City Council - Regular Meeting

Thank you.

Good evening, everyone. Welcome to the July 13th meeting of the Aiken City Council. Please stand if you are able. I would like to start this evening with two moments of silence in memory of those we recently lost. First, for Senator Lindsey Graham, the senator who faithfully served South Carolina in the United States Senate since 2003. He did so much for the city of Aiken, and we are grateful for Senator Graham's years of service. I'd like to express also our deepest sympathy to the entire Graham family. Next, I would also like to take a moment of silence in memory of Javaya Harris. Our hearts break for this sweet and precious child whose life was cut short. I have always believed it takes a village to care for our children. I'd like to now read the invocation in honor of Javaya. Father of all, we pray to you for Javaya and for all those whom we love but see no longer. Grant them eternal rest. Let light perpetual shine upon them. May her tiny soul and the souls of all the departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen. Thank you. Chief, would you lead us in the pledge, please?

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. During public hearings, all questions and statements from the public should 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 counsel, 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 counsel are posed to the speaker. During the non-agenda 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 Tem Kaye Proll for this item.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. Good evening, everyone. It's great to see so many people here and so many young people. We're glad you're here. Madam Mayor, there are no additions or deletions. And with that, I move to accept the agenda as we have it printed. Thank you so much.

May I have a second? I second. Thank you. Councilwoman Diggs, may this motion. 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. Thank you of Council and the scene and the second from Council and Morgan. Any comments or changes. All those in favor. Thank you. There is one presentation tonight. City staff would like to recognize the success of our youth all-star softball and baseball teams. Can we have our Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Director, Jessica Campbell, to come forward to lead this recognition? And Manager Seth Holley. Good evening.

Good evening, Mayor and City Council. Tonight, we would like to recognize the City of Aiken PRT Department. We would like to recognize the success of our youth sports leagues for their All-Star season. We're going to start off with the 8U Girls Softball All-Stars. They won the South Carolina Athletic Programs District Softball Tournament hosted at Citizens Park on June 13th, and also represented Aiken in the South Carolina Athletic Programs State Tournament held in North Augusta on June 19th through 21st. We would like to recognize the accomplishments of the softball team, the volunteer coaches, and our athletic coordinator, Bo McCullough. The AU all-star softball coaches, Eric Eubanks, Joe Sokolik, and Robert Clayton. If the coaches would come forward and their team. And, Bo, you could also come forward.

Look at these kids. Isn't that great? Two, three, four.

All right, next we'd like to recognize our baseball teams. We have the 10U and the 14U All-Stars. They both won the Braves Country State Tournament Baseball Tournament hosted at Citizens Park on June 6th, and they represented Aiken in the Braves Country Championship Baseball Tournament held in the Atlanta area on June 27th through 28th. The 10U All-Stars finished runner-up We would like to recognize them and the accomplishments of the baseball team's volunteer coaches and athletic coordinator, Drew Epps. First, let's get our 10U all-star baseball coaches. We've got Brant Stevens, head coach, Jamie Padgett, Todd Bloom, Ryan Blake, and Keith Gorman. If you guys could come forward, lead your team.

Not even some street balls.

All right, everybody look this way. One, how about a smile, one, two. Y'all won, winners.

And also we'd like to recognize for the 10U, we had a 10U home run derby champion, Zakai Robinson. And our 10U golden arm champion was Connor Bloom. Okay, and now for the 14 U All-Star. They were coached by head coach Tommy McCullough, Jason Wood, Jason Fulmer, and Joseph Daughtery. If those coaches would come forth with the 14 U All-Star team.

Good coach. All that energy.

All right, okay, here we go. All right, one, two, three. One, two, three.

And lastly, we had a 14U Home Run Derby champion, Dalton Acosta. Thank you.

Thank you. Now we open the floor to public comments on non-agenda items. Comments are limited to three minutes per speaker and for a total of 30 minutes.

Yes.

Yes. Oh, OK. We'll wait a minute till everybody heads out.

Thank you.

I'll call on this nice young lady between Kirk and Lex. She was first.

Good evening. Good evening, Mayor Teddy and City Council. Thank you so much for having me. My name is Diane Lenz, and I'm a volunteer working with the homeless for C4 Impact, which is the organization that you're familiar with, with Lex Perry. And I've just taken a position as their volunteer and donor volunteer. liaison, so highly sought after position as you can imagine. So anyway, I just wanted to introduce myself to you and let you know that number one, I'm deeply committed to this homeless cause. I've only been in Aiken a short time. We moved here in October, but I was surprised at how profound the need is for all of these people living in these encampments around the city and very concerned about it. But it was so encouraging to me when I found C4 Impact because the other organizations that I had interviewed with or talked with They're hoping to do something in the future in many cases, but C4 Impact is doing something right now, and it's powerful what they're doing. It's actually changing people's lives. They have a model that is just working. So we're looking to reverse the cycle of homelessness. Because as you know, I'm sure you've heard this from Lex over and over, it's a cycle that people get into. They're staying in a hotel. They can't come up with enough money for a down payment to get back into a home. And it just goes on and on from there. They learn to live as beggars. Their children don't have a normal life and are traumatized by all of these changes. And I just feel like we, as Aiken, we can do more about this. And I'm just delighted to be able to represent C4 Impact and Pastor Lex Perry. I'm currently recruiting volunteers. We've come up with this program. I don't know if you all have seen the film. It's called Americans with No Address. Are any of you familiar with that? If you have a chance, make a note of that, because it's like an education on homelessness in one film. Two hours, and they go from California to New York, citing examples of what's working to get the homeless out of that cycle. and I found it a real learning experience. But one of the things that we've learned is that human touch, having somebody reach out to you on a regular basis, just some individual volunteer who cares, has a big impact on these people. When you have somebody who's checking up on you, somehow you can maintain more courage and hope that you can change your life. So I'm recruiting volunteers, and Lex has put together a training program I don't know if he shared it with you, but it is just phenomenal. It's taking people from being ignorant of homelessness altogether to knowing just how to work with the homeless, how to deal with their stories, et cetera. One minute. Okay. My time is up.

I'm sorry.

Can I say one more sentence? Sure. Okay. We're having a fundraiser and I'm going to be sending all of you an invitation to it. This fundraiser is to get the down payment to get more of these many people who've applied for the program in and also to replace our van because we lost the van and now we can't transport people to jobs. Thank you so much.

Okay. Thank you.

Who else would like to speak? Yes, sir. Yes. Good evening.

Good evening. Kirk Johnson, 111 Stonington Lane, Aiken. Oh, it's different saying it now, now that I'm in the city limits. I am the pastor of Lost Sheep Ministries. Not coming up to ask for anything except for you to keep on calling us when you do have a problem. We work well with other organizations. Eyes on Aiken and was able to get Miss Carolyn, who was down on the median on Richland and Newberry, we were able to get her housed. And we've taken care of the issue there. But we still need people just to contact us. Last week we had a fire off of Richland, over behind some of the restaurants across from Walmart, not off of Gregg, but in that little shopping mall there. So there has been things going on, but we just need to be able to contact these people. And if you see them, call us. Like I said, that's our biggest thing. We've got some things that we're working with through the city, the police, public defender's offices, judges, everything. I don't want to get too far ahead of myself on that, but I think it's going to be a good solution to some of the problem that we have. We're trying to be proactive, and that's one reason that my phone is on 24-7. We want to be proactive so that these people... the people that are out there know that somebody does care and that we can start using the services that are available to them. There's plenty of services. There's plenty of food. We just need to be able to start reaching out to these people. They're just like us. How do I know? Because I was one of them. So it makes a big difference when you've been out there doing that and then you're doing this so i thank you all for what you have done and for calling and letting us know where you have people so that we can reach out to them and we can start the process and that's where we can turn it over to lex so thank you all very much thank you

Wait a minute. I need to tell you something. I was contacted by a gentleman the other day who has some homes that he has remodeled, and he would like to get up with you and seek a job partner and get people in those homes. And also, on Monday, August the 3rd, we are hosting Health Care for the Homeless at our health center. And this year it's not going to be outside at Giles Park. It's actually going to be inside at our auditorium in our Women's and Children's Center, which is located at 995 Clyburn Place. And we'll have vendors there, community nonprofits, who has resources available to them. the homeless and we'll be doing some screenings as well and salvation army will be providing lunch so i will probably send you an email to both of you so that you can bring your people out yes ma'am thank you thank you any other questions about situation out there on the streets

Okay, it's still hot. I'm telling you guys, keep water in your cars so that you can hand it out. That's the other thing. It's hot. It's hot out there. So thank you.

Good evening. Lex Perry, 1526 South Boundary Avenue, Southeast. Pastor of C4 Impact. Good evening, Council and Mayor. I want to give you a quick update. We had a really busy month last month, which is a good one. I'm loving to see the collaboration that we're having with more of the non-profits now. Particularly, we were able to get into a family of three house just last month working with um uh mr logan and um and with um you know getting them housed there and those three uh but we also wanted to let you know that was another house that we opened by the way in order to house them um and this month we'll be opening our sixth location um that was another house that we'll have here on the south side um and we will then be able to level up three men into that house That is going to give us three more spaces in the on-ramp so that we can take more people directly. Like, for instance, if Kurt would find someone or we get a referral from one of the nonprofits, that's where we would start. We do clearly state the process of how people ask, you know, well, what is exactly that you do? On our website, C4ImpactAiken.com. I spell it out, even give an infographic to show you what our process is going from our approach to the on-ramp, to the bridge, to the landing. Process is what we do in order to get people housed and stable permanently. I will also remind folks that this is not, I know we use the term program, but this is really building a relationship. It is a long-term relationship. We are looking at having this relationship with individuals for five plus years. from the very start until they get completely stable. Some folks won't take that long, but others, it may take even longer than that. But we're here for the duration because they are our neighbors, they are our family members, they are people that we love and we care about. So we're not looking to break any relationship before the graduation and give them a medal. No, that's not what this is about. This is an ongoing relationship. And for those folks to even be able to come back and to give a hand up to the next individual that Who knows, maybe somebody they shared an encampment with at one time. And we do see those stories as well. So again, as Kurt said, we thank you for the support that you've given us. That's what we continue to seek out. If you know something, or if you know of a van, if you know of someone of influence that could help support us, We appreciate those phone calls that you let us know and looking for new ways to partner all the time because this is, as I said before, a community effort. This is not just C4 or Law Sheet Ministries. This is Aiken, and we're just an extension of you. We want to be able to show our heart to not only our county, our state, and the rest of the country. I've said this many times. We are going to be a beacon of light for the rest of the country. I truly believe that. When we handle our problems, homeless issue here in Aiken, and we can do it. So thank you so much for your time.

Yes, sir. Good evening.

Good evening, Mayor and members of the Council. My name is Dennis Keneally. I live at 270 Magnolia Lake Road in Aiken. As we mourn the passing of an outstanding public servant, Senator Lindsey Graham, and also a distinguished combat veteran, we take a moment, I think, to think about his legacy. And his legacy to South Carolina, to this country, and to our community will be long-lasting and will be for generations yet to come. So tonight, I ask you, in honor of that man's service and of his legacy, to consider renaming our regional airport to the Senator Lindsey Graham Memorial Airport, a fitting tribute to a man who has done so much for his country, for his state, and for this community. Thank you for your consideration.

Thank you. Yes, sir.

Good evening. I'm Claude O'Donovan. And the only thing I want to add to that is if you look favorably on that, move quickly. I think other communities are probably thinking the same kind of thing. It can only be one. So if, again, if you look favorably on this idea, let's move quickly. Thank you. Thank you.

Good evening, Mayor Milner, council members. My name is Dennis Saylor. I live at 302 Plantation Drive in Aiken. It seems like we're going to gang up with you three of us here all at one time, but I'm raising here to speak in favor of what Dennis Keneally and Claude O'Donovan have just presented. I agree with Claude. This is something we need. If you're in favor of it, we need to move quickly on it because, as he said, we can only have one. But I knew Senator Lindsey Graham professionally for a number of years, and his impact here in the city, in Aiken County, and statewide has been a major impact, especially with the Savannah River site and his support out there. I just would ask you to consider that and hopefully you would consider it favorably. Thank you.

Thank you. Yes, check.

Good evening, Madam Mayor, Council. I'm glad to be back. I saw that the Oliver Company plans passed DRB, and I'm thrilled to hear that. It's been a long time coming. Everything looks amazing. I'm even almost off the fence about the parking garage, but that's a different story. I would like to bring up about the parking garage, though, security for the parking garage. We do not want the security of the parking garage to fall to public safety because there is already a strain on our men and women of law enforcement. We need to have in the plans for when Oliver Company finishes in 2028, a good security plan for the men and women and citizens that will be using it because they are notorious for crime happening. Pastor Kurt and Pastor Lex are diligently trying to fix the homeless problem here. homelessness happens in parking garages, I would not want to see their work be hindered by the parking garage not having adequate security. So as we move forward, I would like to see us seriously discuss plans for said security for the parking garage. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else? Okay, we'll move on now. Thank you all for your comments. We'll move to approval of the consent agenda. Mr. Bedenboe, will you please read the titles of the items tonight?

Thank you. We have the following items. We had no one submit proposals or, excuse me, requests either online or in writing with the city clerk by 7 p.m. So we have three items. First, an ordinance to annex property. Located at 2916 Mississippi Avenue and zoned the same. Residential single family RS10. An ordinance to annex certain property located at 538 Bluebird Lane and zoned the same. GB General Business and an ordinance amending section 44-171 through 44-191.5 of the Aiken City Code regarding stormwater management. That's what we have this evening.

Thank you do I have a motion for this please motion made for approval, madam mayor. Councilman price and I'll second and the second from councilman role. Since we have no comment. Time on the consent agenda so we will go straight to a vote. All those in favor. It is unanimous. We will now move to approval and discussion of appointees to various city boards, committees, and commissions. Mr. Bedenboe.

Thank you. You have no prospective nominations to consider this evening.

Thank you. So are there any nominations to consider for our next meeting? I have one, Madam Mayor.

Thank you. I would like to appoint Brian Pruitt to the Building Code Appeals Committee. Thank you.

Is anyone else? Thank you. Okay. The next item under old business is second reading and public hearing of an ordinance to rezone 2.35 acres on Rudy Mason Parkway from residential single family RS-10 to general business. Mr. Bedenville.

Thank you. It is an ordinance to rezone property located on Rudy Mason Parkway from residential single family RS-10 to GB general business. This applicant has requested this zoning change. This is property with frontage on Rudy Mason and Bluebird Lane. It is a partially improved dead-end street. The applicant intends to market the property for commercial use. The comprehensive plan currently assigns commercial uses to this property. and the proposed rezoning would bring it into conformance with future land use designation. And the Planning Commission heard this at their June 9th meeting and unanimously voted to recommend the rezoning from residential single-family RS-10 to general business. Council heard this at first reading on June 22nd, and those present unanimously voted to bring it forward to second reading.

thank you um is there a motion to um i so move madam mayor thank you councilman roll and a second second from uh councilman waldo any comments from the public comments from council all those in favor thank you unanimous The final item under old business is second reading and public hearing of an ordinance to annex 877 Doherty Road. Zone it plan commercial and approve a concept plan. Mr. Bedenville.

Thank you. That is the title of the ordinance. This is approximately a third of an acre. at doherty 877 doherty road it has been previously utilized for various automotive automotive related businesses and a concept plan is being uh requested approval for a heating and air business and the proposed use shows a existing building with proposed parking improvements uh this HVAC business and the concept plan shows six parking spaces with one designated for handicapped use they will have to meet standard requirements of the zoning ordinance the the parking spaces and the comprehensive plan does not have a future land use designation for this side of Doherty Road the proposed office uses permitted among As part of the proposed planned commercial zoning, it would be consistent with surrounding uses. The Planning Commission at their June meeting unanimously approved the concept plan with conditions read in at first reading, and those present at City Council's meeting on June 22nd unanimously approved it for consideration tonight for second reading.

Thank you is there a motion for this ordinance so movement of air. Councilman Waldo second matter mayor and Councilman Councilman price made the second any comments from the public. Comments from our Council. All those in favor. Thank you. We now move to new business. The first item is first reading in public hearing of an ordinance approving economic development incentives for residential development by home site. As see at Kershaw Street and Richland Avenue East. Mr being the.

Thank you. This is an ordinance authorizing certain economic development incentives pursuant to Ordinance 08-13-2018 of the City of Aiken Code of Ordinances for a project developed by Homesite LLC approving an economic development inducement and incentive agreement and other matters related thereto. This is a long-waited project as part of the Kershaw Street Redevelopment Project. The investment is estimated to be up to $1,800,000, with the home's new construction being a list price of approximately $300,000. It is an investment in that area of the city, as the ordinance calls for. It will not exceed $20,000. and is before council for first reading tonight.

Thank you. Do you have a motion, please, to?

I so move.

Councilwoman Diggs. And I'll second that, Madam Mayor. And Councilwoman Broll second that motion. Comments from the public? Comments from council?

I just think this is a good project. If you look at the houses they're building, They're quality homes. They're not cookie cutter. And they're at an affordable price. They're doing their best to make these affordable for first-time homeowners and working people. So thank you so much. We appreciate it.

And I'd just like to say that I love the partnership that's making this happen. And I know if Bill McGee was here with us tonight, I think he'd be smiling, because this was his dream. So thank you guys for continuing your efforts to make it happen, and I see you got one of your newest members, my old coworker, doctor from our OBGYN practice, so great to see you. And thank y'all for choosing District 1.

Thank you. All those in favor? Thank you very much. It is unanimous. Thank you, gentlemen. The next item under new business is first reading and public hearing of an ordinance to transfer Shaw's Creek Preserve property to the South Carolina Forestry Commission. Mr. Bedenboe.

Thank you. You did read the title of the ordinance, Madam Mayor. We have discussed this a couple of times. The council passed a resolution in April that allowed staff to continue to discuss this transfer with the Forestry Commission. A brief history of this property is in 2020. Well, really you can go back to the turn of the century. Council was discussed purchasing, it was at one time about a 5,000 acre tract. Council discussed purchasing it around the turn of the century for about $5 million and council did not believe it was in their best interest at that time for the city to do so in 2020. Council did ultimately purchase about 2,500 acres of the remaining property for five and a quarter million dollars. And initially the thought was we would hold back about 300 acres for potential development, but the purchase was so well received by the public when we had an opportunity to place this in a conservation easement and work with the South Carolina conservation bank to put a we decided to put a conservation easement council did on the entire property and we were awarded a million nine hundred thousand dollars for that and the Aiken Land Conservancy our partners currently holds the easement and manages the easement. We have a contract forester that manages the forest using a forestry management plan that the South Carolina Forestry Commission developed and signed off on. We have multiple benefits to this transfer because ultimately the goal was to allow public access and the Forestry Commission has greater experience and resources and capacity to manage this large amount of public lands. and working forests of this size. An example of this is the wonderful Harbison State Forest near Columbia. We have received confirmation we can retain the Conservation Bank grant funds of $1.9 million, and Forestry Commission-owned properties distribute a quarter of their gross proceeds from forestry activities to the local school district, in this case the Aiken County School District. Some of the conditions that we seek to include is that we have unrestricted access to the reservoir for maintenance, inspection, and other needs, and also that we would restrict access to the reservoir as outlined in the conservation easement and as needed to ensure the safety of our drinking water source. Cooperation with the city, we would want from the Forestry Commission in our efforts to ultimately construct a reservoir a greenway that would run from Beverly D. Clyburn Generations Park to the facility, to the property, and the inclusion of a restrictive covenant that requires the property to be maintained in perpetuity as a forest and remain open for public recreation, and that this applies to any future owners of the property. And the Land Conservancy will continue to hold the conservation easement, On the property, which also limits uses permitted on the property, restricts the percentage of impervious surfaces allowed, and other legally binding restrictions that will run with the property, ensuring that it remains preserved in perpetuity. for the purposes of protecting water quality and providing passive public recreation. And this is before council this evening. I know we have a representative from Peter Klein, hence our ABLE director of the Aiken Land Conservancy is here. I understand we have Eric, and I did not get Eric's last name from the Nature Conservancy. They are purchasing a they potentially could purchase some adjacent property to add to this. So this is before you this evening. Back to you, Madam Mayor.

Thank you so much. Do I have a motion to accept this exciting ordinance motion. No more adoption at a mayor.

It's in the district that I have worked with for some time since the start of all this discussion. You would like to make the motion. Yes.

And would you like to make the second. Yes, OK. Councilwoman price made the motion and Councilman Morgan seconded. Enthusiastically. Comments from the public. Yes, Sir. Please come up Peter.

Good evening, Madam Mayor, members of council, and staff. My name is Peter Kleinhans, 46 Suffolk Drive, here in the city of Aiken, and I'm the executive director of Aiken Land Conservancy. We hold the conservation easement, as Mr. Biedenboe mentioned. I've worked for ALC now, or Aiken Land Conservancy, for just over three years, and I stood before this council my first day on the job. Believe it or not, I was doing the math. It was actually... Three years ago today.

I think it was my first day on the job, too.

What's that? But I was here at that time seeking approval to fully protect the Shaw's Creek Preserve, all 2,658 acres of it, which includes and surrounds the Mason Branch Reservoir, where a decent chunk of our drinking water comes from during periods of drought. That project was successful, and we were able to secure a $1.9 million grant from the South Carolina Conservation Bank to help fund the conservation easement. It wasn't all of it, but it was a sizable portion. That property is connected to two other conservation easements, one of which we hold, one of which we don't, that altogether total more than 3,500 acres of interconnected conservation land. South Carolina Conservation Bank agreed to fund the project. However, they did so with the expectation that ultimately this property would become public and accessible to city of Aiken residents. So it's fully protected. And since that time, Aiken Lane Conservancy has worked to secure more than $58,000 in grant funding that helps manage the property. We've hosted workshops and educational events on the property, and we've interpreted its resources through interpretive signage. You can actually go out there today and see the sign. However, the property is still not public. And this led to discussions between the Conservation Bank, the Nature Conservancy, Forestry Commission, the city, and ALC. And we determined that the South Carolina Forestry Commission was the best fit for ownership and that they agreed to be a long-term owner if council approved that. I would first, before I even get to that vote, I just want to say thank you for those of you who helped facilitate discussions and were good partners throughout this entire process, because it's been a process. But another opportunity, which is the highly threatened Hilton tract, lies next door to this property. It's 549 acres with more than a mile of frontage on the Shaw's Creek Preserve. And the Nature Conservancy, who are excellent partners, came in to help secure that piece. They need a long-term owner of that land, which further highlights the benefit of the South Carolina Forestry Commission being involved, because the Forestry Commission has agreed to take that piece and add it to a potential state forest if this all goes through. I know I'm running out of time, but I'm almost done. OK, good, good. Thank you. First and foremost, the conservation easement runs with the land. So no matter what happens, no matter which way you vote, the land's protected. And that's the good news. That's really the most important thing at the end of the day. But a transfer would reduce the long-term financial burden, which using Harbison State Forest as an example, could run as much as $260,000 a year to manage and maintain that property for public use and ecosystem management. So it would reduce that burden for the city of Aiken and it would bring a public state forest into being that's less than 17 minutes north of where we stand today and five minutes north of I-20, right at an exit. with all the potential benefits that would come from that. Don't take my word for it. Look at Harbison State Forest and Irmo and see how that's working out for that community as a really key example here. In addition, as Mr. Bedenboe mentioned, 25% of the proceeds coming from the state forest would go back into local schools. And timing is something that we've discussed. And the Forestry Commission provided assurance to me that this could happen, if approved, by May 2027. So we're not talking about a long distance in the future. Importantly, the conservation bank has agreed to allow the city to keep the grant funding that they received. And ALC hopes that we can work with the city to create a greenway that connects Shaw's Creek Reserve with Generations Park. And I'll just say that we stand ready to help with that effort in any way we possibly can. So, in conclusion, ALC feels this is the best path forward that will achieve desired goals of drinking water protection, habitat protection and management, long-term economic benefits to the community, and most importantly, the facilitation of more land conservation within the Shaw's Creek Basin moving forward. If successful, Aiken will have a nearly 3200 acre state forest publicly accessible in close proximity with adjacent conservation land that would total more than 4000 acres of interconnected conservation lands surrounding a key drinking water supply for us. That, to me, would be a win. Thank you.

Thank you. Any comments from council?

You mentioned it's a win. It's a big win for us. And when you look at the improvements that are existing right now and what's coming for the northeast and west side, it really adds a lot of opportunities for growth in many, many ways. We're thankful for that.

Thank you. Anyone else? All those in favor of this. Please raise your hand. Thank you. It is unanimous. Thank you very much. The final item under new business is first reading and public hearing of an ordinance authorizing a supplement to the agreement for the sale of property in connection with the redevelopment of Hotel Aiken and surrounding properties in the downtown.

Thank you. It is an ordinance of the City Council of the City of Aiken, South Carolina, authorizing a supplement to the existing agreement for the sale of certain real property in connection with the redevelopment of Hotel Aiken. and certain surrounding properties and other matters related thereto. Fundamentally what this would do is extend the due diligence period in order for the financing to be completed. This is a very complicated project. They are, as it relates to financing tax credits, also just the general financing of the project. I spoke to one of their lenders and about a month ago and said, you know, we were they were hoping to try to close, you know, by mid-July. And the the the representative from the lender said, well, we're not going to have our work done. So again, it looks like the closing will take place. I believe based on all the information I have from the parties, the closing will take place sometime next month, August 20, 26. So this would allow that Extend that due diligence period, which is set to expire this month, Madam Mayor and Council.

Thank you. Do I have a motion to accept this, please? I so move, Madam Mayor. Councilwoman Burrell made the motion and a second.

Second.

From Councilman Waldell. Comments from the public? Comments from Council? All those in favor? Thank you. It's unanimous. There are no petitions and requests items tonight, so we will open the floor to public comments on non-agenda items. Comments are limited to three minutes per speaker and for a total of 30 minutes. Anyone would like to say something at this time? Yes, ma'am, come up. How are you this evening?

Madam Mayor, Council, how are you guys tonight, praying all is well. I don't want a thing, honestly. I just want to say that tonight was a great night with listening to and showing the players, the kids that were honored tonight. The presentation, the new, what's your name, sweetheart? Diane, that came aboard to help with the homelessness. And I also, the main thing, I'm all baffled because I didn't really want to come up to say anything, but the main thing I wanted to say was because when I get this water bill, I read everything in it. And I don't know who put this in here, but I love what it says, so I'm going to read it. It's a July character trait word, courage. Overcoming fear by saying and doing what is right. the city of aiken is proud to be a community of character and participates in the character first initiative by encouraging its citizens and employees to practice monthly character traits for the betterment of our city i don't know who came up with that but i think it's beautiful and i just wanted to say so have a good night thank you

And I do want to say, I think that illustrates the fact that one of the most effective tools we have in our communication arsenal is the Water Bill newsletter. It goes to 19,000 plus water accounts. And while I know not every person that received city water reads it, it is still a very effective way of communicating to our public.

Thank you for that. Anyone else? Okay, we will now move on to items from the city manager this evening.

Yes, I would like to just highlight something that happened. Well, it's an item in progress. It started yesterday. We did... The Center for African American History, Art and Culture and the Board of Zoning Appeals lost Larry Ogletree, who was a very substantial person in both of those, both that board and the board. the committee Larry was a member of the center's board since its inception and served I had the privilege of serving with him while he was the treasurer Larry truly gave his time talent and treasure to the mission of the center and it was felt that Naming the room at the second floor room, which is the keynote space in his honor, the Lawrence, Larry and Audrey Ogletree Great Room. And we're very pleased because Larry selflessly gave of his time. And his treasure and talent is noted for that. And naming it for that couple, I think, reflects the contribution they made without compensation and selflessly and the overall impact to the community. Larry served on our Board of Zoning Appeals for 33 years, most of the time as chair. And again, we plan to have a dedication of the room in September and we have been working with Mrs. Ogletree on the appropriate wording and are getting a mock-up and that will then come into fruition with an appropriate event at the center in September. I also want to point out that we have very nice comments about our flowers. I don't know if Aaron Campbell was giving residents money under the table, but we received a tremendous amount of... positive compliments about the summer colors. And I know that is one thing that Aaron and the team at Buildings and Grounds have worked hard on with our seasonal colors. My theory is that by not putting any orange in it made the colors pop even more. But that's just my personal view. But anyway that is all I have today.

Thank you. We now have an executive session, so I'm going to read the notice. On Monday, July 13, 2026, after the regular council meeting, the Aiken City Council will go into executive session. Pursuant to sections 30-4-70, Princess A, Princess 2, and Princess 3, there will be discussions regarding the lease of city-owned property. There will also be discussions regarding negotiations incident to a proposed contractual arrangement and the receipt of legal advice where the legal advice relates to a pending, threatened, or potential claim or other matters covered by the attorney-client privilege. Specifically, City Council will discuss the following. The receipt of legal advice regarding contractual discussions and a pending, threatened, or potential claim regarding the property known as 213 Richland Avenue West, Aiken, South Carolina. City Council may take formal action in a public meeting following the executive session. Is there a motion to go into executive session?

So moved, Madam Mayor.

Councilman Waldo, and I have a second. Second. Councilwoman Broll. All those in favor? Thank you. We will now move into executive session in room 315.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

It's OK. Do we have a motion to come out of executive session? So move, Madam Mayor. Councilwoman Price made the motion. I second, Madam Mayor. Second from Councilwoman Brohl. All those in favor? Thank you. Is there a motion to adjourn the July 13th City Council meeting?

I got to make a motion.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Oh, I'm sorry. Madam Mayor, if I may, as we discussed in executive session, I'm asking you to pass a motion to authorize the City of Aiken to enter into contractual discussions with Attorney Lauren Martell and to notify the tenant at 213 Richland Avenue West that he is required to vacate the premises in 20 days and or authorize the city to move forward with the appropriate legal action. Is there a motion? Second. Any discussion?

And that's all we need to do.

Any discussion?

Any discussion? No discussion. All those in favor? Thank you. Now, do we have a motion to adjourn this meeting on July 13th? And did anyone make a motion before? Councilman Messina made the motion and a second from Councilwoman Morgan. All those in favor? Thank you. The meeting is adjourned. Thank you.