|
Featured Sections Headlines Opinion Obituaries Sports Crime Blotter Happenings Country Cooking Wandering Minds Classifieds Birthdays Off The Wall On The Record Archives Church Listings Live WebCam
Edgefield
Square Featured Columns Tech Tips Carl Langley Editor's Column Dr. Skip Myers Pastor Williams Registered Sex Offenders for Edgefield County 2005 Crime Stats Video & Audio Updates Audio Archive (Testing) Video Archive Contact us Contact Info or E-mail the Editor Phone: 803-634-0964 day 803-279-5041 eve 803-279-8943 fax Mail to EdgefieldDaily.com PO Box 972 Edgefield SC 29824 School System EC District Office School Board Strom Thurmond Charter Schools Fox Creek Private Schools Wardlaw Academy Public Offices Edgefield County Edgefield Johnston Trenton Political State and Federal Legislative Contacts Local Political Parties Republican Party Democrat Party Chamber of Commerce Edgefield County Chamber Historical Edgefield Genealogical Society News links The Citizen News Aiken Standard North Augusta Star The State Augusta Chronicle Atlanta Journal United Press Associated Press FOX News Reuters CNS News WorldNet Daily Newsmax Drudge Report GoogleNews Yahoo!News New York Times New York Post Los Angeles Times Washington Times Washington Post |
 County Council remains split on major issues in December meeting web posted December 2, 2009 EDGEFIELD – The Edgefield County Council held their December meeting Tuesday with final readings on five ordinances and held four public hearings. Several issues saw lively discussions including a proposal for the Northside Park which ended with a split vote of 3 to 1 in favor and one member not voting. The public hearings drew only one speaker on the matter of the purchase of the Calliham property. Mr. Paul Winters, of Johnston, spoke briefly on the requirement by the federal government that the building would have to be brought up to standards in order to comply with the American’s with Disabilities ACT (ADA). “I’m seriously concerned that this will actually put Edgefield County further liability regarding ADA mandates,” Mr. Winters said. Winters went on to explain that being disabled himself is part of his concerns in addition to the costs. “It is my understanding is that once you own the building you become the landlord. And should you rent or lease a portion of that building the landlord is responsible for upgrading all of the building to ADA standards once the renovations begins.” Mr. Winters encouraged council members to delay their vote until it could be determined that the Calliham building could be brought up to those standards. After closing the public hearing portion of the meeting Chairman Kneece moved on to the regular meeting and began the reading of ordinances starting with No. 08-09-611 which provides a backdated provision to set forth the local laws on maintaining concession revenues. Councilman Dorn spoke up asking for discussion prior to a motion or second being on the floor and Chairman Kneece allowed him to move forward. Councilman Dorn said he did not understand why the ordinance was needed because he felt the concession stands were being run by “locals” and he did not see the need to make any changes. However, the ordinance actually included wording that amended the current ordinance (No. 04-05-557), backdated to cover the revenues of the concession stands not coming to the county as current local law states. Chairman Kneece interrupted councilman Dorn and stated that he should have made his statements during the public hearing portion of the meeting. Dorn stated he did not have to and could speak without time limits. Chairman Kneece then called for a motion and received a motion to pass the ordinance from Councilman Willie Bright. Chairman Kneece asked for a second to the motion and received none. “Then it dies for lack of a second,” Mr. Kneece said. The next ordinance was to provide $10,000 for a part-time employee with the Recreation Department. Again, Councilman Dorn asked for discussion prior to a motion or a second being on the floor as required by Robert’s Rules of Order and Chairman Kneece allowed Dorn to proceed. Mr. Dorn stated he did not see where the reserve funds were coming from to pay the employee when during the budget discussions the only job loss was a full time employee with the Recreation Department. Councilman Rodney Ashcraft asked Finance Director Lynn Strom what the cost of the employee position eliminated cost the county. Mrs. Strom stated with benefits, not including a cell phone or vehicle costs, the salary package was around $30,000. Mr. Ashcraft asked Recreation Director Nick Wates if the $10,000 was sufficient to pay the part time employee and he answered “yes”. Ashcraft then stated, “I like $10,000 over $30,000.” Councilman Dorn went on to say that he did not understand where the “reserve” money was coming from to be spend. Councilwoman Genia Blackwell spoke up and stated that the money is already budgeted in the recreation department. Finance Director Lynn Strom confirmed that the money used was budgeted and was “unrestricted” so it could be used for any purpose within the recreation department. Chairman Kneece called for a vote on the matter although Mr. Dorn was still rambling on regarding his confusion. The final approval passed on a 4-1 vote with Dorn voting no. The next three ordinances, establishing building permit fees, the purchase of the Calliham property, and accepting the Comprehensive Plan from the Planning Commission, were met with little discussion other than Councilman Ashcraft questioning Building and Planning Director Mike Reed if the county had taken into consideration the need for ADA requirements for the entire 13,000 square feet of the Calliham building. Mr. Reed said they had. The building permit fees passed on a unanimous vote, the Calliham property passed on a 3-2 vote with Ashcraft and Blackwell voting no, and the Compressive Plan passed unanimously. Under new business Mike Reed informed the council on needed repairs to two offices and the need to sell a surplus item. The first building needing attention is the remaining building at the Neighborhood Center housing the Parole Offices. Mr. Reed said the compressor for the heating and air system needed to be replaced and would cost an estimated $2,500. Other repairs included painting and replacing exterior woodwork ($1,000), tearing down the remaining breezeway or closing it in as an entrance ($4,000), and sidewalk repairs ($2,000). Mr. Reed explained that the current funds in the budget are roughly $3,000 to $3,500 and he is requesting an additional $3,500 to cover the repairs. However, the estimates provided by Mr. Reed calculated to be $9,500 for repairs, not $7,000. No vote was taken. The flooring of the Assessors Office was also said to be estimated to be between $5,000 and $6,000. Mr. Reed said he would submit a proposal for bid with four flooring options; carpet, sheet vinyl, linoleum, and painting. Those bids will be brought back for the council to select the best option. Mr. Reed also asked the council for permission to place a portable morgue the county owned out for bids on the government web auction site. The vote to approve was unanimous. Chief Magistrate Davis Parkman also requested an additional $1,500 for required training of the court’s clerks under victims assistance regulations. The request was approved unanimously. A request from the Burton Center Foundation to help them provide for Christmas operations for their clients was discussed and a $500 donation was approved. Consideration of an ordinance to provide for a moratorium on requests from the public for zoning map changes was removed from the agenda and not discussed. The County Council also approved the Christmas Schedule for next year choosing from choices of closing county offices from Thursday through Monday or Friday through Tuesday with Christmas falling on a Saturday that year. Councilwoman Blackwell stated it seemed more logical to give employees the extra time off before Christmas to allow shopping and preparing for the holiday than giving the extra days afterwards. “That just makes more sense to me”, she said. The council agreed and approved the schedule. The council also approved the date of Thursday, January 28, 2010 for the annual intergovernmental meeting which will be held at 6 pm. Under old business the discussion of the restrooms at the Northside Park was addressed by Glen King of Alternative Septic Solutions who installs septic systems that can be permitted by DHEC although “perk tests” will not allow a septic system to be installed. Mr. King said their custom systems could provide use of 480 gallons a day, for this project, at a cost of $19,000 to $21,000. Councilman Dorn wanted a motion to move forward on the installation of the system but was rebuffed. Chairman Kneece stated he would like to see costs of the construction of the bathrooms before taking a vote. Mr. Dorn rejected that suggestion saying that they should move forward and “at least get started, get something done”. Mr. King stated that his company did not install the septic systems until a building that would use the system was already in place or plans of a building were available to design the system to fit its needs. Councilman Ashcraft asked County Attorney Michael Medlock if he was correct in thinking any job over $5,000 had to be placed out for bids and Medlock agreed. He suggested that the matter be tabled until a later date when all information and bids have been received. A motion was made to allow Alternative Septic Solutions to move forward on soil samples being taken at a cost of $2,000 to see if the system was viable. It passed on a 3-1 vote with Ashcraft voting no and Councilwoman Blackwell not voting. If Alternative Septic Solutions moves forward on the testing they most likely will be unable to bid on the project due to prior knowledge and involvement before bids are released for the project due to acquisition and bidding regulations. After the meeting EdgefieldDaily.com Editor Roy Blackwell asked Chairman Kneece a question regarding the discrepancies in the funding sources set forth in the ordinance for the purchase of the Calliham property and the estimates provided by the architectural firm 2KM that shows a shortfall in funding. The ordinance proves for a expenditure of $625,745.51 although the estimates place the initial costs at $892,810.63, excluding plans, specifications, and documentation. Chairman Kneece exploded into a fit of rage towards Mr. Blackwell and never answered the question. More on that episode can be found here. © Copyright 2009
EdgefieldDaily.com All
original material is property of
EdgefieldDaily.com and cannot be reproduced, rewritten or redistributed
without the expressed written permission of Edgefield Daily.com
|
NOTICE:
We still need recipes for Cooking Section WEBNEWS – Send in your favorite or favorites. There is no limit to the number of recipes you can send in. With the Editor’s wife being the driving force behind her own personal section, help her create an exchange of local favorites, home cooking, grilling, sauces, and deserts! Send in your submissions here. |
