City Council - Regular Meeting

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How do I feel?

All right. Heat. Heat.

Hey, hey, hey.

How beautiful. Afternoon. Madam clerk, could you read the role?

Good afternoon. Yes, sir. Mr. uh Johnson, here. Thank you. Mr. Bailey, present. Mr. Brown, present. Miss Herbert, here. Mr. Brennan, present. Mr. McDow, yes. Mayor Rickman here. Thank you. Um um Reverend McDow, do you mind saying a word, please? Sure.

Let's b our heads for the beauty of this day and the opportunity for all of us to come and feel and sense your presence. We pause to say that we are mighty grateful for all the genuine gifts. All the expansion we've done in this city allow us to continue the efforts continue to move and prod us in a way that believe that leads to productivity. We ask it in your name. Amen.

Amen. Stand for the pledge of allegiance, please.

I aliance 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. Mr. Mayor and Council, good afternoon. For the adoption of the agenda, Mr. Mayor, we will ask council to please consider amending the agenda to include adding ordinance number 20260007 granting an encroachment to Larry Row for the use of the right-of-way area of the 3200 block of Amherst Avenue for the installation and maintenance of brick pavers, landscaping and irrigation adjacent to 3208 Amherst Avenue in Richland County. TMS number 13804140. We will be adding this to the consent agenda a consent agenda upon your approval. The first reading approval was given on January 20th, 2026.

Is there a motion? So, got a motion and a second. Any further discussion? It's an amazing street, Mr. Mayor. I'm sorry that Amherst amazing street. Well, most of it, right? With that, Madame Clerk, could you read the role? Mr. Johnson, I Mr. Bailey, yes. Mr. Brown, yes. Miss Herbert, I. Mr. Brennan, yes. Mr. McDow, yes. Mayor Rickman, I thank you.

At this at this time, public input, individuals are allotted up to three minutes to address city council about items on the agenda. Items requiring a public hearing cannot be addressed at this time. Mayor, we have three individuals signed, well, four individuals signed up to speak on item eight, which is a zoning matter for Leburg Road. It received first reading at our last meeting. Okay. Uh, the first individual we have signed up is Mary Bear. We will remind speakers that the time limit is three minutes. Hey, how are y'all? Hey, good. Yourself?

Good. More information? Um, I found out about this this morning that this was actually going to be back back up today. So, I'm a little I have contacted a family member actually of the cemetery. Um, she wish she could be here. She's in North Carolina. She didn't know about it. She wish she could send y'all a letter about it. I have issues now that we are hearing what's going to happen because we ask about the cemetery and my dad asked about a buffer from the real estate broker. The developer himself has not told us how he's going to preserve the cemetery, what's going to happen. Um, he was informing us it's just going to be a chain link fence and two parking spots. Great. But we still don't know the boundaries of that cemetery. And she does have the person that I talked to today um is a great great granddaughter of some of the people buried in there. And there I have a history now of the cemetery and there are Confederate soldiers and Union soldiers buried in that cemetery. So just keep that in mind. And like I said, y'all kind of said on the contingency that we got the buffer and the cemetery, but what we are hearing is from a broker. That does not mean to me that it's the gospel truth that it will happen because it's not coming from the developer himself. So,

thank you. Next, we have Mr. Terry Bear. Thank you, sir. Thank you, Mr. Gerald Waller.

Hello, everybody. My name is Gerald Waller. I live at 4308 Old Leburg Road. Um, talking with the realtor, he has said that they going to give us a buffer, a 20ft buffer on both sides of our house. So, I guess they met our demands right there. So, I just just that's all I want to say. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Thank you for being here,

Mr. Hank Mabberry. Good afternoon, Mayor, Councilman. Thank you for giving me this time to speak. Um, yes, I am a commercial real estate broker. I am representing the developer here today, Canary Woods. Um what the two issues that came up at the last meeting was that they would like a buffer around the residence and we have agreed to a 20ft natural buffer around the other two sides of the house. The other one we already buffering with the other canary woods for development. We are we have agreed to protect the cemetery. We're going to put a chain link fence around it. We're going to run a paved road to it and we're going to designate two parking places for the cemetery. Other than that, that's about all we can do. Any other development issues, we'll have to go through planning and development and get the normal approvals.

Uh Mr. Mabber, you going to do the similar agreement that you did in the past in the first phase with for the buffer zone? How did y'all do that? Mayor, we can I mean we can give him something in writing that's a 20 foot natural buffer right now. Whatever y'all did before with with the gentleman I just different last thing. Laugh thing is about a 6 acre green space. Okay. So we we can't give up not the same thing but you all are comfortable with the 20 the foot 20 foot around the other two sides.

Yeah, that's what we all say. That's what I say when I get ice cream too. Um, but if that and then the chain lake fence with with some landscaping I'm assuming around it, right? Whatever is required by Yeah. I mean, it'll have to have something required. Why? Okay. I just want to make sure we got to that point. I did have one quick question. Yes, ma'am. Does because DHECK has um they have guidelines. Is that a part what you need to have as a buffer? Is that specifically outlined under their rules or do they give you discretion on how you

My knowledge it's not. We're just, you know, unfortunately there are a lot of graveyards out in the middle of the woods these days and I'm glad we came across it. The surveyor found it and we're going to do everything we can to protect it. In that identifiable area, are there graves marked some? Yes. Okay. That's what they're talking about. Vincent. Mr. Mayor. Yes, sir. My main concern would be that

a lot of times with these older cemeteries, it's hard to define the cemetery from, you know, where it begins and where it ends. So, what what precautions can we take to make sure that we don't think the cemetery ends here and the cemetery really ends here? We're going to have to get a survey an engineer out there and just determine where any old stones or indentions in the ground.

Yeah, there was I used to be there was a uh trying to think of the name of the uh club I used to be a member of the one there was a there was a cemetery out on the watery um duck bottom. Yeah. just be a member out there. And they went through some really painstaking um uh ways of determining and they they really found out that the cemetery was much larger at the end than they thought it was at the beginning. So um I just want to make sure that we take all the precautions possible to to identify the the the the defined area.

Yeah. Defined area of the cemetery. I'd hate to get to the point where um you know we end up with with some pretty bad issue later on as we dig up somebody's uh grave that goes back 200 years. Okay. Um and and I may reach out to the former owner of Duck Bottom and just kind of get some uh information about uh how they went about that. Okay. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Right. No one else has signed up.

Approval of minutes. Item number one. Council has asked to approve the January 20th, 2026 work session and regular meeting minutes. Second. Got a motion and a second. Any further discussion, changes, concerns? Hearing none. Seeing none, Madam Clerk, could you read the role? Mr. Johnson, I. Mr. Bailey, yes. Mr. Brown. Yes. Miss Herbert. I. Mr. Brennan. Yes. Mr. McDow. Yes. Mayor Rickman. Hi. Thank you.

Moving into presentations. Item number two, CBondo Black Business Day Proclamation. The Honorable Daniel J. Rickman. Mayor. Thank you. as we enter February and we celebrate Black History Month. Obviously, Colombia has played a major role

in in Black History uh for a long long time. And um we'll take this opportunity as as we recognize our black businesses here in our community. Uh the month of February is Black History Month in which black African-American communities celebrate the achievements made throughout the United States, Canada, and the world. The African-American population in the United States is 17% black African-Americans are the second largest minority population in the United States. Afro Latinos made up of Haitians, de uh Dominicans, and Puerto Ricans populations account for 2.5% of the population. The city of Columbia is a home to prominent blackowned businesses and alterations. Business services, entertainment, fitness, food, hospitality, law offices, miscellaneous, personal care, photography, construction, education, cosmopolit. The city of Colombia celebrates achievements, cultural heritage, the traditions of African-Americans, Afrolatinos, and Africans. And we will recognize events and festivities in the month of February. Moto Enterprises, Moto Crosslinking Business Academy and Executive Director Vanessa Moto established the first South Carolina celebrate the contributions made by black African-Americans, Afro Latinos, and Africans to both local and state economies and recognize their accomplishments. So therefore, I, Daniel J. Rickenman, the mayor of Columbia, along with my city uh council members, do hereby proclaim February 12th, 2026 is celebrity. Obviously, we interact with with a lot of our businesses, our office of

business opportunity here. Uh, Alicia Driggers does an Aisha, why I say Alicia, Aisha Driggers does an incredible job of bringing our community together. Uh, Sheriff Lot and I had the great opportunity to be with some of our Pan-African folks uh last week. Uh, y'all can now refer to me as an elder. Uh, I have been uh robed and jeweled. Um, along with the sheriff who got a much cooler shirt than I did. He got one with fighting tigers on it. I quite sure how to take that. But anyway, an incredible opportunity that really reflects but the deep history in this community. And you think about everything from the Civil War to the civil rights to to everything in between. African-Americans, Africans, and uh Afro Latinos have played an incredible role in our community, and that's what makes us great. And with that, I like to present to you all the proclamation, but please, and we know you're not Vanessa.

Yes. No, not even close. But I just want to take a moment to thank you, thank the council members, and on behalf of Motor Costan Business Academy. We are just the vehicle to celebrate every culture, every race, and of course the the Afro Latinos, African-Americans, and the people here in Colombia who are permanent business owners. Today we have Mr. Michael who's with Namu uh drum circle who's the winner of for this year uh creative business of the year and of course Miss Aisha Driggers who's actually um always supporting us uh you guys and uh OBO is again the partner of the year to in our event on Thursday. So we just are so thankful and thank you to the city for opening the doors to celebrate everybody.

Yes. Um, thank you, council mayor, um, for celebrating CBondo Black Business Day. We always love to work with our local partners to celebrate all the rich culture that we have in the city and throughout the Midland. So, just thank you for your continued support of our office and our efforts.

Uh, good afternoon. I just want to thank you everyone here for uh you know looking out for the businesses and the local community um and reinforcing our cultural differences and our and our um so that we can celebrate them together. Um and Namu Drum Company is a uh West African drum company and we perform all over the state but um I'm a local from Colombia and I just really appreciate being honored here in front of in my hometown. Thank disappointed you didn't bring bring an instrument with you tonight. Give us a little taste of it because it is incredible and hopefully in the future we can have y'all come and and do something because it really is uh an experience.

Thank you.

Thank y'all. Mr. Mayor and Council, at this time a me a moment of personal privilege that I want to extend to our police chief, Skip Hullbrook to make a special presentation.

Thank you, Miss Wilson. Um, mayor and council, um, it's my pleasure to introduce you all to, um, police officer Jonathan Hicks. Um, officer Hicks graduated from the criminal justice academy this past Friday. Um, he was a member of basic class 848. Um, he graduated number one in his class of 42. As such, Officer Hicks was a recipient of the prestigious JP Strom award. The award is named after the longtime chief of sled and is given to the student in each class who attains the highest cumulative academic score for all tests with a minim uh minimum score of 96% with no demerits and no proficiency failures. Um he represents absolutely the the very best of the best. This is a very demanding program. He's only the third person since I've been here almost 12 years that has received this honor. So, he just upped the um uh the GPA average for the department. We're glad about that. Um and we're very anxious for him to hit the ground running um this next week. So, congratulations All right. Congratulations,

Officer Hicks. We will proceed with our consent agenda items 3 through 7. Mr. Mayor and Council, please recall that we um adopted the agenda to include I guess I will call it item 6 and a half, which was the um ordinance number 2026007 and encro and encroachment at 3200 block of Amherst Avenue.

Uh we got a motion. Is there a second? Second. Motion a second. Any further discussion hearing? None. Seeing none, Madame Clerk, could you read the role? Mr. Johnson, I. Mr. Bailey, yes. Mr. Brown, yes. Miss Harbert, I. Mr. Brennan, yes. Mr. McDow, Mayor Rickman, I.

Thank you. Zoning planning matters for second reading. Item eight, an annexation future land use map amendment and zoning map amendment for 4316 and 4340 Old Leburg Road. and council district 4. This item also received first reading approval on January 20th, 2026. Motion for approval. A motion and a second. Any further discussion hearing? None. Seeing none, Madame Clerk, could you read the role? Mr. Johnson, I. Mr. Bailey, yes. Mr. Brown, yes. Miss Herbert, I

Mr. Brennan, yes. Mr. McDow, yes. Mayor recommend I item number nine moving into a period of ordinances for first reading ordinance number 20260008 granting an encroachment to Palmeta Citizens Federal Credit Union for the use of the right-of-way areas of the 1300 block of Sumpter Street and the 1300 block of Lady Street for the installation and maintenance of sidewalks, concrete stairs and hand with handrails, bike racks and accessible ramp, landscaping and irrigation adjacent to 1300 and 1310 Sumpter Street and 1305 and 1313 Lady Street in Richland County.

Second. Got a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Hearing none. Seeing none, Madam Clerk, could you read the role? Mr. Johnson, hi. Mr. Bailey, yes. Mr. Brown, yes. Miss Herbert, I. Mr. Brennan, yes. Mr. McDow, yes. Mayor Rickman, I. Item 10, ordinance number 2026 010 granting an encroachment to 604 Huji LLC for the use of the rightway areas of the 500 block of Blossom Street, the 600 block of Huji Street, and the 600 block of Pilaski Street for the installation and maintenance of sidewalk, seat walls, landscaping, and irrigation adjacent to 604 Huji Street in Richland County.

A motion and a second. Any further discussion? Seeing none, hearing none. Madam clerk, will you read the role? Mr. Brown, sorry. Mr. Johnson, start over. Reset. Mr. Bailey, yes. Mr. Brown, yes. Miss Herbert, hi. Mr. Brennan, yes. Mr. McDow, Mayor Rickman, I. Thank you. Resolutions item 11 resolution number R2026016 approval for acceptance of.13 acre and Kingsley subdivision sanitary sewer pump station from North Pines Development LLC.

So move a motion. Is there a second? A motion in a second. Any further discussion? Seeing none hearing none. Madam clerk, could you read the role? Mr. Johnson. Mr. Bailey. Yes, Mr. Brown. Yes, Miss Herbert. I, Mr. Brennan. Yes, Mr. McDow. Yes, Mayor Rickman. I. Thank you. Item 12, resolution number R2026018, amending resolution number R2025077, authorizing the city manager to execute a 911 communication center consolidation agreement restatement and extension between the city of Colombia and Richland County. So, move. Second. Got a motion and a second. Uh, any further discussion?

Uh, yes, Mr. Mayor. I'm I'm looking forward to work with the county on this. This agreement is really important for our constituents. So, I know we've had a lot of conversations about working closely with the county. I think this is a good opportunity for us to do so. Thank you, sir. Mr. Mayor, I would just add that collaboration is key. Well, I will tell you this this one, we really do want to land the plane on this one. This one's been a while. So, um hopefully we can get that done. With that, Madame Clerk, could you read the role? Yes, sir. Mr. Johnson, hi. Mr. Bailey, yes. Mr. Brown, yes. Miss Herbert, I Mr. Brennan, yes. Mr. McDow, yes. Mayor Rickman, I

thank you. Event resolution items number 13, resolution number R2026015 authorizing consumption of beer and wine only at Artista Vista in the 1200 block of Lincoln Street between Jer Street and Lady Street on Sunday, April the 19th, 2026. Move second. A motion and a second. Any further discussion? Seeing none, hearing none. Madam clerk, read the role. Mr. Johnson, I. Mr. Bailey, I. Mr. Brown, I. Mr. Herbert, hi. Mr. Brennan, yes. Mr. McDow, yes. Mayor Rickman, I. Thank you. City Council Committee reports, referrals, and new business.

There any reports or referrals? I have a referral, but I'm going to hold it till the next meeting just because I need to tweak a couple things. Um, anybody else have any reports or any new business they want to share? All right, Madame Clerk. Yes, sir. No one has signed up to speak. No one has signed up to speak. Motion to adjurnn. Hold up one. I'm sorry. One moment. Thank you. Fast, Officer McCoy. All right. We have Mr. Bob Prullis signed up to speak in regards to the climate showcase.

Climate showcase. Thank you. Uh good afternoon. Um and thank you for giving me a few moments to uh address you. Columbia College, Colombia. Uh it should say Columbia College, Colombia, but it says I um I have two two daughters who have gone to three different Colombia. Wow. And one of them is Columbia College in Colombia, one of them is Columbia College in Chicago, and the other one's Columbia University. So, wow.

You know, it it makes it easy to remember where they went. Um anyway, I just wanted to uh to tell you that in the lobby right now is a showcase of a number of youth climate projects that were funded by a Bloomberg grant that was um that really came here as a result of uh Mayor Rickenman's attendance of one of the uh climate uh international climate conferences a couple of years ago. So, we've got a number of really impressive young people who are talking about the work that they've been doing in the city to make the city better. And I would really just like to invite all of you and all of you to uh uh to to come and talk to these folks as you're filtering out of this meeting. Uh because I think it's really going to be worth it. uh if

you get an opportunity, stop by uh the lobby downstairs and take a check uh check out uh all the projects. A lot of young people put a lot of effort and it's it's it's actually great to engage with them and listen to them about what they've done and how how excited they were to win the grant, but also then able to actually execute their project. So, I encourage you all take a few minutes on your way out today. Thank you. Thank you. No one else has signed up. Mayor,

well, I say we adjourn. Second, I got a motion, a triple second. And uh Madame Clerk, could you read the role? Mr. Johnson, Mr. Bailey, yes. Mr. Brown, yes. Miss Herbert, I. Mr. Brennan, yes. And Mr. McDow, Mayor Rickman, I. Thank you. Daniel welcome.