MINUTES
REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING
DECEMBER 14, 2015 – 7:00 P.M.
The December 2015 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. All councilmembers were present: Mayor Todd Davis, Mayor Pro-Tem Connie Manning, Councilman John Braddy, Councilman Johnny Eller, Councilman Douglas Jackson, Councilman Phil Wallace, and Councilman James Washington.
Mayor Todd Davis welcomed everyone and called the meeting to order at 7:00pm. All stood for the Pledge of Allegiance and the invocation was given by Benny Genwright. Councilman Wallace made a motion to approve the agenda, with a second from Councilman Jackson. The motion passed unanimously. Councilman Wallace also made a motion to approve the minutes of the November 9, 2015 meeting, with support from Mayor Pro-Tem Connie Manning. The motion passed unanimously.
Mayor Davis began his report by thanking Mayor Pro-Tem Manning for her willingness to step in for him since he thought he was going to be late for the meeting. Next, the Mayor reported that the Veterans’ Day program in November had been a huge success with a large crowd in attendance and a great speaker for Blythewood. He said the Veterans Affairs office had done a great job and he thanked the veterans for all that they do. Continuing, the Mayor said we have an issue with juvenile crime in the downtown area. Chief Joe Rogers said some arrests have been made. Mayor Davis said the individuals were just being stupid and he encouraged residents to be vigilant around their neighborhoods. The Mayor then thanked the Police Department and the Fire Department for their Christmas parties. He said he feels we have the best staffed departments and he was glad to spend time with them.
The Mayor reported that one half of our revenues in the 2% Hospitality Tax fund had already been collected and we have seven (7) more months left in this budget year. He said this was a testament to how well our restaurants are doing in town. Mayor Davis also said that there was a push by Council for a hotel in Dillon. He said the difference between a hotel and a motel is that hotels typically have interior doors for room entrance. He said the Commerce Department is coming to visit the end of December or the first of January to discuss this. The Mayor said he had also spoken to Rodney Berry with Congressman Rice’s office. He was glad to report that our conversations about a hotel had gotten a response.
Mayor Davis then asked about our pre-treatment permit with Perdue. He said they seemed to be resisting the ammonia issue and did not think it was feasible to address it. Glen would talk more about this in his report. Glen said he and Hardy had met with Perdue and asked them to lower their ammonia levels. Hardy said we had asked for 20 and they sent us 17, so they were trying to cooperate. Councilman Wallace asked how much it cost for Perdue to lower the amount they sent. Hardy said he did not know but they used to use chlorine at the end of what they send to us to lower the ammonia levels, however they stopped doing that. Glen said he had spoken with Randy Brown and he still wants us to have some type of depreciation fund for the Perdue sewer lines. Councilman Wallace asked if Mike Hanna knew how much we needed to have in this depreciation account. Glen said we were still looking into that and hoped to have some information by January. Councilman Wallace said the account could be funded equally by the City and Perdue and that way if we are down then they are down also. Glen said it was a positive meeting. Perdue’s lab people have also agreed to meet with us to see what we need.
The Mayor then asked why we had such a large amount in the miscellaneous revenue/returned check fee line item. Finance Director Janet Bethea said this was due to reimbursement from lightning damage through our insurance company. It is listed as miscellaneous revenue. Mayor Davis then said he had seen law enforcement vehicles speeding through a stoplight on Highway 301. He said they were not City patrol units and he hoped that our vehicles used more caution when going to emergency calls. Lastly, the Mayor congratulated Dolphus Carter on his retirement as the City Judge. He has served for 21 years and the City will have a recognition program for him.
City Manager Glen Wagner reported that our audit report will be presented at the January 2016 meeting. He also announced that the City’s holidays would be December 24th, 25th, and 28th and January 1st. Glen said residential garbage pickup would have no change Monday, December 21st through Thursday, December 24th, but there would be no limb and leaf pickup on those days and no garbage pickup on Christmas Day.
During the citizen’s report, Andrea Morrison Ford introduced herself to Council and told them about her new organization, Bicyclist Building Bridges, which was established to help bridge the gap between children and their incarcerated parents. This organization takes children to see their parents who are incarcerated at no cost to them so that there is no lapse in visitation and time spent with each other. Andrea said studies have shown that children of incarcerated parents are more prone to get into trouble themselves when their parents are not in their lives, so her organization strives to lessen these statistics. Andrea provided information on how she can be reached if individuals need her assistance or would like to give a donation. Her email address is andrea187879@gmail.com and cell number is 843-506-2183. Their Facebook page is Bicyclist Building Bridges.
Councilmembers’ reports:
Councilman Eller asked if we were planning a refinance of the Wellness Center bond. Glen said he did not think so.
Councilman Washington asked if we could give the employees a Christmas bonus. Glen said we would talk about that in executive session. Councilman Washington also asked about direct deposit of payroll. Glen said we were looking into that.
Councilman Wallace said the Wellness Center playground was well used and was a great addition to the grounds. He asked about adding picnic tables and some exercise equipment for the adults. Glen said there was no room on the inside of the playground for picnic tables and he was looking into the outdoor exercise equipment. Councilman Wallace said the City has done a great job out there and we should be proud. He said he would like to see the ballfields look the same way.
Councilman Jackson asked if Duke Energy had an emergency contact person with the City who they notify in case of power outages. Glen said no but he said he had called his contact to find out what was going on. He said that we had a few stoplights that were not manned.
Councilman Jackson said that it would be good if Duke could call someone if they knew the power would be out for 5 or 6 hours. Glen said in that instance, Duke had no idea how long the power would be out.
Mayor Pro-Tem Manning asked about the sign at 9th and Calhoun. Glen said SCDOT will not replace it because the writing is not profanity just markings. Councilwoman Manning then asked about alley work and possibly resurfacing or paving Jerry Court. She said the road looks bad when it rains. Glen said paving the road would be left up to the County Transportation Committee. He said he would follow up with them. Mayor Pro-Tem Manning said she knew the residents would appreciate it.
Mayor Davis thanked Todd Hayes and David Strickland for their highlights of the Wellness Center playground on the Down Home Dillon segment.
Mayor Pro-Tem Manning added that the Christmas parade was a great success with many in attendance and she also congratulated the Dillon Wildcat football team on their 4th win as State Champions.
Councilman Wallace made the motion to enter into an executive session for a personnel matter to discuss the Municipal Judge contract and a contractual matter to discuss the indigent representation agreement. Councilman Jackson seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.
With the return to open session at 8:15pm, a motion was made by Councilman Wallace and seconded by Councilman Braddy to accept the agreement with the 4th Circuit Public Defender’s Office to provide representation of qualified indigent defendants in the Municipal Court of Dillon, with the agreement being contingent upon the appointment of Deputy Public Defender Matt Rivers. The motion passed unanimously, 7-0.
Councilman Wallace also made a motion to give each full time employee a $500 bonus during the week ending December 23, 2015. Mayor Pro-Tem Connie Manning seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.
With no other business to discuss, Councilman Wallace made a motion to adjourn, with a second from Councilman Braddy.
The motion passed unanimously and the meeting adjourned.
