NEWBERRY COUNTY COUNCIL
MINUTES
APRIL 19, 2006
The Newberry County Council met on Wednesday, April 19, 2006, at 7:00 p.m. in Council Chambers for a regular meeting.
Present were: Mike Hawkins, Chairman
William D. Waldrop, Vice-Chairman
John E. Caldwell, Councilman
Henry B. Summer, Councilman
John David Dawkins, Councilman
Andy Morris, Councilman
Edgar Baker, Councilman (arrived 7:05 p.m.)
J.E. Klugh, Acting County Administrator
Gary T. Pope, County Attorney
Susan C. Fellers, Clerk to Council
Press: Heather Hawkins, WKDK
Cindy Pitts, Newberry Observer
Cassie Fowler - Whitmire News
Notice of the meeting was duly advertised as required by law.
Mr. Hawkins called the meeting to order and determined a quorum to be present.
Mr. Morris had the invocation followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
Adoption of Agenda:
The following items were added to the agenda:
1. Update on Helena and Pomaria landfills (Agenda Item #.1)
2. Request for letter of support for Mr. Caldwell’s application for reappointment to the NACo Board (Agenda Item #.2)
3. Under Executive Session, a personnel matter (Agenda Item #16) and a contractual matter (Agenda Item #17).
There being no other additions or deletions to the agenda, Mr. Morris moved to adopt the agenda as amended; second by Mr. Baker. Vote was unanimous.
Mr. Hawkins welcomed Boy Scout Troop 316. Mike Cousins, Scoutmaster, and Bob Beard, Assistant Scoutmaster, introduced the members present and advised they were working on their Citizenship and Community Merit Badge.
Public Comments:
Mike Gardner, 637 Belfast Road, Newberry, SC, requested a status of the landfill in Helena, which is located behind his property. DHEC told him the permit was going to be revised and reissued, and he didn’t understand what that meant. He also had questions regarding whether rezoning of the property would be involved.
Mr. Pope advised the permit was to be amended to change the entrance road away from the Helena community side, the Drayton Street entrance, to come in through the County’s road, which is being built. The County is moving forward with engineering the road. With regard to the zoning application, that site was grandfathered in. The Supreme Court issued a permit, and Mr. Pope didn’t feel that the County could go back and impose regulations now that would affect the permit granted by the Supreme Court. This would be a fairly minor change. They are not changing the faces of the landfill itself, but simply the access road.
Mr. Klugh talked with Southeast Recovery Resources yesterday, who indicated they were waiting on DHEC to issue the permit and anticipated receiving it within the next two weeks. Then there would be a period of comment on the proposed change to the application. Once that time period has run they would then seek the permit for the landfill from DHEC. At that point they would move forward with developing.
Mr. Gardner asked if there were other changes besides the easement granted to them by the County.
Mr. Klugh indicated that according to what the company told him this would be the only change they were seeking.
Mr. Waldrop asked if the Helena landfill would be under the old DHEC rules and regulations.
Mr. Pope said the permit was issued by order of the Supreme Court under the old rules so the County’s zoning would not really have an affect on it unless it is a really dramatic change which would completely change the scope of the project and then it would be a legal question. The type of change of they are talking about where they are not changing the face of the landfill but simply access roads would make it better for the public and the community.
Mr. Dawkins requested that Mr. Pope contact DHEC to verify what Mr. Klugh was told by Southeast Resource Recovery.
.1 Update on Helena and Pomaria landfills.
See Public Comments for update on Helena.
As to the Pomaria landfill, Mr. Pope advised the County has filed a Petition for Certiorari, and the Supreme Court will make a decision as to whether or not to grant it. If it is granted, then it will go further. If not granted, that will be the end of the case.
.2 Letter of Support for John E.
Caldwell’s application for appointment to the Board of Directors for the
National Association of Counties.
Mr. Waldrop moved to grant a letter of support for Mr. Caldwell’s candidacy; second by Mr. Baker. Vote was unanimous.
1. An Ordinance amending Ordinance No. 104, and making the entire unincorporated area of Newberry County, plus those municipalities which contract with the county for subdivision enforcement, subject to subdivision regulations.
Mr. Waldrop moved for third reading; second by Mr. Morris. Vote was unanimous.
2. An Ordinance to amend Ordinance No. 152, as previously amended by Ordinances enacted October 18, 1995 and September 18, 2002, relating to the Industrial/Business Park of Newberry and Fairfield Counties so as to enlarge the Park.
Mr. Baker moved for third reading; second by Mr. Dawkins. Vote was unanimous.
3. An Ordinance to amend the Official Zoning Map established pursuant to Zoning Ordinance No. 12-24-01 so as to rezone 20 acres designated as TMS Parcel No. 695-16 from Residential (RS-1) to General Commercial (GC).
Without objection, Mr.
Hawkins combined the public hearings on Items 3 and 4 and declared the public
hearing open. There being no comments
from the public, Mr. Hawkins declared the public hearing closed.
Mr. Baker moved for
second reading; second by Mr. Dawkins.
Vote was unanimous.
4. An Ordinance to amend the Official Zoning Map established pursuant to Zoning Ordinance No. 12-24-01 so as to rezone 6.9 acres designated as TMS Parcel No. 695-20 from Residential (RS-1) to General Commercial (GC).
Mr. Waldrop moved for second reading; second by Mr. Baker. Vote was unanimous.
5. An Ordinance to amend the Official Zoning Map established pursuant to Zoning Ordinance No. 12-24-01 so as to rezone 37.38 acres designated as TMS Parcel Nos. 697-1, 697-2, 697-3, 697-4, 697-5, 697-9, 697-11, 697-11/1, 697-12, 697-20, 697-21 and 695-10 from Residential (RS-1) to Rural (R-2).
Mr. Hawkins called for
the public hearing.
In response to questions
from Council as to why the residents wanted this change, Lee Attaway advised
that most of the residents in that area are involved in agricultural or farming
business. RS-1 regulates where barns
can be located and the type of barn, and if barns need to be replaced now, we
have to get a variance. The residents
didn’t realize when the zoning was initially put into place that it was zoned
RS-1, and this is the only road into Newberry County done that way.
Mr. Caldwell felt if
this many taxpayers and residents showed up in unison that this is what they
want, it would be unfair for Council to not grant it.
Mr. Dawkins stated he
was not opposed but RS-1 is the most restrictive zoning and Rural is the least
restrictive.
Mr. Hawkins called for
the question. Vote was unanimous.
6. An Ordinance to amend the Official Zoning Map established pursuant to Zoning Ordinance No. 12-24-01 so as to rezone 22.85 acres designated as TMS Parcel Nos. 695-2, 695-4, 695-6, 695-7, 695-29 and 695-42 from Residential (RS-1) to Rural (R-2).
Mr. Hawkins called for
the public hearing. There being no
comments, Mr. Hawkins declared the public hearing closed.
Mr. Dawkins moved for
second reading; second by Mr. Waldrop.
Vote was unanimous.
7. An Ordinance enacting the Newberry County, South Carolina, Code of Ordinances, revising, amending, restating, codifying and compiling certain existing general ordinances of the County of Newberry dealing with subjects embraced in such Code of Ordinances, and repealing certain ordinances inconsistent with the matters codified in the Code of Ordinances.
Mr. Morris moved for
first reading; second by Mr. Dawkins.
Mr. Klugh explained that
the ordinances adopted through the years have been codified and Council will be
adopting it as the official code for Newberry County.
Mr. Hawkins called for
the question. Vote was unanimous.
8, An Ordinance to provide appropriations for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2006 and ending June 30, 2007 for the Newberry County Budget for County Ordinary purposes and for other county purposes for which the County may levy a tax and receive revenues; to provide for the levy of taxes on all taxable personal and real property in Newberry County for all county purposes, including sufficient tax to pay the principal and interest on outstanding indebtedness of Newberry County payable during said fiscal year; to provide for matters relating to Newberry County; and to provide for the expenditure of said taxes and other revenues coming to the County during said fiscal year, and to provide for the borrowing in anticipation of tax collections by issuance of one or more tax anticipation notes.
Mr. Baker moved for first reading; second by Mr.
Morris.
Mr. Klugh stated under
South Carolina law the County Administrator is to prepare annual operating and
capital improvement budgets for submission to the Council. The law also requires that at the time the
budget is submitted that the Administrator submit to the Council a statement
describing the important features of the proposed budget including all sources
of anticipated revenue of the county government and the amount of tax revenue
required to meet the financial requirements of the County.
Pursuant to these
requirements, the proposed budget for 2006-2007 is hereby submitted. It is believed that this budget will enable
the County to provide an acceptable level of service to the citizens of
Newberry County during the coming year.
Budget requests totaled
$22,737,323. The proposed budget is
$19,432,568. This is a 1.6% increase
over the budget for the current fiscal year.
Under expenditures no
new employees are proposed, and capital projects and equipment are held to a
minimum. Basically this budget seeks to
maintain the current level of services and operations for the coming fiscal
year. Like everyone else, the County is
faced with increased fuel and utility costs.
An additional $92,000 is budgeted for fuel, but this may need to be
adjusted upward based on recent increases and projected costs. It is based on an estimated pump price of
$2.26 a gallon. Utility increases
amount to $68,000, and health insurance increases are estimated to be $90,000.
Funds budgeted for
capital needs are pretty well limited to the replacement of existing
equipment. Most capital requests are
unmet. A listing of those requests will
be provided to you as you begin work on the budget.
Under revenues, fiscal
year 2006-2007 is very difficult from the revenue standpoint. For the current year budget, 2005-2006, the
revenue anticipated from other than current year property taxes is
$9,466,973. For fiscal year 2007 this
revenue is estimated to be $7,037,183, or a reduction of $2,429,790.
There are two primary
reasons for this reduction in revenue.
The first is that $2,384,543 is budgeted this year from the Capital
Project Fund which is the County General Fund.
With this appropriation from the fund balance, the General Fund at the
beginning of this fiscal year was approximately $5.3 Million. The auditors recommend that the County
maintain a fund balance of three to four months operating costs. With a budget of $19,432,568, the reserves
for operations should be between $4.9 Million and $6.4 Million. For this reason, the proposed budget leaves
the General Fund balance at $5.3 Million.
The second reason for
the reduction in revenue is the Special Source Revenue Bonds that were issued
in March. The fee-in-lieu of taxes that
the County currently receives was pledged to pay the principle and interest on
the bonds. This results in a reduction
of approximately $500,000 in general fund revenues.
The proposed budget
anticipates property taxes for fiscal year 2007 to be $12,395,385. This is an increase of $2,685,576 over the
current year.
The proposed budget
includes an increase in the tipping fee for use of the municipal solid waste
transfer station. This increase passes
along to users the increased costs that the County has incurred since 2004. Further information will be provided on this
as you consider the budget.
In summary, as members
of Council are aware, fiscal year 2007 will be a difficult year
financially. As you begin your
consideration of the budget, copies of all budget requests will be provided to
you along with detailed information on revenue projections. Over the next 60 days, we will be better
able to determine how revenues and expenditures for fiscal year 2006 will be at
the end of June, and if funds will be available to be applied towards fiscal
year 2007 operations.
Council may also want to
look at alternate sources of revenue and the present fee schedule for services
provided by the County.
As Council reviews and
revises the proposed budget, we will seek to provide you with information that
you need in your decision making process.
Mr. Hawkins called for
the question. Vote was unanimous.
9. An Ordinance to provide appropriations for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2006 and ending June 30, 2007 for Piedmont Technical College and the Newberry Agency for the Developmentally Disabled; to provide for the levy of taxes on all taxable personal and real estate properties in Newberry County for said purposes; to provide for the expenditure of said taxes and other revenues coming to the County during said fiscal year for said purposes.
Mr. Waldrop moved for
first reading; second by Mr. Morris.
Vote was unanimous.
9.1 Resolution regarding confidentiality of certain information.
Mr. Pope advised this
was an effort to allow people to make complaints without the information
necessarily being public record. If
someone makes a false report, there is a statute to govern that.
Mr. Morris moved to
adopt the resolution; second by Mr. Baker.
Vote was unanimous.
10. Committee Reports.
No reports.
11. Appointments.
Mr. Morris nominated
Terry Rawls for reappointment to the Newberry County Water and Sewer Authority.
Mr. Caldwell recommended
the appointment of Cory Pitts to the GLEAMNS Board.
There being no further
nominations, Mr. Waldrop moved to adopt the appointments; second by Mr.
Dawkins. Vote was unanimous.
12. Consideration of approval of Right of Way Easement to Newberry County Water and Sewer Authority.
Arnold Lingle with
Newberry County Water and Sewer Authority, residing in Leesville, SC, requested
that County Council grant an easement to the Newberry County Water and Sewer
Authority to install a sewer line from the north side of I-26 to the City of
Newberry sewer pump station behind the Industrial Park at Highway 219 adjacent
to the electric power line right-of-way.
Mr. Caldwell moved for
first reading of an ordinance; second by Mr. Baker. Vote was unanimous.
13. Consideration of acceptance of Grant Award from the Department of Commerce.
Mr. Klugh advised that
County Council voted to be the applicant for the Regional Planning Council for
a grant with the Department of Commerce to update a statewide GIS Water and
Sewer data base. We have received
notification that the grant has been approved, and Council needs to formally
accept the grant offer.
Mr. Morris moved to
accept the grant; second by Mr. Baker.
Vote was unanimous.
14. Approval to change name of Sea Pro Drive to Bluewater Drive.
Mr. Waldrop moved to
change the name of Sea Pro Drive to Bluewater Drive; second by Mr. Baker. Vote was unanimous.
Report on Work Session:
A.
If the County exceeds
the Consumer Price Index with the increase in millage, there must be a separate
meeting to hold a public hearing for that purpose only.
Mr.
Baker moved to schedule that meeting for Wednesday, June 7, 2006, at 7:00 p.m.;
second by Mr. Morris. Vote was
unanimous.
The
regular meeting on June 7 will be at 7:30 p.m.
B.
Skirting of
manufactured housing was discussed and sent to the Planning Commission for a
recommendation.
C.
A look will be taken
at the timber located on the County Home property on Highway 34 behind the
Animal Control facility and Public Works and the possibility of cutting it to
use the funds possibly on capital projects.
The timber at the fairgrounds will be looked at for possible thinning.
D.
Council voted to
request funding from the Palmetto Economic Development Corporation for site
certification of the 773 Industrial Park.
E.
Council voted to
authorize the construction site supervisor to procure demolition of the
building on the future library site.
County Council will meet next Thursday night with City of Newberry
representatives about the library site.
F.
Council needs to make
a motion to move forward with the survey appraisal of the property for the
Airport. Mr. Baker so moved; second by
Mr. Morris. Vote was unanimous.
G.
Council discussed the
Capital Sales Tax Projects. In two
weeks Council will have a report as to what it would cost to add two bays to
the Newberry Rescue Squad building to house the Haz-Mat truck. Councilman Summer and the County
Administrator will investigate the interest earnings on the sales tax
money.
H.
Council moved for the
County Administrator to look into a building to house the Newberry County Soil
and Water Conservation District, and he will report his findings on that in two
weeks. He will also investigate the
costs of heating and cooling the Agriculture Building on Martin Street.
Executive Session:
Mr. Baker moved to go
into Executive Session to discuss economic development, a personnel matter and
a contractual matter; second by Mr. Morris.
Vote was unanimous.
[EXECUTIVE
SESSION 7:55 P.M. – 8:40 P.M.]
Mr. Baker moved to
return to open session; second by Mr. Waldrop.
Vote was unanimous.
Mr. Hawkins reported the
following:
A.
An economic development
matter was discussed and the Economic Development Director is to move forward
negotiating on the sale of some property and report back to Council.
B.
Personnel matter
concerning Animal Control.
C.
Contractual matter
concerning J.F. Hawkins/Springfield Place.
No action needs to be
taken as a result of Executive Session.
Mr. Klugh advised a
letter had been prepared to make a formal request to the Economic Development
arm at the Co-op for funding for the certification program for the 773
Industrial Park and they request a formal request. Mr. Morris so moved; second by Mr. Waldrop. Vote was unanimous.
Mr. Klugh announced the
employment of Denise Taylor as Office Assistant I in the Administration Office.
Mr. Hawkins expressed
sympathy to the family of Tina Bishop, an employee of Animal Control, who
passed away this week and whose funeral is tomorrow.
There being no further
business, a motion was made to adjourn.
Vote was unanimous.
Meeting adjourned at
8:45 p.m.
NEWBERRY COUNTY COUNCIL
______________________________
Mike Hawkins, Chairman
______________________________
Susan C. Fellers, Clerk to Council