The following are the unofficial minutes of the September 9th regular meeting of the Dillon City Council.
The September 9, 2019 regular meeting of the City Council was held in the Council Chambers of the City-County Complex Building located at 401 West Main Street in Dillon, S.C.
Councilmembers in attendance: Mayor Pro-Tem Dr. Phil Wallace, Councilmember Timothy Coursar, Councilmember James W. David, Councilmember Johnny Eller, Councilmember James Washington. Councilmembers absent: Douglas Jackson.
Notices of this regular meeting of City Council was provided to the media and individuals requesting a copy of the agenda informing them of the date, location, and time of the meeting.
Call to Order – Mayor Pro Tem, Dr. Wallace called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Everyone stood for the Pledge of Allegiance. Benny Genwright gave the invocation.
Approval of Agenda – Councilmember Johnny Eller mad a motion to approve the Agenda and seconded by Councilmember Timothy Cousar. The motion passed unanimously.
Approved minutes of August 12, 2019 Regular Meeting – A motion was made by Councilman Johnny Eller and seconded by Councilmember Timothy Cousar to approve the minutes of the Regular meeting on August 12, 2019. The motion passed unanimously.
Mayor Pro Tem’s Report – Mayor Pro Tem, Dr. Phil Wallace started his report by discussing Hurricane Dorian. He said that we anticipated this and for the last six months the Street Department has been busy cleaning out storm drainage. When we found out that the hurricane was coming this way, we walked the track down behind Dillon Seed and we think we got everything squared away there. He went on to say that we got six inches of rain which was not a lot but usually, we have significant flooding and I think we are making some good progress with that. In front of the Herald Office Supply there is normally a lot of water accumulation but there wasn’t a lot this time. Lastly, Dr. Wallace stated that he will visit the Wellness Center to see what their needs are.
City Manager’s Report – City Manager, Glen Wagner started his report saying that what we have done with the storm drainage has helped but he is still not satisfied until we see enough rain to show what we have done. If we get 24 inches of rain like we have on previous hurricanes no matter what we do we will flood. We didn’t see any standing water that we normally see so we know that we have done some things. We are still working on drains throughout the city. We have some pockets that receive more attention than others but that is where we have had the most problems. We are looking tomorrow to start replacing pipes that have collapsed off of Johnson Drive area We have an agreement with the property owner to replace about 200 feet of pipe. We have pipe around the Virginia Lane area that we need to figure out how to handle due to fencing between the houses. We are still waiting to hear on the FEMA grant ($750,000) that we applied for back in April or May. That was to do a drainage study and that comes out in November or December Glen stated that he went to a Municipal Association meeting in Lake City to talk about the upcoming Legislative year in Columbia. One of the topics of discussion and one of the bills was to use local accommodation tax monies and hot mills tax money to do drainage in tourism areas. We really don’t have tourism in Dillon. However, we can consider downtown as tourism. If that passes there will be money to use to help with drainage downtown. I feel for sure this bill will pass because they are being hammered on drainage as well. We are applying for a grant with Rural Infrastructure Authority (RIA). We have used two of these so far. We used one to do third phase of the Waste Water plant. We used one for Perdue Lift Station. We are applying for a $500,000 grant to do rehabilitation of the water tank at Hwy #9. The bid will go out in January 2020. Councilmember Eller asked if we can expedite hiring someone to clean the drains so the people that are doing it now can go back to their regular jobs. Glen stated he will sit down with Burt Rogers and come back next month with employee cost. Burt Rogers stated that we have people on staff now that could work the equipment. Councilmember Eller asked if we could hire someone with a CDL for $15.00 per hour. Burt Rogers stated that the problem is that CDL drivers only want to drive, they don’t want to do other jobs.
Finance Report – Finance Director, Janet Bethea gave copies of the Financial Report to the Mayor Pro Tem, City Council, and the City Manager.
Dillon Downtown Coordinator – Downtown Coordinator, Bridger Thornton started her report explaining
The Hometown Economic Development Grant. She stated this grant will be used for a procurement of a Downtown Master Plan. She said it will redevelop downtown. Bridget went on to say this this master plan will help recruit businesses that people in Dillon will shop at. The Master Plan takes about 9 months to a year to complete. The engineers and planning committee will create a plan to present to Council. The grant is for $25,000 and the City match will be $2,500.
Citizen’s Report– Ms. Angie Reid stated that she has an issue with storage businesses disposing of trash on the street. She stated that something needs to be done because if she did the same, she would be hit with a code violation. She wanted to know what was going to be done. Glen stated they will look at amending the ordinance. Ms. Reid also stated that a lawn company has their clippings all down Radford Blvd. Ms. Sonja Wynn started her report talking about the trees on Main Street. She said to think about moving the trees because they clog up the pipes. She stated the water lines and road is terrible in her neighborhood. She wanted to know if Council could get the roads paves. Glen answered that they can’t be paved until the water lines are repaired, and we are working on it.
Stephanie Mitchell started her report asking if someone could trim the trees and bushes on Main Street. She said she will be glad to clean up the spot if the city would relinquish it to her. Dr. Wallace responded sure she can clean it up. She could set the example for other business owners on Main Street. Ms. Mitchell also mentioned that if the City didn’t get the Master Plan Grant to please find the money from somewhere. She said 9-12 months is a long time and if we miss that window of opportunity it would not be good for Dillon.
Old Business
Ordinance #19-05 Rezoning property at 301 North 1st Avenue – 2nd Reading. Councilmember Washington made a motion to approve. Councilmember Cousar seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
New Business
Resolution #06-19 Hometown Economic Development Grant. Councilman Washington made a motion to approve and the motion passed unanimously.
Purchase new vehicle for Street Department. Councilmember Washington made a motion to purchase a new vehicle. There was no second. The motion failed.
Council Member’s Reports – Councilmember Eller asked what are we doing as a City to help business owners. He stated there are 30 open buildings on Main Street. Glen stated, “look at these 30 openings, the property owners aren’t doing anything to make the buildings presentable”. Bridget Thornton stated that there are no buildings downtown that are market ready.
Councilmember Washington asked what is the estimated value of the Round Property after it is cleaned. Glen stated we would have to have it appraised.
Mayor Pro-Tem Dr. Wallace welcomed Jay David to City Council.
Councilmember Cousar started his report by stating there are a lot of lights out by Pittsburgh Paint. He also asked if the police could step up patrol in that area because we have had a lot of break-ins. He said he would love to see the police patrolling more. He asked how can we get some roads on the Quarters paved?
Councilmember James David started his report saying that a lot of street signs are missing. He said he has gotten complaints on the color of the water Councilmember David also said he wanted to be fair to Burt Rogers and he understands that he needs a truck and positively will look at that next month. Lastly, he complimented the Fire Department on the great job trying to save the white building at J.V. Martin. He also said ‘hat’s off’ to the police for securing the perimeter.
Executive Session – Councilmember Cousar made a motion to go into Executive Session. Councilmember David seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Councilmember Eller made a motion to go into open session. It was seconded by Councilmember Washington and the motion passed unanimously. Councilmember Eller made a motion to accept bids for concession at the Sports Complex with a minimum bid of $5,000 annually. The motion failed.
Adjourn – Councilmember Washington made a motion to adjourn the Council meeting. Councilmember Cousar seconded. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned.
