County council approves design work on 2 CPST projects
Working through a few technological hiccups, Greenwood County Council had its second virtual meeting Tuesday evening, with two council members in chambers and the rest video-conferencing from their respective homes.
Councilmen Mark Allison and Theo Lane were in council chambers at the library for the meeting, while county officials operated the conference call over Google Meet for the remaining five council members who were operating devices of their own at home. Before getting to matters of business, Chairman Steve Brown went over some of the virtual meeting guidelines given by the state Association of Counties: Establishing a quorum and having each vote by roll call, as well as each person in the meeting identifying themselves before they speak further.
During the meeting, Council voted 5-2 to approve the selection of the design firms working on two capital projects sales tax projects: The new boat ramp beside Highway 72/221 and the J.C. Boozer Recreation Complex in Ninety Six.
Davis & Floyd was selected out of the seven firms that bid for the ramp project. The staff there will be tasked with designing an area with two ramps, 40 parking spaces, a picnic shelter, trash receptacles and restroom facilities.
“They’ve done over 50 boat ramp projects in the Upstate,” CPST Coordinator Josh Skinner said.
For the Boozer complex, instead of taking bids, the county had to do a request for qualifications. Eleven companies put in applications to work on this project, and a selection committee picked Greenville-based ADC Engineering to do the design work, based on the company proving the most qualified for the project. Allison voiced his concerns and dissent over how the request for qualification process works, in that it doesn’t require price bids from multiple companies, limiting competition.
Council unanimously approved a 60-day emergency ordinance to temporarily extend the deadline for paying hospitality and accommodations taxes for March April and May until June 20. The aim, County Attorney Elizabeth Taylor explained, is to help local businesses that are struggling amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lane raised concern that if businesses don’t have to pay, they may not set aside money for the later collection date and instead spend that money on operating costs, leaving them with a larger bill on June 20 that they can’t afford. Still, Lane said he hopes business owners will do what’s prudent and keep in mind that the taxes must be paid eventually, even if there is an extension to the deadline.
In other news:
Council approved an amendment to an ordinance establishing standards for permitting based on septic tank review.
Council approved the re-appointment of four Special Tax District Commissioners.
After a closed-door executive session meeting, council voted to suspend the county’s time and attendance policy, in a move to shift from paying comp time to paid overtime.
Originally Published by Index-Journal on:Apr 7, 2020
By DAMIAN DOMINGUEZ ddominguez@indexjournal.com