For the first time since his death, Steve Brown’s face appeared at a Greenwood County Council meeting.

At Tuesday’s meeting, county Veterans Affairs Director Rosalind Burke presented to Brown’s family a display featuring a picture of Brown, his medals earned while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and other memorabilia commending his service to his country.

Sgt. Brown served for four years as a Marine, trained in radar-jamming technology and serving as a combat aircrewman in three combat missions.

“Sgt. Brown’s actions are a credit to the United States Marine Corps, and to the United States of America,” Burke said. “Mr. Brown was a very dedicated advocate to the veterans affairs in Greenwood, to the veteran Greenwood community and to his United States military, which he so proudly served.”

Brown’s wife, Beverly, and children, Gavin and Meagan, joined Burke in revealing the display. Council chairperson Chuck Moates thanked Burke and Brown’s family for attending the meeting and gave praise to those responsible for putting a tribute to Brown in the room council regularly meets.

“He served for decades as the Greenwood city manager and for, I believe, eight-plus years as a member and chairman of this Greenwood County Council,” Moates said. “His service to Greenwood County and his dedication to serving the citizens of Greenwood County was, without a doubt, exemplary and commendable.”

Council revisited their previous vote on amending the Wingert Road Planned Development District to allow for C&C Metal Recycling to have a pull-apart salvage yard on its property. A previous vote to approve the change failed because of a tied vote while two council members were absent, but council voted at its last meeting to re-visit their vote.

Council approved the change in a 4-2 vote, with Councilwoman Edith Childs and Moates voting against. The change allows C&C to move forward with its goals for a pull-apart operation. This is intended to salvage parts from cars intended for scrap, and to sell those parts at a reduced rate for people looking for used car components.

Council also approved a countywide change that will allow for accessory dwelling units, sometimes known as “granny flats.” The unanimous vote amended the county’s zoning ordinance to allow property owners with an existing dwelling to build one ADU on a property that’s at least five acres. These ADUs can only be up to 1,000 square feet.

Local internet company WCFiber entered a 20-year fee-in-lieu-of-tax agreement in exchange for a capital investment in Greenwood County of at least $19 million. Council unanimously approved the tax incentive agreement, with an amendment to count about $7 million of existing broadband infrastructure work the company has installed this year.

The agreement has WCFiber set to install broadband infrastructure in five areas, encompassing a total of about 2,530 addresses that can receive internet service. The company is set to install this infrastructure from 2022 to 2026, but if the “take rate” — the percent of subscribers relative to the parcels the service lines pass — for any of the five areas is less than 50%, the company is not obligated to continue building in subsequent areas, according to the agreement.

Capital Project Sales Tax Coordinator Josh Skinner gave council a quarterly update on the county’s projects. This quarter saw $2,929,724 in tax revenue for the CPST, with about $41 million collected to date. The county has spent less than it has taken in so far, but with several projects about to begin, he said expenditures will match revenues.

Bids went out Sept. 21 for one of the largest sets of projects, park improvements. Skinner said officials are working with the lowest bidder to reduce the over-budget cost of the projects, which will bring upgrades to the Grace Street, Foundry and Ninety Six parks next, along with bike trails and other improvements.

The county is finalizing a contract for the Dr. Benjamin E. Mays Historic Preservation Site’s auditorium, and bids went out Tuesday on a boating facility on Lake Greenwood’s shores.

Next quarter’s revenue check is going toward upgrading area law enforcement’s records management systems, along with the second phase of county park improvements. This will include the Wilbanks Sports Complex, the former site of the Greenwood Civic Center.

Council members asked whether CPST tax revenues are on pace to meet the income goal of about $89 million by the end of the tax’s lifespan. County Treasurer Steffanie Dorn said if it comes up short, it might be by about 5%.

“The way numbers were coming in during the first part of this tax collection, I wasn’t sure we were going to make it,” she said.

Income hasn’t grown much following a dip from the coronavirus pandemic, but Dorn said retail experts expect spending to grow in the next quarter.

“So many of the projects, the costs have expanded,” Moates said.

Where price tags have increased, Dorn said the county has found ways to scale projects back or find other sources of funding to pay for the overage. The county is not pulling funds intended for future projects to pay for ones underway today, she said.

In other news:

County unanimously approved two boundary line adjustments for lakeside properties on Grand Harbor Boulevard and Cape Charles Court. The former received 0.03 acres of county property, while the latter received 0.04 acres.

The Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office had delinquent invoices from Carolina Recording Systems, the company that provides recording services for 911 calls. Dorn said the state office of Revenue and Fiscal Affairs reimburses 80% of the cost for this service, and council approved spending $29,660.40 to pay Carolina Recording Systems.

The commissioners of the Magnolia Place Special Tax District requested to dissolve. Dorn said in asking residents their opinions, she learned many didn’t know they lived in a special tax district, or what that meant. The commissioners sought to dissolve over the $10 per lot fee the county introduced last year for special tax districts.

Originally Published by Index-Journal on:Nov 3, 2021

 By DAMIAN DOMINGUEZ ddominguez@indexjournal.com

Article Link: https://www.indexjournal.com/news/greenwood-county-unveils-tribute-to-steve-brown-in-library/article_75c41f2c-6705-53aa-8898-0f65b2316383.html

A tied vote shot down C&C Metal Recycling’s chance at getting approval for a pull-a-part at its Wingert Road facility during Tuesday’s Greenwood County Council meeting.

Cliff Redd, owner of C&C, had requested council approve an ordinance amending the planned development district for Wingert and Milford Springs roads to allow the metal recycling company to use a pull-a-part. The tool would allow the removal of spare parts from vehicles set to be recycled and shredded, then the parts could be sold to the public, providing a local vendor for used auto parts.

Redd spoke during public comment at Tuesday’s meeting, addressing a fire the company had that morning. A pile of “fluff” — the scrap material left over after a vehicle is shredded — caught fire at 8 a.m. Tuesday. Redd said he considered the fire suspicious, but had not had time to review all his security camera videos. The way it burned wasn’t consistent with previous fluff fires the company has had, including one in early September.

“It was not a typical fluff fire,” he said.

Steve and Charlotte Ehney, who live across C&C at 210 Wingert Road, spoke out in opposition to the allowance of a pull-a-part.

“This is the second fire in less than a month that has occurred,” Steve said. “If you grant this step today, what’s going to come tomorrow?”

He said with only one hydrant along the road at the corner of Milford Springs Road, he was concerned about the possibility of future fires. Charlotte said she was worried about an increase in traffic and noise.

When it came time to vote, council members Mark Allison and Robbie Templeton weren’t present at the meeting. Council members Melissa Spencer and Theo Lane voted to approve allowing a pull-a-part, while Councilwoman Edith Childs and Councilman Chuck Moates opposed it. The motion failed because of the tie.

Council approved several ordinances in 4-0 votes. They approved rezoning about 10 acres of property owned by Eaton at 5502 Highway 25 N. in Hodges from a rural development district to light industrial. Council approved an ordinance establishing the process for electing county council’s chairperson and vice chairperson in the event of an opening during unexpired terms.

Council lifted its 2018 moratorium on “tiny houses,” passing an ordinance that allows building structures less than 750 square feet and provides for permitting any residential structure that costs more than $1,000.

Council members also approved the final step in offering a fee-in-lieu-of-tax incentive agreement to Impresa Building Systems of Greenwood. Impresa is a modular home manufacturer that announced last month that it’s expanding into Greenwood, making a $9.1 million capital investment and creating 180 jobs.

County Treasurer Steffanie Dorn shared with council a plan to expand the public transportation options offered through Greenwood’s partnership with the McCormick County Senior Center’s McCormick Area Transit.

“We’re off to a really good start,” she said. “Each month we have increased our ridership.”

July saw 90 riders on the MAT bus, in August there were 134 and 183 in September, said County Manager Toby Chappell. Dorn said she was confident the county could expand the area and services the MAT offers, growing the area in which the MAT transports people from a 2.5-mile radius around the county courthouse to a 4-mile radius. Dorn also said the expansion would offer transportation to banks, schools and for employment. Council approved the expansion.

“Folks in Greenwood County are using this service, and I am so glad to expand it for them,” Moates said.

Council also voted to approve moving $60,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds to the Capital Projects Sales Tax fund to help renovate the bathrooms in the Brewer Community Center. CPST Coordinator Josh Skinner said the renovation project had $27,636 of CPST funds budgeted, but the lowest bid on the work from MADCO in Lexington came out to more than $58,000 for the renovations, but the price tag rose to more than $70,000 to also replace the tiling in the bathrooms.

The budgeted CPST funds, along with $60,000 from the ARPA funds, would cover the costs of renovating the bathrooms, which Skinner said were from the 1950s. Council approved the transfer.

Trees grown on county land near the airport have matured and are ready to be harvested, County Engineer Rhett Templeton said, and council approved a plan to bid the lumber sale out. It also approved a resolution to transfer funds, if needed, from the Special Appropriations Fund to cover the anticipated costs of obtaining property near the airport for use of its airspace — a process called avigation easement. The funds will be reimbursed through a federal grant at 95%, Dorn told council.

In other business:

Council approved a resolution to allow work to start on a fee-in-lieu-of-tax and incentive agreement between Greenwood County and an unidentified company. The project is titled Project Premises and represents a $19 million minimum capital investment. The FILOT would last 20 years at 6% of the property’s assessed value.

Loy Sartin was appointed to a seat on the Accommodation Tax Commission. He joins recent appointees Claire Griffith, general manager of Inn on the Square and Hampton Inn General Manager Shanna Lance. Council postponed appointments to the joint planning commission because of Allison and Templeton’s absence at the meeting.

Council had first reading on an ordinance to allow “granny-flats,” or accessory dwelling units, to be built on existing properties. These buildings would be limited to 1,000 square feet and located on the rear or side yards if detached from the main structure.

Originally Published by Index-Journal on: Oct 6, 2021

By DAMIAN DOMINGUEZ ddominguez@indexjournal.com

Article Link: https://www.indexjournal.com/news/tie-vote-denies-c-c-a-pull-a-part/article_ecaa9bee-752d-534e-8e69-90058ddf34a4.html

Steve Brown was missed dearly at Monday’s Greenwood County Council meeting.

The meeting was previously set for Aug. 17, but Councilman Chuck Moates, now serving as chairman following Brown’s death, said they rescheduled it.

“Council felt out of respect to Mr. Brown’s family and him that we would not conduct a public meeting until after his funeral service,” he said. “Monday was the first time we could do it, and do it respecting his family.”

In their district reports, each council member paid their respects to Brown, a longtime public servant who spent nearly four decades in service to Greenwood city and county. But Moates said he would serve as council chairman according to procedure until Brown’s District Five seat is filled in a special election, then council will elect a chairperson and vice chairperson. Until then, he said members will continue to serve Greenwood County to their utmost capacity, like Brown would have wanted.

Humane Society of Greenwood Executive Director Connie Mawyer presented her quarterly update, sharing that the trap-neuter-return program for reducing feral cat colony populations has been a success. The group trapped, neutered and released 62 cats in the area of Crosscreek Connector, and through the past year the colony reduced to 16 total cats. HSOG has provided shelters and food for cats in the area that keep them away from heat and food sources from area businesses.

The animal shelter has struggled to handle its increased population, but Mawyer said HSOG is working on adoption events and working with pet owners to reduce the number of surrendered animals that come into the shelter.

“The strategies that we’ve put in place, we call them managed intake, but really it’s about managing sometimes the intake, the output and the in-between because of the population,” she said. “Typically from June to the end of August is our peak season.”

Many shelters are facing a crisis as populations expand. This year has seen fewer owner-surrendered animals, though, and Mawyer said she wants to target lowering the number of public strays in the following year. Last year featured about 1,000 animal adoptions, with a 90% live release rate, she said. Council members Theo Lane and Mark Allison complimented Mawyer on her work, and the HSOG and shelter staff for their smooth and effective operation.

Capital Project Sales Tax Coordinator Josh Skinner had two requests for council. His first was to spend an additional $10,000 on the Promised Land Walking Track project, which was originally budgeted at about $66,000. The Promised Land Community Association asked for the additional funds to rubberize the surface of the walking track, but Lane expressed concern about giving additional funds for an expense not included in the approved project application.

The request was shot down, and Councilwoman Edith Childs suggested to her constituents a community fundraiser to finance the rubberizing.

Later, Skinner gave an update on the work at the J.C. Fox Boozer Complex in Ninety Six. Funds from the first phase of construction are spent, but additional costs arose for the work at this county property when the county had to re-bid renovations for the park’s restrooms, along with the addition of LED lighting, overflow parking and irrigation.

The county has reached its original $1 million budget for the current site work, he said, but it will cost an additional nearly $600,000 to complete the remaining work. Skinner requested transferring $150,000 from the special appropriations fund to the CPST fund, along with an additional up to $500,000 from phase two of the Greenwood County Athletic Facilities project budget.

Councilman Robbie Templeton said some of these funds are being redirected from a project to put an all-inclusive playground at the Wilbanks Sports Complex — the site of the former civic center — and that funds from the American Rescue Plan Act will be secured to cover the playground. Council unanimously approved the funds transfer.

Council had first readings on two ordinances: One to allow the Lost Lure Special Tax District to dissolve, the other to rezone 28 acres on Sagewood Road from R-1 to R-2. For the first, County Treasurer Steffanie Dorn said there are only six or seven people in the Lost Lure tax district, and none objected when she asked about dissolving. The rezoning ordinance would allow for 10,000-square-foot lots on the property, potentially adding up to 40 units there. County Planning Director Phil Lindler said that many units is unlikely, given the geography of the land, and the owner said they weren’t intending to develop all of the property.

The state Regulator and Fiscal Affairs Office will help the county with its upcoming redistricting, as council approved a resolution to have the state agency serve as an impartial third party in the process. County Council’s districts will be redrawn based on the 2020 federal census data set for release next month. The fiscal affairs office will have public hearings and help with the process, although council will have the final vote for approval of the changed maps.

Originally Published by Index-Journal on:Aug 25, 2021

 By DAMIAN DOMINGUEZ ddominguez@indexjournal.com

Article Link: https://www.indexjournal.com/news/greenwood-county-council-hosts-first-meeting-after-chairman-browns-passing/article_ec8bfc56-3165-5099-89eb-e40a5c0525bd.html

WARE SHOALS — In a town teeming with potential, Ware Shoals town council members gave updates on developments they’re tracking down at three committee meetings Monday.

Councilman Kent Boles said in a properties and public works committee meeting he’s preparing the former fire department building at 39 E. Main St. to be the new home of the Public Works Department. He’s pressure-washed the building but will be grinding some of the cement and moving other items out of there before the public works crews move in.

At a previous meeting, council discussed options for Katherine Hall, with some council members expressing interest in tearing the historic building down and building a new community center on the site. One of the Greenwood County Capital Projects Sales Tax items approved in the 2016 election involved spending more than $3.3 million to renovate the building.

While Ware Shoals’ council hasn’t decided to do anything else with the building, council member Micheal Powell said Monday he received an update from CPST Coordinator Josh Skinner. If tax income levels stay strong, Powell said the Katherine Hall restoration project would likely receive its funding between July and October 2024.

Council member Bryan Ross said he looked into whether the town could cash in on a bounty. The Clemson Extension Campus issued a bounty on Bradford pear trees, offering a replacement tree to anyone who photographs themselves removing a Bradford pear from their property.

“They’re invasive, and the trunks can’t support them and it’s breaking them up,” he said.

The town can’t take advantage of Clemson’s offer, but Ross said he’s looking into having the Bradford pear trees in Pines Park trimmed and cut back.

In the youth and communities committee, Ross said the town’s back-to-school safety night event was rescheduled because of possible rain. It will now be Aug. 24 in the town square, featuring local law enforcement and firefighters with their equipment, face painting, and free hot dogs and drinks.

Council member Valerie Jackson said she’s getting estimates on asbestos removal and other work needed in the bay area of the town hall building in order to turn it into a youth center for the town. In the meantime, Ross said council is trying to create a subcommittee for the town’s amphitheater to plan and manage events there.

Ross fielded the idea of a new annual event hosted at the amphitheater — a weekend beach music festival in the spring. He said the town could sell tickets for an event that runs through a Friday and Saturday, featuring four bands and hopefully attracting visitors from surrounding areas. The committee made no decisions on the matter, but Ross said he’d continue to explore the idea.

In a police committee meeting, Chief Bryan Louis said the town’s call volume and tickets are up from last year. Police have fielded 3,455 calls to date this year, while last year saw 2,862 in the same span. The police department has written nearly 600 traffic tickets to date in 2021, while 270 had been written by August 2020.

Louis said in part the higher tickets and call volume could be because more people are out and about than were at this time last year, because of COVID-19-related shutdowns. The department has also issued 686 warning tickets this year as opposed to 319 by the same date in 2020, which Louis said is because two new officers are getting accustomed and trained in doing traffic stops, so they’re handing out more warnings than tickets.

Originally Published by Index-Journal on:Aug 10, 2021

By DAMIAN DOMINGUEZ ddominguez@indexjournal.com

Article Link: https://www.indexjournal.com/news/ware-shoals-committees-keeping-tabs-on-projects-in-progress/article_4bc233a8-a43e-5f59-861b-bc45094f1c49.html

WARE SHOALS — Restore it or knock it down. Although they hadn’t planned on it, Ware Shoals’ town council talked Tuesday about the conflicted future for Katherine Hall.

“This is pretty tough on me,” said Councilman George Leagans, introducing the matter for discussion late in Tuesday’s council meeting. “I did not experience the great things many did in Katherine Hall.”

Leagans said in his years on council officials have talked about the future of Katherine Hall many times, and he’s been a supporter of restoring it. During the Catfish Feastival, a resident brought to his attention how dilapidated and damaged the building is, and he took a closer look at the building.

“I believe it’s best for this town. … It is time to look seriously at bringing that building down,” he said. “If we can’t get someone to fix it, what does that tell us? It’s just not fixable.”

The restoration of Katherine Hall is one of the projects set to be funded by the 2016 Greenwood County Capital Project Sales Tax. The 18th project on the finalized list, the CPST is set to fund the building’s restoration to the tune of $3,397,273 — funds that are still years away from coming in, and that Councilman Bryan Ross said the town can’t wait for.

Councilman Kent Boles put it succinctly: Restoring the building is a pipe dream.

“It should have been torn down 38 years ago,” he said. “I’ll be 65 on my birthday, and that canteen was closed before I was old enough to get in it.”

How can he tell residents to clean up their yards and beautify their properties, Boles said, when the town has had a dilapidated building at its center for decades?

Mayor Scott Horne said they can’t tear down the building without a plan for what they’ll do with the property. The town submitted a plan for the property in 2016, when it petitioned for the restoration to be funded by the Capital Project Sales Tax.

The original project application, submitted in January 2016, sought funds to restore the three-story, 15,637-square-foot building to be used as a centerpiece for the town. It holds a 500-seat auditorium the proposal suggested could be used as a performing arts venue, and would have space where several of the town’s departments could be relocated. It was also intended as a town recreation center.

The application included a 31-page report on the condition of Katherine Hall, completed by consultant Preservation South on behalf of the Katherine Hall Preservation Committee.

“Katherine Hall retains much of its architectural integrity and can return to being a significant resource for the Ware Shoals community through the funds generated from this grant,” the application said.

The application said once the building was restored, it would be maintained using tax revenue, donations and income brought in by the building’s services.

Councilwoman Patty Walters cast doubt on the project’s price tag.

“What it’s going to cost to renovate that is going to cost double what the penny sales tax is going to get us,” she said. “My problem is once you get it done, how are we going to maintain it? … And 3 million is not going to do it. Three million is not even going to come close to repair it.”

Council would look foolish to seriously consider tearing down Katherine Hall when there’s millions of dollars coming from the CPST for its restoration, said Councilman Micheal Powell. He suggested talking with the preservation committee that made the report on the building, to get their input.

“I see it as potential for tourism in the future,” he said. “Katherine Hall is a viable and important part of our future.”

Leagans floated the idea of building a one-level building on the Katherine Hall grounds and using it as a rentable event space and venue.

“No, we don’t have a concrete plan, but citizens have mentioned — at least around me — that it could be used as a multipurpose building,” he said.

Council only talked about the future of Katherine Hall and didn’t take any action, but town officials said they’d look into their options regarding the building.

Originally Published by Index-Journal on:Jun 17, 2021

 By DAMIAN DOMINGUEZ ddominguez@indexjournal.com

Article Link: https://www.indexjournal.com/news/katherine-halls-future-in-question-for-ware-shoals-council/article_efcea294-5b6d-55ae-849e-d88e7dbb6a99.html