City Council - Regular Meeting

meeting of the Aken City Council. If you're so 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 join come and join us? 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, with liberty and justice for all. As the meeting begins, I will review the guidelines. Meetings are public forums in which many opinions are expressed and the business of the city must be conducted. As such, discipline, honorable, and professional decorum is paramount. Courteous and respectful communication is required. Anyone wishing to speak must be res recognized so that we can put all comments 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 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 prom kroll for this agenda item.

Thank you, madame mayor. Good evening, everyone. We're glad to see you here this evening and we hope you'll support us as we make decisions for the betterment of our city. Thank you. We have no additions or deletions. No additions or deletions tonight. Madame Mayor, thank you. I propose that we adopt this as it is written. Thank you, Council Brol. And a second. I second. Councilwoman Diggs. All those in favor. Thank you. The minutes were provided to council for review prior to the meeting. Is there a motion to approve the minutes? So move, Madame Mayor. Councilman Waldo. Second, Madame Mayor.

Thank you. Councilman Waldo made the motion and a second from Councilwoman Morgan. Uh any comments or changes? All those in favor? Thank you. There are five presentations tonight. The first is a proclamation designating May 16th, 2026 as Aken Department of Public Safety Police Athletic Day. Councilman Waldo, will you read the proclamation into the record for us?

Yes, madame mayor. Uh I have a proclamation here for Aken Department Public Safety Athletics. Uh whereas the Aken Department of Public Safety Police Athletic League was established in 2006 after an officer encounter with a young male at a little league football game when the officer asked why he was not playing. And the youth male responded, "Because my parents don't have the money." And whereas this inspired the officer to garner support within the Aken Department of Public Safety and the city personnel to form an athletic program, initially providing local youth with opportunity to participate in organized football and eventually expanding to include other activities such such as cheerleading, golf, basketball, and track. And whereas since its inception, PAL has served as a vital community resource, fostering positive relationships between law enforcement and youth, promoting teamwork, discipline, and healthy lifestyles through athletic programs and activities. And whereas PAL continues to impact countless lives in the city of Aken, offering safe and constructive activities that strengthen relationships and build trust within the community. Now therefore, Teddy Miller, mayor and the council of the city of Aken, South Carolina, do hereby pro proclaim May 16th, 2026 as Aken Department of Public Safety Police Athletic League Day in the city of Aken and encourage all citizens to recognize and celebrate the contributions of Aken Department of Public Safety Police Athletic League Day PAL to our community. Thank you. Thank you. We'd like to uh also

recognize retired Captain Lolita Ashley who founded Police Athletic League some 20 years ago. Is that correct? Yay! Here we go. Come over here.

So, we're gonna have to bring in a little bit. Make sure everybody's face is good. better. Hold on. All right, here we go.

One, two, three. Everybody look up at that camera. All right.

I'd like to to um say it's so good to see um Lolita Ashley and her husband Gary. um they were in this thing from the beginning and it's so good to see them. Um still active in the cause and also I saw someone else I hadn't seen in a while. Um got a church member that's a part of it and her daughter who plays basketball and it's and and Cynthia Mitchell. Yeah, you have been definitely a force. And I see big old man, which is Herb Scoffield. So, I just thank y'all so much for all you do for and the twins. I'm sorry. I see the twins who were validictorium and saludiatorum at Aken High School back in the day. So, we're just so happy to have y'all and just thank y'all so much for staying the course because you have been such a good influence on these young people and made such a great impact in our community and we just thank you and we love you for that. Take care, Lolita. Don't be a stranger. Thank you all. The next is a proclamation designating the month of May as older Americans month, not by design or age. Should be me.

I am saying I'm being typ cast. I'm being typ cast. You all, it's because you read so well. That is why we Okay, I got you. So, will you please read that?

I would. It would be my honor to read it. Whereas Older Americans Month is celebrated annually in May to honor the contributions, resilience, and wisdom of older adults and to reaffirm our community's commitment to ensuring they live with dignity, independence, and purpose. And whereas the observance of older Americans month is further strengthened by the passage of the Older Americans Act in 1963. Landmark legislation that established vital programs and services designed to help older adults remain healthy, engaged, and independent in their communities. Whereas this year's theme is to champion your health emphasizes prevention, wellness, and personal responsibility as cornerstones of healthy aging and encourages older adults to take an active role in their health by advocating for themselves and making informed decisions that support their independence. And whereas older adults play a vital role in the social, cultural, civic, and economic fabric of our city, serving as caregivers, caregivers, volunteers, veterans, faith leaders, and community advocates. And whereas many older residents face challenges such as social isolation, food insecurity, limited transportation, and access to affordable health care, making community-based services, and partnerships essential for their well-being. And whereas local organizations, volunteers, caregivers, and service providers work tirelessly to support older adults through nutri excuse me, through nutrition programs, transportation services, wellness

initiatives for healthy living, lifelong learning, and social connection. And whereas Older Americans Month offers an opportunity for both individuals and communities to take meaningful steps to champion health, promote wellness, and advance healthy aging for people of all generations. Now therefore, be it proclaimed that the city of Aken hereby recognizes May 2026 as older Americans month and encourages all residents to honor older adults and support initiatives that promote health, independence, and quality of life. Be it further proclaimed that this city council expresses its sincere appreciation to the professionals, volunteers, community partners who serve older adults with compassion and reaffirms its commitment to programs that enable older residents to age with dignity, respect, and opportunity. It's signed by our mayor, Teddy Miller, Milner, and all of the council.

Thank you. I'd also like to recognize uh senior commission commission member Brenda Taylor. She's present to uh receive the proclamation. Is she here? One, three, one, two, three. Thank you. Our Next is a resolution to name the building at 151 Newberry Street Northwest. I will read this resolution into the record. Whereas Tom Young is a son of Aken born into our great city to the late Thomas R. Young Senior and Delhi O. Young. And

whereas Tom is a graduate of Aken High School where he showed tremendous aptitude for leadership and scholarship. And whereas Tom continued his education at the University of South Carolina, Colombia, where he earned with honors his bachelor degree and law degree. And whereas while at the University of South Carolina, Tom obtained much recognition for his leadership and academic achievements, including recognition as a Carolina scholar, election by his classmates as president of the student body, also a recipient of the Aldrenon Sydney Sullivan Award as most outstanding graduate in his class. And whereas after completing law school, Tom embarked on a successful law fir law career in the firm of Young and Thurman. And whereas Tom is a faithful husband to Heather and father to Haley and Ashley. And whereas Tom Abley serves the city of Aken and surrounding areas in the general assembly as the senator for district 24 and chairman of the Aken County legislative delegation. Now therefore, I Teddy Milner mayor and the council of the city of Aken do hereby name the building housing offices for USC Aken Savannah River National Laboratory and the Aken Corporation. the Tom Young Center for Research and Innovation and thank Senator Young for his efforts on the project and for his representation of Aken County. Signed by all, is there a move to approve this resolution? Council,

I so move. I second. Um, Councilman, Councilwoman Brol made the motion and I did get a first from a second from I'm sorry. Counciloman Price made the second. Any comments from the public? Comments from council. All those in favor? Thank you very much. We have a new building with a name. Next, we have a proclamation designating May 11 to 17, 2026 as Salvation Army Week. Councilwoman Diggs, will you read the proclamation for us?

My pleasure, Madame Mayor. Whereas the Salvation Army has been serving the people of Aken, South Carolina for 99 years physically, emotionally, and spiritually. And whereas the Salvation Army is present wherever needs are greatest, especially during times of crisis where vulnerable citizens are more at risk of becoming homeless, food insecure, addicted or spiritually tired. And whereas the Salvation Army invites the people of the city of Aken to show love to their neighbors and help the organization continue to provide lifech changing aid to those who need it most. And whereas it is fitting and proper during National Salvation Army Week to recognize the tremendous impact of philanthropy, volunteerism, and community service in the city of Aken. And whereas National Salvation Army Week is an opportunity to encourage citizens to serve their neighbors in need alongside the Salvation Army with their resources and their time. Now therefore, I, Teddy Milner, mayor and the council of the city of Aken, do hereby proclaim May 11th through 17, 2026 as Salvation Army Week in the city of Aken and encourage all citizens to join together to give back to the community in any way that is personally

meaningful. In witness whereof, we have caused the seal of the city of Aken to be a fixed this 11th day of May, 2026 and is signed by our mayor Teddy Milner and our entire council. And mayor, I'd just like to say the Salvation Army held their uh table of hope fundraising event on Friday night at the Lesie B. Price Center. And I'm always amazed at how generous this community is. And on that night, they were presented um which which will be a $2 million check from our legislators and also the um leadership Aken group, which I see one of their members, Rosco EPS, presented them with a check for a fundraiser they recently had in the alley about two weeks ago. They raised $33,000 and over 45 people on the night of this event pledged $50 each

to pay for one week for a person to stay at the shelter. The raffles raised a lot of money. I'm not sure how much, but I can tell you it was very significant. And this is all because of the love that we have for people in this community. And of course, our great leadership under the direction of Michael Good and Malikica Good. I see you got your daughter with you tonight. Hi, baby. Okay. And uh we have our board here tonight. So I'd like for them to come forward as well. Okay. And so cut the or whatever they call it.

Oh, and this lady here and we missing one. Oh, right here. Karen. Karen and Bernice organized a very fun and successful event. And I have to say we have some of the best board members anybody can ever ask for. And we missing Bill Taylor and Donna Taylor Clark. And who else? Clark. Oh, we got How are you? See that? That's right here. We got the right all of these people.

Hi. I had went to dinner at their new house. I still love him and he came back just for the event. So, I'm sorry. Come on. So, where's Michael? Get over here.

There you go. What are you hiding? Everybody, three, four, five. Very nice. Thank you. And lastly, we have a presentation about storm water in regard to Tribute Parkway. We have representatives from Benish Engineering for this presentation. Mr. Beenbo, will you please introduce?

Yes. Uh we have Oliver Weston of Benish. You can come on up, Oliver. And uh we did have a request at the last meeting to talk a little bit about uh this particular element of the project. I know that came up quite a bit on an unrelated matter to the road the annexation of the road rightway uh which is all that was really being voted on but I uh it was um it's important I think that we uh emphasize some of the steps that we're taking and um we've heard from residents about uh uh issues that they're having and uh we certainly want to be mindful of that. So, I'm going to ask Oliver to give his presentation to the council and to those present and those observing remotely.

Thank you, Mayor Milner. Thank you, Stuart. Thank you, council. Um, after uh our last council session, there were a few concerns regarding the storm water uh as it relates to Tribute Parkway. Um so we thought I could come up give a quick presentation um regarding those before you vote again on the second reading reading of annexation tonight. Um for phase one um we did which is currently under construction right now um we did have a design criteria to maintain the preconstruction storm water runoff in the post construction phase. Um what that entails for phase one is including the what used to be the former Watson tract, but all of the property north of the roundabout that is slated for development. We took that area into account when designing our storm water ponds for the project to manage that runoff without letting development run rampant. Um, we also size those ponds so that they could act as sediment basins during construction. And so what that means is all of the silt from the construction site, not all of it, but some of it will end up in those ponds, they're retrofitted with a um with a best maintenance practice in order to filter out that sediment so that it doesn't wash down stream, create that gross orange water um that impacts people's properties. Um, and after construction, the contractor goes ahead and cleans out those ponds and turns it into a fully forming, fully functioning detention pond. Same for phase two. Um, you can see in

this in the picture there are two smaller blue areas. Those are the proposed ponds for phase two. Um again we have that pre versus post um storm water criteria but we we wanted to to limit the footprint on these ponds as much as possible by just managing the roadway water to so that we we could mitigate any environmental impacts for phase two of the project. Um, and because we limited those footprints, we did make them limited use to just the storm water runoff that comes from the roadway from the ride ofway that you're voting on tonight. It does not include any storm water detention for future developments. Anything that comes in those areas would need their own storm water development plans. And that really brings us to what we're here tonight to talk about, and that's the annexation for the property north of Thorbred Run for phase two. Um the property it highlighted in red is the area of concern tonight. Um, all of this is already owned by the city. And what it what voting on this what voting yes on this annexation allows is it allows the city to become the the local issuing authority through an intergovernment agreement with the with Aken County. It allows the city to own and maintain the future roadway. It allows the city to address public concerns down the future. Um, but it also requires the project to follow storm water requirements set by DOT and the city of Aken, whichever is more stringent. Um, but most importantly, it does not require any adjacent parcels to annex automatically. It also does not allow for clear cutting outside of the city of Aken right away.

U, we're not here to knock down more trees than we have to. We're here to build a road and protect the environment that we're able to. So, with that, does council have any questions?

I just have a comment. I um since I read the senior proclamation recognizing senior people, I was a planning commissioner many many years ago before my hair was white when we started talking about this project. And we knew then that it needed to be done. Couple things. We didn't have the money. And thanks to Senator um see senior moment. Senator Graham and Senator Young, federal Senator Graham and

State Senator Young. And uh so I'm I'm thankful and as you said in your presentation, the traffic engineers took into consideration the homes that were being built. So this is not just something that we're doing and we haven't taken into consideration what's being developed. Correct. So just so people understand that because I think there's some people maybe newer people that don't realize that. So, thank you very much for your presentation

and talk about the storm water standards that need to be abided by. You you just mentioned in a bullet point to follow requirements set by DOT and city of Aken, but also there were federal uh we had to do a NEPA which is an acronym for basically the environmental impact. Uh but uh go through that and uh that um how that all that was taken into account.

Right. So through the NEPA process, we had public involvement um open houses and public hearings on the project. Um but most importantly um we the NEPA process is is there to protect the environment. It's it's there to make sure that we've done our due diligence um with the um the native Native American tribes um endangered species, threatened species. um what kind of um trees are might need to come down. If it lives in the unbuilt world, NEPA NEPA cares for it and the NEPA process is not done lightly through the FHWA. It is a very rigorous process that has a lot of boxes to to check. Uh and the federal highways made sure that we did that. Could we have gotten to this point without having gotten this approval of the u the uh environmental uh study uh that NEPA requires?

I'm sorry. Do you mind? Could we have gotten to this process where we're talking about uh ultimately letting out to bid for phase two and annexing this property if we had not done this uh all these um requirements of the federal government?

No, those studies are stipulations set forth by the federal government. Um in order to receive federal funding for any project, you have to meet all the requirements through NEPA rightway acquisition, design and procurement. Now, one thing I I want to ask is in terms of how storm water flows, can we can you alter the direction storm water flows um as part of a project, redirect it, so to speak, or does it have to go in the direction that the natural topography sends it?

To say that it cannot go in the natural direction would be false. Um, of course you can pump storm water anywhere you need to. Generally, um, the storm water will follow the natural topography, flow to the low point. Uh, and typically where we see those low points or localized low points, that's where we'll place a detention pond uh, before releasing it back into the environment. And are we pumping any water? Is there any water being pumped in a way? Uh it's just following the natural topography of the land.

What about accelerating the uh discharge uh because I know this uh drainage basin has been problematic. Uh what requirements have to be understood and and taken into account. Could you explain that as it relates to uh how storm water is dispensed and dis uh and and addressed uh from a project such as this? of course. Um, so before construction in the aerials, we could see that there were a lot of a lot of trees, a lot of green space. Um, unfortunately, a lot of that's not going to be there when we replace it with a road and we're going to have impervious surfaces draining that basin. Water will inevitably flow faster off of that imperous surface than it would through the forest. That's what the detention ponds are there for. What they're there to do is hold that water back and release it at a rate consistent with that forested area so that no one point downstream feels a major impact after construction is complete. All right. Thank you very much.

Thank you. No more question. No questions. Thank you. And 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. Yes, sir.

Hey, I'm Dr. Bob Vampelt. Uh 303 South Bank Drive. I'm the homeowner association president for Malard Lake subdivision. In our subdivision for over a month now, we've had a broken water pipe. Water is leaving down the street into the sewer and into the retention basin on a 247. For about a week, we had the city come out. Initially, they were doing some work digging and working on the area. It's still leaking. They came back again for a few days and doing some more work, but it's still leaking. They've been gone. They took their equipment away almost two weeks now. No one's around. The water continually goes down and leaks into the sewer into the retention basin. This is drinking water, a very valuable resources. We don't need to tell you that. So, you know, we heard uh through indirect through the utilities that they can't find the leak. Well, if you're not out in the field, how you going to find the leak? You got to be out there, you know, opening the road looking for it. So, we're asking the city to move on this and expedite this process that we can get the, you know, get the pipes repaired and stop the leak and stop, you know, the waste of the water. By the way, we've had numerous breaks in the past, but this is this is the one that's kind of sticking with us now for over a month. So, thank you.

Thank you. Yes, Jacob.

Good evening, Madame Mayor, Council Jacob Ellis. I may thought of April, but I'm glad to be back. Um, I don't know how many people in this room or in downtown genuinely walk the noncore streets of downtown Aken, but this past week. I walked from the municipal building we're in now down Richland Avenue to the intersection of Richland and Union. And I was shocked to see the condition of the sidewalks on that third brick there. I didn't get to walk anymore, but going further down East Richland, I would assume they're not in good condition. If the ones closer to downtown are not in good condition, someone needs to be looking at the conditions of our sidewalks in noncore areas of downtown because downtown Aken doesn't stop just at Park Avenue and Union or Pendleton and Barnwell. Downtown is many city blocks and with the condition of sidewalks goes the condition of public transportation. Our public transportation is goes hand in hand in sidewalk ability. I think if we are to increase public transportation by taking allocating funds from the capital project sales tax over the next couple of years, we could significantly increase public transportation to the point where people in our homeless community could get around more. They could get jobs. They could go

to the grocery store. Right now, we spend about I think a million dollars for Best Friend Express over three years, and that's roughly 300 grand a year. So again, sidewalks and public transportation need to be looked at for the betterment of all of our community. Thank you.

Thank you. Yes, ma'am. Good evening. My name is Mary Anton and I reside at 212 Boxelder Drive in Aken. research described in an August 2025 article from the John's Hopkins Bloom Bloomberg School of Public Health entitled, "How would it what it would it take to end homelessness in America?" shows that quote, "Housing costs explain far more of the difference in rates of homelessness than variables such as substance use disorder, mental health, weather, the strength of the social safety net, poverty, or economic conditions. Housing costs have increased while wages, especially for lowincome workers, have not kept pace. The minimum wage in South Carolina has been $7.25 per hour since July 2009. What are local governments supposed to do? Do nothing and hope that the economic conditions improve? Wait for the state or federal government to increase our housing subsidies or increase the minimum wage? I like to think that this is not what our local governments are doing. I rather hope you are gathering more data and planning to define the problem better and find solutions for our increasing homeless problem. As I stated at the last council meeting using data from the recent survey performed by the Salvation Army, 46% of the households in the city of Aken lack the income to cover basic household budgets. These are over 6,400 households, of which a little over 2500 of those have incomes below the federal poverty level. These are the elderly, the working poor, and families who now are finding it more and more

difficult to stretch their income to the end of each month, let alone save for retirement or home improvements. Federal legislation in July 2025 will make significant cuts to federal safety net programs that are projected to increase poverty, hunger, and uninsured rates among the lowincome households in South Carolina. For the homeless, this legislation creates significant hurdles for individuals without stable addresses or internet access. Locally, I am troubled by the Aken Housing Authorities 66 reduction in public housing that has occurred over the past 5 years. First with the closing of the 100 unit Han Village in 2021 and the 70 unit hope one and two just recently in 2025 at a time of rising homelessness in our community without a concominant increase in other subsidized housing to replace it. As chair of the Aken County homeless coach for the past three years and a case worker at St. Vincent Depal Food Pantry for over six years, I have watched the homeless situation in Aken get progressively worse. Solutions to our increasing homeless problem require a collaborative multis- sector approach combining public, private, and nonprofit efforts to solve. To quote Benjamin Franklin, by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. Thank you.

Thank you. Good evening, Madame Mayor, Councilman. Um, I'm Braggeras, one of the owners of um 703 Brristen Avenue East, the Parlor Coffee and Company, and I came here today to speak on um a business model that I had that was successful three times over that I'm trying to bring to Aken. I'm trying to lead the tip of the spear to bring more foot traffic to um my location and my neighbors. Um but I'm having trouble with ordinance 07102017A which is the rightway of public property which states no mobile food vendor should operate operate on public street sidewalks, parkways, alleys, trails or any other rightway or city-owned property including but not limited to plazas, parks unless approved by the city. as part of the permanent special events or otherwise permitted pursuant to section D2 which states that um in order for me to loc to operate on the public rightways as designated um by the Senate councilman must follow a public hearing and recommendation from the planner commission. Um I have permission uh proof of concept from Mr. Michael Dennis that um he has no complaints about my concept to distribute um my goods in the city in certain areas of parks and um downtown Aken on certain days of the week and I'm requesting to be placed on the agenda so that um I can operate um for two days out the week for three hours each. six hours total to do my promotion pro promotional campaign part of my business plan starting um on

the starting summer a big summer um startup for my company and I wanted to know if I can um ask and request or permission to um get a pass of this ordinance so I'm not fined for trying to be successful at a new business owner in Aken Is there someone here that can provide some advice? I don't think we should.

Well, I mean, again, this is uh I met with uh the speaker and councilwoman Diggs uh on Wednesday about this and several other issues. Uh this is I think related to uh similar to what we saw at um up up on the 100 north block of Laurens the other day with um again at Cork and Cap where the ordinance um does not allow unless it is a licensed festival uh these events in the rideway. Some of it is safety related. Some of it is uh the ownership of the roads uh with the Department of Transportation being able to do that. Uh that's not to say that um what the um what um Mr. Gutierrez is is mentioning um needs to uh I mean is not a valid point. It's just I think we need to look at how did we get to this point where we have this ordinance and uh what would be the consequences if it's repealed totally versus amended in a way where he can do um he he can do what he would like to do and perhaps others but not impacting um existing brickandmortar businesses and other um uh similar type of enterprises. is

now in in contrast to um add on to that statement is um my mobile food vending service isn't wheels and axles. It's just a person with a cigar tray that's outfitted for my desserts and coffee that I have to sell. And um I do have events coming up in the next couple of months where I have brick and mortar um hiring my catering service to sell my desserts and my coffee at their events downtown and in the alleyway. And just like the um incident at Cork and Cap was a ax wheel and axle parked across parking spots which violates that ordinance which comes with a hefty fine that I do not want to get. And this is me trying to get ahead of that fine to ask for permission because as for um the last bullet point of D2 is that I must have permission from councilman to order to have that pass.

And and again that permission would require I believe the ordinance to be amended. um this is not like a permission where uh they do vote. So again, um it's something that we can take up and have discussion with uh the council, but I think before we get to that point, we're going to have to from a staff perspective provide, as I said a moment ago, why do we have the ordinance on the books and what are the total the consequences for everything? because while it could um address your situation, we don't want to complicate or the law of unintended consequences, nor do we uh want to impact uh existing uh brickandmortar businesses um in a negative fashion. Um again, there's a lot of factors to weigh. Um, so while I think your point's well taken,

yes,

it's going to take a little bit of time to get us to the point where we can take a look at this um in terms of having a work session with council, getting some direction from council, having u the staff provide council with what um the options are and then um getting uh getting it potentially amended. I mean, again, I understand you uh would like to see this addressed as quickly as possible and but we want to make sure that we don't create uh by correcting one thing, we create a multiple other situations. Uh we just need to make sure council's given the best uh all the information they need uh so they can make the decision that hopefully will work out for you but um not create a lot of other problems. I mean that's the situation.

Can we give him a general idea of how long that would take? Well, um I I I would think we could talk about it with council in a work session next month. Okay. Uh but then going forward, it may have probably have to go to planning commission and then two readings of council. So we're talking probably minimum three months, two months, probably minimum three months because remember we're only meeting once in May and once in July, right? Um, so I would say three months. That sound okay, Brad? Oh, that's fine with me. As long as it's moving forward, that's all.

And I owe you an apology. I was supposed to come to your event on Saturday evening and I was supposed to bring Councilwoman Price with me and both of us had a little too much on our agenda to make it over there. But so many people coming. So many people there wasn't enough seats. I'm glad you didn't show up. But um so they took my table that you were No, your table was still there. I took it. Yes. But um there's more events coming on. We have a big summer startup event happening um with us and other um other businesses along that um street. But um you'll have another invitation soon.

Okay. And and he lives in District 1. He came back here um to open this business. Um, I'm I'm just so proud of him and so impressed with what he's doing and he's involving so many others that are able to benefit um from his business and they're just doing whatever they can do, baking cakes and and selling them on their own right there in with him. Yes. Everyone has a collaboration in Right. It's a collaborative effort. And it's it's amazing. I'm just so impressed. Councilman Digs. Appreciate it. All right.

Well, thank you, Council Madam. Thank you. Thank you. Yes, Todd.

Good evening.

My name is Todd Stil. I live at 1982 Banksmail Road. Um, I'm just going to quickly address the um, I guess this powder extension. My biggest concern is I'm already having a major impact from this. There are no significant roads. There's nothing going on and I'm already being impacted. Um, I have a picture here. Um, it's not the best. It was a little kind of a rainy day, but it shows Powderhouse Road. It shows the two lakes up over here for the uh powerhouse road retention of water etc etc. But what you can see and I think it's been brought to y'all's attentions already that the water comes underneath Powder House Road in one specific spot. That's in response to the

presentation.

Yeah. Okay. Anyhow, so the water is coming underneath the road. The gentleman said, you know, they try to spread the water out so it's not coming from one impact point, but it is. All this water as you can see from right here. I mean there's acres of greenery here and the water is being collected here and it's coming out two points. They gather they come to one point and then they come to one specific point comes underneath the road and as you can see it's brown water. And the thing about it is on these aerial views that I have I've got clean water that comes from another problem Malard Lake and up that way. But this dirty water is all coming from across the road as a whole. So therefore, I'm getting flooded with this water already. And this was with no other construction, no nothing. I'm getting flooded. This is adding to my problem. So when they start expanding the road, putting more curbs and cutters, cutter, I mean curb cuts and what have you, then the water's going to come here. Same thing happened. I got flooded by the sanctuary pre not one single road, one house. All they did is they bulldozed where the roads are going and the the banks of the pond already flooded. So I can only imagine in a year from now how much more water I'm going to get. So basically these lakes when the first gallon of water comes in, it starts coming out right away and it's all concentrated to come to one specific spot. Um, so I all I can do is just keep sharing your P. I got a whole bunch of pictures I'm gonna leave with y'all. Y'all pass around, look at them. My problem's not going away. You can tell me you got the strictest retention problems and everything, but the water's coming by and it's not going away. And I have a whole bunch I mean, I got thousands of pictures that we take with drones every time it floods, every time it rains

hard. I'll be more than glad to share whoever wants to look at them, but I mean it's it's an issue. Thank you. Thank you, Todd. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Thank you, Lex. I didn't realize you were here. I thought you were. I didn't. The front row was empty. Hiding in the back there. Good evening, council. Mayor, good evening.

Lex Perry, C4 Impact. Um 1526 um South Boundary Avenue Southeast. Um, I know you all heard the the numbers that uh Mary shared with you earlier and they do sound really bleak and um and I think everybody in ex community is aware that the homelessness is is horrible. Uh not here just in Aken but in South Carolina and all over the country for that matter. Um but what I want to focus on what we are actually doing about it. Um I will say with C4 we have leveled up um six individuals now. We've uh with the location we have on Greenville Street which we use as our on-ramp let's call it and now we're in our second phase of the the bridge it what we call the bridge uh where we have individuals in houses now again is it perfect no uh but I will tell you this the individuals who have been leveled up into the individual houses they now have their own individual rooms they're sharing the space it's three people maximum per house they are very happy um the peace that they've they've shared with that they really enjoy it. They're in a very nice neighborhood. They can go for a nice walk and they can actually focus on bettering their life and to move on to the next level and they know the third phase is the landing which is to get to their own permanent house. Um emergency shelters are needed. However, emergency shelters you're talking about 10 days. What we're dealing with is individuals transforming their lives and we're talking about a year or two just for the on-ramp part portion that we're doing on Greenville Street. Then you're talking about another two to three to four years in the bridge. That is really getting yourself stable. You're getting a job. You're saving your money in order to to raise enough money to save enough money in order to pay the security deposit and all the other things. We all know the average what is that onebedroom about $1,200 a month or a little bit higher. Um and the income that the individuals that are calling now, some of the ones that we're coming just to get in the um the on-ramp program, they can't even

afford to 650. So, we're trying to figure out a way to help them get to 650 with looking at odds and end jobs and and those type of things. This is not an overnight thing. You know, an emergency shelter is not going to fix it. Praise God for Salvation Army and the the and what they're doing. Yes, but it is not the solution. Uh what we're trying to do is going to take the entire community. We're have a win-winwin situation going on now because the landlords are happy. We're taking care of the property. They know that they're going to have the funds coming in. Um, and the properties look great. They're going to maintain that way. And guess what? They're going to be there for a few years. So, you know, again, we putting we're bringing people back into the community. They're getting involved. And those same individuals are also giving back by volunteering like we're doing again this weekend uh with Cleanup Akin uh on York Street. We're going to be going out there with them again to clean up. And you saw that massive project we still need to handle on Greg Highway. It's being done. And yes, there's negative news, there's bad news, but there's a lot of positive things that going on as well. The community continues to that we have to come together. We have to get creative and we have to understand this is not an overnight thing. But if we all buckle down, it can be fixed. It can be done. Aken can handle its homeless issue and we can be a light to the rest of the state if we choose to. Thank you.

Thank you. Let's Let's Before you leave, I was on Greenville Street today and uh was stopped by someone who talked about you. The convers the conversation was extremely extremely positive. But while I'm while I'm I'm making that comment, how long have you been at the location there?

Uh for a year. They indicated that they have not had or seen a problem. They've not witnessed a problem since you have been working with the individuals that are there. They said you are an enforcer. You go by the rules. You will let them know. And as neighbors right across the street, they watch you a lot of what's going on. And believe me, you're getting high praises from the residents in that area. And that's the kind of thing we want to hear, but also they see you as an example, a model for a lot of other locations. Well, all glory to God. Thank you. You're welcome.

Is there anyone else that would like to speak? Yes, sir. How y'all doing? Mayor, councilman. Um, this is just to bring awareness to some shooting that's going around in Highway 19 Aken. What's your name? What your name for the record?

My name is I'm sorry. My name is Patrick Odum. Live on Butler Circle, Aken, South Carolina, which is the county. Um, but we are adjacent to the new housing complex on 19 and Williams Lane, which is a joint project between Aken County and Aken City. All right. Yesterday, I went to my mom's house. Um, we already had three shootings in that area within a mile distance from each other. Well, I was at my mom's house yesterday. I got off work at 7 7:15. I got to my mother's house about 7:40. Sitting in my car. I noticed gunshots. I immediately got down in my car, called my mom and said, "Get down on the floor. Gunshots are coming from the back side of that property, the new housing complex. They're coming. The bullets was hitting and you can tell which way the bullets are coming because it's hitting the woods and you can see the limbs coming. When I call 911, when I give my address, they're automatically calling Aken County." I'm asking, can we get a joint project in between Aken County and the city of Aken to to do something about some of the gun violence on Highway 19 and that new housing complex? It's just not the county. This is a joint issue.

Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else? Okay, we will move on to the consent agenda. Uh, Mr. Beenbo, will you please read the titles of the items on the consent agenda into the record?

Yes, we have the following items. No uh comments were received by the appropriate deadlines either online or uh to uh bringing a written request to the city clerk by 7. So we have an ordinance to annex property located at 1117 Conger Drive and zone the same RS15 residential single family. An ordinance to annex property located at 2065 Pine Log Road and zone the same RS-15 residential single family. An ordinance amending the zoning of property located at 15182 Notch Road from LP limited professional to LB limited business and an ordinance to reszone property owned by the city of Aken from general business GB to RS10 residential single family. That is the consent agenda for tonight. Madame Mayor and Council,

thank you so much. Is there a motion to approve this? So move, Madam Mayor. I'll second. Council Councilman Waldo made the first motion and the second from second. I second. Thank you. Councilwoman Brol second the motion. Any uh comments from the um No, no comments for the consent agenda. Sorry about that. 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 do not have any appointments for consideration this evening.

Uh, do I have a motion to approve that? Oh, sorry. nominations for future. Sorry. Are there any nomination to consider at our next meeting? No, nothing. Okay, we will move on to the next item, which is old business is second reading and public hearing of an ordinance to reszone 117 Colatin Avenue Southwest from residential multifamily lowdensity RML to downtown business. Mr. Beenbo.

Thank you. The applicant has requested this reszoning. It is a piece a parcel affiliated currently with the Willox and is historically been part of that property. Uh it's uh known as the chef's cottage. It would uh the down the zoning would allow the property to continue to be used as an extension of the hotel by providing additional overnight accommodations uh for the willox with the same amenities. The uh planning commission asked the design review board for their recommendation on the request to reszone from RML residential multif family low density to downtown business DB and the DRB recommended that approval. The planning commission recommended it. It is before council for second reading. Um I know the um applicant was is uh ready to move forward with this. I um know we've heard from residents um just not necessarily as it relates to the current owners, but just uh going forward um impacts u and this is property that is located both in an overlay and uh um with the current zoning whether it's RML or if it's reszoned to downtown business and the more stringent rules or uh process would apply um for um future use of the property and um council has this before you at second reading this evening. Madame Mayor,

thank you. Do I have a motion to accept this? I so move. Councilwoman Diggs and Councilwoman Morgan second the motion. Are there any comments from the public? Any comments from council? All those in favor? Thank you. It's unanimous. The final item under old business is second 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 and assign it as a right away with no zoning. Mr. Beenbo,

thank you. It is u uh you read the title of the ordinance. Um we did have a discussion about the storm water uh which was a a separate topic but we do have this annexing of the road footprint um and assign it with no zoning. I know questions that have come up and and and had been um brought forward uh adjacent property owners would not be required to annex in um if they currently are would be adjacent to the footprint if they are on city services. Now, uh, as long as, uh, the if the property transfers to a new owner, basically, if it does if it transfers to any other entity other than a surviving spouse, uh, our annexation rules would apply. But, um, the count, they are not adjacent property owners as a result would not be required to come into the city. Um I think we've heard um both at the last meeting and this current meeting u this current meeting concerns about uh the storm water and as was shared um that's something I think that will need to continue to be addressed to ensure that impacts uh to those property owners are not um um I guess they they go back to the preconstruction level of of of runoff uh that is required. Um again this road project is one that has been around for 20 years uh and the funding was procured both federal, state and local over the last five years uh to do this um project. Um this is um something

we hear regularly around the community that infrastructure needs to keep pace with development and this road helps in in in a transportation way fulfill that. Uh the road is built to FHWA standards with federal money. I know that came up. The road is going to have uh uh multiple two lanes uh except where there are uh turning movements uh left right turn only or left turn. Uh it will have uh which is required a multi-use path uh for pedestrians, bicyclists etc. Um and again that is required uh given the fact we have federal funds for this. Uh the ride ofway um is 120 foot wide. It includes a utility corridor for uh conduit um etc. Um we've talked about uh we heard the presentation about uh storm water retention ponds. Uh and again to emphasize for the second phase retention deals with uh just road um uh runoff from the roads. Um should there be any development off the second um phase uh those developers u would be required to abide by whichever jurisdiction storm water requirements there are whether it's the county if it's a county development or if it uh is a city development. Um again what we have before council this evening is the 7.08 08 acres of the road rightway the the footprint of the road to be annexed into the city limits of Aken and it's before council for second

reading this evening. Thank you. Thank you. Do I uh have a motion to accept the ordinance to annex this property? So move madame mayor. Councilman Waldo made the motion. I'll second Madame Mayor

and a second from Councilman Brol. Councilwoman Br. Are there any comments from the public? Comments from council. All those in favor? Thank you. Motion passed. I will give Mr. Beat and Bo a moment to come back before we move to new business. We needed you. We now move to new business. The first item is a resolution approving the sale of certain surplus real property by the housing authority of the city of Aken, South Carolina, pursuant to South Carolina code

31-3-5000. Mr. Beenbo,

thank you. Uh you read the title of the resolution. Uh the house the Aken Housing Authority is an autonomous body uh that has board members appointed by the city council. the um board or the authority has the ability to declare property surplus to its needs and to proceed to the public sale provided certain conditions exist including but not limited to approval by the federal department of housing and urban development and approval of the council of the city for which the authority was created. This is uh written out in state law uh in the title the uh in the code section that was read in the uh resolution title where the city where the authority was created in has to approve this particular uh surplus property request by the local housing authority. We did have a March 23rd work session with officials and the city council uh uh officials from the housing authority and had a subsequent meeting with members of the delegation and the housing authority uh that the those two bodies met to describe their intent to sell property uh at Han, excuse me, at New Hope and used the net proceeds to help with their reinvestment in property known as Han Village, which is approximately 19.5 acres. located uh on the west side of the 600 and 700 blocks of Lauren Street Northwest. Uh what we have in the packet is our resolution along with the signed resolution signed by the chairman and board secretary of the Aken Housing Authority declaring that property surplus along with the legal description of said property. We included um a letter that Senator Young sent to the director of the housing authority, the CEO um with questions uh that he had

gotten from constituents, their answers along with a packet of information they had presented uh to uh the senator and representatives Hart and Ormis. And the uh I know in talking to the senator after the meeting, he believed his questions had been um answered satisfactorily. And uh we uh delayed bringing this resolution to council until the delegation could have this meeting with the housing authority. Uh this item now is before council for approval this evening. Thank you. Is there a motion to accept this?

Councilwoman Price made the motion. I second. A second from Councilwoman Diggs. Uh are there any comments from the public? Any comments from council? All those in favor? Thank you. The next item under new business is first reading and public hearing of an ordinance to sell property at 15 Given Street to Adams Property Group LLC. Mr. Beenbo,

thank you. This is an uh an ordinance um approving the sale and conveyance of the property described uh as you read the title. Um we were approached earlier this year or late last year actually about the interest to purchase this 10.15 unimproved acres in our industrial park Vines. This is the park that is closest to Interstate 20 north of the Aken Regional Airport. It is an unimproved parcel that the city of Aken has owned um uh since uh the 1940s. this uh it was originally part of the airport uh proper and then in the 1970s uh the city created the Vines industrial park. Uh the buyer uh is representing a current tenant in the industrial park and the tenant plans to use the property to construct a building that will import, assemble and distribute construction equipment to companies throughout the United States. I know the residents asked quite a bit about the um um excuse me u our engaged citizenry asked questions about um you know impact on utilities. This is a uh low impact uh uh user of water and sewer. Um most of the usage would be uh just through regular like a commercial building um with um uh restroom fixtures um for the bulk of the of their use. Um the purchase price is $475,000 which uh council asked for two appraisals uh and we averaged it. One appraisal was 350, the other was 600,000. And we have this before you for first reading uh and public hearing. Madame Mayor,

thank you. Uh do I have a motion, please? I so move, Madame Mayor. Councilwoman Proll made the motion. I need a second, please. Second. Councilman Waldo. Any comments from the public? Comments from council? All those in favor? Thank you. Sold. Not yet. Not yet. One more reading. Oh, that's right. Now we have first reading and public hearing of an ordinance to set the fiscal year 2026 2027 millillage rate. Mr. Been,

thank you. It is an ordinance to provide for the levy of taxes for ordinary city purposes in the city of Aen for the fiscal year beginning July 1st, 2026. Set the millillage at 60 mills and provide for the expenditures thereof. Our millage rate has been 60 mills since 2021. We have not increased millage since 1989 when it was set at 120 ms and we have lowered the millillage seven times since 1989 to 60 mills. Uh just as a matter of information for everyone, the county uh the the county is statutoily charged to conduct a reassessment of all the values of real property every 5 years. and they are winding this down this year and they will be uh uh we will be coming back later in the year because we don't have the uh assessed values yet updated but uh the millage um could go it could stay at 60 going forward or it could uh be reduced depending but we have um we are setting it at 60 mills currently based on the current value of our tax digest and Um uh we have uh which you'll know find out in a moment a balanced budget using the um uh current millage rate of 60 and this is before council this evening.

Thank you. Is there a motion for this please? A motion. I so move madame mayor. Thank you. Councilwoman Br. I second. And councilwoman Dig second the motion. Any comments from the public? Any comments from council? All those in favor? Thank you. Next, we have first reading and public hearing of an ordinance to establish new charges for water and sewer service. Mr. Been Bo,

thank you. We have the council uh has regularly directed us to operate our enterprise utility as efficiently as possible. Uh we consistently monitor our system performance, complete repairs in house when feasible, maintain operations with uh minimal staffing levels necessary. Council's also supported staff and our customers through significant investments in infrastructure. Most notably, the new Shaws Creek water plant uh is in is under construction. In addition, we have $28 million in water and sewer projects that will be funded through capital project sales tax 5. Uh but even with this support, our infrastructure needs like those of many communities nationwide continue to outpace available resources as outlined in our rate study uh which uh we update every four years. We're in the second year of our rate study this current iteration. And a rate adjustment would be necessary, we believe, to meet ongoing service obligations, address rising operating and personnel cost, and maintain the required financial benchmarks, including the debt service coverage that I referenced earlier with the uh water plant and other improvements to our utility system and maintenance uh and fund balance reserves. Accordingly, an 8% rate increase is recommended. Now, what does that mean for our residential users? Um, under the current proposed adjustment, we a typical residential customer uses about 800 cubic feet of water and sewer. Uh, those individuals would see their bill go up about $5.51 per month. Uh, customers using lower volumes would see smaller increases. A customer using 400 cubic feet per month, which is typical of smaller households,

uh would see an increase of $3.65 per month. And a customer using 200 cubic feet per month, which is often a single uh house, a household with one person in it, uh typically individual on a fixed income, would see an increase of $2.75 per month. Uh we certainly don't take these requests to council lightly, but also council has also brought to us the importance that we have a uh system that we maint and and maintain um uh our water and sewer. We sort of liken our city services to a chair uh with four legs. Uh we want um we want to have uh a very good water and sewer service and policing and fire. Uh this is two of those legs and uh we bring this to council for first reading this evening.

Thank you for that very good explanation of the new charges. Uh is there a motion? So moved, Madame Mayor. Councilman Waldo made the motion. A second. I'll second. Madame Mayor from Councilwoman Woman Bro. Comments from the public. Comments from council. All those in favor? Thank you. The next item is first reading and public hearing of an ordinance to set the storm water fee. Mr. Been,

this is Thank you. an ordinance amending the storm water management utility fees. Uh in 1992, we became the first community in South Carolina to implement a storm water fee uh first municipality. These are deposited in a dedicated enterprise fund account and are not co-mingled with our general fund, water and sewer fund or other city funds. These revenues are used primarily to support the maintenance and improvement of the city's storm water system. We heard discussion earlier during our work session and during this meeting about the importance of having a storm water system that uh takes discharge and uh dispenses of it appropriately and legally as discussed uh during the that April 27th work session as part of our again four-year uh rate study. We're in the year two of that model. Uh we do have a rate adjustment necessary. Uh we have not typically over the last 34 years increased our storm water fee. Uh we've uh we implemented it in 1992, raised it in 2003 and 2015 and 2019 and last year. Last year, council uh may remember we had a uh the presentation and the then iteration of council looked at going from $7.90 per eru to uh to uh $11 uh then but council decided to do it in sort of a stair what I call a stairst step type uh fee. So, we only increased it about halfway and uh went to 9009. Now, that doesn't mean again most homeowners are going to uh they will not pay that $1110. Homeowners will pay if

they live on a lot that's uh 10,000 square feet or smaller, they will pay uh I'm sorry uh yeah two 10,000 square ft or smaller uh which is a lot of our single family residential units in town. Their their fee will be $8.32 per month or $833 I should say. And um again, this money does go to do uh maintenance of storm uh water. Um our storm water lines. Um I know we've done uh replacement all around the city over the last few years. We've done work in our downtown. Uh we did some I remember on McCormack Street replacing some of the lines. Uh, also we've replaced lines uh certainly um in uh our southside. Uh so uh we have this before you this evening, Madame Mayor and Council.

Thank you. Is there a a motion to accept this ordinance? So move, Madame Mayor. Councilman Waldo made the motion. Second, madam. Second from Councilwoman Price. Comments from the public, comments from council. All those in favor? Thank you. The final item under new business this evening is first reading and public hearing to adopt the fiscal year 2026 2027 budget. Mr. Beville.

Thank you. This is an ordinance to adopt a budget proposed by the city manager containing estimates of proposed revenues and expenditures by the city of Aken for the fiscal year beginning July 1st, 2026 and ending June 30, 2027 and declaring that it shall constitute the budget of the city of Aken. Thank you. Is there a motion to accept the first reading? So move, madame mayor, of this budget. Councilwoman Price now second. Madame Mayor and Councilman Brol made the second. Are there any comments from the public? If I may make a few comments. I I want to I stopped to drink some water. Okay. I've been talking too much.

No, that's good.

But um I I just want to hit a couple of the highlights. Uh I want to thank Kim Brooks and her team uh for their assistance in putting the budget together. our departments uh for uh asking uh I mean they take this process very seriously uh uh it's like every budget they they request more than we have uh funding available. So it becomes a a useful exercise based on directives from council uh how to prioritize these things uh at our new horizons. I want to note our general fund remains very stable. You've passed first reading of a millage rate which has been uh wi which has not been raised since 1989. Uh we continue to have strong revenue projection over uh the value of a mill this year um has gone up 6.8% over last year $248,30. uh we continue to have a strong tax digest because of our low cost of living and high quality of life here. Uh so this is a place that people want to visit and want to live in. So that is reflected uh by the value of our mill which is certainly reflected on um the value of our property which is uh very tangible when a piece of property sells. Uh certainly state law caps uh uh owner occupied property to 15% uh increase in value over uh uh the 5-year assessment period. We also have support for our most valuable asset, our city staff. We are recommending a 4% increase for all employees, 2% cost of living to go to them in the July second payroll in July and a 2% uh merit increase with the achievement of a satisfactory performance evaluation. Uh we talked about the priority to our utility

infrastructure and we addressed those in two earlier agenda items. A solid waste increase which is part of this general budget. Again, uh we still will be among the lowest rate for solid waste service in the area and we provide more services with this fee. We provide recycling, garbage, and yard debris pickup than most of the private waste collectors. Uh we have not increased our rate since 2022. Um, and again, um, it's it we wish we did not have to do this, but council charges us to run this enterprise fund in a fiduciary, uh, appropriate way, uh, with good practices. Uh, so we are requesting a rate increase to $295 per month, $3.84, $3.84 increase. Uh, commend Lex Kirkland and his team for running a well-managed and efficient operation. They only request rate rate increases when absolutely necessary and are thoughtful uh but they continue to be thoughtful about our future planning. Uh I just want to highlight a couple of things in the budget uh before we move forward. Uh funding uh and support for our department of public safety uh mentioned the stool or the chair analogy uh policing and fire funding their necessary equipment um and personnel. We want to stay uh again these pay the the pay we're recommending uh keeps us competitive in the marketplace uh u especially in public safety funding for repairs and maintenance at parks and fac recreation facilities. Continued support for our unified development ordinance creation. Continued work on construction projects including the water plant at Shaws Creek Tribute Parkway. funding to improve efficiency and streamline processes, including software to digitize licensing and permitting and software for asset management. Funding

two new positions uh in building inspections, additional building official and permit tech. uh council's been very uh clear uh the message has been received clear that we need to support that uh the increasing demands on that division and continuing to fund our depreciation even though costs continue to rise but that indicates our uh dedication to planning for the future. Um, and we believe this budget does align with your priorities by providing for employees, investing in essential utility infrastructure, public safety support, and our parks and recreation program. And this is up for first reading this evening.

Thank you. Sorry I missed the moment there. We we they they have we have great faith in the city staff for providing such a wonderful budget. That's why we've already made the motion. Um all those in favor. Thank you. We now move on to petitions and requests. We have two items this evening. And the first is approval of a recommendation for the accommodations tax committee for visit Aken funding. Mr. De.

Thank you. The a tax committee did meet on February 19th to review a portion of the visit akin budget which is funded by our state accommodations tax uh which is the 30% advertising and promotion special funds. We estimate 184,500 for fiscal year 2627 for this special fund. The committee has recommended funding 325,719 is listed in the attached memo uh from the accommodations tax committee for visit aken SC. This does exceed the funding received from that 30% advertising and promotion special fee. This overage is offset by other funding sources in our budget for fiscal year 2627. And this is before you for this uh approving this recommendation from the accommodations tax committee and uh their chair Peggy Penlin.

Thank you. Uh is there a motion? Councilman Waldo and a second Councilman Councilwoman Morgan. Uh any comments from the public? Uh comments from council. All those in favor? Thank you. Next is approval of a resolution authorizing the city of Aken to enter into a settlement agreement for opioid settlement funding. Mr. Beenville.

Thank you. Uh we do uh periodically uh have these settlements that we can opt in. Uh the uh there is a new proposed opioid settlement breached with six defendants who distributed and/or dispensed opioids. Um the state of South Carolina generally in the city of Aken specifically is eligible to participate in this settlement. Last month I was sent a document allowing us to participate that must be executed by June 4th, 2026. Uh since we don't know yet how many counties or municipalities are going to opt in, uh we don't know the amount of money that could be received. Now, what we've been using our funds for primarily uh have been we've got some opioid education uh in our uh public safety department. Um and we also have a partnership with the U Aken Center for Alcohol and Drug Abuse for uh treatment. Uh we have prepared a resolution to authorize this uh document um for execution. Uh the settlement was several hundred pages long. Uh council's mentioned we need to try to conserve paper resources. So I put the digital link for you to look at the entire settlement. June 4th is the deadline to execute. Um and this is before you this evening. Madame Mayor and Council,

thank you. Um, is there a motion to uh authorize the city of Aken to enter into a settlement agreement? So move, Madame Mayor. Councilwoman Price made the motion. Second. Yeah. And a second from Councilwoman Morgan. Appreciate you for that. Comments from the public, comments from council. All those in favor. Thank you. We now open the floor to public comments on non-aggenda items. Comments are limited to three minutes per speaker and a total of 30 minutes.

Thank you. Well, I guess no one is going to say anything, so we'll go on to any items from the city manager.

Yes. Uh first we will not have a meeting uh the fourth Monday of May due to the Memorial Day holiday. So our next meeting will be June the 8th. Also I want to remind everyone and we did have a graphic display during the presentations that uh May the 16th this Saturday from 11 to 2 at public safety headquarters on Bufort Street. Uh we will have a public safety open house. Uh food will be served uh uh games and such for those that wish to play games and the young people. At 12 noon there will be a police athletic league 20th anniversary reunion and special recognition of participants and uh there is our um our graphic that I was referencing earlier and um we're very excited about that and that is all I have. Well, thank you for that. Uh, is there a motion to adjourn this meeting?

So, move, Madame Mayor. Councilman Waldo, second the Councilman Morgan. Councilwoman Morgan second. All those in favor. Thank you. Thank you all.