[0:01] Good evening everyone, and, um, welcome to our first meeting

[0:06] of the year, new year, new new beginnings. And, uh,

[0:10] I think for the first time in my lifetime that, uh,

[0:14] I remember I didn't, didn't really research it, but I usually got a pretty good

[0:18] memory. And I don't think I ever remember a time where we have had a

[0:23] active serving council member pass. And, um,

[0:28] I just wanna take a second here and let's, let's take a moment of

[0:32] silence for, for, uh, councilman wj and also ms. Ms.

[0:36] roxy mitchell, who works in our auditor's office. She also passed

[0:40] and, and she was buried yesterday. And, um, we

[0:44] lost two, two really important people in the county and in this office. And if you would, everyone,

[0:49] let's, let's take a moment. Silence for

[1:01] all right now. I guess we will all stand

[1:06] if you will let recite the lord's prayer, followed by our privilege of allegiance.

[1:14] our father, what you already heaven hall, be thy name.

[1:18] thy kingdom come. Thou will be john on earth as it is in

[1:22] heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive

[1:26] us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

[1:31] lead us not it's a temptation, but deliver us from evil. For

[1:35] thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever.

[1:39] amen.

[1:44] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america,

[1:49] and to the republic for which it stands, one nation

[1:53] under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice.

[1:57] all.

[2:05] next up, uh, we have the approval of tonight's agenda. Do I have a motion to approve

[2:09] tonight's agenda? So move, mr. Chairman. Second. A motion for councilman

[2:13] richardson. Second from councilman coker. All in favor? A. Aye.

[2:17] all opposed? The motion carries. Next

[2:22] up, I have, we need to approve the minutes from last month's agenda. Joe,

[2:26] I have a motion to approve those minutes. Second, I got a motion from

[2:30] councilman rodin, second from councilman richardson. Uh, all

[2:34] in favor? Aye. All opposed? And

[2:38] that motion carries.

[2:43] next we have a special recognition proclamation honoring councilman

[2:47] william james wj frierson senior.

[2:52] I'm going to ask for a motion on that. I'll

[2:56] make a motion. I got a motion from councilman koch, second from councilman rodin.

[3:01] and at this time, I would like for councilman

[3:05] richardson to read that proclamation you have.

[3:15] she's in the package

[3:27] county of declaring proclamation honoring reverend councilman william james

[3:32] wj fry senior, where reverend david j. Fry

[3:36] senior began to service declaring connie south isaac county

[3:40] council member on january 1st, 1995. And whereas

[3:45] reverend councilman reon senior faithfully served the citizen of clar and connie

[3:49] his capacity to continuously for 30 years of the passing on december 26th, 2025.

[3:56] and whereas reverend councilman rey senior provided with goddess

[4:00] foresight and unw and dedication to the citizen of cla and con throughout

[4:05] his tenure in office. And whereas reverend councilman rey senior

[4:09] helped lead cla and con with faith, compassion, and understanding,

[4:14] setting the lasting example of servant leadership for others to follow.

[4:18] and whereas reverend councilman freon senior will not only respect the political

[4:22] leader for clarin county, but also a devoted spiritual leader to many.

[4:27] and whereas reverend councilman freon senior will be deeply missed it by this

[4:31] council, the citizen of clarine county, his family, his friends, and his

[4:35] many marty. Now therefore be it resolved that robert councilman

[4:39] william james wj fry, senior richly deserved this

[4:43] recommendation for this lifelong dedication and the string service to cla

[4:48] and county south carolina, be it further resolved that we too proclaim

[4:53] january 2nd, 2026 at devil j fry. Senior day in

[4:57] cla and county jeremy johnson. I third chairman dorothy,

[5:01] mb clerk de council.

[5:06] do you have that? We have

[5:10] ms. Kay second. We need to take a plea. Oh yeah. Okay, good.

[5:15] um, all in favor of passing that mo that motion? Aye. All opposed?

[5:21] motion carries. Ms. Kay, if you would please come forward and, and, uh, all council members

[5:25] let's around here.

[6:44] next we have our service awards with mr. Leonard low.

[6:57] good evening, mr. Chair council, the citizen of

[7:01] the plan county. Tonight we'll be

[7:08] tonight we'll be, uh, awarded six service awards.

[7:14] first this, uh, shannon ts

[7:21] okay. Five years of service paramedic firefighter

[7:25] three. Next addison e

[7:29] wagon, firefighter, three, five

[7:33] years of service.

[7:55] next, we have k jacqueline blackwell,

[8:00] five years of service.

[8:06] mr. Dispen tendo operations coordinator

[8:11] facility, five years of service,

[8:37] mr. Air champagne corporal in

[8:41] our detention center, 10 years of service.

[8:47] and mr. John hardy, public service

[8:51] director. 10 years of service. Let's, let's give, give all of these employees.

[10:16] sorry about that. We had a little, something happens that's never happened before.

[10:20] . Next we have a presentation of the american heart

[10:24] association by administrator walter ackerman. Thank you, mr.

[10:28] chairman. Um, we have representative here from the american heart association.

[10:33] they have been so kind as to donate a blood pressure check station

[10:37] to clarendon county. Um, once past the presentation

[10:42] tonight, we'll get this located out in the front lobby area. Um, this

[10:46] is something I was so excited when she came forward with this. Um, this is

[10:50] near and dear to my heart. Um, as you know, um, high

[10:54] blood pressure is, they call it a silent killer. And they call it that for a reason. If

[10:58] you don't stay on top of it, you don't realize you have it. Um, it has

[11:02] dramatic negative effects over time. It kind of eats you away slowly.

[11:06] and in the area where we live, we have a lot of good food. Um,

[11:11] and it's good on the taste buds, but bad on your, on your blood pressure. Um,

[11:15] uh, we have a medical professional in the house who can attest to just about everything I'm

[11:19] saying so far. Uh, but we encourage the citizens to stop by.

[11:23] whether you just stop by to get your blood pressure checked, whether you're coming in to do

[11:28] business with the county, take a moment, you know, if you're in that risk category,

[11:32] if you like to eat like I do, you may wanna stop by and get your blood

[11:36] pressure under control. And if the numbers are outta whack, please go see your primary

[11:40] care physician, um, to, to take the steps necessary to

[11:44] get that back up under control, because we want everybody to be around for a long, long time.

[11:49] uh, mr. Chairman, if y'all have any questions, we have the experts

[11:53] here. They are glad to, to answer any questions that council may have.

[11:58] yes, sir. I'm c with the drinking heart association. Thank you for giving us the

[12:02] opportunity to represent the heart association. And I am here, um, with

[12:06] our sponsor who sponsored this, um, wonderful self-monitoring

[12:10] blood pressure station. And this is a station that your, uh, folks can come

[12:14] to and then folks that come into the building can go to and check their own blood pressure, write

[12:18] down their numbers. Um, we work with our federally health qualified health

[12:22] centers in the community. In this community. It's hope health. So if you do not have a physician,

[12:27] hope health information is up here, you're able to contact them, um, if your blood

[12:31] pressure is high or extremely low. Um, but I wanted, um, mr. Steven previs with the

[12:35] junior chamber to have a moment just to kind of share why they gave this kit

[12:39] to the administrative building. Um, good evening everybody,

[12:44] uh, council members and, uh, citizens of claton county. And thank you,

[12:48] uh, christina for the introduction. Um, as well as the, uh, opportunity

[12:53] to sponsor something that is also, uh, near and dear to my heart.

[12:57] um, as it was said earlier, um, you know,

[13:01] heart disease is something that affects everybody. And

[13:05] my goal, um, for this, and the cha, the junior chamber's goal for this

[13:10] is that one day if one person is walking through here and they feel a little off, they

[13:14] feel a little funny, they take a moment, they stop, they check in on their

[13:18] selves and get the attention that they need, and at the end of the day, go home to

[13:22] their families and stay healthy. Um, to tell you a little bit more about the junior chamber

[13:26] of commerce and who we are and what we do, um, we are a

[13:30] nonprofit organization that is an extension of the chamber of commerce

[13:34] here in the county. Um, and our sole purpose and our mission to water

[13:38] it down is to raise money through various events. Um, you've

[13:43] probably been to some of our stuff before, whether it be the, uh, taste of

[13:47] clain or maybe you've participated in our christmas gun raffle. But all the

[13:51] proceeds that we raise, the sole purpose of them is to go back into

[13:55] claton county and better it in areas that we see need. Uh,

[13:59] we are a group of young men under 40 and,

[14:04] uh, what I think is most special about the junior chamber is that this isn't our job. This

[14:08] isn't our career. This is all time that we volunteer outside of our time and

[14:12] our careers and our busy lives. We come from different walks of life, different

[14:16] career paths, but we all have a like-minded mission of bettering our

[14:21] community. And I can't think of a better way to better our community than donating

[14:25] to something that's gonna help a public cri uh, public health crisis.

[14:30] um, so christina, thank you so much for the opportunity. Absolutely. Um,

[14:34] I believe we're gonna maybe do a little demonstration. Yes. If y'all don't mind if we could do that.

[14:38] is that okay? Okay. So we have the wonderful ms. April conyers is here today,

[14:42] and she is gonna show you guys how we use the blood pressure cuff.

[14:47] you know how to use it when you come to the administrative building if you work here

[14:51] or if you coming from your, so we'll have steven have a seat.

[14:56] I've instructed them that if my, uh, blood pressure's high to just not say anything.

[15:00] so, . Yeah. . Yes. And we're very thankful

[15:04] for our fire department, um, and for the lives that they say I get to

[15:08] fundraise to help save lives, but they're actually the ones out there doing the work. So we are thankful that,

[15:13] um, we have them in this community to do all of these great things for us.

[15:17] so we set this up today when she came by the administrative building.

[15:21] and, um, so all you have to do is when you get there, you'll take this portion,

[15:26] put it on your arm, it, the cuff is kind of tight

[15:30] because it's new, but you will put it on, it says your left arm,

[15:35] so like exposed,

[15:40] and then relax your arm back, make sure your feet are flat on the floor, and then

[15:44] you'll just press the start button.

[15:52] and then from there it starts taping your, um, your blood pressure.

[16:07] and then we'll have the information, um, up on the wall behind the table

[16:12] as well. That will show you all the different levels of blood pressure and whatever number

[16:16] is, um, on the machine will be reflected on this, um, sheet as well in

[16:20] this poster. And so you'll know that the blood pressure is, and if it's too high

[16:24] or too, too low. Some, some us have really low blood pressure. So,

[16:29] so his blood pressure is a little high right now. Yeah. , but he's nervous.

[16:34] I saw a red light , but again, that's

[16:39] how, that's how you would, um, you would put it on. And there's also some going to

[16:43] be some whites on the table, so just make sure that after you use it, you wipe

[16:47] it down. Yeah. That helps with, um, infection control. And then

[16:51] after you take your pressure, she has, um, the sheet

[16:55] here that you can write your name, the date, and what your, um, vitals are.

[17:00] that's right. Thank you. Awesome. All thank

[17:04] you. Very good. Thank you.

[17:15] thank y'all so much. We appreciate that. Maybe, uh, maybe we can get a few of these people around

[17:19] here to use it. I doubt it, but ,

[17:24] next we have our public comment section. Um,

[17:29] ms. Corita dingle would like to speak on jordan elementary

[17:33] school.

[17:41] okay.

[17:47] good evening. Evening. I stand before you

[17:52] to respectfully request your partnership and support

[17:56] for the rehabilitation and repurposing of a

[18:00] treasured south carolina state utilization school. The old

[18:04] jordan elementary school into a vibrant, essential

[18:09] community asset. The jordan community center.

[18:13] the school was constructed in 1950 to educate

[18:18] and segregate black students living in the jordan community of

[18:22] claredon county. It once served as a

[18:26] cornerstone of opportunity, a beacon of hope and resilience

[18:30] within the community. During a period when quality

[18:34] education was denied to black communities, that

[18:38] school was recently purchased. And we

[18:42] would like to form a partnership with

[18:46] the county governments in order to

[18:51] transform the school into a community center.

[18:56] um, today, the community center does not. Today, the jordan community

[19:00] does not have a dedicated community center.

[19:05] the center's location offers exceptional potential. It

[19:09] sits just minutes away from a private airport. The golf community and

[19:13] scenic lake marion. Restoring the site

[19:18] will not only preserve a culturally significant landmark,

[19:22] but will also provide much needed services, programs, and

[19:26] gathering spaces for residents of all ages.

[19:30] it will be an inclusive community center.

[19:35] it will offer educational facilities, health and fitness, amenities,

[19:40] community and event spaces, outdoor recreational

[19:44] areas. The proposed program activities

[19:48] are youth enrichment, adult engagement, community connection.

[19:57] interviews with residents of jordan community have been conducted

[20:02] and they express some of their greatest needs, including transportation,

[20:07] um, van and bus, transportation to the community center

[20:12] and medical appointments, food and insecurities, health healthy

[20:16] eating classes, boys and girls club, legal assistance,

[20:20] um, homeless services. I have a list and I only have three minutes,

[20:24] so I'm trying to go through it as fast as possible. Um, so

[20:29] forming a partnership with claredon county, the jordan elementary

[20:33] school, a south carolina state equalization

[20:38] was purchased by a nonprofit to rehabilitate and repurpose

[20:42] it into the community center. Forming

[20:47] a partnership between the jordan community center and the

[20:51] clarinet county local government is vital and can be highly beneficial

[20:55] for several reasons. Jordan community

[21:00] center has limited finance financial resources. So partnering with

[21:04] clarinet county, local government could open access to grants,

[21:09] low interest loans or tax incentives aimed at community

[21:13] development or historic preservation.

[21:18] clarett county government can influence the nonprofits fundraising ability,

[21:23] volunteer network, and community connections to make the project

[21:27] more affordable and sustainable.

[21:31] jordan community center brings expertise in

[21:35] program and community engagement. Facility management. While

[21:40] partnering with clarinet county, local government will bring knowledge of

[21:44] regulations, zoning, construction codes, historic

[21:48] preservation requirements. Together we can ensure the

[21:52] rehabilitation meets legal standards and community needs.

[22:00] the redevelopment project represents a un a unique

[22:04] opportunity to honor our past while investing in the future

[22:08] of the jordan community and its surrounding areas, it will serve as a

[22:12] hub of education, health, recreation, and community

[22:16] engagement, uplifting the lives of residents across generations.

[22:21] with your help, we can bring new life to

[22:26] a cherished building and make a lasting impact on the wellbeing of the community.

[22:30] so I respectfully request your support and partnership as we move

[22:34] forward with this important initiative, recognizing

[22:38] that your collaboration is essential to its success,

[22:43] sustainability, long-term impact. So I

[22:47] thank you for your time and consideration and your continued commitment

[22:51] to the future of clarine county and the jordan community.

[22:58] thank you, ms. . Alright. Thank you. Um, well, you want, you wanna get with

[23:02] her after the meeting and see me? Okay. Will do.

[23:06] thank you. Next we have

[23:11] approval of fiscal year 20 20 20 20 26, 20 27.

[23:16] budget schedule. Do I have a motion? We approve that.

[23:20] I motion second. Second. Motion from councilman rodin. Second from councilman

[23:24] coker. All in favor? Aye. Aye. All opposed.

[23:29] motion carries. Next we have resolution 2026

[23:33] dash oh one a resolution approving, a first

[23:38] amended and reinstated regional water system

[23:43] participation agreement and other matters related there too.

[23:47] do I have a motion on this resolution? A motion motion

[23:51] for councilman ode. Second. I councilman co. All in favor? Aye.

[23:55] all opposed. Next

[23:59] we have a request. A cla county chamber of commerce

[24:04] is requesting 142,500 from the hospitality

[24:08] fund to support marketing initiatives

[24:12] for tourism department. Do we have anybody here that would like to explain that?

[24:18] I can help out, I can help with that. Mr. Chairman, if you'd like,

[24:24] um, if you would walk, walk to, alright.

[24:28] it's not really me, . Uh, I'm the direct interim

[24:32] chamber director. Okay. Um, she just texted me that she was running

[24:36] late. Um, I'm about to call her because I don't

[24:41] wanna speak incorrectly on her behalf.

[24:45] um, so, and I don't wanna hold everybody up. Yep. I can take care of that, mr. Chairman. Okay.

[24:49] um, we've met extensively with the chamber of commerce. Um, what they're requesting

[24:54] funds are actually, what they are, are host fees

[24:58] for several different, uh, fishing tournaments that'll be held at the lake. Um, two

[25:02] of 'em are very large tournaments. One is, uh, major league fishing, and

[25:06] the other one is the bassmaster elite series. Um, these are nationwide

[25:11] coverages on these tournaments, um, reaching an estimated 12 million people.

[25:16] um, and these are people who fish and

[25:20] come to the lake. Um, they, they, they're estimating a direct,

[25:25] um, fiscal impact of $841,000. Um,

[25:29] from the, the tournament anglers, the, the folks that

[25:33] come to see the tournaments, um, you know, staying in hotels, eating at our restaurants

[25:37] and things like that. Um, the, the good news is, and

[25:41] it's an outside chance, but the total spend on these is about $330,000

[25:47] or 3 31 I think. Um, so they're looking for a hundred forty two five from,

[25:51] from our hospitality fund for the marketing. Um, there's actually some grants that

[25:55] they will receive, and if things work out right, we may actually

[25:59] get a little bit of this money back to put back into marketing. Um, I wouldn't hold my

[26:03] breath on that. I, I, I think that, that the other expenses of the tournaments

[26:08] will consume that, those grant dollars. So, um,

[26:12] it's a, it's a worthwhile marketing initiative, um,

[26:16] getting all of those folks coming. I mean, these are, these are the big league type

[26:20] tournaments. Um, one of 'em is very small. It's like $2,500 I think for

[26:24] a, a kayak tournament or something along those lines. But the other two,

[26:28] uh, well, two of the other three are huge, major nationwide

[26:33] initiatives. Um, that's gonna bring a lot of traffic to cla county.

[26:37] okay. We got any questions for, did y'all

[26:42] actually have a history on the tournaments that's been here before? Yes, we do. Where

[26:46] they've actually spent more money yes. In this county than, um, I wanna say in 2024,

[26:50] there were two tournaments that were pretty large, um, like not quite as big as the

[26:55] ones we have coming up this year. And it brought in 1.1 million

[26:59] into the county. Yes. Thank you.

[27:07] okay. Do I have a motion? We approve this. Make a motion. Second. I

[27:11] got a motion from councilman coker. Second from councilor richard. All in favor? Aye.

[27:15] all opposed. Motion carried. Thank you.

[27:19] thank you. Thank you. Next we have ordinance 2025

[27:24] dash 15, consideration of third and final reading of ordinance

[27:28] 2025 dash 15 an ordinance authorizing

[27:33] the first amendment of that certain fee in lieu of tax and incentive agreement

[27:39] by in between cla county, south carolina and san cooperative.

[27:44] do I have a motion? We approve this solution. A second. Got

[27:48] a motion from councilman richmond. Second. Councilman rodin. All in favor?

[27:52] aye. All opposed. Motion carried.

[27:57] next we have a public hearing on ordinance 2025

[28:02] dash 16, an ordinance of clarey county council

[28:06] of clarey county south carolina to amend the county's

[28:11] official zoning map designation for tax map partial

[28:15] one 40 dash four dash oh two dash

[28:20] zero agriculture two to general commercial

[28:24] and providing an effective date. Um, I would

[28:28] like to open this the public session at this time if anyone

[28:32] would like to speak.

[28:42] okay, mr. You don't have anything to say ?

[28:47] um, um, well, no sir. It is just basically the second

[28:52] reading, um, of this ordinance. Um, you all

[28:56] initially did the first reading approval, um, is I gave

[29:00] you all maps, um, outlining, um, the, um,

[29:04] the zoning designation is just changing it from agriculture two to the general

[29:09] commercial and asked the, um, maps layout is that

[29:13] it's consistent with the surrounding area and, um, it meets

[29:17] all the requirements that's outlined in the comprehensive plan and the, um,

[29:21] udc. And this is a recommendation from, um, the planning commission and the

[29:25] planning commission chairman is here and the applicant is here as well.

[29:31] alright, does anybody else have anything?

[29:37] alright, we will the

[29:41] public hearing, excuse me. Next we

[29:46] have ordinance 2025 dash 16, consideration of the

[29:50] second reading of the ordinance 2025 dash 16, an ordinance

[29:54] of the county council of clare county, south carolina to amend the county's

[30:00] I change pages. Officials zoning map

[30:04] designation for tax map parcel one 40 dash

[30:08] zero four dash zero two dash zero zero agriculture

[30:13] two to general commercial I providing an effective date. Do

[30:17] I have a motion we no. Motion approve. Second reading. Second.

[30:22] got a motion from councilman rodin. A second from councilman richardson. All in favor,

[30:26] a aye. All opposed. Motion carries.

[30:31] next we have ordinance 2026 dash oh one. Mr. Tabitha,

[30:36] hannah,

[30:42] good evening again, mr. Chairman and members of council. Um, this is another

[30:46] zoning map amendment request. Um, the applicant, his name is mr. Sidney

[30:50] player, and he is requesting, um, that approximately

[30:55] two acres of land be rezoned from agricultural two, I'm sorry, agricultural one

[30:59] to residential conservation. Um, the purpose of this request to

[31:03] allow low density, um, residential development that is more consistent

[31:08] with the surrounding and the rural residential properties. Um, the property is currently

[31:12] vacant and was previously used for farming and limited residential purposes.

[31:17] and low density means that, um, homes that are spaced further apart

[31:22] with fuses fewer houses on the acre and to preserve open space

[31:26] and maintain a quiet rural residential character. Um, right

[31:30] now, um, the property is currently zoned for agricultural,

[31:34] which means it, um, allows farming related uses.

[31:38] the applicant is wanting to change the zoning into residential conservation so that the land

[31:43] can be used for low density residential homes that match the rule character

[31:47] of the, um, area. And the zoning still protects the open space

[31:51] and farmland, but allow homes in a controlled manner. Um,

[31:56] this request does not allow apartments or high density housing.

[32:00] it is intended to support quiet, rural living.

[32:05] um, and then what he's wanting to do is that he is wanting to place townhomes

[32:09] on the parcel. And I think the, um, the maximum, the minimum that

[32:14] he's gonna do is just two. There is nothing additional that he's wanting to do with it.

[32:18] um, and then, um, it, it aligns with the comprehensive

[32:22] plan. Um, and it, um, the comprehensive

[32:27] plan allows the low density housing that compliments rural land.

[32:31] um, and it, everything that's located out there in this particular

[32:35] area is, um, north south. Everything

[32:39] is rural, agricultural west is undeveloped woodland, small scale agricultural.

[32:45] and this parcel is located and it's located near, um,

[32:49] turville and it's located off of, what is

[32:53] it? Um, american. American avenue. American avenue,

[32:57] um, near turville. And, um,

[33:02] and the rezoning of this parcel, um, it is compatible

[33:06] with the surrounding areas with the town home development. And,

[33:10] um, he provided, um, adequate sup, um, documentation

[33:15] that this residential development will not harm the agriculture

[33:19] character of the area. And, um, the planning commission recommended

[33:23] this and they recommended to you to all to review for

[33:27] approval. Okay. We have any questions on that?

[33:32] believe she answer. Do I have a motion with approved? I

[33:36] make a motion. Second. You got a motion? Councilman cope. Second for councilman richard.

[33:40] and all in favor? Aye. Aye. All the folks.

[33:45] motion carries. Thank you. Next we have ms. Tammy rodsky

[33:49] with our financial report.

[33:54] good evening. Good evening, mr.

[33:58] so I'll start with fund 10 tonight, the general fund,

[34:02] and I do have some revenue numbers just to report. So

[34:06] our current revenue is 13,000,889

[34:11] and $6,000. So that is 41%

[34:16] without the grant revenues. 43. If we do take into effect the

[34:20] grant revenues, it is slightly lower than december of

[34:24] last year, but I do suspect that it will catch up as

[34:29] more taxpayers pay their real estate taxes. On the

[34:33] expenditure side, expenditures with grants are at 55%

[34:37] of the general fund without the grant expenses.

[34:42] we are at 47%. So our

[34:46] december we should be at 50%. So if we take out the grant

[34:50] expenses, we are within our budgeted amount because we

[34:54] do not budget for grant expenses or revenue.

[34:59] on the c program report, we have

[35:03] a december cash balance of 8,800,364,

[35:10] and we had local expenses of 3,937.

[35:15] in the month of december, we do have committed roads

[35:19] of 4,825,896.

[35:25] so as we start getting into warmer weather and these roads start getting

[35:29] paved, this fund balance will start to drop. But we still have

[35:33] an uncommitted fund balance of 3 million nine hundred and seventy four, four hundred sixty

[35:40] $8. Now, of those funds we need to commit

[35:44] by the end of june 880,000

[35:48] $153 to state roads. So we do,

[35:53] the transportation committee does need to come up with a state road

[35:57] and we need to get these funds dispersed back to the state for a state

[36:01] road project prior to june 30th.

[36:08] our water and sewer, we have revenues of $805,443.

[36:15] we have expenses of $450,391

[36:22] for an operating revenue of $355,052.

[36:28] when we take into account the depreciation and bond expense

[36:33] and non-operating expenses, we do still

[36:38] have a small net loss of $16,008.

[36:44] for the fire department. We have revenues

[36:49] of $3,684,988,

[36:54] which is 39% of their revenue, 38%

[37:00] if we take off the grant revenues and their expenditures

[37:04] are at $4,348,314

[37:10] year to date, which is 45% of their budget.

[37:14] so again, they are still below the 50%, so they are

[37:18] fine. And that is all I have. Any questions?

[37:24] no, ma'am. Thank you ms. Town.

[37:28] next we have our administrative report from mr. Walman.

[37:34] thank you mr. Chairman. Before I go into the report, and I'll be as brief as possible,

[37:38] I wanna introduce a very new member of our team, um, ms. Donna prince.

[37:42] sitting on the front row is our new county assessor. Um,

[37:47] our former assessor retired as of

[37:51] december 31st, and ms. Donna started january 2nd,

[37:55] so she's got just over a week under her belt, so she knows everything already.

[37:59] um, so we will, uh, we welcome her to our team, to our team. She has

[38:04] a wealth of experience she brings, um, and just in time

[38:08] for reassessment. So, um, we, we'll be, we'll be gonna work her. We're

[38:12] gonna get our money's worth outta her this year. Um, uh, I wanted to

[38:16] highlight a couple of things, um, and I'll I'll put quite a bit in the packet that

[38:20] you guys can in take a look at, um, when you get a minute.

[38:24] um, captain mark brewer with clarinet county fire and rescue was

[38:28] recognized in a, in a publication for his contributions to clarinet

[38:32] county, um, leading our community paramedic program. Um,

[38:37] that is a, a, a program that's been undertaken by,

[38:41] by our fire rescue department to help educate the

[38:45] public to teach them how to, to

[38:49] determine their health status and to take steps

[38:54] to improve their health. But one, the big benefit

[38:58] to fire and rescue is it helps people make an assessment of, do I

[39:02] need to call the ambulance and just get checked out or can I check myself out?

[39:06] so it helps stretch our resources by him undertaking that, that

[39:10] program. Um, and then our county economic development

[39:15] was recognized in expansion solutions magazine

[39:19] with an article that's titled claredon county, the secret's out.

[39:23] um, it was a very, very good expose on the economic development opportunities

[39:27] here in clarendon county. It's gonna give us some good national exposure.

[39:31] um, hats off to our economic development team for that. Um, we

[39:36] have a dozen or so projects, major capital projects

[39:40] underway. I've outlined those in in the report. Um, a few highlights.

[39:45] um, they're, they're doing the site work on the eoc

[39:49] 9 1 1 center that's back behind the sheriff's office now. Um, they've been moving a lot

[39:53] of dirt. They ran into some, some wet issues that they're, they're

[39:57] trying to, to figure out how to, how to deal with. Um, on our

[40:01] skip project, which is our water project, um, the big water

[40:05] tower, the legs are up, the bottom of the bowl is built as

[40:09] of last thursday. It was still sitting on the ground. We're not sure whether they're gonna put the bottom

[40:14] up and then put the top on it, how they're gonna do it. But, but that project is well

[40:18] underway. Um, the maintenance facility, the fleet maintenance building

[40:22] and public services facility, um, they have done a lot

[40:26] of progress on that one. Um, they're putting walls and stuff up inside,

[40:31] um, finalizing the grading. Um, the biggest thing left on the outside is the parking

[40:35] lot. Um, the animal shelter next door to it. They've

[40:39] got all the steel erected the roof's on it. They're doing some work on the inside now.

[40:44] um, and fire station number 10, I think is, is just about

[40:48] ready to open the doors and waiting on the ceo on it. Um, so we're making quite a bit of

[40:52] progress on these capital projects. And that's all I have, mr. Chairman.

[41:00] I only got a couple things. Um,

[41:05] and, uh, I probably just need to on, on on. The first thing

[41:09] I wanna say tonight is, um, again, we, we

[41:13] all are very, very saddened by, by councilman

[41:17] ryerson's passing. Um, but state

[41:21] law says state law that we have to hold a special election to fill his

[41:25] seat. Um, I know nobody

[41:29] really wants to do that, but that's, that's state law. And I'm,

[41:33] we, we, uh, we have to take applications for anyone who would like

[41:37] to run. And that starts on january 16th.

[41:42] and it will go through the following week. I think it, it's 10 days.

[41:46] is it eight days? Eight days is eight days is what the, the state law

[41:50] says. We have to open it for. Then, um, after that,

[41:54] the, the, uh, election will be held and primary will be held.

[41:59] um, march. March, yes. And the actual election will be

[42:03] held 1st of may, is that correct? May 12th.

[42:07] may 12th, yes.

[42:12] yes. May 12th. Okay. That's, that's first and

[42:16] foremost. We gotta figure out, you know, what we're gonna do with that. Next, I would like to, uh,

[42:22] just, uh, let everyone know that the city of manning is having a

[42:26] dr. Martin luther king jr day. And our very young

[42:30] ms. Charmaine anderson, deputy administrator will be the guest speaker

[42:35] and also former chairman dwight stewart will be

[42:39] there. If you don't have anything to do, uh, I feel

[42:43] sure the city of main would love to see you all out. Um,

[42:48] and that's all I got for tonight. So with that being said, I will take a

[42:52] motion. We adjourn. So both chairman got a motion from councilman richardson.

[42:56] second from councilman coker. All in favor? Aye. All opposed.

[43:01] motion carried. Thank y'all.

Jan 12, 2026 Clarendon County Council

Agenda

Transcript