City Council - Regular Meeting

Call this January 27th, 2026 meeting of city council to order. Madame clerk, will you please call the role? Council member Greg here. Council member Sheileely here. Council member McBride, Council Member Pokeet, Council Member Brady, Council Member De Allesandre here. Council member Wearing, Council Member Seekings, Council Member Tinkler, Council Member Bowen, Council Member of Hell, Council Member Scardan here. Mayor Cogwell

here. Uh, I was going to call on Council Member Brady to give the invocation. Um, is he online or No, he's not. Has anyone seen him tonight? Is he Oh, Disandro. Okay, never mind. Uh, I'd like to call on Council Member De Allesandro to give the invocation and lead everybody in the pledge. Should I just bend over like this? All right. Yeah,

on this day of remembrance, let us think of those that were unable to escape horrendous injustices. Let us think of those forced into horrendous injustices. Let us leaders at the local, state, and federal levels have compassion for those wanting a safe and hopeful life. Let us listen to these lyrics by David David Ben Ruven about one of the greatest humanitarians, Raul Wallenburgg. Raul, we thank you. We will never we never shall forget how you came to help us in our distress. Like an angel of rescue, like a shining star. May the Lord protect you wherever you are. We were so helpless, knowing not what to do, but unhesitatingly you ran to save us Jews. Raul, we love you, though you're far away. Raul, we want you back with us one day. Raul, we bless you for the thousands you saved. With your steadfast courage and the example you gave, we shall always remember you. We shall never forget. Your name will live on with us forever in your debt. Lost in the goolog, disappeared without trace. But here in our hearts, you have pride and place. Amen.

Amen. Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Well done.

Thanks. Okay, I would like to call on uh Taier Jud who is the chief executive officer the Jewish Federation of the Greater Charleston and um who woman who needs no introduction uh businesswoman and philanthropist Anita Zucker um along with other community members to join me up here on the podium if you would. Tonight we are uh honoring the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Whereas January 27th is recognized by the United Nations in the international community as International Holocaust Remembrance Day, marking the anniversary of the liberation of Awitz in 1945. And whereas the Holocaust stands as one of the history's most devastating manifestations of state sponsored hatred, resulting in the systemic murder of six million Jews and millions of other victims, including Roma people with disabilities, political dissident, LGBTQ individuals, and others targeted by Nazi ideology. And whereas the Holocaust did not begin with violence alone, but with words, policies, and the gradual erosion of democratic norms, human dignity, and truth. Whereas remembrance is not a passive act but a moral obligation that compels societies to confront the consequences

of hatred, anti-semitism, indifference, both past and present. And whereas anti-semitism and other forms of hate continue to threaten communities across the United States and around the world, making Holocaust education and remembrance urgent civic responsibilities rather than historical formalities. And whereas education, commemoration, and civic leadership play a vital role in fostering empathy, safeguarding democratic values, and ensuring that future generations understand both the history of the Holocaust and the dangers of silence in the face of injustice. And whereas the city of Charleston affirms its commitment to human dignity, dignity, pluralism, and the responsibility of local government to stand clearly and publicly against hatred in all of its forms. Now, therefore, I, William S. Cogwell, mayor of Charleston, do hereby proclaim January 27th, 2026 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Would you like would you like to say a few words or a meeting? We can all light our candles here. Would you like

I'm sorry I'm not prepared with words in front of me, but I can tell you that my parents were Holocaust survivors. So this day is very important to me. I have been in Ashvitz Burka now. It is it was so powerfully upsetting to be there at a time like we're celebrating and commemorating at this moment. I greatly appreciate all of you in the city of Charleston for what you do for us as members of the Jewish community. Your love and your caring and the fact that we are having an event like this today means so much to my family and to our community. Thank you for keeping us as part of our community because we have a rich heritage here in Charleston and we thank you so much and look forward to many years of working together and then to never forget what has happened in the past so we can never allow it to happen again. Thank you all so much. Thank you.

Absolutely. Okay. We have one more proclamation. Uh, tonight I'd like to ask Coach Daryl Kapton. Kapton.

Oh, yeah. I'm ready. And the West Ashley Junior Wild Cats teams and their coach. Come on in, guys. Come on in. Come on up. How are you, man? Good to see you. Like that medal. See you. Good to see you. Good to see you. How are you, man? Good to see you. Are you Daryl? How are you, man? Oh, champions tackle guys. I like it. Got the crew here, man.

You like it? Gentlemen, gentlemen, you see you can see you. See you. All right. Come on up, coach. Man, you got to get on stage.

See you.

How you doing, man? Hey, man. I see you. All right. All right, Wildcats. Whereas the city of Charleston proudly recognizes the city of Charleston West Ashley Jr. Wildcats for their exceptional accomplishments during the 2025 athletic season. And whereas the Junior Wildcats demonstrated extraordinary dedication, teamwork, discipline, and sportsmanship by completing the 2025 season with an undefeated record of 18 wins and zero losses. Boys are going to go to Indiana. And whereas the junior wildcat success extended beyond the field with 14 players selected the allstar team and 16 student athletes achieving A or AB honor role recognition exemplifying excellence in both athletics and academic. Whereas this outstanding season reflects the commitment and leadership of the coaching staff. Daryl Capleton. That right?

All right. All right. All right. All right. Kevin Gle Gers, Peter. Y'all got hard names. Peter Fami, Jeff Buncher, and Daryl Scott. Right. Let's all give the coaches a round of applause. Whereas the city of Charleston Junior Wildcats roster. Great. I got a lot of names tonight, guys. Adrien Yates. Y'all y'all raise your hand when I call. Okay. Adrien Yates, Aiden Joiner, Amir Kohl's, Bo Buncher, Carter Washington, Chance Moore, Carter, Connor Lee, Grayson Capton, Capton, Hudson Payne, Hampton Raul, Jacob Fami, Camille Smalls, Kyle Smalls, Mason White, Michael Lane, Maverick Mims, Miguel Kimber, Morgan Bernett, Amari Jones, Peter Fame, RJ Williams, Richie Richardson, Remington Herk, Herkham, Sincere Scott, Zayn Simmons, TJ Goodwin, and Wyatt Massie represent the very best of Charleston's youth youth through their hard work, perseverance, and character. Let's give them a round of applause. And now for the drum roll. I, William S. Cogwell mayor of the city of Charleston hereby commends and congratulates the junior wildcats on their undefeated 2025 season and recognizes their remarkable achievements, encouraging them to continue striving for excellence in athletics, academics, and community leadership and another undefeated season next year. [laughter]

You want to say something? Say a few words. I just want to say thank you for recognizing the boys. I also want to just tell the boys, man, I'm so proud of y'all and y'all season. Thank y'all so much, man. I couldn't have a better group of boys on the field and off the field, man. Thank y'all so much for letting me coach y'all. Amen. Let's get Let's get a picture with the uh You hold this. You hold that out front. Gota show got to show the golden sealer there, man. Boys up front. Look at the camera. Camera. Which one?

All right, guys.

See you next. Come on, you guys.

You're good. Good, man.

Not Good job, boys. Thank you, coaches.

Very well. I mean, yeah. All right. That's impressive. All right, we have we have one more uh presentation or recognition that I missed here when I was first going through the agenda, but I cannot wait for this one. So, um, I'd like to call on Councilman Wearing for a very, very special surprise recognition.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Uh, at the employee recognition breakfast, uh, last week, we had probably the most key person to the numbers in this city that we all know and respect that burns the midnight oil. She got recognized at the breakfast, but we'd like to call her up for a little special recognition right now. Amy Wharton Congratulations. for the guards to keep this city moving. And I think everybody around in this room uh appreciates and understands just how much you do for the city of Charleston. So, we wanted to have you up here, embarrass the hell out of you, and say thank you and say thank you. Let's give her a round of applause.

If you want to give a speech, you can. Thank you very much. I appreciate the recognition. You know that I hate to be the center of attention. So anyway, but thank you so much. I really, really appreciate it. And you know, I've been here 25 years. I love the city. I love everything I do. And I love working with all of my people. So, thank you very much.

Yeah. Thank you. All right, we are now on to public hearings. There are nine public hearings tonight. Uh, Christopher Morgan, you could join us and present. Get the slides going here. you, mayor, members of council. Here we go. All right. So, the uh first item is uh 2089 Savage Road and 2083 Savage Road. This is a recently acquired property that the city has for our future um uh vehicle maintenance facility, police vehicle maintenance facility. I believe we have a map here if this will advance for me. There we go. It is um adjacent to um an existing business park. This is an undeveloped property. Uh it is within very close proximity to I526 as you see in the red line in the middle there and it is accessed off of Savage Road. It would come into the city with the zoning of business park which would allow for that kind of vehicle maintenance and be compatible with the adjoining business park adjacent to it. Um and that is we had a couple images of it vacant lot and then we move on into some residential annexations. We have uh 1031 Terracotta which would come into the city with a

zoning of SR2. We have images of that. And then we have um603 Jasmine which would come into the city also with SR2. All in West Ashley. Then we have Ironstone Alley 2016 Ironstone Alley which would come in as SR2. And then we have um 4037 Kaolan Street uh which would come in the city as SR2 and then its nearby neighbor of 4045 Kolan Street also SR2 and then uh 875 Trent Street SR1. Here it is. and then um 1442 Edgewater uh drive and that would come in the city as SR1 and then 23 Furman Drive SR1 as well. Those are the public hearings for this evening.

Okay, madam clerk, do we have people that have signed up to speak on the public hearings? Um I believe we have two. There are some people who signed up, I think, that need to speak during citizens participation. These are just for the properties that Christopher presented. Um, so I would say around two.

Okay. So, give give uh each speaker a minute and a half. Uh, just remind everybody the rules of decorum. We're here to hear uh your comments. Uh, we ask you to adhere to the rules of decorum. If you do not, do not interact directly with council members. I will give you one warning. If you persist um we will uh have you we will ask you to leave the meeting. So madame clerk please call the first speaker. All right. Anthony G. Bryant.

We hope that the people on the side identify themselves for speech. I'm here to talk to the rules of the quorum. Um we're here to talk to the rules of the quorum before I speak. If I'm the minute 50, then I missed it. Supreme Court of South Carolina saying Anthony G Bryant, we paid our property taxes. Ag Bryant Group Inc. S760 out of Goose Creek. A senator authored a bill for for criminal enterprises. 223 Cor 29403 S85 is the threshold for juvenile juvenile street gangs from 5 to three. you if you look into Charleston County records that I physical the said address in my minor years I would qualify from August 8th 2025 until January 20th 2026 before you right now an author of a bill in Berkeley County we annex in Berkeley County the author of the bill was in Berkeley County we annex in the Berkeley County for Daniels Island for rich white people and Anthony G Bryant gets An inquire you made on him. I think the law about me. It's Anthony G. Bryant law. That's why I'm here to tell the rules of the corner. You identify this. You go to the corner. Who are they and why are they here for our speech?

Muhammad Dice evening. I apologize for the typo in the paper that I gave you and I will take time to correct the wrong in this writing. So I apologize. I do not have anything else to say tonight. Thank you.

Right. Was there anyone else who needed to speak to any of the public hearings? We'll have citizens participation later. This is just on the properties that Christopher just presented. I think that's all we have. So move one through nine. Second. Motion made. Probably second to accept um items one through nine. Um any further discussion? If none, all those in favor signify by saying I. I. Opposed. I. Eyes have it. Uh moving on, we are now on to uh council minutes. Motion made, properly seconded. Any further discussion? If none, all those in favor signify by saying I.

Opposed? Have it. We're now on to citizens participation period. Madam clerk, how many people do we have signed up on this one? All right, we have about six. All right, we'll keep it at a minute and a half. Uh, again, just remind people of the rules of decorum and look forward to hearing from uh you all. Madam clerk, please call the first.

All right. Anthony G. Bryant. think that my mom and daddy paid for that house in 1968 for the three boys and to be said humiliated at my door. I'm not like no preacher. I'm not going to be praying with nobody. You come to my daddy door with this out of Berkeley County. the senator out of Williamsburg County, your brother on this law. Our young people in this city are poor and have nothing. You put three of them together in a fight downtown, all them going to jail and their parents. They're a felon, but they're a felon in the city of Charleston. They'll go to jail under this law. I'm here to submit to you that I'm not going to let that go down in my block on North Charleston with high school there. People are catching. They can't even afford Jesus no more around. They can't afford rent. They can't afford nothing. They can't afford God. And I bear witness to you today that I'll stand tall of that. My father raised the man, not a boy at that house. I'll stand tall of that. You understand me? There will be no marching and preaching over me. Muhammad Dice.

Frank Walsh.

Thank you. Frank Walsh, 22-year resident of South Carolina and Charleston. Last Friday night, my wife and I attended the symphony at with us was a couple. He's blind. The Galeyard, the average age there at the symphony is about 110. Uh the building itself has staircases. It was probably built before ADA. It's probably ATA compliant. However, given the age of the people who attend there, it's very difficult place to empty. There was a fire alarm. Um if it had been a real alarm, I wouldn't be here to talk today. I was one of the last people out. It took quite a while. like to talk to somebody later on another day about what can be done and what we saw as wrong. Not going to take your time now. Thank you. And the next speaker um I believe the first name is James. They're here to speak on CarMax. Hello. Uh, James Rogers. Um, I've lived in Charleston since 1967 in a Melrose subdivision. Since then, I've got married and and moved back to Melrose in 1989. Before there was a Lexus dealership to the south of me and a CarMax to the north of me. Um, actually I don't have a problem with neither one except that the entrance to Lexus is on Melrose Drive and and there's a slew of traffic that um is used by employees um people doing uh maintenance on the cars there and test

driving them and such. Um, and then before Lexus was CarMax and CarMax, once again, I don't have a problem with CarMax, but they put the entrance right across the street from Edetoan Avenue. They didn't put it out on Savannah Highway. Actually, that's the only entrance into CarMax is from Sav Savage Drove, which is adjacent to the end of Edana Avenue. So, what type of traffic do we get from this track of trailers hauling cars that use Edetoan Avenue all the time? I got pictures to to to prove it. Um, we've had multiple car haulers stop on Edetoan Avenue to unload their cars. I mean, how how how safe is that? It's not safe. It's it's a residential road. We have

time. Can I speak a little louder, please? give you a little bit. Yeah. Okay. Um no no um commercial vehicle signs from one end of the street to the other. And now they want to put a parking lot on the end E1 Avenue. Once again, I'm not opposed to the parking lot, but the entrance and exit is is now on Edom Avenue. The first rendition that we were aware of back in March of 2025 was on Savage Road, which we have no problem with. They want to put the parking lot. Great. But they they've moved the the ex exit entrance onto Edon Avenue. We we got too much traffic on Ed.

Brian Helman.

Hi Brian Helman. I'm actually here on behalf of CarMax. I think there are a couple other people that have signed up to speak and I could respond to any of the comments they have if it would be better for me to speak last or I can respond to any questions or comments anyone has here today. But CarMax uh is is uh annexing and right now it's in the county is annexing its main property into the city and annexing two other parcels uh as a way to deal with overflow. CarMax does not unload on Edetoan, but its entrance does, the curb cut does line up with Edetoan, and that's where this uh extra parking would uh would line up for better traffic flow. Originally, as the gentleman said, the entrance was on Savage, but through the design process, it was suggested to relocate the entrance for better traffic flow so that the curb cuts line up with Pedaline. So, that's why it moved. it works better. It actually allows CarMax more uh uh flow on their properties so that uh the deliveries will actually work better for the neighborhood and improve uh a situation that's there in

Thank you,

Michael Wiggins. Michael Wiggins and I live in Marrow also. I'm here to let y'all know that if they do put that entrance on the Edoman Avenue back in 2011, I requested a study. We have Long Branch and Shasbury subdivision that uses Manola in Merose. Go to Merose Drive, then take a left on Edan Avenue to cut through. They did the survey. 12-hour time, 1,793 cars went to that intersection. This was 2011. Now, they're wanting to put an entrance and an exit on Edetoan Avenue for CarMax. Like Jimmy said, I ain't got a problem CarMax putting a lot there. They're going to have 106 parking spaces. Put it on Savage Road. We are a residential subdivision. We do not need any more traffic on Adelana Avenue. Thank you.

All right. And that was everyone that we had signed up for tonight. We did receive two comments online. One was from Mr. Bryant, which was sent to council in full. Um, and then we also received a comment from a citizen who felt that the first amendment ordinance was excessive and interfered with their first amendment rights to freedom of speech and public assembly and petition. And those were all the comments that we received. Okay. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Um, uh, Councilman Sheiley, can I ask a question on item 12?

Um, just wanted to ask and and want to thank Mr. Rogers and Mr. Wiggins for coming and speaking tonight from from Melrose. I'm hearing from some people in in Melrose. And I guess I just want to ask the question of why would there not be ingress egress off of Savage Road rather than Edawan? Mr. Morgan, can you speak to this?

Sir, Mr. Mayor, Mr. Sheily. So, it's my understanding that there is an improvement coming to Savage Road, extra turn lanes, and so the county when they were working on that improvement suggested that the driveway would be better off of Edetoan than on Savage. That that would help with the traffic flow better uh to have it around the corner. And it does line up on Edetoan with their current access point. And of course all the discussion about unloading of things, this new expansion will allow for more room for that unloading to happen. So that should help traffic flow as well.

Okay. Would will the trailers will there be a way to control which side they come in off of on come off of Savage rather than going down Melrose Drive coming through the neighborhood with these tractor trailers? And Mr. Helman may have more info on this about the uh way the uh site is being organized, but it was my understanding the trailers were going to unload on the CarMax proper site in general. Um and this was other overflow parking on the Edetoan site for other vehicles and employees and things like that.

But for clarity, this is what we're considering tonight is annexation. And uh this will allow us the opportunity to review and scrutinize any future site plan that is proposed. Uh so this is the beginning of the process of design. So respect the opinion and appreciate you all coming out tonight. Sorry sir, that we had to cut you off. U we try and keep it pretty strict just make sure everybody can speak. Um, so we will have a lot more details to be flushed out on this site, I would say, in the coming weeks and months. All right. I understand. Now, it's already it's already gone in front of one board. Is that correct?

The planning commission as part of the zoning process. Part of the zoning process. Okay. And and there was a layout of the ingress egress at that meeting. No, planning commission didn't look at that. I think there was something that may have been presented to the neighborhood that originally did show an access from Savage, but again, upon further consultation, they were it was suggested that they move it around to Edawan, but as the mayor said, it is going to be going through further review. So, there is an opportunity and I think it's important to make sure that residents are made aware of the plans for Savage Road that the county is proposing so that it's a more holistic picture of what we're talking about on this site.

All right. Well, I I would like to suggest that we have a community meeting with that Melrose Long Branch um subdivision um before we go too far with it. It's a good idea. Okay. Thank you. Any further questions on these topics? [sighs] If not, we will move on to where am I? Ways and means. Motion made, properly seconded. Any further discussion? All ways and means. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. I. Eyes have it. We are on to second reading.

Move 1 through 12. 9, 10, and 12 as amended. Nine. I got 3, eight, and 14 as amended. You got a typo. I got an old I got an old form. I got it right here. Okay. Forget what I said. Strike that correct. 12 9 um 10 and 12 as amended. So Mr. Se council member seeking's motion we have a second motion made properly seconded. All those in favor signify by saying I. I opposed. Eyes have it. Um can we get a third reading on this? Move for third reading and ratification. Second.

Motion made probably seconded. No further discussion. All those in favor signify saying I. I. Let's have it. Um, moving right along, guys, so I got to slow down a little bit. Um, we have one bill up for uh first reading, which is right of way of CWS. We have a motion made, properly seconded. All those any further discussion on this you're welcome to discuss it. If not all those in favor please signify by saying I

I

opposed. Eyes have it. Good. Okay. Hey. Yep. Y'all could just hum the Jeopardy theme song. I would appreciate it. Any further comments, questions from council? If none, that concludes our business. The next meeting will be on Tuesday, February the 10th.