weren't where we wanted to be with Woodward, but such as construction and such as life, hopefully we can be real close by hopefully the first of April. Maybe we'll get a little good weather and if I can be of any assistance with anything, help and coordinate, just let me know. It sounds like everything else is just about done. I guess the biggest question I would have for you is, is there anything else that you need from us? Well, that's one thing I did want to mention. During the snowstorms and ice, we had a substantial amount of vandalism. People doing donuts, just tearing up the boat ramp. Larry Doby got hit really hard in the parking areas. Casey West got hit hard. Kids on four wheelers, people in pickup trucks.

» Just, you know, out having a good time, but at our expense. I'm thinking, I rode down and looked at the boat ramps, saw where the damage was. A little bit more fencing around there, and we could keep people out of the areas where they're trying to tear up. Run the little retention ponds, just, you know, the nice grass, median. Just, I don't think it would cost that much, and we'd be glad to do a budget study and try to put something together for y'all. But we spent a lot of money on these things, and I'd love to see them be kept up, and not just a playground for people at night. You know, maybe talk to the Sheriff's Department about increased patrols in those areas, and maybe even be able to shut down access to them during those times.

» Rick, I think probably one thing that I fought for is making sure that we've got access to the boat ramp 24/7 for hunters and people that like to go out, you know, night fishing and that sort of thing. You talking a wooden fence? You talking a chain link? What are we thinking? I mean, I think a wooden fence would fit, if we're talking the boat ramp, everything else around there is a wooden fence. I think chain link can kind of stand out like a sore thumb. Right. And we're not trying to keep kids and critters out of it, we're trying to keep vehicles. Right. So, you know, a split rail fence would be great. I think I know where some two-by-sixes are at. I figure we might be able to round up a couple. We can work on a donation to the county for the two-by-sixes. Yes, sir.

» And at KC West, just maybe putting up gates to block those entrances. It's going to be hard to keep four-wheelers out. It's going to be hard to keep motorcycles out. But maybe we can slow down some pickup trucks. I'm not saying close it all the time, because we want people to be able to utilize those walking tracks. Everybody get out. But just in events like that, you know, where we know nobody's going out for a stroll. They're going out there to cause mission. Well, we definitely want to highlight the fact that some increased patrols would be helpful. And I know Lee's probably watching. So, Sheriff Bone will be mindful of that and help us in that as well. So, anyone else? Yes. Mr. Chairman? Thank you, Mr. Brothel. Mr. Jones, do you yield that? Well, yeah. Rick, thank you for being here.

» And I hope your dad is doing well. He is. Thank you for asking. Happy birthday. Thank you. He works out all the time. But anyway, I'm appreciative of what y'all have done. And the thing about it is, is there any dollar amounts? I mean, where are we at when it comes to where we started with our budget? Where we end with our budget and we're just about 98%. How much more money are we talking about on each one of those projects? I just, you know, would like to kind of just have some kind of update on that. And I don't know if Danny may be preparing to do that in his ministry briefing. I don't know. But we haven't heard anything about it. Didn't we have 13? How much was it? Well, I know that the Finance Committee briefed this, Councilman Jones. And I'm guessing that brief is still good.

» But I think about two months ago, we briefed that we were on budget with all the projects. I heard that. And we have not been given any information to the contrary. Does anybody know what we spent so far? Whatever the ARPA funding. We had that numbers. I don't have it off the top of my head, but those were produced. 12 million on that. 12 or 13 million was the cap. And we'll be happy, Mr. Jones, as they wind these projects up to get the final numbers from our staff and bring it back to Council. We do have a bit of a problem with that. Okay. Our initial budget that we worked off of was 12 million. Okay. We whittled down several things to get it under that budget. But where we stand right now as of how much we spent was left, I do not have that information.

» Councilman Jones, once all the contracts are complete and once everything is turned over officially to the county, we should get a report from our engineering firm that we paid to do this. I would suspect our administrator could request that report from Alliance and that they could brief us on where we started and where we finished. Is that fair? Rick, you've done a great job. This has nothing to do with you. But guys, we do need to see a financial report, I would think. Well, and to be fair, we can see a final one. But I want to make it clear. We had a down to like the penny report two months ago. Sure. So I mean, it would just be an updated one. I think our administrator may want to speak. So we're running under budget.

» But what I'm doing right now is protecting contingency for the things we have needs for right now. How much are we running under budget? I guess I'm just looking for a number maybe. Yeah, I don't have a number. Okay. It's under, comfortably under. But just one hiccup. Again, we never expected to hit bedrock at 15 feet in Woodward Park when we went to go drill irrigation wells. So a lot of things have snuck up on us. So it just makes me very gun shy to expend any kind of money out of our contingency beyond the current scope of what we need to do to get across the finish line. Rick, you've done a great job. Thank you, sir. Thanks for your report, Rick. Thank you. Any other comments or questions? Quick question. Mr. Brackett. Yeah, Rick, thank you. Thank you for everything.

» I know y'all have had a huge undertaking and have done a phenomenal job being able to get all the parks around the county ready to go. And I know that children and families are very excited about having the opportunity to get out there. Just for me and my constituents, I get a lot of questions about Woodward specifically. Just so I can go and relay back when the opening date is. What exactly is left with the 20, 15% left? Asphalt and concrete. All right, so asphalt and concrete. Yes, sir. How many square feet? That I do not know right now. It's quite a bit of asphalt. The parking lot is big. What's that? It's a big parking lot. Yeah, it's a big parking lot. The poor asphalt, you've got to be at 50 degrees and rising from what we understood. So we're looking at 70 to 75.

» Jason Bitter, who represents Mr. Cato's district. It's got to be above 50 degrees. He is a construction mastermind. Oh yeah. He has verified everything that we're being told so we knew we wouldn't get our leg pulled by anybody. Oh yeah, I used to lay asphalt with my uncle when I worked construction over the summer. So it's a tedious thing. The concrete is 40 degrees and rising before you can pour it, but asphalt needs to be 50. Yep, 50 degrees above and you really want it to be a little bit above. And about the time we were ready to do that. We get ice storms. The polar vortex, cyclone bomb, whatever they call it. Yeah. It us and... Snowmageddon. Snowmageddon. So an estimated opening time. So what we can say is this spring softball and baseball is out for Wilbur Park. No, no, no, no, sir.

» I'm not saying that the entire season is out. Opening, he said. I'm saying that we may miss opening day, but we plan on playing ball on those fields. Yeah. I mean, Pratt starts in March. Yes, sir. Right. We're hoping by the beginning of April. Yeah. Is what we're hoping. I mean, that's... The pretty much first day of games for softball and baseball or first, second week will be Larry Doby and Wilbur Park having the opportunity for kids to be out there. Or should we... I mean, because we had the whole time it was supposed to be beginning of January. Yes, sir. That's what I've been getting told for two years. Yeah. That it was going to be open by the beginning of January, which I'm not... This isn't your fault at all. Up until a few weeks ago. Should we push...

» Should we give that hard timeline? Because I'm going to go back and I'm going to tell my constituents that boys and girls are going to be playing softball and baseball at Wilbur Park starting the spring season. Not starting the spring season. At some point. At no point I'd say we'll make opening day. Right. During the season. During the season. I believe we will be able to move games over to that part. Okay. But most definitely during the fall. Oh, yes. Yes. Most definitely during the fall. Okay. Most definitely during the fall. I mean, I don't see how we can slow it down enough. Brent, I tell you what, if you want to, you and I can go out there and throw a ball tonight when we get through the meeting. That's... I mean, there's a lot of... I get calls about it all the time. I mean...

» I got my commission members... Before our January meeting... Not trying to... Been raising, you know, cane about it. Before our January meeting, we got an update that we were on schedule and then two days later we got an update from Alliance that we were two months behind. And how we lose two months and two days, that math don't matter. Yeah. And that also affects the cost. Yeah. Once we start talking about money. So... I remember sitting here a year ago and the same conversation saying there was no way that it was going to open in January. And everybody said, no, that's the opening date. So I just wanted to... Now that we can have this on a public meeting where my constituents know kind of what they have going on. But no, I appreciate everything you've done.

» And I was not trying to be harsh on you at all. It's just real questions, but you've been a lifesaver and everybody on the commissioners. You probably don't want to be real harsh on Rick. That's... He's a good old, good old Lugol boy. I've kind of known him for a long time. Way too old for that. Yes. You can't take any touch redneck anywhere, you know? Yeah. Mr. Cato, you have anything? Real quick, just thank you all for what you do. I know Jason has really kept me in the loop a lot with what's going on. And he... You're right. He is a mastermind. Yes, sir. I know he's a great asset up there. Absolutely. But I appreciate everything that y'all have done. I know you're staying on top of it and that means a lot. So thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you.

» Rick, just in closing, I'll mention one of the things we'll probably have to have as a report here is on how do we address the need and demand for indoor basketball courts. I hear that a lot from the recreation staff. We'll try to work with you on that. I'm excited about the work that y'all do because it's keeping kids out of trouble. It's part of the health services district's plan to have activity as health. And so sports's health lines up with their mission. And I can't give enough credit to MUSC and the health district. Thank you, Daryl, for being here tonight. And TJ, thank you for being here and y'all serving as well to help the community in that way. And personally, I view this as economic development. It makes our area attractive for folks to come in. So keep bringing good ideas.

» Keep bringing this stuff. We're going to fund what we can to make the area attractive and have all these other benefits we talked about. Any other comments or discussion? Mr. Tucker? Yes, sir. Rick, make sure you tell the rest of the commissioners. Thank you. Thank you tonight. I want to thank staff, too, for just working very diligently with you guys and the contractors. But at no time do you or any other other commissioners let us, as elected officials, push this date quicker than it needs to be because what we don't need to do is open it up haphazardly or we have to shut it back down. So like you said, if they've waited this long, a little bit more wait, they'll be okay. We handled an entire baseball season without that facility last year.

» So Shane and his guys have done a great job over there of having a backup plan in case we couldn't use it. And as soon as it's safe for us to get on that field, believe me, we want to use it just as bad as anybody else in this county. Thank you. Mr. Chairman, briefly. Mr. Schumake. Again, thank you guys as well. I just kind of want to point out that this is a really great example of how a project like this can come together. You know, when this all started, I mean, it really started when, you know, before Ben even went to the Statehouse, but when we sort of actually got the votes to move forward, it was fairly contentious, as you guys know. I mean, Daryl got to watch me sit through a very, very long meeting in my neck of the woods that was not exactly pleasant.

» And one of the big chief complaints we heard is we haven't done a great job of finishing projects that we begin. And I think it's really important to note that all the people up here who supported this were dogged about the idea that this is going to be a finished project. And thanks to the Health Services District, thanks to the Rec Commission, and everyone up here, we did that. And honestly, I'd like to thank the people up here who didn't vote for it. I mean, Councilman Jones, while he didn't vote for it, as soon as it became the will of this body and became a vote, every step of the way, he has been supportive of it as a will of council.

» And I think even the folks that didn't support it, maybe the vote, still support this county and still did a really great job of being very supportive of it as it moved through. So that kind of teamwork and coming together makes these projects happen. I hope this is a template for how we do our other projects, where we set a goal, and there's been delays, but we set a goal, we acquired the funds, and we didn't raise any taxes to fund it, and we got it completed. And we're going to have that by this, you know, within four or five months, all these projects will be completed. So thank you, everybody. May I, Mr. Chair, just quickly? Mr. Jones. You're exactly right, Councilman Schumann. I appreciate you recognizing that. Once it became four votes, I support it.

» And I want to see it be the best it can be. But I'm a dollar and cents man. I can count to three. I just would like to have some numbers as to where we are. You know, because I've, you know, just like you've been called about the opening, I've been called about being under budget. Some of the commissioners are being, not being where they should be. But this is a good report from United other than the fact that we just don't have any financial, you know, understanding as to what's going on. But I feel sure our finance committee will get on that, and our administrator, and I trust, and I know you'll bring it to us. But thank you so much. Thank you, Councilmembers. Thank you, Rick. Thank you, guys. Mr. J., hang around for the next presentation. Might be some more work for you to do.

» All right. Gentlemen, that brings us to item number 8B, public presentation. Thanks for being here tonight, Mr. Ogburn. This is a report from the Kershaw Health Services District. Mr. Brazos, is there a motion? I'd like to make a motion to hear from Chairman Darrell Ogburn regarding the state of the Health Services District, the good, the bad, the ugly, and mostly good, I think, tonight. Can I have a second, please? Second. All right. Any discussion? Councilman Kato. Let's move to a vote. All in favor of the presentation. Is she unanimous, Ms. Hanna? Mr. Ogburn, yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the County Council. I am two of those, the bad and the ugly. I hope there's some good in what I've got to say.

» But I am honored to be here today to represent the Health Services District. I'm happy to see my friend TJ back here with us. She's one of nine of us on the Health Services District. And before I get started with my comments, I want to congratulate the Council for bringing together the talented group that you have. I don't know how it happened. I'm the weakest one around that table when it comes to what we do. I just stand up and referee. And that's not necessary with this group. We worked well. We worked well together. You all have blended a group of nine people that have come together and worked for the good of this community. And I congratulate you because of that. You've done it. Just be mindful that we are independent. We're appointed by you. We, like you, serve the community.

» And we appreciate the opportunity to do it. We have probably -- I hadn't done any numbers, but I would guess that we probably have at least a 95% attendance percentage of our meetings. We very seldom have a member that's not present. We offer them the opportunity to participate by phone if they're not there. And occasionally we'll have a few -- one or two maybe on the phone, occasionally when some of them are out of town on business and those sorts of things. But we have -- our members attend and they work well together and they work hard together. So thank you for that. Now let me get to my remarks. Under community impact and strategic planning, the district granted approximately $650,000 to various community partners in 2025.

» And we're in the process now of doing our grant process for 2026. Coordinating and facilitating countywide learning collaboratives for district grantees. Providing professional development opportunities to those who receive grants from the district. In the fall of 2025, Live Well Kershaw County Coalition gathered to select new priorities of focus. These new priorities of focus of how the district will work grant funding. These new priorities will be how the district will award the grant fundings and the new positions selected are aging population and caregiver health. That's me, aging population. Early childhood readiness and graduation rates. Health literacy, mental health and substance abuse, obesity, nutrition, and physical activity. Mr.

» Chairman, I'm going to share a copy of these remarks for you to use and put in the minutes you would like. Yes, sir. Thank you. Thank you. The district's three-year strategy plan implemented in 2024 focuses on the Beechwood development, indoor recreation and outdoor recreation facilities. The district is pleased with the progress of our outdoor recreation and thanks to the county council's steadfast commitment to the development of quality outdoor recreation facilities for our community. Rick Jay, to you and your people, tell them how much we appreciate what you all have done.

» This was a project that we all collaborated with together and when we all came together and shared our differences and shared our support for this, it came together and it's something I think this community can be proud of for a long, long time to come. We started out, Ben, one of the first conversations we had was how we could collaborate when you were on county council back then to make this happen in the outdoor recreation. We paired it with the indoor recreation. We paired it with the indoor recreation. We made sure we wanted to scut to serve the whole county and I think that's what we did. Danny serves that rural area up around Mount Pisgah, Bethune, Westville, and he knows. But those people up there appreciate what we've done and they're excited about it and thank you.

» The indoor recreation. The district remains committed to developing an indoor recreation facility in Westward area for community use. At the end of July, 2025, ownership of the Townley Lane property was transferred to the Health Services District. Once the transfer is completed, the Health Services District proceeded with necessary surveys and a Phase I environmental assessment, preliminary geotechnical exploration, and a preliminary wetlands assessment. The results of all initial site evaluation were favorable. Favorable results of the site evaluation allowed the Health District to move forward with selecting a design team and a contractor. Both teams of required professionals are now on board.

» By the end of 2025, seismetic design documents were in the hands of the contractor for initial pricing. Initial base bid pricing along with potential alternatives was presented at the Health District meeting at our meeting in February. That was last night. Carish and Beachwood. LPC development. Carish continues to have a strong census and profitability. Carlisle Senior Living continues to be the management partner for the facility. Short-term rehab continues to thrive and allow residents to get well and go home. Under the leadership of Scott Neal and Director of Strategic Alliance Jackie Kirkwood, Carish continues to be a high-quality facility. Marketing efforts for the independent living interest list and pre-sales continue to go well.

» Assisted living and independent living units are currently in the design phases. All right, we're going to go ahead and see what we're going to do. We're going to go ahead and see what we're going to do. We're going to go ahead and see what we're going to do. We're going to go ahead and see what we're going to do today. We're going to go ahead and see what we're going to do. We're going to go ahead and see what we're going to do today. We're going to go ahead and see what we're going to do. We're going to go ahead and see what we're going to do today. We're going to go ahead and see what we're going to do today.

» And while we're not yet able to release that name, we can assure you that a group is a local group, South Carolina-based, senior living community, who has a stellar reputation for providing vibrant and active lifestyles in their senior living space. We are excited for this expertise and what all they will bring to our project and to Kershaw County. The district is in an extremely good financial position. As mentioned above, the district has chosen to return the financial support of Kershaw County by supporting the community partners through our grant process. My goal has been from the beginning to develop this process and to put the health district in a financial position where that $650,000 could go to $1 million, eventually to $2 million, and Lord knows what else down the road.

» If this planned life community works out as we think it will, and we're confident that it can, we will have a facility that will be throwing some money up for the health district to invest in our community. We grow those numbers, give those things out to our health partners across our community, and 15, 20, 30, 40 years from now, we'll be a much better, healthy county because of that. Learning cooperatives, collaboratives providing quality indoor recreation facilities, partnering with the county and MUSC for outdoor recreation facilities, and the development of a life plan community. I can't tell you how thrilled I am to have MUSC managing our hospital. We went through some very difficult times after we leased our hospital initially, years ago. We went through some difficult times.

» I think I told somebody one time that I had nightmares that somebody was going to knock on my door at 3 a.m. in the morning, one of these folks that we had managing our hospital, and hand me a whole handful of keys and say, "It's yours. We're leaving. Goodbye." When MUSC came along, all of that went away. They love being here. They're good partners to work with. They're spending money here. They're upgrading our facilities, and they've got plans for the future for our community. I met today with Dr. Tooley Holstrom. Sally Harrell and I did. And they're getting prepared to institute an intern program here in Kershaw County. I think the opening date is 2028, and don't ask me to get into much details about that. But the plan is to have family care physicians trained here in Kershaw County.

» They'll start out with a class of six in '28, add another six in '29, and another six, to have a full contingent of 18 physicians, family care physicians, training here in Kershaw County. And that will have a tremendous impact on our community with those people here in this community. And they'll go across our state, hopefully, and serve the rural areas primarily of our community. So we've got great people in place. We've got a great partnership. You all have put together a wonderful group. As I said, I'm the weakest one around the table. I'm just the one dumb enough to sit and referee. But we agree. We don't fuss and we don't quarrel. We work slow sometimes. We've gone a lot slower with that facility up at Beechwood than most of us would like to.

» But I think it's been wise to do that because we haven't made mistakes. And so with that, Mr. Chairman, I'll end my formal remarks and offer myself for any questions. Thank you, Mr. Auburn. Mr. Brousel, you have the motion. Chairman Auburn, thank you for being here. Thank you for the work that you do. I see you on the regular in a restaurant always having a conversation regarding how to better our community. I do commend you for that. I know we might rib one another from time to time, but I'll tell you, you have a heart for your home and your community. You believe in the work that you do, and I appreciate what you do. And I also appreciate the fact that we were able to negotiate better terms when we initiated the project.

» We were talking about just Woodward when you walked in the door, and when you came back, we talked about the entire county approach. I've tried to forget some of those meetings back in those years, but they were brutal. But indeed, this council was brave enough to face the backlash of the few for the betterment of many. And I'm thankful to all of those and yourself for those days and better days yet ahead. Thank you. Thank you, Russell. I appreciate that. Thank you, Mr. Brousel. Mr. Cato. Daryl, thank you for coming out tonight. I want to thank you for leading up this team that you have. There's a lot of good things said about you, and I think they enjoy having you as the chairperson. But you all do a great job. Thank you for everything you do. Thank you, Danny. Appreciate it.

» Thank you, Councilman Cato. Any other comments or questions? Mr. Tucker. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman. Yes, sir, Sammy. Yes, sir. Make sure you thank all the members. Thank you for the job well done. You kept making a statement about you were the weakest link up there. I cannot let this go without me saying, no, you're the master link. It takes someone like you of your leadership, quality, skills, and wisdom to corral a group of very smart people and guide them and help them and support them in the directions we need to go. And you have done that. You have done that in a very prosperous way for all the citizens here in Kershaw County, as well as the health services district and MUSC.

» I remember some of those nightmares because if they didn't drop those keys off at your house, they were coming to County Council's house. I lived your nightmare. Thank you. I do want to say and shout out two special people that has been very helpful to my family, and that's Scott and that's Don. I can't begin to tell you the experiences my family has had up at Beachwood Cares Wing. I've got an aunt now that thinks she needs to take a parade tour to go back through to do her thank yous that didn't want to leave the facility when she was well because of the treatment she received, the activities she was afforded. It was just a great experience, and I hear nothing but great things about people trying to go there for their rehab or for their family's remaining care.

» I say that because there's only so many beds that you can have, and the only thing I ever hear negative is I can't get in because there's no room, and that's a great problem to have as you continue to work and build. But I just want to say thank you to all of you, and what a fantastic job you all have done. Thank you, Sammy. I appreciate that. Thank you, Mr. Tucker. Mr. Shoemake. Yeah, again, just we echo what Sammy said. I think, too, Mr. Ogburn, just thank you for everything you do for this community. You've represented this community in Columbia, and they've continued to do so through your whole life, and I don't think there's a person up here that hasn't, at some point in their political career, sought some sage wisdom from you on how to navigate these rough political waters.

» I know I have, and will continue to do so, so thank you for everything you do. Thank you, Derek. I appreciate that. Thank you, Mr. Shoemake. Any other comments or questions, council members? Jeremy, if I may take it. I do. I do. Mr. Jones has a comment or question. Yes, sir. Yeah, I got something to say. He's got something to say. Everybody listen up. Mr. Ogburn, I'll tell you one thing about you. You're a heck of a negotiator. I know that. I've seen you in action. You know, we talked about what has happened in the last couple of exchanges, but nothing's been mentioned about how it all started. And how it all started is that I get a phone call one night when I was taken on Gershaw County Hospital by myself because the nurses hadn't had a raise in five years.

» The CEOs had big bonuses at the same time. And I spelled it all out there on how they lost $250,000 worth of medicines because they weren't checking it regularly. They were out of date. They throw them out. You called me up, sir. I mean, point my finger. And you said, I want to serve on that board. You need help. Council needs it. But I don't want to be embarrassed. I don't want to be able to. And I thought to myself, how am I going to pull this off? Because I was still the lonely vote at that time. But I can't remember exactly what we did, Darrell, but we got you on the board. And from that point on, I could sit back and relax because I couldn't relax before you were on that board because I was the one who was voicing and coming after and fighting for the changes.

» But when you came on board, I backed off. I didn't have to worry about a thing that says a lot about you. And I would say, I know you and I have gone ahead. We've only gone one time in our lifetime, 40 years, where we didn't speak for a while. But we made up on that because you're a lifelong friend. And I appreciate, I want you to hear me. I'm not saying this. I appreciate what you've done. You've put many hours into it. I have much respect for you. I nominated you twice for this seat. And I'm glad you got the last one because you're going to be here when I'm not. Thank you so much. Jimmy, I'm humbled that you would say that. And I appreciate it very much. When Sammy was talking, I remember that phone call. I think I'd seen something or heard something that kind of disturbed me.

» And I had served on the hospital board back in the '90s. And so I picked up the phone and called you and I said, Jimmy, I don't want to get embarrassed. I just want to make sure I get one vote. If I don't get elected, that's well and good. But I don't want to be skunked. Would you vote for me? And you said yes. Okay. And that. So I was fortunate enough to get elected. You all put Karen Eckford. Tully Holstrom was on there. The guy named Steve Holliday. And we worked hard for our hospital. And then we. Those were tough days. They were very difficult days. We weren't even allowed into the meetings at some point in time. I don't think anybody realizes how close we came to having to close our hospital down. Yep. But it's alive and it's well and it's thriving.

» And that's a tribute to those people who worked hard to do it. Thank you. Point of personal privilege, Mr. Connell if I can, Mr. Chairman. Yes, sir. I've been in the public arena for 50 years. I was elected to the town council of the big town of Jefferson, South Carolina in 1976. And I've been in the public arena ever since. I don't say this likely, but I think we are poised in Kershaw County now to do great things. I'm optimistic as I have been in a long, long time about the future of our county. Yes, we've got a lot of issues and you've got a lot of tough issues to deal with. There's no doubt about that. A lot of others are having the same problems. But we've got this council here today, which is diverse a little bit. We've got maybe a female or two around that from now and then.

» But you all are different. You come from different places. You're elected by single member districts with the exception of the chairman. You're here to represent your constituents, but you're also here to represent all the members of the county, citizens of the county. So I encourage you to work hard with each other, quarrel amongst yourselves, but try not to quarrel without and be personal about it. Right. Disagree, work hard. I say that with experience because I was around. You should have seen me a long time ago. I was a bull in a china shop. I knew you didn't know. Book a bear. I trained Jimmy, I think. But I'm saying this to you folks. Serve your constituents, serve your county, and let's move forward.

» I see a bright future for the city here with Vincent Jehene as mayor and a good strong council. And I see the same for this group. So work hard together. Let the health services district be independent. Find good people to serve on that board. And those of us who leave, put some other good people who have good heart and who want to do the best for our county. Mr. Chairman, I'm humbled by your comments and the other comments as well. And I say thank you very much on behalf of our. Any other discussion? Any other comments? Mr. Auburn, thank you so much. I'm just going to mention one or two things. Yes. I know we're over time and I usually get a motion, but a motion to extend that.

» But I'm just going to say it was about six plus years ago when we first had that conversation about what was possible. Yes. And this goes to show that we, the proverbial we, all of us, have a vision for Kershaw County's long-term success that requires time, dedication, and multiple groups that volunteer to get it executed. And we're starting to see some of that. Gentlemen, if we embrace the momentum that Kershaw County has right now with great boards like the Health Services District and the Recreation Commission, we embrace that momentum. We don't screw it up and we don't get in the way and then we help assist with support or funding where we can. I think we really have a bright future ahead of us. I served on the hospital board for a period of time there, too, post-transition that Mr.

» Jones talked about. And we exchanged private hands, as you know, or private entities, I think, four plus times. And every time somebody else came in, it was a new CEO and a new set of policies and procedures that, if they weren't confusing, they were different enough to be confusing. Then MUSC came in. And so between your board and y'all's service and Dr. Cole, Dr. Colley, Dr. Holmstrom, Matt Littlejohn, we've had stuff like this happening, or the Women's Center, or now an internship and residency program coming to Kershaw County. These are all huge firsts for us. And so I'm very excited about the future and we've got to embrace this momentum, not get in the way, but figure out how we can complement it. Thank you very much. I'm here to serve you. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Yes, sir.

» Daryl, I've never regretted my vote for you. Thank you, Jimmy. You're welcome. All right, gentlemen, that takes us to item number 9A. Do we have a motion on the minutes? Make a motion. We approve the minutes. Mr. Cato has the motion. Is there a second? Second. We have a second. Any discussion on the minutes? I will not. I will be reaccused. Be abstaining. Was not present last time. So, with Mr. Tucker abstaining from the vote, any further discussion? Seeing none, we'll move it to a vote. All in favor on the minutes, raise your hand. And it's unanimous with Mr. Tucker abstaining. The minutes are approved. We have a series of ordinances. Mr. Administrator, I'm going to ask you before each one just if there's any high-level stuff we need to hear about, any updates, any changes.

» Most of these, excuse me, all of these are third readings. Anything on 10A before we seek a motion? No, sir. All right, we'd seek a motion on third reading. This is related to amendment of the official zoning map. It's 16.68 acres. We've already stated the address and had first and second reading. Is there a motion? I'll make a motion. We've got a motion on third reading. Second. For 10A, we have a second. Mr. Shoemake, you have the motion. Any discussion? No, I mean, this is third reading. We've talked about this before, so I think it's self-explanatory. Thank you, Mr. Shoemake. Mr. Thomason, you have the second? Anything? None. Any further discussion, gentlemen? Seeing none, we'll move it to a vote. All in favor on third reading, raise your hand. Ms.

» Hanna, it's unanimous on 10A, and it passes third reading. Mr. Chairman. Yes, sir. I think the family's out in the audience. This should be your last meeting. God bless. Begin your new life. Well, it doesn't have to be your last meeting. You can come back if you want to listen to some of those. We appreciate the smiling faces. Thank you, ladies. Look at you. Oh, you better be on her good side. Thank you very much, ladies. Thank you. All right, gentlemen, that puts us on to 10B. This is the third reading regarding an ordinance to amend Chapter 24 related to regulation of public boat landings. Do we have a motion? I'll make a motion. Mr. Shoemake has a motion. Is there a second? Second. Mr. Tucker has a second. Mr. Shoemake. Again, third reading.

» This kind of shores up some of the do's and don'ts around the boat ramp that was to kind of help keep the peace out there. Thank you, Mr. Shoemake. Mr. Tucker, anything on the second? No, sir. Ditto. Any other discussion, gentlemen? Yeah. Mr. Chairman, I think this addresses some of Rick Jay's concerns that he brought before us from the recreation commission with the people out there doing donuts and messing around. I think this helps with that, but it's still open 24/7, correct? Correct. And if I may just mention that this ordinance allows the same group of ordinances to be applied up at the other boat ramps as well. And Duke worked with us on this and they are extremely appreciative because they can protect their boat ramps in Kershaw County.

» Well, I can tell you there's a lot of them that need to be cleaned up and I know that this will further enhance their ability to do that. And if there's any issues that they can handle it through the sheriff's department. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Administrator. Any other discussion, gentlemen? If not, let's move it to a vote. This is on 10B. All in favor, raise your hand. Ms. Hennett, it's unanimous on 10B. It passes on third reading. On 10C, this is a third reading regarding ordinance to prohibit the sale of nitrous oxide and kratom and regulations related thereto. Mr.

» Browse, do we have a motion? I'd like to make a motion to pass this ordinance to prohibit the sale, distribution, provision of nitrous oxide to minors and prohibit the sale, distribution and provision of kratom, also known as 7OH, to those under 21 years old within Kershaw County, South Carolina and to establish retail display and labeling requirements and to provide for enforcement and penalties. Thank you. That's the motion. Is there a second? I'll second. Got a second. Any further discussion on third reading? I do, yes. Mr. Browse. Got just a little bit of Q&A for Mr. DuBose. As I've worked my way through this, I've tried to make sure that we're not shoring up its illegitimacy. For the record, could I say that we're putting up guardrails for the citizens of Kershaw County.

» We're not solidifying this as its legitimacy because it's living in such a gray area right now between state and federal regulations that this ordinance is, in fact, to make sure that children, adults understand what these products are and how they're being sold and to put some realistic guidelines on them. I think that's fair. I think that's fair. Okay. With that being fair, I've done some research especially to the Kratom. Kratom is a plant that's derived from Southeast Asia. Is that correct? I'm not understanding. And there is another drug that's for sale that is a derivative of the same plant, 7-OH. It's not specifically mentioned in here, but the language does state that anything derived from the plant, I'm going to mispronounce this, Mitrangra besiosa.

» I know I probably botched that. Do you have a biology degree, Mr. DuBose? No. All right. No, that's the family and genus, but this states that Kratom derived from the plant containing psychoactive compounds that produce stimulant and opioid-like effects has gained popularity in recent years despite health risk. I just want to make sure that that language, and I think it is, is all encompassing of anything derived from that plant to include the 7-OH, otherwise known as synthetic heroin. Yes. Yes. I believe, you know, it is derived from Kratom, synthesized from it. I'll also further note for the record that there are state provisions dealing with Kratom products as well, establishing the age at 21.

» Much of what this ordinance does is clearly address labeling requirements, but display requirements as well for those products. Well, I would like to highlight a little bit of information that I found. If you were to compare 7-OH to an opioid morphine, it's 10 to 20 times stronger than morphine, and we all know how strong morphine is. And it's unfortunately being sold in gas stations. So my plea is that the state of South Carolina, either the Senate or the House, takes up this issue as well. Typically, we deal with things from a top-down approach, federal, state, county, municipal. At this stage in the game, I don't think there's a whole lot in the state of South Carolina that deals with Kratom and 7-OH.

» I'd like to see a full-on ban for these drugs, especially if the research that I found holds to be true, that the 7-OH is 10 to 20 times as strong as morphine, and people are becoming addicted. People are going to rehab for it. We're in the wild, wild west with these gas station drugs. So, Mr. DuBose, do you think we've covered our bases? I do believe we have covered the bases, and I will also say that the Kratom regulations and the nitrous regulations are qualified to the extent that they're not preempted by state or federal law. To your point, perhaps, at least with nitrous, they're considering regulation of nitrous in a Senate bill right now. Hopefully, that is something the state takes up and adds further teeth to. Okay.

» So, we did note that in our ordinance, I would like to make an amendment where I've seen two Scribner heirs, unless you tell me I'm wrong. Section 2, letter C, it says a minor means any person under the age of 18s, and I think it's supposed to be 21 for this ordinance. Is that right? So, earlier on, the ordinance regulated the sales of both Kratom and nitrous to minors. The state set Kratom cells at 21. So, as structured, minor within this is still defined as under 18 and used that way. When specifically addressing Kratom age restrictions in the ordinance, it references 21. So, that is the reason for that differentiation. The state had already set the age limit for Kratom products at 21. Okay. So, in section 5, 3, it says 18 as well. Is that correct as well? Obviously.

» Section 5 on page 3, line item 3. Under subsection B. Under subsection B, yes. Oh, got it. So, that is referencing, yes, that's got nitrous oxide and Kratom products. So, that's allowing people 18 years or older to access it, right? That is a disconnect on there. So, that paragraph should be split out to basically repeat, remove the Kratom references, and then in a new section, you could set forth the Kratom products being restricted to 21 years or older. In other words, double that paragraph and have it differentiate between the Kratom and nitrous. Okay. So, they are different then? Correct. Okay.

» So, what's our easiest path forward for tonight? Actually, in thinking about this, I think it could breed in an area of the retail establishment that restricted the person's 18 years of age or older for nitrous oxide and 21 years of age or older for Kratom, just within that one subsection of B. Mr. Broussel, would that be your motion to amend? We would need to make a motion to amend, yes, sir. As stated by the county attorney? Yes. Page 3, section 5, subsection B, letter 3. I'd like to make a motion to amend for it to state in an area of retail establishment restricted two persons 18 years of age or older for nitrous oxide and 21 years of age or older for Kratom. Products. Products. That is my amendment. That's the motion. Is there a second? Second. Second.

» Any discussion on the Broussel amendment to the Broussel motion? No discussion? I hope that's it. All right. We'll go ahead and vote on the amendment and then get to any further discussion we might have. All in favor, raise your hand. It's unanimous on the amendment, Ms. Hanna, for the record. We're back on the initial motion. So, regarding the initial motion, I'd like to thank Danny Cato and the Alpha Center and everyone else who supported it. Thank you all. We found out some pretty ruthless things through this educational process and I'm looking forward to making Kershaw County a safer place to live. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Broussel. Mr. Cato, you had the second. Just real quick, just to kind of lean on what Mr. Broussel had to say.

» It was a very educational experience when this come to light as to what our young people, what they were subject to. And what scared me even as much was what people were getting their hands on that they didn't even know they were getting. So, when this was brought to my attention, I felt that it was very important that we address this here in the county. And I appreciate Russell's help with this and his insight on this. And I appreciate the coalition and the Alpha Center, Ms. Mara Jones and Leanne Adams and all of their staff. They have really helped educate us and really helped us with this issue. And so I thank everybody that was involved and I thank this council for what they've done and for their support. Thank you, Mr. Cato. Any other comments? Mr. Chairman. Mr. Tomlinson first.

» I just have a quick question. And it may have been stated in the previous readings, but for the labeling requirements, is that, or has the state already put something in place with those labeling requirements? Or, as a county, are we allowed to give a product that's going to be sold in a store requirements that are going to be put where unincorporated? So, in the city of Camden, if they don't have this ordinance, a different labeling package could be in a gas station within the city limits and outside of the city limits. In Antioch, the gas station has a different labeling requirement. Are we allowed to do that? So, the county can impose labeling requirements where those labeling requirements have not been imposed by others. Or, if they are repealed by others, perhaps, can maintain those.

» So, there are some labeling and display requirements within the Kratom Protection Act. This ordinance was originally drafted with nitrous oxide as the primary area of focus. It's been split so that there's reference to labeling for both products. So, again, is to the extent not preempted by the state. The state regulations would certainly apply in any instance where they're more restrictive than county regulations. Okay. So, in a sense, so now, if any gas station in the county has these products in there currently without the labeling that is required here, how are we going to enforce that? So, again, the state has some Kratom labeling requirements.

» The enforcement of that labeling, again, would be a census for an investigation of those products to make sure they are labeling compliant with the state labeling requirements, but any local display requirements as well. Is that through the sheriff's department that we do that? So, yeah. I believe sheriff or code enforcement could enforce this. It has been structured. Well, this one we've got structured for KCSO and other law enforcement agencies and code officers. Some of these violations are civil penalties, not criminal penalties, and could be pursued by code. Okay. Are we going to -- is there a plan for us as a county to go and observe all these gas stations after this ordinance has passed? I believe my colleague, Russell Brazel and Danny Cato, spent so much time on it.

» Do we have -- do we have that in the works, or? Correct. That -- that would be a question of administering the ordinance. It's really administration/sheriff's office question. Mr. Administrator? So, based on my experience in law enforcement, I would defer to the sheriff's office because there are -- I could see this easily implemented into their tobacco enforcement teams where they go out and attempt to make underage purchases, so I see that being rolled up into this quite easily because those compliance checks, if you will, are all made at these types of -- with the exception of a vape shop or something like that, your gas stations and things. But, to your point, I see this easily being rolled up as another item to be checked as a compliance component during those operations.

» And they do -- the state funds those. They're actually very successful, just like the alcohol compliance, alcohol, tobacco, namely what I'm referring to. So, I -- again, final answer, I see this easily being rolled up into that. Yeah. Thank you so much for your explanation. That answers all my questions. I appreciate you both. Mr. Jones. Yes, sir. I saw you. Thank you, Mr. Counsel. Mr. Temper, I think you're exactly right. But, you know, the way -- the way I see it working with my experience is just like you, that we -- we make the laws, someone breaks the laws and complains, the -- the law enforcement will be there, whether it's a code enforcement, deputy sheriff, or sled, or whatever. I mean, they're just going to automatically enforce laws if there's a complaint.

» And most of all laws are complaint-driven anyway. And -- but I -- let me -- let me just say this. Mr. Brazel, you have just went above and beyond. And I know you spent many hours on this, Danny Cato. You know, you're a member of the Coalition Committee. You -- that's probably a 25-mile drive for you. But you make it. You believe in it. And I want to thank you all for that. And, Derek, thank you as well for your expertise in this, coming from the Fed, being a federal prosecutor. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Jones. Any other comments, questions, discussion? Thank you very much, Mr. Brazel, Mr. Cato, and everyone else who put effort into this, and Mr. DeBoer, and Mr. DeBoer. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Jones. Any other comments, questions, discussion? Thank you very much, Mr.

» Brazel, Mr. Cato, and everyone else who put effort into this, and Mr. DuBose, for you and your staff working on drafting amendments and working through the iterations that were needed. Part of the problem is these products come to market so fast, we don't even know what's in them. They are getting pumped through the chain of commerce, and someone at a much higher level than the Kershaw County Council is supposed to be making decisions about what's safe or not to enter the products that our children can be exposed to, or adults who don't know what they're buying.

» It used to be, at least I was in school, and I don't want to date myself necessarily, but it used to be difficult to get products or any material that would have some of the compounds that are in these types of products that you can just generally purchase in the retail chain of commerce. You had to go to a guy's house, that guy, whoever that was. You had to go in some back alley, but now it's just in your face unless you regulate it.

» So I appreciate the work of the council members in addressing this and bringing it up, but also caution us that we have to be ready to react unless the federal or state government takes some action, because the purveyors of these items are ready, even now as we speak, to change chemically some compound just a little bit and make an argument about how, well, you know, there's a different oxygen atom attached over here. And so it doesn't fit under the legalese of your statute. And so we just have to be ready to react and protect as best as we can. But I wanted to say thank you to everyone involved. Any other comments or discussion? Seeing none, we'll move to a vote on third reading. This is 10C. All in favor, raise your hand. It is unanimous and passes on third reading. Ms.

» Hanna for the record. That's 10C. That takes us to item number 10D. I think we have a little bit of explanation on this one. Mr. Administrator. Yes, Mr. Chairman, members of council. Just everything is fine with the exception of the exhibit was left out of this packet. It was included in the first and second reading. So with that, I'll defer to Mr. DuBose for the clarification on that. No, we're good. Correct. Table 3-3, which is the permitted use table for different uses within all zoning districts, designated these hemp retail establishments as a conditional use within the GD district. That is the only change to that use chart. And again, it was included in prior readings.

» Just wanted it referenced here and want to solicit from council just a motion to amend the version that is in the packet in front of you to include that table 3-3 included in prior versions. And it would substantively comply with the pending ordinance that was already put in place. Correct. Okay. Do you need a motion to amend? Yes. Let's get it on the table first. After the explanation, let's get it on the table and then we'll seek a motion to amend.

» Is there a motion to approve this on third reading? I'd like to make a motion to append an ordinance to amend the Kershaw County, South Carolina Unified Code of Zoning and Land Development Regulations to add section 3-3-2-9 and amend table 3-3 to establish retail establishments selling hemp derived or synthetic cannabinoid products as a conditional use in certain zoning districts subject to location separation and operational restrictions. That's a motion. Is there a second? Second. Got a second from Mr. Cato.

» Is there any discussion on this before we seek another amendment? Seeing none, is there a motion to amend to include the table 3-3 which has been previously provided in first and second reading and in compliance with the pending ordinance doctrine? I would like to make a motion to amend but I would also like to have a minute to discuss because I may want to further the amendment. Is that fair? We can take one amendment at a time. Okay. If you get a second. Let's do one at a time then. If there's a second you can talk about it. Let's make a motion to amend to add table 3-3 that we've seen in previous readings. All right. Is there a second? Second. Mr. Thomson has a second. Discussion on the amendment? I'm happy to approve that amendment and then continue on.

» Any other discussion on table 3-3? Seeing none, we'll move the amendment to a vote. All in favor, raise your hand. It's unanimous and passes that amendment. Ms. Hanna, we're back on the third reading. Are there any other motions to amend? A couple of quick questions for our attorney, Mr. DuBose. In section 1, subsection A, the sale of hemp-derived and synthetic cannabinoid products, including products containing Delta-8, Delta-9, and other THC isomers or analogs, has increased substantially in convenience stores, gas stations, and similar retail establishments within Kershaw County. As I have further looked into the substances and the different types of compounds, we also have Delta-10. We also have THC-A. Is that covered in the and other THC isomers? I believe it does.

» For what it is worth, the scientists and experts looking at this at the state level have a very long list of what is defined at the state level under pending legislation as intoxicating hemp products and discusses these isomers, esters, salts, etc. with relation to cannabinoid extracts and does list out a laundry list of isomers. Again, that definition in this proposed ordinance does reference those same intoxicating hemp isomers and analogs more generically and I do believe would cover them. Okay, I actually have a copy of the South Carolina House amendment for bill 4758. This amendment doesn't have a number on it, but it covers all of that. But what you're saying is we don't need to go into those details here. We have that covered in a general sense. Is that correct? Yes. Now, to Mr.

» Connell's point, will someone argue about one oxygen molecule being moved at some later date? They'll have to do that in a court of law, is that correct? Yes, correct. Well, that's good. As long as we have ourselves covered. Again, this is not condoning these products because there's many of them that I would like to see removed. But at this point, we're doing a good job to regulate them. I would like to point out subsection C under section one under findings and determinations that federal guidelines currently are at 0.3% dry weight basis. And that's what we're basing this ordinance on. Now, when those federal guidelines sunset, I think it's like a 0.03% or 0.025. I'm not sure exactly the percentage. It's going to get smaller.

» At that point, will we need to update this ordinance or would that be an automatic federal override? I believe it would be a federal preemption and override. We can certainly review that if and when it occurs. If there were any doubt or question, though, the ordinance could certainly be updated if needed to square with federal regulations and definitions. Okay. And synthetic cannabinoid products are technically illegal, whereas hemp-derived THC products are legal. We've got both of them in here to cover them if they are being sold in an establishment. That does not legitimize or legalize anything. What it does is it gives us the opportunity to enforce and/or remove while working with the sheriff's department and/or SLED in any investigations that we're in assistance with.

» Is that correct? Correct. And for what it's worth, again, there's a pending House bill under consideration that would prohibit the sale and consumption of consumable hemp products other than beverages. And beverages would be limited to 5 milligrams at 12 ounces, again, assuming that there's no federal overriding legislation that would impact the state. But I say that to say that this field of products may be significantly limited in the very near future at a state level as well. But this regulation certainly stands in the gap and in the interim. Good. Here in Kershaw County, I remember somebody always saying we punch above our weight. And we still are punching above our weight. We are leading the way. Power is where it lies. It can lie at the county level. It can lie at the state level.

» It can lie at the federal level. And today it lies in Kershaw County as we lead the way. I would like for our state legislators to take note that a serving size can be 1 ounce, 2 ounces, 4 ounces, 6 ounces, or 12 ounces in liquid drinks. And I'd like to make sure that they are aware of the fact that if we're limiting hemp THC drinks to 5 milligrams of THC per serving, that is per container, not per serving. Because I saw several this morning in a gas station in Lugolf that had two servings per container for a total of 20 milligrams. Also know that there are some that are being sold that have 50 milligrams. You want to talk about something that will knock you on your feet? Now, the Sheriff's Department doesn't have a way to test.

» They don't have a way to find out if someone's high because they drank something that they bought at the gas station. It's unfortunate that someone can also pick up a six pack and drink it. But there are ways to give a breathalyzer test and to find out if someone has been drinking and driving. We don't have those devices for these sorts of situations. So, we want to keep South Carolina safe. We want to keep our families safe. And we want to keep our roadways safe. So, I'm really proud that we're able to move forward this sort of legislation on a county level. Councilman Thomason, is there anything you would like to change under Section D, Subsection 1? I appreciate it, Mr. Brazlis.

» So, Section 2, Subsection D, what the goal of this is not having these establishments near churches, religious facilities, schools, public parks. I didn't think 500 feet listed in this ordinance was enough. And I asked the last meeting for us to look at others and kind of see where it is. Talking with the county attorney prior to this, I believe that it was drafted as 1,000 from 500 to 1,000. I would like to increase that to 2,000. So, 2,000 feet in separation from the line items A, B, C, and D listed underneath that ordinance, which is exactly what our sexually orientated businesses are. So, it's nothing egregious, but move that from 500 to 2,000 feet. Yes, sir.

» Could you make that in the form of a motion? I make a motion that we amend section underneath Section 2, Subsection D, line number one, no hemp retail establishment shall be located within 500 feet. Change the 500 feet to 2,000 feet. That's the motion. Is there a second? I'll make a second. Thank you, Councilman. We've got a second. Any further discussion on the Tomlinson amendment? Any further discussion? We'll vote on the Tomlinson amendment. All in favor, raise your hand. It's unanimous, Ms. Hannah. On the Tomlinson amendment, we're back on third reading. Good stuff. Any further discussion, comments, or questions? One more question for our attorney.

» Under Section H, Subsection 3, an existing establishment that ceases operation for a period of more than 90 days, is it possible that I make an amendment to change it to 30 days, sir? That's a policy call from Council. Periods in which you allow nonconformities to sit dormant, again, is always a discretionary policy call, balancing investment-backed expectations of property owners versus the need for regulatory control. And that would be just specific to this. It wouldn't affect anything else. Is that correct? Yes. If this were amended, it would be a nonconformity cause that applies only to this specific conditional use. Again, the conditional use ordinance is putting conditions on this specific use. All right. I would like to include those. I would like to make that.

» I would like to make that amendment. I would like to make a motion to change under Section H, Subsection 3, any existing establishment that ceases operation for a period of more than 30 days instead of 90 shall lose its nonconforming status and may not resume operation without obtaining full compliance and conditional use approval under this ordinance. Do you have a motion? Is there a second? Second it for discussion cause I do have a question. Okay. We've got a second. It's on the floor. Mr. Broussley, you made the motion. All right. I'll be happy to answer any questions and you may direct that question to whomever you need to. Yes. I will direct it to you and to our legal counsel. So, let's say I cease operations because I had a traumatic fire.

» Where will this fall in if I only have 30 days to reestablish my business, my operations? If it's unqualified as drafted right now, it's unqualified. So, what you're saying in layman's terms that I only have 30 days? Yes. It is draft. It is specific to the hemp. Correct. Yeah. But nothing else. It can still happen to someone's business is what I'm saying. And you can't. Okay. Happy birthday, boy. Someone sent me a text and I hit the wrong button. Mr. Tucker. It's not funny. So, for those reasons, I'm a little scared of this one. Councilman Broussley. Well, I'll tell you why I'm not scared of it. Because there's so many tragedies that are happening currently because these businesses are selling these drugs and these products.

» Did you know that a 65-year-old grandmother went into a state of psychosis because she had one of these THC drinks and she did not know that it was 50 milligrams and that she has been seeking medical attention and her family has now lost her. So, I'm not so much worried about the product. The business shall continue. They can sell any other products that they need to sell. They can sell gasoline. They can sell soft drinks. They can sell all the things that they sold just a few years ago and they made plenty of money. These are just additional items being sold in certain stores targeting certain vulnerable people. And I know that we are all very concerned about vulnerable people. Older people that are vulnerable.

» Potentially people who are uneducated or just unknowing of what these products can do to someone and our children. So, for those reasons, I would like to make this amendment. I have no problem with your thoughts. I think 90 days was appropriate on the first two readings, so I'm going to stick to that. Thank you. Any other comments or questions, Council Members? I got a few questions on this one for legal counsel. I'm sorry, I just want to say thank you to Councilman Reza for pulling all this together. Thank you, Mr. Jones. Mr. DuBose, a couple questions on the 90-day proposal. So, having just heard about this, I'm trying to run through the hypotheticals where if there could be unintended consequences. I'm not sure.

» But equal protection, are there any issues related to something like that or other folks that have non-conformities that get treated differently? Would the county be exposing itself to legal liability in any way by treating one particular subset of businesses or product sellers a particular way? I don't believe so in that they're not necessarily similarly situated entities in what they are selling and for the effects or impacts of what they are selling. Again, I don't know that there's any presumptively valid or invalid period for a cessation of operation calls in a non-conformity. What do we have it as generally? Say it's a fireworks stand that sells fireworks and it's in a non-conforming area or considered non-conforming use presently.

» If they stop that use for how long, when do they use their non-conforming status or grandfather status? I can't recall off the top of my head from the ZLDR. I believe it is a much longer period than 30 days. Yeah. Yeah. Something I thought was almost a year. This one, I'm going to have to be able to research a little bit more to make sure there's no unintended consequences. I'm glad to look at it later and see, but that's a 300% or 200% at least difference in time period.

» Well, it was 400% increase in distance, though, wasn't it? Yeah, but distance and time period is a little bit different because we already have a precedent, I think, for, are there any other precedents in Kershaw County might be the better question for 30-day cessations? I'm not aware of any conditional or special exception use in the ZLDR that has like a 30-day shot clock. Yeah, I'm just trying to think, because I haven't been able to research it yet, that- We can lead the way, being innovative. But we do have the precedent on sexually-oriented businesses. Correct. And the linear footage stated previously on the amendment. Well, let's just take the vote on the amendment, then we'll move forward with or without it.

» Well, we'll just see if anybody else has any comments or questions or discussion. Anything else from council members? Okay, we're on the amendment for adjustment from 90 days to 30 days. All in favor of the amendment, raise your hand. That is Councilman Brazel, Cato, and Jones in favor, all opposed. That is Councilman Shoemake, Councilman Tucker-Kyle, and Councilman Thomason. So the amendment fails. Now we're back on third reading. Any other amendments on third reading for 10-D? That's all I had. I appreciate everybody's support on its entirety. And I know your heart was in the right place when you didn't support the amendment, knowing that maybe it could hurt us in the long run. That nobody who voted against that was supporting these THC products, I don't think.

» I don't think that was the case at all. Of course not. Any other comments or questions? Any other discussion? Administrator, legal counsel, anything we missed before we take a final vote? All right. On third reading, 10-D, all in favor, raise your hand. And this is as amended. It is unanimous and passes as amended, Ms. Hanna, for the record. Thank you. Thank you, gentlemen. Councilmember Briefings. Mr. Cato. I'm going to be very brief, but I do want to just kind of add on a little bit to what we discussed with the rec. I did get a chance to go by these recreational fields the other day, and they look really nice. I'm very proud of the work that's being done.

» And to tell you how much it's already changed, I spoke with the mayor in Bethune, and they've already got 25 kids signed up in Bethune to play baseball. That is a dramatic increase from last year, and she wanted me to tell tonight at the meeting that they're having a special sign up tomorrow. You can do it at town hall, or you can go on the town Facebook page, and there may even be a little incentive for the people if they wanted to sign up up there. So I encourage you to get your kids out and get them involved in this recreation, unless you use these fields and keep them up and be proud of them. Thank you all. Thank you, Mr. Cato. Mr. Tomlinson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And there were, I believe, I know that Mr. J said two Bethune basketball teams, but I know there were three.

» A 10U girls team, because they beat my daughter's team. They were really good. One of the best 10-year-old girl basketball players I've ever seen, she hit three three-pointers in the game against us. So, really, really good. And they might win the championship. They had a 10U boys team. Hey, are we going to have, are we going to have like a playoff? Yeah, they're, the championships will be coming up. And then the county championship will be coming up. My son's team, nor my daughter's team are in the championships this year. But, but yeah, there'll be a county championship coming up. But yeah, Bethune, I think the presence of youth athletics is really growing in the county. And that's, that's awesome to see. It really is.

» And it's fun being out there coaching, having the opportunity, looking forward to baseball and softball season. But thanks, Daph, for, for all of your hard work. Appreciate Miss Hannah, as always, that she has to sit up here and listen to us. Go on and on, especially Mr. Brazel. I believe he talked for about 45 minutes today. But if, if somebody wants to put a shot clock on you tonight, I'll be willing to bet something against you beating me. There you go. But happy birthday, Mr. Jones. I'll take that bet. Mr. Thompson, thank you so much. Thank you. Mr. Jones. Chairman, members of the county council. I have nothing tonight. I just want to say thank you. That was very generous and kind of y'all. And it goes back to what Councilman Shoemake said.

» I may argue, not argue, but have strong debate. And we may not agree. But once four votes are in, that's it, buddy. I want to see it become just as the river park, the flood zone. I want to see that become the best it could be. And I feel the same about Woodward, even though I didn't support these in the beginning. But you have to, guys. If we don't, then it becomes personal. And it's not personal. It's just philosophies of thinking, different ways of thinking. But I thank y'all so much for everything and appreciate it. See you next week. Thank you, Mr. Jones. Mr. Shoemake. Yeah, just three, well, happy birthday, Jimmy. Three quick things. You know, we've been talking a lot about kids today between the wreck and some of these ordinances.

» And I just appreciate this council doing a lot for the children in our community. I remember the days that I coached wreck ball. I was woefully unqualified to coach. But I coached my son's team. And that was awful. I had a perfect record with my daughter's team. We won none of our games. But I went out there and did it because my kids were interested in it and the parents weren't standing up. And we've got such a better volunteer base now. And so appreciate that. And then, of course, this ordinance, you know, we are doing it for the young people in this county. And Councilman Brazel and Councilman Connell or Chairman Connell are helping me with something that we'll be talking about in a couple of months that also deals with some kids in our community.

» And I just I thank everyone in this council for the hard work that they're doing because, I mean, at the end of the day, we're all just going to be memories, you know, in fairly short order. And it's the people behind us that are going to take all this over. So appreciate you guys for that. I want to thank the sheriff's department for arresting the infamous screw bandit of Elgin. He, Sheriff Bowen, had a press conference. And I know Councilman Jones has been really involved in that as well. And so that gentleman is now in custody. It's a pretty interesting press conference. And it really, I mean, it sounds silly on the surface, but it affected a ton of people. I mean, a lot of people had been impacted by this.

» In fact, the latest number is the damage that he caused was over $10,000, which makes it a 10 year felony that he's facing. So, I mean, it was a serious crime. And thank you for coming, Mr. Hodges. You know, you need to, you know, please come to many more when we get into budget season is where the real fireworks fly. But you've got a pretty mundane meeting tonight. But thank you for coming. The Boy Scouts are a great organization. I never made it into the, I never made it past being a Cub Scout, but I wasn't good enough. But no, whatever the little wolf one was, that's as high as I got. So yeah, maybe see, that's why I'm awful. That's why I was awful Boy Scout. But no, thank you for coming. It's a great organization. And I assume you're probably working your way into Eagle Scout.

» Is that right? Yeah, that's excellent. I mean, that, you know, that's something I can tell you somebody that's done interviews at law firms. And, you know, that, that Eagle Scout thing carries for a lifetime. It's a big, big deal. It matters when you're in your thirties and forties and fifties. So thanks for coming out tonight. That's all I have. We're proud of you. Thank you, Mr. Schumake. Mr. Tucker. Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Hodges, I want to tell you, thank you for staying. Not just showing up, but thank you for staying. It's, this can get where a lot of stuff may not be where you quite understand. And we get up here talking and gabbing and you'd be like, I can really be home doing my homework.

» So thank you for staying and look forward to seeing you as many times as you want to come back and visit. And best of luck on, on your Eagle Scout. And what a good dad. He has sat out there the entire time with you. Yes. Absolutely. So a couple of quick things. Let's start with the cog. I'm not going to put this out just yet on any numbers, but I think that on the safe streets, this county is going to be awarded some money. Danny may go over this in more details, if not tonight in the near future, and being able to do some good public safety things between the corridor of Highway 1 and White Pond Road in the near future to make these roads a little safer to travel for our citizens. So I'm looking forward to that and put some sidewalks in some strategic locations where they're needed.

» And we're trying to get our head around Black River Road so we can eventually get that road paved and widened. We've had a very, very good discussion with SCDOT and then the cog. I think the way that they're doing business in the federal government now is going to cause us to rethink how we do things when it comes down to our widening of roads, resurfacing, new construction and things of that nature. And I'll be happy to bring you more. That committee is actually going to meet Thursday at 2:00 to make some tough decisions. And so I'll bring that back up to your next meeting. But it should not and I hopefully will not allow it to happen to affect the projects that we have in Kershaw County. With that being said, I want to encourage everyone who can make it Thursday.

» You know we have a workshop scheduled and the workshop is scheduled from 3:00 to 5:00 on Thursday. So if you can tune your schedules into that. I know there's a couple of you that's got commitments of work already that you can't get out of. But please try to attend these workshops that we voted on. We greatly appreciate it. And while I'm saying that, take one and pass it down. I'm passing you out a sheet. It's going to be your homework sheet for Friday. We have our council retreat here. I'm at the Revolutionary Park Visitor Center at 9:00. Please be on time and please be prepared to participate. I am and staff is asking you to list your things you would like to see accomplished or started. As far as projects, activities, people, et cetera, onto the sheet. Please bring this sheet with you.

» You will need it on Friday to do the exercise that we're going to be asked to do. But come with an open heart and an open mind so we can really, really engage ourselves in this process. And so staff can really, really have a map moving forward on what council thinks and where we want to go. They cannot drive to our destinations if we don't tell them where they're going. That concludes my report, Mr. Chair. Thank you very much, Mr. Tucker. Mr. Brazel. Chairman, thank you, sir. Thank you. Thank you. Hitching up with current events and trying not to miss these important dates. Everybody will see, I had some handouts because these were some things that came to me after the agenda was set. Does everyone see the invitation for Southern Custom Doors? Yes. Mm-hmm.

» Does everybody have that? So, actually I need to borrow yours because I was one short. Sammy and I can share. Yes, sir. So, back on Father's Day, there was a, I think it was on Father's Day, the Southern Custom Doors in Lugauf had a terrible fire in which Lugauf Fire, Kershaw County Fire, I mean, I think Camden Fire, I think every fire department in the county showed up. And you can see from the pictures, if you just kind of flip through it, these attachments, yeah, they just about lost the building. So, they've rebuilt and they're back, you know, kind of your point earlier, Mr. Tucker, it takes some time to rebuild a business. It's just some that I'd rather have and some that I'd rather not have.

» So, this is a wonderful family business that, that manufactures custom entryways for, for homes and interior doors and, and hardware. They've, they've got to save the date for Friday, February the 27th from 2:00 to 5:00 PM. And they want to have a barbecue and just, and wanted to invite us and other members of EMS and fire that were, that were part of saving their business to come for that barbecue. And we were talking about it and I said, you know, I think I can highlight this for you. So, WIS, if y'all are here, if y'all want to highlight that for our friends, that would be wonderful. So, I know, I know, Bill and Harriet Barrett would, would certainly appreciate that. Secondly, and, and I think lastly, you'll see a, a picture, a very cool picture. It's, it's the Battle of Rugley's Mill.

» And if you go to your Google maps, that mill is in Kershaw County. Now, it, it wasn't the Battle of Hobkirk Hill. It wasn't the Battle of Camden in which we, the Continental Army lost both those battles, but it was a small battle or a large squirmish. I'm not sure. I think it was William Washington led the way for the Continental Army. And there were British troops held up in this, in this home on the hill, as you can see depicted in the picture. And they forced them to surrender using a, a fake cannon. Now, if you'll look at in this, if you'll look at this picture, that's a pine tree. So, through the, the, I guess, their, their, their poker, kind of played poker with these guys. They didn't have a cannon.

» They were low on ammunition and they surrounded them and they said, hey, come out with your hands up. We got you surrounded and we're about to start bombarding. It was, it was about a hundred British soldiers held up and, and they all surrendered. So, it's a pretty neat story. And with the 250th anniversary of America upon us, I wanted to, to present this to this body. And there's an artist. This is not yet been painted. This is a digital image, but I would like to find out how we could fundraise. And I've already got some great ideas to purchase, to have, to have Kershaw County have this picture, if agreeable, painted and do a 30 by 40 oil painting. The gentleman, Mr. Watson's from Charleston, and he's very familiar with the Battleground Trust and works with them.

» And I think the gentleman that runs the Battleground Trust is here in Camden, South Carolina. So, it would be really neat to have this for our celebration of 250 years of being America and, and a part of American history that happened right here in Kershaw County. And we could display it here in the Government Center and then we could find it a permanent home in a county building to be displayed for years, hopefully many, many, many years to come. So, I'll put that on the agenda as, as we move into budget, but I just want everybody to see how, I hope you think it's, it's cool as, as I do. So, um, there's that. Everybody have a wonderful night. Thank you, Mr. Brazel. Thank you, council members. A few things I want to mention.

» First, I want to congratulate the Stover Middle School wrestling team. They are state champions again. I congratulate the wrestlers, the student athletes, the parents and the coaches. From personal experience, I can say wrestling is an unbelievably difficult sport. It's so hard. You have to sacrifice so much. And, um, some would say it's the world's greatest and oldest sport. I've got some daughters playing volleyball and basketball that disagree with me heartily, but it's a very challenging sport and you have to put in a lot of work to be exceptional at it. And that's what we want for the youth in Kershaw County. We don't want you to be average, work hard, try to be better every day. And we might have a rare occurrence here where the middle school team has won state in wrestling.

» And tomorrow night, I need to let the public know that February 11th, 2026 at 7:30 PM, Lugolf Elgin High School will be competing for the state championship again. Last year, we lost barely to Fort Mill High School. We're going to see them again tomorrow night. And I'm hoping and praying that we've got the right matchup. So if you pray for the Lugolf Elgin High School demons as well to be free from injury health and able to compete tomorrow night, that'd be outstanding. It's a great group. Coach Monroe, all the student athletes and all the parents have had an exceptional season. They've only had two losses. And both of those have come to Fort Mill in the dual meet setting. And so they get a chance to avenge those losses tomorrow night. Mr.

» Chairman, where's that matchup? At White Knoll High School, 7:30 PM. And that concludes my report. Mr. Administrator. Yes, sir. I just have a couple things. Update on Pecan Orchard. Utility providers were out there last week. So there's probably a large group of people out there. Some of those residents that probably saw a large gathering, but it was to discuss the relocation of utilities. They're looking at starting the next steps of that project out there. But DES is still reviewing our submission for the project for the land disturbance and things of that nature. So we expect their approval in the next few weeks. Moving on, I just wanted to kind of give a shout out to something that's just been a really neat process to watch.

» You know, we have our moratorium in place on 22nd, and it does run through April 3rd, 2026. But in that time, we're expected to solve a problem. So Mr. Connell formed an ad hoc smart growth committee for the rewrite committee. It's seven members. But what they've been able to do is pretty impressive. Just with what I have seen over my time in administration as the assistant, the deputy, and now the administrator, with some of these pinch points we've had in planning and zoning, I just really think this is a neat process. I see them quietly meeting with Councilman Shumate at the helm, and they're running things. And you don't really -- you know, I don't disturb them, but I'm just looking at some of the things they've been able to do.

» They've worked on amending the final plat approval procedure, amending the section for improvement guarantees. And this may sound like Greek to others, but it really goes to bolster the quality of development and what we will see with amenities. So growth is something we can't stop, but we can -- you hear the term quality growth and smart growth. And this is exactly what this is doing. And I -- you know, it's hard to have a committee check all the boxes, but I really think they do. The land development submittal requirement approval process is being improved. Amending sections for sidewalks and paths, you know, a walkable Kershaw County is important as we consider health and wellness in Kershaw County.

» We're talking about ballparks and recreation, but it's nice when you can walk to these facilities. So we have a safer grant that I'll be giving you all an update on next meeting that will help us do a lot of that. And then now they're starting to work on the permit allocation system, architectural and design standards, open space, green space. Another thing I think we lack a little bit with some of our developments, road width, driveway and parking requirements, and front setbacks. And that means just how far your front of your home needs to set back off the road. So, Mr. Schumate, you all have done an amazing job. If you get half of this codified, this just helps operations in such a tremendous way. So please thank all of your members for what they're doing. I can't thank them enough.

» Danny, can I ask a question? Yes, sir. How does that, this Smart Growth Ad Hoc Committee work with the Planning Commission? How do they coincide? Yeah, it's probably because, so the Planning Commission, we have two members of the Planning Commission on Smart Growth. The ordinance that we passed, I think unanimously, the ordinance that we passed. I voted for her. Yeah, setting up the Smart Growth Committee. Then it was unanimous. The ordinance we passed setting up the Smart Growth Committee has the Smart Growth Committee, basically, they are the body that makes the recommendations to Council. Council will vote on first reading of those ordinances. Then the Planning Commission will advise us whether they concur with those. So that'll be the process.

» And the reason we set it up-- That's it before it comes to us. No, they will not. We will, so they will see it. So, and we changed that ordinance so that they don't have to see something first. They have to see it before we do third reading. And we can do that not superseding state law? Correct. And we've already enabled that law. Yeah, so we'll, we'll do first reading of those. Then they'll see it come back to us with their recommendation if they have any changes. And the reason we did that is a couple reasons. One, we've got this committee now that has policymakers and policy enforcers on it. As you know, the Planning Commission has to enforce our policies. They don't set policy. But now the Smart Growth Committee has two members of Council.

» Councilman Tomlinson, who's been carrying tons of water. Two Planning Commission members, Mr. Robert Horton and Mr. Jonathan Proctor, and community members. So we've got both, we've got all those voices at the table. Then it'll come to us. Then go to the Planning Commission. So the Planning Commission has, we've already passed on it as a policy matter. And then they can recommend it based on what they see. Then it'll come back to us for second and third reading. And I will have, sometime before April 3rd-ish, I will have an update for the body to sort of walk through where everything is on Smart Growth. Thank you. Yep. Thank you, Mr. Shoemake. Mr. Templer, anything else? Just one more thing to Mr. Jones. I'm not Tina Turner calling you personally to tell you you're simply the best. Yeah.

» Happy birthday. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Templer. And thank you, Mr. Tomlinson and Mr. Shoemake for leading that effort with Smart Growth. Mr. Attorney, anything to share nonprivileged? All right, gentlemen, that brings us to the executive session. We do have five items listed. One of them, item A, has really become moot. We can discuss it briefly, but we have five items listed. And so, I'll be seeking a motion to enter executive session regarding 14A through E, all related to SC Code 30-4-70 and relevant sections for attorney-client privilege information regarding threatened or pending potential claims and other matters, and seeking legal advice related thereto where contractual matters. Do we have a motion? I'll make a motion we enter executive session. Second. All right.

» We have a second. Any discussion on executive session? Seeing none, we'll move it to a vote. All in favor of any executive session? It is unanimous for those who are present in voting, with Mr. Brazel absent at the moment. And for the public's benefit, Mr. DeVose, do we anticipate any votes? No, sir. No votes anticipated. We're in an executive session. Test. Test. Okay. We got four. Is there a motion to exit executive session? So moved. All right. Got a second. No discussion. All in favor of exit executive session. Raise your hand. I'll let the four who are present in voting, Tucker, Connell, Cato, and Tomlinson, we've ex-executive session. Seek a motion to adjourn. Motion to adjourn, Mr. Chairman. Is there a second? We got a second. All in favor of adjourning. Raise your hand.

» Raise your hand. That's Jones, Tucker, Connell, Cato. You've got to raise your hand, Danny, and Tomlinson in favor.