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New equipment and Old Flour Mill take
attention of town council meeting Edgefielddaily.com web posted July 12, 2005 JOHNSTON - The Johnston Town Council held its regular monthly meeting tonight, Monday July 11, 2005 at 6:00 pm at the Town Hall. After the call to order and the pledge Mayor Dean Campbell stated that the meeting would be shaping up to be a short one, he hoped. First listed on the agenda was Alexander Hamilton, who owns the Old Flour Mill, which the town has been granting six month permits for the demolition. Mayor Campbell said that Mr. Hamilton would not be present at the meeting and he would discuss the matter under Old Business. With no public comments the council went on to approve the minutes of the June 13, 2005 meeting and the June Financial Report with unanimous votes of 6-0. Mayor Campbell also asked each council member to review the June bills if they had not done so. Mike Casey, Edgefield County Emergency Preparedness Director, was up next informing the town of the newest equipment that had been purchased with Homeland Security Grants which included Automatic External Defibrillators (AED’s) and Hot sticks. Mr. Casey showed the council how the AED’s gave step by step instructions, “in case the rescuer becomes panicked,” he said. The AED will not allow anyone to “shock” an individual by overriding the computer. “It will only deliver a shock if it (the AED) detects a shockable rhythm,” he said. The "hot sticks" can be used by all departments to detect “live wires” in the event of downed power lines in emergency situations where workers could come into contact with a source of electrocution. “All they have to do is point it at the wire and the device will" sound an alarm "if the wire is live,” Mr. Casey stated. Mr. Casey told the council each department in the county has received about $14,000 in grant money which also helped to provide a “jaws of life” for each department. Under Old Business Mayor Campbell stated he had met with Alexander Hamilton on Saturday and they discussed a plan of action to take rather than the town imposing fines for still not having the Old Flour Mill demolition completed. The Mayor stated that Mr. Hamilton has agreed to remove the loose debris, old tires and such first to make the location more acceptable. Secondly, the Mayor said, that the demolition of the building would be undertaken again in hopes of completing everything in six months. About a dozen residents around the mill attended the meeting and Wilburn Jackson spoke up from the audience saying, “Some of that stuff, they buried it. I watched them. They dug a big hole and shoved it in there,” and covered it back up she said. Mayor Campbell said he was unaware of such charges and would have Town Administrator Gambrell look into it. Noah Peterson said he saw them bury trash as well, “Tires, concrete, wood, all kids of trash, I’ve seen them bury it,” he said also claiming Mr. Hamilton was bringing trash from other job sites and disposing it in the same manner. Burying such waste is a violation of DHEC laws town attorney Greg Anderson said. Councilman Tommy Burton said he did not see extending the permit again, “I know he needs more time, but what after the next six months?” he asked. “In six months we’ll be in the middle of December and I don’t think he’ll be done then either,” Burton added. Town Attorney Greg Anderson said the town could use code enforcement to force compliance of the new agreement. Mayor Campbell pointed out that if the town proceeded with fines that the demolition of the building could be delayed inevitably and that Mr. Hamilton could, “just walk away,” and leave the town holding the bag for the clean up. The decision was an administrative one and did not need a vote of council to go forward. The matter is "a year and a half old," Councilman Burton said. Under the Reports from the Administrator Olin Gambrell said the town was in the process of making applications for CDGB grants that would take in the Aiken, Bland, Johnson, Andrew, and Walker St. areas. The federal grants are now being “targeted” to small areas Mayor Campbell said due to the impact of the funding could be seen more easily if they were located in smaller areas. The council voted to go into Executive Session to discuss a personnel issue and a legal matter. On returning to open meeting the Mayor stated no action had been taken and asked for a motion to, “allow the Pubic Works Committee to hire, within salary range,” one of the candidates applying for the open position after interviews were completed. After a motion and a second the vote was 6-0. The Mayor then informed the public that Police Officer David Willis has filed a lawsuit against the town for overtime pay he claims he has not received. The Mayor issued a short prepared statement saying the town would defend the citizens and the town against the suit. The meeting was then adjourned. Return to Main Page
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