Town Council - Regular Meeting

Thank you for joining us in our beautiful new council chambers. It's not brand new, but it's refurbished to a new that I find extremely pleasing for the town of Fort Mill. Before we begin our meeting, I would very much like to thank our staff, Carrie Vargo, our manager, Chris Pettit, assistant manager, Gordon Burnett, Eric Davis. They have worked so hard to pull this together. Brett, where are you? All right, Brett. We have a tremendous staff that has just put themselves out. Tony's not out here to be seen, but they have made this actually occur for the town of Fort Mill, and I'm humbled beyond belief. I'm an old lady, and I never dreamed Fort Mill would have something this pretty to entertain our public in and to do our business in. So thank you for being here with us this evening. With that, if you would, if you have a phone or a device that's going to ring, play a song or something, would you please set that to silence so that we can give you our full attention? Now, council will stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, and then Councilman Helms will give our invocation.

God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Father, as we come before you today, we thank you for the many blessings of life. We thank you for the many blessings you bestow upon us each and every day. We pray that you'll be with us today. Thank you for the accomplishments the town has presented to the people of Fort Mill with this chamber. We pray that you'll be with us tonight, guide us, direct us, give us the wisdom to conduct the town's business. We give you the praise and glory for it all. In your holy name we pray. Amen. Amen.

Thank you. and to celebrate this momentous um occasion mr wolf and ben would you um come down in front it's a dangerous thing to give me scissors

I can't cut this ribbon without the hands of all of my council members. They have supported every step of the way.

We have made this a preservation project for the town of Fort Mill. It isn't just to have a beautiful chambers, it's to preserve the history in Fort Mill. We're not working to go out and build glamorous things, we're working to restore And as many of us grew up here, we are following the footsteps of those that went before us and standing on their shoulders to do good things for the town of Fort Mill. With that, everybody? Chris?

Ready? Don't put your hands in it.

Symbolism. We cut a blue ribbon and start a new era, but we're starting with the same principles and values that we've shared for the 150 years that Fort Mill's been here. May we all continue to love our community. Thank you so much. All right, we're going to begin with some really great presentations today. Proclamation about our Parks and Rec 8U flag football team as state champions. So I'm going to read this, and then I'll come down and get to shake some of the most important people here tonight's hand. Whereas the Fort Mill Parks and Recreation 8U Flag Football All-Stars demonstrated outstanding teamwork, determination, and sportsmanship throughout the 25-26 season, earning the title as the South Carolina State Champions. Whereas the All-Stars conquered teams from Malden and Rock Hill, allowing no points throughout the tournament and securing a 12-0 championship victory over Rock Hill, an extraordinary display of skill and defensive excellence. Whereas the championship roster includes, when I call your name, I want you to raise your hand, okay? Or better yet, when I call your name, come up here and stand in front. Rhett Fields. Jay Hall. Preston Harper. Ace McDowell. Langston Winters. Melvin Minty. Zeal Lopez. Emmett Redlich. Tanner Marsalek. Mateo Brooks. Elijah Graham. Decker Stevens. Okay, I am missing your name. What is your name? Myles Wilson. Myles Wilson.

All right.

These young men and ladies, one more? All right. Come on up here. What's your name? Jack. Jack? Jack Heller.

Thank you.

So this is a beautiful proclamation to recognize the dedication and teamwork that made this achievement possible under the leadership of head coach Matt Fields and assistant coach John Hall. If you guys would join your players. Now therefore be it proclaimed that the Mayor and the Town Council of the Town of Fort Mill do hereby congratulate and recognize the Fort Mill Parks and Recreation 8U Flag Football All-Stars for an outstanding season and for earning the title of State Champions for the South Carolina Recreation and Park Association Athletic Program Division. Guys, I've watched some of these young folks play. Our future is so bright and so exciting. I will be one of the ones on the hill at each of the high schools watching these young men. They're amazing. It's incredible. So I'm going to come down. I'm going to give you this proclamation, but we will replace it with one that has the two missing names. Okay? Who doesn't love football? They don't have any right here, right? All right, I'm going to give you the preposition.

I'm going to let, can I stand with you guys?

Here, you want to hold the truck? Put the truck in the front.

I'll hold the truck.

All right, let's show them all the big smile when you catch the ball. All right. Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Thank you all. We love, this is the best part of what we do. So thank you all for being the best.

thank you thank you guys

Brown Simpson is over our Parks and Recreation Department. Back when we played with sticks and balls, Brown joined the town of Fort Mill, and I think he'd like to give a little bit of a presentation.

Yeah, I'm just going to say a couple words, Mayor, as we celebrate the end of the month of July, which is Parks and Recreation Month and the power of Parks and Recreation and what it does here. and our community, and of course we celebrate our 8U flag football team tonight, and we appreciate all the parents, the athletes, and especially our coaches. You know, they say defense wins championships, and when you see that this team went undefeated, it's a lot to be said about that. But I want to pay homage also, too, to our volunteer coaches because volunteer coaches play a big role in what we do on a daily basis. Volunteer coaches play a crucial role in our programs providing more than just instruction on the field. They create a safe and supportive environment where children can learn and grow, instilling values such as teamwork, sportsmanship, perseverance along the way. By dedicating a few hours each week, volunteer coaches have the power to make a significant difference in a child's life. And they definitely do. And I just want to, once again, thank Head Coach Matt Fields and Assistant Coach John Hall for all they've done for our team. And we are so excited about these young men and the accomplishments they made. So, once again, thank you. We appreciate your support. Thank you.

Before we give Brown a round of applause, I would like to say I've attended many of the games for the teams before they became the All-Stars. And I would also like to thank the volunteer coaches and our staff that works with them. These were peaceful, wonderfully competitive, but very respectful folks in an arena and a world where that doesn't always happen anymore. These kids always helped each other up, shook hands at the end of the game. They were happy for the other team. It was an amazing experience, and I really look forward to following this group of young

And, Mayor, one other thing. I do want to recognize Andropoulos Miller. He is our recreation coordinator in charge of our flag football program. So, drop.

Oh, I saw him a bunch.

Thank you, Mayor.

Great program, and congratulations. All right. Now we're going to have Hannah Dean help us with a presentation in regards to Palmetto Pride Recap. Hi, Hannah. Hi, Hannah.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Hannah Dean, and I'm a youth ambassador with Palmetto Pride. Today I want to briefly talk about the cleanup work I participated in, the impact litter has on our communities, and why youth leadership matters in keeping South Carolina clean and beautiful. I joined the Youth Ambassador Program because I care about my community and wanted to make a positive difference. Before joining, I didn't realize how much litter affects not just appearance, but also wildlife, waterways, tourism, and community pride. One thing that inspired me was learning that litter is mostly preventable and that small actions from individuals can create real change over time. I also wanted to grow as a leader, gain volunteer experience, and encourage other students to get involved. One issue I've noticed in my community is litter along roadsides, parks, and public spaces. Illegal dumping and trash near storm drains can hurt the environment and make areas look neglected. Litter also affects animals and water because trash can eventually end up in the rivers and lakes. It can discourage tourism and lower community pride. I think youth involvement matters because younger generations will inherit these communities and we can help set a better example for others. According to Palmetto Pride, South Carolina has reduced litter by about 60% since the organization was founded, showing that education and cleanup efforts really do work. During my time as youth ambassador, I participated in community cleanup efforts and awareness activities. These projects helped remove litter while also encouraging the people to pay more attention to the issue. One thing I learned is that cleanup efforts are more about picking up trash. They help build teamwork, responsibility, and pride in the community. Palmetto Pride statewide cleanups have removed hundreds of thousands of pounds of trash with the help of volunteers across South Carolina. At my cleanup events, I noticed how quickly litter builds up in areas people pass every day without noticing. Seeing the before and after and the difference made the work feel meaningful. This experience taught me leadership, communication, and teamwork skills. I learned how important community involvement is and how awareness can influence behavior. I also realized that preventing litter is not only about cleaning up trash, it's about changing habits and encouraging responsibility. Palmetto Pride focuses heavily on behavior change and education because prevention is more effective long term. One person may not solve the entire problem, but consistent small actions from many people can create lasting change. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak today. As young people, we have the ability to positively impact our communities through leadership and service. I encourage everyone to continue supporting litter prevention efforts, community cleanup, and environmental awareness programs. Together, we can help create a cleaner, safer, and more beautiful communities across South Carolina. Thank you for your time, and I hope you have a great evening.

Oh, Hannah, thank you so very much. That was well-spoken, well-organized, really great delivery, and one of my pet peeves. So this is an enormous opportunity that I see our youth performing things that need to happen in our community. Do we still have the second Saturday? Service. I love it. Thank you. We do have some organized efforts out there. Our Fort Mill Economic Partners. I know Mr. Wolf has, I think, Allen. Y'all have all been on opportunities. I choose to pick up that on the road leading to my neighborhood. As I walk my dog, I carry a bag. So it's something that is unfortunate. I don't understand the mentality of throwing things out the window at all, but I do know the compassion and humility that you guys have shown. and given our town a lot of heart. So thank you so very much. Council, let's get mayor.

I'd like to I'd like to follow up. One thing she said is get involved. And that's one of the things we always say, you know, this is your town to, you know, 20 years from now, you might be sitting up here, but just give back to the community. It benefits all. And, you know, you can set set a youth what a young woman may lead us. You know, it's a small child.

What? Well, kind of, you know, a child will lead us.

But to get others involved and understand the importance.

So great job. I love it. And I hope you understand how much we appreciate you. Thank you so very much. Myna McDonald will now address us about our summer internship recap. What a wonderful program, Myna.

Thank you so much. And I am just going to piggyback a little bit. Hannah is one of our interns from last summer. And she and her mom and her brother all have been volunteers with us for several years with the stormwater departments cleanups and Her mom is also on our keep Fort Mill beautiful board so that whole family They've got it going on and yes the second Saturdays We have those nine months out of the year and they are live and out there if anybody wants to sign up on our sign of genius They'll start back up in September So I do want to talk to you guys a little bit about our stormwater interns that we had this summer. I was blessed to work with Susan Brackett in the Fort Mill School District on selecting six outstanding young people from our area high schools. So they are going to come up and present to you all about what they learned this summer and a little bit about their summer project.

All right, take it away, Amanda.

Come on, we don't bite. Hi.

Hello.

Thank you for joining us.

Thank you for having me. I want to say thank you to everyone who came to support us. And with that, I'm here to say the week one. On our first day, we went to a creek called Dye Branch. And we learned about the history of it, why it's called Dive Ranch in the first place. And we went to Mina's favorite tree as well. On our second and third days, we went back to Dive Ranch and we fished for trash. We cleaned up the trash in the area. And we also found a tire that took a long time to get out and was very heavy. We also practice our activities for Stories in Shaved Ice, which is for that next week. And we also toured the town hall as well, which was very interesting. And a lot of history is here, I think is very interesting.

Thank you.

Hi there.

Welcome. Good evening.

Good evening.

My name is Vishnu Teja Mainani. I'm going to the South Carolina Governor's School of Science and Mathematics.

Congratulations.

And I just want to start us off with week two. So our second week was filled with learning about how the Fort Worth Stormwater Department gives back to the community. And one of those events is our Stories and Stereotypes event. We had over 75 people come to visit us, and it was truly an amazing experience. We also toured the Rock Hill filtration plant, and we saw how our water gets filtered. And to finish off the week, we went over to Sugar Creek, where we had over 30 volunteers help us clean up over 3,000 pounds of trash out of our creek.

Wow. Incredible.

That's week two.

Thank you so much, and congratulations. Hi.

Hi, good evening. My name is Emma Russell. I'm a rising junior at Catawba Ridge High School. And during week three, the first two days, we spent time brainstorming ideas for a cumulative project, which we decided finally on a website. And that website was created to educate the public about what stormwater is and how pollution can really impact our stormwater and eventually our waterways. And later that week, we were very fortunate to be able to take place in the complex preschool program with the YMCA summer camp. And we were able to educate 60 kids about stormwater, what it is, where it leads to, and how pollution impacts that as well. So I was very happy and fortunate that we were able to take a part in that.

Amazing. Thank you. Thank you so much. Good evening.

Hello, everyone. My name is Kayden Giannini. I am a rising senior at Nation 4 High School. So week four, the first thing we did, we went to the stormwater department day, or that was just like a day we had. And we were taken to some construction sites near Catawba Ridge High School, where they're doing all that, building the Walmart and stuff like that. And we learned about the importance of the environmental protections, such as the erosion controls, the site entrances, the runoff plan, stuff like that. Next, we did the wastewater treatment plant tour. So we learned all about the processes of how water from homes, businesses, industries is purified so it can be safely put back into the environment or reused. And it does smell pretty bad in there, so props to those guys who work in there. And then lastly, we did our water distribution day with Johnny. He's a really nice guy. He took us around Fort Mill and he showed us how his job, he like checks the manholes and the status of those. And we also saw the main utility line. We got to walk across it. And it connects our water from Rock Hill to Fort Mill. And we saw an eagle's nest while we were up there. And yeah, so it was a great week.

Amazing. Thank you. Thank you so much.

Good evening. Good evening.

Hi, my name is Vaishnavi Adusamili, and I'm a rising freshman headed to USC in the fall. Go Gamecocks.

Go Gamecocks.

This summer has been such a great opportunity for me to learn about the town we live in, and I'm so excited to be sharing my favorite week of this internship. On the first day of week five, we got to visit the Catawba Nation and see their progress in the restoration of the native river cane. The native river cane is really important for their culture, and it helps them weave their baskets, and it's just very important that they're restoring it overall. We were also able to see some of their hydroponic garden and their market system, which is really interesting. We spent the next day working on our project, and the day after that, we met with Kimley Horn to discuss their stream restoration projects. We also walked with Heather from Kimley Horn to see their work firsthand. This week was definitely a lesson in protecting the environment and learning that corporate spaces don't always look the same.

Amazing.

Wonderful.

Hello again. So kicking things off with the sixth week, we did some contribution to keeping Fort Mill beautiful over at Stiltree Park. And the next day, we did another Stories of Shady Dice event where it was a lot of fun and a lot of events going on at the same time. And we closed out the week by visiting Nation Forward Chemical Plant, where we saw how things work there and how everything is in general and overall. We met a lot of nice people there. And we figured out that Nation Forward Chemical domestically produces dyes for the US military, which are used for smoke signaling and cover.

Good evening.

Hello, good evening to everyone. My name is Tejal Guantavoina and this fall I will be a junior at the South Carolina Governor's Schools for Science and Math.

Congratulations.

Thank you. So for week seven we took a part in the Adopt-a-Stream program where we met Larry, very sweet person. We conducted water testing in the stream at the Greenway to look at the E. coli levels and we also hunted for microinvertebrates which are these tiny bugs found in streams and they live underneath rocks and we observed them. On Wednesday, we finalized our summer project and did a last run-through of our presentation. And we did a Vol and Thursday, where we went down to Dye Branch again, and we did a little cleanup. So on the next slide, you will see a QR code of the summer project we've been working on. We developed a website called Be Stream Smart. And it's an educational website for the public. Emma will explain a bit about that.

Thank you.

OK, so yeah, in the top left corner, it's basically our home page. We actually created a video interviewing people about stormwater. So you can go and look on that page for that. And towards the top right corner, we have three ways that people can contribute to reducing pollution in our stormwater. And then on the bottom left corner, we basically have our mission and just a little paragraph about what stormwater is. And then finally, we have on the bottom right corner the difference between stormwater and wastewater because we feel it's very important for our public to know the differentiation between those two things. So yeah.

Last but not least, we would like to say thank you to the town of Fort Mill for this opportunity, Mina and the stormwater department, the Fort Mill school district and staff for coordinating this for us, the town council and Mayor Savage for all your support, and also to the public and all the people who volunteered because you help keep our environment clean and also our town safe. So thank you.

The thanks go to you. Myna, once again, one of the best successes of the year is bringing in these very special young people to do the work they're doing. It is incredible. I am so proud. My heart's this big when I see all of you and know what you did throughout the summer and that you'll take that with you and you'll understand better. And as Councilman Wolf is right, I pray that some of you will come back and be leaders in our community sitting right here, because then I know we're in good shape. So thank you all. Dedication is off the charts. Thank you. Oh my goodness. Start with children and young people picking up trash. It's too much for this old town. Thank you all. Thank you, parents, for raising such great kids. Thank you, school district. All right. We'll move to item three, which are public hearings. The first public hearing is for the annexation of York County tax map number 661-000030 and 658-0000106, containing approximately 10.98 acres. into the town of Fort Mill and to rezone from general commercial to mixed use. Ben Johnson, if you would like to approach the podium, let me open the public hearing. Thank you, Mayor.

Hi, how are you? Members of the Council, I'm Ben Johnson. I'm a lawyer in Rock Hill. Been together before. Following these beautiful children.

Are we just the most blessed community in the world, or what?

But this is a big day for us, and if I may, before I'm going to get into the... sort of the mechanics of what we're asking for the council. But before I do that, if I may, Ms. Mayor, I have Jeff Schroeder with me from Atrium, Bennett Thompson from Atrium. And if I may take just a minute, Ms. Alicia Campbell, who is the Vice President of Atrium Health in Pineville, would like to say a couple of words.

We would love it. Thank you. Welcome. Nice to see you again.

Well, that's a tough act to follow. Wonderful to be here. And I think a beautiful reminder of why we're here and what we want to achieve. So good evening. Thank you for having me. My name is Alicia Campbell and I serve as the president of Atrium Health Pineville. I also have the distinguished privilege to help operationalize Atrium Health Fort Mill. It's been a long time coming, so I'm very excited to talk to you today. So I'm here today because access to high quality health care close to home is deeply important for patients, families, and growing communities. At Atrium Health Pineville, more than one third of our patients come from York County. For many families, that means traveling outside their community during moments when they are often facing stress, uncertainty, and urgent health care needs. This new campus will help more patients and families receive the right care in the right setting closer to where they live. And when a patient needs more specialized tertiary services, they'll remain connected to the broader network of Atrium Health, including Atrium Health Pineville. Our goal is simple, to improve access close to home while ensuring patients can move seamlessly to a higher level of care when needed. Atrium Health has been invested in South Carolina and specifically in Fort Mill and York County for many years. We already care for this community through our more than 20 medical practices, urgent care sites, imaging centers, and an ambulatory surgery center. This new medical office building and hospital represent the next chapter in our longstanding commitment to York County. As Fort Mill and York County continue to grow, the need for additional healthcare resources is also growing. The new campus will expand access to primary care, specialty care, emergency services, and inpatient hospital care, all in one convenient location. This space will be located near I-77 and Sutton Road, and the campus is designed to make care easier to reach for residents while supporting thoughtful planning for traffic flow, access, and future growth. The annexation of this parcel of land is an important part of our planning. It will allow Atrium Health to position the campus closer to 77, improving access for patients and family while helping to ensure the site can serve the community for years to come. I think this afternoon what you all saw, the kids and those beautifully spoken teenagers, I think are a great example of planning for the future and why this project matters. It's more than just buildings. It's about being a part of the community and supporting the health of this community. It's making sure that this growing community can create more jobs and strengthen our healthcare workforce, helping our families receive care closer to home. Our connection to this community, as you know, extends beyond just the care we provide. In fact, we have thousands of teammates and physicians that live in York County. We are grateful for the opportunity to be part of Fort Mill and York County's future. Atrium Health is committed to being a strong, trusted partner as the community continues to grow, and we believe this campus will help us meet today's needs while preparing for the healthcare needs of generations to come. Thank you again for your time and for your service to this community.

Thank you. Oh, thank you so much. I have to say, young kids, teenagers, and amazing healthcare, you're just as special, so we're kind of excited to see you go.

Thank you so much. Appreciate your comments.

We did not have anyone sign in to speak for item 3A. Yes. I'm sorry.

May I summarize? I think at this point you want me to summarize our request. We can wait until you reach it. No, no, no.

You go right ahead.

I hate to digress. These items are related. There are two small pieces that we request that you annex, and then you have to zone them. And we are going to ask that they be zoned mixed use and added to the existing plan that's already in place for the 83 acres the hospital already owns. So Chris, if you would, so there's a map and it's in your packets. The request that we have is just for the property that Carolina's, I'm going to say Charlotte Mecklenburg Hospital Authority, but I'm going to probably say Atrium from here on. The Atrium already owns what you see in red, the acreage in the middle section, 20 acres. and a half acres bought in 2011. And then at the top and the bottom in red, this property that was bought in 2018 from Crescent. So it's a total of 83 acres. And what we're asking to do, you'll see that it's really hard to see, but at the very up on Sutton Road, there's a spec. It's .05 acres. It was, I think it's just a map error, just a survey error in 2008. And you all did not, when you annexed the museum property, the Spratt property, this little .05 was left out. And we have our surveyors to thank for catching it. It literally has its own York County tax map number. So it was an oversight. We own it. We're asking that it be annexed. And then in blue, along the interstate, you all would know this is the Scott property, part of the Scott property, which Atrium acquired in March of this year. And we have a very narrow request is that you add these two parcels to the existing acreage. We are not asking that the current building entitlements be increased at all. that we would request that you put these two pieces that are in blue under the existing plan that's in red, and then we need to update the development schedule and the term of the agreement because of the passage of time. It's limited to the atrium property. One other thing I wanted to add, and it was important to the staff when we met with them, we're making some commitments to connect this property to the Carolina Thread Trail. These are photos from the trail, and we'll be doing that as part of this project. Penelope wouldn't let us get out of the room without talking about the Carolina Thread Trail. And we're happy to do it, of course. These, going back to the map, Chris, if you don't mind, these parcels are contiguous to the town, so they're eligible to be annexed, and they're essentially donut holes. It's confusing jurisdictions over... uh... what he who had service it would be more efficient and most efficient and excellent uh... and uh... we're not exactly asking for more building entitlement it just this this allows atrium to spread the development out it relax it more i remember this project from when we worked for Crescent years ago. The hospital parcel used to be straight down and straight out. Adding the Scott track is going to allow for better circulation. It'll literally be circulation and a major second access point on Sutton Road. So it'll have its own access. It won't go toward Mason's Bend and will have its own access point. As Ms. Campbell said, it will allow Atrium to shift the development more toward the interstate, which I think is desirable for everybody. The existing project has a traffic study. It's been a while. We are in the process of updating that study. We realize that would be very different from when the study was first done, and of course, That has to be done as part of any site plan, as part of any permits, and will be done. So the request is to annex these properties, put them under the existing mixed-use plan that covers the property that's in red, and the way we would do that mechanically is to amend the development agreement to make that the new site plan for the atrium property. Finally, the agreement, the term of the agreement would be up at the end of this year. It's an agreement, the statutes provide that we can agree, both of us can agree to amend it, to change the term, and we're asking that we do that. And we have proposed a schedule, build out schedule, which is still being reviewed by the town and by SCDOT, but we would have that as part of the agreement as well. Again, this is limited to the atrium property, which we are able to do and also we look forward to connecting it to the Founders Trail. One thing we learned in talking about the trail connection is that the current parking for the for the founders' trail is at the end of Weir Court in Masons Bend. Once the atrium parking is in place, that will be available to this connection, and hopefully it'll tend to take some pressure off Weir Court. When this comes up, be glad to answer any questions. Thank you for the chance to speak. Thank you.

I didn't mean to cut you off short.

No, no.

All right. Any questions for Attorney John? None for Ben. We're all good.

All right. Again, no one signed in to make comments to 3B, so we will close this public hearing and be grateful for the comments and the presentation.

it says close the public hearing all right we're going to close this public hearing that I previously opened before you were asked to come to the podium so thank you very much we're going to close that one and we're going to now open public hearing 3b public

I would not dare take the same amount of time as before going over 3B. For the same reasons I spoke about under 3A, we would request that we annex these parcels. And again, the reason for the development agreement amendment is to put the parcels that were in blue under the agreement. And that would form a mixed use plan, which is allowed under your code. It can be in a development agreement. And then we're squaring up the deadlines to extend the term and set a new development schedule. I'd be glad to answer any questions about that as well.

Council, any questions for Ben? Again, we did not have anyone signed in for public comments on this hearing 3B. With no questions from council, I'll close this public hearing. All right. With that, again, Ben, Alicia, thank you so much. We're so grateful, and we welcome any presentation that you might ever have to give to us. We're very thankful for your explanation and your information. All right. Council, you have seen the council workshop minutes from July the 7th, the council workshop minutes from July 13th. Are there any changes, deletions, or additions to be made?

Make a motion to approve the minutes as submitted. Second.

I have a motion and a second. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. All those opposed, thank you. Item 5, public comments pursuant to Section 2-46 of the Code of Ordinances for the Town of Fort Mill. Any citizen of the town may appear before council for the purpose of providing public comments on any municipal matter except personnel. Those who wish to speak must sign in outside of the council chambers prior to the start of the meeting. Citizens will be given three minutes each. And we will have Jeff. Is it Luongo? Did I say it correctly? That's great. 396 Sensibility Circle. Please join us. Welcome.

Excuse me, public speaking is, I haven't done it in a long, long time.

We're all in the same boat. Welcome.

My name is Jeff Luongo. I'm a resident of Mason's Bend. All of the talk about the hospital has a direct impact on us. As a homeowner, I'm very concerned about adding more traffic to an area that already has significant backups. going in both directions on Sutton Road as well as on Mason's Bend Drive at multiple times of day. School drop-offs and pick-ups and school events, the start and end of the workday traffic, trucks going in and out of an expanded Love's Travel Stop, Bojangles, Sunbelt-Reynolds, and the fire station that's currently under, land is being cleared for the fire station. A lot going on, a lot of traffic. And all of these things are feeding into a tiny traffic circle. And these are just on the west side, the things that I mentioned are just on the west side of 77. There's a lot more on the east side. That kind of led me to asking about whether a traffic impact study or TIA, I guess it's called, has been done yet for the property. And I spoke with, well, the gentleman earlier said that one has been done, but it's outdated. A new one will be done, and that's good to hear. And then Penelope, who I spoke with earlier, enlightened me on some of the some of the things that a TIA does and doesn't do. But I'm glad to hear that it's been done, and I think that it's of great interest to all residents of Mason's Bend, as well as anyone who uses Sutton Road on a regular basis. And I ask that it be made available if possible. And then I said it would also be helpful to see high-level building placement on the property. Our backyard, our sunroom faces the property like literally 200 feet away. So we're very concerned and interested in building placement on the property, including the hospital, support buildings, medical offices, and apartments. future apartment buildings that I've heard about, but I guess are not part of this project. And how and where the entrance and exit will be designed and located. And that's all I have. I also wanted to comment that I talked with two different people at Town Hall today on the phone and was told I would get, one was at lunch and I was told I would get a call back and I actually got the call back. They were very helpful. And Penelope probably spent 10 or more minutes with me on the phone. giving me kind of a primer on a lot of what's going on. And I thought it's a lot of times when it comes to, you exceeded my expectations in that world, I guess, is the point I was trying to make. So it's very good. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Luongo, before you go, I would like to say it is one of my proudest moments on council when collectively we decided to require TIAs in advance of us approving projects. It didn't happen that way 23 years ago when I joined the council, and it was a mess. So thanks to Mr. Pettit, Penelope, we've been able to grasp the importance of getting that information first. and to make the changes that are required. So thank you for coming before us. I can't imagine not having them. It would be a nightmare. I can't either, but we're one of the few, I believe, municipalities or governments that ask for it up front. So I think that that is a wise step that this council was able to take. And we appreciate you bringing your concerns before us, and I hope you always get a call back.

Thank you.

Thank you. Millie Havarilla. Hi, Miss Millie. I believe you live in Millbank. Do you live in Millbank? You didn't put your address down. I was just clarifying. Yes, you live in Millbank, if you'll come on up to the podium. Welcome.

Welcome.

I fully understand that you are not a fan of trash on the side of the road. Nope. And I brought you a bag of trash. I saw it. My backyard has a sidewalk. Our house is positioned where the high school used to be. And there's a sidewalk back there. And for some reason, people... dropped their stuff at my backyard.

Stochastic, isn't it?

So I was just asking if it was possible to install a trash can there and people could drop their trash in the trash can. so I don't have to pick it up, and it would just really improve things.

Do you have an HOA in Millbank, Millie? Yes. I would take that up with them since that's private property. Okay. It's not public property. I agree with you, but, oh, Lord, if we could just get people to put it in the trash can, that would be a vast improvement.

Yeah. And I have one other thing that is irritating. We've been here for, we're going in our fifth year, and Academy Street is a mess. And they make holds that out there. I just learned that gravel is common to this area. It was like the first gravel came from this county of Adelie. But anyway, it's ridiculous that they can't fill that up. And we have to drive through what sometimes it's deep because, you know, people speed through there.

I believe Academy's up for repaving in what year? 2028. Oh, my gosh.

Can we move it up?

That's what we ask all the time. Yeah. I will say that we are making a big push to address streets. There are city streets, there's county streets, there's state. So we are limited on what we can do directly, but the mayor is very active in getting whatever funding she can for that. And as part of that, as an active project, we're working, having some discussions on upgrading the utilities in there to prepare for that. So... So it's getting teed up pretty well. So you're not the only one. But we agree, we're trying to... do all we can to get some of these streets addressed.

Thank you for coming. Before 2028?

Well, we've made some headway on some of the streets, but you've got to realize we've lived here, several of us have lived here our whole lives, and have seen some of those water lines and sewer lines. You'll see on Monroe White where they had to dig it out because the lines were... would have collapsed. So we replaced water lines, sewer lines, and all that to prepare for that. So once it's paved, it will stay in great shape.

Well, how soon will the gravel be taken care of?

eric is this or chris is this gravel we've put in a pothole or not it's on the road oh it's waterline for it's a waterline repair so once that repair is complete i feel certain we'll we'll patch it so that it's not gravel yeah but it's but you know my i have to go over on the other side of the road

going home because there's a big hole there.

We'll look into that. We'll see what we need to do to make that a little safer.

They did a water line repair and on the right hand side going toward the golf course the gravels came out of it. I see.

We'll get that taken care of.

How about the trash can?

You need to talk to your HOA since that's private property. It is not public property. So talk to your HOA about that.

I thought the fact that it was a public sidewalk that... It's not a public site, is it?

The developer put that in. I don't think we have ownership of it. Do we, Chris?

We'll check on that. I don't know the ownership and maintenance of that, but we'll check on that.

I applaud your thinking that people would be kind enough to use a trash can.

Yes.

but the likelihood is they're just throwing the paper down regardless of where they are. They're not going to put it in their trash can.

Well, there's a jacket in there. I mean, somebody left something through the jacket there.

It's incomprehensible, isn't it?

But I really enjoyed the presentation. When I lived in Maryland, I belonged to Women's Club, and we would go out and walk the streams and make sure that...

We're very fortunate. We have a great department of people that do that. So hopefully we'll make a dent.

Okay.

Thank you. All right. There were no further folks signed in to make comment. We will now move to item six, old business consideration at the second reading of ordinance 2026-30. an ordinance amending the fiscal year 2526 budget with the amendment 2608 for the YMCA complex. Eric Davis.

Thank you, Mayor. At the June 8th Council Work Session, Council directed staff to proceed with the project and also expressed a desire to fund the project through a debt issuance of $7 million at an appropriate time in the future. There's been no changes from the first reading. I'd be happy to answer any questions that you may have.

Mayor, I need to recuse myself. Complete of interest with the general contractor. Okay.

All right. Will you get the appropriate paperwork or whatever he needs to sign?

Thank you.

All right. Nothing has changed since our first reading. Are there any questions that you might have, counsel, for Eric? Hearing none, do I have a motion?

I'll make a motion to approve an old business contract

Item A.

Item A, consideration of second reading of ordinance 2026-30. Okay.

I have a motion. Do I have a second?

Second.

I have a motion and a second. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. All those opposed, thank you. Old business item B, consideration of the second reading of ordinance 2026-31, an ordinance amending the fiscal year 25-26 budget to adopt an encroachment permit fee schedule. Chris Pettit.

Thank you, Mayor. This is an item that was discussed at your last council meeting. It establishes an encroachment permit for any contractors doing work within our rights-of-ways. This fee will allow us to dedicate additional resources as the amount of right-of-way encroachments has increased dramatically over the past year. Happy answering questions you might have.

Nothing has changed since the first reading. Does anyone have any questions? Hearing none.

I'll make a motion to approve Old Business Item 6B, second reading of Ordinance 202631. And thank you, Chris. Second. I'll second that.

I have a motion and a second, and I think we will all gleefully say. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. All those opposed, thank you. Much needed.

Gleefully.

Absolutely. Thank you for the hard work. Item 7, new business. item a consideration of the first reading of an ordinance annexing your county tax map six six one zero zero zero zero zero three zero and six five eight zero zero zero zero one oh six containing approximately ten point nine eight acres and to resume From the general commercial to mixed-use, phenelope is our subject matter.

Good evening, Mayor and Council, and congratulations on this beautiful room of the Council Chambers. As Mr. Johnson and Mrs. Campbell stated, this is solely to increase the property of the hospital site area and to create additional design flexibility for these two parcels. The properties are contiguous to the town limits, and they are eligible for annexation. The Planning Commission met on Tuesday, May 19th, and they recommended to approve this annexation request by a vote of 6-0. I'm here to answer any questions that you may have.

Council, do you have any questions for Penelope?

Penelope, so when this was originally approved, I read the documentation. It was allocated as MXU or zoned as MXU. That is correct. That was before my time on council. Just curious why that was allocated.

Well, again, almost 20 years ago, but truly a mixed use is when you have a diverse, you have residential, you have commercial. This property was also promised with a development agreement, the school site, the elementary school, future fire department, and just the recreational, preserving the frontage on the Catawba River, how we had the Carolina Thread Trail. So from the zoning districts even 20 years ago,

it was it was the elements was for a mixed-use development and that's your prime example of a mixed-use development i saw there was a stipend included there for 300 apartments which is and obviously that was previous kind of predates what the discussion is but that is correct there's been four amendments to the development agreement and i was just curious about that because that's not that might have been something that was interesting 20 years ago or whenever that's but you know apartments are that just when that popped out that's like wanted a little background on that all for the hospital i think it's a good fit in that area but that the I'm always wary of any growth that's kind of snuck in on a commercial project.

Just keep in mind, from a mixed use, the way the document is, nothing is set in stone for the apartments. It's commercial slash multifamily. So always keep that in mind with the conceptual plan.

Is that still part of their master plan?

It's part of the development agreement. At this time, the applicant has no proposal for the Sisoli. This first ordinance is really the annexation of those two small parcels equivalent to 10 acres. And the one parcel is to make the hospital get developed closer to 77.

Further questions? Hearing none, new business item A. Do I have a motion?

I'll make a motion to approve new business item 7A. Second.

I have a motion and a second. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. All those opposed, thank you so much. Penelope, you may as well hang a while. New business item B, consideration of the first reading of an ordinance authorizing the town to enter into a fourth amendment to the development agreement with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital Authority.

So with every MXU, this one in particular has a development agreement. And so this is the fourth amendment to the development agreement with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Hospital Authority. And this is basically to update the conceptual master plan for the CMHA property and to include the newly annexed parcels to be updated and extend also the development schedule and the term to allow for the orderly development of the property and to also commit the support of the Carolina Threat Trail. They did add that to the amendment. by making improvements on the property and to also authorize the execution and delivery of this amendment to the development agreement. This also went to the Planning Commission and they made a motion to recommend approval of the ordinance with those changes. Again, the proposed amendment provides that the addition of the annex property shall not increase the building entitlements for the hospital property. Instead, the addition of the annex property is intended solely to create additional design flexibility and improve the site.

Any questions for Penelope? Hearing none, do I have a motion?

I'll make a motion to approve new business item number seven. Second.

I have a motion and a second. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. All those opposed, thank you so much. Thank you, Penelope. All right, we've got new business item 7C. Consideration of the first reading of an ordinance to amend the town zoning code as it relates to those pestivorous election signs. Chris Pettit.

Thank you, Mayor. This is an item that was discussed with council at your last work session. The amendment to the code related to election signs would amend the amount of time that someone can place their election signs out prior to their election that they're on the ballot for. Prior to this amendment, they were allowed to place those 60 days prior to the election. Council is, with this ordinance, proposing to change that to the signs shall not be placed earlier than 30 days prior to the election. That is the only change being made at this time. I'm happy to answer any questions you may have. I will note... Upon adoption, should this get adopted, we will send letters out to all the candidates so that we will beat the time frame for which they would have put them out 60 days in advance. So this would apply to our upcoming election.

Okay. Thank you. Any questions for Chris?

After the last lengthy discussion, did we do any homework on some of the other ways to try to limit the amount of clustering and things of signs?

We did, and the only change that we could make in a quick manner is this one. To go about some of the other things that we discussed to reduce the clutter, limit the number that folks can have, I think that has to be a holistic change of the sign code to implement because there were so many nuances in this section that would apply to everything else that in order to accomplish that it would have to be a complete rewrite and we just didn't have the time to make that beneficial change to the code prior to this election so we decided to move forward bring you this and still leave that on the table should council want to consider that so it's a first step yeah i think enforcement is always the biggest issue how much manpower you put to it

Ben, you have other comments? No, that's good. I was going to say, the other thing, I see you've got such signs not to exceed six square feet. If I'm not mistaken, and Ben's more the sign guy, a two-by-four is kind of a standard size sign, which would be eight square feet. So was that always been that way?

That has not changed in our code for... As long as I am aware of it.

So it's always been, so I don't know if we need to adjust that. Obviously the huge sign is one thing, but a 2x4 seems to be a sign of what I'm thinking is a standard sign.

I think in my mind I would amend that to be 8 square feet. I think that would be the way to go.

And 2x4 is still a reasonable size.

Yeah, when I saw that 6, that's what made me think about it. When I was reading the packet, it kind of jumped out at me. Certainly, council can make a motion to adopt the first reading with that change. That's the only comment I had. I think this is one of these battles that will continue on because some people are going to do the right thing and some are not. I'll pass this to my colleague, this assignment.

Yeah. For those that will be watching this at a later date, the effort by council is to try and make it less clutter and more informative. We certainly are elected officials ourselves. We need to make sure people understand who's running for an office. But it has seemed to increase election over election that the signs have become a nuisance. They are in areas they shouldn't be. It costs town funding to send a person out to measure and pick them up and take them. And I got to tell you, this is not a part of governance that's very productive. So we'd like to spend our time on other things.

However, again, they're absolutely necessary nuisance.

We just want to try to do what we can to make it a little more consistent.

and protect the community and how it looks so ben would you like to make yes i'd be glad to one excuse me one question mr pett so we're talking election signs but there are for 365 days a year there's bob's paint service billy bob's power wash You know, Mr. Moody's car, whatever. I mean, there's all kinds of signs that are stuck in the right-of-way. I drug you into that. But are those going to be addressed separately? Because, you know, we understand the election signs, but there are signs stuck in the right-of-way all the time that should be prohibited in it.

And the ones within the right-of-way are easy. You can't have any signs in the right-of-way. So those should be pulled automatically. The problem comes when those folks put those signs on their private property. You know, you have work done at your house and your contractor says, I'll cut you 10% if you let me put a sign in your apartment. So you see it a lot. So that gets into the same item that Councilman Hudgens was talking about. I think if we want to address that, we have to do a greater just redo of the sign code in general if we want to address that as well.

Okay. That's fair. I just wanted to, because those are all of the time. I pull one up in front of our neighbor probably every other day. Stick it right there at the end of the sign. Okay.

Sorry.

I yield to Mr. Adams.

I think the effort is to try to keep that time of year that really nobody enjoys seeing around the community to try to keep it tasteful so it doesn't just trash the town. It's an effort for those who are running. trying to make an impact as leaders to try to be mindful of that and to keep it tasteful in the town. So that's respect for all of us. So with that, I would make a motion to approve new business item 7C with the amendment of this overall sign size from six square feet to eight square feet. I'll second that.

I have a motion with an amendment and a second. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. All those opposed, thank you so much. New business item 7D, consideration of the removal of inactive members of the Accommodation Tax Committee and setting terms of the remaining members. Gordon Burnett.

Thank you, Mayor. At the May 18th council meeting, council formalized the guidelines for the Accommodations Tax Advisory Committee. Following that action, staff reached out to all seven seated members to confirm their interest in continuing to serve. Four of those members agreed to continue serving. One member indicated she would like to vacate her seat, and two members did not respond to any of our communication. As a result, staff is asking council to consider removing Allison Mills and Kathy May from the committee and to set the terms for Adam McCloskey, Debbie Whitsitt, Jill Cloud, and Jason Wesloffs to expire March 31, 2029. Thank you.

Any questions for Gordon?

Mr. Burnett, so there will be staggered terms. I believe we've talked about that before.

Yes, so the individuals that are already on the ATACS committee will be that first one. The term will go through 2029, and these next three individuals will be March 31, 2030.

So we won't have a complete rollover. We'll have ongoing.

Right.

Great.

And I'm assuming, what is a full board? Seven. Seven. So if we're losing three, are we replacing them?

I've already had communication with some applicants in the community.

And you'll keep us posted on when they return. Okay. Thank you so much. Do I have a motion?

I make a motion to approve new business item number 7D.

All right. I have a motion. Second. And a second. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. All opposed, thank you. And we'll move to new business item 7E, consideration of approving the contract with Edison Ford, not FORD, but FOARD, as it relates to the YMCA project, Cary Vargo.

I need to recuse myself again on that item. Okay.

Thank you, Mayor. Attached for Council's review and consideration is a contract with Edison Ford LLC for the Fort Mill YMCA renovation project in the amount of $6,865,000. Project scope includes demolition and replacement of the existing roof systems on the entire building, replacement of storefront and curtain wall systems, cleaning, resurfacing, and application of high-performance protective coating to the natatorium steel and primary gymnasium trusses, installation of acoustic wall panels in the gymnasium, exterior drainage, grating, and hardscape improvements in and around the building, replacement of the natatorium HVAC system, and associated electrical service upgrades. The project will move forward immediately following contract approval, assuming Council approves said contract. Substantial completion is required within 300 calendar days after notice to proceed. And we would respectfully request Council approve contract as presented.

Thank you. For those that are watching this is what we used to call the recreational complex that was built by the Springs family for the community in Fort Mill. Much later in its life, I believe it's over 35 years old, I believe, it was donated to the town of Fort Mill and continues to serve many of its residents. It is the one facility in the Y system that operates it for us that serves the largest number. senior citizens in the county so it is a vital resource but just like our homes it requires updating and that's overdue in some cases so I'm looking forward to seeing the full use of the facility are there any questions for Carrie on this particular contract

I appreciate him putting the penalty clause in there to make sure that it doesn't get drug out. I'm sure you know what scope creep means, and so that should be an actively pursued project. And I think it's well worth the time, and I do want to thank staff and this council for a lot of efforts, a lot of discussions going in, and that's a very...

Prominent building in our community and used by many and it it needs some love so it's about time So thank you for getting this ready and all primed up for us to talk about Definitely any other questions one question I had was I think it was on page two and three there was mention of Substantial completion as it related to payments and special damages just to help me better understand. What is that? That's a little

There will be a set of milestones that we're going to sit down with the contractor and kind of review, and we'll attach substantial completion dates to those various milestones. Because of the way the building is so large and it's segmented into different areas, we need to kind of attack that strategically. Okay.

And one place in there that said actual costs, or a couple of places actually, actual costs reasonably incurred? Just to help me better understand what that reasonable... Could you point to a specific section?

I will find...

It's either on page two or three. I just made a note. This was some of my reading yesterday afternoon. I apologize. I did not note specifically where that was, but just the... Just the reasonably, actual cost reasonably incurred. I think it was in the progress payments.

So without actually looking at the specific section, I think the only area you're probably referencing are the allowances. If I had to guess, and there are only two different allowances that are actually included in the contract as Exhibit B. One is doors. There's an allowance for 12 separate doors. And the other is... It's under special damages.

Special damages, right. Paragraph A and B and G. Contract times for the actual cost reasonably incurred by the owner for engineering and construction observation is 4.06. Special damages? Just always question when it's reasonable, my reasonable, and your reasonable.

Yeah, so I think the answer to your question really comes down to the architect is going to determine that. Which is kind of standard practice.

So this will have the HVAC in the pool area now?

It will, yes. So this bid includes the installation of an HVAC system in the natatorium area as well as electrical upgrades to facilitate the HVAC.

That's going to be huge.

And it has been needed for quite some time.

And other structural. Structural and the front wall, I think, is it. There's all the options that we discussed.

Yeah, curtain walls, you know, all new glass. It's going to essentially be, well, it's going to be a fairly new natatorium.

And that was an option that council wanted to install in there. So I want to note that, too. I mean, that's going to be a huge upgrade for that area. So good job, everyone.

You have another 50 years of use of that building.

It'll last longer than the first 35. Yeah. Any further questions for Carrie on item E? Hearing none, do I have a motion?

Make a motion to approve item 7E. Okay. Do I have a second? I'll second.

I have a second. All those in favor of approving new business item 7E, please say aye. Aye. All those opposed, thanks so much. We'll move to item F, new business item 7F, consideration of the first reading of an ordinance amending the fiscal year 2526 budget with amendment 2609 for Academy Street. Eric Davis.

Thank you, Mayor. So we're going to talk again about what the lady addressed the board about with Academy Street. So several months ago, the town learned that SCDOT has plans to resurface Academy Street in 2028. And since that time, we've been working to try to make sure that we can improve or repair any needs with regards to the underground utilities within the right-of-way on Academy Street. So a couple of months ago, Town Council authorized staff to apply for a rural infrastructure grant. And fortunately, we were successful in receiving $1,320,000 from the Rural Infrastructure Authority. So our plan is to match this grant with $2.8 million of utility cash reserves to complete the funding for the project. So approval of this budget amendment will set up the accounting structure to track the revenues and expenditures for this project. So this is the very beginning. Unfortunately, Academy Street will get worse before it gets better, but we do have a plan to improve everything on Academy Street. And we will try our best to get done before 2028, but there are no promises.

But once it's fixed, it won't be dug right back up to fix again. And that's the idea. Correct. So it's nice to be getting ahead of them.

It's the appropriate process. How about that? It is.

I applaud the town for that. That's something for those that are listening. That has not always been the case where there's been coordination between the municipality and the local council. whether it be the county or the state on projects, so how many times we've seen work that we've done and they may go dig it back up or they do and then we have to go dig it back up, but now the concerted effort by the town, relationships that have been built from our town and people in charge of departments to make sure that we are doing common sense projects, that we are linking things together. Hey, if you're going to be working on this, let's work on it at the same time. Get both of these things done. It's more cost effective. for all of us, so that's really exciting for me. I think the technical term is well done.

Yes, it is. We'll give a shout out to our town engineer, Erin Brad, who's here, so she's worked it out. She's worked it out where if we can get done with our utility work early enough, we do not necessarily have to wait on the state or the county to make the road improvements. We'll be able to move forward with that, and we'll work out the financial reimbursements after the fact. Fantastic. So we're going to try to move as quickly as we can, but it will take a while to get the improvements done.

That's just a classic case when something happens. And people say, why didn't somebody do something about that? Why didn't they think of that? Why didn't somebody, the left hand talk to the right hand? And that's what's going on. So I love that.

I love it, too. Being proactive. Thank you. Common sense. Way to go, staff. Way to go. All right. Any further questions for Eric on new business item 7F?

I'll make a motion to approve new business item number 7F. Second.

And I have a second. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. All those opposed, thank you very much. Executive session. Council may take action on executive session items listed on the agenda when they come back into public session. We have one item this evening in discussion of personnel matters. We do not vote inside of executive session, so I will need... motion to move to executive I have a motion and a second all those in favor please say aye all those opposed we're officially into executive session and we will return thank you so much Let the record reflect that no vote was taken in executive session. I would like a motion for us to return to regular session, please.

I make a motion to return to regular session. I'll second.

I have a motion and a second. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. All those opposed, thank you. We are back in regular session. With that, there are not words beautiful enough to describe how great it feels to be in this space and to be working moving forward in a year that we're getting so much done for our community. It is painful work at times, but it is progress. Progress is being made on all fronts. I'm extremely happy and grateful. I'm very grateful for all the work that everyone has done. I don't know how to say thank you any better than thank you. So thank you all for what you've done. I had the opportunity, Casey was sitting there today, when we had an attorney, as I was signing some paperwork, that said, you know, I've been an attorney since a named town manager, and that just happened to be for the 23 years I've been on council. And he said, the town doesn't even look like the same town. It is amazing the work that has occurred in Fort Mill and the progress that we are making. I think for once we can actually say we are progressive. So that's thanks to all of you. So thank you very, very much. With that, Mr. Wolfe, what do you have for the good of the whole?

Well, I'll kind of follow up on where you're at. Tonight we celebrated the youth sports and community involvement as well as completion of the new town hall renovation and new council chambers. This is a special occasion as we successfully repurposed iconic and historical building in our community and dedicated it to continue to serve the community for future generations. That is significant in the same way we're well underway on the renovation of the old Fort Mill High School gymnasium, Bank Street Gym, to serve future and current generations. We've kicked off a significant investment in the YMCA, the recreational complex. We've broken ground on fire station number three to provide increased safety and protection to our community. And we've begun clearing the lot for the new operations center to expand our service excellence to our citizens. So to this council and staff and the many individuals who participated in these and involved in support of these efforts, I want to say, thank you. I truly believe these projects and other initiatives we have will be fruitful for our community from generations to come. And I want to continue as, as to assure our citizens and clearly state that we, as a council will focus on what is best for Fort mill. So don't ever think that we don't make that motto number one. Okay.

Thank you, Chris. I agree totally. And I think it's important to remember we're also welcoming higher ed. We're making some improvements in our processes in replacing water lines and the infrastructure that we talk about a lot. We're doing some really good work, guys. Good work. Thank you. Mr. Moody.

It's a pretty cool experience to be here tonight after many years of preparation. Good job, staff, Carrie, and all of your crew here. Y'all have done great work. Real quick, I read an article in the Post and Courier this week about smaller towns in our state. And just kind of like their demise in the rural areas and lack of leadership on their staffs and their councils and just corruption in a lot of those places. I can't say that I've ever, small town I've come from was glad that I left. And wound up in Fort Mill. And I would put this council and staff against anybody else in this state. I mean, just a good group to work with, which you can't really say that in politics now in our country. But just a great staff. And just all the progress that we're making is really tangible. And you can see it, as Mr. Wolf was saying, all the progress and items that we are all accomplishing together. It's pretty neat to be a part of it. So great job, everyone. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Garrison.

When I walked in the doors this evening, just walking through those doors, it took me back to our old town hall, to our little conference room. We were all packed in there. And the night that we made the decision to pursue and to purchase this property, we all talked about how that was going to be such a monumental moment right there when we agreed to sign that. And Mr. Pettit and Mr. Davis, I know the two of you all, this kind of became your – your pet project just to see this through. So I want to thank you guys. And then walking in this room, this was, this was the culmination of that, of that whole project. So, you know, Mr. Mr. Wolf has already mentioned all the other projects and everything else we have going on, but this right here, this is, this is going to put the stamp on the town, you know, for, for the foreseeable future. So especially to the two of you guys, thank you for, for all that you did to it. So thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Hale? Nothing to say. Come on, Ronnie.

Ben?

I was kind of taken, and I've mentioned this several times before, I'll say it again, when we have a room full of youth, And you say the Pledge of Allegiance, and you hear it echoed through the room. You hear the little voices. It does. I mean, that's great. That's America. I mean, that's good stuff to me. It feeds my heart. And to see the youth in the room, it kind of energizes the space. So that was neat. And exposing them to municipal government and what you did greeting each one of them, I thought was really special. That was great. So I'm proud to have the youth in here. And then doing the litter cleanup and things in the report they did. that was very impactful for them you could tell you could see it by the way they addressed it and that kind of thing spreads you don't just do that and keep it to yourself it will feed out into others in that generation so I was really happy about that and then I just wrote down a big note about, and I'm going to say it again, just the common sense working together with the state and the county and doing things that just make sense. How many things we see now that, wait a minute, that doesn't make sense, but this does, and I was really proud of that. Thanks to everybody for this cherry on top with the space in here, so I'm very proud of that.

And Carrie, first time I saw you in this building, you had a little tiny vacuum cleaner and you were going up and down the halls chasing people making messes. So I'm in great hopes that you're just as proud of this as we are. Immensely. I'm very, very amazed at how incredibly beautiful it is. Not just functional, but beautiful. So, guys, we need to be happy with ourselves for all of the work that is being done.

For the record, he now has a commercial vacuum.

I was just teasing. You know that.

I really do have one in my office.

I'm not surprised. I am not surprised. So with that, I hate to end this meeting because it has been one of the best ones of my 23 years. I do, Gordon, I think the faces of the youth that were here this evening, this will be a night that they remember. I've met most of those kids already because they're the same age as one of my grandchildren. everything we do to provide for them results in what mine is able to do to take those kids a step further and last year's group we had an intern change her major in college to environmental because of that program those are the things that keep on giving and guys when we make those monetary decisions that's what we're making them for it's not just for a pretty this or a pretty that it's for our future and i'm so happy uh that we're taking the appropriate steps to move forward so thank you getting those young people involved now uh this will make pay many years later when they come back and you know they they they're married want to live in town to have the quality

life that they grew up with. That's what it's all about.

We're teaching them to fish. I'm very, very, very proud of what we do. And the gentleman that said he called and got a call back, be still, Mom.

That was amazing.

All right.

I'm disappointed we didn't bring the big gavel. I mean, tonight would have been the night. It's the night for the big gavel.

I thought about it. I was so cranky last time. I thought y'all would think I was one-upping it or something. And can we do something that maybe I'll just hit this. No.

Actually use your chair if you hit your chair. Yeah, your chair does about as good as anything with yeah, okay.

Well we will work on that yeah Yes, okay, all right it doesn't matter all right do I have a motion for a journal make a motion to adjourn I And I'll have a second. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. All those opposed. Great job, everybody. Let it be known that we're out of here before 8 o'clock on a two-page agenda.

And well done.