[3:51] All right. God bless you all again and
good afternoon. Thank you. Thank you all
[3:56] so much for uh being with us this
afternoon at our regularly scheduled
[4:01] county council meeting. Um if you would
please uh bow your heads as we um go to
[4:07] the Lord in prayer. Most gracious and
everlasting father, Lord God, we come
[4:12] before you with bowed heads and humbled
hearts, Lord, first to tell you thank
[4:15] you. Lord God, thank you for the many
blessings that you bestowed upon each
[4:18] and every one of us. Lord God, we ask
you for your continued blessings
[4:23] upon Williamsburg County and all of its
residents. Lord God, we continue to lift
[4:27] up the members of council and their
families as well as our elected
[4:31] officials and their families, our
department heads and all of our
[4:33] employees. Lord, Father God, again, we
ask you for your continued blessings
[4:37] upon uh this county. We invite the
presence of your Holy Spirit into this
[4:42] meeting tonight as we attempt to handle
uh the business of the people of
[4:46] Williamsburg County. Again, Lord God, we
thank you. It's in the mighty and
[4:50] matchless name of your son, Jesus, we
pray. Let every heart say, "Amen." Amen.
[4:56] And amen.
All right. Um
[5:01] Okay. Um, I've got a request to amend uh
the agenda. We need to correct the
[5:08] resolution number from two from 2026-004
to resolution number 2026-00005
[5:19] 005, excuse me. Uh, is there a motion to
amend the agenda?
[5:25] » So, we have a motion to amend. Is there
a second?
[5:28] » Second.
>> It's been moved and properly seconded.
[5:30] Are ready for questions?
All those in favor, please indicate by
[5:34] saying I.
>> I.
[5:35] » Any opposed?
>> Let the record Please let the record
[5:39] reflect that the motion to amend the
agenda has been carried has been
[5:45] carried. All right. Minutes. Uh minutes.
Approval of minutes. Public hearing and
[5:50] regular and regular council meeting from
Tuesday, August 18th,
[5:55] 2026.
All right. Is there a motion to approve
[5:59] the minutes from the meeting on Tuesday,
August 18th, 2026 with the necessary
[6:06] corrections? Is there a motion to
approve?
[6:08] » So move.
>> So we have a motion to approve. Is there
[6:11] a second?
>> Second.
[6:12] » It's been moved and properly seconded or
ready for questions. All those in favor,
[6:17] please indicate by saying I.
>> I.
[6:19] » Any opposed?
Or please let the record reflect that
[6:23] the motion has been carried. All right.
Ordinances. Ordinances. First reading.
[6:27] There are no ordinances
for first reading. There are no
[6:32] ordinances for first reading. Second
reading of ordinance number 2026-10,
[6:39] an ordinance authorizing the county to
purchase approximately 4 and a half
[6:42] acres more or less of real property
known as the Staples Lake Boat Landing
[6:47] and the seller's interest and to County
Line Road extending from the
[6:52] intersection of County Line Road and
Muddy Creek Road to Staples Lake Boat
[6:56] Landing and the grant of an easement a
pertinent for the seller's use of the
[7:01] road and an amendment the 2026 2027
budget ordinance for Williamsburg County
[7:07] to allow Williamsburg County to fund the
purchase of the aforementioned property
[7:11] and to provide for other matters related
there too. All right. Before I call for
[7:16] um vote on this, I want to bring the uh
county attorney up and I want to um take
[7:21] an opportunity to explain um what we're
doing. Not so much for the benefit of
[7:29] the members of council because I know
that you all have been um been fully
[7:34] made fully aware of it, but I want to
make sure that the that the community
[7:38] understands exactly what we're doing.
This particular uh boat landing has been
[7:44] uh involved in a long-term lease by
Williamsburg County for a number of
[7:49] years. Uh a a new owner uh has uh
purchased the property and when he
[7:55] purchased the property, he also
purchased the lease as well. um he
[8:01] approached us um about
um purchasing the boat landing so it
[8:09] could remain a public boat landing uh
for people to continue to use. And what
[8:15] he has um asked us to do is to reimburse
him basically
[8:25] per acre what he paid for the large
track of property to in uh to include
[8:32] the boat landing. It's and and I'm not
sure is it okay if I go ahead and give
[8:38] the dollar amount?
>> Yes.
[8:39] » It's $20,000
for riverfront property. Um, and I think
[8:46] it's what about four or so acres.
>> The the boat landing itself is two and a
[8:51] half acres, but um the reference to the
four acres includes the access road that
[8:59] um includes the roaded. So that's where
the total acreage comes from. But the
[9:04] boat landing itself is two and a half
acres. Um, this also would
[9:10] this would also clarify and um establish
the the boundary lines around the boat
[9:17] landing that have somewhat gotten a
little bit out of sorts over the years.
[9:21] The boat landing was in in a different
area and then it was moved to where it
[9:27] currently is. When I don't know. Um, but
the county does have a lease agreement
[9:32] with the prior owner. According to that
lease agreement, the lease could be
[9:37] cancelled by either party upon 30 days
notice to the other. And um
[9:46] in order to keep the boat landing open,
this was um
[9:50] why the discussions we we began
discussions with the current owner of
[9:55] the boat landing. The funding for the
purchase will come from
[10:01] $10,000 from recreational programs,
$5,000 from contractual services, and
[10:08] $5,000 from other operating expenses out
of the supervisor's office. So, we um
[10:13] have the necessary funds within the the
budget. We just need to move them.
[10:18] » Okay. And that's what this um ordinance
does is
[10:22] » and so I want to be clear on this. This
and I want to make sure that everyone
[10:26] understands what we're doing. Um this is
4 acres of property, two and a half of
[10:32] which is riverfront property with a boat
landing. Okay. For $20,000.
[10:43] Correct.
>> Correct.
[10:44] » Okay.
And I'm sure
[10:48] and and we probably well
>> I'm sure that the easement language is
[10:52] is what's causing some question. Um the
easement language is
[10:58] um
it attaches to the property to to the
[11:03] seller's property. So an easement allows
him to continue to access his property
[11:08] to use his property without any sort of
limitation. So it's not just an easement
[11:12] for access. It could be an easement to
um you know install
[11:18] utilities should utilities come into
that area. And I think that that's where
[11:22] some of the confusion comes from.
There's no plan for that. It is um
[11:28] unfortunately I think lawyers cause some
problems sometime for folks whenever
[11:31] they don't necessarily have problems.
But that is the language for the
[11:37] easement itself is as easement a
pertinent for whatever use for the
[11:42] sellers for the seller for the sellers's
invitees meaning anybody that may come
[11:47] at the seller's request and for the
installation of utilities should that be
[11:52] in the future but there's no discussion
about any sort of development but I
[11:58] believe that that might be where some of
the questions have come up about this is
[12:03] because the lawyers have created a
problem where there's not a problem.
[12:06] » Sure. Um and and again um for the
benefit of the members uh of the um
[12:12] community that are here with us and as
well as the uh members of the community
[12:17] that are listening now and will be
listening later. This is a um boat
[12:22] landing that Williamsburg County has had
um a lease on for a significant number
[12:28] of years. Um, the only thing that we're
doing is assuming ownership of it. We've
[12:35] been responsible for it all of these
years. Um, I'm over 50 years old and
[12:42] I've always been familiar with this
particular piece of property uh because
[12:47] it's uh in the area that I live in and
um it's always been a public boat
[12:55] landing and what we're attempting to do
and through the owner and the owner was
[12:59] generous enough to to even offer the
county this because for what we're
[13:04] paying for the property, he certainly
could have gotten a significantly
[13:09] uh amount larger than that, way more
than that. Um for where the from where
[13:15] this property is located at and the fact
that the property um has a boat landing.
[13:22] In fact, I was talking with someone
earlier today about this and they seem
[13:26] to think that the um that we wouldn't
even be able to buy the concrete for
[13:31] that boat landing for what we're paying
for the boat landing. Okay. All right.
[13:36] Does any of the members of council have
any questions or comments about this?
[13:41] All right. Thank you so much,
[13:46] Madam County Attorney. Thank you. All
right. So, is there a motion to approve
[13:50] second reading of ordinance number
2026-10?
[13:54] So, we have a motion to approve. Is
there a second?
[13:56] » Second.
>> It's been moved and properly seconded
[13:58] and are ready for questions. All those
in favor, please indicate by saying I.
[14:02] I.
>> Any opposed? I
[14:06] Okay, let's Can we get that by? You got
it. Okay. All right. Very good. Thank
[14:10] you so much. All right. Motion has been
carried. All right. Um, second reading
[14:16] of ordinance number 2026-09,
an ordinance to establish height and
[14:22] land use limitations for airport
operational safety and airport
[14:26] compatible land use within the vicinity
of the Williamsburg Regional Airport and
[14:30] providing for the administration
enforcement and amendment thereof. Um,
[14:36] Madame County Attorney, let me get you
one more time. Um, this is okay. And I
[14:42] want to explain this to the
community. I think council has a a
[14:47] fairly good understanding of it.
Williamsburg County does not, and I
[14:52] repeat, does not have countywide zoning.
We do not have countywide zoning. Um we
[15:00] because we don't have countywide zoning
a lot of times whenever we're do dealing
[15:04] with things uh as it relates to land use
management we have to create ordinances.
[15:10] Um if you all recall maybe about two
years ago or so we did a um ordinance um
[15:16] dealing with solar farms. Well we did
that ordinance because again as I as I
[15:21] stated earlier we do not have countywide
zoning. when it was brought up um years
[15:28] ago um there was such an uproar by the
county by by um citizens within the
[15:34] county um that particular administration
and council at that time
[15:41] decided not to do it. um well and so
it's never been done. And so again, as
[15:47] it relates to land use management
issues, when we have these kinds of
[15:51] things that come up, we have to do
ordinances because we do not have
[15:56] countywide zoning. Um as it relates to
this particular ordinance, uh we get
[16:02] funding uh from the South Carolina
Aeronautics Commission as well as the um
[16:09] FFA FAA um federal ad Aviation
Administration
[16:15] and
[16:18] we we get funding from again from FAA
which is a Federal Administration,
[16:26] Federal Aviation Administration. I'll
get it right in a minute. All right. Um
[16:30] they have required us um to do what's
called an airport overlay ordinance.
[16:37] Again, we have to do ordinances because
we don't have countywide zoning. And we
[16:42] had to do this airport overlay ordinance
um to be able to continue to get funding
[16:49] to do upgrades to our airport and to our
um the landing strip out there at the
[16:56] airport.
Madam County attorney, is anything I
[17:00] left out on that?
>> You you did great. And state law also
[17:04] requires us to have this in place. So
this brings us in in current with state
[17:09] and federal regulations and state law.
>> All right. Very good.
[17:13] » And it
the land use ordinance that um is
[17:18] proposed will ensure that the
[17:24] air safety that it the area around the
airport is safe for aircraft operations.
[17:33] ensures aviation safety including
approach, landing, takeoff and
[17:37] departure. Um so that's this is
basically for safe operations of the
[17:43] airport and
um
[17:47] is basically a height and density
restrictions for areas within 14,000 ft
[17:54] of the airport.
>> Very good. Uh do any of the members of
[17:58] council have any questions for myself or
attorney Shore?
[18:03] All right. Is there a motion to approve
second reading of ordinance number
[18:06] 2026-09?
[18:12] » So, we have a motion to approve. Is
there a second?
[18:16] » Is there a second?
>> Second.
[18:22] » So, it's been moved and properly
seconded. Are ready for questions?
[18:25] » Mr. Supervisor.
>> Yes. Before you call for a vote, I just
[18:29] want to say that I'm going to abstain
from voting on this particular issue
[18:33] tonight. Not because I'm for against it.
I don't want anybody to read more into
[18:37] it than what I'm doing. Um, you recall
at the last meeting, um, I made a motion
[18:42] to table it, but I was voted down, which
is perfectly fine, but I wanted to meet
[18:46] with Mr. Hope, the engineer, to make
sure I had a clear understanding because
[18:50] this literally affects the constituents
only in my district. So before I commit
[18:54] one way or the other, I have some
questions. I spoke with him this
[18:58] morning. He and I are going to meet
either later. He actually volunteered to
[19:02] meet with me today and I couldn't do it.
But we're going to meet either later in
[19:05] the week or the first of next week. And
hopefully I'll have some clarification.
[19:07] But I'm going to abstain, but I want my
colleagues and the audience and the
[19:11] members listening not to read any more
into it than other than I just need some
[19:15] clarification on some questions that I
have and that's it.
[19:17] » Okay.
>> Sure. And and I also want and I'm glad
[19:20] you um brought that up. I also want to
make sure that members of council know
[19:24] and the public as well, we're going to
um be placing that map on the county's
[19:30] website. Thank you.
>> So, for residents, if they want to go
[19:32] and take a look at the map, um they
certainly can in the ordinance. Um if it
[19:37] has not been um um has not been posted,
we'll get it posted. Okay. All right.
[19:45] Any anyone else? All right. Is there a
motion to approve?
[19:50] Second reading of ordinance number
2026-09.
[19:56] » You already did that.
>> All right. All right. Call for vote. How
[19:59] many in favor? All in favor?
>> I.
[20:05] » All right. Any any opposed?
Or please let the record reflect that
[20:10] the motion to for second reading of
ordinance number 2026-09
[20:16] has been passed. All right. Third
reading. There are no ordinances for
[20:20] third reading tonight. There are no
ordinances for third reading tonight.
[20:26] All right. Resolutions.
[20:31] All right. Resolution number 2026-005.
Thank you. A resolution temporarily
[20:38] suspending the franchise requirements
contained in ordinance
[20:44] 2000-02
as amended by ordinance 2005-00002.
[20:52] Do we need to I know we um madame
county attorney I know we spoke a little
[20:59] earlier today about this particular um
resolution.
[21:03] Um,
>> are we still safe to go ahead and
[21:06] suspend this while we get all of the
details worked out of that ordinance?
[21:10] » Yes.
>> Okay. Um, so I want to let me remind
[21:16] council of what we're doing and also
inform the public for the benefit of
[21:21] those who may have not um been aware of
this. We it was brought to our attention
[21:29] um maybe about a month ago that um
individuals who have been patients in
[21:38] local hospitals um especially those
patients who um needed um
[21:46] services at the um what's the at the
dialysis center.
[21:52] They were being told that um
the private transportation company here
[22:00] in Williamsburg County, which is not a
affiliated Williamsburg County, um was
[22:05] not able to take their loved ones to um
dialysis. Well, as a result of that, um
[22:13] those case managers have been uh
referring those patients, which are
[22:18] Williamsburg County residents, to
nursing homes in the area. And when it
[22:24] was brought to our attention, we began
to work on it um to try to get this uh
[22:29] resolved. Um
several years ago, uh we had a
[22:35] significant number of transport
companies, medical transport companies
[22:40] in Williamsburg County and
past governments, past administration,
[22:48] um decided that they would have each one
of those um transport companies to pay
[22:55] what's called a franchise fee in order
for them to do business uh within
[23:00] Williamsburg County. Um right now we
only have one company who has paid the
[23:08] franchise fee and that company um is has
lost uh some personnel and is not able
[23:16] to provide that service at the level um
that they uh were able to do it in the
[23:23] past. And so whenever these um social
workers uh at the hospitals call to try
[23:31] to make the arrangements uh for their
patients um they call that they've been
[23:39] calling this company and the company has
been telling them that they would not be
[23:44] able to do those transports. And so what
we as a council and we've discussed this
[23:52] uh have decided to do is to uh lift that
franchise fee um and allow other
[24:00] transport companies to come into
Williamsburg County so our residents
[24:04] will not have to do this. Um if you know
of anyone that that's happened to,
[24:11] please tell them to reach out to me. I
would love to sit down and have a
[24:13] conversation with them because it
doesn't make sense for us to for these
[24:18] people to have to be transported to a
nursing home um to receive um dialysis
[24:26] treatments when they could actually just
be transferred to their homes with their
[24:30] families and have a reputable transport
company to pick them up and transport
[24:36] them to their dialysis appointments. Um,
do any of the members of council have
[24:41] any questions about that?
>> Just for clarity, it's not normal
[24:45] transport. It's scratcher transport.
Just to be
[24:49] » Yes.
>> Just to be clear, because some people
[24:51] might think it's regular transport, but
it's actually the scratcher transport.
[24:56] » Yes. Yes, sir. That's correct. That's
correct.
[25:01] Anyone else?
All right. Is there a motion to approve
[25:06] resolution 2026-00005?
[25:10] » Is a move.
>> So I have a motion to approve. Is there
[25:13] a second?
>> Second.
[25:14] » It's been moved and properly seconded or
ready for questions. All those in favor,
[25:18] please indicate by saying I.
>> Any opposed? All right. Please let the
[25:22] record reflect that resolution number
2026-005
[25:27] has been approved. Has been approved.
Thank you all so much. Proclamation.
[25:31] Proclamation number 2026-02,
an honorary proclamation that
[25:36] Williamsburg County Adult Education
Program desires to initiate on behalf of
[25:40] National Adult Education and Family
Literacy Week that will be held from
[25:45] September 13th through September 19th,
2026. Is there a motion to approve
[25:52] proclamation number 2026-02?
>> So move been So it's been a motion to
[25:59] approve. Is there a second?
It's been moved and properly seconded
[26:02] and are ready for questions.
All those in favor, please indicate by
[26:06] saying I. I.
>> Any opposed? Or please let the record
[26:10] reflect that the proclamation number
2026-02
[26:15] has been approved. Has been approved.
All right. Appearances. We have Mr.
[26:22] Steve [clears throat] Blake.
[26:25] Excuse me. There you go. I
think I overdid it on Sunday and uh my
[26:31] voice is
kind of worn out. Um we have Mr. Steve
[26:36] Blake who is a our internal auditor.
Um Mr. Blake um and his associate Mr.
[26:46] Mike Wall-E have been working with our
uh finance team to help us try to get
[26:55] our books uh cleaned up and get things
um taken care of as it relates to our
[27:01] financial policies and all of those good
things. I wanted to
[27:07] get them, they come here maybe once
every six weeks and they're here on site
[27:12] and then the remainder of their work is
done uh remotely. But I wanted to give
[27:17] um them an opportunity uh to meet with
the members of council one on- one um
[27:24] without any without myself being present
or uh anyone from the finance team so
[27:30] they can have a one-on-one conversation
uh with Mr. Blake and Mr. Wall-E. Um, I
[27:37] also wanted them to come and give the
public a an update on the progress um
[27:44] that they have been making or that we
have been making as a team. Um, we
[27:50] certainly want to um to thank those
folks that are within our finance um
[27:55] team, the members of our finance team
who've done an amazing job on trying to
[28:00] move um move the ball down the field.
Um, it has not been the easiest thing uh
[28:07] for us to do. Um, but um, they certainly
have been committed to this work and
[28:12] have done a a good job up to this point.
Um, Mr. Blake
[28:18] um, and he's probably going to be upset
with me for me telling you guys this,
[28:22] but Mr. Blake is probably um, we're very
fortunate to have him with us. Um he's
[28:29] probably one of the most renowned um
CPAs as it relates to government
[28:34] accounting uh in South Carolina. Um in
fact, he teaches um government uh
[28:41] accounting um to folks that are going
into government finance. Um he is
[28:48] regularly called by the state auditor's
office and the state treasurer's office
[28:53] um to come in and do audits for them. um
he uh has a significant amount of
[29:00] experience and we we are certainly again
very fortunate to have him. He certainly
[29:05] has been a tremendous help um to myself,
to our finance director and to the
[29:10] remainder of the finance team. So at
this time I'm going to ask Mr. Blake and
[29:14] Mr. Wally to please come forward and um
and give us an update of of where we are
[29:21] and what's going on and allow the
members of council that did not have an
[29:27] opportunity to speak with them privately
today um to ask you know whatever
[29:33] questions that you want to ask them. Mr.
Blake,
[29:41] » thank you for those accolades, Mr.
Washington. I appreciate that.
[29:45] » Well deserved.
>> Um,
[29:49] where I'd like to start is
a little bit of history in terms of how
[29:57] you got to the point that you're at.
[30:02] Most of you may have been here. Some of
you definitely were here. Some of you
[30:08] have no idea. back around
oh 2021 fiscal year which started July
[30:18] of 2020 [clears throat]
and we all remember what was going on
[30:21] then with COVID.
the county made a decision to
[30:28] change
software systems.
[30:33] And many of you may not know that the
software system you chose
[30:40] was a software system
developed by a German company
[30:47] or industry
and you were their first
[30:52] American governmental client in the
world.
[30:57] So that's quite an accomplishment to be
the first, but it's never really good to
[31:02] be the first.
Uh there was quite a lot of discussion
[31:08] in the implementation process.
In retrospect, probably very wisely,
[31:16] uh the treasurer's auditor's assessor's
office decided not to implement.
[31:24] uh the tax bills were getting out just
fine with the old software.
[31:29] So your revenue stream was not
jeopardized by the implementation of a
[31:35] new software
as far as real estate taxes go. However,
[31:41] about fiscal year 2022, your financial
statement audit process was dramatically
[31:47] impacted.
You received an adverse opinion on that
[31:52] audit.
Not a nice place to be in the audit
[31:57] world.
Financial institutions, bond raiders,
[32:02] that sort of people do not appreciate
adverse opinions.
[32:07] The county has been fighting that uphill
battle to get their reputation back
[32:13] since fiscal year 2022.
We're probably Mike and myself probably
[32:19] the third or fourth group of consultants
that have worked with you over the last
[32:25] four years
to help you get your reputation back.
[32:33] what he and I found when we arrived
based on the work of some of our
[32:39] predecessors and the very very detailed
and hard work that your finance staff
[32:44] had put into this process is that that
software conversion was part of the
[32:53] start of a major major group of problems
that just converged all at the same
[32:59] time.
One of those things was a lot of
[33:03] employee turnover
immediately after that software
[33:08] conversion.
And that employee turnover was a result
[33:14] of retirements,
a result of people who were no longer
[33:19] willing to work on the software
conversion. They had done their time as
[33:23] they put it and left. and a result of
certain election losses that changed out
[33:29] a few positions in county government.
And so the initial core group that was
[33:36] there in 2020 2021
that was responsible for implementing
[33:43] that system by the end of 2022 was gone.
You were left with three employees in
[33:53] the finance office that were able to
keep the payroll going,
[33:59] keep the bills, lights on, electric bill
being paid, and they were able to
[34:05] continue functioning on a day-to-day
basis with absolutely no idea of how
[34:11] that software implementation was
supposed to go.
[34:16] For long about that same time, a
subpoena was received, an investigation
[34:22] was started, and
time beyond payroll
[34:27] and
accounts payable bills was monopolized
[34:34] cooperating with the investigation.
very little time to spend on the 2023
[34:42] audit process and regaining the 2022
adverse opinion
[34:50] that stretched out that investigation
cooperation stretched out for over a
[34:56] year and a half in terms of being
monopolized in an FBI and a sled
[35:01] investigation.
[35:05] At that point, other things began to
snowball. You had an external payroll
[35:11] service company. Journal entries had to
be made into this new software.
[35:19] And so that process had to be developed
from scratch to get that done.
[35:26] your transit fund.
Because of late audits now and adverse
[35:32] opinions, the federal government no
longer wanted to fund transit with
[35:38] federal dollars.
So something had to be done very quickly
[35:43] to solve that problem
to regain federal funding because the
[35:49] county at that point was getting behind
on their audits and the state was
[35:54] withholding money and with the feds
withholding money, the county was having
[35:58] to supplement the transit fund to keep
the transit system going.
[36:04] A solution to that was developed which
required several months to implement
[36:09] which involved moving the transit fund
out on its own.
[36:14] Your auditor was able to audit that
portion because it's now a separate set
[36:19] of books
and the audits were caught up and
[36:23] federal funding was restored to transit.
That required several months to get that
[36:29] implemented.
So now we're back to
[36:33] about 2024 25. Let's get back to 2022
and 23's audit.
[36:40] We've solved these problems and they
were all in and of themselves major
[36:45] issues. They just happened to hit at
exactly the same time. again leaving
[36:52] three people basically in the finance
office who have no idea about the
[36:58] implementation in 2020 2021 2022. They
weren't there for that.
[37:05] Now we're back focused on where do we
start to implement that? They hired some
[37:11] consultants. They got frustrated and
left. Consultants round two got
[37:17] frustrated and left. And I guess you
started scraping the bottom of the
[37:22] barrel and called me. [laughter]
I came over and I decided at least since
[37:27] February of 26.
I have no desire at this point to leave.
[37:33] But Mike and I, and Mike was really a
godsend and I know there were people
[37:38] praying and without God's intervention,
you may still be in some serious trouble
[37:44] because I am no SAP expert. I really am
not. Uh, and I didn't know how I I was
[37:51] going to help you with that.
I literally was praying about that. And
[37:59] my friend, I've known Mike for 30 years.
He came up to me one day and he said,
[38:03] "Hey, uh, you know, I'm kind of between
jobs right now. I'm looking for some
[38:07] other stuff to do. You got anything
you'd like me to help you with?" I said,
[38:12] "Not unless you're an SAP expert."
And lo and behold, Mike said, "I just
[38:18] happen to have 13 years experience
working with SAP." So God sent that guy
[38:24] into my life and consequently into yours
to help solve this SAP problem. So
[38:29] together since when Mike about March,
April, we have been working together to
[38:37] solve the SAP implementation issue
to go back and figure out in fiscal year
[38:45] 2023,
what happened,
[38:49] how that can be audited because the
overriding concern here again is that
[38:54] adverse opinion from 2022 as a result of
that poorly implement implemented uh
[39:01] software conversion.
We've got to get that reputation back
[39:06] for the county. We've got to get a clean
opinion. You can't borrow money. You
[39:10] can't get grants with a bad opinion,
much less late audits.
[39:16] So, we've got to get a group of
financial data together for 2023 that is
[39:24] auditable, that you can get a clean
opinion on, and start for audit with
[39:29] that data.
We are working on that. We are having
[39:34] weekly meetings,
Zoom meetings with your external
[39:38] auditor. Every week we're making
progress. We're sharing that with the
[39:42] external auditor and we're asking that
external auditor
[39:47] to pass muster or not with what we
found. The auditor has been very good to
[39:52] work with.
they would put their opinion on this or
[39:57] no, we need you to tweak it a little bit
here. We're having weekly meetings like
[40:02] that and we're going to get that data to
them as soon as we can to get that 2023
[40:09] 2024 audit done. Right now, we are
estimating. It's purely an estimate and
[40:15] things change literally every day. as we
turn over one rock and find another
[40:21] problem. Tomorrow we may turn over a
rock. And what I'm saying tonight is
[40:25] completely irrelevant.
But right now, our opinion is based on
[40:30] the rocks we've turned over so far that
we believe we can get 2024 audit with a
[40:36] clean opinion out by the end of this
calendar year, January 27 at the latest.
[40:44] That's our current deadline based on the
rocks we've turned over at this moment.
[40:50] If that is successful, if we don't find
any more problems related to 23 and 24,
[40:58] then we hope to get the next step would
be 25's audit. We hope to get it done by
[41:05] no later than June of 207. And we hope
to start and finish June of 26's audit
[41:13] roughly that same time frame because you
can do two audits at one time. And once
[41:19] we get 23 squared away to where 24's
opinion can be clean, it will be easier
[41:26] for the auditor to do 25 and 26 at the
same time because he's got clean records
[41:32] to start with in both years.
That's the plan as it is currently.
[41:38] Again,
that could change literally tomorrow if
[41:42] we run into a roadblock that we weren't
aware of in the SAP system. We've looked
[41:47] at a lot of the data. That's what I've
used Mike for. He has been able to comb
[41:52] that data. We've been able to trace
things much quicker as a result of his
[41:57] involvement. It has sped up tremendously
with Mike's involvement and the SAP
[42:02] information becoming more discernable to
me because quite frankly it was not
[42:10] governmental accounting at its best.
Very confusing the way it was put in
[42:15] there. Very hard to get information out
of. Mike has sped that process up a lot.
[42:22] But he's only been involved since about
March, April of this year. So, we've
[42:27] really only been able to make that
significant progress after April of this
[42:32] year. We think we've got
the animal by the tail, but I don't want
[42:39] it to turn around and bite us. So, I'm
giving you a lot of caveats
[42:43] understanding that literally tomorrow we
could turn over another rock and it and
[42:47] it changed. But our our goal if we can
get 25 and 26 simultaneously under
[42:54] audit, if 26 is done by July of 27, the
state deadline for 26
[43:02] is July of 27, you will be timely by
that point in time. You will be caught
[43:08] up everything timely. I don't expect the
opinions to be any
[43:16] worse than the best opinion you can get.
I think the data is there. I think the
[43:21] support for the auditor is there. He
will not have a problem opining on 2425
[43:27] and 26.
So with that being said, that's where
[43:33] we're at as of 6:44 this evening. Any
questions that you have, I'd be glad to
[43:40] answer. Mike can give you all the detail
you'd like on the SAP system that I
[43:45] could never give you. So, if you got an
SAP question, we'll bring Mike up here.
[43:50] But any questions that you have based on
what I've said at this point.
[43:55] » Um, we just thank you for not turning
tail and running from us. Um,
[44:02] » maybe I'm not that smart, huh?
>> May not be. Uh but we do appreciate your
[44:08] your hard work and uh just being
straight forward with us and telling us
[44:13] you know where we are and how we got
here.
[44:16] » And so I guess my question is as you
said we'll be able to do our audit
[44:21] simultaneously.
Um
[44:25] we talked earlier today about that
process of getting us from
[44:31] uh the the SAP and all of that stuff and
the different systems
[44:36] tell us how you're able to help us as
the consultant that we're using to make
[44:42] sure that we don't kind of fall into
this.
[44:46] » Well, that is a good question because
that involves how do we not go back?
[44:53] » How do we keep going forward? One of the
things your finance office realized
[44:58] early on once they got a grasp of how
bad SAP was is we need to get away from
[45:04] SAP as fast as possible. Uh and I
believe it was about a year ago, so 26
[45:11] fiscal year,
they bought a software package that
[45:16] integrates with the one the treasurer is
using now. It's called Springbrook. So
[45:23] the package for Six is a new package.
Again,
[45:29] what do we spend our time on? We got to
do payroll. We got to keep the lights
[45:33] on. We don't have investigations
anymore. We got audits we got to fix.
[45:38] Oh, and by the way, now we're
implementing another software system.
[45:42] So, the hours in the day become a matter
of priority.
[45:47] It's payroll week. I'm not going to work
on the new system being implemented.
[45:51] It's accounts payable check time. I'm
not going to work on the audit or the
[45:56] new software system being implemented.
Okay, I got time today. What's my
[46:01] priority? The old audits or the new
software system? Old audits are the
[46:06] priority right now because we can't get
financing. We can't go to the bank
[46:10] without financial statements. So, that's
the top priority this week.
[46:16] Having said that, part of this uh Mr.
Wilson is it part of this discussion to
[46:23] answer your question is we are along the
for the ride with those same priorities.
[46:29] We're focusing our consultant time in
the immediate future on getting the
[46:35] audit deadlines met. We have as we are
working in those years
[46:42] made copious notes regarding what needs
to be fixed in the new software system
[46:48] because it didn't get fully implemented
either.
[46:52] It's better than what you had but it's
not been fully implemented and we know
[46:58] the places it needs to be tweaked to
make that happen.
[47:08] We're going to get the audits, the
immediate audits up to date, get the
[47:12] good opinions on them, get 25 and 26 as
step phase two. Then we're going to get
[47:19] the new software implementation tweaked
and have it running. Well, that's going
[47:26] to be probably after June of 2027 before
we get to that point.
[47:32] But that is part of the overall plan and
strategy from the supervisor's office
[47:38] and the finance office at this point is
get our financial reputation back and
[47:44] then let's put it back on track for the
future to get this new software system
[47:50] implemented and get the bugs worked out
of it. So that's currently the timetable
[47:55] and the priorities. audits first,
financial reputation back, and then
[48:00] tweak the new system and get it hitting
on all eight cylinders.
[48:04] » And and I want to add on to what Mr.
Blake said, Councilman Wilson. Um the
[48:10] supervisor's office switched over um to
the new system last fiscal year. Um and
[48:18] the treasurer's office has switched over
this year. Now, the new system is the
[48:26] newer version of what the treasurer's
office had been on the entire time. Um,
[48:33] that the new version, that company
bought out um the company that owned the
[48:41] software that the treasurer's office has
now. So, it's the same company. Um, so
[48:46] now
>> helps because they should talk to each
[48:48] other.
>> That's correct. But as of now, everyone
[48:54] is on the same system, but we still got
to get through those last couple of
[49:00] years that are in the SAP system. And
that's as he indicated earlier so
[49:05] eloquently
>> that that's the priority right now.
[49:08] » Again, thank you and um we just look
forward to whatever we can do to assist
[49:14] you all in um helping us through this
difficult time. Um And it has been
[49:20] difficult.
>> You got a lot of barbecue around here.
[49:24] » A lot of
>> Mr. Washington's already invited me to a
[49:27] couple of them for sure.
>> You know, we'll keep you around if
[49:32] you're still around. So, we can get this
stuff.
[49:34] » Yeah. Nothing scared me off yet. Nothing
I haven't done at least once before. But
[49:39] it you've you've got a long uphill
climb. I'll just say the hole that
[49:45] you're in is very deep.
>> It's very deep.
[49:49] And and it's never good to be in a
position of having an adverse audit
[49:53] opinion. That's just not good.
>> Question is, is there anything that we
[49:58] should be doing to assist or to help
speed this up or we are basically where
[50:04] we at?
>> My thoughts there, not necessarily
[50:09] suggestions.
Every bit of this process is a function
[50:14] of time and money.
So the priorities
[50:20] are within those constraints, time and
money. If you had a printing press in
[50:25] your basement and money was not an
object, hire eight more people exactly
[50:30] like me and we'll come in here and we'll
get you caught up tomorrow. But that
[50:35] isn't going to be cheap. So we're
working within those constraints of time
[50:41] and money.
[50:45] I'd also like to um mention the fact and
recognize the fact that uh our um
[50:52] treasurer, Miss Pearl Brown, is here. Uh
Miss Brown, is there anything you'd like
[50:57] to add to what Mr. Blake has said
>> and they have, by the way, been very
[51:04] helpful and done a yman's job helping us
in answering all our questions and
[51:10] providing backup data to fill in the
pieces of the puzzle. Miss Pearl, if
[51:15] you'd like to come up.
[51:19] » Mr. Supervisor, while uh Yes. Yes, sir.
Miss Brown approaches. I'd just like to
[51:23] say we had a uh Councilman Wilson and
myself met with Mr. Blake and Mr. Wall-E
[51:28] today and I certainly thank you for
y'all's time. It was very informative
[51:32] and very enlightening and it was nice to
hear not the good news but it was nice
[51:37] to hear what exactly and be able to
understand what was going on. So we
[51:40] appreciate y'all's time. Look forward to
working with y'all in the future.
[51:43] » Thank you so much. And and before Miss
Brown
[51:46] » Smith is
>> before Miss Miss Brown comes up, I
[51:48] wanted um to to share not only with the
council but for the members of the
[51:55] public. I thought it was important
um for council
[52:02] as the governing body of this county to
have the opportunity um to meet with
[52:08] these individuals without me being there
and without any member of our finance
[52:13] team being there. Um because I didn't
want um the members of council to think
[52:19] that we were trying to influence
whatever responses
[52:24] that Mr. Wallally and Mr. Blake gave to
the members of council and I wanted the
[52:28] members of council to be able to feel
free to ask whatever questions um that
[52:34] they wanted to ask uh without us being
there. We wanted to make sure that this
[52:38] was um as transparent a process um as
possible. But then I also wanted them to
[52:45] come uh tonight and publicly um share uh
with the community as a whole the
[52:52] challenges that we have been trying to
work through uh in order to to move the
[52:57] county forward and get the county uh
where it needs to be. Um so again, thank
[53:03] you all. Miss Brown.
[53:08] » Yes, ma'am. prepared to say anything but
I didn't want to miss this opportunity.
[53:12] I want to say a special thanks to Mr.
Blake and his sorry I missed your name
[53:19] while we met with you. That's my age. I
couldn't remember your name but um this
[53:26] has been really
eyeopening for me. I didn't expect when
[53:31] I came back into the county that I would
find some of what I found. Uh but I want
[53:37] to say to council members whether and to
the public whether you know it or not
[53:43] that finance department up there is
doing everything they can in their power
[53:48] to get these books in order. I want to
say a special thanks to Miss Kimber
[53:53] Cooper in her absent and to deputy
treasure will because without the the
[53:58] records in the treasur's office I don't
know they could not do it.
[54:03] » That's right. So, we're going to I want
that to go on record. The the treasures
[54:07] office records as far as I can see and
we have found they are fine. And I want
[54:12] to give kudos to these three ladies back
here. I want you to stand from the
[54:17] finance department. They visit my
office, our office quite often looking
[54:21] for records. They are the hardest
working women around here and they're
[54:26] working hard to get this done. So don't
think that the county personnel is not
[54:32] trying to get us past this because they
are. Everyone is working together or in
[54:37] the I was here 28 years. I was gone for
14 and I came back. This is the closest
[54:45] in my experience working with this
county that these two officers have
[54:49] worked together closer to get the work
done. And I'm proud to be a part of it.
[54:54] I didn't plan this for my retirement,
but I thank God that I am here and able
[54:59] to do something to help the county.
Thank you,
[55:03] » Mr. Brown.
>> Before you go, I want to
[55:06] » um and and I've told you before um in
our private conversations and I want to
[55:13] share with you publicly um how much um I
appreciate you you coming back. Um I
[55:20] know Mr. Joe is still a little upset
with me about that, but um you know, he
[55:26] and I going we we'll work through that.
It won't be the first time he and I ever
[55:29] fell out and but we always get back
together. But I I do want to let you
[55:33] know how much I appreciate um you coming
back and your leadership and your
[55:37] willingness to come back and serve
Williamsburg County. Um you've always
[55:40] been an asset um to this community and
you you still are. When I received the
[55:45] call from the governor, my answer was,
"If I can come back and do something to
[55:50] help my county, I will come." Thank you
all for the opportunity.
[55:54] » I told him to please call you.
[laughter]
[55:59] » Thank you so much again, Miss Brown.
Yes, sir.
[56:02] » Uh, treasures. I'm telling you, it's
been a joy to work with your folks. They
[56:08] have been hard at work and they have
been, like she said, very cooperative.
[56:13] The information that's available has
been free flowing. It's just been
[56:18] multiple hay stacks and multiple needles
trying to find out where it's at in the
[56:22] system and make it presentable for an
auditor to say yes, I will bless that.
[56:28] That's been the entire problem getting
it in a shape where an auditor can say
[56:33] that's good. So, at this point, what I'm
going to do if I can remember is I've
[56:40] got some business cards. I'm gonna give
them to you tomorrow.
[56:43] » You can hand one out to It's got my cell
phone on it. You got a question, it'll
[56:48] ring right here in my pocket. All right.
So, he'll have business cards with my
[56:53] cell phone number on it. Feel free to
call me with any questions.
[56:57] » All right.
>> Thank you guys so much. Thank you.
[57:00] Anyone else with any other questions?
>> Uh just want to say thank you from uh
[57:04] the the conversation we had earlier
today and your transparency of where
[57:08] we're at. Um, so like uh Councilman
Mcnite said, anything we can do and and
[57:13] your transparency of giving us your cell
phone number and things like that so uh
[57:18] we can just keep the communication over
open.
[57:23] » All right.
[57:28] All right. Thank you all so much. All
right. We now have an appearance by Miss
[57:34] Lindseay Johnson of Pivot Energy and Mr.
Eddie McCutchen is a county resident.
[57:41] That's a presentation regarding a
potential solar project.
[57:49] » Hey, M. Johnson,
>> I've got a short presentation for you.
[57:52] So, I'm just going to get that pulled
up.
[58:00] » Can you see that on your screens?
[58:06] While we're letting it load, again, my
name is Lindsay Johnston. I'm a
[58:10] developer with Pivot Energy. We're a
United Statesbased clean energy company,
[58:14] and I'm working on our South Carolina
portfolio. I'm local to the state. So, I
[58:19] appreciate y'all giving me the
opportunity to speak to you tonight. The
[58:22] project I'm talking about is SCCL0043.
Um, so just a little bit about Pivot
[58:29] Energy. We like I said are a national uh
leader in smallcale distributed
[58:33] generation solar. Um we have built four
gigawatts across the state or are in the
[58:40] process of building those. Um we're
headquartered in Denver, Colorado. And
[58:44] we are the long-term owner and operator
of all of our sites. So for the full
[58:49] life cycle of the project, it stays with
us. We're not a Devon flip if you're
[58:53] familiar with that. We are also a
certified BCORE committed to being
[58:57] sustainable uh long-term partners with
the communities that we work in. So, a
[59:02] little bit about the project
specifically. And if can you all see the
[59:04] site plan on your screens?
>> No.
[59:08] Wait, give us one second. Okay.
>> Having some technical difficulties here.
[59:47] Well, while we're wait while we're
waiting, my name is Eddie McCutchen and
[59:51] um the farm in project in in in the
project we're trying to build. I built I
[59:56] bought this farm in 83, a young farmer.
I'm a fourth generation farmer,
[1:00:01] Williamsburg County farmer. My parents
have struggled to make their farms ago
[1:00:06] and I've struggled to make mine a go and
I've done well and then some days I've
[1:00:09] done poorly because of commodity prices
and such things that economy um I've had
[1:00:16] to go out and outsource um government
jobs. I worked for the forester for
[1:00:21] eight years and I worked for the US Army
for six years. I served in D of Storm.
[1:00:27] It's always been a struggle to make the
farm to make the farm payments and the
[1:00:31] taxes paid on this farm because it's
such a small farm. I don't have to tell
[1:00:34] you that small farmers have struggled
and some have lost and they've lost
[1:00:38] their they lost their [clears throat]
farm and I'm trying to do this project.
[1:00:42] It came to me and it's available to
generate some revenue for me and my
[1:00:49] family so my family can keep this and my
grandchildren will have something that I
[1:00:52] can leave today. That's what I want. Um,
it's going to generate some clean
[1:00:58] energy, some green energy that's not
going to hurt anybody, and it's going to
[1:01:02] have sheep underneath the bottom of it,
and we're going to plant some kind of a
[1:01:06] vegetation. I'm planning on raising the
sheep myself because I'm going to
[1:01:11] maintain the farm. I'm going to keep the
farm. It's going to be a lease, and it's
[1:01:14] going to be 30 years where it can
generate uh power for the for the for
[1:01:20] the power grid. And you know, I don't
have to tell you, the power grid is
[1:01:22] struggling everywhere in this whole
United States that's struggling. And the
[1:01:26] green energy is one of the ways we're
going to have to go. And also, the
[1:01:30] reason that we're doing this is so I can
keep my little farm and I don't have to
[1:01:34] lose it because so many other farms have
gone by the wayside. And I don't want to
[1:01:36] see that because my grandmama would
really be upset and my great granddaddy
[1:01:40] would really, really be upset. So, we're
trying to make this project where it's
[1:01:44] lucrative where I can continue to pay
and it will also generate more tax
[1:01:49] dollars for this little t little county
that I was born and raised in, graduated
[1:01:53] here, and I think the world of I fought
across the water for my little county as
[1:01:58] much as I fought for United States Army.
So, I asked for your consideration in
[1:02:03] this project and help help us to to get
this project started and give us the
[1:02:08] authorization that we can build
something that's going to be good for
[1:02:11] everybody. It's not going to be anywhere
close to anyone's home. It's on off
[1:02:16] road. It's half the project will be
where nobody can't see it unless you
[1:02:20] flying from an airplane because it's
only got one little access road to and
[1:02:24] from from both sides and it's all wooded
around most of it except for one little
[1:02:28] roadront. But no one lives there and no
one's planned to live there because of a
[1:02:32] big power line that comes in on that
corner of the farm. So that farm is not
[1:02:37] going to hurt anybody. It's not going to
be an eyesore. I mean, it's going to
[1:02:40] it's going to do what it needs and it's
going to help the county with the power
[1:02:44] and the tax revenue and any other kind
of revenue that it can do. And I ask for
[1:02:49] your consideration in that. I'm a little
bit saddened to find out that
[1:02:55] » [clears throat]
>> um one of my council members uh when the
[1:02:58] when the project came available and I
looked at the project and I said, "Well,
[1:03:03] I need a contract." They sent me the
contract. I got the contract and I sent
[1:03:07] it to Sam and asked Sam, I said, "Sam,
could you look over the project for me
[1:03:12] and look over this contract? Make sure
there's something that's good because I
[1:03:15] didn't know. I'm not a lawyer. I'm a
farmer and I'm a little and and I just
[1:03:20] didn't know." And his exact words were
to me was, "If I had it, I would put a
[1:03:25] sale farm, a solar farm on it because of
the fact that it's something it's a
[1:03:28] small farm. It's out of the way.
Nobody's going to be upset about it."
[1:03:32] But recently, I've understood from him
that he's against it. And I'm kind of a
[1:03:36] little saddened about that because I
don't think it's going to hurt anybody.
[1:03:40] And I'm not I'm not asking for anything
except acceptance for something that's
[1:03:45] going to be positive. And I'm gonna let
Miss Lindsay go ahead and explain to
[1:03:48] y'all if y'all can see it now.
>> Still can't see.
[1:03:51] » Still can't see.
>> I will say it was working when I got
[1:03:55] here. Um, so sorry about that y'all, but
I um I can at least just walk you
[1:04:00] through it and then I'm happy to email
you some copies of the site plan if
[1:04:04] you'd like to see it. Um, this is going
to be 37 and a half acres. Um, like
[1:04:10] Eddie indicated, it will stay in
agricultural use. We do this on all of
[1:04:14] our projects. There will be sheep, local
pollinator friendly species planted on
[1:04:19] site. Um, it's going to be a 5.9
megawatt AC solar facility with a 4.8
[1:04:25] megawatt battery. The power will be sold
to Duke Energy and it's going to
[1:04:29] generate enough power for Duke to power
about 1,200 local homes in Williamsburg
[1:04:34] County. Um we will have an 8 foot um
wildlife permeable fence so that we
[1:04:40] minimize our environmental impact and
per development ordinances will be a 100
[1:04:45] foot setback from adjacent properties
300 from any adjacent residences. Um and
[1:04:50] I'm sorry that I know y'all can't see
the screen but with the proposed fianl
[1:04:55] revenue that we are asking for it would
generate about $2 million for
[1:04:58] Williamsburg County over the life cycle
of the project. So over the 30 years,
[1:05:03] that's $2 million to the county. And
then we also do a $5,000 per megawatt
[1:05:08] community donation. So for the size of
this project, that would be around
[1:05:12] $39,000 that we would donate to local um
non-government offices in the community
[1:05:19] to help benefit Williamsburg. So I'll
keep it there. I'm happy to provide a
[1:05:24] copy of the presentation. I've got just
some info on Pivot and I'll leave you on
[1:05:27] my business card as well if you have any
questions specifically about the
[1:05:30] project. Um but yeah, thank you so much
for your
[1:05:34] » one one question that I have.
>> Um have you reviewed um the county's
[1:05:40] solar farm solar farm ordinance?
>> Yes, sir. The project has been designed
[1:05:44] and the site plan that all jaw has been
designed in compliance with the
[1:05:48] Williamsburg County ordinance.
>> Okay.
[1:05:50] any member of council with any questions
or concerns for Miss either Miss Johnson
[1:05:55] or
Mr. McCachi?
[1:05:58] » I just I just wish you luck. I I hate to
hear about um
[1:06:04] you know the disappointment, but you
know it's just a time where people I
[1:06:10] don't know why they would be against
solar farm but hey I wish you the best
[1:06:14] of luck and and hope that it comes
through for you. We definitely need more
[1:06:20] We need to keep the farms. We need to
keep the farms in the family because if
[1:06:24] the family takes care of it, then some
foreign country or some big company
[1:06:29] doesn't own it. And I don't have to tell
you these small farms have gone by the
[1:06:33] wayside because they can't maintain
because they can't compete and they've
[1:06:37] got and I had the same problem. That's
why I had to seek the forestry and
[1:06:41] that's why I had to go back to work bus.
I worked for bus shop eight years. I
[1:06:45] went and started smoking fuel and then
worked my way all the way up. So I've
[1:06:48] done all these things for the county in
the county because I love this county. I
[1:06:52] was born here, raised here and I just
hope that you can understand that this
[1:06:56] thing needs to go forward for the power
grid if nothing else and for the taxes.
[1:07:00] These taxpayers are struggling. I mean,
they're struggling and every year y'all
[1:07:04] have to maintain a a government and you
have to have money coming in to do that
[1:07:10] and people just, you know, we don't want
to lose anybody else in this county.
[1:07:13] We're losing people. So, this thing may
help. I mean, we, you know, it's not
[1:07:17] going to hurt anybody. It's going, it's
going to be, it's going to be
[1:07:20] productive, and that's the good thing
about it. It's not going to hurt
[1:07:23] anybody, and it's productive. So, I
thank you for your consideration, and I
[1:07:26] thank you for your time. I know we all
want to go home.
[1:07:29] » One last thing, if you would just please
I'm sorry, someone else.
[1:07:34] » Uh, my question, uh, you said you'll be
selling this uh, energy of this power to
[1:07:38] Duke.
>> Yes, sir.
[1:07:39] » Uh, would Duke turn around and these,
1200 homes or residents, would they get
[1:07:44] a break on their bill? Would it save the
resident any money or just Duke?
[1:07:48] » So, it's it's really up to Duke what the
energy that they generate and what they
[1:07:54] sell it for. However, solar is the most
affordable, cost-effective option for
[1:07:58] energy in the United States
[clears throat] right now. So, ideally,
[1:08:01] if Duke is buying it from us for
cheaper, then they can turn around and
[1:08:05] give those benefits to the community.
[1:08:10] » Your your PowerPoint just came up. Well,
if if we have time, I'm happy to at
[1:08:14] least show you all the site plan.
>> Yeah. Where is it located?
[1:08:24] » Yeah. If
[1:08:29] » Okay. Um, yeah, if you could go over it
really, really quickly. Um,
[1:08:40] » can you all see my screen now?
[1:08:54] So, as you can see, this is the we're
going to be using about a 37 acre
[1:08:59] footprint. It's kind of split up into
two sections. So, those two blue
[1:09:03] sections, and this is a preliminary site
design, so it is subject to shift a
[1:09:06] little bit, but it will be contained
within this footprint you see here. Um,
[1:09:11] the battery facilities are the kind of
boxes that I'm sorry I can't point up
[1:09:15] here, but um, I could show youall where
that line is. They'll be internal to the
[1:09:20] project footprint.
[1:09:35] Yeah, I remember.
[1:09:44] » Okay. So, this is a way to go back.
There's nothing like you say there's
[1:09:50] nothing over here on this side.
[1:10:02] I think it's a good
proud.
[1:10:09] » There we go. Now we're on the screen.
>> That purple or that pink is power line
[1:10:15] going across the corner.
That's why we can't do anything. That's
[1:10:21] why
that back field there is considered.
[1:10:27] You can't see that.
I've seen these projects and they do not
[1:10:31] look bad from the road. They're just
panels. You've seen you all you've all
[1:10:34] seen. and they're going to be maintained
as farm land because they're going to
[1:10:40] drive steel poles in the ground and put
the panels on and then when the time
[1:10:45] comes from the project to revert back to
farmland they can just pull them up and
[1:10:50] pull up the wire and it's back to
farmland. It's not cemented everywhere
[1:10:53] that's going to obstruct the ability for
that farm to go back to a farm again.
[1:10:58] But right now with the way the economy
is and the way the prices of of input
[1:11:02] cost for the farm, I don't know how the
world take it. I really don't. And a lot
[1:11:06] of them aren't. And we're going to we're
going to see them struggle. But this
[1:11:10] way, this farm can maintain. And I thank
y'all. I know y'all want to go home.
[1:11:14] » Thank y'all so much. Thank you.
>> Please. And I'll make copies and make
[1:11:19] sure that uh the members of council get
it and um we'll forward a copy of the um
[1:11:27] PowerPoint presentation. Thank you all
so much. Please give your parents my
[1:11:31] regards. Tell them I said hello. All
right. At this time, um, uh, Miss Helen
[1:11:37] Wilson, uh, is going to appear before
us. Comments concerning the St. Lawrence
[1:11:42] Community Center pool. Miss Wilson.
[1:11:53] » Good afternoon, everyone.
>> Good afternoon.
[1:11:56] » Hey, good afternoon. Sorry.
>> Okay. My name is Helen Wilson and uh,
[1:12:01] this is my this is Mayan Seabbrook,
which is my nephew. He is uh first vice
[1:12:07] second vice I'm sorry, vice president
here at um at the St. Lawrence Community
[1:12:13] Center. What we are here for, if I think
I have a package and I think we
[1:12:17] distributed over to you in your seat.
Our concern is this community pool. As
[1:12:25] you know that money was allocated for
the pool and what we are trying to do is
[1:12:29] we're trying to de we're trying to get
this pool ready for not just only the
[1:12:33] community there in Salters but the
community for Williamsburg County
[1:12:43] name is Jermaine Cbrook.
>> Good evening.
[1:12:46] » Hope everyone is well. um this pool.
Pretty sure I see some members up there
[1:12:52] um had enjoy the pool like how I did
when I was coming up and we need to uh
[1:13:00] project on fund it so the next
generation can enjoy it as well. Um
[1:13:07] currently I live in Charleston. I come
way from Charleston to come fight for my
[1:13:11] community for the pool. not not not just
for our my community but communities all
[1:13:17] over and we can do this. We can make
this happen. Winsbury is strong. I
[1:13:21] believe in you guys.
And what I do what I did is that I did a
[1:13:26] research and before I go into the
research, we do have representatives
[1:13:29] from our community that are with us
today um that is concerned as well as my
[1:13:36] as and myself is concerned with this
pool. As you see on your handout that I
[1:13:40] hand out to you, I place 10 ways that
the community pool can impact the
[1:13:46] community financially and positively.
Not just only the community there in in
[1:13:52] Salters, but the community in
Williamsburg County. One of the ways is
[1:13:57] that a a community pool can generate
economic benefits while also improving
[1:14:02] public health, safety and social
cohesence, creating a win-win for
[1:14:08] residents and the local economics.
The first thing that it can create jobs
[1:14:15] and when I say create jobs, it can bring
in lifeguards, other things like
[1:14:20] maintenance or whatever else they are at
the community pool. Number two, it
[1:14:24] revenue. It the revenue generates for
the community. You can have membership
[1:14:29] uh concession sales. All these things
will help the pool rental. Whenever
[1:14:35] someone want to rent the pool at uh or
the place, they also can rent the pool
[1:14:39] as well. All this brings in revenue not
just only for the community but also for
[1:14:44] Williamsburg County. Number three,
improve public health reduced long-term
[1:14:49] cost. As you know, there's a YMC there
in Georgetown County. And what the YMC
[1:14:54] does, it looks at the person's health
and the regular swimming and water-based
[1:14:59] exercise. It would lower the risk of
chronic illness like heart disease. And
[1:15:05] a lot of people here in Williamsburg um
county around the surrounding area have
[1:15:09] problems with their heart. Also,
diabetes. It will reduce health care
[1:15:15] costs for individ individuals in the
community. And there is a lot of people
[1:15:21] that is suffering with these chronic
disease and the pool itself will will um
[1:15:27] impact those people. Number four, it
says youth development and reduce social
[1:15:33] problems. As you know, there's a lot of
problems around Greensburg County and
[1:15:37] this pool really can impact them. what
it is that you can build uh discipline,
[1:15:43] teamwork and confidence which reduce
juvenile delinquents and associate
[1:15:48] social service costs.
The water
[1:15:54] as you know I can't even swim. I tried
one time whenever that pool was first
[1:15:59] built and I was not successful. I would
be dropped in some water now. I guess I
[1:16:05] would drown. But you can have classes
there, education, swimming lessons for
[1:16:11] people that need to learn how to swim,
especially our children. Uh there's no
[1:16:16] pool in the school. Maybe can access the
school uh as well as the the community.
[1:16:21] It lowers drowning. Uh it save lives and
reduce emergency response and hospital
[1:16:28] costs. Also in economic multipliers, the
pool also can generate outside
[1:16:34] communities. What it is is that it can
boost local businesses such as well it
[1:16:39] says restaurant shops, hotels or
whatever these um this is these are just
[1:16:44] some of the things that the pool can do.
It also um it gives a free access in
[1:16:50] fitness recreations for underserved
population uh improve health outcome and
[1:16:55] reduce um a lot of wellness resource.
Number eight event hosting and tourists.
[1:17:02] You can have people to come in and
visit, you know, having swim meetings.
[1:17:06] You can have special activities um
different things that can be located
[1:17:10] there at that pool at um also number
nine is support and specialize the
[1:17:17] therapeutic program which is it says
warm water pool can offer uh therapeutic
[1:17:22] for seniors, people with disabilities
and also recovery injuries such as
[1:17:28] quality for lives and reduce reliance in
expensive medical care. And lastly, it
[1:17:35] strengthen community bonds pool serve as
a social hub where people of all ages,
[1:17:42] impact fostering trust, cooperation, and
civic engagement, which can lead to more
[1:17:48] effective
uh initiative, and reduce crimes. These
[1:17:52] are just some of the things that this
pool can impact there in the uh in the
[1:17:56] community. And I don't think there is a
pool in Williamsburg County that you
[1:18:01] know and we need this like the YMCA
there in Georgetown. Williamsburg County
[1:18:06] need this as well. Not just only just to
have the pool, but we need it for the
[1:18:10] community. And the this pool really will
impact not just only like I said the
[1:18:14] community, but it will also impact the
county. So you as the council members,
[1:18:20] supervisor, we are looking forward to
you to please be on our side to bring
[1:18:27] this pool into reaction, into reality.
And we're looking not just on it, I just
[1:18:32] I say for the Salters area, but King
Street and Gleyville, everyone can
[1:18:40] impact on this pool. And so we today is
here standing for your approval to help
[1:18:47] us get this pool.
[1:18:52] Thank you so much. Um do any of the
members of council have any questions?
[1:18:56] » I just I just want to make a comment. We
have met um several times, meet
[1:19:01] Councilman Nesmith, um Councilman Kes,
the pool manufacturing company, and
[1:19:08] right now um we're just at a standstill
on trying to make it feasible and to get
[1:19:15] the best use out of the pool. Um the
pool is what 30 something years old, 40,
[1:19:21] close to 40 years old.
>> It's over 40
[1:19:23] » and and we can't patch it. If we going
to do it, we want to do it right. We
[1:19:26] don't want to invest none of the
taxpayers money and
[1:19:31] half do it. Um, so we we are still in in
communication with the the pool company
[1:19:38] and it's it's it's not dead. But you can
see from the county we got a lot bigger
[1:19:42] fish to fry um right now and soon as we
get those we we constantly working
[1:19:47] towards it. I promise you it won't fall
on deaf ear.
[1:19:53] » Okay.
>> Anyone else? Yes, sir. I I'll just like
[1:19:56] to say um again I think it's on record
and to put it on record you know I'm I'm
[1:20:01] in all support of the pool like
Councilman Mcnite said uh we sort of ran
[1:20:07] into some roadblocks uh but having uh SP
pool specialist come out and look at uh
[1:20:13] revamping the the whole thing so it's
not a patch job and investing the money
[1:20:17] the right way. Um and I see that uh
former Councilman Miller is y'all
[1:20:22] president uh and
St. Lawrence isn't in district three no
[1:20:27] more, but it was when he was councilman.
So, I wish that uh we would have had
[1:20:32] that same type of attention and
enthusiasm when uh we was first given
[1:20:36] the money to uh to get this to get this
done. Uh because it's now me 21 months
[1:20:42] in and we still uh at the starting line
with this. So, again, thank you all for
[1:20:48] coming out and and being supporters of
your community.
[1:20:52] Uh, and I wish we could get this passes.
>> Well, before I leave, I know that, you
[1:20:57] know, the money was designated for the
pool and I also work for a federal
[1:21:02] government agency and I you do know that
once money has been designated, you only
[1:21:08] have a short term to use it. So, that's
why we are here today.
[1:21:17] We want to be able to enjoy this for our
communities, not just only way soldiers,
[1:21:22] but for the entire Williamsburg County.
Once the once money is here from the
[1:21:27] federal government, you only have
certain you have a limited time. And
[1:21:30] once that time is up, the money is gone.
So, I think we're at the very end of
[1:21:36] that. So, that's why we're here to
really get this ongoing, you know. So
[1:21:42] don't send the money back. Let us use
this pool to help our community, to help
[1:21:47] our disabled children, to help seniors,
to help people in the community, not
[1:21:52] just on Salters, but King Street, all
the surrounding areas. So please, please
[1:21:58] consider this. Let's not send it back.
Thank you.
[1:22:03] » Thank Thank you so much.
[1:22:09] » All right, we have an executive session.
um a short executive session. Um I want
[1:22:16] to thank all of the members. Uh I want
to thank you all for your patience. I
[1:22:20] know we've this meeting lasted a little
longer tonight than I normally than our
[1:22:25] meetings normally do, but as you could
tell, we had a quite a bit of important
[1:22:30] business um that needed to be taken care
of um tonight. Um, at this time, uh,
[1:22:37] we're going to go into executive session
pursuant to section 30-4-70A1,
[1:22:44] discussion of a personnel matter
concerning the Williamsburg County
[1:22:48] Supervisor's Office. Is there a motion
to go into executive session?
[1:22:52] » So move.
>> Is there a second?
[1:22:53] » Second.
>> It's been moved and properly second or
[1:22:55] ready for questions. All those in favor,
please indicate by saying I. I.
[1:22:59] » Any opposed? All right. We will be in
executive session. Thank you all so
[1:23:04] much.
[1:30:41] All right. Thank you all so much for
your patience. Is there a motion to come
[1:30:47] out of executive session?
>> So moved.
[1:30:49] » So we have a motion to come out of
executive session. Is there a second?
[1:30:52] » It's been moved and properly seconded or
ready for questions. All those in favor,
[1:30:55] please indicate by saying I.
>> I.
[1:30:57] » Any opposed? All we are out of executive
session. No decisions have been made. It
[1:31:02] was just discussion. uh information
purposes only. All right. Our next
[1:31:08] meeting will be Tuesday uh September the
22nd. Tuesday, September the 22nd. I
[1:31:16] believe we're going to have a public
hearing that night as well. So, we'll
[1:31:19] begin at 5 uh 45. Um are there any other
um issues for the benefit of council for
[1:31:28] for county government? Yes, sir. Uh we
will have our um precinct meeting at the
[1:31:34] Bloomingville Community Center uh 8292
Third Good Marshall Highway on September
[1:31:42] 14th and in the Indian Town area at
Barry Park on September 28th.
[1:31:49] » Okay. Thank you so much, Councilman
Wilson. Anyone else? Anyone else? All
[1:31:54] right. There's no reports from the
county supervisor's office. Uh with that
[1:31:58] being said, again we want to thank uh
those of you all who were uh here in
[1:32:01] person tonight. We also thank those of
you all who uh have been watching uh the
[1:32:07] meeting on our um Facebook page or
either will be watching it later. Uh is
[1:32:13] there a motion to adjurnn?
>> We have a motion to adjurnn. Is there a
[1:32:17] second?
>> Second.
[1:32:19] » It's been moved and properly seconded.
Are we ready for questions? All those in
[1:32:22] favor please indicate by saying I.
>> I.
[1:32:24] » Any opposed? All right. We are
adjourned. Thank you all so much. God
[1:32:29] bless you all. Safe travels home. Thank
you.