City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening. Good evening. Welcome to a April's 27th meeting of the Aken City Council. If you're inclined, please rise for the invocation followed by the pledge. Almighty God, our heavenly father, send down upon those who hold office in the city of Aken the spirit of wisdom, charity, and justice that with steadfast purpose they may faithfully serve in their offices to promote the well-being of all people. In your name we pray. Amen.

Chief, would you come and lead us in the pledge? Good evening, Mayor and Council. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, liberty and justice for all. As the meeting begins, I will review the guidelines. Meetings are public forums in which many opinions are expressed in the business of the city must be conducted. As such, disciplined, honorable and professional decorum is paramount. Courteous and respectful communication is required. There should be no disruptions from the floor while council members or members of the public are speaking. Anyone wishing to speak must be recognized so that we can retain order as we conduct the business of the city and all comments can be put into the public record. During public hearings, all questions and statements from the public shall be directed to the chair. If you wish to speak, raise your hand and I will recognize you. Please approach the podium and state your name and address. In order to allow an opportunity for everyone who wishes to address council, speakers should limit their comments to the subject being discussed. Each speaker will be given five minutes to address an issue and may only address an issue once unless questions from council are posed to the speaker. During the non-aggenda public comment section, each speaker has three minutes and can only speak once. We now move to additions and deletions to the agenda. I recognize Mayor Pro Tim Kroll for this item.

Thank you, Madame Mayor. Good evening, everyone. We're glad to see you here. Hope you've been enjoying this beautiful weather, although we'd like to pray for a little bit of rain. I think we got a tiny bit last night, but not enough. Uh, madame mayor, there are no additions or deletions, but I will note that our executive meeting for after our council meeting has been cancelled. So, that is a change. Thank you. Um, Councilman Bro made the motion. Is there a second? Second.

That's from Councilman Waldo. All those in favor? Thank you. The minutes were provided to council for review prior to the meeting. Is there a motion for approval of the minutes? I so move. Councilwoman Diggs made the motion and I'll second, Madame Mayor. Second from Councilwoman Br. Any comments or changes? All those in favor? Thank you. There is one presentation tonight is the presentation of a proclamation for small business week. Councilman Waldo, will you read that please for

Yes, madame mayor. I have a pro proclamation for National Small Business Week. Um whereas small businesses are the engine of the American economy and the foundation of the free and prosperous nation accounting for more than 99% of all private sector employers and creating nearly two out of every three new jobs nationwide. And whereas from farms and factories to the frontiers of technology, small businesses drive innovation, strengthen the local economies, and provide the products and services that keep America competitive, secure, and strong. And whereas the America first e economic resurgence has produced more than 500,000 new jobs, driven small business business optimism above its 52-year historical average, secured over 20 trillion in foreign investment commitments and delivered strong GDP growth. and whereas prioritizing energy, independence, secure borders, and fair trade and restoring economic strength, self-resilience, and opportunity. And whereas the entment of working families tax cuts make the 199A small business deduction permanent, allows 100% of expensing for new factories and equipment, expands opportunity zones, eliminate taxes on tips and overtime, and delivers meaningful tax relief that strengthens small businesses, empowers entrepreneurs, and fuel job creation in the communities. And whereas Small Business Week has been proclaimed by the President of the United States since 1963, honoring the vital role of small business in creating jobs, growing the economy, and anchoring our communities.

And whereas in 2026 in the United States, we will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence known as Freedom 250, marking a historic opportunity to reflect on our nation's founding principles of free enterprise. Now therefore, Teddy Milner, Mayor and the council of the city of Aken, do hereby proclaim May 3rd through the 9th, 2026 as National Small Business Week and encourage all citizens to support small businesses and celebrate their many achievements.

Thank you. Is Stephanie Bitker here? Hi. Would you come up for your proclamation? That's

one. Ready?

You ready? Hold on a second. Let me get my Now we open the floor to public comments on non-aggenda items. Comments are limited to three minutes per speaker and for a total of 30 minutes. Who would like to come and speak? Yes, ma'am.

Good evening. My name is Cheryl Rugles. R U G Gle S. I live at 1954 Hiron Drive which is in um Jim Lakes. So, madame mayor, city council, and citizens of Aken, I am here have some America 250 news to share. A food donation from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who is celebrating America 250 arrives at our Golden Harvest Food Bank this Thursday, April 30th in the morning. Approximately 33,000 pounds of food, shelf stable food such as pasta, fruit, vegetables, fruits, pancake mix, and more will help neighbors facing food insecurity. We are excited to watch the truck roll in. Golden Harvest will be using that food in future distributions. The delivery is part of a nationwide effort in which the church is sending 250 truckloads to 250 food banks across America, all 50 states to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. In South Carolina, we are receiving three trucks in Aken, Columbia, and Greenville. Locally, leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Aken said the delivery reflects a shared desire to care for our neighbors in practical, nonpartisan ways. We are trying to follow the Savior's commandment to love our neighbors. America's 250s desire to reach the citizens also includes a movement of volunteerism by helping in communities across the country. The Church of Jesus Christ has a free available platform to find ways to volunteer in our communities nonprofits throughout the nation. Go to

justserve.org and open the website or put the app on your phone with your zip code to find a project. Nonprofits can benefit by advertising for volunteers as well as donations in kind at justserve.org. You can even log your hours into the America 250 page. And giving service is rewarding and fun. In addition, America 250 is promoting telling your story and is challenging the nation to find two new ancestors. Add five stories to your collection and download 10 f 10 photos for your posterity. Everyone can do this research by using the free website familyarch.org. It has the largest collection of records from around the world. And if you need help getting started, there are two places volunteers can help you. One is the Center for African-American History, Art, and Culture located right around the corner at 120 York Street upstairs in the Genealogology Lab. Their hours when volunteers can help are Wednesday afternoons from 2:00 to 4:00 and Fridays 10:00 a.m. to noon. The other is the Family Search Center located at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 358 East Pine Log Road near Kennedy Middle School. Volunteers are there Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10:00 a.m. to noon. Some computers are available at both places or you can bring your own laptop. There is no charge at either location and is open for the entire community. We are excited to be celebrating our nation's beginning and we are grateful for the freedoms we all enjoy. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Cheryl, did did I understand you to uh to say that you were having a food distribution on Thursday? distribution. Okay, you know what time that is and the criteria people have to meet. Okay, I'll give them a call. Thank you. Yes, sir. You that would be you, Kirk.

Good evening.

Good evening, Madame Mayor. Council Kurt Johnson 114 Brewster Way Aken for a short time later. Anyway, what I want to talk about today is we have been getting a lot of contact with the community. The community has stepped up. We may see somebody out there on the street. They're giving us a call, which is a good thing. I mean, we we are so happy for that. We also want to keep on educating the community that you don't just hand over things to them. It's I mean then they become enabled and we don't want that. We want them to be able to get the things they need to be able to start being a prosperous uh neighbor. That's the best way to put it. We can get them their IDs. We can get them uh we can set them up with jobs. That's one of our biggest problems right now is the transportation. I can get them jobs, but if there's no way to get them there except for us getting up. I used to drive a guy from Aken all the way out to Trenton every day 5:00 in the morning, go pick him up because that was the only transportation we had. So, I mean, the jobs are there, transportation's not. So, as a community, we need to step up on that. Um, the only other thing I can think of right now is that it's getting it's starting to get a little warmer. Um, we still need need donations of water and hydration um things like Gatorade and stuff so that we can keep them hydrated while they're out. Bug spray is another thing so that we can keep them from getting all bit while they're out on the street.

Um, if that's about it. Any questions? Um, Kurt, do you have hydration stations? Yeah, in the back of my truck located it. No, I mean No, that's all that's all that we have right now. Unless the city the city has I mean they open up you know Odell weeks unless he price they're they are able to go there now. I don't know if you have uh electrolytes. Right. Right. And transportation will always be a challenge in that respect. They get around pretty good around town. I haven't seen any of them that that have a problem getting from south side to the west side. Okay.

None at all. But they do have a problem with the hydration. And it's not just water. We need to get them electrolytes so that they can stay stay up. And where would people take that to? They can contact me. My number is 5053407151. call me or they can go to our u our web page which is lost sheep m i n of s.org thank you. Okay. Yes. Lex. Good evening.

Good evening council mayor. Uh Lex Ferry C4 Impact 1526 Southboundary Avenue Southeast. Um to add on what Kirk was saying, the C4 also has a cooling station during the day. Uh individuals can come by. Um if we have water, of course, we can provide that for them. It's a place where they can cool off. It also gives us an opportunity to find out what's going on. Um so we always welcome that. Um I'm thankful that to hear that there's going to be a a food drive. Uh what I want to encourage the community uh if we are giving out food especially if you're putting it into the the blessing boxes please make sure that the cans are the easy pop open cans and so forth and foods that's easy to eat. Um one of the things that we do is we encourage folks to if they want to help C4 to send the MREs. You can go to amazon.com send a case of the MREs. We give those out individually. Um there's very little to any mess that's left over from those because they're already self-contained. They're high density when it comes to nutrition. It's a great idea to sing that you don't have to can foods. Uh one of the reasons we said that we have a recent cleanup that we did on Greg Highway. If you're going down towards um akin borrow mental health, it was on the right side. Uh what we thought was one uh location encampment ends up being about four uh encampments. We cleaned up most of um I should about halfway through the first one. We uh we collected 89 30-gallon bags of trash. Um, you can see it on uh C4 impact akin uh.com. You can see the pictures. Um, I thank um um New Spring Church for coming out uh with us in that collaboration and getting that stuff cleaned out. We are going to go back and clean up more. Uh, we had to get a dumpster. Uh, in order to do that, we had a 30-yard dumpster. We filled it up to the top all the way across. Um, and there's still a lot more. We didn't even complete the the first encampment. And I said, there's three more of this there. We do this because we love the city. We want to see it cleaned up. And this is

um there's a lot of food in cans that were in that encampment. You'll see the pictures. They speak for themselves. I don't have to tell you. So, I want to encourage folks if you're going to give something, put in a blessing box. Make sure it's something someone can open and they can eat easily because otherwise it's going to end up in the trash or out in one of the encampments on the ground. Uh and also the same thing when you're giving out clothing, ask questions, find out exactly what the individual really needs. um or go through one of the channels uh in order to give the clothes out because we packed up a lot of clothing. Again, you'll see the stuff yourself. Um uh I just want to encourage you to be very strategic about the giving that we give. Uh the other thing I want to say is last time I was here, um I talked about the van that I had repaired. Well, 3 days later, that van died. Um the transmission died on it. So, I got the coroner's report on that. It's done. Um I still need two vans. Um Kurt and I are working on coordinating like you said we can get jobs but we want to get individuals there. We're stepping up to do that to get folks to to and from jobs to job interviews to doctor's appointments and so forth. Again why do we do that? Because this allows us to touch again the individual that we're working with to build that trust in order to get to the next step. We did add a couple more locations where we're able to house people. So we thank the landlords who are reaching out to me who are willing to work with us. Uh I can give you the details on it. If you have a house, you're willing to let us turn into a C4 house, great. We're we're willing to work. We have to get really creative. Uh and I think we're doing that. Um and I'm running out of time already, but I I appreciate it. If anybody has any questions, please reach out to me. I'll be glad to help.

Thank you, Lex. Be careful with the blessed box. I've been the two in the vicinity of well, we have some at the health center ants. Yeah. And that's another reason why I was saying make sure you're really watching what you put in there. Um people can find the blessing boxes if they go to readlink.org that that shows all the blessing boxes are in there and the places you can get food. It's very easy and instead of handing out any kind of money and things like that. Please tell the people to go to relink.org. They have the phone. They can get they can find the resources that they need. There's plenty there. Or come see or or Kurt or I so that we can help walk them through because we want to get people off the street. Okay. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Lex, after our last meeting two weeks ago, I later ran into someone um about four or five days ago and we were talking about what he was doing. He formerly served on the parks and recreation uh commission uh my appointee and we talked about what you you all were doing and I told him about the need for a van and he said, "Well, I've got a used van in my yard." He he has two vans. One of them he used uh to take senior citizens to buy their groceries, things of that nature. Uh but the other one he said that he could use. Well, I left him after talking about various subjects. I thought I had his number, didn't have his number. So, I'm going to have to contact Parks and Wreck to see if they have his old number so that I can get that to you. And I promise you, I'll get it to you in the next few days.

Okay, that's great. Thank you, Pastor Lex and Pastor Kirk. Good evening.

Good evening, Mayor, City Council. I'm Brent Fowler, 1749 Powder House Road. Um, that's Akin County. Um, I want to talk just briefly, not specifically about any annexation, but about the ongoing storm water coming from the Powder House connector. I spoke last week to the planning commission. Some of you may have seen me on TV. Some of y'all probably have seen my PowerPoint. the two retention ponds that come off the powder house connector, the two that are already established, that creek or ditch comes to the face of my property. And so I'm trying to figure out this timeline because there's an email from city council on February 5th that looked at my property, parcel B at the time as it was called, and it stated there would be no water runoff implications. We started to build our home in March of 2021. We moved in July of 2022. During Hurricane Helen, we got seven inches of rain and not one drop of water came out of that covert under powder house from the connector property onto our property. Fast forward to May 12th, we had a very significant flooding. Keith Lawrence spoke here in these chambers on June 23rd that it was unfortunate timing of cutting in those retention ponds and once they were established, they would be able to hold this water. We haven't had a lot of rain as you said, Miss Kay. Uh February 27th, we had three inches of rainfall. I had a week of flooding across that property. March 16th, the last significant rainfall, one and a half inches of rainfall, days of flooding. So, I went from having a hurricane with seven inches of rain, not one drop of water to now anytime that we get about an inch, inch and a half of rain, I've got days of flooding. So, I just want the council to consider that as it looks at other annexations related to the overall powerhouse connector. Thank you for your time.

Thank you for your comment. Any anyone else? Okay. Thank you. Thank you. We will now move to approval of the consent agenda. Mr. Beenbo, will you please read the titles of the items on the consent agenda?

Thank you. Uh we did not receive any comments from residents uh or or individuals electronically or uh uh submissions to the city clerk by 700 p.m. So we have one item on the consent agenda. It's an ordinance to certify certain property located at the northeast intersection of Richland Avenue and Marboro Street Northeast and bound on the north by Barnwall Street and on the east by Orangeburg Street. And further identified below is a textile mill site under the South Carolina textiles communities revitalization act title 12 chapter 65 of the South Carolina code of laws 1976 as amended for the purpose of allowing the owner and/or developer to qualify for state income tax credits.

Thank you. Is there a motion please? I so move. Councilwoman Diggs made the first motion. Is there a second? Second. Councilman Waldo. Since there are no um there's no comment on the consent agenda, we will go straight to a vote. All those in favor. Thank you. We now have approval and discussion of appointees to various city boards, committees, and commissions. Mr. Beenbo. Thank you. We have the council consideration this evening, the reappointment of Nancy Rob to the Arts Commission and the appointment of Bill Hall to the general aviation commission.

Thank you. Is there a motion to accept these nominations? So move, madame mayor, that we approve these. Councilwoman uh Price made the motion and a second. Second, madam

from Councilman Morgan. Comments from the public. Comments from the council. All those in favor? Thank you. It's unanimous. Are there any nominations to consider uh at our next meeting? With not that with that being said, we will go on to the next item, which is old business and second reading and public hearing of an ordinance authorizing the city to consent to a lease assignment agreement for property located at 108 Lauren Street Southwest. Mr. Beenbo,

thank you. This is an ordinance authorizing the city of Aken to commit to a lease assignment and assumption agreement for property located at 108 Lawrence Street Southwest. This is a uh just a simple assignment which the existing lease allows of the Vampire Penguin business to uh from the Vampire Penguin LLC to Sierra Swailes. The uh nothing would change other than the current lease uh holder. And of course, this would transfer if the property is sold. And this does transfer all the existing rights, title, and interest in the lease agreement to the proposed tenant. And the this is before council for second reading this evening. Madame Mayor and councel,

thank you. Do I have a motion, please? I so move, Madam Mayor. Councilman Waldo, second madam from Councilwoman Brol. Uh, are there any comments from the public? Comments from councel? All those in favor? Thank you. It's unanimous. The final item under old business is second reading and public hearing authorizing the city of Aken to accept an amended loan agreement from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development for the Pinerest Sewer Project. Mr. Beenville.

Thank you. This is uh a uh transfer of a portion of some of the CDBG funds. Uh the housing and urban development uh is the federal agency that manages this. We have been in contact with them. This would uh redirect money for the sewer installation for this neighborhood improvement project uh which will install this approximately 1,750 linear feet of sanitary sewer and construct six new manholes which would allow municipal sewer service into the Pinerest neighborhood. This is a low to moderate income criteria. Those homes are currently on aging septic systems. uh the balance of what's left over will be used on Williamsburg Street. And um this is again the the loan was approved in 2022. This is just redirecting the monies for this project that will improve that area um off of Hampton Avenue across from what used to be known as the Pinerest School Elementary School. I cannot remember the name, but it's still a public school district property uh used for um education. It's before you for second reading this evening, Madame Mayor and Council.

Thank you. Is there a motion for this exciting project? So move, Madame Mayor, that we approve this request. Thank you, Councilwoman Price, and a second. I second from Councilwoman Diggs. Any comments from the public? comments from council. Just want to thank Sabina for her efforts and help and support with this.

Thank you, Sabina. Where is she? All those in favor. Thank you very much. It's unanimous. We now move to new business. The first item is first reading and public hearing of an ordinance to annex 1117 Conger Drive and zone it residential single family RS15. Mr. Beenbo.

Thank you. You read the title of the ordinance, madame mayor. This is approximately 7300s of an acre. Uh it is a contiguous annexation in Aken Estates. Those present at the uh planning commission unanimously recommended it be annexed and zoned RS15 residential single family. It's before council this evening for consideration. Thank you. Is there a motion to accept this? So move, madame mayor. Councilman Waldo. Oh, he did.

I'll second. went first and Councilman Brol is second. Seconded the motion, comments from the public, comments from council. All those in favor? Thank you so much. The next item under new business is first reading and public hearing of an ordinance to reszone 117 Colatin Avenue Southwest from residential multifamily low density to downtown business. Mr. Beenbo,

thank you. We do have this request from the applicant that the property uh it's owned by the proprietors of the Willox. Uh it be reszoned to downtown business. The comprehensive land use and transportation plan future land use maps assigns residential uses to this area which are permitted by the permit proposed downtown business zone. Uh the residential multifamily permits residential uses. uh special exception uh approval would be required for other uses by zoning downtown business. This would allow the property known as the chef's cottage to continue to be used as an extension of the hotel by providing additional overnight accommodations to the Willox with the same amenities as the hotel. Um, this property is in an overlay district. So, I want to make sure that it is stated for the record that this property has to comb uh has to comply with both the regulations set forth in the zoning ordinance, which is what this is addressing for downtown business, but also in the overlay. and uh the most stringent rules will apply here uh within um and that would probably default to the overlay and I know that was discussed at the design review board meeting uh because we did have some uh wellthoughtout and and legitimate comments uh and concerns from adjacent property owners. Uh the design review board uh was requested by the planning commission to recommend how this should be addressed and the design review board recommended approval of the resoning request and that will also allow for the uh continued uh rehabilitation as needed and increased historic protection of the property. and

uh those present. The planning commission's April 14th meeting reviewed this and unanimously recommended the reszoning and it is before council this evening for first reading. Thank you. Is there a motion to accept this? So move, madame mayor. Um Councilwoman Br was the first motion and the second Oh, sorry. Councilwoman Diggs and Councilman Price. Councilwoman Price second the motion. Any comments from the public? Comments from council.

I just wanted to share that um we have received and met uh with the owners of the Will Cox uh Stuart and myself and some others. In addition to that, there are further concerns uh and the these are all property adjacent that they have some questions and Stuart and I will be meeting with those property owners to clarify some things. You often know that when one person will say something often times it gets confusion and we we want to halt that confusion very early. So we should be meeting with them very soon in the in the future regarding the adjouring adjoining properties the neighborhood.

Thank you for that.

Um all those in favor thank you very much. Unanimous. Now we have first reading and public hearing of an ordinance to reszone property at 1518 Two Notch Road from limited professional to limited business. Mr. Beenville, thank you. You uh read the title of the ordinance. This is a reszoning request for approximately 4,800s of an acre for the applicant at 15182 Notch Road to Limited Business. Uh the current zoning designation of limited professional allows for blending limited scale professional offices in certain types of selected institutions. This uh floor design and design of such uses is regulated to ensure compatibility with adjacent residential areas. The proposed zoning of LB provides for similar blending of a limited range of retail and service activities of a pedestrian oriented nature with residential uses and the floor design and design of such uses is regulated to ensure compatibility with adjacent areas uh uh residential areas. uh with limited business. Uh the zoning permits uh certain types of businesses such as um some dining in or takeout restaurants, grocery, furniture store, home furnishing, special approval from BZA is required for other uses such as religious institutions and services such as uh hair and nail salons. this reasonzoning the the purpose is the applicant uh does want to provide uh some um hair and nail services to go along with their other services at a med spa and this would allow them to pursue a special exception from the board of zoning appeals for that use and this

reszoning is before the council for first reading tonight. The planning commission heard this at their April 14th meeting and all present unanimously recommended the reszoning and is before you this evening. Thank you so much. Is there a motion to accept this ordinance reszone? I so move, Madame Mayor. Councilwoman Morgan made the motion and a second. Second. Second from Councilman Waldo. Any comments from the public? Comments from the council.

Madame Mayor, I just have as I understand this um Mr. Beanbo, this is this resoning would allow them to go before BCA for a special exception. Correct. That is correct. Uh they would need that uh to go that step in order to uh put that hair and nail type service in at that location. Thank you very much.

Anyone else on council questions? All those in favor? Thank you. Next, we have first reading and public hearing of an ordinance to annex 2065 Pine Log Road and zone it residential single family RS15. Mr. Been Bo, thank you. Uh the title of the ordinance has been read. It's approximately 8,500s of an acre in the Pine Log acres subdivision. Uh those present at the April 14th planning commission meeting unanimously recommended annexation and zone RS15 to council and it is before you for first reading this evening.

Thank you. Um a motion please. So move madame mayor. Councilman Waldo and I'll second Madame Mayor and a second from Councilwoman Broul. Any comments from the public? Comments from councel. All those in favor? Thank you. It's unanimous. The next iting is item is first reading and public hearing of an ordinance to annex 7.08 acres owned by the city of Aken on Thoroughbred Run Powderhouse Road and Old Powder House Road. Mr. Beenbo.

Thank you. It is an ordinance to annex the corporate limits of the city of Aken certain property consisting of 7.08 08 acres of land owned by the city of Aken and assigned it as rightway with no zoning applied. Uh I want to just sort of give a little bit of history of how we got to this point. Um, in 2006, uh, in response to Southside Development, a study jointly sponsored by the county and the city and others, uh, uh, had, uh, hired a firm uh, to broach the subject of a connector road, the so-called powderhouse connector. Um, like a lot of projects that are very ambitious, when there's no money, uh, it's hard to move forward. So, uh, about 10 years later, in 2016, council gave staff, uh, the permission to begin inquiring about, uh, acquiring right ofway for this property. So I see uh um myself and two uh hardworking engineers from then WR Tool and I spent uh a full day well into the evening meeting with about a dozen property owners at an offsite office to inquire about their interest in providing uh right of way. So that started the conversation but we still had no money. we need money to do this project. So, um as part of the thought process that um residents and others in the community want infrastructure to keep up with growth and from a road management standpoint, I don't believe anyone can say that Whiskey Road has kept up with that. Uh the city put on the 2018 capital project

sales tax ballot. Um one of the road items was $8 million for whiskey road corridor improvements and congestion relief. And the bulk of this money was dedicated to the powderhouse connector. the um the referendum for capital project sales tax 4 passed by a margin of 65% to 35% countywide. U so this was a project that was not viewed it was within the arc of acceptable projects by the voters of Aken County. I I looked at the statistics in the general area where this is. It passed 63% in the College Acres voting precinct and 70% in the precinct that includes the Malard Lake subdivision. Uh again, I'm not saying that this project was why they voted yes, but it it did not um uh fall outside the bounds of an unacceptable project uh based on these voting totals. So fast forward, uh, the city began to try to seek additional funding to provide for construction of a roadway estimated to cost $40 million. We had about 7 to8 million based on capital project sales tax 4. So the city began working hard. First, we partnered with the uh Metropolitan um transportation group. We belong to ARTS, the Augusta Regional Transportation Study Committee, and had the project moved up in the what we call the TIP, the transportation improvement program. We had it moved up into tier one, which instantly made the project viable for additional funding from other entities. Then we worked hard to solicit

federal funding for this project. We needed a patron to sponsor the money. We had a United States senator sponsor $8 million of federal funds and we received that money in 2022. That then coupled with the local match and the fact it was in tier one of the transportation improvement plan of the Augusta regional transportation study committee made us competitive for the third time in applying for the balance of the money from the state transportation infrastructure bank. They score the project as you would a test as I took them in school where a 100 is the best score and a zero is the worst score. The first time we applied, we scored a zero. So that tells you how uh poor an application it was and it was simply for two reasons. It was not high enough in the tip and we uh were unable to demonstrate financial capacity. Uh on the third try, we scored the highest of all the applicants and scored I believe an 81. So we were very proud of how our score went from zero to 81. Uh, even though we strive to score a 100, we'll take it. That meant we received 21 to 22 million dollars of transportation infrastructure bank money, which meant the project could proceed. That was in 2022. As we move forward, uh we began um actively working with property owners for property conveyance focusing on uh what we called phase one of the project. Phase one of the project um uh property conveyances were received from multiple property owners. And in April of 2025, about 51 or 5, I think 52

weeks ago, it was the week after the MA uh 2025 masters, we had a groundbreaking for phase one. Uh phase two, uh excuse me, phase one is progressing well. Um and should be complete by September 2026. uh on a parallel track. We've been uh acquiring right-of-way property uh for for phase 2. So, we can begin that soon after phase one. So, we hope that we can start phase 2 sometime around the end of the calendar year or early 207. Um, so as part of this, we've acquired the property that's before you tonight for annexation into uh the city. Uh, because ultimately it will be a citymain road. Because it is built with federal funds um, and it is a limited access parkway, it's got several unique features. With the federal funds, we have a multi-use path uh similar to what you see on Pine Log Road from around Milbrook Milbrook Elementary all the way to um around Aken High School that uh the bypass um as well as Hitchcock Parkway. And it will also have a landscape median um and again limited access points onto the roadway. uh we as part of the project we have to meet certain criteria um and it and it does uh this uh phase 2 project we could have not gotten to this point from the uh uh federal government by not meeting so-called NEPA standards which are environmental standards that account for disturbances of property and issues with uh storm water and I know uh what the uh the speaker previously meant

we take those comments extremely seriously. Uh we also recognize that drainage basin has some challenges but um I think we will continue to work to try to uh ultimately once the project is finished the uh flow rate will be preconstruction levels but um that is something we're going to continue to keep an eye on and um um I expect the residents to continue to uh hold us accountable uh to make sure we do as as they should. So this annexation is before you tonight for first reading. I'm sorry I spoke for a while but I did believe it was very important to establish uh the sort of how we got here story uh of the powerhouse connector. Thank you.

Thank you for that well very well explained uh project. Um, is there a motion to please? So move, Madame Mayor. Councilman Waldo made the motion. I will second, Madame Mayor. Council Councilwoman Brol second the motion. Comments from the public. Yes, sir.

Yeah. Thank you, council. I'm Dr. Bob Vanpel. I live at 303 Southbank Drive. I'm also the HOA president of Malard Lake subdivision, which is like adjacent to what you're trying to annex. We urge the city council to pause and reconsider the zoning and annexation approvals tied to this corridor. We're not against development, but we request sustainable development with preservation of natural resources and habitats and the city a vacant comprehensive plan. Your decision to proceed with this annexation in road two takes away from our quality of life with more traffic, safety concerns, runoff and flooding issues, etc., etc. Annexation to support this phase 2 will not address the chronic traffic congestion along the Whiskey Corridor and East Pine Log based on the existing traffic patterns. It's just going to add to it. It'll also result in a devastating loss of some of the last bit of old growth forest over here on the south side and have an impact to the wetlands and wildlife. I mean, we just had Earth Day and you just want to go ahead and destroy it. Where's the common sense decision making here in Aken? Plus, this phase two you just mentioned about a median and bike path. That's absurd. We don't need this. No one is riding bicycles on East Pine Log and over to Whiskey Road. Okay. Just look at the bypass you mentioned. Useless multi-use pass which could have been used to expand the road and allow for more flow of the traffic. If you need an access road, look for a portion of the cotton field. You can build the road through there to thoroughbred run and then have a light at the intersection of thoroughbred and powderhouse. It'll work just as well, much less money, and you could use the remaining money to address all the road issues and infrastructure problems we have throughout the city of Aken. So, please stop destroying the small town

fabric of Aken. Thank you. Thank you. Yes.

Yes. Come forward. I am Gail Wilkinson. I live 1614 Powder House Road. And I, you know, when I think about this, I have looked at the the uh the maps and I'm wondering how that is, you know, the how we would be able to I don't know. I'm just sad about it because I think that you are about to change this small amount of the small amount of areas and I don't know what can I say. I should not be speaking right now.

My apologies.

Thank you. Good evening. I'm Laura Ferzano. I live at 130 Mard Lake Drive. I have uh lived here for eight years in Aken and I have watched that beautiful uh bit of land that you want to build a road through. I've seen it be chipped away and uh it's a very important part of our neighborhood and our quality of life. I am devastated that you want to build a road through that. A road that cannot be and has not been proven to be of of use. It's not the the numbers don't number on Whiskey Road and Powder House. The connector is not going to work. Phase one. All right. Phase two. Show me. Show me. Show me the studies, the recent studies of how that's going to help us. More importantly though, I have a question for Mr. Beenbaw about why there is a request to zone this annex property RH when it's for a road right of way. So

that was a Miss Scrivener's error. There will be no zoning for it. So the non the NA that you wrote in the application for not applicable for the zoning was a scrivener's error. No, the it is not being zoned RM. Uh the scrier's error was in the memo. It is not going to have a zoning. That's why an NA was written in the application. So without zoning, how does it get annexed? It is a public ride ofway. So it does not need to be zoned. So there will not be any high density along that road. Is that correct?

We will not be building structures within uh there will not be any development in the roadway. This is only talking about the footprint of the roadway. No ma'am, that's a different matter. Let's not confuse the issue. I'm not confusing the issue, sir. Um, next to that roadway will be next to the roadway will be that will be addressed uh as uh property owners bring um those properties forward for consideration. This is only about the roadway. Don't ruin our woods. We have so few. do the right thing for once.

Anyone else like to speak about this? Comments from council?

Yeah, I want to make a comment to my constituents that came tonight. Um the issue that we're experiencing right now on the prow house connecting the road with the traffic issue, I think that could be a lack of development onto the northeast and west side of town. um we have not u put adequate amount of grocery stores, adequate amount of retail, restaurants into those areas. So that way now you see so much traffic influx into district 5 is because we do not have a separation of balance amongst the entire city. Once we see that balance amongst the entire city, then we will see that traffic number slightly increase or significantly increase once we start that process. So, I think that's something that people should keep in mind is that we have not expanded or balanced some of that development onto the northeast and the west side yet because district 5 is pretty much everyday essentials for retail, grocery shopping, you name it. Everybody has to come to the district for everyday use. So, once we expand that, then we will see that traffic number slightly increase the more and more we do throughout the entire city. Just to clarify that,

madame mayor, excuse me if I may. I concur with Councilman Waldo's assessment. Also, this is just a rideway. There's not going to be anything built on this and it's going to be annexed into the city. Now, I know there's people that are having drainage issues right now. No one's addressing that. If it's annexed into the city, it falls on our shoulders to address that. So, if you want it to continue like it is with the problems you're having, you know, that's if it doesn't get annexed, those will continue. But this is strictly for right away. There will be no homes on this.

Thank you for clearing that up. I've got one. Oh, I'm sorry. Yes. No. Can I not do that? I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It's already come to council. I'm sorry. I did I not see your hand? She had it up. She can't have it. She was She raised her hand before. Yeah, she hand She had a hand up. I should let her come up. Yes. Yes. Please. I'm sorry. I didn't see you before. I apologize.

My name is Linda Pasuisti. I'm at 341 South Bank in Malard Lake and I just wanted to reiterate what um the press people that live in our neighborhood came up and this is a beautiful area that we have and there's a lot of wildlife in there. We hear owls, eagles, deer. This is a small portion. And when you say it's just a rideway, that that kind of makes it sound not important to a lot of other things. It's not just a ride away. It's kind of an invasion of our area and a displacement of a lot of creatures. And some of us who live around the lake don't have fences. So that's going to force this wildlife into our yards potentially. And it is it should be under consideration that is this really going to justify what small amount of roadway that you're going to provide to take away from what we all have. These are our homes. It's a lot of homes that you're kind of invading with this project. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Did I miss anyone else's hand?

Did Did you want to make a comment?

Yes. Yes. met a mayor. I was at the planning commission meeting and um was listening to them and some of the problems they have with the uh water back up, especially the gentleman and the the gray sweater and Todd Still was talking about it and I think they got the runaround. They didn't. Some people tell them it's a county problem, other people tell them it's a city problem. I think what uh Councilwoman Bro was trying to say is this is um if it's annexed into the city, it'll be a city problem. We'll have to fix it. Right now, it's just going to stay like it is. You won't get any answers. you won't have any of the city officials uh city uh departments to address the problems you have it once it comes into the city it will be our responsibility to take care of it and I know you want that taken care of and so does Todd still he made that very clear I apologize for those problems that y'all have and that you've been getting to run around But just like uh Brillan said and uh Councilwoman Councilman Waldo said, it's not uh a totally bad thing. It's not a bad thing, but we do need some grocery stores on um that side of town and the north side. Nobody's coming to to uh offer us anything

if we don't get some things done. So, we definitely need that. Um, I don't have anything else to say, but um, just consider that all of those issues that you've been having will finally be taken care of by the city because it will be our responsibility. Thank you for saying that,

Madame Mayor. I I just had a couple of questions. I don't have a problem voting on this tonight to move it forward to the second reading, but at the second reading, I'd like to request that we have a better overview and answer the concerns that were spoken today. Um maybe on a little bit out in the storm water annexation. If you're annexing the roadway, what will how will that affect the corresponding um and adjacent homeowners? because I think that is a concern that I had people call me about and I think might have come up at the planning commission. If we can answer and alleviate some of the concerns brought up, how is it really going to impact? We've had this discussion all night. We some of us have little tidbits and we don't know the bigger picture. And I think if we went up, looked at it and had some oversight at the next hearing, it would be helpful.

Yeah, I I agree with you on that. Um until that point we did have an initial meeting at um was that meeting at Woodside? Yes,

it was at Woodside that night and we had Oliver and his team. Also Jason from the U Akentown Park was there. Um and they were very resourceful. It was about 150 people there. Um so I do invite the community next time we have those town halls to please come and voice your concerns um when we have those. But I think that's a good point, Barbara, for us to have that in the second reading. Ju I want to really applaud um that district that Brilland um wanted or sent sent information out to invite the constituency base to that meeting. Frankly, we don't see that kind of attendance at a meeting when you were having neighborhood meeting and it was over 150 people there. Great questions asked and he had the people there to respond to those questions and I'm I I'm not in that district but I'm there to listen to find out the input and we had our city manager there. It was a quite an impactful meeting and those meetings are held to uh to give insight. Uh but it was very it was some very strong questions asked and people looking for direction in terms of where they're going. But to admit to you, I'm one of the guilty ones that's causing you problems. And I'm guilty because I almost every day either my husband and myself we're going to the southside because the southside provides things that we need. As Brillan has clearly

said it deals with ba balance in growth and the city is working on that balance. We have we don't have the level of grocery stores that is on the south side. We don't have hotels on that side and many other amenities that the residents there enjoy and that is why we're trying to get that towards I20 where growth is happening and the city has been uh very conscious of putting in the infrastructure and ensuring that growth continues but you have to market it such that businesses want to come to that area and that's where we are right now trying to encourage business of the positive things with growth that is occurring on the north and east side, northwest and northeast side of town where our growth is is attractive. So, and and I do want to know in July of 2025, we had a uh federally required public hearing where we accepted public comment about the project both uh in writing and verbally. Uh and we had another workshop uh that was a drop public information session um approximately 6 to 12 months prior to that. Um so we've had um a fair amount of feedback um for this project and again this goes back about 20 years um the need for this and I do want to reiterate that the residents within the community uh um want infrastructure to keep up and

you can argue one can one can have a in the marketplace of ideas discuss us whether or not this is too late. But um it will um have a positive decrease in traffic because again the busiest part of Whiskey Road and the traffic studies we the level of service studies we have every two years show basically between Pine Log and Powderhouse specifically in the corridor between Eastgate and Pine Log is the busiest stretch of road certainly in Aken and the surrounding area if not Aken County. Exit 20, uh, Highway 25 and exit 5 might be just as busy, but it it's definitely in the top two. And by using this to take the traffic off of that stretch of Whiskey Road, it will have a substantial positive impact on that traffic on Whiskey Road, which is one of the things consistently we have heard for decades. Thank. And we are not voting on anything but the right of way at this time. So that is what I'm asking for a vote. All those in favor

on the rightway. Annex annexation of the rightway. That's right. That's all. Yeah. Everything else has been approved. That's all this is. All those in favor? Yes. Okay. Was it's path the motion or the Yes. motion's passed. Thank you. And we'll go to the final uh second reading and we will do as Councilman Morgan is.

Yes. We will have a report and we'll have appropriate people here to speak to how the annexing of the road ride ofway with no zoning will impact uh surrounding property. Thank you. Uh the final item under new business this evening is first reading in public hearing of an ordinance to reszone a portion of the partial parcel at 346 Columbia Avenue Northwest from general business to residential single family. Mr. Been Bo,

thank you. Uh you may recall recently the city uh acquired 1100s of an excuse me oh yeah 1100s of an acre portion of property at 346 Columbia Avenue Northwest uh in exchange for a sewer easement for a business that's going to locate on Laurens Street. The uh now we have uh rolled this into Osman Park. Uh but um we now have uh split zoning and we want to roll it into what the park uh the majority of the park that's noted just below uh the box in yellow um on the display shows uh to residential single family RS10. Those planning commissioners present unanimously voted to recommend that it be zone residential single family RS10 and it is before you for first reading this evening.

Thank you. Is there a motion to Thank you. Councilwoman Price made the motion. I second. Second from Councilwoman Br. Any comments from the public? Comments from council? All those in favor. Thank you. We now move on to petitions and requests. We have one item this evening. It is approval of a resolation resolution with the South Carolina Forestry Commission. Mr. Beenbo.

Thank you. Um again, I do want to describe how we got to this point. Oh gosh. In the early 2000s, the city was approached by the land owner of about 5,200 acres to acquire property for the Shaw Creek uh uh watershed protection. At the time, the council did not believe it was in the best interest to pursue that. So, it moved forward. Fast forward to around 2016. Um, uh, property on the west side of the creek, uh, some of the property, uh, that 5200 acres was, uh, converted to a solar farm and but the balance on the east side around the reservoir was still in existence. We met with representatives of the Aken Land Conservancy and had multiple conversations with the then owner who has ancestral ties to this area but currently lives in Florida. Uh he was of uh that then property owner was extremely patient. Wanted uh wanted to see the property uh put in some sort of conservation even though there was a uh interest in developing everything from uh large uh uh single family uh large track housing to uh uh putting in golf a golf course. Uh the city's focus was protecting protection of our reservoir and the uh watershed. Uh through the years we've strategically been receiving 319 grants, so-called 319 grants from what was then known as DHECK, now known as Department of Environmental Services to protect our wetlands uh um in the wetlands area upstream from our water plant to the uh reservoir. And this would be a big uh go

a long way in uh getting a lot of that uh upper Shaws Creek whed protected. Uh the council in December 2020 voted to purchase the property and um uh we uh proceeded to do so and uh closed on the purchase by the end of the calendar year 2020. the um uh property was uh purchased and we proceeded to replplat uh the area to provide a larger buffer around the reservoir, but we still had the 2600 acres. Um the um we engaged the services of a contract forester to do some forestry management for us. Uh and the first goal was to convert the property um excuse me to uh uh there was a lot of invasive species of trees. So we began to systematically look at the property and to um uh replant um native species longleaf pines. So we've been uh doing some of that uh several hundred acres uh has been done that way. Um, also at the time when we purchased the property, we designated about 300 acres as a special purpose area in the event that the public um felt or believe that the city overreach by spending 5 million and a quarter five and a quarter million dollars to protect this property. We would have an asset that um could uh recoup a fair amount of the money. However, the public reaction to the city purchasing this property was uh universally uh positive. Um I don't believe anyone on council or any staff members got any negative feedback publicly about this

action. So uh when we look to put the property in a per uh conservation easement to protect in perpetuity uh we decided to include the 300 acres acre special purpose area. So the entirety of the tract is in a conservation easement. And two years ago, I believe it was in May of 2024, the city uh imple executed a uh um conservation easement with the state um uh the the agency that Raleigh West heads. What's the name of the South South Carolina

St. Yes. The conserva the uh South Carolina conservation bank and the city received about one point the the easement had a value of a,900,000 and after associated uh costs that come with uh recording the document the city uh netted about a million7. Uh but the key factor is that the entirety of this property, 2658 acres, is put in a conservation easement in perpetuity. Now the what does that mean as it relates to members of the public? Well, uh the uh city um believes that we need to take a strong look at um making this publicly accessible property for recreation. By passive passive recreation, what we mean by that is that um it would stay in its largely primitive or undeveloped state. Uh be open for hiking, running, bicycling, uh equestrian pursuits, etc. Um and very minimal uh development. By minimal development, I mean nothing more than trails, maybe some picnic shelters, primitive restrooms, but no development as most people define it, meaning uh development for uh residential use or for uh commercial use or industrial use. It would be preserved in a n fundamentally a natural state. Uh the city is looking at how best to uh pursue this goal and uh the city doesn't u we we believe at this point we need to look at uh taking the approach that the city uh did our part to take it off the development roles by purchasing it. but uh potentially conveying it to an entity

that has the background and experience to manage it uh both for the from a forestry standpoint good stewardship uh as we've continue as we have started doing as I mentioned earlier where we're uh removing invasive species replanting native trees uh to ensure that it uh remains a pre preserved jewel within the uh crown of western central central South Carolina. So, um the forestry commission has experience in this uh they have managed uh for many years state forests and they have been also acquiring additional assets as uh conservation of land. You talk to members of our general assembly and they will say that the number one concern of residents of South Carolina is uh development and growth um in our state and uh preserving a lot of the natural beauty and land that makes u um South Carolina an attractive place to live and people want to come and live here. So, uh, what we have tonight is a resolution just to sort of in a effort to be transparent and, uh, um, and above board with our, um, uh, with everyone with this precious asset that we, uh, uh, pass, uh, council consider passage of a resolution that would allow staff to begin conversing with the forestry commission uh, to see if it is in our interest to consider a uh conveyance of property of this property or the bulk of this property to the um city of Aken. Again, a non-negotiable as far as I'm concerned is that the uh conservation easement that we have stays on the property. Also, protection of the

natural water resources continues uh the reservoir, etc. Uh but uh before you tonight is this resolution to pursue that, madame mayor and council. Again, thank you for that well well wonderful presentation. Do I have a motion, please? I shall move. Councilwoman Diggs made the motion and I'll second. Madame Mayor, a second from Councilwoman Brol. Comments from the public. comments from council.

Well, I just have to say I'm excited about this. I think uh this resolution gives us the opportunity to speak with the people that really know about this from the land conservancy, excuse me, and from the forestry commission who will help work with us to keep this is a real treasure in our city. uh this many acres is the things that can be done there. This is going to surpass North Augusta's Greenway in size and opportunity. We're also talking about connecting our Beverly Clyin Generations Park to this. So, we will have that that entire area will be open, which is just blows my mind. I think it's a wonderful thing. And it's also then we're continuing to protect our reservoir which is our s one of our sources of water which is very important. So I'm excited about moving forward with this and working more with you to to help us. Do you want to introduce those people have have would you come to the dis so we can

Yes. We have James from the forest commission and we have Peter from the Aken Land Conservancy. Peter Klein hints and James Douglas Douglas I don't know why I want to call you James Forest I don't know why because he's with the forestry commission you want to just tell us a little bit

yeah I can um I said James Douglas South forest commission I'm our state lands program manager um the forest commission currently owns six state forests across the state from Pickkins County all the way to Georgetown county and we're working on adding some properties down in Jasper County. Uh we currently own 103,000 acres and our properties are managed for multiple use. So we do we do cut timber uh but we also provide public recreation and public opportunity.

Thank you Peter. And again, I want to emphasize the cutting of the timber uh is I think healthy for the forest because over the years this historically was uh uh owned by a paper company. Uh so it was har uh it was monetized and harvested for those assets and they were replanting but once it was sold uh it certainly was not managed maybe to the level it was when it was owned by the paper company. uh and um something similar to that to ensure that we have that native uh species and get the invasive species out helps on so many levels.

Yeah. Good good evening, Madame Mayor and Council. Um, I would just like to say, um, I won't go through everything, but I'm happy to answer questions, but what I would like to do is, uh, invite any of you and any, um, members of the public so interested in visiting the property. If you have not seen the rockout crops, if you've not seen the blooming mountain laurel, if you've not seen the lake itself or the wetlands, I would be h more than happy to take anyone out there and see it for yourself. And I think the second you step foot on that property, you will realize how much of an asset it really is. So, thank you for your support um on this, but also thank you for your support to protect it and purchase it in the first place. I think that was a very wise and forward thinking move. So, thank you.

For the record, could we repeat the the school the percentage that the public schools will be receiving from that?

Yes. As part of the Forestry Commission's charge, any of their property that they earn revenue on, whether it's any uh proceeds from timber sales or if it's uh any fees charged for access, events, what have you, 25% of those revenues are remitted to the school district uh that the property is in. So the since Aken has a a countywide consolidated school district, 25% of those revenues would go. Uh I don't want people to get the false impression it's going to be uh I guess um making millions of dollars, but I mean there will be some return of a modest amount to the school district

because the the fee is very modest to to visit. Correct. Correct. Currently on our properties, um, we do charge recreational fees, but it's it's $5 a day or $25 for a year, right? So, minimal fees. That's very affordable for a lot of people.

Madame Mayor, just wanted you to share this in the audience. We we sit in these sessions in terms of uh getting this briefing prior to uh the meetings, our full uh support meetings. But you mentioned that you have 103,000 acres and six Forest Street. Um, and S, you may have to answer this in terms of how many acres do we have just within our area. So the so the um public does not think that we're getting this confused that the that we we own 103,000 acres versus the over 2,000 that we Yes, ma'am. Oh, do you want me to give the acres? Go ahead.

Um, so and that's a good clarifying point. So, this property is 2,658 acres. Um, and a very, very important piece that I should have mentioned previously is that this is already adjacent to about 3,300 acres of permanently protected land. And I won't go into the details of this, but this opportunity would allow us to uh permanently protect 549 additional acres. So all told, we're talking about a network of permanently protected land that is uh approaching uh four 4,000 acres in size, which is comparable to some of the largest pieces of protected land in the state. And if you look at a map uh with the county doing their comprehensive plan recently, they had a countywide map that uh delineated properties that were developed uh undeveloped but able for develop agricultural uh but they had one that had very little uh unique coloring and that was property put uh in easements for conservation easements or for preservation. And I believe the largest color blotch for that was this tract.

Th this would be the um Let me make sure I have the It's about 500 acres larger than Hitchcock Woods. Yeah. This would be the second largest public um access conserved land in Aken County, a county the size of Rhode Island, second only to Silver Bluff Ottabon Sanctuary, which is about 30, I think, 3,600 acres in size. So this is a very very significant um not just for Aken County but I in my personal opinion this is a place that would attract people from you know as far away as Colombia and Augusta to visit Aken County which I think is an important component

and that is key as we talk about the growth and the balance here is an attraction that will I think be a great contributor of the balance with the amenities that this location will bring you. We will see a lot of folks coming from multiple directions wanting to visit that area.

So, we're on a good path. I mean, and and two, one of the things that uh really struck a chord with me was if you uh head west down Interstate 20 from exit 22 to uh the George at the Savannah River, uh starting at exit 11, those uh exits have been developed over time. And this preserves uh like you were saying uh thousands of acres between the two interstate exits that uh will not see development. Um and I know growth I I think this strikes the chord of what the um what statewide citizens have said and we certainly heard something similar tonight about an unrelated matter. uh residents very and we have very engaged residents in Aken uh in the city of Aken and in Aken County and they it is a concern and um being able to preserve thousands and thousands of acres um I think is a substantial positive thing.

Madame Mayor, yes. I I would also like to say thank the former count or the current council people that have been waiting on this that they will now be able to open it up to biking, potentially hiking, those of us who bird, birding, uh just the outdoor experience that people quest for and to have in a location that allows near the interstate is just phenomenal and that it preserves our water source. It's it's really just an incredible event that we're we're at and a juncture that I think we all should celebrate.

Thank you, gentlemen. Thank you all. Um that's a wonderful opportunity. And we hadn't seen Sean in a while, so it's good to have Sean back. Thank you. Would you vote any more? Oh, yes. All those in favor, please, for this wonderful opportunity.

Uh, it's unanimous. Thank you very much. We will now open the floor to public comments on non-aggenda items. Comments are limited to three minutes per speaker and for a total of 30 minutes. Yes, Teresa. Good evening.

Yes, Madame Mayor, Council, Teresa Callahan, Eyes on Akin. I'm trying to hold my composure certainly. Um, we have a big problem. Everything was going good. Sorry. Um, but we do have a big problem um in our area. I thought it was going to be easy to say, but it's not. Um there's been multiple shootings. Um we have three vet veterans that we're trying to keep calm because of them. Our seniors are calling us scared to come out of their homes. We were doing pretty good when the cameras were put up. It's as though we've gone Maybe 10 steps backwards. Thank you.

You got this. It's 11 of us that have moved back in our our parents' homes to hopefully make the area better. We thought we were doing so, but it's getting worse. Um the donut hose that we have on Hampton Avenue is one of the biggest problems that we have because we have city county uh that has to come and if possibly if we can get together with um county to possibly merge everyone city and possibly give some incentives some kind of way um which will maybe help them merge. Um, that would probably be a big big that would probably take care of the problem. I really believe that. Um, I bugged the heck out of Chief Rank and I thank him so much and his officers. Um, he even sent someone to my home to to calm us down because there's so much is going on. Um, Miss Parks just had the last shooting. It went through her car and I think you all know Miss Parks. Um, and it went through her window. Her son had to lie on the floor. My aunt Gloria that lives around aunt um

yeah the area right

Kennedy Collie they were in the We have Lean Baba Jean and Cecilia are there on Washington Circle. barbers on Kennney Colony. She's one of the people also our residents that moved back in our parents' home as well. Um that witness all this stuff and um if we can just get a come together with county, I think that'll help a whole heap. But when you have veterans that you have to keep calm because they're looking for their weapons, that's not good. I think I have PTSD now from it. Um, but it's a lot and especially when people are depending on you because they think you're the rock of the neighborhood, so they call you and so you try to keep yourself together, which I thought I was going to be able to do tonight, but here I am. I'm sorry. Thank you guys for listening. You guys know better than I know on what you do. And again, I thank Chief. I thank Marty Sawyer. I thank the state troopers. They have been coming out. Um, we stay on the phone at night because we got another threat the other night, Saturday night, saying that there was retaliation from one of the neighbors that passed it to me. I said, "Call the police. Please make sure Chief Orano knows even though he's not there." And so, we stayed on watch um because I said it was going to happen between 1 and two and maybe because it was saturated. I don't know if Chief had someone uh they had someone to come and saturate the area why they didn't do it, but we're still waiting on it from what we're told. So, just wanted to kind let you guys know what we're going through and um we love Aken, of course, and we would love to see Aken grow definitely, but we really need um we need help. Just need just want you guys to know.

Thank you for coming and talking. Thank you so much for all you do. Teresa, thank you for what you all do and please don't think it's something you're not doing. I know because you're doing everything you can to make your neighborhood better than it was. We ran around the people that are coming in are they residents or they visiting people? They're visiting they visiting.

Those people need to keep them away from apartments up there that's counting and see that they have no management. The wisteria manager was the manager management company and the young lady called me. She said, "Meresa, I can't do it. I quit." So there's no manager there now and so a lot of that is that's county and so a lot of area activity is there really bad

and and I let me say say this hello to everyone good to see you. Um one of the things that's hurting us and it's hurting us tremendously is with the donut holes. You can have one house in the city, the next two in the county, then the next one in the city. if there's some way that we can begin to have conversation. Sit down. Let's sit at the table. Let's open those maps. Let's see where where these where these places are that we can go to to the neighbors and talk about, hey, listen, here are the benefits of getting coming into the city. ABCDE EFG. So, we we got to do something. We got to do something to get our police presence cohesive because sometime they don't know whether whether it's the county supposed to be responding or the city was supposed to be responding and we think you know we're blessed for their their relationship that they have where they work together but you know

what are the streets is it Washington circle mostly those around North Carolina Avenue you know you always got you know pinerest things but right I know the area pineest we got we have all that So, so we're on every area trying to keep eyes out.

And when when your m my neighbor, Mr. Woodward, Aaron Woodward, um he he I came over and went to the porch the other day and sat with him and he told me he said, "Lean, it's been a long time since we were able to sit out on the front porch and just watch the neighborhood because of because of, you know, we had a little uh rowdy house, but they're gone now." But and then the next night shooting again. Yeah. You know what I mean? He is he is a Vietnam vet. We have sprayed with ancient orange. We are over our time. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. We'll talk about

Madame Mayor. If I may address that, please.

Um I I received calls on Saturday. Leroy Bates and his wife called. I did call you, Teresa. Left a message at uh with on your phone. Um, but they had called 911. Could not get an answer. When I called 911 after they said they couldn't get 911, they did answer and wanted to know the location. Leroy said it was around Washington Circle and but he wasn't sure. He and his wife said, "We're not sure where the bullets uh the fire is coming from." And uh, public safety asked for quite a few details. I gave them Leroyy's contact number. I think they went by, I'm pretty sure they did to talk with he and his wife. Having said that, the chief has given me an update in terms of where we are. And uh that is uh can I use the term under control or not under control, but you're aware of what's taking place. Is that right? And that's where we are.

I like I like to thank Chief also because he sent someone to come check on me. I was in shambles. Well, I I am sorry that you're feeling that anxiety that I have a I have a veteran as well and so the PTSD Yeah. he has Yeah. has an effect on me as well. But there are several others in the neighborhood too that had other uh uh um heard the the gunfire as well. And this is during the middle of the day around 12:00 day, right? Uh during the during the day on your street, you heard 30 shots. Uh that was last week or weekend before last? that was getting full ass. He called me. I was in a meeting, right? He was looking for his

and to live in that kind of area when you hearing these gunfires. Um but it's it's all about too um our neighborhood and our neighbors uh and how there are many problems that that that needs addressing that we are not coming up with the solutions and people moving into those areas. Some of them are moving in with family members or whomever. So there's a lot to be discussed and how we can get better control of those areas with health, especially in with safety and the seniors that are living in those communities.

That's what I'm so worried about because they call us continuously, right? But appreciate your service and you're keeping your eyes and your ears open. Thank you so much. And Cassandra, uh, they know the problems we had on Red Street with three murders. Exactly. So, Exactly. I know. And thank you to Steuart for Miss.

Would anyone else like to make Yes. It's been

Good evening, Madame Mayor, council members. My name is Cecilia Robinson. I live at 660 Washington Circle, and I just want to give you my view on what's going on in our community. I uh spent most of my my life on Washington Circle. I started there when I was in elementary school. I left for some time and came back. And when I did come back, uh, most of the people I knew growing up had either moved away or passed away. And now I'm seeing people come in, they're younger and they have no sense of community or neighborliness. They um they don't communicate with their neighbors. And a lot of them um have brought in elements that we as the older generation we have to be on alert all the time. And we uh that we experienced the shootings and violence and we thought that as an older generation we could enjoy the peace we had growing up. But that's not the case. It used to be quiet and peaceful, but now we hear the shooting and violence on a regular basis, and we would like to maintain a modicum of peace in our neighborhood. We're um we would like to not bring any any more elements with potential for violence and decreasing the sense of what little security we have. and we have been notified that there's an individual that wants to purchase a house on Washington Circle and make it into a halfway house. With all the shooting and violence that we already have to deal with, we would not like to see any more potential for violence to come into our area. I just

wanted to make you known. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else? Yes, ma'am. Hello, Barbara.

Excuse me. My name is Barbara Williams, president of the Sugar Hill neighborhood on the north side. I just want to offer what I sense is my posture for encouragement of growth that you all have talked about and how that's going to possibly impact what was recently shared with you about the violence and all that. And I think Cecilia, what's her name? Cecilia, when she talk about people moving in, possibly young people not having a sense of community. When we don't have all of the services that we really need on our side of town, which is the north side of town, and it forces us to go to the south side of town, we lose that sense of community, seeing each other in grocery stores and and other places where we can say hello and fellowship and all that. So, I really applaud everyone for the attention that the north side is going to gain, especially with um you know, the forestry coming up and and everything, all the growth, you know, the attention that's going to be put back on the north side that's going to help our sense of community, I feel, and allow us to stay in fellowship as we take care of our basic needs on the north side. So, thank you so much.

Thank you. Anyone else like to speak? Yes, sir.

Uh, my name is Brad Gutierrez. Um, I'm one of the owners of the Parlor Coffee Company right here on Richland Avenue, 703 Richmond Avenue East, couple blocks um down the road. Um, I just want to address a parking issue. there is not yet a parking um parking plans for the east side. um my establishment along with my neighbors um we are seeing a growth of 30% of guests in um