County Council - Regular Meeting

Okay, let's see. Ready? Does everybody look like they're ready here? All right, so I was waiting for our streaming to come up, so it's up. So let's call this meeting to order. Appreciate everybody being here tonight. We're going to start with the invocation. followed by the pledge. And I'll be leading the invocation tonight. But before we do that, let me say that at the beginning, I'm going to ask for a moment of silence for Beverly Clyburn. For those who may not know Beverly Clyburn, she's the wife of our House representative in South Carolina, Bill Clyburn. And Bill just announced about two weeks ago he's retiring after the end of this year in the legislature. Beverly was a friend to a lot of us in here. She's a former Aiken City Council member for decades. And so I would like for us to start with a moment of silence for Beverly Clyburn. If everybody will please stand. Heavenly Father, we come to you tonight to ask you first blessings for the Clyburn family in this time of grief, Lord. We know you'll be with them and give them peace. Lord, we come to you tonight also with a heart of thanksgiving. Thank you for the many blessings that abound for us thanks to you. We ask you to continue to bless us, our county, and our citizens. Give us wisdom, Lord, to express ourselves strongly but with grace. We ask you to give us patience and vision that comes only from you. We pray for your continued safety and prosperity for our county and our citizens. And please, Lord, take us home safely tonight. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Please join us for the pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the All right, council. Next on the agenda is the approval of the agenda. And I do have some changes tonight that I'm going to recommend. First, the approval of the minutes. I recommend we take that off the agenda because our clerk has not had a chance to get us the minutes yet. So there's nothing to approve. So we're going to take that off the agenda. Also, we need to remove from the agenda. Let me find it here. Old business number one, this is third reading of Ordinance 2526005 related to Three Rivers Solid Waste Authority and the changes there. We thought we were going to have everything worked out in terms of tonnage, and it's going to be in the ordinance, but the attorney and our administrator both have asked that if we can pull that because we don't think we quite got the agreement that we want in the tonnage part. I'm going to ask that we pull that from the agenda, and we'll take it up at another meeting. So with those two changes, are there any other changes we need to consider tonight, counsel? If not, is there a motion to approve the agenda as I have amended it? So moved. Mr. Tyler makes a motion. Is there a second?

Second.

And Ms. Ireland seconds. Any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor, please signify by raising your hand. All opposed? Motion passes unanimously. So next on the agenda would be comments from the public. So I'll ask the clerk, did anyone sign up for the first public comment period? All right. We do have people signed up, counsel, for the first public comment period, so I'll remind our speakers of a couple of things. One, this comment period is for agenda items, so you'd be commenting on something on the agenda. Second, you have five minutes, and if you notice right below where I sit here, you'll see a clock. That clock you can see very easily, and you will hear it when it goes off at five minutes, so that's your time limit. So with that, I will call up everyone in the order in which they signed up. So first was Gloria Bynum.

Good evening.

That was a fast five minutes, wasn't it? Just kidding, where she was getting going.

Good evening to each of you, and thank you for recognizing me at this time.

Sorry, she's still cranking it up.

Since March of 1st, 2005, we came in and talked to you all about doing something for the road on Highland Avenue extension. The road is, we had it scraped and we paid for gravels to be put down. And it's mostly gone now. Nothing else has been done prior to, before, The previous person, what's his name?

The previous administrator?

The previous county council representative from Aiken. Paradise.

Tommy Paradise.

Yes, Paradise came out and looked at the road. And he, in some kind of way, had the people from the highway department to come and put down some gravel and they paved the road right at the entrance. where you turn to come in and at the back nothing else has been done. It has been 21 years that we have lived here and the road is the same and I was told that all of the roads, roads where there are one or two houses are not paved and I drove around and I found two two roads that are available, and no one is living on those particular roads. So what I have done, I just made copies, and I'm going to leave with you for you to look over. And these minutes are from August the 2nd and March the 1st, 2005. So it's been like 21 years, and nothing has been done. So I would appreciate it if you would look over this and make some decision and let me know. And as a matter of fact, there are two families on this road now. The other family lives past these, not in the town limit. But myself and Marge Lazaro, who moved here from New Jersey, we use this road delicately. So I'm going to give to you YOU CAN TAKE IT AND LOOK OVER IT WHEN YOU MEET TOGETHER. AND PLEASE MAKE SOME DECISIONS. THAT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. NEXT UP IS KALISTA BRATTON.

All right, thank you. Thank you.

Good evening, council members. I'm Krista Branton from Brim Oak. I respectfully request the county reconsider and revise the identification of of who's qualified to do a tree survey under the definition section item S of the proposed tree ordinance. As currently written, the ordinance allows an engineer, architect, or surveyor to identify and document tree species. However, these professionals do not hold the specialized biological or forestry credentials required to properly evaluate tree species health or environmental significance. Accurate tree identification and assessment should be performed only by qualified professionals, such as certified arborists and registered foresters. These are the individuals trained and credentialed to provide reliable determinations regarding tree type, condition, and ecological value. Without this clarification, the ordinance risks improper surveys, inconsistent enforcement, and weakened environmental protection. Additionally, the ordinance identifies multiple categories of construction areas but does not clearly address industrial development areas. This omission creates uncertainty as to whether industrial projects are subject to the same tree protection requirements or effectively exempt. The ordinance should explicitly define how industrial areas are treated under this regulation to ensure transparency, consistent application, and equal standards across all forms of development. Thank you for consideration of these necessary revisions to strengthen the ordinance and ensure it's both professionally credible and fairly applied.

Thank you. Next is Jason Cole.

This is a public statement that was put together by our group.

Basically, I just wanted to bring to light the

bring concerns that I need to speak very plainly about the consideration of Edgefield County about the argument being made that Edgefield County does not need a separate enforceable mass grading ordinance versus the tree ordinance, that the tree ordinance can cover it. We feel that this is not a mass grading ordinance. The tree ordinance is not a mass grading ordinance. So trees are only one part of the landscape. Mass grading is a complete destruction and reshaping of the landscape itself. Mass grading involves scraping land down to bare soil, cutting slopes, removing topsoil, altering drain patterns, and permanently changing how water moves across and through the land. Trying to combine these two issues into one ordinance while failing to address the technical realities of grading is a recipe for disaster. And the most alarming omission is that there's no serious requirement for soil suitability surveys or hydrology studies. That is indefensible. Soil is not uniform across Edgefield County. Some soils cannot safely support high density septic systems, steep slope cuts, heavy storm water loads, or large scale disturbance without failure. Hydrology is not optional either. When developers masquerade, they do not just remove trees, they reroute water. If you do not require hydrological analysis, then you are approving projects without knowing where the runoff will go. what downstream properties will flood, what creeks will receive sediment, or what groundwater systems may be disrupted. We have already seen what happens when mass grading is not properly regulated. An example is Hollow Oak. Bare dirt, runoff, sediment, drain failures, and the neighbors having to deal with the effects of that. This is what vague ordinances produce. So if we can be very clear, Edge Hill County is not being asked to choose between housing and protections. Neither the federal government nor South Carolina requires vague ordinances to make housing cheaper. Affordable housing does not require rules. It requires responsible development, and responsible development begins with a separate mass grading ordinance, clear limits and enforcement, mandatory soil surveys, mandatory hydrology and drainage studies, and accountability before the land is stripped bare. Combining mass grading into a tree ordinance while ignoring soil science and water movement is not flexibility. Edgecoe County can grow, but it must grow with clear enforceable standards, not vague language that leaves residents exposed to flooding, erosion, and water contamination. My presentation tonight is to take into consideration the effects and the differences between pre-ordinance and mass grading. Thank you for your time.

Thank you. Council, that's our last person who signed up for the first part of the comment period, so I will close that and move on to reports. Does the council have any questions or comments on the reports? Hearing none, we'll move to the public hearing. There is one public hearing tonight. Ordinance number 25-26-006, an ordinance to amend the official zoning map of Edgefield County, South Carolina, by rezoning tax map parcels 174-00-00-071-000, 174-00-00-072-000, and 174-00-00-040-000. from general commercial to industrial. Is there anyone here to speak on ordinance number 2526006? If you don't have anything to say, then that's fine. I mean, if you do, that's fine. It's up to you. I don't have anything to say. OK. All right. Hearing nobody else, then, council, I will close that public hearing and move to the consent agenda. Council can see the consent agenda. Is there anything we need to remove from the consent agenda? Hearing none, is there a motion to give approval to the consent agenda? So moved. Mr. Moody made the motion, and I think Ms. Ireland must second. Any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor, please signify by raising your hand. All opposed? Motion passes unanimously. All right, next is old business. And remember, we removed old business number one. So now we are going to go to new business number two, excuse me, old business number two. And that is the exact title I just read, so I won't read it again. I will ask the administrator if there's anything new or different we need to know about this ordinance. I have no new information. Thank you. Comments or questions from counsel on this ordinance? Hearing none, is there a motion to give second reading to Ordinance 2526-006? So moved. And Dr. Kenney makes a motion. Is there a second? Second. Ms. Ireland seconds. Any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor, please signify by raising your hand. All opposed? Motion passes unanimously. Under new business is one item tonight. Consideration of approval of the first reading of Ordinance 25-26-007, an ordinance to provide standards for the preservation of trees as part of the land development and building construction process. I'll ask the administrator if he can walk us through this one, please.

Thank you. And this will take a little bit. A tree ordinance is a fairly complex thing. It's... It requires a lot of professional analysis from foresters or arborists and engineers. But before I get into what this actually does, I wanted to respond to a couple of the concerns. Number one, when you have an engineering development study, that's where the soil analysis, hydrology, all of that comes in. Right now, that material is turned over to DES. That is for their analysis. The second thing is what a mass grading component of an ordinance might apply to. No, it does not apply to industrial. Right. The definition of mass grading is that you substantially change the contours or the slopes of a site. And to do that, to build something with a large concrete slab, you have to do that, a grocery store, an industrial site, something of that nature. And also, that removes the need or that removes the ability to leave veins of trees. in a development, like an industrial development. You just can't do that and have an industrial development. And that's why we have industrial parks. We have areas where the topography is suitable for industry. So I wanted to go into what this tree preservation ordinance actually does. And it's comprehensive. It would be one of the most strict tree preservation ordinances of a county in the state. There are municipalities that are more strict. And then I'll get into the mass grading component. So this tree preservation ordinance was recommended to council for adoption by the PC, the Planning Commission, back in September. If approved by council, it will go a long way towards making new subdivisions and commercial development projects fit a more rural look to better fit into the landscape. It will also provide environmental protection and enhance quality of life. A few major points. The tree preservation ordinance has its most stringent requirements for major subdivisions. So specifically, and the largest part of it is that for major subdivisions, you must leave or restore a 30% canopy density. That means if you looked from up above, 30% of the site would be covered in tree canopy. There will be trees required on each lot of the development. you must have a 50-foot vegetative buffer on the main frontage road, where the primary road that the subdivision fronts. And if it is in an intersection where you have two primary streets, then you would have two 50-foot buffers. But it's not just a buffer of large trees and you can see under them it's a mix of large medium small trees and shrubs so it's a true buffer the goal is to keep the rural feel of edgefield county the sides of the subdivision where it might connect with another property or another subdivision would have a 15 foot buffer or a future phase of the same subdivision if they hadn't planted it on the same master plan Before any of this is done, you must have a tree survey. And a tree survey would be done by a competent professional as listed in the ordinance. I did hear a concern that engineers aren't qualified tree professionals, and I would certainly agree with that. We have made some minor tweaks in the ordinance where When we're asking that someone identify if a tree could be removed because it's in poor health or it's a substandard tree, then the engineer and surveyor would be removed from that task. It would have to be a forester, an arborist, a landscape architect. So I get that point, and I appreciate that comment because that's absolutely true. When you're talking about tree health, a civil engineer is not always the best person to do that. For commercial and multifamily projects, again, a tree survey is required. There is a type 2 buffer around the perimeter. 20% canopy must remain. And a type 2 buffer is a 10-foot buffer. Now, this is commercial. This is your fast food restaurant or something of that nature. maintaining the 20% canopy does require you to add either infill landscaping or landscaped islands within parking areas. So that gives it a more diffuse vegetated site than what a major subdivision would be. And yet, we're still requiring far more trees than we require today. So there's been a lot of discussion about mass grading and do we need a separate mass grading ordinance. Mass grading is very simple. And sure, you could have a separate mass grading ordinance. But what we're trying to do in Edgefield County is for people who deal with our ordinances, we would like it to be clear. And we haven't always done that. We haven't always achieved that. So when a developer takes this tree preservation ordinance, this is essentially our environmental ordinance. So we do have a section. And it reads, restrictions on land disturbing activity for major residential subdivisions. And in parentheses, it says to be added. So what that means is the Planning Commission will be considering staff's proposed language at their next meeting. Staff's proposed language was informed by the previous planning commission meeting, of which I attended at the study session, and we talked about these things. And I would like to, for the benefit of the public and for council, to read the requirements we're putting in here. It says, major residential subdivision development should be adapted to the natural contours of the land. Mass grading of large residential subdivisions should be limited to road right of way, public utility easements, stormwater detention retention facilities, and to no more than five concurrent lots. The language we talked about from someone else's ordinance at the Planning Commission meeting had 15 concurrent lots. But if you're going to allow 15 concurrent lots to be mass graded in one lift, then you're not really limiting mass grading. This one's very important because we have seen this lately. Cut and fill slopes should be no steeper than two feet long to one foot vertical. This shall also apply to detention and retention ponds. Why? Because our staff has to mow detention and retention ponds. And we have allowed some of these to be built with far too steep slopes for safety of the employees. And a big one, and a very important one, from years of my experience as a construction inspector. We're requiring that topsoil strip during construction must be stockpiled and reapplied to disturbed areas during final grading and prior to final grassing. In all too many subdivisions, and you'll see a lot of these in North Augusta, in red clay country on our side, they will grade these lots They will compact them with machinery, build the house, lay sod on the subsoil with no nutrition, run irrigation, roll the sod in with an asphalt roller, and then your water is going on your neighbor's property. And it creates complaints after complaints. So we will require topsoil preservation, sadly, in some of our sites. We don't have a lot of topsoil, but where we do, we need to preserve that. Some of that was done at the law enforcement center, and it worked very well. I would disagree that we need a separate mass grading ordinance. We need good mass grading regulations. And that's what this is. It's very clear for the developer. And importantly, it will be very clear for our inspectors when they go out on site to look at these developments. So I would recommend that council give approval to first reading of this ordinance. It took a lot of work. I know there were complaints that we spent a long time getting this through, but this is a very complicated ordinance. But I think it's a very important one, too. If the stated goal is to have a rural feel to developments in Edgeville County, this will go a long way towards that. Any questions?

Questions from council?

So this that you were saying to be added, that won't be added tonight, it'll be after. Y'all discuss it in PC and then it'll come back for second reading for the edition.

That is correct. I just wanted to do it for your benefit so you will know where it would fit in if the Planning Commission recommends that for approval and wanted the public to hear it because there's been a lot of discussion about it and I think So if you think about a site, let's say a 100-acre site, and you want 30% canopy preservation, you've just precluded a lot of mass grading. But if you can make sure that lots are mass graded and no more than five lot lifts, then the lots will then follow the topography of the landscape. That allows you to keep more trees throughout the site instead of saying, no, I want to do the required buffers, and then I want to just leave 10 more acres in the corner. You would really like to have veins of trees throughout the site and make it look more natural. And I think this would allow that to happen. Of course, you have to mass grade for roads. are going to put in storm, you're going to put pipes in bottoms, you're going to change the topography of the land. And of course, when you build a detention pond, you're changing the topography of the land. So mass grading in and of itself can never be banned. As long as we have stormwater requirements and road building, it will be here. But we can make it fit in with the landscape. And mass grading is not in and of itself, bad. Water can move slower on flat land, but mass grading without topsoil preservation and things of that nature is bad. I think it's a pretty solid ordinance here.

One last question. The breast height, I know that is not subjective, correct? It's not my to yours. There is a standard measurement for that, correct?

I think it's four and a half feet above ground. That's a forestry term for cruising timber, but So if you just think about it, in the ordinance, we require 1 and 1 half inch caliper trees. You wouldn't want to measure that 1 and 1 half inch where the butt of the tree, another forestry term, swells to go to the root ball. and then you have a twig for the rest of it. You want to measure it at an acceptable height.

But there is that standard.

That is a standard. Anybody in the arborist field or the forestry field or landscape architect field knows what that means.

That's why I'm making sure, because I did not know there was this standard.

If it's not in there, we'll put it in the definitions going forward.

Thank you. I appreciate that.

So I wanted to mention, too, that I'm certainly no expert. I don't think any of the five of us are experts. We only go with what we see and hear. So I'm only speaking for me. But I've watched the PC meetings. I've read the information that they got, heard public comments there, heard public comments here. talked to the administrator and others about these ordinances and pieces and parts. And what I have found is that some folks want to say that a tree ordinance is not a mass grading ordinance. Well, a mass grading ordinance is also not a tree ordinance. And so I don't think it gains us anything by having a mass grading ordinance. So I will tell you that I think I'll call it tweaking the tree ordinance to include the pertinent parts where mass grading would be appropriate. It's certainly fine. To have the other, I think, is not a good use of our time nor our resources nor for the county to do that. And I will tell you that I'm certainly open to any other amendments and things that have been brought up. And I'm not saying this is perfect. Don't know if it is. But I do know it's restrictive. And I do know it's very restrictive. And I think you said compared to the state of South Carolina, this will be one of the more restrictive ones.

It would.

So I point that out because when Doc Hart was here at the last meeting or the meeting before, He told all of us our current ordinances for developers are among the most strict in the state. So for those who think we're not holding up our end, we are. But you can't continue to choke off development. And this is a common sense way to have development and have trees and not worry about some of the masquerading things that I don't think apply here. So I just wanted to put that out there for me.

i say one more thing we clearly are not experts you david though are an expert and so i just want to point that out for for everyone else you do have these qualifications you are certified in all this you are the expert and you've done this before in your previous life and so this is not new for you and so we have leaned heavily on you I appreciate that. I appreciate your expertise and what you brought to this discussion and how you've helped us to understand some of these things that are out of our wheelhouse. And out of, I think, probably most people's wheelhouses because trees, while we all love, or most of us love them. I know a few people who don't like them taken away, but I love them, certainly want to preserve them. But, you know, I don't have the expertise. I do appreciate that. But I just wanted to point out that you are the expert, and I appreciate that.

I would like to say just one practical point for having the mass grading language in the tree ordinance is if it appears that this will be approved, for example, if council were to approve it at second reading, we could then begin to bring in our Bristol foresters and make them aware of it, let them know about the opportunity that they would be possibly contacted by developers and they would need to be able to do this type of work. But also we would be able to inform the developers about the ordinance if they have not heard about it so they can prepare for it. Well, if they start preparing a development under the tree ordinance without knowing about the mass grading ordinance and then that gets dropped on them, We may have some developments that fit with one, but the other one hasn't been approved yet. It just makes sense to get this done all together.

David, I would like to say you and I had a long conversation on this tree. You have the expertise. I really appreciate you updating me and informing me on what's going on with it. I have no I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH GOING AHEAD AND APPROVING IT FOR FIRST REASON AND COME BACK TO YOU ALL, DO OUR RESEARCH AGAIN AND WHATEVER IT TAKES TO STRAIN IT OUT. I DEFINITELY APPRECIATE YOUR HARD WORK. YOU ALL PUT A LOT OF WORK INTO THIS. I HOPE THE CITIZEN OF THIS COUNTY KIND OF GIVES SOME RECONSIDERATION. THANKS FOR WHAT YOU ALL HAD TO PUT INTO IT. That's my opinion on it. Thank you.

It seems like we're just combining. I mean, to me, it just seems like we're combining the two. And I don't have a problem with that. Maybe we should just call it the tree masquerading ordinance. I mean, is that a big deal? I mean, it's just, you know, we're combining the two. Can we just call it? Yeah, I mean, the debate just seems to be, you know, having one standalone on its own, but if the same content and the same things are going to be pretty much covered, right.

I think if the public becomes aware that it's here, we're not trying to bypass it at all. The proposed language is here, and the Planning Commission may tweak that a bit. I'm not sure, but this was taken from the discussion with the Planning Commission.

Thank you.

Sorry.

There's two concerns that I'd like to bring forward. One of them is the 60-month wait period for development of land that was clear-cut for timber harvest. Well, as we all know, the timber business has pretty well taken a hit the last few months. Two paper mills shutting down. to sawmills shutting down. So what I don't want to see is somebody taking that opportunity to buy up a tract of land that used to continue to grow trees on, and then they turn around and want to build a subdivision, whatever. So I would like to let it go from 60 months to 72 months, because I don't think in the business world, in the development world, five years isn't a very long time. Because you've got a couple of years of thinking about it, a year or so of planning it, and then here you are. You're five years away. Just for a protection of some of the tree property we do have in this county, some down my way off Murrow Road, I would like to see if we could change that from 60 to 72. It's Section D under exemptions on tree preservations. And my second point is, I know we're running this problem with some other ordinances in our counties, the definitions of things. And so the things that you see in front of you that I passed out on definitions, I just want to make sure, and I've already talked to David, make sure we have the definitions spelled out, understood, and we have what's in the ordinance covered under our definitions, whether it be at the state level or the county level, because I know the word vehicle was defined about three or four different ways when it came to the RV ordinance. So I just want to make sure land management, land whatever, mass grading, land disturbing, whatever the definition that we use, I want to make sure it's defined on the definition page. And that's just the two items I've got concerns about.

I have one comment to that. And I don't like to argue with one of my bosses. But I will tell you why. the 72 or the 60 doesn't matter a lot. And that is because a clear cut that did not get a tree survey before clear cutting, if they wanted to develop before the 60 or the 72 or whatever number you pick, it doesn't matter. They would have to meet the 30% canopy with inch and a half caliber trees and it would be cost prohibitive to do that. They would need to wait until the term passed, you're not going to have anyone come in and try to do that. It would be cost prohibitive. Now, there is more lenient language for a farm field that's purchased. You can't preserve 30% canopy on a piece of property that has no canopy whatsoever. In that respect, we're requiring that they would plant the trees, the lot trees that we require, and have the buffer. So I think what you would more likely see is abandoned farmland. Developers choose to use some of that possibly. But I don't think the clear-cut thing is going to be an issue.

And, Councilman Moody, on the definitions part, is that something that we can take up and amend at second reading? Yeah. I just got it tonight.

Yeah, David's going to look at it and make sure.

Okay, good.

All right.

This is it? Yeah. Thank you.

Anybody else on council have anything?

Anything else, administrator? No.

All right, council. Then, if there's nothing else, is there a motion to give a first reading to Ordinance 25-26-007? So moved. Mr. Talbert makes a motion. Is there a second? Second.

Second.

And Ms. Ireland seconds. Any other discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor, please signify by raising your hand. All opposed? The motion passes unanimously. Next is our second comment period. I'll ask the clerk if anyone signed up for that. If so, the same rules apply. These are comments that are things not on the agenda. And you still have five minutes. And the clock will let you know after she starts it, I mean. Anybody?

OK. We'll pause for a second then. Mr. Chairman, I do have a written set of comments from if you'd like me to proceed with those.

Yeah, while we're waiting on the sign up, would you go ahead and read? We had a person who sent something in and asked it be read during this public comment period. Sure.

And these comments are from Scott Cooper, Sweetwater Road, North Augusta. Good evening, Edgefield County Council. I wish I could be with you in person for your meeting tonight. I'm aware that the issue of data centers may have the opportunity to impact Edgefield County's future economic development. The expansion or lack of expansion of utilities, energy specifically, will also impact Edgefield County's future economic development. Understanding this, I wanted to invite you and the Edgefield County Planning Commission, our members of each board, to register and attend the Palmetto Panel as these subjects, along with AI, energy security, and direct primary care movement will be discussed. This isn't only an opportunity to hear from national thought leaders, but it is an opportunity to invest the day with them, asking questions along with other concerned citizens from around the state. Included in the registration fee is a light breakfast buffet lunch. For our full information, please go to www.PalmettoPanel.com. We sincerely hope to see a few of the Edgefield County leadership team attend And the event referenced is a Palmetto Panel 2026, Saturday, March 7, 10 AM to 5 PM at the Brooklyn Banquet and Conference Center in West Columbia.

Thank you.

Thank you. All right, next is Bobby Boggs.

I live down off of Stevens Road, and I called and was I was speaking to Aretha on this earlier. For some reason, I do understand why, because it's cheap and it's free, but businesses have gotten completely and totally out of hand with taking these little real estate signs, advertising their businesses, and sticking them in the ground at stop signs at every intersection. You said you live off of Murrow Road. Down at Murrow and Martintown Road, The other morning, I sat there and counted, and there was 11 real estate, not for real estate companies, but real estate-sized signs that advertised everything from internet to spray washing your house to ditch digging to landscaping to lawn care. You name it, they're sticking it everywhere. I lived in Aiken County before I moved up into Edgefield County. I lived there my whole life, and I found out that there was an ordinance that keeps them from doing that. I don't know whether Edgefield County has that ordinance or not. However, Aiken did, and I got a copy of that ordinance and talked to the sheriff down there and found out that with that ordinance in my vehicle, that I was at liberty to pull those signs up and dispose of them properly if I wanted to do that. If anybody stopped me and wanted to confront me with anything, I could say, here's the ordinance. Take it up with the Sheriff's Department. And again, I don't know whether Edgefield has that ordinance or not, but we need it. Because I mean, the litter, it's ridiculous. I mean, we've got a beautiful county. During the storms, during the wind that we had last year, those signs got blown everywhere. They were in the middle of the roads. I need to find out, do we have that ordinance in Edgefield County? If we do, can a citizen take it upon themselves, if they want to, to assist with that process? Because I know people who enforce ordinances in the county. I know they're busy. I know they've probably got their hands full and they don't want to be worried about every time somebody sticks a sign up. But again, I don't mind helping. In Aiken County, I had five men in our church that all had copies of that, and we were all pulling them up. Those things are not free. They're pretty expensive to have made. I think if we pull up six or eight of them, and next time we put them down, pull them up again, I think it'll stop. At Stevens Road and Sweetwater Road, where the new Tavern Hill subdivision is. For some reason, Stanley Martin thinks that it's okay to take a sign, and I'm not exaggerating, that is this tall and is only this wide, but putting it on a piece of wood that sticks that high up off the ground. When you pull up at the stop sign at Stevens and Sweetwater and you go to look to the left to go to pull out, there's four of those signs. You can't see down that road to see if there's a car coming for those signs. You have to pull up and nose out there almost into the intersection to be able to even see if there's a car coming. So I've gotten to where I get out, climb up there over the bank, and pull them up and throw them down on the ground. I'll come home in the afternoons, they're right back up. Somebody at that intersection If I keep putting them up like that, somebody at that intersection is going to pull out in front of the car and get killed. I mean, that's just simple. And I've even tried calling Stanley Martin to say, pick another spot. Don't put them up there. It's unsafe. You can leave all the messages you want to. You can talk to whoever you want to. They don't listen. They just keep coming back. So with that, I'll stop talking. Okay? All right. Thank you.

Thank you. All right, council, no one else signed up for the second public comment period, so I'll ask that do we have any reports from council members tonight?

Yeah, I've got one. March the 2nd, we will be hosting, myself and Ms. Ireland will be hosting our town hall meeting, 6 p.m. at Sweetwater Community Center. Our guests this year will be Representative Bill Hickson, Senator Shane Massey, and Sheriff Jody Rowland, and probably invite Mr. Cadell because some people might have some questions about what we're working on. We'll just give a summary of what some of the things going on. Mr. Hickson and Mr. Massey will be talking about what's going on in Columbia that affects everybody, and the sheriff will talk about whatever he wants to. So everybody is welcome to come out, ask you questions, and find out what's going on. Thank you.

I would just like to give a big shout out to our emergency management planning that went into the last two weekends. We have had so much going on weather-wise. We had the EOC open, not this past weekend, but the weekend before. We had the shelter established. We learned so much from Hurricane Helene, and we have brought that forward, and I think that just shows the progressive thinking, and I think if we... you just watched the news you could tell edgefield county was more prepared than some of our neighboring counties here much bigger um we we did a great job i just want to commend you i know david and foster slept with a couple others over they manned the eoc the the previous weekend we didn't open the shelter but we had plans for one this weekend there was availability if people needed it we had a game plan going forward if that needed to happen they would have come here and and we would have housed people so we did have um plans in place and i just want to to thank y'all for all of that progressive thinking that planning that went ahead of it the roads were great out my way where roads are notoriously bad i mean the road conditions um they were They were manageable. We didn't, thank the Lord, I don't know of any injuries that we had, no property damage. Of course, we can't control those kind of things, but just being prepared as we could going into this, I just wanted to say thank you, and I appreciate it, and job well done.

Thank you.

Anybody else have anything?

Okay.

Thank you, council. I'll turn it over to the county administrator for his report.

Thank you. Councilwoman Ireland stole my thunder a little bit about our EOC and EMA preparations. I'd also like to, especially with the first potential ice storm that didn't materialize, the Sheriff's Office really pulled out all the stops. They staffed up. They were ready to deal with anything. EMS did as well. They increased staffing. And fortunately, it didn't hit us. You hate to be disappointed. It didn't, so we're happy about that. But everyone did a good job with it. Our EMS's emergency medical technician school update, we have 10 students signed up. They had orientation today. So our HR department had to do 10 employee orientations, which I'm sure was interesting. The South Carolina Office of Rural Health just gave us $4,000 to pay for the books and the administrative costs of running the school. So that's a blessing for our EMS department. The convenience center buildings, as you all know, we ordered four of them this year. They are all completely done, minus some aesthetics. We were going to go back and paint some of them, depending on what the attendance wanted. But they all have toilets installed, locks, cameras where needed. So that project turned out well. And we'll begin clearing for Northside Park in March, the playground equipment that was mostly ordered under PARD grant funds. has been ordered, and it should arrive in late March, possibly April. And that's all I have.

Thank you. Any questions for the administrator and council? Hearing none, thank you. My comments tonight, I just wanted to say I think we all enjoyed our annual and intergovernmental meeting last night that county council hosts. We heard from elected and appointed officials on various projects that are going on around the county. And they appreciate us hosting it. As a matter of fact, our legislative delegation points out that most counties don't have this kind of meeting, but they should. It's a great way to exchange information on projects. I'd also like to say we appreciate today's annual meeting with the Edgefield County Library Board and the council. That's always an informative gathering for us. And finally, I want to let you know that next month, Will Williams, the president and CEO of Western South Carolina Economic Development Corporation, our economic developer, is coming to our meeting for his annual report. So, counsel, we have a brief executive session on our agenda to discuss a personnel issue and a briefing on a pending legal issue. So can I get a motion to go into executive session for those reasons? So moved. Mr. Tauber makes a motion. Is there a second? Second. Ms. Ireland seconds. Any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor, please signify by raising your hand. All opposed? Motion passes unanimously. This should be brief. I'll ask the administrator and the attorney if they'll join us.

I'm calling Bobby. Right.

We can give you the code section for our sign ordinance. We're looking for that. I know it's Sweetwater Road. I'm not sure where exactly. It's part of Sweetwater, but I'm not sure exactly.

All right. So council is back from executive session, but to make it official, is there a motion we return to open session? So moved. Mr. Tyler makes a motion. Is there a second?

Second. I think Mr. Moody's second.

Any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor, please signify by raising your hand. All opposed? Motion passes unanimously. And we are back in open session. There was no action taken in executive session. And there is no more business on the agenda. So council, I will entertain a motion to adjourn.

So moved.

Dr. Kenney makes the motion. Second.