MINUTES
REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING
AUGUST 10, 2015 – 7:00PM
The August 2015 regular meeting of City Council was held in the Council Chambers of the City-County Complex Building located at 401 West Main Street in Dillon, SC. Members present were Mayor Todd Davis, Mayor Pro-Tem Connie Manning, Councilman Douglas Jackson, Councilman John Braddy and Councilman Phil Wallace. Councilman James Washington and Councilman Johnny Eller were absent.
Mayor Todd Davis called the meeting to order at 7:00pm and asked everyone to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Benny Genwright gave the invocation. Councilman John Braddy made a motion to approve the agenda, with a second by Councilman Jackson. The motion passed unanimously. Councilman Braddy then made a motion to approve the minutes of the July 13, 2015 regular meeting, with a second from Councilman Jackson. The motion passed unanimously.
Mayor Davis began his report by addressing the issue of dogs at the Wellness Center. He asked Glen if the ordinance being presented to prohibit dogs was for all parks or just the Wellness Center. Glen said the ordinance was for the Wellness Center only. The Mayor mentioned how the beach area addresses this by allowing dogs, on a leash, on the beach after hours or at sunset. He said this may not be a bad idea for the Wellness Center. Councilman Wallace said owners should also be responsible for the dog’s deposits. Glen then asked Council if they wanted to table the ordinance that would be presented until they could work out the hours that dogs would be allowed. The Mayor said there was no rush. Councilman Braddy agreed that Council may have rushed the issue when it was presented. Glen said the Wellness Center is not treated the same as the neighborhood parks with dawn to dusk time frames, since we do have people who use the track after hours because it is well lit.
Next, the Mayor reported that Kenny Smith and the Boys and Girls Youth Center was requesting a donation for their upcoming program geared toward young men in the community. He said that he hoped the Council would support them for this one day event. He commended the group for tackling the issues with young people and for moving forward and he felt the City could help them with their efforts. Councilman Braddy made a motion to give the Boys and Girls Youth Center a donation of $1,000 for their event. Councilman Wallace seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.
Mayor Davis then introduced Richard Schafer who spoke on behalf of the Dillon Chapter of the American Red Cross. Mr. Schafer said the Dillon Chapter was badly in need of volunteers. The City had offered the use of the Wellness Center as a volunteer induction center in case of emergencies where volunteers would meet to be briefed. Mr. Schafer said the Red Cross is there to offer aid during disasters which in Dillon includes many house fires. There had been 45 house fires this past year. He said there are over 5,000 trailer houses, or mobile homes in Dillon, but only two volunteers. Mayor Davis interjected that he did not know what we would do in case of a disaster with only two volunteers. Mr. Schafer said we would have to get outside help to come in. He encouraged interested persons to sign up to become a volunteer at AmericanRedCross.org. Mr. Schafer said that the Dillon Red Cross is funded by donations only. They receive no government subsidy. He said the Dillon Chapter has two fundraisers per year, with the biggest one being the golf tournament sponsored by Main Street Methodist Church. Mr. Schafer said all of the schools are ready to be used as shelters in case of an emergency but there is no generator system in any of them. He said the City Fire Department does have a generator. Mayor Davis thanked Mr. Schafer for sharing information about the Red Cross. He said he had taped a show on Down Home Dillon with Mr. Schafer. He encouraged people to volunteer saying we would like to have 40 -50 volunteers in Dillon.
Continuing with his report, the Mayor said he wished that Councilman Eller was here as he began discussion of the golf course. Mayor Davis said it had been reported that the golf course had suffered a loss of $600,000.00, but in viewing the profit and loss statements he found that the deficit was $349,000 and this did not include donations from the County or any 2% Hospitality funds. The Mayor said he had also found the minutes where the Council voted to use the $50,000 from the County for the golf course. Lastly, the Mayor read a letter from Dillon County Economic Development Director Tonny McNeil who said that the golf course was an economic tool as well as important to the quality of life for our citizens. The Mayor added that the golf course was also a fundraising tool as evidenced by the comments from Mr. Schafer. Mayor Davis declined to say anything else out of respect for Councilman Eller’s absence.
Finishing his report, the Mayor presented a proclamation in honor of the Dixie girls’ softball team that had won the World Series. The proclamation recognized August 15, 2015 as Dillon Dixie Darlings World Series Championship Day.
With his report, City Manager Glen Wagner picked up where the Mayor left off stating that the Dixie Darlings would be honored with a parade on Saturday at 10:00am and would receive ‘Keys to the City’ from the Mayor at City Hall. Glen added that approximately 3,000 teams started the journey to the championship, so it was a great accomplishment that our girls won. He said it was really an accomplishment to even get as far as the championship, which we had done for a number of years. Glen said he was passionate about being able to offer a sport for girls since all activities had been geared toward boys before the City’s Sports Complex was built. He said we wanted to make sure there were two fields for girls’ softball so they would not have to take a back seat to the boys. Glen said that the players and coaches are proud of their accomplishment and he is humbled by it and wishes he could have been there. He said sending the team to the tournament did cost the City some money but the team also raised some money. He invited everyone to come out and support them.
Glen then suggested that the hours to allow dogs, on a leash, at the Wellness Center be set from 7:00pm until 7:00am, or 12 hours. He said we would bring this back to the next Council meeting.
There were no citizens’ reports and no unfinished business.
In new business, Councilman Wallace made a motion to table Ordinance #15-09, Prohibiting Dogs at the Wellness Center. The motion was seconded by Councilman Jackson and passed unanimously. Councilman Wallace then made a motion to pass Resolution #06-15, Safe Workplace Commitment, with a second by Councilman Jackson and unanimous approval.
During the councilmembers’ reports, Councilman Wallace said he did not like it when misinformation gets to the paper and people get an idea that is not well documented. He said he hoped that we would be more prudent up here with how information is shared with the community and make sure facts are correct. Councilman Jackson said one of the poles at First Bank has been vandalized. Glen said it has been there and he has contacted Duke Energy.
Councilman Wallace then made a motion to enter into executive session to discuss a contractual matter. The motion was seconded by Mayor Pro-tem Connie Manning and approved unanimously. Open session ended at 7:38pm.
With no further business to discuss, Councilman Wallace made a motion to return to open session and to adjourn. The motion passed unanimously and the meeting was adjourned.
