Full meeting transcript - March 24, 2026

» Mr. Jones, I'm going to have to get it started. Sorry. Sorry. We are called to, don't blame it on Stephen Smoak. Thank you, Jimmy. We're called to order. Appreciate everybody coming out tonight for this Tuesday, March 24th, 2026 Kershaw County Council meeting. So glad to have all of you here. We've been called to order and we're going to have an invocation pledge of allegiance led by Councilman Danny Cato. Let us pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we just come to you tonight and we thank you again for all the many blessings you've given us, Lord, for all your grace, your mercy. Your love, dear Heavenly Father, we just thank you for it all.

» We ask you tonight that you'd be with us as we conduct the business of this county, that you'd have us to come here with humble hearts and open minds, and Lord, that you'd just give us the wisdom and knowledge that we need to lead this county in the right direction. Lord, we ask and lift up for the ones that are sick, the ones that are bereaved. Lord, we just ask your healing and hedge your protection over them, Lord, that you'd just be with them and their caregivers and their families. Lead God and direct us, dear Heavenly Father. Lord, be with this nation. Be with this nation as we're in a time of war. Be with us as, dear Heavenly Father, as we try and strive to go in a better direction, Lord. I just pray for our nation and our leaders.

» I pray for our first responders and our men and women in law enforcement and our military services. Lord, just lead God and direct us now through this night and then the rest of this week. For us in Christ's name we pray. Amen. Amen. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. I would like to say that's one of the best prayers I've heard. You're loud. Great Lord. He yells it out, but it must be living out of country. I'll second that. That was an outstanding prayer. Thank you, Mr. Kato. All right. We've got the invocation and pledge done. Next up on the agenda is the agenda. Do we have a motion? Make a motion. We approve. The agenda is submitted by Ms. Adam.

» We have a motion. Is there a second? Second. We have a second discussion on the agenda. And is Mr. Brazel joining us remotely? Is he on? Mr. Brazel can you hear us? Chairman, how are you, sir? We can barely hear you, but I can tell you're there. We're doing good. Thank you. Seeing no further discussion, we'll move it to a vote. All in favor of the agenda in person, raise your hand. Any opposed, seeing none, is unanimous. In person, Ms. Hannah, Mr. Brazel, how do you vote? I vote yes. That's a yes remotely from Mr. Brazel. Thank you. Next up, and very important for tonight, we have a proclamation on the agenda. Mr. Jones put this on, and I'm glad to join him on this one. This is recognizing the Lugov-Elgin High School wrestling team, and also in particular, Logan Hinton.

» Fellas, so I can talk about this, I make a motion that we approve this proclamation as submitted in the packet. Do we have a second? I certainly second. You got the second. I got something to say, too. Absolutely. All right, it's up for discussion. Would you like to say anything, Mr. Jones? If I could, because I'll let you get into the weeds with it, because you know wrestling better than I do. But I'm going to tell you, Ted, we're making a habit out of this. You're doing such a great job. We appreciate you. Appreciate you so much. A beautiful wife of yours. Appreciate all you've done, because you actually put Lugov-Elgin on the map. If you had another one of him on your wrestling team, you'd even be greater. But thank you for all you do, buddy. Thank you, Mr. Jones.

» I'm sure we'll have a lot more to say, each and every one of us. But going through the proclamation, and before we bring some of these young men up, and of course have Coach Monroe speak and recognize his coaches and parents who contributed throughout the year, I just wanted to mention that the team finished second in the state, which is no small feat in the class and division that they're competing in. There are some buzzsaw teams out there that they're up against and competing against. And so congratulations on that. Wrestling's an extremely tough sport. No offense to anybody else, but we would always say that wrestlers use every other sport to warm up, and then we go compete. It's just a grueling and very hard sport, and especially for those that have to care more about weight.

» As a heavyweight, it wasn't as much of a big deal for me. But it's an extremely tough sport, which only support from parents and coaches and individual hard work and team support can get you to these types of achievements. But talking about Logan, 5A state champion. Logan, would you raise your hand? Here he is. He's out there. You stand up for us? Stand up, sir. I'm not going to wrestle him, Chairman. He don't want to mess with him. 190 pounds of romping, stomping, twisted steel. He was one of only two 5A wrestlers to record a pin in the state finals, has an outstanding record, many outstanding wrestler achievements. at various tournaments. And this is reflective of many of his teammates as well.

» Just a really great team, Coach Moreau, that you've put together and that these parents and others have supported and the coaches have supported. But I get ahead of myself. Let's go ahead and move to a vote. All in favor who are in person, raise your hand. The proclamation is approved unanimously in person. Ms. Hanna, Mr. Brazel, how do you vote on the proclamation? I vote absolutely yes. That's a yes. Mr. Brazel is ready to wrestle from overseas. You going to make him stand up the whole meeting? No, no. You can go ahead and sit down. Yes, sir. Thank you. The whole meeting, Jimmy. He's a very good listener. I got your back. I got your back. I thought he was about to be ready to wrestle you, Jimmy. Those days are gone.

» If we could, at this point, Coach Moreau, before we have Logan and the team come up for a picture and presentation of the proclamation, if you wouldn't mind stepping to the mic, is there anything you'd like to share about this team, about the coaches or Logan? First of all, let me just say that coaches keeping me in line and making my job a lot easier. As far as Logan goes, we've got some younger coaches that get out there and wrestle around with him because the older coaches, we're not going there. Parents, thank you all for all the support. Thank you all for being here. My wife for putting up with me during the season. She should be standing up there with you. Three years. As far as the team goes, we had a phenomenal season.

» We lost a couple of starters before the season really even got off the ground, and we were kind of scrambling. We had a couple of guys step up and fill those 138, 144-pound weight classes. One of them is back here right now, Cody Wonder, one of our seniors. We've got some really, really good senior leadership. Gabe Rush was a north-south wrestler, three-time state qualifier. He's been one of our leaders, just short of 200 career wins. Wound up being our all-time pins leader. A lot of these guys were all-region wrestlers. We had about eight or nine of those. As far as Logan goes, one of the most dominant seasons that I've seen. Both of his losses came at the Southern Slam, and one of those was to a nationally-ranked wrestler that he lost by a couple of points on a controversial call.

» And then after that tournament, he was absolutely lights out. And it was unbelievable to watch him compete. He gave us a heart attack in the state finals. He fell down in the match early. Six-nothing, is that what it was? But he never hit the panic button. And true to form, Logan showed up and turned into Logan. And that's what he does. He doesn't say a whole lot. He does his talking on the mat. I love that. More than anything else, I'm blessed to coach him. We're lucky to have him. And even more than that, we're glad we got him back for another year. Thank you so much, Coach. For your seniors, how many do you have going to wrestle at the next level? Gabe's going to Newberry to wrestle. And as far as I know, that's all of our seniors that are going on to wrestle at the next level.

» We've got some pretty good juniors that are coming up that may have that opportunity. And I also want to say this, as far as these seniors, Cody and Gabe here that have been with us, Jonathan Ibanez also, which I'm not here, but those guys that have been in the program four years, it's a pretty awesome accomplishment to be in the state finals for four consecutive years. We've come up short four years, but we keep knocking on the door. Eventually, we'll knock it down. So I want to thank them because the program wouldn't be where it is today without their leadership and without the foundation that they've laid for the program.

» Coach, before I hand it off to other council members for any comments or discussion or questions, I just want to mention some of my lifelong dedication to wrestling anyway. I've experienced through Coach Cooper, Coach Karen. You wrestle? I can't see everybody else who's in the back, Mr. Shoemake. But some of these guys have been coaching since I've been in high school, and they're still dedicated to the sport and helping the next generation work hard and learn the lessons that come from such a tremendous sport. Councilman, any – yes, Mr. Jones. I know they hadn't spoke yet, but thank you for giving me one more opportunity. I want to say this to you and to your young folks out there, your men that are wrestling. He wants you to win, and he's going to support you when you're winning.

» But I personally witnessed from the sixth grade through the tenth grade. My son lost so many matches, we're going to write a book on how to get pinned in two seconds. But he never quit. And what he learned from Coach Monroe and your wrestling team, my son worked out as hard as anybody there. He accomplished his setting goals. And when he went to college, two bachelor degrees. When he went to Carnegie Mellon on a 95-cent ride, and he's a wonderful musician. But he'll tell you in a minute. He runs ultra marathons right now. And he'll tell you that he trains based on what he learned from Coach Monroe. That was the biggest factor of his life was Ted Monroe. So even though he may not have won at that, he never gave up. And that's the point.

» He never gave up on my son either, just because he wasn't a starring champion. Thank you, Ted, personally. You too, Mr. Lara. Thank you so much, Ben. Thank you, Mr. Jones. Mr. Kato, please. Just a huge congratulations goes out to you young men and coaches. And for the dedication and the effort that you put forth, people really don't understand how hard it is to win a state championship. I never got to experience that in any of the sports I ever played. But that is a tough feat is to win a state championship. And I hope we never slip up and miss an opportunity to recognize any state championship team in this county from any school, no matter what the sport, because that is an outstanding feat. And I just thank you all for your dedication and congratulations on all your accomplishments.

» Thank you, Mr. Kato. Any other council members? Yes, sir. Mr. Shoemake. Again, I join everyone else's congratulations. I see some moms and dads for you seniors out there. My son played high school sports, and he did not play at the next level. But I'll tell you, just in this year that he's been, since he's graduated, what I've noticed is the lifelong friendships that I can tell he's already developed. So for you young men, you know, even if this is your last year of wrestling, you're developing a network that's going to last forever. I see it with my friend Ben over here, the people he wrestled with, he's still close to, and that will be the foundation of your professional success and your personal, you know, network for the rest of your life. And Coach Monroe, you've done a great job.

» And I would just like to say to Coach Monroe specifically, you've obviously put together an amazing wrestling program. That's beyond anyone's dispute. But my daughter has had you as a teacher, and I will tell you that you're also an exceptional educator. And, you know, it's one thing to be a great coach, but to be a great coach and a great educator, you are a massive asset to Lugov-Elgin High School and our community. So thank you, sir. Thank you, Mr. Shoemake. Mr. Tucker? You do know he's coming over to Camden next year, right? No. I'm just kidding. Sammy, stop it. I just had to say that. Congratulations to the Lugov-Elgin High School wrestling team. I was sitting here, Mr. Chairman, and I kind of want to read this whole proclamation because it's full of such good stuff.

» But I do want to piggyback on what Coach said earlier about you seniors being there four straight years. That is an amazing achievement within itself. It's hard to do that on any level, whether it's high school, college, or professionals. So pat yourselves on the back and take the congratulations. And I want to say to all of you, keep your grit. Keep your commitment and your determination as you go through life. This sport and all sports that you participate in on the high school levels, even in the rec department when you're coming up, it teaches you how to get along with others. It teaches you how to work out problems and issues. It teaches you how to dig in deep when no one else may have the faith that you can do it, that you can dig in. And actually, I call it a gut check.

» Check your gut and make things happen that people have probably counted you out for. So with your support team and all the folks that love you over the years, stay steady on your feet and stay focused. Congratulations. Thank you, Mr. Tucker. Mr. Brazel, anything to share, comments for discussion remotely? Yeah, sorry, I obviously can't see anyone, but I wanted to offer congratulations to the coaches, to the students. Mr. Brazel, we can barely hear you. Is there any way you can get closer to the mic or maybe we can turn the volume up a little more? Yes, sir, try again. Can you hear me? So I just wanted to offer congratulations to the coaching staff, all of the coaches, all of the teammates. What a great achievement. You guys, y'all will remember this.

» When you're much older, you'll look back, much like we do now. I wanted to add that Rick Jay is with me, and he wanted to offer his congratulations as well, as we are both away together on work. So he was a wrestler much like Chairman Connell, and I know that's special to him, too. So I'm so proud of you guys. Thank you, Mr. Brazel. Hudson Jay's dad is there as well, sharing congratulations. Before we bring you up, I'll just share lastly, and this is maybe a little bit of a tough piece of advice, but I think it will help you win next year. Everybody out there has got a mama and daddy, generally, that loves them. This is directly to the wrestlers. They've got coaches that care about them, but that's static. Everybody has that.

» If you want to get that victory next year, you have to figure out right now what the other guys that you're going to compete against aren't willing to do in the offseason. Because this is when you win right now. I see coach and the real coach, Tulare, nodding yes. You've got to put the work in right now and build up a bank of work that when you step on the mat next year, you have no doubt that you're worthy of a win because the other guy hasn't worked as hard as you. Like, you earn it right now. And so, put in the work in the offseason, and we'll be encouraging you every bit of the way. If we could, let's give them a hand and have all the wrestlers, coach, come up. Anyone else you want to have come up? Mr. Chairman, they are going to 4A, so they can whip up on some more folks in 4A.

» Going down a bit? Yes, sir. Come on, we'll stay up. This is so many of them. Make sure we see. Now, you hang out on our, I love you wall, that little one. Where do you hide that 109 down? Lean in, hey, lean in me. That's what he is. What did you weigh in high school, Ben? We cannot see you. You can't? That's Ben Big Head. Thank you, Martin. Stand in the chair, Sammy. I've done that before, Danny. Don't bear me. They had the same problem with DMV. One, two, and a half. Hush, Jimmy. Hush. At least somebody was honest. They were going to take the picture without me. I'm going to take the picture if you want. Yes. Come on. That's Russell. Well, that's Russell. That's right. Hey, Coach. How you doing? How you doing? Yeah. Nice. Thanks, Chairman. Thanks, Councilman Jones.

» Appreciate y'all doing that. Yeah. Thank you, guys. Oh, absolutely. Yes. We'll give them a moment to clear out. Cook everybody out, then. Thank you very much, Mr. Jones. Steve's smoking still here, too. Yes, sir. He is. Thank you very much, Mr. Jones, for that. That moves us back onto the agenda. We're on to public comments. Mr. DuBose, do we have anyone signed up? Yes, there are three speakers signed for public comments. Yes, sir. Mr. DuBose, who do we have first? First speaker is Chris Krimminger, EMS Response Times. Thank you, Ms. Krimminger. Be glad to hear from you. You've got five minutes. Good evening, gentlemen. Thank you for your time. My name is Chris Krimminger, and I live and own a business on Lake Watery.

» I would like to touch on a subject that has been discussed here before at the council meetings, emergency services. I've done a little research into the emergency response times in South Carolina, specifically Lancaster, Chester, and Fairfield counties. Both my research and my social media page reflect the same situation. Rural response times are long, sometimes as long as 45 minutes. The population of these counties is beginning to notice this problem, just as we have, and are demanding answers, just as we in the Liberty Hill, Beaver Creek area have. Chester County has about half the residents of Kershaw County. Their solution is to configure or reconfigure an existing fire station in the West Chester Fire District to an ambulance station to serve the western half of the county.

» Lancaster County has twice the residents of Kershaw County, and one of the solutions proposed by the fire service itself is to train their firefighters to be EMTs. This proposal is actually before the Lancaster County Council right now. I have not been able to find any information on Fairfield County, whose difficulties with EMS fire response is a whole lot different than ours. Kershaw, Lancaster, and Chester counties at least have a hospital. Fairfield does not. I imagine their challenges are pretty hard to overcome and couldn't begin to think of how they would mitigate these challenges.

» So for the residents in our area to ask that either Beaver Creek Fire Station or Baron DeKalb Fire Station be reconfigured as a fire ambulance station or to train KCFS firefighters as EMTs is a reasonable request. This lack of services at our end of the county has been ongoing for years. Before, it was somewhat understandable. Probably 95% of the homes in the area were vacation homes. Now those vacation homes are permanent residences for more people. Just as population growth has affected Camden, Lugoff, and Elgin, so it has affected our area. And it's not just the lake problem. There are hundreds of homes in the area, not on the lake, but they are in the same emergency services desert we are and may not realize it. If you look at the map of your own districts, Mr. Brazel and Mr.

» Cato have the most rural districts and the worst coverage. This is the way it has been for years and we would like to see it changed. In closing, just let me state these comments that I and the others are making are in no way indictment or criticism of the KCFS. We are proud of and indebted to the men and women who put their own lives on the line to save others. We are also happy to see that the KCFS is reaching out to the community with the open houses at the fire department. They've had three so far and I hope they have more. Just to raise the awareness that they are there and possibly recruit the manpower that they need. Thank you, gentlemen, for listening.

» I hope that we in District 1 and District 6 can count on you doing the right thing and working with the fire service to bring down response times and therefore making Kershaw County safer for all of its residents. And I would like to request that my written comments be put into the meeting minutes. Thank you, Ms. Grimminger. So we'll take a copy of that. Mr. Bowes, who's the second speaker? Next speaker is Tommy Swan. Friends of Goodall is the subject. Yes, sir. Mr. Swan. Good evening, Mr. Councilman. Tommy Swan, my president of Friends of Goodall State Park. And our nonprofit organization is partnering with the state parks and Friends of Goodall State Park in the betterment of the park for improvements and things like that.

» And on Saturday, April the 11th, from 11 o'clock to 2 p.m., we're going to have Family Fun Day. We do this once a year, and we just invite the community to come out to the park and have some fun and join in the activities that we have. We've got a lot of activities lined up this year, and it's going to be great. We've got about 23 different exhibits lined up, and the state rangers will be out there. So it's just our opportunity to, for those who have never been at the park before, to come out there and just see the park and see the improvements that we're making at the park with our partnership and also see what's going on at the park. If you've been out there lately, you've seen they've cut a lot of trees down as part of the deforestation project.

» And from that, we're going to be able to double the length of the walking trails out there. So for East Camden, that's a great improvement. It gives them a place to go to. So we're looking forward to hosting this event. And the prior Friday, if you feel so led, if you're open on your calendar, we're having a cleanup day at the park in preparation for this event. And we invite the public just to come out there and do a little bit of light, clean up, and join us with the parks and the rangers and help us clean it up and get ready for it. We're proud of this park. I've been going to this since the 60s, and it's always been near and dear. And hopefully, you know, this park will someday return back to the glory that it once had. And we're seeing improvements bearing fruit.

» So the attendance is really going up. And thank you for the support of the park. And we hope to see you out there. Come out there and join us. What was the date again? April 3rd? Saturday, April the 11th, is the Family Fun Day. Friday, April the 3rd, is the park cleanup day. And that's from 9 o'clock to 12. I know it's getting beautiful out there. Thank you so much. You're very welcome. Thanks for coming out tonight. Next speaker is Melody Hardin. The subject is Pecan Orchard. Yes, ma'am. Good evening. As many of you already know, I am Melody Hardin, and I live on Blackberry in the Pecan Orchard. I'm speaking tonight regarding the lack of response we are receiving from the county administrator, staff, and county council regarding phase one and work to be completed in the Pecan Orchard.

» On March the 10th, after attending county council meeting and not hearing an update regarding phase one, I emailed the county admin, staff, and county council regarding conflicting information and lack of updates we in the Pecan Orchard are receiving. For those that have not read the email, I will provide a few examples of some conflicting information we're receiving. On January the 14th, Mr. Tepler, or staff, emailed that plans were to begin at the end of January and included a groundbreaking of the project for the 1st of June, at no point indicating funds were an issue.

» On February the 20th, at a meeting with county staff, we discussed many items, including several hurdles that need to be addressed before phase one can begin, one of the issues being the vacant lot on Blackberry and a small mention regarding the expense. On February 24th, at the finance committee meeting, it was clear a big issue is funds for the work to begin. From the discussions, it appeared that the estimates were close to, or more than double, the original amount that county council approved for the work to be completed. The same day, February 24th, at the county council meeting, there was a quick discussion regarding the finance meeting and the fact that additional funds would be needed.

» At that meeting, it was stated that an update showing what funds would need to be completed for phase one will be provided at the next county council meeting, which would have been March the 10th. On March the 6th, we were provided an update stating work is continuing with utilities and engineers planning to relocate utility lines and water lines. This March 6th update stated, when the work is complete, Mr. Templer anticipates progress with, quote, shovels in the ground for the drainage issues. These are just some of the conflicting updates we're receiving that are concerning and bring up questions. Also, the lack of responses we are receiving is frustrating and unacceptable. Every email since March the 10th has included Mr. Templer, Mr.

» Blanchard, county staff, as well as all county council members. After receiving the update from Mr. Templer on March the 6th, myself and two others emailed with questions and concerns. According to my email records, none of us have received a response with answers. I proceeded to email again on March 16th since I had not received the response to follow up on my questions and to request a weekly update. We did receive an update on March 18th from Mr. Templer, but unfortunately it didn't provide any real updates. He stated that the allocated funds were there and basically maintenance on Blackberry is being done. Again, several emails with questions and as of today we have not received the response. The issues and questions I had that Mr.

» Templer staff and/or county council have not addressed are, first one, I'm aware that county council allocated $350,000 to complete construction, but my understanding is that almost half of those funds have already been spent on engineering and surveying. That leaves approximately $200,000 approved for the project. County staff has not addressed this in any of our updates, yet at the finance committee meeting on February 24th, it was clear that there were not enough funds allocated to complete the entirety of Phase 1. Why did the finance committee not provide any update during the March 10th County Council meeting? If not at the meeting, why hasn't this been discussed with Mr.

» Templer? And if it has, why hasn't he updated us with this important information? If there are insufficient funds to complete Phase 1, why are the utility and water lines currently in the process of being moved? Again, let me remind you, during this process, many of us will be losing part of our front yards, flower beds, and pecan trees that cannot be replaced. Why has the finance committee chairman or its members not responded to the questions directed specifically to them regarding funds needed and/or an update that was supposed to be provided two weeks ago? I would like an update from everyone involved that is transparent, honest, truthful, and concise. Thank you. Thank you for coming out tonight, Ms. Hard. Mr. Bowes, anyone else signed up? That concludes public comments.

» That concludes public comments, gentlemen. That moves us on to a presentation, item number 7A. Hill, Goldmine, do we have the representative here? I don't see the representative here. So we'll move that on for another agenda item next meeting, Ms. Hanna. We follow up with them. We'll have to see if somebody got caught up. Approval of the minutes is next on the agenda. 8A, do we have a motion on the minutes? I'd like a motion to approve the minutes. Okay. Do we have a second? Second. Any discussion on the minutes? Seeing none, we'll move it to a vote for those who are in person. Raise your hand if you're in favor. It's unanimous in favor for those who are present and voting. Mr. Brazel, are you still with us? How do you vote? Yes, sir. Still with you. I vote yes.

» That's a yes remotely for Mr. Brazel on the minutes. Ms. Hanna, it's unanimous in favor. Next up, gentlemen, we have a series of ordinances. First one's item number 9A. First reading, Mr. Administrator, any background or any update we need before we get into motions or considering this? Nothing pressing. I can speak a little bit more about during the discussion. Okay. Do we have a motion on number 9A? This is an ordinance to amend the official zoning map, 32 plus or minus acres? I'll make that motion. Mr. Shoemake has the motion. Is there a second? Second. We have a second. Mr. Shoemake, you have the floor. Yeah, this is the Motor Park, right, Danny? Yes, sir. Yeah.

» So basically, this ordinance is, they've come before us a couple of times as they've purchased property adjacent to their land to rezone that property. Basically, it allows them to create buffers. They need to rezone it in order to purchase it. Obviously, to the extent they grow, it's land for them to grow into. So what this fundamentally is, is a chance for a very, very good business that's been doing great things for Kershaw County to have a buffer into which it can expand in the future. So I think that's the short version of it and why I support it. Thank you. Mr. Tucker. Yes, I see Mr. Corley is out there who's representing that old Motor Park up there. Y'all had a house full Saturday when I rode up through there on Sunday.

» But I think this is a great partner and economic development opportunity for the citizens of Kershaw County. And they've been good, good neighbors to the folks by them. They've either purchased their property or have been very respectful to running in hours and operation that makes sense, that does not make a bad neighbor. So thanks, and I'm in support of this tonight. Thank you, Mr. Tucker. Council members who are present, any other discussion, comments, questions? I think we need to note that the land surrounding this is also already in GD, if I'm correct. Is that correct? Correct. Anything in the Motor Park, so it would basically just be expanding that footprint. So the contiguous usage are certainly GD. Yep. So it isn't spot zoning or any of those other issues. Thank you, Mr. Cato.

» Mr. Jones? Just a couple of questions. I absolutely support this, but I have some questions. Mr. DeVose, was there a Planning Commission meeting? Did they get to review this or they don't have to? Yes. This went before the Planning Commission. They held the public hearing. No speakers came to the public hearing. And Planning Commission, I believe, recommended a map change unanimously to Council. Very good. Thank you all. Thank you, Mr. Jones. Mr. Brazel, any comments or discussion remotely? No. Not to amount to anything. I support it and understand all the reasons why. Thank you. Okay. Seeing no further discussion from those who are present, we'll go ahead and have your vote. Mr. Brazel, how do you vote remotely on 9A? I vote in favor of. That's a yes remotely for Mr. Brazel and Ms.

» Hanna. And for those who are present and voting, raise your hand if you're in favor. It's unanimous in favor. And we would excuse Mr. Tomlinson tonight. He had a family obligation in honor of Mary Elizabeth, who of course passed away last year. That takes us on to item number 9B, another first reading. Anything before we get going, Mr. Administrator? No, Mr. Chair, members of Council. It's just a text amendment redefining a guest lodge from four bedrooms to not exceeding 24. Okay. Do we have a motion on 9B? First reading. We'll make a motion with proof. Mr. Cato has a motion. Is there a second? I'll second. Mr. Shoemake has a motion. Mr. Cato, you've got the floor. I just think that it's talking about guest facilities.

» This is not any kind of housing developments or anything of that nature. This is more of a guest facility where somebody would come and stay and visit our county. So I think this would be useful and beneficial to Kershaw County. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Cato. Mr. Shoemake, you have a second? Yeah, I agree. This is exactly what we want to see done in our rural lands. I mean, this is rezoning that would allow, you know, lodges and higher-end type of economic development engines that don't put strain on infrastructure. So I think this paves the way for some really great economic development and tourism opportunities for Kershaw County. Thank you, gentlemen. And I'll just note that the applicant has made the representative, Mr.

» Smoke, available tonight if the council has any questions or any comments that he might need to respond to. He's here if you all need him. I have some questions for him. Of course. Mr. Smoke, please come on up. Mr. Jones. Can I start? I served eight years with that man, folks, standing right there, and he and I went at it head to toe. It's good to see you. I don't think you've been back in this room till now. That might be true. But anyway, welcome back. Good recovery. And I really would just like an overall, very quick. Absolutely. Thank you, Councilman. That's it. No questions. Good to see everybody. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Tucker. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Tucker. Thank you.

» And my client is in the process of making a significant investment in multiple golf courses in Kershaw County. And this is a request in furtherance of that project. You'll also see an amended version in front of you that I put in front of you all and passed out to all the staff as well. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Tucker. The changes are in blue. And the changes were just in response to some of the comments and concerns from your wonderfully thorough planning commission who really vetted this and had those comments. And I think we've addressed them all with those changes. But if not, there are two more readings and we're here and ready to work with staff, this council, to make sure this is something that works best for everybody in the community.

» Because we do see it as a project that is going to benefit the county and just something that will be good for everyone. Mr. Jones, any other questions? Thank you. Mr. Shoemake, yes, sir. I just want to confirm the proposed amendments, which I think we could probably take a look at for second reading since we just looked at them. But as I understand it, and I know from talking to the planning commission, what this does, just so folks are aware, what these amendments do, as I understand it, is make the zoning change even more restrictive. In other words, in other words, the only thing that this would allow to come into these venues is something that has, you know, a lot of land, a lot of buffer zones. So it basically further protects the land.

» Your use, the use that your client proposes is one that is not a concern, but the idea is we're creating an ordinance change. And so all that follows have the same ordinance. And what this does is create buffers and substantial green space because of those buffers. Is that the general idea? That is it, Councilman. Thank you for pointing that out. And I'll give you even more background because this section came into being back in the fall, I think in October, roughly around that timeframe. And the prior planning commissioner was, you know, who did a good, really good job, commendable job, and he did the primary drafting on this. And in doing so, he was drafting it more broad. And then that seemed to be a concern with the planning commission was that it was maybe too broad.

» And so we've narrowed it down even more, really so as to apply just to golf courses. So, you know, the changes you see in front of you say that you have to have a golf course operated for this to apply. Mr. Chairman. Yes, sir. If it's appropriate, which I think it is, I would like to make the amendment to this ordinance as we have it now so we can get this read into the first reading. And then that way, when it comes second, we won't have to worry about doing that. I'll second that. All right. We've got a motion to amend on the Cato. So now we've got a first and a second on the Tucker amendment. Any discussion from those who are present? And we'll need to hear from Mr. Brazel as well. Any discussion? Just we'll make sure for the public we have it written and that'll be in the minutes.

» And so we'll obviously see that in our package. And you're proposing it be amended as reflected in this handout. Absolutely. And I just want to clarify, the legal staff has already reviewed and vetted this with Mr. Smoak. Correct. Mr. Smoak provided those blue line edits that were responsive to planning commission comments earlier today. Again, they're very discreet edits. Mr. Smoak's correct that the previous planning director drafted this as rural country clubs to also contemplate uses that might be a pool that has a membership that is rural to allow that type of structure. No one's come in to apply for that. And that's a pretty rare occurrence anyway. A component of this was this guest lodging.

» But as originally drafted, you could conceivably have a private pool membership club with guest lodging. And that looks an awful like a hotel maybe. So what Mr. Smoak did from the original draft is really kind of remove those other components instead of having it be broadly rural country clubs. It is now rural golf clubs, rural golf resorts. If those other uses were to occur or start occurring at planning staff level, they could be addressed with a different box. So, yeah, that's the legal input on it. Again, no real heartburn about the proposed edits. The small matter that Mr. Smoak and I will discuss as far as just sharpening the pencil on one little aspect I picked up on, but nothing substantive that would affect real development. Thank you, Mr. DeVos.

» Any other discussion from those who are present? Good stuff, Steven. Mr. Brazel, anything remotely? Mr. Brazel, anything remotely? We may have lost him for a moment. Chairman. Chairman, sorry. It's just a long ways apart here. Can you hear me okay? Go ahead. Yeah, guys, speak up. Yeah, I'd like to commend Steven Smoak for the work that he's done. I think it's fantastic for our community. Steven, I do thank you. Regarding golf courses or driving ranges or anything like that, maybe some exceptions and explicit rules that we're making for these courses. I'm thrilled, frankly, to see this sort of development in Kershaw County and in surrounding counties as well. I think it's healthy. I think it's good for our community to have these sorts of activities.

» It'll be an economic engine as well as job opportunities for locals. So it's all fantastic. When it comes to zoning, this would be a question for John DeVos. Are there any zoning regulations that prohibit golf courses in our current zoning? Yeah. So our allowed use chart, and the interim director, Mr. Hoover, may be able to speak to this, off the top of his head more explicitly. But one of the issues that kind of led to this is that this wasn't a use that was allowed in these rural districts as conceived. So if there's any desire by council to more holistically look at regulations around golf courses countywide, as far as where they're allowed uses or not, certainly something that staff and administration and legal can explore.

» But yeah, the setup that applicant wanted to pursue and other similarly situated applicants under the regulations last September, August could not have occurred. The October amendments made these uses more of a possibility. And again, this is fine tuning the regulations to more precisely fit golf courses. And again, remove some of the theoretical possibilities, maybe not practical possibilities, but theoretical possibilities for undesirable uses that Planning Commission identified. And that's more to the buildings, the housing and that sort of thing, is that right? Correct. Planning Commission's concerns were not about a golf course. It was this idea that the gas lodging component could perhaps exist and continue on its own in the once upon a time wrong and of course fails.

» So the amendments Mr. Smoke prepared are responsive to that concern. Okay, perfect. Now, in our current zoning, industrial, residential, rural, residential, are there any zoning issues in any of those for just a golf course without a lodge of sorts or housing? The man with the answers just stepped to the podium, Mr. Zach Hoover, interim planning director. So I will defer to him. He has, I believe, his ZLDR pulled up. That is correct. This is Zach Hoover, director of planning and zoning. The golf courses fall under the golf, tennis and swimming clubs land use in our ordinance. They are permitted in all zoning districts except for the office district, O-1, as well as the B-3 district. They're permitted outright in the rural districts. What was the other one you said? O-1 and then B-3. Okay.

» That's a business district. That is correct. Okay. So like a development area such as where a Publix would be or some sort of a retail establishment? Yes. Okay. Well, good. No, I think that's fantastic. And I really do commend you and what you've done with Steven Smoke. I'm in full support. Thank you, Mr. Brazel. How do you vote on the Tucker amendment? If that's what's needed to complete the task, I'm in full support of the amendment. Okay. On the Tucker amendment, we have a yes vote remotely. For those in favor on the Tucker amendment, voting in person, raise your hand. It's unanimous on the Tucker amendment. That puts us on the original motion, Mr. Cato, as amended.

» Any further discussion, council members? Seeing none, we'll vote by those who are present and voting on the motion as amended. All in favor, raise your hand. And again, this is on 9B. That's unanimous in favor for those who are present and voting. As amended, Mr. Brazel, how do you vote on 9B? 100% full support. That's a yes remotely from Mr. Brazel. Ms. Hanna, it passes. As amended on 9B. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Administrator and staff as well. That takes us to 9C. Mr. Administrator, any background we need before we dive into this one? Mr. Chair, members of council, yeah, before you, just an ordinance that is going to complement the city's ordinance on what we would consider aggressive panhandling.

» Where it would use any intimidation or coercion to making any citizen feel compelled to hand over something that they wouldn't normally want to in the setting of panhandling. I think it's also a safety issue as well. We'll take it up. Do we have a motion on 9C in first reading? I'll make that motion. Mr. Shoemake has the motion. Is there a second? Second. There's a second by Mr. Tucker. Mr. Shoemake. Yeah, so just a little bit more background. This is nearly identical to what the city of Camden has already adopted. And what we're starting to see in the city of Camden and certain parts of Lugoff is bluntly panhandling. People walking up to cars or people walking up to people and begging for money and other things.

» And so what this prohibits, to be clear, and it's in the packet here, so this is all in the packet. It prohibits these discrete things. You cannot aggressively beg, meaning with begging with the intent to intimidate another. So you can't do that. You cannot aggressively beg. You cannot obstruct traffic. You can't touch the person you're talking to without their consent. You can't basically follow them around. You can't block their passage. You can't beg within 50 feet of a financial institution or an outdoor dining area or any shelter or taxi stand. And you can't beg while the person solicited is in a vehicle or beg after dark or beg at a traffic intersection. And basically, that prohibits people being bothered and impeding the flow of traffic. We're starting to see more and more of it.

» This is a chance to sort of get ahead of that. And like I say, Camden's already done this. They did this back in February, and they've already seen some positive results from their ordinance. So that's a little bit of background of why I support it. Can I say something? Mr. Does the second yield? I'll yield. Thank you. Mr. Jones. Mr. Shumate, you are aware that we have an ordinance on the books. We do, but it is a very -- Permitting, permitting. What's that? It's for permitting. Like a panhand -- someone wants to come and set up a hot dog shop or they want to set up, you know, a roadside. As long as it's not fruit or something like that that's exempted or accepted by the state, but they have to come and get a permit. They can only get one or two a year.

» They have to give us so much of a notice. So I think this is good stuff. I support it. But I would like that to be brought up so we can all understand that we do have -- and actually, we really stopped a lot of it over in Lugov. Whenever -- I call it the Powers-Dykes bill because every time they would show up at McDonald's, Robbie Powers would call me fussing. God, he'd be fussing. And then Heather Dykes would be doing the same thing. So that's what initiated me or sort of motivated me to go and get something done on it. So we did. Sam, you remember? Yes. And I don't remember exactly how the permit structure is, but it's pretty tough. And it pretty well kept things under control. Mr.

» Jones, just to clarify, are you talking about permits for sales of goods or fruit? Well, no, no, no, no, no. I know fruit and things like that are exempted. This was just in setting up, whether it's panhandling, roadside vendors, whatever, you know, you had them doing couches. Okay. You had them collecting money for the churches. I mean, it -- well, or at least saying it was for churches. I don't think it was. I think they were trying to rob us, honestly. But the thing is that they would use that as a front. And I know one of them said there was a new life ministry. Henry called me up and said, "That is not new life. That's not our new life ministry out there. It's got to be somebody from out of town." And it was somebody from out of town.

» But anyway, I think this is good, but I wish we had a copy of that to show what it is. So we can bring it up to date as well. Let's get that before second reading. Yeah. Sounds good. Yeah. I'm familiar with the prohibition and the county code, and you're correct, Mr. Jones. There is a structure that allows for organized, permitted, like fundraising solicitations, 5501c3s, exactly as you've described with some advance notice and permitting. So this explicitly addresses matters outside of that. And under the conflict of all provisions, those permits would still be available to people wanting to pursue them. Sure. For those kind of legitimate solicitations. So, yeah. I like this. Derek, I like this a lot. I mean, who did it? I just want to make sure.

» Well, I mean, Camden Bluntley and I got to give it to our folks in legal. I mean, they did the heavy lifting on this. Sure. This is good stuff. And I'm glad to see it. I'll make a point on that kind of parallel passage, Mr. Jones, to print copies for council at next meeting, just informationally, and have those at y'all seats. Thank you. And maybe even, John, look at in this section 2434, maybe we could even add just a couple of lines just to be expressed that this doesn't, you know, because it's a conflict of laws provision anyway. It does not conflict with the ability to get a permit sanctioned by the county. Yeah. We'll explicitly call out those sections dealing with that permitting system. Yeah. We can do that. That's a perfect spot for it. Mr. Tucker, you have the second. Yes.

» Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. DuBose, I had a question underneath 2432. So item I, beg while the person is being solicited in a vehicle, and then item L, beg at a traffic intersection, which causes drivers to be distracted. I'm concerned about that because when we do boots and badges, as Councilman Jones just brought up, you're at 34 number one. You're at the millen and intersection. You're at DeKalb Street, which is US 1 and 521 and Broad Street. Those are great fundraisers. How do we address those issues when you're doing? I believe those fall within that existing code provision. And again, to Mr.

» Shoemake's point and request that some verbiage to that end be added to 2434, just to make it crystal, crystal clear that this in no way intends to overrule or modify that, that that'll exist as a separate bucket of allowable activity again, if permitted in advance so that safety can be provided for you. Yeah. And they'd have to be permitted. I mean, that's the thing, like even those things need to be permitted because that way the county knows they're happening. And yeah, if the police do get a call, I mean, if they're not the ones doing it, they can say, well, that's a permitted activity. Because I think it's nothing more frustrating.

» I don't know if y'all have experienced this before, but when I was doing a lot of driving with students, I can jump off at the 98 trying to get home and the line's already long and frustrated. And then you got, you got my, my guy, my guy, he's at the bottom ramp by the stop sign. And the city says, well, he's not in the city. He's on the I-20. Well, technically they're right. Because if an accident happens on I-20, Highway Patrol will be called the Roarket. And then Highway Patrol won't do anything with him because he's not on the interstate. You know, pedestrians are prohibited to be on the interstate. So he's right there in that donut hole where he's safe. So I'm happy to see an ordinance like this that address that. And I don't have a problem with people panhandling.

» I just don't want it in our neck of the woods. Any further discussion or comments from council who are present? At least you're honest, Sam. Yes, I am. Hold that. Mr. K2? No. Before we go remote, Mr. Brousel, I've heard that it's become a safety issue, particularly in yield lanes and, you know, those fast merging areas where people are leaning over and either just about getting clipped or actually getting clipped and causing other issues. Mr. Brousel, any comments or discussion remotely? Chairman, no, I'm in agreement with most of everything I'm hearing tonight. So no comments. Okay. I'll go ahead and get your vote remotely. How do you vote on 9C? I vote yes. Ms. Hanna, that's a yes remotely for Mr. Brousel. For those who are present and voting, raise your hand if you're in favor. Ms.

» Hanna, it's unanimous in favor and passes. First reading on 9C. Chairman. Yes, sir. There's never been a time that we have a call that the sheriff did not respond or send somebody out there. You know, I realize there may be some Twilight Zone areas, but they've come out and worked with us on it and appreciate it. Thank you, Mr. Jones. And thank you, Law Enforcement Chair, for being here tonight. This moves us on to item number 10. 10A, we have a slate of various appointments and we'll take them one by one. 10A is on the aid tax committee. Do we have a motion, Mr. Tucker? Yes, I make a motion that we appoint the aid tax committee. I think we have about five appointments, four appointments because we did one last meeting. Your nomination. My nomination is going to be Mr.

» Deep Patel on my motion to appoint. Yes, sir. Is there a second on the motion? Yes, I second. Okay, Mr. Jones has a second. Mr. Tucker, anything further on Mr. Patel's appointment? No, no, thank you. Just a fine individual, very busy in the city and in the county. He's a Thomas Sumter graduate along with USC and he does a lot of good things here. Thank you, Mr. Tucker. Mr. Jones, you have a second. Anything on Mr. Patel's appointment? No, no, thank you. Mr. Brazel, anything remotely? I thought we were going to do a more one. Chairman, no, nothing to add. Thank you. And we can't do it as a slate unless you have individuals you want to discuss in particular. I'm fine to do it as a slate. I am too. I mean, we can go and pass this one and then do the rest as a slate. Okay, well then, Mr.

» Tucker, if you'll restate your motion, do you have the names of the other individuals? That's what I was looking for if it's in my other packet. Yeah, they're not, they weren't in this packet. Yeah. Mr. Brazel, since you're on, can you, we don't have them in our packet. Can you give us the name of the person that you were nominating? We got them. Oh, never mind. We got them. Mr. Tucker, if you need to restate your motion to include the four individuals as a slate for ATEX. Yes, I would like to make the following motion as a slate of appointments for District 2, Mr. D. Patel. For District 4, Jane Duncan. No, you're talking about, for the ATEX committee? Yes. I was going to, no, that's, well. That's what's. No. We've got a couple. Yeah, yeah. Let me hear who you are. Let me keep going.

» I'm going to have to readdress that. Yeah. Okay. District 1, Casey Brazel. We're good. I know you are. And for District 5, Thomas Mulligan. Junior. Junior. Those are the four individuals. All right, so that's the motion as a slate on appointment to the ATEX committee. Do we have a second on the motion? Okay. I want to add to my motion if you didn't mind. Go ahead. So District 1, 2, and 3, the terms will expire 3/11 of 29. And Districts 4, 5, and 6, the terms will expire 3/11 of 27. That staggers these terms so everybody's not depleted one time. And, Ms. Hanna, you'll have to keep up with that, so I want to make sure you got those dates. Okay. Great. Do you want a second? A second. I do have a second. Okay. So on the slate, Mr. Tucker, you have the floor. Yes.

» So I just want to thank all these individuals that have volunteered to do this good work. This is a committee that makes recommendations back to Council during budget season. They don't meet that often, but their work is so important to our budget and to our organizations here in Kershaw County. So I want to say thanks to all of the candidates who put their names up to be appointed. Thank you, Mr. Tucker. Mr. Jones, you have the second. Any comments? Good slate. For those who are present, any other comments or discussion on the slate appointment? Mr. Brazel, any comments or discussion remotely? I think because it's a slate, I think I'll need to abstain, Mr. DuBose. Yeah, I'd agree.

» I was going to have you do it individually so you could talk about some of them, but now we're on a slate and your sweetheart's included. All right, Mr. Brazel, I'm standing. We'll just move to a vote for those who are present. All in favor, raise your hand. It's unanimous and passes for those who are present and voting, Ms. Hanna, on 10A as a slate. All right, thank you. That moves us to item number 10B, Recreation Advisory Commission appointment. I believe Mr. Tomlinson had spoken with Mr. Tucker. Yes, sir. Is there a motion? I'd like to make a motion that we appoint Mr. Matthew Downey to replace Mr. Shane Kirkley. All right, is there a second? I'll second. I have a second, Mr. Kato. Mr. Tucker. I just wanted to say I had an opportunity to meet Matt. I actually coached his brother.

» He kind of had to go back in the archives in my head to remind me of who his family was, but I think a great individual who's already doing a lot of amazing things in the coaching arena in our rec department. I want to see that we continue to grow in the right direction and that the rec as a whole is successful. So I think this is a great appointment and he's dedicated and committed. Thank you, Mr. Tucker. Mr. Kato. I think Mr. Tucker said it all. All right. Council members, any other discussion for those who are present? Seeing none, Mr. Brazel, any discussion remotely? No, sir. I'm sorry. Okay. We'll go ahead and get your vote. How do you vote on 10B appointment of Matt Downey to the Recreation Advisory Commission? Absolutely. What a fantastic choice. Thank you.

» I'll address remotely from Mr. Brazel, Ms. Hanna, and for those who are present and voting, raise your hand if you're in favor. Ms. Hanna, it's unanimous for the record. He is appointed on 10B. Again, thanks to all those who might be listening or see this in the future for volunteering your time to serve. Most of us have full-time jobs up here or significant family obligations otherwise, and we literally cannot do it all without these committees volunteering and stepping up to serve or work with staff on various projects and facets of the county. We just literally couldn't do it. And so we're very grateful for your dedication and service. All right. Councilmember briefings. Mr. Tuck. Mr. Brazel, I'm going to go ahead to you just in case we lose you.

» You never know with someone, especially if they're overseas. Any briefing for us tonight? Chairman, thank you very much. Chairman, thank you very much. I certainly appreciate it. I made a few notes as I've listened to comments from our community to the pecan orchard. I just want to say that I hear you. We have had some continued discussions that I think are going to be fruitful, and I actually thought we would hear about that tonight, but probably waiting on me to come back. We'll find a way to move the ball forward soon. I would like to mention I've received a complaint about Vincent Road for a second time this year. I know that we have put some money into it.

» I do recognize that, and I've had positive conversations with Dan Kenny, but we do want to make sure that we continue to finish that project. Councilman Cato and I had worked together on that, and I just want to make sure that that's safe and passable. Regarding EMS, I will be working very hard on rural healthcare and EMS this year and collectively with others on council, and I've had some people reach out to me on a broader scale that I would like to introduce to council and find yet other ways to work on rural healthcare. That's going to be a very important topic probably for the next two to four years. I'd like to set some goals, and I'd like to achieve some goals. I'd like to find a way to have better access complicitly through different agencies.

» Also, to make mention of Woodward Park and I think Councilman Cato in your area, there are just a few things that I would like to mention in a general sense that need to be addressed in order to complete some of the nuances of almost a punch list, if you will. I think at Boyd Young Park, there was a wiring issue that needs to be addressed, and at Wilbur Park, there's a drainage issue that needs to be addressed. If administration could work with the engineering team that we've employed to solve these problems, I would surely be grateful, as would others. It was fun. Councilman Tucker, myself, and Councilman Thomason were able to meet with junior leadership. I think that was just last Friday morning. They posted something on Facebook, a great-looking bunch of kids.

» They were in there talking about real topics, and it was really neat to see our next generation of future leaders in Council and just learning some about local government and how it plays a role in everybody's life. With that, I will conclude my remarks, and I look forward to seeing you all soon. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Brazel. Mr. Shoemake, we'll start with you for those who are present. Sure. A couple of things. I just want to piggyback for Councilman Brazel since he was joining us by phone and wasn't here, and I noticed Councilman Jones. We are going into an executive session related to a contractual matter that affects a discussion of Peking Orchard, so I fully expect to have some comments about Peking Orchard after that executive session.

» But we have to have a discussion about a potential contractual issue. So, and probably a vote, but I don't want to get into that until we got to the motion. But yeah, so there will be something on Peking Orchard after executive session. Right. Well, that's why I wanted to say that, so I wanted to make that clear. Thank you. But in terms of the other stuff, I don't really have much else. Again, Sheriff Bone, thank you for joining us tonight. I appreciate you, as always. And our Planning Commission Chairman, Jonathan Proctor, is here. He and I were doing some media stuff about some of the growth ordinances. We'll have a Smart Growth Committee meeting later this week, and we've got a lot on that agenda. So I want to thank Councilman Tomlinson, Mr. Proctor, Mr.

» Horton, Miss Jackie, and Billy Smith, and Steven Smoke, who've been wonderful on that committee. And we'll have some big stuff to talk about soon. And that's all I have right now. Thank you, Mr. Shoemake. Mr. Tucker. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yeah, great stuff. So the folks from Peking Orchards, when we go into executive session, please don't leave until the end. I want to thank Councilman Brazel and also Councilman Tomlinson for junior leadership. We miss Councilman Shoemake. He normally is a pillar on that particular day to always come in here. I was in college at Charleston with my daughter. But yes, you were doing things that you need to do as a father. We respect that. But it's a great class, and it's a great opportunity to interact and be with our young people.

» And just to give you a little brief synopsis on what took place. So we didn't call them by their names. We actually gave them the council members' names. So they were Mr. Councilwoman or like -- it was actually a gentleman sitting in your chair. So he was Mr. Conner or Mr. Chairman. So Ms. Hanna, we had Ms. Hanna's clerk to counsel there sitting there, and she did a good job. And the administrator and the county attorney. So I just want to say that went over well. Ms. Hanna, I didn't get a chance to say it during the approval of the minutes, but thank you for the great job that you did. And I appreciate the way you laid this out, you and Mr. DuBose, on the terms as well. I'm trying to make sure I have covered everything, Mr. Chairman. I know the cup is this weekend.

» I will not be attending. But for those who are attending, you have fun. Be safe most of all. I think it's supposed to be one of those days where it's not extremely hot. So hopefully you'll have a great time and be able to stay on your feet and actually count horses. That concludes my report. Thank you, Mr. Tucker. Mr. Jones. Thank you so much. I'm glad we cleared up about the Pecan Orchard because that's what you, I mean, I didn't, I haven't been involved in the weeds with you guys. I've been letting you do your job because you told me, you gave me your word. We're going to do something and we're going to do the right thing. And I appreciate that. That's why I want to make sure they stay here so we can see what we come out and vote on. Oh, I know what I want to say.

» I had the distinct honor today of, and my wife and I, of going over to the Columbia Airport. And I'll tell you one thing right now. I know what we see on the news, but that's not happening here in South Carolina. It's not happening at Columbia Airport. The folks there couldn't be any more helpful. The reason I bring this up, our former chairwoman was being deployed today along with a friend of hers, a lawyer from, she is a lawyer from something. I can't remember her name, but anyway, they were both being deployed today along with a bunch, about 100, 200 other folks. And there was a picture that my wife took. It was of the, where all the soldiers meet, the little area they had there for them. And they had all their bags sitting in front of that picture. And I thought, look at that.

» It just melts your heart. See, listen, these guys are 18 and 19 years old. And they're being deployed. You know, she's on her second deployment. Babies. Yeah. I mean, she's got some age on her. I mean, she's about 40 years old. But I mean, these kids, these young kids, I mean, it's just heartbreaking, really, especially at that age. But anyway, I'm very proud of our military service. I'm very proud of the people who serve. I'm very proud of me for serving. Even though I was a clerk typist. Dr. Martin, you've heard that before, I'm sure. But anyway, and I say that jokingly, but I'm very proud to have been a clerk typist. Anyway, even though we have a former, not an expert, a former Marine center. But let me just say this to my colleagues. Okay.

» I don't know what's going to happen in the second session. But I want to thank you for, I mean, pretty much taking this and pull by the horns. And okay, we're going to get it done. We're going to do it the right way. I'm very appreciative of that. And I'm looking forward to our discussion there and our votes coming out. Because that is just something that's very important to me. And it certainly isn't about any votes, because I don't need anybody's vote anymore. But it's about doing the right thing. And I thank you all for that. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Jones. Thank you, Mr. Jones. Mr. Gato. I'm not used to going last. Right. It kind of shocked me today. It got me off my rhythm. I want to follow up on the rec thing.

» I've had some phone calls about the rec and the ball fields, whether they were being completed. And it's kind of thrown things off schedule. We've had, and I think Danny may touch on this a little bit in his, so I don't want to take nothing away from him. But I did check into this with the fields up at Copeland and the ones over at Boyd Young. And one of the major issues was the two weeks of winter weather that we had with the snow and the freezing rain. It set us back on getting the sod ready for opening practices. And, of course, we don't want to put people on this sod and destroy thousands of dollars worth of sod. So we're waiting on the sod to take root, which I understand may be fairly close with this warm weather that we had. So that's one of the reasons.

» The other, I think, they had a pump that, for whatever reason, burnt up. I don't know if it was a power surge or whatever the case it was up at Boyd Young. But one of the new pumps burnt up and they had to come in and replace that. So I just asked to, you know, bear with us. We've got some really nice facilities up there. And I'm speaking for up there because we've not had any facilities like that in a very long time. And they're new and they look awesome. And I can't wait for us to get on them and start seeing our kids play on them. Spring break is next week. I ask that the students and teachers and staff that they have a great spring break, a good, safe spring break. Easter will be rolling around before we come back.

» And I ask that y'all have a great Easter Sunday and enjoy it with your church family and you enjoy it with your family and friends. And lastly, I'm not going to say this, not elaborate on it too much because I'm not going to take away from the great accomplishment that we celebrated tonight with L.E. Wrestling team. But I want to congratulate North Central weightlifting team on their third straight state championship. And we will be doing something for them here in the near future. But what a great accomplishment for them and congratulations to them. That ends my report. Thank you very much, Mr. Cato. Congrats again to the L.G. Elgin High School wrestling team and all those engaged in athletic activities.

» It's not necessarily about the wins and losses, but the process of working hard to achieve what you can accomplish in sports. And actually, Mr. Jones, I'll just say I remember working with your son early on in his wrestling career and he was a hard worker. And that clearly has stuck with him. So that's the lesson that was learned and that's what's important. Two other things I wanted to share. My son, if I can just take a moment of personal privilege, my son Bennett made the choice to be baptized and I was able to participate in that. And it is one of the happiest experiences I can share as a father, especially to actually be able to baptize him. The spirit was strong that day and I just thank God for such a beautiful family and a wonderful little boy.

» And if you watch this one day, Bennett, I love you. Congratulations. Thank you very much. For the public's notice and benefit and staff and legal, I plan on doing a special call meeting, 3:31. That would be next Tuesday, 6:00 p.m. This would be a singular issue meeting for the notice that would go out related to growth issues. And we would have a first reading related to the Smart Growth Committee recommendations I anticipate and those growth issues and controlling growth and addressing that. That's all I have to report. Mr. Administrator, anything for us? Yes, sir. Mr. Chair, members of council, just a few items.

» First, I'd like to thank staff across the county as an organization for all the hard work they put in every day, be it EMS or the fire of law enforcement or anyone in this building, the library, the jail. There's a lot of good people doing a lot of hard work, and a lot of it is critical. So moving on to some park and rec updates. I know Mr. Brousel was talking about a punch list. We always have punch lists for these projects. And I think, you know, I don't remember a time in Kershaw County that we've ever had this many large-scale projects going on, very complex projects. But they're exciting, and I understand why folks would want to be, you know, playing on these fields sooner rather than later, because they're very nice.

» But we want to take our time with them and make sure that the sod has set in, to Mr. Cato's point, and that they are playable, so they're durable. We want these to last for as long as they can. We do have some issues here and there, again, with some of the irrigation and things like that. But that's kind of a nice problem, because we've never really done projects in the past with irrigation. So this stands to the longevity of these parks and the beautification of them. So right now, for the most part, with Copeland and up in Bethune, we are waiting on the sod to take place. And again, Mr. Cato mentioned that with the warm weather, I expect a lot of that to start hurrying up and things like that.

» So we're going to play on them as soon as we can and as soon as they're ready, that's for sure. The KC West expansion, the parking expansion, is basically done. We've got 70% grass growth over there, so we're removing the sealed fences as part of our re-roll some of the asphalt in April when that warms up, just to get a smoother application out there. That was part of our punch list out there. Some spring baseball participation numbers. Total participation for baseball, 828. Softball, 189 for a total of 1,017. That's 143 more participants compared to last year. Wow. So we are growing, and I attribute a lot of that to these new facilities we have. Technical soccer, total participation there was 385.

» So that's 1,402 total participation numbers for our youth in Kershaw County, which is pretty exciting. Opening ceremonies were this past weekend, so 84 teams took individual and team pictures. A lot going on. Very busy day for rec and staff out there. 2026 Egg Fest happened, and we had an Easter egg trail, food truck vendors with lemonade and Italian ice and games. And story time from the Kershaw County Library. And we had a total participation out there of 965, which was an additional 350 compared to last year. So a lot of what we're doing in terms of recreation and public engagement with the county is growing. And you can attribute that to just natural growth in the county. And again, going back to some of the amenities that we have, it's just going to be top notch.

» And I look forward to, you know, cutting ribbons on the rest of these and getting them going and having them part of the regular rotation for games and events throughout the county. So, and that's all I have, sir. Thank you, Mr. Administrator. Before we move to legal briefing, I would just mention, let's recall on budgeting for finance committee or otherwise, as we plan, that we've got a donor willing to pay for conversion or at least half the cost on conversion for pickleball at Westwatery and also Boyd Young. Boyd Young in Westville. In Westville. I'm not sure if we'll have to take that one at a time and year over year in the budget, but those two, the donor's aware of both of those projects with Westwatery being the first priority and then like to address the other one too. Yes.

» And that moves us to legal briefing. Anything non-privileged, Mr. DeBose? Nothing non-privileged. Okay. That moves us to item number 14, executive session. I seek a motion to enter executive session under SC Code 30-4-70A2 regarding legal briefing of a matter covered by attorney-client privilege. Do we have a motion? Make a motion we enter executive session. We got a motion. Is there a second? Second. We have a second. Any discussion from those who are present? Seeing none. Any discussion from Mr. Brazel remotely? No. All right. We'll take your vote, Mr. Brazel, at this time on executive session. Yes. That's a yes remotely from Mr. Brazel. All those who are present and voting, raise your hand if you're in favor. It is unanimous, Ms. Hanna, and we are in executive session.

» For the public's benefit, we do anticipate a vote after the executive session. Okay, Mr. Brazel. Russell, can you hear us? Yes. All right. We can hear you. All right. Seek a motion to exit executive session. Make a motion that we exit executive session. We have a motion. Is there a second? Second. We have a second, Mr. Cato. Any discussion on executive session and anything? Seeing none for those present. Mr. Brazel, any discussion on exiting executive session? None, sir. All right. Hearing none. Hearing none. How do you vote, Mr. Brazel on exiting executive session? I vote yes, sir. That is a yes. And for those who are present and voting, raise your hand if you're in favor of exiting executive session. We are out of executive session, Ms. Hanna.

» That puts us back onto the agenda on the executive session item. Do we have any motions on item number 14A? Yes, Mr. Chairman, if I may. What's your motion? I'd like to make a motion. I'd like to make a motion that we authorize county administrators to direct public works to perform heavy maintenance activities. The heavy maintenance activities will include road grading, ditching, driveway repair and piping replacement and pipe upsizing. We're on practical 18-inch pipe. Improvement and creation of an upper outfall. Replacement of cross piping at 404 Blackberry Place. Install installation of rip raff in selected areas. Contracting for hydro seating of maintenance work areas.

» External contracting for 419 Berry Place, cross pipe, and outfall project, which will include the cross pipe under Blackberry, junction box, and then a 36-inch closed system leading to an open ditch basin with rip raff. That is my motion. And that's specific to Pecan Orchard, correct? And that is addressed to Pecan Orchard. Yes, sir. Okay, is there a second? I second that. Mr. Jones has a second. Any discussion, Mr. Tucker? You have a floor. Yes. I want to say that there's been a lot of time and a lot of energy and somewhat of money spent on this project. And I know that the citizens has been very frustrated. I make no excuses, but the wheels of government are extremely slow usually. But this has been a little bit slower than a lot of us would like.

» I would like to also state that the $350,000 is still there. We took the $126,000 in engineering studies, which was separate from – because we had two votes on this project, one for the engineering and then one for the cost for the repairs. So this is going to help get the work done sooner than later out there. And I think that the county started a little bit already with some maybe brush work and maybe some other activities. I have not been back out there to look yet, but that is on my schedule to do. But I do want to thank the citizens out there for being patient. But this also eliminates utility movements. Pecan trees and other things and a big ditch in people's yard where some would not be happy.

» The thing about this project is what the engineers may recommend you to do may not be pleasing to all the residents. And you've got to find a happy balance, and I think staff has done that on how to accommodate and fix some of these issues and problems. So with that, I just want to say this in my statement as well in discussion. To be clear that the work will not solve all the overall flooding issues in the neighborhood. The county cannot fix the inherent hydrological conditions of the neighborhood, which the county has no control or responsibility for. So that concludes my discussion. Thank you, Mr. Tucker. Mr. Jones, you have a second. You know, we went into the second session. We had our conversation, and each one of you made your comments, and I respect that.

» But one thing that I believe in my heart, you've got $350,000 still sitting there. We need to go ahead, and staff has indicated along with you guys that we can do this without buying money. We can get this project done. And, of course, I think we're into another part of it, and just a few minutes with another motion on something else to help feed into this to make it right. But I just want to say that you folks in the Peking Orchard are not my constituents. You're my neighbors and my friends. And I've never, ever wavered when it comes to doing what I think is right for y'all. And I think y'all, I hope y'all know that. But I appreciate y'all very much. I may not be on council in 10 more months after 20 years, but I'm going to still be your neighbor. I'm going to still be there.

» And, you know, I just appreciate the county spending this $350,000 on the Peking Orchard. I appreciate the directions that they give. And let me say something to you. I'm very proud of Russell Brousser. He has stood firm and fought for this. And a lot of what you're going to do is what he said a year ago. I'll give him credit for that because that is a fact. But I do believe this is going to be, the county is going to do the best they can do. And if not, then we'll readdress it from there. But I think this is going to help a lot. And I will thank y'all again for it. And I'm done. Thank you, Mr. Jones. Any other discussion or comments from council members who are present? Seeing none, Mr. Brousser, any discussion or comments remotely? Yes.

» So I'm going to express some of the same concerns that I had in executive session. I feel like it's a bit vague. I hope that we're looking at the entire subdivision. This is a lot of money for general maintenance. I'm going to support it. And I really, I'm really hopeful that the staff is going to follow through and do this right. I know it can be done. I just, I need it to be done and done correctly and done in a timely fashion. Because we've talked about this too long. We've wasted too, we frankly wasted too much time and time is money. So I'm ready to get the project started. I'd like for everyone to be met with and discussed with on a, on a personal level. If somebody wants to pipe in their driveway, I want to make sure that we are able to do that.

» We need to take a very methodical and thorough approach as to how we do this. And I think that was the concern early on as to how we would approach this. And here we are back at the original thought process. And I'm just hopeful and thankful that we're going to get this done right. And I'm going to make sure that everybody's happy once we get done. And I appreciate everybody's time and consideration and diligence. Thank you, Mr. Brazel. Any further discussion from those who are present? Yes, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Tucker. I'd like to make an amendment or restate my motion if Mr. Jones was seconded. Absolutely. Well, let me hear first. Yeah. The cost shall not exceed $350,000, which includes the property acquisition for a property that is part of the stormwater project. Okay.

» Is there a second? I'll second that. All right. Mr. Legal Counsel, we've got two re-ups on the motion in the second. Everybody seems to be in agreement and I do not hear any objections. Okay. I thought that was clear. Yeah. He just clarified it. Yeah. Not to exceed $350,000. Okay. Seeing no further discussion, we'll take a vote from those who are present and voting first. All in favor, raise your hand. Ms. Hanna, it's unanimous for those voting in person. And Mr. Brazel, how do you vote remotely? I vote in support. That's a yes remotely from Mr. Brazel and Ms. Hanna. Are there any other motions on 14A? Yes, Mr. Chair. Okay. We have another motion. What's the motion? Yes, sir.

» I'd like to make a motion that we authorize the county administrator and county staff and the county attorney to pursue the purchase of a vacant lot in Pecan Orchard subdivision for some not to exceed as appraised fair market value. I'll second that. Okay. We have another second. And just for clarification, this interrelates with your prior motion on the $350,000 cap. Absolutely, Mr. Chairman. Okay. Thank you. Any discussion from Mr. Tucker? You have the motion? I just wanted to say this is part of the hold up too, because without this, it makes the project impossible to do. So we had to do our due diligence in giving staff these directions to pursue this. And so once again, not making excuses, just trying to do the best for what we have to work with. Thank you, Mr. Tucker. Mr.

» Jones, you have the second again. Yes, you know, if I could, and I don't know how we do this, but Mr. Tucker, we had talked earlier about making sure there's some clear directions as to what needs to be done and communication needs to be done where the residents of the Pecan Orchard are. Or I know Mr. President brought up just a little bit ago about having a meeting, you know, letting them know, informing everybody what's going to happen and what we're going to do. But they have some kind of timeline, you know, so that there's, and also good communication where everybody understands what's going on and what progress is being made and why there are delays and why there's some change orders. You know, the people who we work for. Well, I think that's more of a question directed to Mr.

» Templer, and I'm pretty sure he's been real good about giving us timelines and updates on these various projects. So I'm going to hold true that that will continue. Okay. And if there's something that, Mr. Jones, and I'll say this, if there's something that you're not clear on or you have questions on, don't hesitate to, you know, the follow-up with staff or -- No, no, no. I want Danny knows that. Danny, I've had many conversations over 20 years. But back to you and I, sir, and one thing I will say is when we've gotten together, we've made things happen, things happen. We don't agree on a lot of things. But when we do come together, we make things happen, we made it happen right.

» But what I'm saying is that, you know, you and I had a conversation and there was going to be -- this is going to be saying there's clear instructions as to where we start, when we start, where we are, you know. They have that all written out and documented, staff does, the county administrator. And -- Can we make sure we get a copy of that? Yes, sir. Give to the people at Pecan Orchard so they can also know what to expect. We can get you a copy of that. Well, I mean, I'm fine other than that. But I bet I was just quoting what you were saying to me. Yes, sir. All right, Mr. Jones, any further discussion? No? Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Tucker? Yeah, I just want to make one more point.

» The parcel has been identified in the engineering plans as a proposed location, God bless you, for stormwater infrastructure that will serve stormwater that is attributable to county roads in the subdivision. According to the engineers, the county roads in the subdivision are not the primary cause of stormwater issues in the subdivision. That said, there are drainage issues with the county roads, and the county has committed to addressing those issues. The parcel will provide stormwater infrastructure that will service the stormwater for the county roads and the county's heavy drainage maintenance activities in Pecan Orchard. Thank you, Mr. Tucker. Any further discussion from those present? This is on the second Tucker motion. Mr. Brazel, any discussion remotely? Hearing none. Mr.

» Brazel, we still have you. He's gone. We lost Mr. Brazel. Let us know if he tries to chime back in on the second vote. Just a couple comments before we move this to a vote. So, just be patient with the timeline. Folks who are involved in this, it will involve procurement. These are state or county related laws that were required to follow. For example, if hypothetically a property is acquired, council has to vote on that. We can't just make it happen willy-nilly. It has to be in a meeting in which we convene. The majority of council votes on an acquisition and it satisfies everybody. Each one of us is just one of seven up here. So, we have to come to an agreement on the terms for acquisition.

» But also, there might be materials or contracted services that have to follow the procurement code as well. And so, that varies the timeline some. All right. Seeing no further discussion, and I still think we don't have Mr. Brazel with us. We'll move it to a vote. This is on the second motion on 14A post-executive session. All in favor, raise your hand. Ms. Hanna, it's unanimous with all present voting in favor. Mr. Chairman. Yes, sir. Motion to adjourn. Motion to adjourn. I was going to say, that concludes our business tonight. We have a motion to adjourn. Is there a second? Second. We have a second. Any discussion on adjourning? Seeing none, all in favor, raise your hand. It's unanimous. We are adjourned.