Ninety Six moves funds for new streets, sanitation equipment
NINETY SIX — After years of trouble with the existing streets and sanitation equipment, Ninety Six’s town council voted Monday to spend about $74,000 on several new pieces of equipment.
At Monday’s town council meeting in the depot, Mayor Mike Rowe said the town had previously approved up to $75,000 to buy the new equipment, but the final bill ended up being about $74,200. Council voted unanimously to approve spending the cash for a Kubota tractor, a front-end loader and a new mower, along with a grass catcher for the mower, a new grapple bucket and two-year warrantees on the tractor, loader and mower.
Council also approved spending $1,000 for a previously unbudgeted expense — land remediation work on the old Ninety Six Mill site, in preparation for planned remodeling and renovation of the property. Rowe said the town is having to restore part of the land that was graded past where it should have been near a Duke Energy substation.
In committee reports, Councilman Charles Stevens shared that Ninety Six Fire Chief Jeff Crisp plans to step down from his role as chief effective July 1. Rowe said he wanted to consult with the firefighters on who they’d like to lead them, as the town did when Crisp became fire chief.
“I know we’ll have to name a replacement,” Rowe said. “Damon Norman is assistant fire chief, and if it goes past July 1 he can fill in for us … I know we’ve had two people interested in it, but I’d rather go to the fire department and talk with them first.”
Councilwoman Kellar Rogers asked Town Clerk Ketekash Crump-Lukie to set up a meeting with a Municode representative, so the town’s judicial committee can discuss the details of digitizing and reworking the town’s ordinance codebook. She said the town is also looking at grants and other funding sources to tear down the old community center building, which is too far gone to affordably repair.
The town requested hospitality tax funds from Greenwood County last week to help with the S.C. Festival of Stars and the town’s new Bluegrass and Harvest Festival, which is scheduled for Oct. 9, said Councilman Mickey Goodman. The town-wide yard sale is scheduled for May 1, and Goodman gave an overview of a presentation from the Greenwood County Animal Shelter and Humane Society staff about helping control the stray cat population through trapping, spaying or neutering and then releasing them.
Goodman also reminded council that bids are due May 5 on the stormwater drainage system work for the Ninety Six Mill Village under the Greenwood County Capital Projects Sales Tax. Details on the project and the request for qualifications are available online at bit.ly/3v2q1Sf.
Originally Published by Index-Journal on:Apr 20, 2021
By DAMIAN DOMINGUEZ ddominguez@indexjournal.com