County Council - Regular Meeting

I'm Jay Boykin. I serve as chair, and I represent District 8. And I'm going to ask my council members and key staff to introduce themselves, starting with Mr. Moody on the right.

Brantley Moody, District 7.

Darby, District 4. Herb Sass, District 1.

Kristen Salisbury, Clerk of Council.

Bill Tootin, County Administrator.

Jenny Costa-Honeycutt, District 9.

Teddy Pryor, District 5.

Mr. Kowbrowski. Rob Worman, District 3.

Natalie Ham, county attorney.

Thank y'all. And Mr. Kabrowski is joining us remotely. At this time, I want to hand it over to Councilmember Pryor so he can chair the Special Planning and Public Works Committee.

Yes, sir. Let me put this on. Do not disturb. OK. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We have a Special Planning and Public Works Committee agenda. All members of council participate. I am the chair of this committee. Item number one. is Central Park and Riverland Road Intersection Improvement Project Grand Tree Removal and Mitigation Plan.

What is the pleasure? For staff recommendation. Is there a second? Second.

Any discussion? All in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. All opposed? The ayes have it. Item 1B, Restrictive Covenants, Affidavits with Zoning and Application. Mr. Moody, I'll turn this over to you.

Yes.

putting this on the agenda on such short notice recently there have been a few instances in my district and I bet probably countywide where restrictive covenant affidavits for zoning and subdivision permits and approvals have been signed by applicants and in recent case according to some of my constituents perhaps fraudulently in conflict with private covenants and restrictions The conflicts were later brought to the attention by residents of the impacted neighborhoods. I've also heard a few other complaints on other items I'd like the Planning Commission with this board's body to consider. Our constituents only have 30 days to object to an application. However, we currently, as I understand it, do not put signage out when an applicant makes application like we do some other zoning things. And our website, according to my constituents, is only current through May 26, 2026. So there's no sign, and the online is not current right now. So our constituents don't even know a subdivision application has been submitted. So given these two issues, neighborhoods often, they don't even know it's come in, and they miss the 30-day deadline. Therefore, the burden is placed on our constituents to research this, and that shouldn't be on them. My constituents in particular have formed a team. They've hired attorneys that watch this stuff daily and call into the office as needed, and they shouldn't have to be doing that. So, Andrea, did I miss anything? Would you like to add anything that we've talked about the last couple of days? And when she's done, I've got a motion, Mr. Pryor.

Yeah, so our process is when folks come in for a zoning permit or approval, you know, state law requires us to have a restricted covenants affidavit for the applicant to sign. If they sign it, you know, they're saying that there are no private covenants or restrictions on the property that preclude what they're asking to do. We take that at face value because we aren't in the business of doing title searches. And then we process the application. If we do know of a, you know, a restrictive covenant, we let the applicant know, but if they're still willing to sign the restricted covenants affidavit, we do process the application and it becomes a civil matter. And like Council Member Moody said, you know, there have been instances where we, you know, someone has gotten through a process, whether it be subdivision or maybe they're, you know, have a zoning permit and a building permit and are under construction on an accessory dwelling unit and the community or someone brings up, hey, there's a restricted covenant that says they can't do this sort of thing. In those instances, you know, we ask them to do a title search and have an attorney let us know if those restricted covenants are still active, because some of them are fairly old, and if they apply to that particular property. So that is just a summary of our process.

I'll add one more thing. The neighborhood in my district recently hired an attorney and filed lawsuit. And it was heard by Judge McCoy that these covenants, as aged as they were, were valid. And a subdivision that had been granted was forced to be reverted back to the original. So we've just got to have a cleaner process to help these neighborhoods know what's going on in their neighborhood for all of these things. So therefore, I would move to have our Planning Commission staff draft ZLDR amendments for Planning Commission's consideration that require applicants for zoning permits and approval, including subdivision and site plan review applications to provide a title search and letter from an attorney regarding the applicability of any private covenants and restrictions to the properties that are subject to the application. Staff in the Planning Commission should also consider these additional concerns I've listed tonight. Staff in the Commission should consider amendments that do not make this requirement more onerous on the applicants than necessary on the approval or permits sought, but it should be thorough.

Okay, is there a second? Okay, any discussion?

Ms. Honeycutt? When we get the planning commission process, maybe this is a question for you, Andrea. Do we engage with our sort of community stakeholders in a process like that? Is there engaging? Because I want to make sure, I mean, obviously there's a tension here. when someone's coming in to apply for a subdivision, whether they know or don't know, obviously if they're fraudulently signing these affidavits, that's a huge problem. But I want to make sure that everybody in the process understands and no one is unduly harmed by this. Would we reach out to the stakeholder community and all of that?

Yeah, we have a ZLDR interested parties list that we keep, and we notify them of anything that's affecting the ZLDR when it goes to planning commission and when it goes to council. Great. Thank you.

Any other questions? All right, all in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. All opposed, ayes have it. That concludes our Planning and Public Works Committee agenda. Mr. Chairman, back to you.

Thank you, Mr. Pryor. This time we'll move into our public hearing on the St. John's Fire District bonds.

Notice is hereby given that County Council of Charleston County, which is the governing body of Charleston County, South Carolina, is considering whether St. John's Fire District, South Carolina, shall be authorized to issue not exceeding $9,500,000 aggregate principal amount of general obligation bonds of the district.

We have one person signed up, Anthony G. Bryant.

Anthony G. Bryant, former BZA member, 99-2006. My third reading regarding my amendment to the budget, and this is a nine million, I would support the effort, but my deeper concern in the fact that in the budget, we need to amend the $11 increase by Dominion Corporation. I don't know whether or not John's Islands and Kiwa Islands Utility Company, but at the end of the day, that has been in there. Now, Dominion did this on July 1st. We won't see a bill until August 31st. It will be different. I submit for the record that it may be our financial person, the school board, and others need to notice when you pass my bill back to me and my mother's rating won't be high. We got it. It's called a variance. We have some type of political variance here. And the General Assembly hasn't passed their budget. And why did they pass their budget? Probably because of the 11% increase. It's about utilities are the highest cost you're going to have. With overall budget, we need to look at that. This is the third reading now. I'm in my final reading with this. I've done, what, 10 budget hearings, BZA member close to 10 years. So I take this seriously because that cost is passed on to growth on poor folks. OK, the richer we get, the poorer they get. And the poorer they get, the richer they get. So where's the balance going to come from? It has to come from the government. You have an obligation to do your part. You have four things to do. Protect the people from themselves, protect the government, and guard against transient impressions. I submit for the record that transient impressions is going on somewhere, and the cost gets passed on to everyday folk. Thank you for your time.

Thank you, sir.

That's it.

All right. We'll now move into our public comments, which says 30 minutes to receive public comments. Each speaker is allotted two minutes to speak, and I would remind you of the public comments code of conduct you agreed to when you signed in. Ms. Worcester.

All right. We have 15 people signed up. The first person is Sam Spence, followed by Thomas Tisdale, and then Catherine Perkins.

I'm Sam Spence from the Preservation Society of Charleston speaking today about the item from the Finance Committee regarding the Historic Preservation Commission. The Preservation Society understands the importance of the county's historic preservation regulations to protect historic places while also ensuring fairness and predictability. Tonight, we want to caution the county, though, from taking action that may create a free-for-all that puts historic places at risk. The county has spent significant resources laying the foundation for its historic preservation protections, starting with a 2016 historic resources survey update, which was recognized by the governor, Governor McMaster, with the state's 2017 State Preservation Service Award. We encourage you all to build on that success. The 2020 Comp Plan notes that historic resources, including unique settlement patterns of traditional communities, should be preserved and protected from potential negative impacts of growth and development. So rather than suspend the HPC Certificate Approval Authority as proposed, we would encourage you to defer this committee recommendation and work to explore third party training for staff and commissioners. The National Alliance for Preservation Commissions has training for municipalities like Charleston County to ensure that boards and commissions like the HPC operate efficiently across the nation. And the Preservation Society would be glad to partner with the county and financially sponsor any of those trainings. I also encourage you all to coordinate with the State Historic Preservation Office. Important state mitigation conditions that are in place currently to protect historic resources could be impacted by suspending the HPC's authority tonight. The county should also reexamine its participation in the state's CLG program, the Certified Local Government Program. If council does wish to review the preservation ordinance, we would encourage a timeframe for when ordinance updates can be considered.

Many projects, including large- Thank you.

Thomas Tisdale, Catherine Perkins, Sandra Connell.

Good afternoon, council. You all have seen me plenty of times before. You know my family story, my parents' situation. Again, we've been living in Ten Mile for going on 50 years. We've been good neighbors. But due to circumstances my parents haven't foreseen, they may have to consider selling their property. And therefore, with that being said, any moratorium extensions or anything like that, we're asking for our family to be excluded from it. If my neighbors want to support any type of extension of a moratorium or the HPC, that's We're in support of that. However, we're asking for our situation that we would be opted out. And we thank you for your time. Thank you.

Catherine Perkins, Sandra Connell, Nikki Shriver.

Good evening. I am here to ask your support to end the overcrowding in our county of animals in our shelters. We the people of South Carolina demand real animal welfare. Here are the ways to do it. Number one, low-cost spay and neuter programs. Number two, expanded trap-neuter return services for community cats. Number three, mobile wellness vaccinations and microchipping clinics for underserved communities. Number four, strong breeding laws that target irresponsible backyard breeders. Backyard breeders need to be able to get a license to breed and pay for it annually. Sullivan's Island has a license. Every year it's renewed to have a dog there, just to have your dog. Number five, strict enforcement of existing animal welfare and cruelty laws. Shelters cannot adopt their way out of overpopulation. Prevention is the only long-term solution. Every litter prevented means fewer animals abandoned, fewer healthy, adoptable animals losing their lives because there are simply not enough space. Please, let's work together and make this happen. Thank you.

Sandra Connell, Nikki Shriver, Katie Zimmerman.

Good evening, council. My name is Sandra Connell, and I'm here tonight to ask you to be heroes.

to lead us in being the voice of the voiceless, our animals.

To be an example to other municipalities by creating a real solution to prevent animal cruelty. 596,000 animals are euthanized in the US shelters in 2025. In Charleston County alone, it's estimated that around 10,000 animals are taken in by rescues and shelters annually. Our rescues and shelters are overwhelmed and exhausted. People are rehoming and selling animals on social media like they're selling oil purses that no one wants. I've never seen anything like it. I send money consistently to rescues and shelters. This never seems to be enough. I still believe spay and neuter programs will reduce animal abuse, but I recently realized something important. We need more animal control officers. Charleston County is estimated at 439,143 people. The Charleston County Animal Control Unit has five dedicated officers. Five. I know each town has their own ACOs. Mount Pleasant has only two, and we have 95,000 people. Animal control is the front line of animal welfare. They're the ones who will enforce licensing laws, investigate neglect and cruelty, follow up on complaints, educate owners, and make sure ordinances actually mean something. I'm confident the recent Georgetown animal cruelty case could have been avoided if we had more ACOs. We must prevent animal cruelty instead of just managing it. And to do so, we must strengthen our front lines. And that front line consists of animal control officers. I'm begging you to lead us out of this animal welfare crisis we are in and set an example for others to follow. Your community will stand behind you. And please don't let this be a Thank you guys for listening.

Nikki Shriver, Katie Zimmerman, Clara Farley.

Hello. My name is Nikki, and I've been in animal rescue for the past eight years while living in Charleston, working alongside with many local rescues and county shelters. Something I would love to see more is responsible breeding regulations within the Charleston County. This isn't about telling responsible breeders that they cannot breed. It's about creating accountability for those who choose to. If someone is operating as a breeder, they should be held responsible to standards and protect both the animals they produce and the families who purchase them. Right now, Charleston County has no breeder-specific licensing or inspection requirements. Meanwhile, counties like Greenville have taken steps by requiring commercial breeders to obtain permits, pass inspections, meet minimum standards of care, maintain veterinary records, and provide appropriate housing for their animals. These regulations don't punish good breeders, but they help distinguish responsible breeders from those who prioritize profit over animal welfare. Breeding regulations also benefit our community. Requiring commercial breeders to register as a business creates greater accountability and helps ensure compliance with applicable licensing and tax requirements. It provides animal control with the ability to identify who is breeding, inspect their facilities, and intervene before neglect turns into cruelty. Every day our local shelters and rescues work tirelessly to care for unwanted, abandoned, and neglected animals. While responsible breeders certainly have a place in this world, it should also come with responsibility. I believe Charleston County has an opportunity to be the lead by implementing thoughtful breeding regulations that protect animals, support ethical breeders, increase consumer confidence, and ultimately help reduce the burden on our already overwhelmed shelter system. Thank you so much for your time and considering.

Katie Zimmerman, Clara Farley, Paul Sperry.

Hi, I'm Katie Zimmerman, Executive Director of Charleston Moves. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to ask one final time in advance of third reading for the Transportation Sales Tax Ordinance tonight to please add in some Complete Streets language Not in a way that puts you on the hook for anything. It shouldn't be restrictive for future projects. Just making sure that the voting public understands that bicycle and pedestrian and transit infrastructure and considerations is not solely limited to the bicycle and pedestrian program or the transit program. It's just an opportunity for you all to confirm that you support multimodal transportation and the transportation sales tax will be considering multimodal transportation. Thank you.

Clara Farley, Paul Sperry, Anthony G. Bryant.

Good afternoon, Chairman and members of Council. My name is Clara Farley. I've lived in Edgewater Park for my entire life, and I ask that you support the restrictive covenants affidavit number 7G on your agenda tonight. About three years ago, property owners submitted a minor subdivision application in our neighborhood and signed a restrictive covenants affidavit stating that the proposed division of two lots into four complied with recorded covenants. The county approved the subdivision. A large group of neighbors disagreed, and after attempts to resolve the matter failed, the neighborhood endured nearly three years of civil litigation. Following a non-jury trial on June 17, 2026, the Honorable Judge Jennifer McCoy ruled for the plaintiffs, finding that the subdivision violated the covenants and should be returned to its original configuration. Shortly thereafter, we learned of another subdivision at 1435 North Edgewater Drive. That application was initiated on March 6, 2026. With that application, the developer submitted a sworn and notarized ownership affidavit stating that it owned the property, although Chad Shule, who had no affiliation with the developer, remained the owner at the time. The county's review identified Chad Shule as the owner, determined the application was incomplete, stated that no further processing should occur until the deficiencies were corrected, and they requested deed information to verify ownership. Nevertheless, the application continued through review. The Shules have stated that they neither knew nor consented to the subdivision application. The deed was recorded on April 24th and the application was marked complete on April 27th, only three days after the property was conveyed. I respectfully ask the council consider requiring verification of ownership or written authorization before a review begins, physical posting of property for minor subdivisions, require applicants to engage with qualified legal or title professionals during the execution of a covenant property. application i also asked the county to determine whether any assistance can be provided regarding the 1435 north edgewater application that was initially supported by an ownership owner ownership affidavit that was inaccurate and false when signed thank you paul sperry anthony g bryant carla pinkney

Hey, Council. I'm Paul Sperry. I'm here on behalf of some of the dog advocates that are in this room today. Hey, Jenny. So this group right here, first of all, I want to thank you for agreeing to meet with us at some point. I know there's been some efforts to set up a meeting, and we're going to renew those efforts. I appreciate you getting together with us soon. I just want to add that note on it. And so one of the things I wanted to cover is sort of tying together the human factor with the animal abuse. One of the things that we have created, the humans created this problem, right? We've got a dog and cat and domestic animal problem in South Carolina and beyond. We've caused it. So we'll do it in one second to fix it. And one of the ways I think that we could potentially take a look at fixing that we want to work with you guys on is with the efforts that are going into it, the animal service officers and those that are trying to prosecute the issues, they're overwhelmed. They just are. That's the bottom line. I think we do need some more folks involved, but also we need some clearer directions to them when you have an escalation type of issue. So what I mean by that is they don't necessarily have clear guidelines right now if you have someone that's committed a first reporting versus someone that's committed a third reporting. If you got a third reporting of someone that's harmed animals, that probably should take priority in a similar situation over the first reporting. So there should be some escalation factor to give them clear guidelines on who they should be looking into. And maybe that would have helped prevent what happened at Georgetown and also recently in Mount Pleasant. In addition to that, there's also data that ties together, it doesn't really surprise me, it's common sense, but ties together if you are going to be cruel to animals, you are much more likely to be committing abuse to your spouse, to your kids, to your significant other. And there's an FBI study that's in a bulletin back in 19. I'm sorry, 2021. That spells all that out. It's a great study, and it basically says if we prosecute those that are cruelty animals, we're also going to see reduction in crime in general. So I think that's a huge factor in all this dog, cat and human issue that we know.

Anthony G. Bryant, Carla Pinkney, Adam Friend.

$4 billion is a lot of money. And for those who oppose $4 billion, who will benefit from the said approval will be engineering companies and other soft cost groups, lawyers, and the like. And we will just get to pay with our little bit of money And for our groceries and whatever that's expensive, every penny we got go to them and their family to go to private school or wherever they gonna go at. I follow the money. I keep my eyes on paper. That's how I grew up. So I don't know how to do nothing else, because everything else is a distraction that comes down to money to me. So for those people who, in Overlake District and Mount Pleasant for years, downtown with all kind of historical preservation issues downtown, that it eliminated our capacity to grow as a people. And I'll say that candidly, because I'm a real brother. At the end of the day, those folks who came to this country, 60% of us, with nothing but our labor and our backs to share with you on Christmas, we have an obligation to tell the sad truth to those who come behind us that some of us were deeply concerned about our involvement in approving this half-cent sales tax budget. Because black folk can't be considered by the Trump administration. Unfortunately, for some Republicans, identity is not a part of it. But Robert Smalls and others led to the charge for me to be free. So therefore, I have to talk as a black man, period. So at the end of the day, as you get this large ass end paper, you're going to forget the little folk in the community that you may leave behind with this said approval. Have a nice evening.

CARLA PINKNEY- Carla Pinkney, Adam Friend, Casey Brazil.

Good evening. My name is Carla Pinckney. I stand here on behalf of Ten Mile and all the other settlement communities. Today, Ten Mile, Hamlin Beach, Phillip, and other Gullah Geechee communities continue to face threat of overdevelopment, uncharacteristic development, and disrespectful development that ignore the culture and character of the communities and its people. Development that exponentially adds infrastructure issues, exacerbates flooding issues, and threatens wildlife habitats. We greatly appreciate everyone working with us to further protect the community, and we welcome support in ensuring the prevailing characteristics of the Ten Mile Historic District and other Gullah Geechee communities are preserved, protected, and sustained. It took 32 months to follow the process and get approved for the overlay for 10 mile, and 18 months to follow the process and get approved for Hamlin's ACA, and that's with the support of external resources from Clemson University. The work continues in these communities to implement tools of protection to include becoming historic districts, implementing overlay districts, creating air character appraisals, et cetera. More time is needed to put these processes in place for all historic districts, including 10 Mile. It also appears that there are only a limited number of Charleston County staff members who are able to process these applications. Settlement communities should not be penalized because of this. Those who are here tonight in support of extending the moratorium for all of the settlement communities, I ask that you please stand at this time.

Thank you for your time. Adam Friend, Casey Brazil, Dana Coleman.

Good evening, Adam Friend. I'm here to speak as a frustrated citizen, mainly to talk about particularly the Riverland and Central Park intersection, and just a general frustration of what I see happening, continuing to happen here. Once again, I feel like we continue to do things that are addressing problems, but we don't really address the root of the problems. We're doing something with the money. We're spending, in this case, I think it's close to $3 million. However, I think it's everybody who lives in that area knows the problem is the left-hand turns. And what we're doing is doing nothing to address that. We're going to put some right-hand turns, take out some trees, and put in a crosswalk and some sidewalks. And we appreciate some of that. However, what we're going to do and what we're not understanding is we're going to do it in phases. Because I've heard we do have the idea of coming back behind it with putting in the light that's really the fix to this problem. But you forget, we're going to close the road again. We're going to spend, those of us who live there and anyone who drives around here, we're going to close that area for, what, six, nine months? I have no idea how long it'll take. Only then to come behind it again in two years and do it again. That whole road was just closed, as you know, for a project you did earlier for almost a year. Why are we not looking at these projects and saying, if we're going to close this road, let's do it all at once. Let's just be logical. Let's wait and do it all at once. And you guys are doing the transportation sales tax. You want us to listen and you want us, you're doing much better with transparency. I understand that. You want us to get on board. But we see what we see. We're not dumb. You're asking for us to trust you again and to give you our money to do things. Yet we watch things like this happen where logic is not in place. You need to think about that when you're doing these things because people are going to pay attention. Thank you.

Casey Brazil, Dana Coleman, Elizabeth Singleton.

Good evening. Casey Brazil. It's nice to see you all again. I'm here tonight to ask Charleston County to strengthen its animal welfare ordinances by focusing on three key areas. Specific standards of care, stronger enforcement tools, including additional ACOs, and earlier intervention. All of us here today, we're looking forward to working with you all to create solutions for some of these issues that have been raised tonight. So just days ago, South Carolina witnessed one of the most heartbreaking animal cruelty cases in recent memory. 100 living dogs were discovered and the remains of 125 other dogs within a home in Georgetown. And that case, it didn't happen overnight. It developed over time. They had reports starting back in 2019 with animals suffering long before law enforcement was able to intervene. Right now, Charleston County, we do have basic animal welfare protections, but we have an opportunity to strengthen these protections by adopting clearer, more specific standards like those used in other counties. I did share Greenville with you all as an example to review, too. This, along with more ACOs, will allow intervention before these conditions become another tragedy. These are practical preventative measures. They support responsible pet owners. It gives animal control clearer guidance and helps protect taxpayers from the enormous costs of large cruelty investigations and the long-term sheltering of seized animals. We need to consider whether we have the right number of animal control officers and whether they have the training and resources to be successful. Strong ordinances are only effective if the people responsible for enforcing them have the capacity, tools, and training to do so. So please, let's work together. Let's make sure what happened in Georgetown does not happen right here in Charleston. And I'm looking forward to meeting with you all at a future date. Thank you.

Dana Coleman, Elizabeth Singleton, Craig Logan.

Good evening. My name is Dana Coleman. I'm with the Ten Mile community. If you drove through Ten Mile about 10 years ago, you'll see a thriving community, people walking outside, having fun and everything else. It's real thriving. If you go there now, you'll see a lot of cars, a lot of go-carts, very few people walking because it's very dangerous out there. I just want to talk about the growth that's happening in these neighborhoods. Ten Mile doesn't have any sidewalks in the historic district. Roads are very narrow, no shoulders to walk on, so a lot of people stop walking. We want to just present the problems that happens when overdevelopment, non-smart development happens in these neighborhoods that are being taken away. Kids aren't playing outside like they used to. We used to play football in the streets. We used to have fun running around in each other's yards. We really can't do that now because of the traffic. A lot of people are out there doing whatever. You'll see more people. You'll see 10 Mile is located on the coast. Now flooding has become an issue on one of our main arteries in 10 Mile. Throughout the community, flooding is happening and it's not good. The damage to the roads has increased. It's taking longer for DOT to come fix roads. The number of people has increased. 90% of the residents in 10 Mile are still on septic tanks. So when the developments come in, they get sewer and everything else. None of the residents get sewer. So what happens is we are being left behind. Everything else is being pushed forward. Houses now sell for $800,000 on up. The Tamar community, as most of the Gullah Geechee communities throughout Charleston County, have residents that are lifelong generational residents who can't afford these massive increases. And there will be more taxes coming up shortly when they do the assessments. How are they going to live when the house next door is a million dollars? Thank you.

Elizabeth Singleton, Craig Logan.

Elizabeth Singleton, 1833 North Grumble Road. I'm very concerned because the Gullah Geechee corridor was established October 12, 2006 by Congress. We are being dismantled in the settlement communities, little by little, piece by piece. This stretches from North, Wilmington, North Carolina to St. Augustine, Florida, more than 12,000 miles, 30 miles inland. We have no protection. There are times I feel like my great-great-grandmother who acquired property in 1899, which I still own two acres of it, that I'm going back to slavery. I'm upset just like everyone else's. Settlement communities are being left out of your plans. You plan for the new people coming in and nothing's there for those of us who built it and is still here. You need to stop and think sometimes about what you do. Because we're being left out. It's not fair. It's not right. Then you want us to vote for a half cent sales tax that nothing comes back to us. The Historic Preservation Committee is being sabotaged little by little. Therefore, we can't even get our settlement communities any local designation. Who are we? Who are you? It's not fair, it's not right. I don't know how some people can sleep at night knowing the decisions you make. Half cent sales tax you want us to vote on? We just have the assessment. Craig Logan.

Good evening. My name is Craig Logan, 1929 Quitman Street. The room is buzzing and communities are conversing and people are engaged. Why? Once the election year and there's a referendum on the ballot. However, active communities build stronger cities and counties. I first like to thank the council for your commitment to transparency during this transportation sales tax process. You've listened, you've requested information and insight, and this process is a lot different than this time last year. And let's face it, nobody wants new taxes, but we all want better cities and communities. We want reliable and better transportation routes. We want safe streets. And the TST has an ability to provide a start for that, especially for the southern end of North Charles. So thank you. I and many community members ask for a continued path to transparency. a path that is inclusive of all of Charleston County communities and one that uplifts voices from the most disadvantaged communities. Thank you for your service to making Charleston County a better place for everybody, especially those in marginalized communities. Thank you.

All right. All right. Well, this time we're going to call county council to order, and we're going to start with a prayer from Mr. Darby and the Pledge of Allegiance. Mr. William.

For those in the audience, my most humble apology as a quasi-professional. Please pardon my dress today. Holy Providence, we ask for your wisdom as we begin this meeting. We acknowledge that we need your wisdom and your insights. We welcome your presence among us and provide us with understanding that we can go about with discussions and decisions, helping us to see what is best for all involved. Amen. Amen.

Okay.

Freedom of Information Act.

Compliance with the Freedom of Information Act. Notice of meeting was posted and agendas were distributed to news media and persons requesting notification.

All right. Minutes from June 25th.

Second.

All in favor say aye. Aye. Aye's have it. We're going to move into the third reading of ordinances. But before we do that, I'd like to first recognize many state and local elected officials that are out here in the audience with us today, and also invite our Mount Pleasant delegation to come up to the podium for a little bit of dialogue with council regarding our recent moving a Highway 41 project forward last week. Mayor Haney, I just want to start just by saying thank you all so very much for your leadership and vision, keeping Highway 41 moving. We're at a critical phase right now, getting ready to get permits and everything. The fate of this project might have been in jeopardy. And you guys, y'all stood up and you're leaders and, you know, put up with a lot of adversity, you know. And I just, again, you know, y'all did the right thing. And I just want to tell you from me, thank y'all so very much for what you've done for us and working together as partners with Charleston County.

I appreciate it. With me tonight is Mayor Pro Tem, Iowa Chapman, and Councilmember Mike Tinkey. And we have two that would be here, but one's out of town and one's home with her newborn. And I think they're both doing what they ought to be doing. I want to thank you. You know that we spent five years on the road to compromise, and the last year working very intensely with you all. To your credit, and I heard Craig, my friend Craig, where did Craig go, talking about the transparency that you all have been working on the new half-cent sales tax. And you all worked very transparently with us and went over every option and every number and every impact. And at the end of the day, speaking for myself personally, I realized one day that the amount of money that was being invested in this infrastructure, which had the support of the settlement community, was almost half what the harbor deepening project was. And we worked for two and a half years with the Corps of Engineers to get the right placement and design for the crab bank re-nourishment right at the mouth of Shem Creek. I couldn't imagine the region turning its back on half of that funding for that infrastructure. And when you think that this was right in the county portion and the town of Mount Pleasant, at the end of the day, the safety, the connectivity, the fact that no one's home is being taken and the other options increased it, you know, 20 homes for one and 50, 75 homes for the others, at the end of the day, it was the right thing to do. And I think when the traffic relief is there, That the the controversy will will be gone and people will realize that it was not an easy decision But it was the right decision and thank y'all for meeting with our neighborhoods and talking with our citizens. Thank you very much.

Mr. Moody Thank You mayor Haney. Thank you. You were here last year and I challenged you guys and and you know your community should thank you you and four of your colleagues because y'all showed real leadership and and you did what was right. And there were a lot of people out there saying, deny municipal consent, we'll just chop off Laurel Hill, that'll bring them back to the table. No. No. And you told them that. You said no is not going to work because when you do that, whether it's funding or permitting or DHEC or OSHA, whoever it is, everything goes back to the start or close to the start. just blows everything up and chairman boykin was at your meeting last week as well as some other folks and he told your council there's not a will on county council to redirect this money and he's right because that money would have i think mr pryor probably would have beat me to it would probably would have been moved to move to dorchester airport connector road or something like that that was gone and it was done so the four people that voted against this it almost cost your community 300 million dollars shame on them But good for you. Thank you, Mayor Haney, Mr. Tinkey, Mr. Chapman. Thank you for being here.

Mr. Darby.

Mayor Haney, I do not know you, sir. I really don't, or your comrades. But I appreciate your courage and that of your counsel in protecting settlement communities. Just a short history lesson. African-Americans, after the Civil War, were illiterate, landless, penniless, with nothing. No shelter even covered their head. But that same uneducated group of people amassed over 23 million acres of land. I'm not making this up. 23 million acres of land. Today, African Americans own fewer than 1.1 million acres of land. And every settlement deserves to be protected from Ten Mile Hill to Liberty Hill, from Seven Mile to Six Mile. And for what you all have done, in order for, I think, one community was not destroyed. I appreciate that, sir. That means a lot. And again, it's the courage that I look at a person. You can be as articulate as you want to, as an intellectual as you want to, as black as you want to, as white as you want to. I look at a person's courage in the time of doing the right thing at the right time, because there's always controversy and challenge. And again, yeah, you get tired of me and Dr. King. I know you do. It's all right to make decisions in moments of comfort and convenience, but a real man of character, a woman, makes tough decisions in times of controversy and challenge. I admire you, sir. Thank you so very much, sir.

Pryor. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mayor Haney, thank you for your leadership in this. When you came, I think it was about last year this time, me and Mr. Moody basically was on the same side. And it wasn't an attack. It wasn't personal. It was just that we believed in protecting the settlement community. And I remember when you said, well, you know, five years from now, you know, we might be able to do something. I said, Mayor, five years from now, you may not be here. I trust you, but I don't trust who's coming behind you. So I'm glad y'all made that decision. I'm glad y'all didn't let perfect get in the way of good. And so now we're moving forward. We've always had a good relationship with Mount Pleasant. And as I always tell people with me, it's not personal, it's just business. And when you came here, we weren't personal. We were just standing up for what we believed in. You did, but then you saw the vision. And I thank you and your council members for moving forward because he is right. That money was ready to be moved to the widening of Dorchester Road and the airport connector road. and whatever else we could get done. And I'm sure your Conrad Mayor Burgess would have enjoyed that coming to the city of North Charleston, but we're going to have to look elsewhere to make some things happen. But thank you again, and we're always here to work with you. And again, instead of a personal, there's always business.

Mr. Wehrman.

Yeah, thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, Mayor Haney. Thank you, Mr. Chapman. Thank you, Mr. Tinkey, and thank your fellow council members for standing in the breach there. I know it was very tough. It was difficult when we were making those compromises and having those meetings and having, you know, numerous design meetings, neighborhood meetings, and I think it was – You know, only more tough for y'all. I understand y'all were under a lot of pressure. And it's a controversial situation because, you know, it's tough to come to compromises. And no one got everything they want. But I think the community is going to be better off for it. And I'm really appreciative of y'all moving that forward. Thanks. Mr. Sass?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Mayor Haney, Mr. Chapman, Mr. Tinkey, council members. Appreciate y'all and the others. And I want to point out that we all did a lot of work getting together, our staff and your staff, the two staffs that have worked together the whole way through this project. It's been a lot of good camaraderie, a lot of good work. But appreciate all the help we had going to the neighborhoods. And we went to the neighborhoods and met with those people the leaders of those neighborhoods and had discussions with them and hopefully we got most of their information out. So really appreciate what y'all did. There's a lot of work and I can't thank all of you enough for your leadership. Thank y'all very much.

Mr. Chapman.

Yes, sir. Mr. Chairman, I won't take too much of your time. You got a long evening. First of all, thank you for staying with us. That was critical. for your help and your staff's help. I personally met with Mr. Richard Habersham five years going in. Mr. Habersham was one of the leaders in the Phillips community. And I was proud to work with him. And I'm so happy that you all worked with that neighborhood to put it on the National Register because that helped your staff tell people who wanted to take some of their property and to kick people out of their houses that we weren't going to do that. And I told Mr. Hammersham I would stick with him. I also want to say that some of the opponents were even suggesting that we go in their neighborhood back on Bessemer, which they'd opposed before, which would have cost about 20 houses in that neighborhood to be taken if you widened Bessemer Road. That's the kind of people we were having to deal with and your staff was having to deal with. I sat in a meeting with a number of your engineers for three hours. where two of these people were playing that they knew transportation engineering, and they didn't. They wanted to go again, take a little bit of extra property in the Phillips community so we could not bother our neighbors in Park West and Dunes West. They also were saying, oh, there's 20 houses. Our neighbors live there, but let's go take those houses and continue the project on so we don't have to go into Laurel Hill Park. Your staff came up with a plan to only take 1.3% in Laurel Hill Park, 1.3% of 745 acres. They wanted to not do that, but yet take property from their neighbors, which is unbelievable to me. And it was totally unbelievable sitting in the meeting that we had for three and a half hours where a council member was saying, oh, can't we take a little more property in our friends in Phillips community so we can do a little better and not go into Law Hill Park? And Mr. Darby, thank you for mentioning that as well, because I worked with Mr. Habersham and your staff most of the time, and I told Mr. Habersham I'd stick with him, and I did. Thank you, sir. So thank you for what you've done, and thank you for what you're doing with the half-cent sales tax. We look forward to supporting it.

Mr. Tinky, would you like to? You're good? Okay. Well, thank you all so very much for coming.

Hang on. Okay.

All right. Mr. Kabrowski. Yes, ma'am.

Well, I just want to add, I recognize the historic nature of the Phillips community, and I'd like to thank nobody in the council who has worked harder to protect pass an increased moratorium to project what has always been there. But I want to push back a little bit that suggests I've heard some things negative about people East Cooper. And I think that there was a lot of passion on this issue. And I think that, you know, we're all East Cooper, whether people have been here for ever moved here were always cooper there was a lot of passion about protecting green space which we thought there's very little of it to protect the park and a lot of people thought that we're kicking the can road down the road for what something is going to be inevitable in the future because of tens of thousands of homes coming in from burkle county potentially the republic crack so i mean there was a lot of genuine emotion on this and i don't think that people who felt differently should be maligned for wanting to protect the green space and for something they saw and travel every day and saw was the inevitable thing that's going to have to happen and i just think that you know people can disagree and we should respect the passion on all sides of this but i think it's wrong to um condemn the motives of those who thought differently. And I just wanted to add that because I feel very passionately about all the people in East Cooper, the Phillips community, the other people that live there that are stuck in traffic, that love their park, and saw something that is inevitably going to have to happen because of what they see coming. And I would like to thank you. I understand it's now over with, but we should respect the passion of everybody there and not malign the motives of those who we disagree with.

Mr. Tienke.

Thank you. I agree there's a lot of passion there. I agree that a year ago, there was eight of us that were passionate, and there was one of us that stood by and was a stalwart. So when in doubt, I think it's important to do all the homework that's necessary. And I want to thank the chairman and the council people, but especially the staff. Your staff was extraordinary, and the contractors were extraordinary in taking the time, listening, sitting with their computers and their computer models and taking every single one of the options that were brought forward by the group and going through them. In fact, I had a meeting just a month ago. We had seven engineers there. We had the town. We had the council. We had engineers from three different firms, including Stantec, and went through all these options. So those options for Bessemer and the others were exhausted. I asked if there was any other options, because believe me, I wanted to not go through the park. But I felt like after all that, it was very apparent to me that the 1.3% of the park was well worth the 10 years of work that had been put into it after the 2016 sales tax. And all the people that were in gridlock already at like 1 o'clock on Saturdays and different times when I'm on the highway, And they needed their reduced congestion. They needed their increased safety. They needed the evacuation routes. And they needed their multimodal transportation. So I want to thank your staff. I want to thank the voters who voted in 2016, because they deserve to have a solution. And they weren't going to have a solution. And I heard from a lot of them that said, where's that solution for me? So I think it was a tough decision in many ways. It was the right decision. But I also want to thank the fact that the two councils and many of us worked together. And that's what they expect us to do, to work together on these things. And we have done it. And I want to thank you all for your willingness to allow your staff to go through all those meetings since January. I mean, dozens of meetings. to answer the questions and come to the decision. So, thank you. Thank you all.

Mr. Tinkey, I was not going to speak until you said that, but I did want to say if anybody had followed Mr. Tinkey's social media, that was the demonstration of Very difficult leadership that it takes to study an issue this in depth It was extraordinary the amount of research and time and effort that was put into so I appreciate the effort you specifically made I know it it was a tight vote there and that meant a lot So I appreciate all that you did in sharing that with your constituents.

All right We're gonna move on now to item 3a Mr. Pryor

Before we move on, I'd like to make an amendment. Let me pull it up here so I won't forget it. So, as you know, there's been several discussion about the noise wall. I found out on 26 the community that really needed, and I want to, Ms. Jamison, I thought I saw her. Is she still here? Ms. Virginia Jamison. Well, I want to recognize her because she worked on this thing for such a long time, you know, and her tenure on council. You know, when she first came in, I was chair and we worked together and we got some things done. And so now we finally get to see some things done as fast as to go in there, you know, fruition. So you want to give kudos to her. But I'm going to move to modify the 2026 Transportation Sales Tax Proposed Featured Project List to remove $12 million from Latson Road and Miles Jamison Road. Remove $5 million for the railroad overpass preliminary engineering Azalea and Stromboli and Noisette and Virginia's Avenue. And add $17 million for the noise wall associated with the county's parameter commerce parkway interchange project and reference in the Attorney General's opinion report. response to the city of North Charleston dated June 2nd, 2026. So that would be my amendment to the final reading of the transportation sales tax referendum. And as you know, I was, you know, from the first beginning, I said I would make an amendment. That's why I'd actually amend up the third reading. So that's my amendment to move forward.

Do we have a second? Mr. Darby, any discussion? Yes, sir. Yes, sir, Mr. Darby.

Mr. Pryor?

Yes, sir.

I've met many politicians, many, but, sir, with all honesty, with all veracity, none is greater than you. What you have done, sir, For what you have done, since I spoke to you this morning, you indefatigably said there are only two options.

That's what you told me.

Only two options. And for you, with Mr. Wehrman, with the mayor, his staff, to make this change, sir... That's going to help North Charleston and its residents of a Himalayan proportion, sir, for what you've just done. I didn't see a way out, sir, but what you've just done this day, providing it passes, sir, none is greater than you. I'm not saying it just to give lip service or whatever, but my brother, you are a good one. Better yet, you are a great one, great one, and I hope Mr. Werman fall in your shoes, sir.

Mr. Darby, thank you for the accolade. As you know, I'm here to serve. And, you know, sometimes people get confused, and I say this with all honesty. I even see it in the church. The higher people go, the more they expect people to serve. But the higher we go, we should be expecting to serve the people more. And that's been always my, that's what always been my, you know, my emotions and, you know, my plans moving forward. So I'm here to serve the citizens.

Yes, sir.

And I don't want nobody to serve me because I'll get my reward in the end. But, you know, a man sometime will praise you today, and then he'll cut your throat tomorrow. I've seen that happen before. But thank you for the kind words. Mr. Werman, thank you, too. Mr. Werman called me three times in one day. I know it's important to him. And, Mr. Chairman, thank you, too. And, Mr. Moody, you know, Mr. Sass called me today, but I didn't get to him until the afternoon. And I know Ms. Honeycutt's busy, so I know she would have been there as well.

Oh, I talked to Mr. Werman at 10 o'clock last night.

Okay. Well, I've been sleeping that time. But anyway, Mr. Mayor, would you step to the podium to give us your perspective before we move forward? Because you were on the phone with me. He came to a church meeting we had, and I was walking him outside because I was security, and he was talking about this, and I was like, Mayor, we can talk later on. So he did call me yesterday, and then he called me again today. And I didn't see no way out, but then sometimes you stop and you think. And you figure a way out. And so I'm glad to serve the citizens because all the traffic passes through North Charleston. I've told people that before. If you go West Ashley, Mount Pleasant, downtown, you know, you're either going through or coming through. And so we're that city. And I want to make sure. But Ms. Jamison, I wish she was here. Oh, there she is. There she is. So just wanted to make sure and thank you for your persistence. And let's hope this half-day sale starts fast because I want to see you get this done because I've worked with you for so long. And she is consistent. She will call you and e-mail you. But thank you so much, Ms. Jamison, for your service.

This is very hot for the employee and for the citizens of District 3 in its entirety. It's been some long nights, some long days, and I appreciate your dedication and your tenaciousness for assisting us all the way. And I appreciate it, and I know that the citizens of District 3 appreciate it.

The citizens of North Charleston appreciate this. Thank you so much. Thank you. You're from Liberty Hill. Come on.

Hey, Burgess, the floor is yours. I want to thank you all for allowing us to be here tonight. Who I have with me is Deputy Assistant Ryan Johnson. I called my little brother from another mother. And he's awesome. He loves what he's doing. He's looking out for the betterment of our citizens. And we have Mayor's Assistant for Development, Darvis Bregman. And we have a Mayor's Assistant for Public Safety, Dave Tito. And we have Tony Tassarotti, who's our media guy. I want to thank you all tremendously, tremendously, all of you all. This process, for me, was totally different than 2024. I stood in the gap because I'm a team player. And I stood by the folks that wanted to do some other things in 24 because I'm a team player. I did the best I could do, and it didn't work out. But this time, we have a real team. We have a real team. I've always said from day one, I can't be who I need to be if the county, the city of Charleston, or Mount Pleasant If they can't be the same, it won't work. I wasn't thinking about North Charleston. If we don't fix the problems in the city of Charleston, fix the problems in Mount Pleasant, in the county, it will all fall. We've got to get together. We have to come together. We have to think collectively so we can continue to do these things. And you guys provided that. Like Teddy said, Councilman Pryor, Mr. Werriman, Mr. Darby, man, we sat down today and we went at it just on some things that we really needed to really focus on. And I really appreciate it. This is my third year in politics, right? 34 years as a cop. And I learned a whole lot. But what I did learn, what I've learned when I was a cop for 34 years, is collaboration equals better situations. And I had to reach out to you guys. Boykin and I, we worked together, served many warrants. When we were cops, we did it for the betterment of the people who were victimized in their communities. And that's my whole vision. So City of Newark-Charleston, like I said, we know we have some little ramblings and little rumblings, but the intent was never to harm Any area. Nothing to do against Reynolds Avenue. We need that. I'm from Union Heights, right? So I know when GEX was there, that was the place we shopped on Reynolds Avenue back in the day. You know, then also when you go up to Park Circle, that was the place when I learned how to play baseball, football, and track, which took me to college and got a free scholarship to get an education. I understand these neighborhoods are very, very crucial and we have to always think that way. So I thank you all tremendously for sitting down this morning and we worked together and worked it out for the betterment of North Charleston. We can't always now, we always want kind of like a greet We always won't hold hands. We always won't walk in the same houses. But I was born in North Charleston. I actually grew up in North Charleston, and I raised my family in North Charleston. This is my love. I like all other communities, but I'm in love with my city. And I'm going to fight hard for it every day. And I thank you all for helping me to fight to get the things that we need in our city. Because all the things I said earlier, they're all important. But we all, we may not all get along and agree, but we all can eat. We all can eat. And I truly thank you all for allowing us to sit to that table, brotherly love, and let us tell you some of the things that we're looking to do and make a difference in our communities. Thank you truly, very, very much. Thank you.

We'll be about to get our t-shirt tomorrow, because I don't work, so I'll come by and get my shirt.

You should have brought it with you. No, you got to come to Thursday for All-American City. That's where you'll get your t-shirt. Mayor, Thursday we got council meeting. Oh, man, man. You got to come get it. You got to come get it. I'll come by Thursday morning. Yeah.

Mayor, hang on one more second. Mr. Wareman. Yeah, Mr. Wareman.

Well, no, not Mayor. I can't really say much more than or much better than anything you've said already and what Councilman Jameson has said and what Councilman Pryor and Councilwoman. Councilwoman Jameson. I'm so sorry. In any event. I do want to say and echo what Mr. Darby said, especially, that Councilman Pryor was critical in getting this done. The fact of the matter is this is an opportunity that came up sort of late in the process with the AG's opinion saying that this was doable. And it created some issues and complications in how we were going to get there. But I think we've arrived at a solution. Where, as you said, everybody is getting something. We're not sacrificing other critical transformative projects in North Charleston. We're adding a critical and transformative project in North Charleston that has been plaguing one community or one part of our community for, I mean, people say 10 years, 15 years. I don't know if Councilman Jameson might say it's 20 or 30 years. Yeah. Because I know when I first came on council, this was an issue. So, you know, I'm glad to be able to add to the solutions we're making here, and I'm glad we're able to make this opportunity. And I do have to thank, especially, Councilman Pryor for facilitating that. Yes, sir.

Mr. Boykin. Yes, sir. Would you recognize State Representative Waters, who's here, who has a concern for the wall as well? I just wanted to recognize you, ma'am. She made calls and whatnot. She's very concerned about the sunny wall.

I got a call from her today, too, Mr. Darby. Okay.

All right. Mr. Moody? Are there any other motions? We're going to take them separately. So let's vote on this first, and we'll take the rest. Okay. That's okay. So no further discussion. Would you call the roll, Madam Clerk?

Okay, so we've got to take a vote on the amendment. All in favor?

We're doing that.

Mr. Kabrowski, we're getting ready to vote on Mr. Pryor's motion to move the money around for the sound wall in North Charleston. Okay, we're going to do a roll call vote. Okay, Mr. Darby?

Aye.

Mrs. Honeycutt? Aye. Mr. Kabrowski?

Aye.

Mr. Middleton is absent. Mr. Moody? Nay.

Okay.

Mr. Pryor? Aye. Mr. Sass? Aye. Mr. Worman? Aye. Mr. Boykin? Aye. The motion passes with seven ayes, one nay, one absent.

Mr. Wehrman.

Yes, Mr. Chairman. I want to revisit an issue we talked about at second reading. So I would propose an amendment to read as follows. In section 2.4 , immediately following the list of projects, add the following sentence. All featured projects, intersection projects, pavement management projects, and all other projects shall consider the inclusion of bicycle, pedestrian, and public transit access in the design process. as contextually appropriate, and then to also make the same amendments described in Item 1 to the ballot question contained in Section 4.2. All right.

I have a second. All right. That was moved and properly seconded. Any discussion?

So, Mr. Moniz, I say shall, not will. Right. Shall not live. Shall consider. Shall consider. Mr. Wehrman. Okay, so it doesn't bind us.

Right. Mr. Wehrman.

Yeah, I mean, I'll just explain, you know, just to sort of refresh. We had this discussion about a month ago, but the idea is that this is something that our staff currently does. You know, we consider these multimodal forms of transportation in all projects. As Ms. Zimmerman pointed out in her comments, That is a big reason why the bike and pedestrian investments in this particular proposal for a referendum are not limited to just the allocation program. And that's not going to change whether this amendment is added or not, but I do think in terms of our communication to the public, in terms of transparency and trust, I think it's going to go a long way to formalizing what we already do and what we, frankly, have already committed to.

Any further discussion? Mr. Moody.

Thank you, Mr. Boykin. I've been opposed from day one, and I remain opposed for all the reasons I've cited. Those haven't changed, so I've been disappointed. Even tonight, we've taken money from roads and going to now we've got seawalls. We've got seawalls and sound walls.

Oh, my.

$225 million seawall dumping water into low-income areas is $90 million for the bike bridge, which, by the way, the build grant was declined again. So that $90 million sits on the shelf while road work can be getting done. $690 million in green space, which doubles up the two previous taxes. And those advocacy groups wanted more. They thought we ought to flip the transit around and give them more. And I remind you, our Greenbelt, I think we've got a slide up here, Ms. Worcester, our Greenbelt program has absolutely obliterated their goals. So what do they want to do? They're pressing our gab to form a working group to reset the goals because it looks kind of silly to give them more money when they're 100% and 120% of goals. So let's reset the goals. You wave a wand and... nomination disappears. It's shameful. I don't think our roads are at 120% of performance like Greenbelt is, so I don't know why they should get more money. But, you know, that previous pie we had up there, this county has presented that $2.7 billion goes to infrastructure, which is about 63%. That's just not the case. That is just not the case. That number is closer to 47. We'll be at 46 now after this action tonight. Because when you take out $690 million in seawall debt service, some of the bike pad money that's got to sit idle, you've got about $2 billion of $4.25 billion on a transportation sales tax going to infrastructure that our constituents can actually use. So if somebody wanted to make a third motion tonight for 80% for infrastructure, 15 transit, 5 Greenbelt, I'm a second, and I'm in. But I remain a no for those reasons that TST needs to be more about this than handouts to special interest groups and Greenbelt a slush fund. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

All right. Anybody else? OK. Madam Clerk. OK.

All right, Mr. Kabrowski, we're going to call the roll on a motion made by Mr. Worman to include what I'll call the complete streets language in the ordinance.

Thank you very much.

Yes, sir. Mr. Darby? Aye. Mrs. Honeycutt? Aye. Mr. Kabrowski? Aye. Mr. Moody?

No.

Mr. Pryor?

Mr. Worman? Aye. I want to support this on account of you, you know, to change the wording to where it doesn't bind us. And so your support to me, I support you on this one. Yes.

Mr. Sass? Aye. Mr. Worman?

Aye.

Mr. Boykin? Aye. All right. The motion passes with seven ayes, one nay, one absent. Mr. Boykin?

Yes, sir. I just want to say now, in terms of Mr. Moody... I voice many of his concerns, particularly Greenbelt. That goal has already been reached, yet they want more. And I, too, feel the way he does. But at the same time, I'm of the opinion to let the public make that decision. And hopefully that would go through, would be fair enough. Because I understand, I feel you, sir. This is supposed to be for transportation, sir, and for these roads. Greenbelt, I don't know where they are coming from, sir. The goal has already been met, superseded, and yet they want more dollars, sir. So I concur with you, but I just believe that the public ought to make that decision whether we need to move forward. I just want to add that, sir.

Mr. Wehrman.

We're not done yet, y'all. I do have one more amendment here that I want to propose. Do I get to go again? You do. I was about to let you know that, but I figured. In any event, I'm going to move to modify the I propose an amendment to modify the 2026 Transportation Sales Tax proposed funding as follows. Within the public transit funding category reduced by $2 million, the implementation of the downtown route study from $25 million to $23 million. Within the bike and pedestrian funding increased by $2 million, the City of Charleston allocation increasing from $20 million to $22 million, and add UG Street bike ped improvements as a listed project. Second.

Second.

I'm properly moved and seconded. Any discussion?

Mr. Chairman, I do want to explain this one. So, you know, I don't know if other folks have been copied on all of this. I do know that UG Street improvements were included in the mayor's letter a fairly long time ago, back when we sort of started this process back in January. It's bike ped improvements on UG to include sidewalks, crosswalks, potentially bike lanes, signalization. You know, this is a project that throughout this process, some of the neighborhood groups have sent some correspondence in, and I've had some conversations with them about their hopes that this could be included. I was able to speak with the mayor. This is a project that was budgeted much more than $2 million. But I think the strategy that we can implement is the strategy we should be implementing on pretty much all these projects is to provide some seed money for leveraging. Of course, this is within the bike ped category, so that gives them some flexibility. But I do think it's a project that is well worth inclusion. and um was able to have some conversations with with mr mitchum at carta and i think this is going to again much like the the sound wall we can do both within the the confines of 25 million dollars i think 23 is going to be enough to implement the downtown route study and so if we can accomplish something else um i'm all for it ms honeycutt

We have a motion and a second. This is discussion, right?

I think so. Okay. Look, I just want to take issue with a little bit of what Mr. Moody says. I know. I know he's got an ax to grind, and he can grind it all he wants. But let me tell you something. Putting up a sound wall on a road that's impacting a community, to me, that's part of building roads. We have to protect the communities we're building in. Bike ped, it's part of a multimodal transportation system. If I learned anything when I came on council from Ms. Zimmerman, who's one of the best advocates of anyone in this area for her industry, it is that we have to build roads for more than just cars. And there's a lot of people that use our road networks, not just to get from here to there, but as one of our... community members said they used to ride bikes and play in the streets. And they're not safe because we don't build them that way anymore. And so for me, even Greenbelt is part of this transportation network because as we build out, we have to make sure we're balancing that in a very delicate ecosystem where people value our green space. And yes, we have goals that we've exceeded. That was a prior. We always set goals based on the revenue we're collecting. When we're talking about a new revenue stream, we got to reset the goals. And so I believe that's a very important part of this overall program. And so I appreciate the advocacy that Mr. Worman has done up here to the end. And Mr. Pryor, you and Mr. Darby as well in meeting with the city of North Charleston to make these adjustments here. That's what real leadership takes, studying it all the way to the end. So I appreciate what this council has done in its efforts to be transparent with our community and balance all of the interests that are at stake here to move this forward. So thank you all, and I appreciate this amendment.

Thank you, Ms. Honeycutt.

I concur 100% and well said. Any further discussion? Madam Clerk.

Okay, Mr. Kabrowski, we're calling the roll on a motion Mr. Worman made to basically add the Hugee Street Bike Ped project while moving the money around to cover that within the public transit funding category. Thank you. Yes, sir. Okay, Mr. Darby?

Aye.

Mrs. Honeycutt? Aye. Mr. Kabrowski? Aye. Mr. Moody? Nay. Mr. Pryor? Aye. Mr. Sass? Aye. Mr. Worman? Aye. Mr. Boykin? Aye. The motion passes with seven ayes, one nay, one absent. All right.

Now for the moment we've all been waiting for.

all right an ordinance to levy and impose a one-half of one percent sales and use tax subject to a referendum within charleston county pursuant to section 4-37-30 of the code of laws of south carolina 1976 as amended to define the specific purposes and designate the projects for which the proceeds of the tax may be used to provide the maximum time for which such tax may be imposed to provide the estimated cost of the projects funded from the proceeds of the tax, to provide for a countywide referendum on the imposition of the sales and use tax and the issuance of general obligation bonds, and to prescribe the contents of the ballot questions in the referendum, to provide for the conduct of the referendum by the Board of Elections and Voter Registration of Charleston County, to provide for the administration of the tax if approved, to provide for the payment of the tax if approved, and to provide for other matters relating thereto as amended. Mr. Darby? Aye. Mrs. Honeycutt? Aye. Mr. Kabrowski? Aye. Mr. Moody? Aye. Mr. Pryor?

Yes.

Mr. Sass. Aye. Mr. Worman. Aye. Mr. Boykin. Aye. The ordinance passes third reading with seven ayes, one nay, one absent.

All right. Moving on to item 3B, St. John's Fire District General Obligation Bonds. Ordinance third reading. Yes, sir.

An ordinance authorizing the St. John's Fire District, South Carolina, to issue not exceeding $9,500,000 aggregate principal amount of general obligation bonds, providing for the publication of notice of the said finding and authorization, and providing for other matters related thereto. Mr. Darby? Aye. Mrs. Honeycutt? Aye. Mr. Kabrowski? Mr. Moody? Aye. Mr. Pryor? Aye. Mr. Sass? Aye. Mr. Worman? Aye. Mr. Boykin? Aye. The ordinance passes third reading with eight ayes and one absent.

Okay, we're moving to item 4A. Mr. Kabrowski, you have a motion.

Yes, I do. Thank you, Chairman. I want to amend to extend the moratorium on 10-mile for one year.

Second.

And also to continue to exclude Mr. Tisdale's property, but also to keep the others for two more years as we had voted. My amendment would be to bring the one-year moratorium back to 10 miles. I'll second it.

All right. Properly moved and seconded. Any discussion?

Just to be clear so that everybody can hear, Mr. Tisdale's property is excluded from this moratorium, correct? Yes, ma'am.

Yes, ma'am. All right. Mr. Sass.

Thank you, Mr. Boykin. in favor of a moratorium, but I'm going to vote for that tonight. I do believe that we need it. We still need to protect those communities, and so I'm going to vote for it tonight. Thank you.

Okay. Any further? All right. Hearing none, Madam Clerk.

Okay, Mr. Kabrowski, we're calling the roll on your motion now. Mr. Darby? Aye. Aye. Mrs. Honeycutt? Aye. Mr. Kabrowski? Aye. Mr. Moody? Aye. Mr. Pryor? Aye. Mr. Sass? Aye. Mr. Werman? Aye. Mr. Boykin? Aye. The motion passes with one, two, three, four, five, six ayes, two nays, one absent.

All right. And Madam Clerk now for 4A. Yes, sir.

Okay.

An ordinance amending the Charleston County Zoning and Land Development Regulations Ordinance Number 1202 as amended at Chapter 8 Subdivision Regulations and Chapter 21 of the Code of Ordinances of the County of Charleston at Section 21-6, Subdivision Platte Application Report. To provide... Sorry, to provide for a temporary moratorium for 24 months on the acceptance and processing of major subdivision applications in Charleston County Historic Districts, excluding the Tisdale property and other matters related thereto as amended. Mr. Darby? Aye.

Is it 24 or 12 months?

It's 24 in all of them except 10 mile. 10 mile is one. Well, 12 months.

And that's because all they have left is their character appraisal?

That's right. Mrs. Honeycutt? Nay. Mr. Kabrowski? Aye. Mr. Moody?

Nay.

Mr. Pryor?

Aye.

Mr. Sass? Aye. Mr. Worman? Aye. Mr. Boykin? Aye. All right. The ordinance passes second reading with six ayes, two nays, and one absent.

Madam Clerk, 4B.

Okay.

An ordinance approving and authorizing the grant of a perpetual utility easement to the North Charleston Sewer District on portions of county property identified as tax net parcel number 4111300004 located at 4350 Azalea Drive, North Charleston, South Carolina. Mr. Darby?

Aye.

Mrs. Honeycutt? Aye. Mr. Kabrowski? Aye. Mr. Moody. Aye. Mr. Pryor. Aye. Mr. Sass. Aye. Mr. Worman. Aye. Mr. Forte. Aye. The ordinance passes second reading with eight ayes and one nay.

4C.

Madam Clerk, I recuse myself from 4C.

Yes, sir. Okay. An ordinance to amend the agreement for development of a multi-county business park in conjunction with Colleton County, South Carolina, providing for the development of a jointly owned and operated business park so as to include additional property in Charleston County as part of the multi-county business park. Mr. Darby? Aye. Mrs. Honeycutt? Aye. Mr. Kabrowski? Aye. Mr. Moody?

Aye.

Mr. Sass? Aye. Mr. Worman. Aye. Mr. Boykin. Aye. The ordinance passes second reading with one, two, three, six ayes, one nay, one absent, and one recusal. Okay.

Madam Clerk, 4D.

An ordinance authorizing the execution and delivery of an assignment and assumption of payment in lieu of tax agreements by and among Charleston Harbor Holding Company, LLC, 20 Patriots Point Hotel, LLC, and Charleston County, South Carolina. whereby Charleston Harbor Holding Company LLC will assign to 20 Patriots Point Hotel LLC all of its rights, title, and interest in and to the real and personal property subject to the payment in lieu of tax agreements and all of its rights and obligations which arise or relate to the period on and after the closing date, as defined in the purchase and sale agreement under the payment in lieu of tax agreements to 20 Patriots Point Hotel, LLC, authorizing the execution and delivery of an estoppel certificate relating thereto and other matters relating thereto. Mr. Darby? Aye. Mrs. Honeycutt? Aye. Mr. Kabrowski? Aye. Mr. Moody? Aye. Mr. Pryor? Aye. Mr. Sass? Aye. Mr. Worman? Aye. Mr. Boykin? Aye. The ordinance passes second reading with one, two, three, four, five, six, seven ayes, one nay, one absent.

Madam Clerk, 4E.

An ordinance authorizing the execution and delivery of an assignment and assumption of payment in lieu of tax agreements by and among Charleston Harbor Holding Company LLC, Charleston Harbor SMI LLC, Charleston Harbor Propco Series, and Charleston Harbor SMI LLC, Charleston Harbor Opco Series, and Charleston County, South Carolina, whereby Charleston Harbor Holding Company LLC will assign to Charleston Harbor SMI LLC, Charleston Harbor Propco Series, and Charleston Harbor SMI LLC Charleston Harbor Opco Series. All of its rights, title, and interest in and to the real and personal property subject to the payment in lieu of tax agreements and all of its rights and obligations which arise or relate to the period on and after the the closing date as defined in the purchase and sale agreement under the payment in lieu of tax agreements to Charleston Harbor SMI LLC Charleston Harbor Propco series and Charleston Harbor SMI LLC Charleston Harbor Opco series authorizing the execution and delivery of an estoppel certificate relating thereto and other matters relating thereto. Mr. Darby. Aye. Mrs. Honeycutt. Aye. Mr. Kabrowski. Mr. Moody? Aye. Mr. Pryor? Aye. Mr. Sass? Aye. Mr. Worman? Aye. Mr. Boykin? Aye. The ordinance passes second reading with seven ayes, one nay, one absent.

Madam Clerk, four if.

And ordinance to amend the 2026-2027 budget ordinance number 2391, hereinafter referred to as fiscal year 2027 budget ordinance, to amend section 15C regarding the sheriff's salary, repeal section 15D, and other matters relating thereto. Mr. Darby? Aye. Mrs. Honeycutt? Aye. Mr. Kabrowski?

Aye.

Mr. Middleton's absent. Mr. Moody? Aye. Mr. Pryor? Aye. Mr. Sass? Aye. Mr. Wurman?

Budget amendments? Yes, sir. Nay.

Mr. Boykin?

Aye.

The ordinance passes second reading with one, two, three, four, five, seven ayes, one nay, and one absent.

5A, CPW apartment easement request.

Approval on 5A and B, Mr. Chairman. Second.

All right, properly moved and seconded. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Ayes have it.

An ordinance approving and authorizing the grant of a permanent utility easement to the commissioners of public works of the city of Charleston on a portion of county property identified as tax map parcel number 175000071 located at Old Jacksonboro Road and New Road, Ravenel, South Carolina. And an ordinance authorizing the James Island Public Service District, South Carolina... to issue not exceeding $11 million aggregate principal amount of general obligation bonds, providing for the publication of notice of the said finding and authorization and providing for other matters relating thereto.

I'm going to item 6A.

Mr. Chairman, I'm on Act 6A, C, D, and E. Let me make sure I'm not going to the other page. You've got plenty on the other page. F, G, H, I, J, and K. be approved and I'll come back to.

All right, so real quick, run that by me. Are you doing everything?

Everything except B.

Everything except B, okay. All right, all the way through 6K, correct? Yes, sir. Okay, yes, sir. All right, Mr. Moody needs to make a motion.

Yeah, I need to make a motion on 6A. Yes. Okay. Is that appropriate?

Yeah, you can just offer it as an amendment for Mr. Pryor.

Can I make an amendment on 6A, Mr. Pryor?

Absolutely.

To approve the appointment of Kelly Hendricks, Director of Human Resources with the Hyatt House, and Colleen McCarthy-Cuffee, Chief Administrator Officer with Fetter Healthcare, to fill vacancies on the Triad Workforce Development Board. Do you accept that?

Yes, I do.

Okay, properly moved and seconded.

Yes, sir. 6C is something that pertains to Mr. Boykin and I. Are we allowed to vote on that?

No, no.

Oh, C. I'm sorry. We've got to separate that out.

Yeah, I mean, put B in. I'm sorry. C is the one I want out.

Okay. I think we were trying to keep 6C out.

6C out.

So I was seconding.

6A is amended. B, everything else.

Everything except C. Okay. So we'll come back to 6C. So 6A, B through 6K excluding 6C. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Ayes have it. And now we'll go to 6C.

6C, I'm going to move for approval that the Chamber of Commerce and Metro Leadership visit the Council. Okay.

Second.

Okay, properly moved and seconded. Myself and Mr. Moody will not be voting on this since we're the ones traveling. All right, any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say aye.

Aye. Opposed?

Ayes have it. Okay. Moving on to Section 7, Committee Records. A through G. I'll probably move to second at any discussion. Mr. Wehrman? Yes, sir.

Mr. Chairman, I understand that some of the language in the Historic Preservation Commission recommendation talks about the administrator and the county attorney reviewing any potential changes to the ordinance. I think we had some discussion, and I think the entire intent, I don't think we even need to formally amend this, but I think the intent would certainly be to include planning staff, particularly those who are familiar with these issues, in those discussions. I just wanted to make that clear for the public.

Could you add that, yeah, and then bring it back to us for consideration?

Okay. That's fine. All right. Okay. Well, any discussion on anything else? Hearing none, all in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Aye. Ayes have it. All right. Council comments.

Who wants to go first tonight? Well, Mr. Kabrowski is on the phone, so why don't you do that first? Since he's on the phone. Mr. Kabrowski, he's on the phone.

Mr. Krasengard, would you please go first since you're on the phone?

Well, okay. I just wanted to say that with regard to the sale tax referendum and our decision today, I was guided by the biblical precept that it's not your duty to finish the work but neither are you at liberty to neglect it. In other words, we have a duty to put forward a plan. We know we have congestion and traffic problems. We have a loss of what we love. We see every day, as I've always said now, for four years, and we have a plan to address it. We went to those closest to the community. We went out and we got feedback from the mayors

input in the most proud that and this one we anybody that votes on it knows what they're voting for I was a strong opponent of the last one based on the fact that I thought that when people voted it was they it was vague and it was all based on one specific project because

This is for the next 25 years, and everybody that votes on it now knows the specific projects that they're voting on. They also are voting on a way, it's now or never, to preserve what's left of Charleston and our rural areas. And as I think Council Member Honeycutt said, it's a way to preserve those forever. I mean, long after people forget all the names of us who are on this project, council now and voting this, what we do to preserve the land for future generations, that'll be our gift to future generations. And if we don't do this now and the pace we're growing, very few areas will be left. And it's also a way to put areas off from development. So I like to think that we did our job tonight and this is also a test. all of our districts are are different. We all have concerns and neither none of us can get entirely what we wanted, but we have to work as together to do the best we can with available data input for the county as a whole. And this was a long, arduous process where there were intense debates, some even tonight as to how to put something together. We've done that and it's now up for the.

the people of charleston to vote on it we've done our job and now it's for the people to decide thank you and if i may say at this point in the proceedings we no comments for or against the potential referendum uh from the dais so yeah you can't you can't control anyone the opponent of it right and the ethics violation i just want to just cautionary on that um miss honeycutt would you like to go next

Yes. First of all, I want to say just thank you to our staff. There's been some incredible work going on lately. I want to especially recognize Ms. Ramage, who called and left me a message about an animal control issue. I appreciate all the passionate advocates who spoke today and just know that we are diligently working on how we can resolve that. But there was specifically in my district an animal that was loose and needed to be taken care of, and I appreciate her taking the time to get with me and the constituent on resolving that. Thank you.

Mr. Moody?

Sure.

Thank you, Mr. Boykin.

I just wanted to follow up with some of our council members who are still here, Mr. Chapman, Mr. Tinkey. Mr. Chapman, you stole some of my thunder about some of the I'll call them vile things that were said about the Phillips community folks. We all have NIMBYs, right? We all do. But we heard over and over again, we don't want to hurt the Phillips community, but some of the stuff I read and heard online just turned my stomach. And I'm glad you guys stuck with them. And, you know, we had Mr. Evans up here a year ago, everybody, telling us that when those areas were developed out there, just the infrastructure destroyed 600 acres and likely 60,000 trees just to build the infrastructure.

Mm-hmm.

So Lord knows how many thousands of acres and how many millions of trees were killed to build the houses and the pools and the clubhouses and the golf courses and everything else that goes along with those wonderful communities. Yet the very neighborhoods that destroyed all those things were the ones raising the most pain. And that's just, I mean, it would be laughable if it wasn't so nauseating. It really would. And so I thank you for standing up for your community. We have traffic everywhere. You know, 61 was the 41 40 years ago. Savannah Highway. Go to Folly Road. Go to Dorchester Road. Yes. And then you see how good you got it over there. We've got problems everywhere because we've got a legislature that won't get us any money. And then they've got the nerve to interfere with our projects and try to slow down our permits and get in the way of our projects. I mean, the nerve. So I am just thankful that our partners stood up, the five of you stood up, four of them. I mean, that was just irresponsible in my opinion. So I want to thank you for being here tonight and for taking that courageous step. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Sure.

Mr. Wehrman.

Listen, given ethics laws, I'll keep it brief. I think we've gotten a lot done today, and I think we've gotten a lot done throughout this process, and it's going to be up to the people of Charleston County to decide now. I won't speak on it anymore from Deus. Okay. Mr. Darby?

Capital letters, digital, from Mr. Moody. Well said, sir. I couldn't have said it any better. Thank you so very much. Mr. Chairman, I'm not one to wear a it had at governmental meetings, sir, but I must admit with all veracity that your chairmanship has grown greatly.

Yes.

And I'm very appreciative of it. Your temperament dictates that we have great meetings, sir, and you have improved in the short time you've been there. I hope that you continue, sir, because I really admire you in the position how you handle council, sir.

Thank you so very much for those kind words. Mr. Pryor.

and thank you to our staff members and transportation all along nights all long meetings all the meetings with other municipalities to make this happen and move forward mr. Tinky and mr. Chapman thank you all too And Mr. Dinkey, when we met, me and you and Mr. Darby, and I think Mr. Brownstein was with us too, you know, we met for lunch. And you asked some questions on how me and Mr. Darby felt and, you know, what would, you know, look like in the settlement communities. And we shared those with you and looked like you did your homework. And I applaud you. And, Mr. Chapman, you've always been a man of reason. You know, we agree. 99.9%. But I think there's one thing we might disagree on. But, you know, we disagree to disagree respectfully. But I appreciate your passion as well. And the time will be better off and better served. You know, some of us may be on council. Some of us will be able to see it. But, you know, the folks who are against it will be the first to drive it. And so, you know, I hope they remember that when they drive it. Or either just get stuck in traffic and don't drive it because they didn't want it. But the Phillips community are good people. Mr. Habershan is great. And the compromise that they made, I mean, they did a great compromise, and I applaud them as well. So, again, thank you, Mr. Chairman, too. Mr. Sass, you did a lot of homework. You had a lot of pressure, but it worked out, and it worked out for the right reason. So thank you, Mr. Chairman. You know, Joe would call when anything popped off. But today, I got so many calls. I was like, man, my screen time is going to be up this week. But I applaud you all, and thank you all so much for what everybody, Mr. Tootin and his staff, has done. And one other thing, Mr. Smalls, I want to text you a number tomorrow. The fairground people reached out to me about that sign that they have. They want to change the inside. I call it the guts, but, you know, the inside. They want to make it digital. They're not going to move the poles. And they want to meet with you and your planning department to tell them what they need to do. So I told them I'm not going to get in there, but I'll just give you his number. You can call him and set up an appointment. And please do whatever it takes with the digital sign. You know, they're not going to move the poles. They just want to change the insert, you know, to get away from the laddering.

that way they can put amber alerts and all those other stuff on the sign as well too so i'll text it to you in the morning sir thank you mr chairman sure mr sass thank you thank you mr chairman um i'd like to say for the record that that i think we learned a lot of lessons a couple of years ago and the effort that was put put together this time was an incredible effort with all these communities, all our staffs, the hired folks that helped us, the engineers, all the consultants. What an incredible job everybody did. I just want to say, I think we all learned a big lesson. I think that this is going to go forward and get presented, and people have a chance to look at it, and we'll go from there. But I think we've done, we've got it where it needs to be, and everybody has a chance now to see it and to make a good decision. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. Sass. Mr. Administrator.

Nothing tonight, sir.

Madam Clerk.

Yes, sir.

Madam Attorney.

I was actually going to remind you all of your ethical obligations now that third reading has passed for the TST, but the chairman beat me to it. Otherwise, no, sir.

Well, Mr. Darby, I'm the luckiest chairman in the whole wide world to have this council to be part of. Y'all raised me right up here. You know, it takes a village to raise a chairman, and y'all have done, you know, You know, Yoma's work putting that together, I know it could have been a challenge. You know, what a proud day for Charleston County. From day one, this process has been all about the people we serve. And I'm so proud of our county for the unprecedented amount of engagement and response they've given us. I'm proud of our team and our staff for somehow taking $70 billion and turning it into $4.25 worth of projects. That was a monumental task. And, you know, I just think I get to work in the greatest place in the world. And I'm really excited about, you know, where we are now. And, again, our partners... with the town of Mount Pleasant on that TST project, we're going to deliver it. And I think that's just one of the things. You get gratified if you actually can provide what you promised. And just thank you all for the hard work of this council pulling together. We don't always agree, but we are very respectful when we don't. And that goes a long way. And, you know, just proud to be here with you all and wish everybody a good night.

Thank you.