County Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening. I'd like to call this meeting the Langster County Council to order. I don't think the mic's working here. testing. Nope. Working out there.

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Terrible when it Okay, technology is great until it doesn't work. I'd like to call this meeting of Langster County Council to order. I ask that the clerk note for the record that a quorum of council is present, that public notice of the meeting, including the meeting agenda, has been posted at required length of time in the lobby of the county administration building and on the county website and that the news media was notified of the meeting time in place. I welcome you to your county council meeting. I would ask that you take a moment to turn off or place on vibrate any cell phones or pagers. Thank you for not wearing any hats or caps in the council chambers. And please be considerate of others in the room by refraining from conversations during the meeting. I ask that you please stand and join council for the pledge of allegiance followed by the invocation given this evening by myself. I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Let's take a moment to pause. As we begin this meeting, we recognize the responsibilities entrusted to us to serve our community. May we approach our work with thoughtfulness, fairness, and respect for all. Let us listen carefully to one another and consider diverse perspectives and remain focused on the well-being of the citizens we represent. May our discussions be guided by integrity, our decisions by sound judgment, and our actions by a shared commitment to the public good. Let us move forward in a spirit of cooperation and purpose. Thank you. Okay, I need a motion to approve the agenda.

So moved. Have a motion from M. McGriff. Do we have a second? Second.

Second from Mr. Harper. All those in favor, please raise your right hand. All those opposed. It is unanimous. Okay, now we're going to go on to item five. We now come to citizens comments. Please bear in mind that this is not a period of dialogue with council or a question and answer period. This is your opportunity to address council with your concerns. I ask that you're that you address your remarks to council as a body and not to any one individual council member. Please speak into the microphone. State your name and address for the record. And you will have up to three minutes to address counsel. Your time will not start until you state your name and address. First, Miss Tony McGamean. My name is Tony McKameman and I live at 2112 Hartwell Lane, Indian Land. Well, infrastructure boils down to money and it's budget time again. So, this will be the third year of my sitting through the county budget process. At first, I had little to no understanding of how local government manages pay taxpayers dollars. Admittedly, I still have a lot to learn. However, whether dealing with a county budget with millions of dollars or a family budget with thousands of dollars, the same fundamental accounting principles apply. While listening to budget proposals from

staff and administration at recent preliminary budget reviews, how they approached the budget budget process was a little confusing to me. It seems their proposals were mostly based on wishlist ideal wants rather than on real revenue and real needs. In my layman's terms, I wouldn't make a shopping list for a new television or a couch when my kid needs braces, especially when my employer just said and likely that there will be a bonus for you this year. You as a council have been presented at nauseium with real data demonstrating real critical infrastructure needs. Yet the citizens must continually plead for you to actually do something about it. It's baffling to me that the seven of you are not in consensus for wanting to know the real numbers, the full picture, for bringing the entire county into compliance with best practices, not only for fire and EMS, but other infrastructure like roads and schools. My thanks go to the heads of the county fire and EMS who have come up with a stop gap measure. This measure is to improve their services at least temporarily. In the meantime, there's no discussion or plan for construction of stations or purchasing more ambulances meeting the current need for staffing and supplies. The debacle of road safety marches on

into the future. Having said that, it is clear to me that I would be bankrupt if I ran my personal budget with as little regard as the county does for a once needs assessment or for a costbenefit strategy. I'm sorry to be so blunt. But more and more government waste and fraud is being exposed on the state and federal level. It really shouldn't surprise the council that citizens have questions about how taxpayer money is being spent on the local level. I, as a taxpayer, will no longer just accept a trust us kind of response like I received from our past administrator. Here in Lancaster County, the residents want improved infrastructure. It appears you want greater tax revenue. Maybe if the accounting for existing revenue expenditures weren't so difficult to track and we could see a correction in how funds are prioritized, we might be willing to increase the revenue side of the equation. Mr. Chair, I think the time's up.

Okay. Thank you. Thank you for listening. Miss Jane Alford.

Hi, Jane Alford, 2011 West Elliot Street, Fort Mill. I'm here on behalf of the Lancaster County Council of the Arts. Good evening, council members, and thank you for the opportunity to share some upcoming arts council events with you. This year, we have expanded our arts therapy program in partnership with the Chester Lancaster Disabilities and Special Needs Board to raise the visibility of people with disabilities in our community and give them more access to arts opportunities, both as creators and by attending gallery exhibits that invite them to experience the art in a hands-on way. The LCCA's art therapist, Liz Bell, has been providing weekly arts therapy to about 60 adults with disabilities for the last nine years. Belle also works with about 125 at risk preschoolers at Southside Early Early Childhood Center weekly through the school year. Art therapy promotes better mental health and socialization in both groups. In fact, interacting with and participating in the arts is good for all of us with recent studies showing it is vital to our well-being as exercise. 20 participants in our weekly art therapy program at DSN's Day Center here in Lancaster have been working since March with 16 local artists to produce collaborative artworks that will be displayed in our creative collaborations exhibit at the Springs House next month. You can get a sneak peek at some of these collaborative works during the Touch and See multiensory exhibit on display now at the Springs House with two special events this week. The Arts Council is hosting family art night from 5:30 to 7:30 Thursday, May 14th. And the exhibit will be open during the Red Rose Festival from noon to 400 p.m. Saturday, May 16th. This multi-ensory exhibit, while open to all, is especially geared for children and people with disabilities who might not feel comfortable in a traditional art gallery

setting. It's also open to field trips and is already hosted southside in a homeschool group with four more scheduled before it closes on May 29th. All of these events are free and open to everyone. We welcome the community to come touch the art in our first ever multiensory exhibit this month and check out our creative collaborations exhibit opening June 5th with a special reception at the Springs House on Sunday, June 14th. The creative collaborations exhibit will then hit the road in July for popups at DSN and local libraries. In the fall, the LCCA will host free public workshops on art therapy and music therapy to help everyone understand what these therapies involve and how they can benefit the whole person, enhancing their sense of well-being as well as benefiting the whole community. The Lancaster County Council of the Arts is happy to be able to make the arts accessible to everyone, and we're grateful for the support that makes it possible, including support from the city and county. The Touch and Sea and Creative Collaborations exhibits are funded in part by South Arts and the South Carolina Arts Commission which are funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. We hope you will join us for these events and see for yourselves the difference art makes in local residents lives. Thank you.

Arresta Pierre It's Ernesto Pier, Green Intentions Farmers Market, uh 1300 uh East Med Street, Lancaster. So, I wanted to discuss uh your decision on April 27th to dismantle the preliminary budget breakdown of the seven member panel for the 100,000 nonprofit grant impacts, how it impacts poor and workingclass in Lancaster. by distributing 100,000 for approximately 16 agencies to 90,000 to approximately six agencies and to leave the remaining 10,000 in the ecosystem was a disrespectful process to the individuals who submitted applications. Your words spoke volumes that the taxpayer should get only what you want them to have because of who you think they are and that means is based on what you think relates to the community. This group of seven members was trusted to read the grants, ask questions, and then collectively come up with the decision to ensure the entire Lancaster County is served by grants resources to multiple organizations rather than the limited vision of the county council to fund only the organizations that they know and that they're comfortable with. Nonprofit organizations are often the first of line of support during economic hardship. They frequently provide services that extend beyond food assistance include educational programs, workforce development, mentorship, transportation, housing assistance, wellness initiatives, and community engagement. Nonprofits also create space

where people feel seen and connected, supported during times of uncertainty in many underserved communities. They fill critical gaps left by public resources and inaccessible services. This is why when funds are available, it is in the interest of the people that the distribution is given to the organization in compliance within reason to services as many organization as possible to ensure maximum coverage to the community versus limiting services to the organization that you can relate to. Lancaster public uh population exceeds over 100,000 people. The city of Lancaster is about at 9,000 if not more. Approximately 8,000 throughout Lancaster County are food insecure. That means 4,000 children are without a healthy meal or a stable environment. Over 3,000 people in Lancaster County are unemployed or either unemployed. They have not looked for employment and they cannot find. So they have dropped out of the employment system. Not to mention the economically stressed seniors on fixed incomes, single parent households, working families living paycheck to paycheck, rural residents who don't have transportation. In South Carolina, third of the 50% of the third graders test below standard average. That means when a child cannot read, graduation rates decrease, employment opportunities decrease, long-term um earnings decrease. But what does increase in South Carolina is the incarceration reach. The rates of incarceration in South Carolina at 27,000 individuals in the correctional system. So you must ask yourself, when agencies are unsupported, entire neighborhoods can lose access to critical services that helps stabilize families. This is why farmers markets,

literacy programs, mentoring initiatives, food distribution, and neighborhood nonprofits are essential to the community development and vital resources to the people we need. Thank you, Miss Pierre. Thank you, S. Jeff Jaffrey.

And my name is Sav Joffrey. I live in 928 Chapenheim Avenue, Lancaster. Good evening, council members. I'm here to support uh Indian Land Mask request. Uh request the council to vote for yes because this is uh the case is approved and very straightforward. The proposed use of fully consists with applicable zoning district under Lancaster County land development regulation. The project is compatible with surrounding land uses and has been adequately conditioned to address any impacts. The county planning staff has already reviewed the application and formally recommended approval. All criteria for condition conditional use approval have been met. So I I'm here to request to vote yes for the mask in Indian lane. Thank you. Thank you for your service to Lancaster County. Thank you,

Mr. Chair. I'm sorry. We have some electronic citizens comments. Yes, ma'am.

You each have received copies of these um via email. Um we had 16 in favor of CU Planning Department case number CU 2026168 resolution 1324R2026. We received 11 emails in opposition to that same item. We received two emails in opposition to ordinance 2026 2012. Um, and two emails in favor, excuse me, I'm sorry, two emails in opposition to ordinance 2026 2021. And then we had three emails. One from Peter Lewis regarding the need for commercial infrastructure on the south side of the city of Lancaster. Next from Yukima Kuritan from Lancaster regarding her concerns with the study being conducted by the Kataba Regional Council of Governments regarding regarding housing affordability and two from Aaron Ays regarding ordinance 2026 2012 related to traffic concerns and that the county needs a more effective traffic engineering along Highway 521 corridor. Thank you.

Thank you, Miss Simpson. Okay, we're going to move on to item 6A, overview of Pedmont Medical Cent's freestanding emergency department project in Indianland. Mr. Christopher Mitchell, CEO of Piedmont Medical Center in Port Mill. Good evening, everybody. Good evening.

Thank you, Chairman Kins. I appreciate you having me. Um, as chairman said, my name is Chris Mitchell. I'm the CEO of Pedmont Medical Center Fort Mill. We're going to talk about our project. um on 521 here. Uh we're slated to open this month. We're really excited. Just by way of background. Uh I live in Fort Mill. Please don't hold that against me. Um I'm also a native New Yorker, but I've been here since 2019. So at this point, that sort of makes me a local. Um but I have four kids and uh we've really enjoyed the area. And when we moved down here, it took me about 6 months to realize that uh there was a bit of a healthcare access gap in Indian land and Lancaster County from our perspective. So, as you can see up on the map in the yellow orange section, that is where the freestanding emergency department is located. It's in the Parkstone development on 521. So, when we think about healthcare, and you'll see in the bullets, uh I like to keep it simple. So what is this going to accomplish for the community? It uh will reduce travel time for urgent and emergent conditions. Uh it will create jobs, will contribute to the tax base. We are a um taxpaying healthcare entity. We are not a nonprofit. Uh we will support the infrastructure. Obviously the comments on EMS response times and community infrastructure. We will support that by trying to keep truck the trucks in county and reduce weight times for pickup. And of course, we'll increase healthc care access and and just community engagement. So, without further ado, I'll continue to move on. That's a picture. Obviously, you all have great weather here in Lancaster County, as you can see by the blue skies. So, it's almost a finished product. We received our certificate of occupancy on Friday. The county has been great to work with. So I appreciate all the support we've received from county administration and you all. So what is

this? Uh effectively with anybody familiar with say Gold Hill, it's a freestanding emergency department. And uh just to clarify, they're open 247. So that's a question we constantly get. Is this an urgent care? No, it's not an urgent care. It's 24/7 365 with a physician staffed. You can walk in or you can be brought in by EMS. Those are the two modes of operation. Um, you can schedule online, which gives us a heads up that you're coming in from convenience purposes. Of course, we have to prioritize by acuity at times. If a stroke walks in, we're going to take care of the stroke before we take care of your sore throat. But we assure you that we will get to your sore throat. It's a private exam rooms, two trauma rooms because you don't know when trauma is going to happen. Even though, of course, it's not a hospital or trauma center, doesn't mean we won't get a trauma patient. adult, pediatric, emerent, routine, urgent conditions can show up. So, what does that mean? Uh, if you're sick and you feel like you need us, come see us. It's as simple as that. We will have advanced imaging in there, CT, X-ray, lab, respiratory therapist, and of course, we have a dedicated entrance for our friends from EMS and a lounge in case they need water, coffee, or otherwise. So, that's just the site overview. 521 runs parallel to the bottom. Again, it's in Parkstone. That's a layout. It won't give anybody a pop quiz on what room is which, but again, the exam rooms are on the lefthand side. Imaging is on the right hand side. So, this is an inside sneak peek. I wanted to show you this for a couple reasons. So, when the most acute patients are coming into the freestanding ED, if you look at the picture, they'll be coming through those two doors. And if EMS if you ask them what's the most important thing when they bring a patient to an ED is they want to see the physician and the physician will be sitting right in

that glass enc casement. So we've really been very thoughtful about how this is laid out for both EMS and high acuity patients the sickest of the sick for them to get immediate attention and get cared for. Of course the nurses will sit at the rest of that station with them and you can see this from a different angle. It really looks aesthetically similar to Fort Mill if anybody's been there. I'll keep going through. Maybe we're frozen. All right. I'm glad that I'm having it problems, too. Um, this is a typical exam room. Again, they're all private, so I'll just keep rolling through here. One question I've gotten a lot is, should someone need hospital admission? Where should they go? This is a breakdown of services of Rock Hill. And just to give everybody a general idea, Rock Hill is advancing to level two trauma. So that's the second highest trauma designation a hospital can have below a level one. We do cardiac surgery, cardiac cath, STEMI, which is emergent, uh, MIS, all things structural heart, vascular surgery, and of course all your surgical subsp specialist. And then this is Fort Mill, which we opened almost four years ago now. very similar profile in terms ter terms of the surgical subsp specialties. It's 100 beds. Rockill is 282 beds. So, of course, between the two facilities, everybody can get care. We are in the midst of realigning women's services and services overall. And so, actually, effective tomorrow, we will open a brand new NICU at Fort Mill, which we're really excited about. So, none of that means anything if you don't have quality. This is our report card. So, this is what you would put on the refrigerator you're proud of. We have multiple five-star awards, awards from the South Carolina Hospital Association, American Heart Association,

American College of Surgeons, and then just to demonstrate that we like to be involved in the community, here are all the community organizations that we support. So, I know I ran through that quickly, but I wanted to give the opportunity to answer any questions you'all have. Any questions for Mr. Mitchell? Thank you very much. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.

Okay, now we we'd ask for the first two rows to uh please go out so we corner can bring in their presentation. Uh we're going to move on to item C, enhancing search readiness, mounted response unit and EMS integrated search training scenario. uh provided or presented by our coroner, Carla. I should hear you. Good evening. Thank you all for having us and allowing us to do a special presentation. This effort um we had a joint training with EMS. We wanted to practice and be ready for things. We had this training

on April 25th and as many of you are aware, we put it into motion this last week having no idea that we would. So, I'm going to go forth with our training videos and um I'm sorry, our pictures to show you and then I'm going to roll into what happened last week. So, you kind of get two for one from me tonight. So, we started out our training on the 25th and one of the most important parts is you got to raise everybody right, you know. So, we start with our juniors. They're called the MRU Explorers and MU stands for mounted response unit. So, we respond to all types of situations. Um, the junior explorers, they learned about horses, farm life, and getting back to the basics and fundamentals. Many of those children had never seen a live animal until the 25th of April. They had a blast. They held chickens, rubbed on cows and horses, and had a ball. It was a complete electronic detox for them for three hours. We asked them to turn off their devices and we asked the parents to turn off theirs and there was a peace and a calm for three hours that was very welcome. EMS came and did dual training with me that day and they taught the children the role of the medics and the importance of um learning what they do and gave them a lot of hands-on with the equipment. So the children very much enjoyed that. From that they asked for future trainings. They wanted to learn how to call 911. They want to learn how to do CPR. They want our fire department to come so they can learn about that. and they also want a presentation by law enforcement. So those will be um in our next trainings for our explorers. Here are some pictures from that day. The explorers

were very much involved in everything we had. As you can see, we had EMS bring their star unit and there we had four of their medics that day. It's not all right. And there they are checking out the star unit. So I want to let um Mr. Kato talk about his star unit. I want to tell you the reason that we have medics on our response unit that he graciously allows us to have is even though we're on horseback, what if we get into trouble? We need a medic. So they come in their off time. None of us get paid to do this and it is not funded by tax dollars. We do all of this out of our own pockets and out of our own time and our volunteers. So would you like to talk about your star team for us please?

Thank you ma'am. So the star team is something we started about 14 years ago um after I got back and it stands for our special technical advanced response. Um many different dynamics of this team. One of them is to do search and rescue. Um, even though the fire service is in charge of search and rescue, what Carla I guess hasn't told you yet is that heru team is the first in the state of South Carolina. And when she approached me, would you like to join me in this response? I jumped at the opportunity. Here is another chance for agencies in our county to work together, not only in our county, but across the state. and our medics. Exactly like she says, if they find a patient like we did this week and the patient is alive, we can offer immediate medical care right then and there and not waste any more time. And if any of her members or any of the other searchers get hurt, we're already there. They don't have to call us. We're already there and our people jump at the chance to do this. So, this is another great opportunity for us to work together. We just wanted to demonstrate that tonight. So, our mission at the MRU, we are here to be deployment ready for whatever the situation is. And we don't know if we're going because we have found remains or if we're going because we have found somebody still alive or if we're going to find a child who is lost. So, we conduct rigorous mock call missions with various agencies. Our goal is to enhance the resources of rescue for the entire county. We are an assisting unit for all other agencies and that happened this past week. Fire called and said, "Hey, can you bring them?" Um, we work to ensure safety and operational preparedness and public education and awareness events.

Can you go back one? Won't go back for me, Sherry. Thank you. Oh, back. There you go. So, this is just part of the training and I want to kind of tell you a little bit about it. The middle picture is what it is. That's them just taking some orders and getting ready to do what they're going to do. The one that you see with the lady holding something in the air, that's a mailbox beside that tree. In that training, she's checking the mail. Now, why do you need a horse to check the mail? You really don't. But you need a horse to be very still while you are checking out anything that you may have to take some time to navigate, to pick something up, to look in for you to look at. That horse needs to be still the whole time. And so that's part of that training. And then on the right, you can see all of the pool noodles and the distractions. Those horses have to train to walk by that and not even be disturbed by those being there. So that's just part some of the pictures to show you guys what their training looks like. This is another they're in formation on the left. And then we have Josh Faulary, one of the paramedics on our team. He actually taught CPR to our unit. Another picture of a lot of our members. Our MC callouts. We do live victim search lost and or injured. the autistic children, dementia, Alzheimer's patients, recovery missions for death scenes, and many more. As we continue to build our trainings, I welcome any suggestions from anyone. And if anyone wants us to come to their land, we'll be happy to come out there. You can set up the scenario for us. Why do we do mounted? You get an elevated perspective. You

cover ground very quickly. strength and agility and endurance and ability to reach inaccessible areas. Again, it is a support unit that just enhances what we already have. This is the day of our training. They were getting ready to go and there they are off to the races. They covered 100 acres that day. These are just some shots from that day what they did. You'll see in the top right we have um a ground control guy and he couldn't get our radios to work to go out so he improvised. He stood on the back of his truck and got it to go out. EMS was prepared in a golf cart and a gator. They didn't know what they were prepared for yet but they were there they are some shots that I snuck around and took of them out there searching the area. They had 12 clues and two live people. And I gave them two renegade scenarios as well. This scenario you see on the left, you see me here, I snuck up on them and pretended to be um paparazzi and crossing their crime scene and they handled me very, very well. Surprisingly enough, EMS was the ones that handled my emotions and got me to calm down. But that big horse, those two horses you see right there, one's not so big and one's real big. As I was getting into character and really showing out, those two big horses, the two riders led them up to me and they squeezed me, not even touching me, but this close and really uncomfortable until I was ready to get right out from under that line. So, they did great. I put Lynette Walker, who's one of my deputy coroners, I put her out in the woods and she would only speak Spanish

to them and she was an injured person. They had no idea that was coming. So John and Marina responded in the gator and Lynette pretended to have a very sprained ankle. So they splinted her up with the B resources they had on hand, which was a stick and their wrap. And then they carried her That's the after right there of our training. You get a little water and you get a good bath. So, some of our takeaways, improve efficiency. Um, EMS integration enhances our safety. We're better prepared for real world events, relationship building among our agencies, and resource and awareness for county leadership and a public safety impact. Are we ready? I should back up and tell you when we we want to thank Union County because we were actually we did that training in Union County and they gave permission to Clay to come over and bring our resources into their county so that we could do that training there. So, thank you to Union County for that. As we left our training day, that was April 25th, and I asked the group before we parted, the last question was, "If we get called Wednesday, are we ready?" I only gave them a short amount of time, and they all collectively said, "Yes, we are." And I said, "Okay, well, it wasn't Wednesday, but it was 11 days later on a Tuesday, 3:40 in the morning, I was called by Billy Lloyd with fire and said, "Can you we have your horses to come out?" And I said, "Absolutely. At daylight, I'll start rounding them up." At 5:40, I was already on the phone with them. And they were getting a text and they were ready.

And there they are getting prepared. That's a glimpse of what both days look like. all your agencies out there. Briefings, debriefings. We had a lot of resources. There they are heading out to their destinations to get ready. This is um so the Polaris side by side you see was the man who was lost. That was where he parked it. So we all kind of set up another base camp there. This is some of the terrain the horses went into. Now remember they had on yellow shirts. Can you spot all three? Okay, tell me where that rider is now.

Middle back.

That rider was way down in there because it's territory that's not accessible by foot. You probably could access some of it by a side by side, but you're probably going to tear up your side by side. But there's a lot to be said for the basics of an animal. There they are. When the mission was accomplished, they were watching the fruits of everybody's labor. And the horses being as well trained as they are tolerated the blades of those cho of that chopper. Never even flinched. There they are watching the good work lift off because he was found alive. And this is a little video that um Dominique put together. She was one of the writers. And so I'm just going to let you guys see it and it recaps not only us but every agency out there. And just so you guys can get a glimpse into what we did for a day and a half. It won't play. Okay. Oh, there it goes. It's apparently not going to give you any music background or volume. So, I will tell you they had they covered just under 20 miles and had about eight hours in the saddle. While we had a lot of people covering a lot of ground, that was 20 extra miles that got covered in a quick amount of time. We were on hundreds of thousands of acres of land.

Every single agency that was there that day, this was the most incredible sight to know that he was still alive. the temperatures as low as they had gotten, his physical condition, and we all stood and made sure that Charlie was seen off. And there's your responders that were down there with him coming back and your horses watching over them. That was our debriefing. Um, it was packed full of information and short and very sweet ending. This should give you an idea how well behaved the horses are. You just open the door and they'll take you on in. Mission accomplished. So, I want to say again that this team is absolutely not funded by any taxpayers money. It is here as a resource for any agency in this county. Anything from children to dementia, you name it. This all comes out of our pocket. We are just stacked full with great volunteers. Only a portion of them are here tonight, but I would like to bring them up and recognize the Lancaster County Mounted Response Unit Team. Do you guys have any questions for me or for any of them?

Are there any questions? A comment. Go ahead. Job well done to all the agencies involved. Thank you. Absolutely. Thank you guys for having us and allowing us to do the presentation. Miss De's was planning doing this presentation probably a month out. So all of this happening as part of it's pretty amazing and thank you for all of our our uh public services rescues that were out participating in this search and we're so glad it ended positively. Could have been just as well could have been gone the other way. So, thank y'all all.

Absolutely. Thank you guys as well. Thank you for all your support for us. Okay, we're going to move on to item seven, our consent agenda. Do we have a motion to approve? Mr. Chair, I move to approve consent agenda items 7 A, 7B, and 7 C.

Have a second. Second from Miss McGriff. There any discussion? Hearing none, I'll call for the vote. All those in favor, please raise your right hand. All those opposed, it is unanimous. Now we move to our non-consent agenda. Uh first item is item 8A, second reading of ordinance number 2026-202. Ordinance titled an ordinance to amend the official zoning map of Langster County to reszone approximately 71.1 acres. Tax map number S 0013-0000-67.0000 00 and 0013-0000-67.01-000013-0000-67-2 and 0013-0000-67.03 03 and 0013-0000-135-0000 which is located at Charlotte Highway in Laurel Hill Road from the low density residential LDR district to the regional business RB district. Planning department case number is RZ-2025-2538. The planning staff recommended approval of the reszoning request. However, planning commission recommended denial by unanimous vote. This passed 5 to2 at the February the 9th, 2026 county council meeting with Stuart Graham and Joseé Louise opposed. At the February 23rd, 2026 county council meeting, council voted to postpone the second reading until the March 9th, 2026 county council meeting by a vote of 6 to one.

Billy Meellar opposed. At the March 9th, 2026 county council meeting, second reading was postponed until the connectivity issues were resolved, but not later than 60 days. Is there a motion to approve? So moved. Have a motion from Mr. Neil. We have a second from Mr. Meellar. Mr. Go ahead.

I'm Ben Johnson. I represent the applicant. Uh we're here tonight to ask that this matter be deferred, item 8A, be deferred by another 60 days. Uh at the March 9 meeting, um an issue came up about the connection between our property and the property to the north. Um on Mr. Harper's motion, the the matter was deferred for 60 days so that the parties could um look into the matter. Our client dilig our client and and the both parties have diligently worked on this issue. Our client sped up expedited its traffic study which was received on April 1. Uh and then there were some follow-up requests for additional more focused traffic studies. Um one was received on April 15. Another has been requested and is not in hand yet. Uh also the SC DOT received the traffic study and it has given preliminary feedback. Um and we we believe that this taking this matter up at a at a future date will be a more efficient use of the council's time. We're optimistic that if given this additional 60 days, the parties can make progress. I would add also nobody's fault. We've worked uh there's been some change in the staff uh and we have been able today to to to get with Miss Kato who is who is now in the saddle and um got helpful feedback that will help help both parties. So our request is on behalf of the applicant CF Smith is that we respectfully ask that the second reading on this matter be deferred by another 60 days to continue to address concerns with the neighboring property owner over connectivity uh that would be deferred until we can review and request to the chair and to the clerk that the matter be put back on on the agenda. But in any event, as Mr.

Harper said before uh that it be done and be back here not later than 60 days from from this date. Thank you. Thank you. We take a substitute motion. We have a substitute motion based on the uh the um requesters. Mr. Chair, go ahead. See move to the meeting in July postpone it to we have a motion from Harper. We have a second from Mr. Mel. Is there any discussion?

Yeah. I I'd just like to note when this matter first came up, I made several questions about the preparedness for this project and there were positive indications from you and your development team that you had looked at everything. Everything was ready. We now have again issues that have come up. I would like to just reiterate again, we do not have the infrastructure to support this project. we don't have the expertise or the skills that I believe are needed for a project like this. I do not believe that this project should go forward. I think we're just, as Miss McGriff will continuously say, I think we're just kicking the can down the road. So, if council feels like we need to move this 60 days again, I guess we can do that. But I'm not seeing anything that's going to change my mind as to the fundamental issues with this project. Any other comments? I

I just want to make sure. I mean, you're you're saying you're only looking for a traffic study. I mean, what what else, sir? We

We re Thank you, Mr. Graham. We received the traffic study on April 1st. It's been distributed to the U joining owner and to DOT. Uh we've gotten for limit u feedback from both. We had a request for a more internally focused study by the neighbor. um one was done and and and provided on um uh April 15. Then we had another request for a more a different focus on an intersection level study. Uh and that's in the works now. Uh it's it's only fair these are fair requests of us. Uh and um it's going to be

I just want to make sure that we're not back here in 60 days. I mean, if it's 60 days, it's 60 days. But I I just want to make sure we understand what we're what we're deferring to.

We that we agree with you on that and it it it it's it's fair that we provide this information to the neighbor and try to work this out with the neighbor and proceed in an orderly fashion. And that's what we want. That that's what we think is the right thing to do. I guess is in your opin in your opinion is is there going to is there going to be a a resolution to this matter with the with the neighbor? Do you see an end in sight that would make sense for the two?

We envision that we would come back here and and either have it resolved or not and just ask the council to take up second reading. It it's it's just going to be far better for all the parties, we think, if we can have an understanding about this going in. But the lack of an understanding wouldn't prevent us from asking you guys to vote. Of course,

have any other comments? Hearing none, I'll call for the vote. All those in favor of the motion, please raise your right hand. All those opposed. Uh the vote is six to one. We'll move back to the original motion. Is no need to. Okay. Thank you. Okay. Okay, we're going to move on to item 8B, public hearing and resolution 1324-R2026. Resolution title a resolution of the County Council of Langster County, South Carolina, accepting for review a conditional use permit application not recommended for approval by the Langster County Planning Department Planning Commission pursuant to the unified development ordinance. Planning Apartment number CU 20226-0168. The planning commission did not recommend approval by a vote of 0 to 5 to one with Sheila Hensen Henson recused. However, the planning staff recommended approval of the conditional use application. Um, Shannon Kato. Do we have a motion? We got a We're doing the public hearing.

So So you need to adopt the resolution first to bring this matter to the floor and then we'll proceed with the public hearing. Correct. So we need a motion to adopt this to go to the floor. So moved. Have a motion from Miss McGriff. I'll second it. We have a second from Mr. Harper. Is there any discussion? Hearing no discussion, I'll call for the vote. All those in favor, please raise your right hand. Yes. No, this is simply to bring it to the floor so you can have the hearing. This is not to approve or deny. Okay. Okay. We will start with the So, you need the vote on the resolution.

You need the vote on the resolution to bring it to the floor. You have a motion and a second for the resolution, but no vote.

Okay. Do we have We got motion. All those in favor, please raise your right hand. All those opposed, it's unanimous. Okay, I will now call this public hearing to order regarding the conditional use permit application for replace of assembly located upon property zone LDR low density residential and identified by tax map number 003-0000-48.00 located at 10935 Harrisburg Road. This hearing is being conducted pursuant to the Langster County Unified Development Ordinance in the same fashion as previously was conducted before the planning commission. I'd like to call Miss Shannon T K T K T K T K T K T K T K T K T K T K Tato to the podium to present the matter.

Thank you, chairman and councel. Um in front of you is we have a conditional use. Um the property is located at 10 9 10 10 9 95 Harrisburg Road. Um the applicant as Waxland Investment LLC and I'm probably gonna not butcher this the name Arford Muhammad. Um the intent of the conditional use is for open is for a place of assembly. The zoning is currently low density residential. Um the future land use destination shows as being the growth area. Um it's this particular piece of property is is located um has residential residential all surrounding it. Um it's a 4.8 4.68 of an acre. It has an existing house on it that would have to be converted into um assembly use. Um to the north of it is you have LDR and professional business. To the south you have LDR, neighborhood business and MDR. To the east you have um professional business and to the west um you have LDR and MDR. So to next.

Okay. So the conditional use permit application was submitted to um to the um planning department. We it was attached with a sketch plan that went through just a coni our TRC committee um that had just a just a sketch of what was proposed. Um they had to ask for a conditional use permit go before the planning commission um and then of course come before um county council. I just want to make sure that even though if this was to get approved that does not approve that use there. It has to come back. It has to meet commercial site plan requirements and it has to meet um commercial upfit for the building and for fire. So that's another process that it would have to go through. Um, I believe the applicant's here. If you have any questions, um, that you might need to ask him or ask them or and I'll be glad to answer any questions if you have those um, for me as well.

All right. If the applicant could come forward.

Thank you chair and uh thank you council members. Uh my name is Arafat Muhammad. I am the current property owner also representing Waxon uh investments. Uh this is uh for a small community mostly we are engineers, doctors and professionals. We live in the South Charlotte and the Indian land area. So we I mean I personally I've been living in South Charlotte for almost like 16 years and I I lived on the Barberville Road for many years. My kids went to the Harrisburg elementary school on the same uh where the property is right now located. So as a professional uh I I head a payments technology head for a major bank here in in Charlotte area and I in my professional role uh I am dedicated improving the financial well-being of many of millions of Americans and the same sense of uh uh responsibility and commitment I try to put in this application so that uh it's it's a simple land use uh conditional use request right now And once the uh county commission approves we will go to the rest of the process of uh the site uh approval SC dot fire marshals everything we will go and satisfy the requirement whatever the county need it's just simp simple land use request for now so once the county approves then we will go through the every step in the process make sure that we comply with everything what is required from a county standards point of view again this is a small project with a very uh if We go into the uh the the slides here. This is the existing single family uh dwelling on site. It has two uh basically two uh houses on that. We plan to use the existing use not to increase anything just use the current houses which is uh currently in the property. That is the first thing. The second

thing is it's it's a place of assembly defined under UDO section 5.6.3 6.3 conditional permission in the LDR and the planning staff again before we go into the project I've been working with the planning staff department almost like uh since the November last year and we went through multiple properties and then once uh we said like whether this property qualify this property qualify then when we land this property the uh the staff planning staff say that yeah this property in the LDR zone can comply for place of assembly then that's when we went ahead and bought the land and all those Uh so again I just request the county to apply existing UDO standards which you already have for the Lancaster county and all those things. Next slide please. Yeah. So this is we started with three-step process. The first step is the staff position. We worked with all the planning staff department when submitting the site plan initial section. We had a back and forth reviews and all those things and they have given all the list of things how much of uh the offsets which we need to do the other properties and everything. We did all that and then the next is we are here to get the your approval for the land use and then once it is approved we will go to the rest of the permit process whatever is comp required for the county and make sure that the project comply with every standards the county specifies the next slide please again what I'm say trying to say is it just uh this is a I try to uh put the UDO definition in terms of place of assembly and again all the on the left side the proper land use criteria. So everything we will go through making sure that we will fire safety lighting all the enforcable conditions which is needed for this project we will comply with all of that. Uh if you look into the property here uh the site map which you present to the planning department it's again we are

asking very small assembly it's only parking space of 28 cars and when we talked to the uh the county and fire marshall and they said uh in if you're putting it 28 cars if it is standing assembly they said a four member uh 28 into four if 28 cars are there and then almost like 100 people can be accommodated in the place of assembly if it is standing If it is sitting then it's a it's a 28 into two. So because of it's a standing assembly we're saying 100 people with only 28 cars which is again a very light assembly which we're requesting here. The next slide please. That's right. Yeah. So as I said like in the beginning uh we we went through the uh Lancaster planning staff department every details of what is required initially as the for the conditional use. So all all these requirements here we we said again we will work with the county's site plan approval s we will go and work with the SC dot we'll work with the storm water plan department fire marshall building code compliances parking and buffering once all these things are done then finally we were going to make a final condition for the occupancy of verification all those things this is very standard process which you follow for every every case of land use and then you go through the next uh steps of the process uh we did all there are some questions around the last uh public forum. Uh I try to address all of those questions in terms of traffic, parking, overflow, school coordinations, storm order, public safety, lighting, noise and we I try to answer some of them but again all these questions raised will be worked with the respect to departments when we get a certificate of occupancy uh once the land use uh conditionally approved.

This is again uh we we try to put together some kind of a recording facts here like within 2 miles radius what are the other properties and all those things next to the LDR zoning there are some examples I have given uh the ordinance criteria staff analysis technical review evidence so all of them we try to collect and so that so that this is this is a very simple project to show that very small project very light assembly and and also there's a lot of uh there's some kind have reference material uh some of the public questions which was raised in the last uh forum uh particularly on the traffic and all those things. So this Harrisburg road if you consider almost like uh uh 9,000 cars pass through every day and all those things this 28 cars on a Friday and then every day there's five to 10 cars is a is a is a is a rounding error on on at least there are some questions around the traffic if you might have but definitely it's a very very lightweight in terms of the traffic which goes on that Harrisburg road and all those things. So what I request for the county just approve with the conditions and once you approve we will go through as I said like all all the compliances which we need for the county uh for the departments uh and we make sure that we we go through every requirement and then meet the standards which is a county needed. That's all I have and I have some reference material here like uh I tried to do some traffic patterns and all those things. Can you go to the slides here? We tried to put some graphs around like what is the Harrisburg road traffic uh how many cars frost through and I said like very context I was giving like 25 to 30 vehicles on a Friday and five to 10 cars on a regular other weekday. This is this is nothing in terms of num the number of cars goes through that Harrisburg almost like 9,000 cars in a day versus 25 to 30 cars uh which we do

on Friday but the rest of the other days 5 to 10 cars maximum. All right. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you for your team. So really appreciate. Any questions?

Okay. We'll now turn to the public comment portion of this public hearing. This is a quasi judicial proceeding, which means council's decision must be based on the evidence presented in the standards set forth in the county's ordinance. Comments must be limited to relevant land use issues such as traffic and access, infrastructure and utilities, compatibility with surrounding uses, public health, safety and welfare. This body cannot consider opinions about religious beliefs, the identity of the applicant, or generalized support or opposition unrelated to land use impacts. All speakers will be treated equally, and we ask that if comments remain respectful and focused on the applicable criteria. We will now open the floor. Each speaker will have three minutes. Please state your name and address for the body. For the record, direct all comments to the body as a whole. Limit your remarks to land use issues relevant to this application. Comments that are not relevant to the ordinance standards may be redirected. We are going to have um one for one against. We'll follow that um as we go through all those who have signed up for uh the public hearing. Uh we'll start with those in favor. Na abasum.

Um my name is Nadiaum and I live on 580 Brook Haven Drive in Fort Mill. Good evening chairman and council members. This area in this community is where I spent most of my life and also gained my gained my education, where my family lives and where I now building my future. Growing up, we all need a place where we feel like we belong, a place we are guided in the right direction, a place that brings peace into our lives. For many of us, this is a place of worship and a place of peace, reflection, and learning. A place where we are reminded to be kind, respectful, and responsible. and mostly importantly a place of belonging for us. Sometimes as a young person I feel that people may not fully understand who we are but we are just like everyone else. We work hard. We care about families and we want to be part of this community and make an impact in a positive way. We are your neighbors and we're your students and we are gaining the future through this and together we have a family sort of feel with each neighboring person who joins the community. Having a place nearby makes it easier for a youth like me to stay connected not just to our faith but for positive values and to gain education and to build connection for each person who wants to grow. This isn't just about a building but it's having a place that brings peace and guidance and hope into our lives of the young generation. Um I ask if you can please give us a place where we can grow in peace and give back to the community that raised me. Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you. Mr. Larry Bird. Good evening, councilors. Thank you so much for letting me talk tonight. I ask you to vote no on the proposal to construct a mosque in the area for the following reasons. Traffic congestion, pressure on the infrastructure of this area, a change of culture of the area. Uh currently we're happy with our government being operated under the opaces of the United States Constitution and its founding documents which is the bedrock proposition that the government that the governed people have a right to make law for themselves. We have freedom of conscience. We have freedom of expression. We have economic liberty and we have equal equal treatment under the law and also we have the constitution gives us freedom from cruel and unusual punishments. a condemnation of terrorism. Also, as with the constitution gives us an abiding commitment to deflate and resolve political controversies by the ordinary mechanism of federalism and democracy, not wanting violence. Number four, I have we do not want Sharia law in this area. Sharia dictates that non-Muslims be given three choices. Convert to Islam and convert to Sharia. submit as a secondass citizen or be killed. One more key point is that Sharia reh relegates women to a status of inferior to men. The last point I have is democracy versus Islam. Any system of man-made law is considered illicit under Islamic law. Thank you for allowing me to speak and I again ask you to vote no on the construction of the mosque at this site. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Mr. bird. I I would need to remind everyone to please consider that religious beliefs or opinion other than religion in this about this religion in this decision. Please limit your comments to land use impacts such as traffic safety or compatibility. Salman Mahmood. Uh hello, my name is Salman Mammud. I live in 9246 Veo Drive in Indianland and I'm here to talk today about our uh topic. So, first I would like to thank you for your time and consideration. Uh when we talk about development, we often focus on land, buildings and infrastructure. But what we what truly shapes a community is how people come together, how they support one another, raise their families and contribute to the place they call home. This mosque, the Islamic Community Center at its core is a space designed to strengthen those connections. Uh for me personally, this is about my children. I want them to grow up in a place where they feel connected to their community, where they learn the importance of giving back and where they can be a part of something positive. Right now, we do that in scattered ways, but having a dedicated space will allow us to do it in a more impactful way. Um the center allows us to bring those efforts under one roof. uh making them more consistent, more accessible, and more impactful. Um it will serve as a place for families to gather, for children to learn strong values, and for neighbors to build relationships. These are the same outcomes we expect from any community institution. Places that create stability, encourage involvement, and strengthen the social fabric of the area. The individuals who will use the center are already part of this county. We live here, we work here, our children go to school here. This space simply gives us the ability to organize, contribute, and engage more effectively

as members of this community. In addition, having multiple gathering spaces within the region allows activity to be more evenly distributed, supporting a more balanced and manageable flow across the area. The project represents both a practical and meaningful investment, responsible use of existing land, extensions of ongoing community service, increased access to youth and family programs, strengthening of civics engagement and connection. And we are committed to being good neighbors, active participants, and a positive presence in this community. At the end of the day, this is not just about a building. It's about what happens inside it. People helping people, families growing together, and the community becoming stronger because of it. A thriving community isn't defined by who gathers there. It's defined by what they give back. And we are here to give back. And I respectfully ask for your support. Once again, thank you.

Thank you. Karen Columbus. Hello, my name is Karen Columbus. I live at 319 Berg Circle, Fort Mill, South Carolina. And thank you, chairman and council members for this opportunity to speak. I continue to oppose a mosque being built on 10935 Harrisburg Road for several reasons. In our country, the United States of America, our Constitution is based on Judeo-Christian beliefs, morals, and principles. We are taught to love our neighbors and live peacefully with them. Unfortunately, the belief system of most Muslims contradict that. Quran 9123 says, "Make war on the infidels living in your neighborhood." And there's been experience is that when mosques have been built miss

it also teaches Sharia law and our president of the United States has forbidden Sharia law. Mr. Columbus again keep your comments to the pertinent items. Okay. I just want to say this is not about a place of worship. This is not about religion. Islam is not a religion. It's a takeover. And if you've done any studies, if you listen to any of the news medias, you will find out that that is true.

So, I'm also in disagreement with the traffic proposal and the the pressure it would put on the grid. Thank you. Thank you, Joel Mills. Miller. Okay. I don't mean to be butchering anybody's name, but um there's all different kinds of handwriting here. Thank you very much.

Good evening, council members, and good evening everyone. Yeah, I'm Joel Miller living at 2021 Christopher Woodcourt and I'm here in support of the building of a mask in Indian land. And my reason um based on all the stat the statistical analysis done by Arafat we looked at the traffic and you know speak to what's currently um over 900 or so um traffic that's passed through on a daily basis and looking at what's proposed that is showing you on a weekend on a Friday which is their main day for worship is um going to be much less traffic coming through. Also, I need to express that I'm a devoted Christian and I've lived among Muslim throughout my entire life, professional life that is. And I just asking you to vote yes to allow the opening of a mosque where law-abiding Muslim cannot come as a place of as Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Miller. Uh, Donna McRi.

Hello, my name is Donna McCroy. I live at 10957 Harrisburg Road in Indian Land. In October 2002, my husband Jean and I bought an acre from Bill Pettis, who previously owned this property that you guys are debating, and we built a house beside him. We moved from East Charlotte to what was in the middle of nowhere. We sat on the front steps during construction, waiting for a car to come down the road. In the last 24 years, I've watched subdivision after subdivision and a few businesses go up until it's hard to get out of my driveway anymore at any time of day. Sadly, my husband passed away of a brain bleed in June of 2017. And back then, nine years ago, it took 15 minutes for Lancaster County EMS to get to our house. Would he have lived if the traffic was not so bad? Good question. God help anyone who needs an ambulance now. Yet, anyone who wants to contribute to the traffic in the panhandle apparently gets the go-ahad, the green light. Congestion is the issue here. We do not need to add to it with any place of assembly that will add any traffic to our residential street. Thank you very much,

Muhammad Mahmud. Uh my name is Mohammed Mahmud. I live at 9246 Vikure Drive in Indian land with my family and I do support I mean this mosque or or a place of assembly for certain reasons I mean I have two granddaughters and we have to take it to north I mean there is no specific place where they can engage where they can play where they can learn so for that reason I mean I do feel that we do need a place in the in the community when it comes to traffic I mean very frankly it's a it's a very low number of cars we are talking about and the cars are on the road anyways. We are going north, we are going south uh uh at that time. So I don't think so that they will add anything to the to the traffic itself.

Thank you. Thank you sir. Elizabeth Howie

Elizabeth Howey 1187 Harrisburg Road. Thank you for considering our community concerns regarding approval of the mosque at 10935 Harrisburg Road in Indianland. According to the South Carolina Department of Transportation, the last traffic count in 2025 was an average of 7,300 vehicles and 3% were trucks. The traffic on Harrisburg Road is already overburdened. The new Harrisburg Global Academy, the charter school, has a capacity for 800 students, grades six through six, excuse me, grades K through six, and they will have school buses. Excuse me. There are cars parked on both sides of the road at another mosque near the North Carolina line on Harrisburg Road and about a block from the new charter school. The traffic is backed up on Fridays, so it was so congested they hired a police officer to stop traffic to allow them to enter and exit on Harrisburg Road. As I sat in line many times, I noticed the license plates are predominantly from North Carolina. I spoke to Tim Kaiser, engineer at Lancaster County Water and Sewer District. He says no pro provisions for public sewer are in place to serve the mosque or that area of Harrisburg Road anytime soon. It has been documented that there is a family cemetery on this property for the state of South Carolina that must be preserved. Would the residents that would be affected by the already heavy traffic on this road please stand?

Thank you for consideration of the traffic issues. Please deny the conditional use of this property for a mosque. Thank you, Adnan Jaffrey.

Good evening, chairman and council members. My name is Adnan Joffrey. I live at 379 Wine Street, Fort Mill, South Carolina. So, I've lived here for more than 10 years. And like many others, my family and I are proud to call Lancaster County home. We have young kids. They go to school here, participate in all the different school activities, and it's really we love the neighborhood and we love the neighbors around us. We understand growth brings concerns, especially around traffic and development, but there are processes and we as good neighbors want to work through them. We want to understand them and we want to make sure we address them. For right now, our request is just for conditional use permit until we actually go through and meet all the other requirements and then we will go forward from there. At the end of the day, this is simply a request for a peaceful place of worship where local families like mine and others can pray, gather, support one another, and contribute positively to the community and help our kids also build a strong sense of neighborhoodness and identity together, which is what defines us in this great country where we it's such a great what we call a melting pot, right? It's it's simply awesome. We love it. Lancaster County has a strong tradition of faith, family, and neighborliness. We are simply asking for the opportunity to continue building our lives here, serving the community we already call home. Thank you very much for your consideration.

Thank you, Michael Hutchinson. Michael D. Hutchinson Jr. 11267 Macalpine Circle, Indian Land, South Carolina. Mr. Chairperson and honorable members of the council, I rise to urge the council to uphold the planning commission's denial of the conditional use permit for this property. I do so gentlemen and ladies on the basis of public welfare. It's a funny thing, public welfare, isn't it? It's a nice word. What are we talking about when we talk about welfare? We're talking about well-being. Talking about the well-being of the community. Not just its essay, but it's been a essay, its ultimate good. I do not envy you tonight, council members, because what is before you tonight is much more than simply a question of land. It is at root a conflict between world views. The question is not whether or not I can find a violent Christian or a peaceful Muslim. I can find both. All I'd have to do is walk out your front door and throw a rock. All of these things are easy to find. The issue at the public welfare level, honorable council members, is the question of foundational order. There is a long tradition in western political thought that recognizes members of local government as lesser

magistrates who have a duty to interpose on the behalf of their community to any threats to that foundational order. Honorable council members, I would remind you that you have stepped into a much bigger conflict than you may think you have. So before you rule on this matter, I would invite you just for a moment to step back, consider the deeper world view issues that are at play here tonight and that you consider on that basis what is not just the being of your community, but what is its well-being? It is not enough that you consider its essay. You must also consider its ben essay, its ultimate good. And that that's the question that you've got to answer tonight. Thank you very much, honorable council members, for your time, for your service to this county, and for your willingness to listen to your constituents tonight. Thank you.

Thank you. Iram Khan Gran, council chair and council members. I'm really um feeling very down after hearing some comments without having fully understanding of the religion of Islam. I'm not going to talk about that but I think people should read and study about it before talking like that. Um anyways um what I'm trying to say here is that this assembly um place that we are trying to establish is for the betterment of our next generation to make them peaceful citizens, responsible citizens of this country. Um, and to be honest, after hearing some of the very negative comments, we can use this place of assembly for interfaith dialogue for people who have misconceptions about Islam, can learn from it, and see how Islam and Christianity and Judaism, they're all from one source and this will really help the community around this if this assembly place is established help uh them to understand that we are all one we are not different nobody is supposed to be calling nobody bad or

terrorist and things like that so that's all I have to say as I said um as this assembly place is for building the next generation to be responsible and peaceful citizens of this country. Thank you, Martha Ray.

Thank you so much. Um, when I moved to Indian Land about eight years ago, I thought it was perfect, you know. Oh, I'm sorry. Martha Ray, 1105 Carolina Acres Road, Indian Land. I apologize. When I moved about eight years ago um on Carolina Acres Road, I thought, "Oh, this is wonderful." You know, I could walk my dogs, you know, great community. Right off the bat, met some of the most wonderful neighbors that are my dear friends today. Not so much now. Um I think back then you could get about three cars an hour even in the busiest time. Now it's up to about 20 I'm sorry 12 to about 25 depending on the time of day, you know, whether it's rush hour. So I have to kind of time myself when I do my walk to get down to the next street where it's not so busy. Carolina Acres Road, if you do not know, is a cutthrough between Barberville and Harrisburg. So therefore, it leaves us both congested area. As we turn off on Harrisburg, we have the traffic. As we turn up to Barberville, we have the traffic with no stoplight. Um, so traffic has increased into the most. There's a proposed high school to be built. Um, there's, as they've mentioned, there's a charter school being built. But the thing that kind of gets me the most when I moved to the area was I would head into Pinebull and on a Friday uh depending, you know, before 4:00, I would get backed up and I thought there was like a big sale going on or something. I didn't know what was happening. So finally I was told that there was a mosque there and that you know you had to wait in line. And that was exactly what happened. If you were not going into the moss or coming out, you had to wait because at that time they'd have a private person out there

directing traffic and you would just wait. So finally I'd make get into Pineville and it would work out. And that brings the question, why a mile and a half away another moss? And I have been told from outside sources that this moss will eventually become the overflow because they have anywhere from two to four 2,000 to 4,000 cars that come in to that moss on a Friday for prayer. I don't have that documented. I just know that people have said that. The other thing is that you know why do you want to take our beautiful low density communities these communities that have been there especially this one community for years they've raised their children they now visit with their grandchildren you know they're having to deal with all the traffic as we do in my neighborhood but at hope that someday that their children would want to boot back to the community and their children would have children. So, I'm asking you to save the community with what is there. And let's not become another Minnesota, Texas, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, and Europe. Thank you,

Muhammad Aimon. Hello, my name is Mohamad Ajmal. Good evening, chairman and the members of the council. Um, I'm the part of this community for almost 13 years and live right on the borderline in at 1553 Donington Drive, Charlotte, North Carolina. I'm part of this community for so many years. Uh I understand there are many concerns about the growth and the traffic in this area and I respect those concerns. Uh the goal of this project is not simply to create a place of worship uh but to create a place that contributes positively to the surrounding community. I want my two young daughters to have a place where they can go to learn about the basics of Islam but also about the community service and inclusiveness of this community. Uh our community has a strong traditions of helping families in need, supporting youth and education, organizing food drives and the charitable activities, encouraging volunteerism and the community engagement, promoting peace, respect and responsible citizenship. Uh we want to be a good neighbors and active contributors to the Indian land and the Lancaster County. Uh we also committed to working with the county and the nearby resident to ensure this remains a respectful low impact and well-managed place. I respectfully asked to the council to consider not only the concerns but also the positive long-term value of having a responsible community oriented and organization in this area.

I thank you very much for your time. Thank you, Trisha Hunt. Hello everyone. My name is Trisha Hunt and I have lived on 10879 Valley Hill Road, Indian Land for 35 years. This is a synopsis of an email that I sent you which is from me and the Person Plantation Homeowners Association against the or in objection to the conditional use request. Um, a printed copy of the email with pictures is included in the folder I've provided for each of you at this point. I will quickly read the synopsis of our opposition. Item number one, the property is in a residential area. see the aerial view on page two of your folder which shows the property's proximity to many adjoining residences and new high school adjoining property. Page four shows existing the existing home on the said property. Item two, security. All religious facilities fall into targetable asset category. Mosques are especially well documented as targets. There has been no mention of perimeter or any security for the neighborhood for the neighboring communities and residences to protect them from being used as a staging area for terrorist attacks on mosques. Item number three, traffic in this area is extremely excessive and Harrisburg Road struggles to handle the current traffic. This type of facility based on what we were told in the last meeting would add hundreds of car trips travels per day on Harrisburg Road. This would be in

addition in addition to the adjoining new 2,000 student high school planned which is which when it's completed will add hundreds of cars as well as buses to the existing traffic problems. Page two of your folder shows a picture of congregation members parked on Harrisburg Road attending the existing mosque which is 1.8 miles away which causes traffic stops and accidents even when police direct the traffic. Item number four, there is a graveyard on the property. See page four and five in your folder. These are recent pictures just the other day of the actual gravestones or some actual gravestones on the property and of the approximate area of the graveyard where it's located. There are two original owners of the property still living and when interviewed, according to them, there are approximately 50 to 100 graves on the site. Item number five, there is no county sewer service in this area. Item number six, there has been no storm water management discussed to protect the groundwater from runoff pollution and this type of pollution could interfere with any endangered Carolina hills spplitter conservation efforts. Item number seven, this facility seems to be in some opposition to some of the general goal intent of the UDS adopted by Lancaster County in 2026. Specific goals would include limiting home deol demolition and changes and enforcing design standards to help preserve the existing aesthetics of an area. Item number eight, Patterson Plantation private road traffic. Um we believe it will increase the traffic on our private road. The existing traffic

backups contribute to traffic using Valley Hill Road as a turnaround and it is a private road and is not maintained by the county. The road is not designed for this type of additional traffic and is damaged and the residents will have to pay for it. Item number nine, Harrisburg Road engineering, your time is expired. Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate you listen. So, Ram Wah.

Good evening. My name is Soan Wahi, living at 9503 Benton Place, Charlotte, North Carolina. My residents share a border with South Carolina just on the edge. The reason why I'm here is to support this initiative. Honorable council members, I moved to United States back in 2014. This great country has offered me growth, support, safety and prosperity not even in my career but also in the education for my children. Now why I am supporting this? Since I have moved to Charlotte, that was back in 2017. We have been looking, we have been striving to find a place with the same group of people. One of the community members Arafat is trying to arrange where me, my family and all the similar families can go in and practice what we believe in. Talking about the traffic, we have been traveling through the Harrisburg road and the meas and the count that was provided by Mr. is kind of accurate. 25 to 28 cars approx 100 people. We're talking about one day that would not make a big difference. Now what we are asking for is to approve

this conditional use and let us have a more prosperous gathering for us for our kids and our future generations. I heard some concerns about the safety. Now the people of the similar beliefs there has been lot of studies. We have been if you look at the statistics of the kids of Muslim community members how many have cleared the elementary middle high school college degree holders everything those are in high ratio in high percentage those concerns about oh it's going to be a threat

Mr. Sure. Then it's not relevant to let's No, I'm saying that this is the reason for the prosperity of not only our community but we want to be part of a service which can offer back to the community which which has given us so much. Thank you.

Thank you Josh Pangle. Josh Pangle, 1131 Society Lane. I'd like to start by saying thank you for being here and hearing our concerns. In this particular case, religion aside, I and my neighbors would oppose any proposed use outside of residential. As a 42-year resident of Indianland, I have witnessed growth, struggles, and pains, especially along Harrisburg Road, where traffic has overburdened a two-lane rural road. I think one of the most concerning issues for me is that the first statements made at the planning commission meeting by those proposing this was a complete lie. They stated there are no mosque in the area of Indianland that the closest was South Charlotte. Although the name is the Islamic Community Center of South Charlotte, it is 100% in Indianland only 1.8 miles north on Harrisburg Road. That is a 4-minute drive. If they can tell that lie with a clean conscience, how trustworthy are they? I live less than a half mile from the existing moss on Harrisburg Road. I watched it begin as a single family home in a residential area similar to how this one is proposed. Though I did not agree with it either, at least it was a bit more disconnected from nearby residences. Over the last handful of years, it has constantly expanded and is still actively expanding and has steadily added more people to its services along with far more traffic. Such traffic that on most Fridays they have had to hire an officer to direct traffic for them. That is not what Harrisburg Road needs, especially near the intersection of Barberville Road. I have personally known most of the residents in the immediate surrounding area and consider

them my local family. These folks have built homes, built families, many of them being there 30, 40, 50 years. They do not deserve to have this kind of development basically plop down in their backyard. Doing so will negatively impact their property values as well as their privacy and their quiet way of life. and what little bit of a quiet community we still have left. We as a community emphatically ask you to deny this request as it does not fit our community. Thank you. You fear Muhammad.

Good evening chair and council members. I'm Zaf Muhammad and I live at 14313 Stewardsburn Lane, Charlotte, North Carolina and it's just across the border and not very far from the proposed property. I'm here to kind of represent me, my family and the committee who needs a space for assembly. The main concern that I hear is mainly the traffic and like the other members mentioned, it's going to be for a very small gathering only on a Friday, right? And I'll keep it very short. I don't think that's going to be a big problem considering the amount of cars that go in day in day out on that road for just 25 to 28 cars on a on a single day in a week. Right. I'll just request you to approve the application for this property. Thank you.

Thank you Melissa Waler. Good evening, council members. I'm Melissa Woler. I reside at 11190 Macalpine Circle in Indian Land. I am a lifelong resident of Indian land and I can attest to everything that you've heard today from the conflict of traffic to uh some of the disparaging comments about what this particular development would bring to our community. I respectfully ask you tonight to uphold the planning and zoning commission's unanimous decision to deny this based on the compatibility of land use or lack thereof, infrastructure concerns, and the protection of the existing residential character of our community, our community. The planning commission carefully reviewed this request and they did deny it as I said unanimously. I believe that recommendation deserves serious consideration because it reflects legitimate concerns regarding zoning compatibility and long-term community impact. This property is located in an established residential area. Families including myself purchased their homes there with the expectation that the surrounding area would remain primarily residential in nature. Introducing high traffic institutional use in the middle of this environment changes the character and our expectations of our neighborhoods. Now you ask, how does high traffic

impact 1.8 eight miles north of this mosque slows every bit of our lives down and it makes it very dangerous. Presently, we're watching the construction of the charter school go up and the construction traffic alone is horrendous. We still have an elementary school and a possible high school slated for that area and we have residential development that still is not finished. What are we going to do? How are we going to do it? We want a 521 on Harrisburg. I don't think that can happen. I want you to hear me. Please hear me. Approving additional infrastructure traffic before understanding the full impact of current and already approved development feels premature and inconsistent with responsible planning. I think we would be ignorant to sit here tonight without full comprehension of how this will impact every member of this county. To think that any business, any school or any organization would build or plan or design without the potential and the hope for growth is ignorance and it will grow if allowed. Thank you for your consideration.

Thank you Shak Manin.

Good evening council members and the chairman. Um my name is Abdul Manan. I live in the Fort Mill area for over a decade. Um and um I'm a parent of five childrens. As a parent, the most important thing for me to grow our kids to be a good people. In today's world, children need support and safe place to grow. A place of worship like a mosque, a church or any faith gives children that kind of support. I understand that uh there are concern and respect that but at the end of the day all of us all of us no matter our background want our children's to be grow with respect for others and strong values. Please support a place that helps our children grow into the kind of people we all want in this community. Thank you for your time. Kad Matuga.

Good evening, council members, chairman. My name is Ted Matuga. I am a retired physician. I have spent 50 years of my life doing radiology and I have spent five years in Minneapolis. And I can tell you I have spent years studying Islam. Islam and western society values are incompatible. Totally incompatible. Now it's impossible to talk about religion and politics separately because they're intertwined.

Stick to the issue of rel. Okay. The the other thing is that the the uh the issue of traffic has already been in my mind decided. I mean there's just so much traffic right now. I can't imagine in my wildest dreams uh more traffic being added to this uh situation. But uh and for that reason alone I think it the the mosque uh idea should be uh nixed. Um, is Islam is a uh is a is is a completely different ideology than western civilization. It is totally incompatible with our civilization and would totally totally change our democ our uh

Thank you, Mr. Mata. Yeah. Okay. And uh thank you for your consideration and giving us an opportunity to express our feelings. Omar Azac Azelle.

Good evening, Mr. Chairman and uh council member. Uh my name is Omaril and uh I live in 117 Barklay Drive, Vaxon, North Carolina, share the border with South Carolina. Been living there for 30 years and um amazed to hear all the comments. I'm an ex police officer from Huntersville Police Department and just want to say I'm amazed to hear all the comments. So I'm in favor for mosque and thank you very much.

Cheryl Bullock Thank you, gentlemen, for allowing me to say something. My name is Cheryl Bulock. I live at 5211 Birch Harper Place off Barberville Road. I've been here three years. My husband was Air Force. We moved all over. Um, I was hoping this would be my forever home. Um, the the traffic and the safety issues have been very difficult for me. As I get older, I it keeps me at home because I don't want to get out there in that traffic. It's so fast. And on Harrisburg Road, you can't really turn. There's no um left turn arrow and it's it's scary. I would like to also concur with people who have said something about safety issues. Um I have a friend who was a former Muslim and she has a book and she has explained the um intent and goal behind Islam which is

please stick to the doineering and if that happens our safety I mean this is one of the issues the safety our safety is going to be thank you very much.

Sum shock ms m a s o m my name is Nasum. Good evening chairman and council members. Uh first I want to thank you for uh giving us the opportunity here to come here and also um the progress. I've been living in Indian land for uh for like eight years. I've been my son uh when I moved in here in Charlotte area he was like 2 years old. So the level of growth that Indian land has seen is just because of council members like you. You guys had a vision and the vision is to make people like us come here, live here, work here, shop here. I remember 2010 when I moved in here beyond Walmart it was there was nothing. It was just like you know small place all trees, right? But now when we go back when you look at it you allowing not only just me and then the young generation the kids you'll be surprised they had to go somewhere else go miles for um for shopping even for schools now we have amazing schools uh in Indian land right so this really helps our kids right this is not about us it's about our kids and that's the vision that you guys have and it's amazing that what I see 10 years, 10 years, a lot of things have changed. So, thank you for that. And especially for the staff. I remember

when I came here in 2014 with my dad, the level of interaction the county staff has and how much they help us ask like any questions and they answer is amazing. It's amazing. So, thank you for all you do. Without you guys, I don't think so we would be able to live here and do what we do today. Right now I know the the the main point here is the place of assembly. Right. So like all some people you like you know who were here before for for all of us we need a place to meet talk not only just for like people like like like me my age but the younger generation right they need a place for they where they can come in and then uh talk grow and then even for them to learn new things right so that is only possible if we have a place of assembly That helps us even with the kids to teach them what is right, what is wrong, work with your neighbors, work with residents. Right? So this is very important for not only for us, for the kids who can be easily lost if we don't have a place where they can interact with other kids and see what's going on. So this is all about having the next generation come and work with everybody not just not just among like you know go somewhere else and then and especially these kids are extremely smart. They are learning with the best schools in the county. Oh my god they are learning so much than what I have learned and we want them to stay here. We don't want them to go somewhere else some other cities. We want that talent to stay here within this county within Indian land and then give us give us back to the community. So this land use is all about not just about just prayers it's about

prayers plus it's about charity about the kids growth about their schools about learning everything. So please give us this opportunity for all of us and for our kids. Thank you for your time. Thank you,

John Saul. Uh, good evening, members of county council. My name is John Saul, 20 Sweet Brier Drive, Indianland, South Carolina. Um well you're have another conundrum from India land thrust upon you to make a monumental decision tonight. Uh I don't envy you. Uh we have continuing disaster of uh traffic issues in India, Harrisburg Road tonight we're talking about and uh no easy answers especially with all the uh uh ongoing development uh new schools I'm hearing uh in somewhere down the road here in the not too distant future I guess since they are so badly needed. But uh I just uh I'm here to encourage you to stand by uh ruling from the planning commission where they voted uh five to one to oppose the reszoning. The infrastructure just cannot handle it. Uh I also very much in agreement with se several people that spoke including Mr. Pangle, young man right here, second row back. Uh you know again a major conundrum and yes we can't talk about religion uh but uh you know there have been some uh offers of interfaith dialogue tonight but I just don't know where that could possibly go when uh Mohamad's favorite wife was Aisha who was 9 years old Mr. Solved. Thank you. Arafat Muhammad.

Do they not understand?

Are they going to try to Muhammad? Thank you chairman uh and the council members. Yeah, definitely uh I heard all the feedback from both sides and all those things. As I said like this was a very small project uh where a small assembly I said most of the people here like which I represent is all professional particularly engineers doctors and and and all the all the the teachers and then some of the uh the lecturers which is goes to the university and all those things that's a community here we want to serve and also it's very small You'll have a chance to speak at the end. So, we're going to let somebody else speak.

Okay. You'll have a chance to rebut everything. So, Okay. Thank you. John Pettis.

I'm John Pettis. Live on 1087 Parisburg Road. We've been there 54 years. Seen a lot of changes. I was going to talk tonight about traffic, but everybody's pretty much covered that. The area down there is not suitable for a mosque, a church, Baptist church is just not enough area that'll do it. So, I'm going to go ahead and skip across to what's going on in the community. Future stuff across the road from Mos where you want to pause. Y'all have already approved 40 acres for apartments. That's 40. I don't know how many apartments that'll be. 40 acres of apartment behind the land where the new school is going to go. They're going to enter on Bville Road. The exit will be on Harrisburg Road about an eighth of a mile. Behind that over on Pattis Road is 60 acres already been sold. I don't know if it's zoned or not. I'm sure y'all probably aware of it. 60 acres already sold. That's going to be developed for housing. Come back up to Barberville Road. 90 acres up there. It's either been sold or in the process of being sold for housing. That's a bunch more cars coming that area. I think we need to look and see what that's going to do before we start adding more traffic. By the way, I checked on sire to see how many mosque in the area. There's six mosque within six and a half miles of this spot we're talking about. Plus, there's one right up the road a mile and a half. Anyhow, that's basically all I got to say. I got to tell you, fell, I hate to see it when political correctness is used against the people. It's happening federal government, state government, and local government. I just hate to see it. Thank you.

You Tariq Hi, my name is Aria Tariq, 924 9246 Veo Drive, Indianland. Um, I'm for the mosque. I have two young girls and um I think um they need a community and I would really like taking them there and letting them know about the neighborhood like the mosque and stuff. Thank you.

Thank you. Kathy Storm. Good evening, councilmen, and my name is Kathy Storm, and I live at 5025 Redwood Grove Trail in Indian Land. Um, I have been here many, many times and almost every time that I've come, I have talked about infrastructure. Nothing has changed in the three years or so that we've been telling you desperately that we need infrastructure before any development, nothing. We need to get that taken care of first so that the citizens of this county feel safe and comfortable with possibly developing. We understand that somebody owns a piece of property, they have the right to sell it. I get it. We all get it. But we are trying to tell you before that happens, we need to have infrastructure. I think it's been interesting to listen to some of the comments that have been made tonight that um the traffic is minimal and yet we hear the traffic is so strong that you can you sit for 15 to 20 minutes and and that is a two-lane road.

Um my suggestion was let's do a traffic study. Let's not hear somebody say, "Oh, it's only 5 to 10 cars on Friday." Because that's not true. I travel that road. I know how many cars are there. And I have sat in while I I don't know what the traffic was caused by. I'm not saying it was caused by the mosque that's further up or it was a school. All I'm saying is that it's an inconvenience and it's against safety regulations. Not I'm not saying against safety regulations. I'm just saying it's not safe for if you needed an ambulance and you were having a stroke. I think you would want where are the people going to go with all those cars on a two-lane road? There's no place else. And I would ask respectfully that you allow this or you require the same comments from those who are talking positively for the mosque as you are for those who are talking against it. Thank you very much for your time. Farb looks like Z A F A R. It might be L A F A R. There we go. Thank you.

Good evening. Thank you very much everyone. Uh my name is Zafur Ikbal. Uh I'm a physician. I've been practicing in Lancaster for the last 15 years. Uh I also go to Indianland and Rockill. I live in the border of South and North Carolina. Uh I don't want to take anybody's time. Just few quick things. The one issue I saw constantly is traffic. That that's an issue. Uh I think Mr. Arafat put in his slide that not few cars. He mentioned there are roughly 9,000 cars that go through that road and what we are requesting is 28 additional cars only on Friday for two hours. So we can do the math every day 9,000 cars go by. On every Friday we have a congregation like like we have on Sunday churches for a Muslim on Friday we have congregation from one to three and we are only ask for 28 car parking spot on daily basis you can add five to 10 cars maximum so that's not going to be and I understand the traffic has increased because I live in the area I travel to Lancaster for last 15 years there was only one or two red lights there like 10 or 20 it used to take me 15 minutes now it takes me 35 five minutes to come to work. Uh but we cannot ignore the upside of economic opportunity with all these new traffics and houses and businesses that come to the area. Uh secondly, the issue was raised about the LDR. Uh there are multiple other congregation places and assembly halls in the same LDR area. Uh there was also an issue about graves at the property, 5,200 graves. uh and was quoted that somebody said that. I think we should not trust what somebody said. We should look into that and if there are any graves they should be respected according to the county laws. Uh storm water and sewage should would also be taken care of. Uh the planning commission will receive all the

documents and all the requirements for the area. Uh for the rest I don't want to bring the religion another issue. I think we all have discussed that already. Thank you so much everyone. Abdul Shak.

Good evening everybody. Uh my name is Abdul Shik. Um I reside at 9105 Viko Drive, Indian land and I respectfully ask for your support of the mosque proposed mosque. I understand there are concerns about traffic and safety and we we fully respect those concerns. As a local residents, we are committed to working with the county and commi community to ensure traffic, parking and safety are handled responsibly and thoughtfully. As Arat mentioned, he will be working with the county planning to, you know, uh to make sure it's ready. Uh for many families, this is simply about having a peaceful place to worship, raise our children. as I have a 5-year-old daughter where we want to stay connected as a community. We leave her, we live here, work here, contribute to the Lancaster County, and want to continue being a positive and respectful neighbors. I respectfully ask this request as considered fairly and consistently just like any other place of workship. So, thank you for your time and consideration.

Thank you, John Garrett. Thank you for hearing me. My name is John Garrett. Mike, I live at 9748 Black Horse Run Road. I appreciate your time. Uh before starting, I just want to point out that in America, we have freedom of religion. This means you can practice or not practice whatever you want. That's important. It's why I joined Marine Corps. and it's one of the things that I uh one of the reasons that I served. So, that aside, we're here to talk about why we want it or why we don't. And the uh first thing that comes to mind is low density residential. Being that I came from uh Black Horse Run, I can tell you the traffic was not kind. It makes me want to annex Fort Mill. It makes me want to annex Indian Land and split Lancaster County in two because of the traffic. And yet here we are talking about adding more traffic to Harrisburg Road. Property was purchased knowing that it was a low density residential area. And well, if it gets denied, it gets denied. I've heard so far at least four people who do not reside in Lancaster County speak. So we're having outsiders speak instead of the residents that actually speak, live, work, and reside here. Right now, there's an existing structure and according to the Lancaster Water Utility uh place, no review is needed. But if it gets torn down, you're going to have to have a review. I've heard something about 28 parking spots, yet at the prior meeting, I heard a 100 parking spots. What about a thousand or 2,000? Is that going to add traffic? Houses of worship only grow. Rarely do they Wayne? Why would we put a house of worship between existing homes? Did anyone ask

those neighbors that live there and pay property taxes if they're comfortable with it? Has a surrounding property value impact study been performed? Like some of the people that spoke prior, houses of worship can negatively impact property values. I like my I like Indian land and its growth. It's nice to watch the house that I live in grow in value. Would putting a church or a mosque near it derail that value? I don't know. But I want to keep my money. And then lastly, the uh the existing grave sites. You know, we got rumors and all that, but maybe it's true. Maybe there are existing grave sites. That's a uh that's a legal quagmire. I'm sure that will be interesting to watch play out. I ask you to vote no on the resolution. Thank you.

Thank you. Uh, Samir Samir Rula Muhammed. Good evening, chair and the council members. Thank you for the opportunity to speak here. I live at 3539 Monastic Road, Indian Land. I would like to request the council to consider the realistic reasons for approving this request that our group has. We requesting for a place to meet, a place to meet once a week on off peak hours on a Friday. Apart from that, maybe in the evenings, maybe 10 people, five cars. We're not going to flood the community, flood the cards. A peaceful community where people meet with likewise ideas fostering their beliefs giving back to the community like there will there are always other establishments in the area which will be coming up which have been coming up. There are schools there are medical facilities with growth comes traffic of course we are not talking about traffic which will burden the existing roads. At the same time, we also would like to give back to the community, taking part in whatever ways we can in the future by giving back to the community with respect to safety, taking part in safety drills, you know, making our kids learn CPR in whatever ways we can. Specifically talking about traffic of course the area has experienced a lot of growth but with growth or whenever we gain something we have to give up something but that doesn't mean that we look only at the negatives. The road that the study we we have conducted of course has 9,000 cars passing every day

and we are not going we are not going to add more traffic in off peak uh in peak hours. Let's say if we had a concern if the people or the neighbors have a concern about the traffic in peak hours of course it's going to act traffic that's a different concern but we talking about mainly the gatherings would be on off peak hours. Lastly, we also want our own kids, upcoming generation to feel that they have a place like others. And I think that's their right for the for any community, for any upcoming generation to have a place where they can practice their beliefs, share ideas and grow and let the community grow. Again I request the council to look at the viable you know all positives and also we will work on whatever permissions and whatever norms the county needs going forward we'll make sure that we follow them and we get approved. Thank you for any chance. Good evening

Ian Warren You may give it to the clerk to council.

Ian Warren to you in the overflow. I don't see him coming in. All right. Uh we'll call this public hearing closed. Um At this time, um, council members, um, Miss Kato, can you come to the podium

this time? Council members, direct any questions you may have, Miss Kato, follow up and closing out her comments. So, Miss Kato, what were the reasons that the planning commission denied this? um the issues with traffic concerns, infrastructure, the usage, the times that the site would be used, um noise, lighting, um those were some of the topics that they talked about.

I don't recall a lot of those. I remember traffic compatibility with the neighborhood, um storm water infrastructure, all of those things. And I have consistently on council talked about infrastructure and the need for infrastructure before we do additional growth. And I just can't see how there's a reason how we can add additional infrastructure. We heard several comments about we don't know what the uses are going to be. We don't know what the growth is that is coming. I just don't see how this is compatible. I don't see I haven't heard any arguments about the the roads, fire, EMS, all of those are going to be impacted. Whether it's 28 cars or 100 people, there are going to be impacts that we just don't have right now. So, I I can't support that.

Any other comments? Any more questions to Miss Kato? Mr. here. Yeah, I I would my concern has consistently been infrastructure as well and specifically on Harrisburg Road. Um, you know, we have a site for a fire station. Um, we have not built that fire station. Um, we're talk this is consideration for a place of assembly. I mean, obviously, we can't put conditions that there can only be 100 people. We don't know how many people it's going to be um in five years or 10 years or two years or one year. Um so my concern is just

Mr. Graham um right now this time is to ask questions of Miss Discussion in a minute. Fair enough. There any other questions to Miss Kato? Uh I do have a question for Miss K. Um, can you talk a little bit more about conditional use in terms of once that approval is given for conditional use? I mean, is it it stays out there for the length of that property? There's no it's not doesn't end when the propertyy's transferred or anything like that. I just want to make sure I understand conditional use. And

so yeah, once you approve the conditional use and it's attached to that property, um, and as long as that use is there, it would be allowed. And if we allow that and then there's the neighboring property wants to have a place of assembly, then that's going to be under the same theory. Correct. Yeah. If the zoning the zoning that zoning district allows it where they can apply for a conditional use then yes sir. Any additional questions to Miss Kato.

Thank you Miss Kato. I will call back the applicant back up for any final comments or rebuttals. Thank you Mr. Chair and thank you Mr. Council members. Yeah, I heard all the comments and all the positive negative and all those things. Again the project is just it's it's a conditional use. So as for the UDU and all those things. So once the conditional is done there is there is for the permit process to go through the SC dot need to get involved. They need to do the traffic study and say that whether that that can be permitted or not. The fire marshals need to study their analysis. They need to do that and then then then then the planning need to come back and different departments within the county they have to go through all the things. This conditional use doesn't mean that there's a certificate of occupancy. The certificate of occupancy is a multi-step process before before even we go there. The conditional use what we are requesting here is according to the Lancaster County UDO standards and all those things. If it is not the mosque, if it's some church, it's the same same principles, same neutral uh categories. It's it's exactly same thing. I went through and I pull the reports from the AAD. Again, I myself is a professional. I'm head of the payments department in a major bank. And here like you can see most of the people, some of them is a cardio physician, some of them is a nuclear scientist. So this is a community which is trying to bring lot more value to the Indian land and Lancaster community and I've been living here for almost like 16 years and my kids they they they have aspiration to become a doctor their aspiration to

become an engineer to give back more to this community that is that is the principle here this is there are a lot of stereotypes and all those things but again I don't want to go as a professional I try to put a plan again I I my day-to-day life is making the financial lives of millions of Americans safe and well-being of those that's what I try to do every day that exactly I'm trying to bring here to make sure that I follow the laws I follow the county standards make sure that we get the conditional use and then if SC dos think that it's 28 people this is a traffic issue and all those things we will address with them if the fire marshall think that this this building need to some restructuring and all those things we'll work with them it's here we We want to work with them. It's not like we're just like so and so people. We we are here living here and contributing them as majorly for this community for the Lancaster County as much as possible.

Thank you. Is there any questions? I I appreciate all of that. My concern stays the same that there is an incompatibility with the use right now of the surrounding areas. Um and it and you're right, it's any place of assembly would have the same issue. So regardless of what it is, that's the concern. There's also the traffic, the infrastructure, all the other impacts that you've that you've heard about tonight.

I respect that concern definitely. But that's that's that's a technical part of the decision- making. That's what the SC dot needs to define. That's what the uh the respective department needs to define. So if if they have any technical concerns, we'll definitely address it. But I'm not here on the technical discussion. When the technical discussion comes in, I'll sit with the SC SE dot. I will I will try to resolve when fire marshall comes in with their technical discussion. We'll sit with them and they resolve. Again, it's it's all the compliance that we want to meet. Th those are things that we also have to consider as well. Absolutely. It's not just and those are the considerations that we have.

Yeah. Absolutely. But my request here my decision doesn't change. I respect that. So

thank you sir. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you everyone for your time. Really appreciate council. Let's you have the opportunity to discuss the application now. Um make comments. Again please ensure that your comments are tied to the standards in the ordinance and evidence presented. Any discussion, Mr. Chair?

Yeah, I mean as as my concern again is this is on Harrisburg Road where we're talking about putting a place of assembly where there could be it could be many people and we don't know what that number is today or what it would be 5 years from now or whatever. We haven't put the infrastructure from a fire perspective um on in that area of the county and I would have major concerns on that. Um, and again, traffic is is an issue. My my concern is is more to do what what this looks like three years from now. And adding um a place of assembly in this location and this road at this time is is not something I can support.

There any other discussion? I hearing none. I'll need a motion to either approve approve with conditions, deny based on UDO standards, or to refer back to the planning commission for further consideration. I'll propose a motion to deny. I'm sorry. Oh, based off of the UDO. We have a motion to deny based on a UDO standards. We have a second. Can can you elaborate a little bit on those UDO standards?

Yeah, it's the same things that we've been talking about the compatibility of surrounding uses, traffic, infrastructure, have recorded. Okay, we have a motion and a second. Uh, Mr. Graham made the second. Is there any further discussion? Hearing no discussion, I'll call for the vote. All those in favor of the motion, please raise your right hand. All those opposed, it's unanimous. We're going to take a 10m minute break. Um, and we'll reconvene in 10 minutes.

We're we're going to be going back into order in just a couple minutes. Everybody, please get back to your seats. There is a couple good ones. I'll talk to you about stuff. We

Are you ready? Live.

Okay, we're we're back in session. Uh we're going to go on to item 8 C, public hearing and third reading of ordinance number 2026-2029. an ordinance to amend ordinance number 2025-1971 relating to the appropriation of funds and the approval of a detailed budget for Langster County for the fiscal year beginning July the 1st, 2025 and ending June the 30th, 2026. our fiscal year 2025 2026 to further provide for revenues and expenditures during the fiscal year and to provide for matters related there too. This passed 7 to zero at the April 13, 2026 council meeting passed 7 to zero at the April 27th, 2026 county council meeting. Miss Peruac. M Puzznak.

Mr. Chairman, there's no public hearing. Is that correct? Uh, we do not have anyone signed up for the public hearing. And can we get a motion to approve? We have a motion to approve. So moved. Have a motion from Mr. Louise. Second. Second from Mr. McGriff. Go ahead. Good evening everybody. Jamie Pvosnack. Um, there is no change to this agenda item for tonight. We have any questions? Any comments? All those in favor, please raise your right hand. All those opposed, it is unanimous.

Okay, we're going to go on to item 8 D. Second reading of ordinance 2026-2021, an ordinance to adopt amended policies related to pole workers and their classification as temporary employees as included in Langster County personnel policies and procedures. in accordance with Langster County Code Chapter 2, Article 4, relating to the Langster County Personnel Department, our policy, this passed 6 to1 at the May 6, 2026 County Council special meeting. Uh, Mr. Louise opposed, Mr. Willis. Uh, do we have a motion to approve? So moved.

Motion from Miss McGriff, a second from Mr. Melner. Go ahead, Mr. Willis. Mr. Mr. Chairman, cut the microphone on, Mr. Chairman, members of council, no change from first reading.

Have any discussion? Hearing none, I'll call for the vote. All those in favor, please raise your right hand. All those opposed. Motion passes 641 against. Move on to item 8E, second reading of ordinance number 2026-2030. An ordinance to amend the Langster County Code related to the meeting requirements of the Langster County Planning Commission as it relates to workshop meetings. This passed 7 to zero at the April 27th, 2026 county council meeting. Is there a motion to approve? So moved. Second.

Motion from Mr. Neil. A second for Mr. Harper. Mr. Willis. Mr. Chairman, members of council, there is one change on this one. As uh y'all directed at first reading, the attorney has added in not only can the chair call a meeting, but a majority of the commission can call a meeting. All right. Is there any discussion? Any questions with Mr. Willis? Hearing none, I'll call for the vote. All those in favor, please raise your What? I thought we already had the four members of the planning commission. Is that not a majority? That is the majority, right? Y'all y'all talked about that at first meeting. That is actually written in the ordinance at this point that that the call is chair or the four members. Yep.

All right. Okay. Are we ready for the vote now? Okay. All those in favor, please raise your right hand. All those opposed, it is unanimous. Okay. Okay, we're going to go on to item 8F, second reading of ordinance number 2026-2031, an ordinance to disestablish, dissolve the recreation advisory board and remove the duties and responsibilities of those persons and organizations associated there with this past seven to zero at the April 27th, 2026 county council meeting. Is there a motion to approve? So moved. Motion from Miss McGriff. Is there a second? Second

second from Mr. Lee. Uh is Mr. Clouden here?

Good evening. I have no change on our end, but do you have any questions about what was submitted? I believe there was some request for some backup as far as what we were going to propose. Okay. Is there any questions for Mr. Clouden? It was last time. I don't know where they went off to. I think the question was to understand you're moving from from advisory board members to ambassadors. Will those advisory board members have an opportunity to be an ambassador? Yes.

And and that they've been we've we've discussed that with them. Yes, they do. They they're aware of that. I I think part of the discussion was we wanted more details of how that program was going to work and the involvement that people would have, how the volunteers would get involved, what they would need to do, all of those things. You didn't give me a chance. You just took it from you right that was included in your agenda packet. Yep. That Jose was correct. Those are some of the things that some more detail and it was in the agenda packet.

So it' be in essence they would be serving as additional stewards for us, ambassadors, volunteers, however we want to phrase it. Right now we have it written up as a volunteer program. Um and we would use it for special events. We would use them for cleanups. Um our coaches technically count for this type of program, but it would be something that would give us um more input from the community in a different level. We've already heard from several people in the community who are interested once we put it in place and launch it that they will sign up and as I'd mentioned the the seven advisory board members um we would certainly invite them and we discussed that at the previous meeting with them as well. Any other questions? I'll call for the vote. All those in favor, please raise your right hand. All those opposed, it is unanimous.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Clouden. Uh, we're going to move on to item 8G, public hearing and first reading of ordinance number 2026-2032, an ordinance to amend the official zoning map of Langster County to reszone approximately 61 acres of tax map number 0049-0000-37.00 00 which is located at Palmetto Kennel Lane from the low density residential district to the medium density residential district. Planning department case number RZ-2026-0409. The planning commission recommended approval by vote of 6 to 0 and the planning staff found that the request met the UDO requirements for approval. Um there are no one signed up for public hearing so we will go past that. Is there a motion to approve?

Move. Have a motion from Miss McGriff. Do we have a second? Second.

Second from Mr. Neil, Miss Kato. Chairman and counselor, you have an item before you. this um the applicant is um Russell Freeman and he is wanting to purchase 61 acres behind and it is zoned LDR to combine it to his current property that zoned MDR. The reason was he came in to get an accessory structure and was able to put it on the LDR and he needed more room. So, he um wants to combine those two properties as one. Once it's combined, if it's get get if it gets approved, it'll be a little over an acre. Um I'll be glad to answer any questions um that you have and I believe the applicant is here.

I just want to make sure this will when final approval, this will have to be one one plat. We can't have a you'd have a landlock partial on the back. So, it will be one plant. Yeah. Once he if he's allowed to get it resoneed, then it'll be a combined. It'll be one plat. Okay. Recombination plat. So, I'm sorry. So, that was a question that I was going to have. So, there's a there's a little piece that looks like it's going to be cut off when you had the other. If you go to the slide before, Sherry, that one

it the same owner. I looked at that too, Jose. the I think the same owner owns the blue up there too. This parcel they think it's on it's the same owner going up the top. So those two are going to be combined into one. So won't be just a hanging be one. Okay. No, no, that' be one part. Okay. So

there any other questions? We'll call for the vote. All those in favor, so please raise your right hand. All those opposed is unanimous. Okay, we're going to move on to item 8H, public hearing and first reading of ordinance number 2026-2033, an ordinance to amend the official zoning map of Langster County to reszone approximately 335 acres, tax map number-.01, 01 which is located at 1824 steel street from the manufactured home district to the professional business district. This is planning department case number RZ-2026-0322. Planning Commission recommended approval by unanimous vote of 6 to zero and the planning staff also recommended approval of the resulting request. No one signed up for the public hearing, so we'll go past that. And we have a motion to approve.

So moved. Have a motion for Mr. Harper. Is there a second? Second.

Second from Mr. McGriff. Miss Kato. We have another applicant. Um, this actually is located at 824 Steel Street. Um, and is currently zone manufactured. Um, this piece of property has two DUP has a duplex on it. Um, and this was um, a code violation that they need to come in and do the repairs for the structure. Um, but in order to do that, we we can't let them um, alter that because it's non-conforming. So, reszoning this to professional business would make it conforming and they could do the repairs. Um, I'd be glad to answer any questions that you have. We have any questions, Miss Kato?

Just curious. I mean, that is a residence. I I'm just curious why professional business. That's what the a future land use plan calls for um in that area and that's what it would allow a multi- um a triplex. So it's almost it's a structure with a duplex where they have like an apartment style. So it's not a manufactured home. It has always had a um duplex on that property.

Th this area is uh any redevelop this is a redevelopment area uh over off Carter and Baker Street and all. So, you know, this this would I think would be an improvement to that area. I don't know if you've ever been Oh, this is off the Springdale and 200. Mhm. So if if we you know there's not a lot of activity over here and uh any improvement of these structures would help the neighborhood.

Any additional questions? Hearing none, I'll call for the vote. All those in favor, please raise your right hand. All those opposed, it is unanimous. Going to move on to item 8 I, public hearing and first reading of ordinance number 2026-2034. An ordinance to amend the official zoning map of Langster County to reszone approximately 2.14 acres. Tax map number is 0087J-12-0000 which is located at Shelton Street from the general business district to the professional business district. Uh this is planning department case number RZ-2026-0308. Planning Commission recommended approval by unanimous vote of six to zero and the planning staff also recommended approval of the resoning request. Um, no one signed up for the public hearing. We'll move on to the um, do we have a motion to approve?

So moved. Have a motion from M. McGriff. Do we have a second? Second.

Second from Mr. Louise, Miss Kato. This is another request for a non-conforming use. Um the applicants um Nicholas Rollins um for MCTN LLC. Um it's currently zone GB. Um and we're proposing for it to be professional business because that's what the future land use plan map calls for. um currently um if they were to have um a disaster or have to go in there to repair or do anything, we would not be able to allow them to do the repairs. Um and so the insure, they would not have insurance on the property. Um this one is not a code violation, but this one was one that came in and spoke with us. Um, so they're trying to um reszone this so it could be conforming um to make it from non-conforming to conforming. Be glad to answer any questions that you have.

Any questions for Miss K. Hearing none, I'll call for the vote. All those in favor, please raise your right hand. All those opposed, it is unanimous. Okay, we're going to move on to item 8J, resolution 1326-R2026, a resolution to approve the settlement with six remnant defendants in the South Carolina opioid settlement allocation agreement as amended. Have a motion to approve. So moved. Have a motion from Mr. Harper. Do we have a second? Second. Second from Mr. Neil, Mr. Willis.

U excuse me, Mr. Chairman, members of council. I was not here when council originally entered into the um opioid settlement. So if you have any questions on that, I'm gonna have to defer you to executive session to talk to the attorney. But there has been a national settlement reached. Uh South Carolina portion needs to be signed. And in order to do that, we have to have a resolution authorizing me to sign. I first tell you I will sign whatever Miss Minont says I need to sign related to this.

We have any questions? Hearing none, I'll call for the vote. All those in favor, please raise your right hand. All those opposed, it is unanimous. Okay, we're going to move on to item 8K, resolution 1327-R 2026, resolution of the county council of Langster County, South Carolina, supporting the safe streets and roads for all SS4A program and authorizing the submission of a grant application. Do we have a motion to approve? So moved. Have a motion for Miss McGriff. We have a second. Second. Second from Mr. Graham, Mr. Willis, and Mr. Kato.

Um, Mr. Chairman, members of council, while Mr. Kato is coming down to the podium, um, this is a grant application um for highway safety grant. I would simply note for the record apparently there is a possibility that a local match may be uh required but um until the grants finalized wouldn't have all that information for you and I would defer to Mr. Kato for further comments.

Yes, Mr. Chairman, members of council, good evening to you. Uh as as we've discussed and in the past we were awarded a planning grant for the safe streets for all a few years back. So we utilized those funds, formed a stakeholders committee and did did a lot of research which leads to the ability to apply for this grant application for some implementation dollars. Again that that's a it's a good, you know, possibility to get a a pretty pretty fair amount on that. And again, you use that for, you know, uh safety improvements, you know, countywide, not just in in Arfats or or COG areas. We can use it countywide. So, we formed the stakeholders committee. Uh, Mr. Tim Green, project manager, very very instrumental in in the work for this grant. He's he's been a wonderful asset to help us with it. Uh, we've had, you know, some of our on calls help us with it. Uh, DOT, members of public safety on this committee. So, we looking forward to applying for the grant, but to do that, we just need this as much support as we can and support from the council.

Is there any questions? So if this comes back and there is a matching grant, we still have a say in that. Yes, sir. Okay. Any other questions? Hearing none, I'll call for the vote. All those in favor, please raise your right hand. All those opposed, it is unanimous. Okay. We're going to move on to I to nine, section nine, discussion and action items. Uh first up is 9A, an update from United Way related to their American Rescue Plan ARPER funds. Uh, Miss Holly Fur. Mr. Chairman. Yes, sir.

One thing while Miss Fur is coming up would note that uh, county staff has been in touch with the Association of County Staff who has in turn reached out to the National Association of County Staff who in turn is consulting with the Treasury Department. So would respectfully request that you we receive the information tonight but until we can get further information back from Treasury Nico SCAC and county attorney take no action tonight. All right. Thank you, Mr. Will. That doesn't uh that doesn't sound too promising. Uh well, it may be. We just don't know. All right. Go ahead, Miss Fur.

Thank you all. Um I I know it's been a long night um and long day for many of us. So I will try to make this as brief as possible. Um is this working now? Um yep, there we go. Uh this is just a a brief timeline of the um There we go. Brief timeline of what um has been done so far. For those of you who might not remember, I was here um back in November of 2025 and you asked that I come back in May um for an update. So that is what we are doing. Um, we did just hear um on April 24th that the city approved our um uh new codes um changing the structure of the house just a little bit um to include multi- um residency in that one location. Um so that was just approved in um the end of April. Just a a little update on our um warming center that we had this past year. We had about 55 clients that came through that. Uh we operated from December to March. Um and that included 47 adults and eight children. Um and uh new since the last time I was here, um we have been actively working with the rapid rehousing uh program out of Rock Hill. Um we are a subgrantee of cash which which is the coalition um for the homeless for um the Katala area which includes York, Lancaster and Chester counties. Um we received 10 slots for that and we are currently serving seven um most of which are being served in Rock Hill um just because of availability of housing in our community.

Um, I've mentioned uh just a few minutes ago or a few seconds ago about the um reasonzoning um or or code um for the new um proposed site uh or for the proposed site. Um so this is a schematic drawing. I had hoped that Chad Catlage, who's been working with us throughout this entire process, would be here tonight, but family illness has prevented him to come. So, um you can see that um we're still going to house the same number of people that we had originally set said. Um the scope of the project um is not going to change programmatically. Um the main thing is that we will not be required to have a commercial fire suppression system, which was the major holdup um for budget-wise for us. Um just another schematic of the drawing. The house is actually on Meeting Street a lot bigger than um it it appears on the outside. So um there's plenty of rooms for um both um sleeping quarters and meeting spaces and programmatic um activities as well. Um again this is u the remaining budget that I had um shared with you a little bit um in November um and what we are um um that changed just a little bit with our um settings. But um this is this is the same project that we're doing. We're just asking um as I mentioned back in November for the money that is left over to be able to purchase the building. um and at a reduced cost, lower than market value um to the um owner of the building has agreed to this. Um I've also spoken with a local attorney who is willing to

um do closing fairly quickly with for us. It's been appraised. Um that is I think in your packet. Um, and so, you know, we we appreciate all that county um has done um and continues to do. I you know, we've we've sat here tonight and heard a lot about infrastructure. Um, and you know, one of the the key things that um this will do is going to provide a safe um location for certain individuals in our community. Um because uh housing and and shelter is key. And once you have those um you have a better workforce, you have less crime, you have increased economic impact on the county as a whole. Um and so we're, you know, impressed with uh the cog that um is talking about workforce housing that um the United Way and myself um have participated in. um and um you know the the housing committee that you are looking at um establishing you know you recognize that this is an issue and we appreciate that and we appreciate your um consideration in in this. So any questions

M what what are you asking is is there going to be a different use than

No, it is the same it is the same use same programmatic. Um the only thing is that um we're going to use the funds to purchase the building. County administration um and I had a conversation about that last summer um after checking ARPA guidelines and said that that would qualify. Um and so that allows us to get leverage additional funding if we own the building um to be able to uh renovate and and offer programmatic pieces. But but the shelter itself um and programmatically will be the same.

Uh this funding will only you it will not be completed at this point. I mean if y'all purchase it that's all. Is there other funds already committed to We have Yes. We have been in conversation with uh several businesses and local foundations about uh potential funding, but I can't in good conscious enter into those agreements until the house is public. Yeah. Is the city sign is zoning correct? Yes. Yes. As of April 24th, uh he um Lewis Streeter told Chad he could go ahead and pull the permits anytime.

Uh Mr. chair. Uh, first of all, Holly, thank you um for what you do and the I just hate it took so long for us to get to this point where you're able to move into that location. Uh, I don't know what happened. I don't know why this discussion couldn't have been a year ago where we could have made that move for, you know, for this population. Uh now what what was the changes again that the city made in order for you to be able to move into that location?

So it was it was already zoned for a multif family use um and we just had to um to resubmit under those codes versus more of a boarding house um facility. Um and that that that piece of code um is not as stringent as far as um as I said the fire suppression system. Although I will say that safety is the first and foremost concern of the United Way because if anything happens it's going to come back to us and we don't want that. So um there is a residential sprinkler system that can be installed by a licensed plumber. Um, and that is what we're looking at putting into the building um, versus the commercial grade.

I'm so glad that it happened and and I know in order for you to collect funding from those other sources that you've actually got to own the house, correct and move forward with that. So, I'm just I'm just glad we we we've gotten to this point. Thank you. Can can I ask a question just in case you know this thing I hope you know that it goes through but if that thing sitting there two years from now and it's can can it be sold or would it have to revert back to the county since there was federal funds used? H. No, I I think that's a legal question, but

I do not know. The money has been allocated to United Way. Once they make that purchase, it belongs to United Way. Am I correct? Yeah. The money was allocated for a specific use. That that's something we would need to make sure. The thing is we're past December 24 and we know anything that's change is going to get under the microscope. I I just want to make sure. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. But I I think we are in compliance. Are we not? Uh Stephanie, that's something.

That is something that we're absolutely researching. Okay. While it may be a similar use, it is a change. And so before we actually speak publicly, we just want to make sure that myself um Sabrina as well as our county attorney are all on the same page. Yeah. Okay. Just let's let's let's do it fast. Holly, I got a question. Uh the sponsor, how many people can stay in here? Is this going to be like people can come in off the street when it's cold

type deal? It's not going to be none of that. that we will still have um because this is a holistic shelter, it's going to they're going to be required to follow a program. And so we recognize that that more transient people um would not qualify for this. So no, it would not just be walking in um it it would be screened and um they would be required to follow a program. Okay. How long? So it it it anywhere from 6 to 10 based on um you know family size, male, female, those kind of things.

What what kind of time frame do you you see a turnover of them going out, another one coming in?

Uh is this just going to benefit one little group for a long period of time or is it going to be a constant? Yeah, we we the hope is that that most holistic shelters like this operate um for individuals anywhere from 3 to 6 months. Now, I will say part of the issue in Lancaster County is well then what you know where do they go? Where do they transition? So, programs like the rapid rehousing that is HUDF funded um if those funds continue um we could potentially move them into sustainable housing. um through a program like that. We also have um members of Latch who operate transitional homes that uh have offered those spaces to individuals who um graduate from the program.

Thank you. And and Dolly, you might want to speak on the warming center because the warming center accommodates those in and out folks, correct? Yes. Th this is not solving the the the homeless um population uh in total. I mean there's still going to be need for for a warming center because there are individuals who prefer to quite frankly live on their own on the streets um or who have um issues that they have not resolved yet that prevent them from sustainable h housing. Okay, Mr. Chair. Go ahead, Mr. Graham. What? So, what's the next step with this?

Um, well, it sounds like there's still conversations with them and until I hear back um from a vote from y'all. You're so we need once get a response at that point, staff would be in touch with Miss Fur. Here's what we found out from Nico and Treasury. here are our options in terms of being able to use the funds for a purchase of a house or and then you know presuming they say everything's peachy keen no problem as long as council approves it of course I'll have to come back to y'all at next meeting

but again the owner of the building has already agreed we've had it appraised got an attorney lined up you know we'll be we'll be set to Okay. Any further questions? Thank you all. Thank you. And we're going to move on to item 9B. Just for clarification, if we go beyond 10, is that when we need a motion? 10:30. 10:30. Okay. I'm just making sure

he's keeping us on track. Uh item 9B, receive information and take desired action regarding appointments and/or reappointments to various boards and commissions. Miss Simpson. Mr. Chair and council members, you've had a recommendation from the fire commission to change the representative for the uni unity fire department um from Daniel Ma to Daniel Mafy from Kelsey Lane. Move to approve.

I have a motion to approve. Mr. Mostell or a second from Mr. Harper. Any discussion? Hearing none, we'll call for the vote. All those in favor, please raise your right hand. All those opposed, it's unanimous. Okay. We've had an application from Douglas Hall, who's applied to be the district 4 representative for the airport advisory board. If appointed, he'd be serving an unexpired term that would end on 6:30 2027. Council, I would make a motion to approve Douglas Hall. Have a motion from Mr. Louise. Do we have a second? Second.

Second from Mr. Graham. Any discussion? Hearing none, we'll call for the vote. All those in favor, please raise your right hand. All those opposed, it's unanimous. Okay. And lastly, we've had applications from Yvet Presley and Emily Elizabeth Pierce. And I would go ahead and add the Kavaya Krisco to that to be the district 4 representative for the community outreach and engagement committee. Whoever gets appointed would be serving an unexpired term that would end on 6:30 2027. Council, I would make a motion to approve Emily Elizabeth Pierce. Have a motion from Mr. Louis. Second that.

Second from Mr. Harper. Any discussion? Hearing none, we'll call for the vote. All those in favor, please raise your hand. All those opposed, it's unanimous. And then the current vacancies and upcoming board and commission expirations is just for your information. Thank you.

All right. I need a motion to go into executive session in regards to two items. receipt of legal advice subject to the attorney client privilege regarding a potential contractual matter related to solid waste disposal and the discussion of a personnel matter pursuant to the South Carolina code of law 30-4-7A1 relative to the office of the county administrator and to invite the public works director in to discuss the first item and representatives of the search firm Find Great People and Joanie Wyinners of Winter Law Firm in to discuss That's the second item. Do we have a motion to go in executive session? So moved.

Have a motion from Mr. Louise, second from Miss McGriff. All those in favor, please raise your right hand. All those opposed. We are in executive session.

Now you ready? Yeah. I need a motion to come by executive. So moved. Have a so a motion from Mr. Luis, a second from Mr. Meller. All those in favor uh as unanimous we are out of executive session. Miss Murk Dupont. Mr. Chairman, for the record, council met in executive session in regards to two items. The receipt of legal advice subject to the attorney client privilege regarding a potential contractual matter relating to solid waste disposal and the discussion of a personnel matter pursuant to South Carolina Code of Laws 30-4-7A1 relative to the office of the county administrator. No motions were made. No votes were taken. Um motion coming out of executive session.

Yes, sir. Mr. Chairman, I move to authorize the proposed contract for the county administrator position and for the county the council chairman to enter into contract negotiations within the parameters discussed in executive session with the candidate previously motioned and approved to serve as the county administrator. We have a motion from Mr. Harper. We have second. Second from Mr. Louise, is there any discussion? Hearing none, I'll call for the vote. All those in favor, please raise your right hand. All those opposed, it's unanimous. Do we have a motion to exjourn? So move. We stand adjourned.