City Council - Special Meeting

Good evening. Welcome to the July 27th special meeting of the Aiken City Council. If you're inclined, please rise for the invocation followed by the pledge. Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, send down upon those who hold office in the city of Aiken the spirit of wisdom, charity, and justice that with steadfast purpose they may faithfully serve in their offices to promote the well-being of all people. In your name we pray. Amen. Chief, would you lead us in the pledge, please?

Good evening, council and mayor.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

As the meeting begins, I will review the guidelines. Meetings are public forums in which many opinions are expressed and the business of the city must be conducted. As such, discipline, honorable, and professional decorum is paramount. Courteous and respectful communication is required. During public meetings, all questions and statements from the public should be directed to the chair. If you wish to speak, raise your hand and I will recognize you. Please approach the podium and state your name and address. In order to allow an opportunity for everyone who wishes to address council, speakers should limit their comments to the subject being discussed. Each speaker will be given five minutes to address an issue and may only address an issue once unless questions from council are posed to the speaker. Because this is a special called meeting, we do not have a public comment section this evening on non-agenda items. We now move to additions and deletions to the agenda. I recognize Mayor Pro Tem Kay Pro for this.

Thank you, Mayor. Good evening, everyone. We're glad you're here. I have no additions or deletions, so I make a motion that we accept our agenda as it was printed. Thank you so much. May I have a second from someone?

Thank you, Councilwoman Diggs. We have one presentation tonight. It is a proclamation designating August 2nd through 8th, 2026 as National Health Center Week. Councilwoman Diggs? Yes. Are you ready for this?

I am.

Thank you. My honor. Oh, I'm sorry. I missed this. Sorry.

I do. I'm not sure I have it.

She may have missed it.

All those in favor? Thank you. Sorry about that glitch. No, it's okay. All right.

And just to be clear, you had a motion on the floor to approve the agenda as published. That was the vote y'all just took. I believe everybody was in favor. So you can move on to the next item.

Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Councilman Diggs, would you like to read the proclamation into the record?

I would be honored. Good afternoon, everyone, or good evening. It is my pleasure to read this proclamation declaring August 2nd through the 8th as National Community Health Center Week. My employer is Rural Health Services and we are a federally qualified community health center and we serve all of Aiken County with four locations. We see people with Medicaid, Medicare, private insurance, sliding scale fees, and we don't turn anyone away for their inability to pay. And we are a one-stop shop for primary health care services. So tonight I have the pleasure of reading this proclamation and presenting it to our new CEO, Ken Burgess, and along with our staff members, some of which are medical providers. Whereas, for over 60 years, community health centers have provided high quality, affordable, comprehensive primary and preventive health care in our nation's communities with limited access. delivering value to and having a significant impact on America's health care system, and whereas as the country's largest primary care network, community health centers are the health care home for 52 million Americans in over 17,000 communities across the country. One in every seven people in the United States gets their care at a community health center. And whereas community health centers are governed by patient majority boards ensuring patients are engaged in their health care decisions, and whereas community health centers are locally owned and operated small businesses that serve as critical economic engines helping to power local communities by generating $261.7 billion in economic activity. And whereas the community health center model continues to be an effective means of overcoming barriers, to healthcare access, including geography, income, and insurance status, improving health outcomes and reducing costs, and whereas National Health Center Week offers the opportunity to celebrate America's over 1,500 community health organizations with more than 17,000 service delivery sites, including upwards of 4,400 school-based health centers. We honor their dedicated staff, board members, patients, and all those responsible for their continued success and growth since the first community health centers opened their doors more than 60 years ago. And whereas, during National Health Center Week, we celebrate the legacy of America's community health centers and their vital role in building innovative care across local communities where it matters most. Now, therefore, I, Teddy Milner, Mayor of the City of Aiken, South Carolina, together with the Aiken City Council, do hereby proclaim August 2nd through 8th, 2026 as National Health Center Week. I encourage all Americans to participate in this week by visiting their local health center and celebrating the vital partnership between America's community health centers and the communities they serve.

Thank you. And would you all come up to the front for pictures and to receive your proclamation? Everyone from Rural Health Services.

It's nice telling my CEO what to do.

Yes. Thank you.

Now we have a public input session about the proposed hospitality tax increase. Online comments were provided to Council on their agenda packets. Some additional comments you received just recently, tonight after the agenda was published, and they were just provided to you all. Mr. Biedma, will you please introduce this topic?

Thank you. We do have this input session. I do want to, I think, make a couple of brief comments of clarification just based on questions and feedback I've personally received regarding this. First, the Hospitality tax is set in state statute in the state code of laws, and it cannot be greater than 2%. So the tax currently as state law is written, and this would have to be introduced as a bill in the state house or state senate and pass both houses and be signed by the governor to change it, but it cannot go any higher than 2%. Right now it is at 1% and has been since 2015. Another valid comment I've heard is the accommodation tax is capped. Why not look at the accommodation tax? Well, the accommodation tax is capped at 5%. By state law, 3% is city or local, and 2% is state. So it cannot go any higher in Aiken. Also, millage. The city has a millage rate, which is used to calculate taxes on real estate property, personal property like trucks and cars. City has not increased millage since 1989, and of course the payer of the millage of those taxes are those individuals or residents or property owners that own property in the city or have a motor vehicle titled with this address in the city. We have looked at this, the timing of it was based from the sense of the, perspective of myself to balance this with the obligation we have to pay for a parking deck, but also with the realization that the expectation as the community grows that our parks and recreation facilities need funding for additional missions and improvements to existing brick and mortar. That is very, very apparent, I believe. Certainly the 1% capital project sales tax, which the voters have voted by majority vote and passed five times since 2000, has helped tremendously. And it has meant that a tax increase, tax increases have not had to be very common. But with the project, the Hotel Aiken project, as well as the needs of parks and recreation, I think the timing is such that having this discussion now is appropriate. We do have funding set aside in our fund balance for the hospitality tax. it's a little over a million dollars for a garage. The garage would not exceed 10 and a half million. And I know, frankly, I've gone back and forth of how best to socialize it because I've had some people say you're focused too much on the garage. Others say you're not, if you don't talk about it, you're being untransparent. I mean, the facts are the facts. And I think it's equally important that the, The needs for our parks and recreation, as well as our entryways and the parking deck, they're all important. Again, roughly two-thirds of the money would be dispersed for parks and recreation and for entryways through our buildings and grounds and related work. That being said, we've gotten a lot of thoughtful comments that's in the agenda packet, and we'll add these additional comments that were received after publication into the minutes for this meeting for the record. But now, Madam Mayor, I know we're going to hear a lot of thoughtful comments about this

this proposal that is before council first reading was held last at our most recent meeting with a second reading coming up at a future meeting perhaps thank you so much and thank you all for coming and we will now move to listen to your comments and each person will have five minutes to speak and we probably will just listen to you and then take it all into account. So I saw someone raise their hand. Would you like to come up first.

Madam Mayor, I have a point of clarification. We can ask questions and comment and ask questions. I just wanted to make sure.

Oh, of course. The main gist here is for you all to express your feelings on this new thing. Thank you.

Good afternoon, Miss Mayor, and good afternoon, City Manager and City Council. My name is Sandra Ford, and I was born and raised here in Aiken and have lived in this area all of my life. I came here tonight because I'm concerned about the changes that I'm seeing in our beautiful and unique city that I grew up in. There's been severe overcrowding due to planning the way that it's been. And one of those examples seems to be the connector road that's being worked on now on Whiskey Road. Whiskey Road is just entirely too crowded. And I'm just going to gloss over this and get to the 1%. With what I'm hearing, that 172 houses roughly are going to be built and two hotels, that's not going to do much to relieve the traffic. So that's one of my concerns. But primarily to get to the 1%, I'm puzzled and have a question. Why is it that with the huge influx of people that have moved into Aiken recently over the past several years, that we're needing or wanting to add a 1% hospitality tax. The revenue generated from sales and from the hospitality tax that we already have should take care of that. So where is the money going is my question. What are we using it for? And why should Aiken Residence be strapped with this additional hospitality tax? I have a suggestion. Impose that hospitality tax on visitors when they come to our hotels rather than imposing it on our residents. Don't put the burden on them. This tax, the way you proposed it, is going to burden local businesses and restaurants and potentially cause them to go out of business. We've seen it already with several businesses right on Lawrence Street that have gone out. And people are going to simply go to places outside of the city limits of Aiken to eat and to shop with that additional 1% tax when they can do that. and we need to try to avoid that. We have more people in Aiken now than we've ever had, and we have less shopping options. Like I said, I've lived here all my life, and just as a perspective, on Lawrence Street back in the day, we had Slotin's, the Gazebo, Julia's, Diana's Shop, Mangle's, casual hut, and I could go on, but you get the idea. There were several other shopping options, much more than what we have now. And this is being framed as a small tax that people will hardly notice. And Mayor Milner even said that in the newsletter that we received this month with our water bill. However, I don't believe that's the case because most people go out to eat two or three times a week with the busy schedules everybody has. So that 1% hospitality tax is going to add up pretty quickly. let's be honest, with all the people that have been coming into Aiken, our property taxes will increase. Excuse me. And With that, we're going to have to build additional schools to make room for the new students that are coming in. And this will happen because most of our schools are already close to, if not already at capacity. And I know this firsthand because I was on the school board. This growth and change is not necessarily a good thing when we don't have the road infrastructure to support it and don't have a solid plan for growth that makes sense. Listen to the majority of Aitkin residents because that's what we've elected you to do. And we don't want our beautiful, unique, small town to be ruined by overcrowding and additional taxes to pay for things that we don't want or need, like the parking garage. And by the way, if it was necessary, it's my belief that the hotel owners should be responsible for the cost of that. That's the way that I understood that it was supposed to be initially. So that's my feeling on it. i challenge you all to do the right thing for aiken and its residents if you are going to impose a hospitality tax again do it on the visitors to the hotels and not on the residents of aiken when they want to go out to eat in the city limits Also, stop the overcrowding in Aiken because we don't need more housing developments and apartments right now. We just simply do not have the road infrastructure, and that's not the answer. We're already seeing an increase in crime, making our city unsafe, and that's simply not acceptable. I want to thank you for your time and attention. And please listen and take this seriously and do the right thing. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Yes, ma'am. Then you're next back there after. Good evening.

Good evening. My name is Edie Cassingham. And I've lived in Aiken now, it's hard to believe, but almost 26 years. And I love Aiken, and I'm coming tonight because my husband told me, why would you bother coming to talk to the council about one penny? But you know, pennies add up. As you know, you've got millions sitting there from a penny already. The reason that I'm coming tonight is that I'm a senior citizen now. I don't like to admit it, but I am. And I'm concerned that this one penny is going to disproportionately affect the elderly in our community. And the reason I know that, I was a health care provider for many years. And many of our elderly don't cook as much anymore. They have caregivers that go get their meals and bring them back to their home. So it's not unusual that the elderly will have several meals a week. that are going to be picked up and brought to their home if they can't get out. And so it's not going to be just a tax on visitors. It's really a 1% tax on residents. And I'm very worried about how it will affect people who are over the age of 65, and especially even older. We have a very large percentage of our population that are elderly residents, and they come here because they love it here just as much as I do, and I'm, you know, I feel foolish to say, gosh, I'm fighting over a penny. But it's a penny that adds up enough so that you're counting on it for a parking garage. That says something. It's not going to be just for the folks who are visiting. In fact, I sort of hate it that it's hitting the tourists, to be truthful. They pay a lot of money, and we make a lot of money off of them coming to visit us, and I don't want to discourage them. But I definitely would like the council to consider how that additional benefit 1% is going to affect Residents and then I have one question and you may have answered this before and I'm you know I didn't come to the last meeting that discussed this but It's been sort of advertised as it's a restaurant thing. You'll only do it if you're in a restaurant. But what happens if I go to Publix and pick up a chicken or a sandwich that they wrap up and give it to me and I take home? Or if I go to Kroger to their little deli area, am I going to be paying the additional 1% on those things that aren't restaurant? And I do that. I go and get a chicken. At least once a week, I get a pizza, even though it's not good for me. You know what I'm saying? I'm afraid that it's narrowed down for us to think it's just in a grocery store, but I'm afraid that it's being hidden, that it's going to be gas stations where they have the little food things, and you're going to be paying... for that extra money there as well. So I may be wrong. I may have misunderstood it.

You're right. They have to adjust their registers. Yes.

So it's going to be wider than most of us realize. And that's all I wanted to say. I appreciate your time. And like I said, we have a great town, have a lot to be proud of. But let's try not to harm citizens if we can avoid it. Thank you.

And that is a very good point. The prepared, like you said, prepared foods. If you go to the quick shop and buy a hot dog that they've put in to prepare, you would pay a tax. If you bought a bag of potato chips, you would not because that's prepackaged, delivered to the store. But anything that human hands inside the building has prepared. touched and prepared would be subject to that, whether it's at a quick shop gas station or in the grocery store.

Thank you. Yes, sir. Good evening.

My name is John Saladega, S-A-L-A-D-Y-G-A. I live at 116 Ashapu Drive in Aiken. Okay. First of all, I need to ask a question. We have a 1% hospitality tax now. Is that correct? And the maximum that the state allows is 2%. So this would be the last one if it happens. Can the county institute a hospitality tax?

The county, no, the county could not, if the city, the county right now could pass a 1% and we could not increase ours. But right now there is no hospitality tax outside the city limits of Aiken in the county.

2% is the most then? Yes, sir. First of all, you mentioned there's a lot of beautiful projects you want to do, but a lot of us want to do a lot of things we can't do because we don't have the income to do it. So sometimes we have to develop priorities, and all of these can't be done. But I would say that... My property tax just was increased 15%. Now, I'm not complaining about that. That's permitted. That's the most. What I'm saying is over a five-year period, everybody's income or property tax is going to be increased 15%. And that's a significant amount of income that the city is going to get. Your property tax income is going to increase by 15%. Is that correct?

No, sir, it's not. The value of your home went up by 15%, but state law requires that the millage be adjusted so that your taxes would not go up that amount. I don't know what that is because the county has not set their millage yet. post reassessment nor has the city we need to get all those numbers in but no your taxes will not go up 15 just the value the tax assessed value went up 15 and that is the maximum it can go up every five years per state law.

The millage doesn't increase.

Well, no, sir, that's correct. The millage, the state, I guess they call it colloquially a windfall. They do not allow local governments to get a windfall. So we would need to adjust our millage accordingly. Our millage has been reduced seven times since 1989, the last time we raised taxes. It was 120 mills in 1989. It's now 60. Depending on what the value of the overall tax digest is in the city, that millage will be evaluated. I don't know what it will go to, but it will not go up.

But so we have a lot of, as was previously stated, there's a lot of newcomers, there's a lot of growth, there's a lot of additional income that's from property taxes that's coming in. And I know you have, you'll say you have a lot of services to provide, but some of those services are paid for by water and garbage charges. So what I'm saying is I believe It seems to me that all of the additional property taxes that you receive, now it's not going to be 15%, but it may be enough to cover this 1% that you want to do. And I think you should crush the numbers and see if that happens. I think there's, I have to question whether there's, I think North Augusta has a 2%.

Yes, sir.

Okay, so there is something in the county. But when I looked at that, that kind of shook me up. I mean, now we're in double figures for taxes. But... What I'd like to ask is that this tax not be made permanent. If you feel you need to do it, and also with the cost of the new garage, why not make it for three years, dies, and then you revisit whether you need it again? Because a lot of this that you want to happen will take place and may not be recurring expenses. So let's not make it permanent.

And that is one thing council does, will have the ability at any time, the existing tax council in theory could, and they've done so. They could have a vote to contemplate rescinding the tax. And I know at least on two occasions since it was implemented in 2015, it might have been more, but at least two occasions, the council voted to keep the tax in place. I believe once was in 2016 or 2017. And then another time was around, it was before COVID, like 2019-ish. Someone can, we can research that. But I know there were at least two occasions, if not more, where council had a vote and contemplated eliminating the tax. One of the times they may have called for a vote, but nobody made a second to have a vote. But I know there was one vote, and I believe it was four to three or five to two to rescind it in favor of keeping it. But yes, council reserves the right at any time to evaluate that and rescind it.

Okay, what I would like to see with this ordinance is put it in there that it's, it's going to only be for three years. So you're forced to look at whether we need it again.

Yes. How are you? Good evening.

Lori Waddell, W-A-D-D-E-L-L at Spalding Lake Circle. Thank you so much for having this meeting tonight. I think that we all agree that we really want to have a safe and vibrant downtown here. My questions are really just based on where the 1% will eventually go. And so to be clear, the 1% will probably never sunset. Is that correct? And if not, how long does it take to pay for the garage? Well, that's up to council too as well, right?

Well, in terms of how long it will take to pay for the garage, council will be presented with Multiple financing options. In a perfect world, yes, you want to be able to pay as you go, and the council's been able to do that on other projects. But my guess is the time frame to pay the garage back is, in terms of through borrowing, would be as little as 10 years and as many as 20 years. Certainly, it's within council's discretion to accelerate payments, but most likely it would be a 10-year to 20-year financing period. I mean, similar to what we're doing with this building and with the public safety building, We financed both of those for 20 years. And we're in, I guess, year eight, I believe, of the payback on the public safety building. And I believe this is year four, maybe year five, to pay back this building.

Well, you just answered two of my questions.

Well, I wish I could read your mind about when the tax, when it would be paid off. I would love to know that, too. We will have that information at a very, I think at the next meeting, August 10th.

So just to help me with my math, this 1% is going to be added to the current 1%. The sales tax, so that's 2%, correct? Yes, ma'am. Our current sales tax is 8%. That's correct. So it'll go up to 10%.

Well, it's already 9%.

Okay.

It's 9% and it would go up to 10%.

So on a $75 dinner out subtotal, we're going to pay $82.50.

Oh, gosh, you're putting me on the spot. Yes, that is correct, $750,000 plus $75,000.

Just laying it out in really simple terms, what it means ultimately to a diner going out. It's not just 1%. It's the total that your residents are going to be paying for.

It would go up, I guess, $0.75 on a $75 bill because right now you would pay $81.75.

So we're going to be paying $82.50?

Yes, ma'am.

Okay. And are catering companies included in this?

I'm sorry, or who?

Catering?

Yes. If they are doing business in the city of Aiken, they would have to pay that. They're supposed to be.

Food trucks?

Food trucks, yes, ma'am.

Okay. Okay. And will we be able to see, as I know that parks in Iraq and whatnot, they need the money, and I understand we want to keep it beautiful, but is there a way that as we look at where we're going to be spending the money that the audience and the city can see where you're deciding to put it so we can look for it and anticipate?

Yes, ma'am. Kind of like how we do, I mean, the budget that council passed last month Yeah, last month had the breakout of where it's being spent and that that would be similar should council wish to pursue this.

Because we have a museum that would probably really like some more attention.

Yes, and again, I think that is one of the challenges is maintaining our brick and mortar buildings.

Okay, thank you so much.

Thank you. Sir, in the back with the black, that would be you. Good evening.

Hello.

Hello, council, mayor. Thank you, Andrew. My name is Walter Clifford. I'm the director for Aiken Football Club. I just have a brief statement that I'd like to share with you guys. On behalf of Aiken Football Club, a 501 nonprofit organization that serves more than 1,000 participants between the ages of seven and 66, we are pleased to express our support for the proposed 1% hospitality tax increase for the city of Aiken. Aiken Football Club is one of the largest and fastest growing youth sports organizations in the Central Savannah River area. Each year we proudly serve our community through 25 competitive travel teams, as many as 95 recreational teams, and as many as 16 adult league teams, providing opportunities for players of all ages and skill levels to participate in the world's most popular sport. Our travel teams compete throughout South Carolina and the Southeast while also hosting visiting clubs and occasionally hosting smaller tournaments in Aiken. These events bring hundreds of athletes and their families to our community, generating significant economic activity for local establishments. investments in quality recreational facilities not only enhances the experience of our local families but it also positions Aiken to attract larger tournaments and sporting events that create lasting economic benefits for our city South Carolina law as you stated earlier excuse me specifically authorizes local hospitality tax revenues for the purpose of developing recreational facilities and tourism development. So that makes our initiatives and the initiatives of this tax well aligned. As one of the largest youth sports organizations, we witness every day how athletics strengthen our community. Soccer is more than a recreational activity. It is an investment in healthier families and stronger neighborhoods. and a more vibrant local economy. We believe that strategic investment funded through the hospitality tax revenues will benefit both our residents and the thousands of visitors who choose Aiken as a destination each year. With more than 130 teams competing throughout the year, Aiken Football Club has become a significant contributor to the recreational and economic vitality of our community. Continued investment in sports tourism infrastructure will ensure that Aiken remains a destination where families choose to compete, visit, dine, shop, and return year after year. So we hope that you'll follow through on this.

Thank you. Yes, sir. Sam? Good evening.

How are you all? I actually wrote things down today. I am Sam Erb. I live at Dibble Road here in Aiken. I have two hats on today. No hat, I know, but... Two hats. One is the Aiken Corporation. Aiken Corporation wrote a letter to council in support of the increase of the hospitality tax. And I am here again to emphasize that support. My other hat is my personal hat. Businesses always look at short-term solutions and long-term solutions. And also, you have to spend money to make money. Short-term, probably not what you're going to hear, not what you might like to hear, but not really perfect timing for restaurants is this tax in this economy or in the middle of summer. So I'm not sure when this tax will be imposed, but as you well know how our summers are in the restaurant business. However, Long-term, this 2% capped hospitality tax will help update the equipment and recreation facilities at our well-used parks and recreation areas, as you well know. Our city's Christmas decorations could be so much better. I think this will include our Christmas decorations. Thank you, thank you, thank you. If done right, and even using our beautiful parkways, It would be a big draw for our downtown merchants and especially our great restaurants. Since 1981, when I opened my restaurant and the starting of the now very successful Alley, I have been an advocate for increasing and bettering our parking downtown, as you all well know. Here's our chance by building a parking garage nicely tucked in within our downtown buildings. With the addition of two unique hotels, we will have the opportunity to keep our visiting guests in town instead of going out to surrounding communities. Again, you have to spend money to be successful. Please impose the capped 2% hospitality tax. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Yes. Good evening.

Good evening. My name is Clarissa Kuhl. I am the owner of Omi Esteli Bakery on the Aiken Southside. I appreciate the opportunity to be here tonight to share my comments. I'm sure we're all feeling the effects of the economy, the inflation rate, the gas prices, cost of groceries, cost of living. That's just for the average citizen. Everything that's shipped to our stores, as you well know, has added fees right now. The extra freight charges, the convenience charges, the now increased minimums that we have to have that are causing us to order more than we need just to make sure that we get our food every week. And then we have to pay the extra food cost on top of that, too. This hospitality tax, as stated previously, is not going to affect the grocery stores, not at least the unprepared foods. It's not going to affect our hotels, the gas stationships, and snacks. It's not going to affect our retail stores. It's going to only affect those bills at our restaurants, cafes, bars, food trucks, your local Starbucks, coffee. And maybe most of us or some of us don't mind paying that extra 50 cents on our restaurant bill, but the citizens of Aiken County, who all shop and dine within the city limits, whether they can afford to come downtown or not, are not necessarily going to feel that same way about that extra 50 cents. I recently had to raise my prices, as most restaurants have had to do, and my customers noticed. And they're not paying that extra $50. They're paying, you know, $10, $20 at my bakery. They're gonna notice again in October and they're not gonna blame city council, they're gonna blame me and they're not gonna tell me, they're just gonna stop coming. So I'm gonna ask council, why us? Why the restaurant industry? Why do we deserve the burden for all of this? We who have the lowest profit margins, we who have one of the highest rates of failure, we the majority of us who are not even downtown, why us? Picking the easiest low hanging fruit may not bear that fruit in the future. Then there's the argument that we've heard about keeping up with the rest of the cities who also have that 2% tax. In keeping up with the Joneses, those Greenvilles, Charlestons, Hilton Heads, Andersons, this argument, I believe, fails to see the whole picture. So let's take a look at it. Aiken's effective tax rate, as we've stated, is going to be 10% with the additional tax. Including their 2% hospitality tax, Greenville's effective rate is 8%. Anderson's is 9, Charleston's is 11, and Hilton Head's is 13. Do we really believe we have a tourism economy in line with Charleston or Hilton Head? Do we have a university like Clemson that supports that kind of influx of out-of-town students like Anderson? Do we have the population of variety or variety of business headquarters in a major airport that Greenville has? Yet our community that has proven challenges maintaining sustainable restaurants and and doesn't have any promises of a sustained influx of people needed to support this tax increase is expected to bear a 10% tax. Tax increases don't build the next Charleston or Greenville. Thoughtful, effective planning and sustainable financial practices do that. Right now, I don't believe our economy can support another tax hike. And here's why. When I opened my shop, my mission was to be a supportive community bakery. From the day my doors opened, I built what we called the Bread of Life wall. It's a mirror on which tickets are stuck that are already bought and paid for. It's a pay it forward concept. I've never had a problem keeping tickets on that wall. Customers would frequently add a meal to their own ticket to provide for someone else. And I always had more tickets and extra dollars to provide for the community. For the first time, that wall has been empty this month. I put my own money in often to assure people that come into my bakery that can't pay can have a bite to eat. The funds have dwindled because people have already started cutting back. The first signs of a struggling economy is in the reduction of charitable giving. What does that matter in this conversation? Because first it's charitable giving. That is reduced in economic uncertainty. The next thing is eating out. It's a luxury already being dialed back, and this additional tax will only make that worse. And for what it's worth, you don't need to take just my word for it, or even the words of those in this room. At some point, it's going to be brought up that there are many people, many voices that aren't being heard here tonight. And I agree that those voices matter too. Perhaps they would agree with the tax hike, perhaps they won't. So let me be their voices for just a moment. I'm bringing with me tonight over 550 signatures. Throughout the month of July, myself and my neighboring business owner, Julie Mogey of Julie's Sandwich Shop, just Julie's, placed this petition in our shops. In short, the petition reads that we object to the increase in the hospitality tax at this time. We are requesting full and transparent public accounting of the current revenue expenditures and remaining balances, the specifics. We ask the council demonstrate measurable outcomes of the existing receipts before proposing a new increase. We ask for detailed project plans, budgets, schedules, much like what was just asked for about upcoming projects, including the parking deck. We respectfully request city council seek alternative means to fund their downtown development capital projects that don't solely burden one singular industry.

Thank you.

I'm I got one more statement. I'll go right ahead if it is we aren't opposing attacks It's just one that is not apparent Transparent or effective for the majority of the payees if it's a parking deck you want Tell us and we'll find the right way to and find the right way to pay for it But don't try to sell us parks and rec projects that we may never see so respectfully I asked City Council. Is it worth it? Thank you.

Thank you for your comments Madam Mayor, could I ask her a question? yes miss peel do you want her to come back up yes if could you could you tell me could you come up again i'm just trying to make sure i have the name of your bakery and the other restaurant next to it yes ma'am um my name is the one with the wonderful bagels but i wanted to make sure the bakery is oh mia stelle o-h-m-i-e-s-t-e-l-l-e

The only one open during COVID. That's right. Not COVID, the hurricane.

During the hurricane. Yes.

And then Julie's.

And just Julie's. Just Julie's. And Julie Mogey was the also, she was supposed to be here tonight.

Do you have a copy of what you...

i can provide this too yes i would love a copy of what you all what those petitioners sign absolutely that would be wonderful and we're gonna we're continuing to gather these names um in both of our shops as we speak so there's still more at the shop so 550 was what we had as of two days ago so who do i give this to um okay yeah thank you so much thank you yes sir yes

Good evening to you.

Good evening, Madam Mayor and members of the City Council. I appreciate the opportunity. My name is Ernie Caponetti. I live at 172 Fox Sound Run Road. And I just wanted to go on record as also opposing the hospitality tax. I realize 1% in a vacuum doesn't seem like much. But I look at it. And I'm also a senior, as another one of my citizens also said. I'm a senior as well. And there are a lot of things. that are going up. And this is just one more thing. And I look at the taxes as 10%. Unlike, I think, some other folks, I'm a shorter term resident of Aiken. I've lived here almost nine years. And I've come to love this city. It's a beautiful city. And it offers a great quality of life. And I don't want to see that quality of life eroded in any way. I understand the need for the revenue to a degree. But I think the 10% sales tax imposes a burden, as has been indicated. And I would be one of those who would sign that petition next time I'm at either Stella's or just Julie's. And just want to be on record. And I'll make another point as well. I have lived in many other places, traveled to many other places in the country. And rarely, if ever, have I seen a 10% sales tax. And these are some high tax areas where I came from. The sales tax on most everything was 6% and zero on clothing. Here I'm paying 8% sales tax, 9% on restaurants, and now we were proposing it go to 10. I like the idea of the possibility of using this hospitality tax only on hotels. So visitors would pay more of the burden on that than than our residents who are already, I think taxed quite heavily, not just at the city level, but at the federal level and state level as well. And I just think this is one more burden in a time of a tough economic environment. So that's really all I wanted to say. I don't want to belabor my time. Again, thank you for your time and attention. I appreciate it.

Thank you so much. Yes, ma'am. Good evening, Dr. Waltz.

Good evening. My name is Dr. Holly Waltz. I live at 524 York Street Southeast here in Aiken. I don't envy your job. I've heard some really good arguments tonight. My take is that I want the 1% increase in hospitality tax. And I'm looking at a very broad picture. I'm not looking at just the restaurant business, the 20 cents on a $20 bill. I'm not looking at the parking deck. Again, I'm looking at a bigger picture. I want our city to, yes, grow because it's going to grow. I hope not just from older people. I'm an older, I'm an elderly. I hope I can say a young elderly person. But I want people to come not just for retirement, but for our schools, for our opportunities, for our health, for our recreation. That's what I am thinking about. As the former president, recording secretary of Hopelands Gardens and Rye Patch, and now on the executive committee, I see it. When I walk through those gardens, I see grandparents. I see children. I see grandchildren. They are walking through a park that is free. that gives you opportunities for education, for serenity, for health, physical and mental, this tax will help. 501c3s, ALC, the woods, so many opportunities there. The parks, the entry, the football, the intramural, We need this for our city to further enhance creativity and a good, healthy quality of life. I hope that you will vote for this. And again, I know it's difficult. I've been there. I've heard it from my husband, a former city council member. It's not easy. But I think these people have visited these wonderful places, these community hubs like Smith Hazel, Odell Weeks. We can't continue to have those if we don't have, I think, a fair and equitable tax. I hope you pass it. Thank you for listening.

Thank you. Oops, yes, Mr. Peter. Oh, sorry, you're you go.

Good evening. Hello, everyone, and thank you so much for your commitment to Aiken and for the work that you do. So grateful. I am Julie Whitesell. I live at 121 Linwood Drive and glad to have been annexed into the city. So I'm excited about that. So thank you all for that, too. I am not here to speak on behalf of the South Carolina Association of Realtors, but I will tell you that that is a hat that I wear. I am the president-elect of the South Carolina Association of Realtors. We have 30,000 Realtor members, and one of the things that we love to do that is our passion is to advocate for private property rights and homeownership. And I can tell you that South Carolina has, and y'all know this, South Carolina has had unprecedented growth throughout our state. And I'll say that I am in real estate. I was born and raised in Aiken. I'm 48 years old. I've lived here my whole life. I've had the pleasure to go to college other places and live other places for a short period of time, but I've always come home and my parents live here as well. um i can tell you from my experience in real estate that people move here because our taxes are so low and i'm bringing that up because many people have mentioned property taxes i can also tell you from my position with scr with the south carolina association realtors that we were proud to advocate to raise to raise the senior homestead tax exemption we tried to get them to go higher than they would, but we are so thrilled that state legislators compromised and agreed to raising that to $75,000. So I'm excited for that for the senior members of our community that spoke up and have concerns about the 1% hospitality tax. I am grateful to our state that we have the opportunity to be able to raise our hospitality tax to a total of 2%. I'm here to speak in favor of that as from my position at SCR, not speaking on behalf of them, but just from my experience and my knowledge of what's happening across the state. I'm also a parent of children that are 16 and 13. My daughter, Shaila, is also plays soccer for AFC. I can tell you that we went to Columbia for a Carolina Cup event, and we spent the night in Columbia, even though we could have driven home, but we had early meetings. We had, I think, 13 teams from our AFC that attended that in Columbia, and I believe there were, I think, 33 total clubs that were registered. They were from all over the state, also from North Carolina and further. Consider what Columbia was able to gain from a hospitality tax from the visitors being there. We have visitors all the time. I'm for it. Shiloh would love to see something happen in the park, at Citizens Park. And I'm grateful that the hospitality tax can do that. I agree you have a hard job and so many perspectives to listen to. But I want to I want to speak in favor of the increase of the 1%. So thank you.

Thank you, Julie. Yes. Hi there.

Hello. Good evening, Madam Mayor, members of council. Good to see you all again. I'm Peter Kleinhans, executive director of Aiken Land Conservancy. I live at 46 Suffolk Drive here in Aiken. And I apologize for reading and just typed this up a bit ago. But Aiken Land Conservancy supports the proposed hospitality tax increase. We feel that this increase will generate needed revenue for parks and other community assets such as the Carolina Bay Nature Preserve that we protect with a conservation easement held by Aiken Land Conservancy. City parks are treasures for our community that provide benefits ranging from outdoor recreation and public health to clean air and water. Parks are centerpieces of most communities in which they occur. Taxes are intended to provide community services and benefits within the geographies in which they are applied, and that appears to be exactly what this increased tax will achieve. Yes, the economy is struggling, but that's exactly when parks, free parks, are needed the most. In particular, we hope that the funds will assist with the creation of a greenway between the Shaw's Creek Preserve and Generations Park. Talked about that before, and I think it would be a fantastic asset for the community. We feel that this would be a prudent, environmentally smart, and economically beneficial move to entertain. Many communities, growing communities around the state have applied hospitality tax increases to meet additional community service demands. I simply encourage all of you to apply expenditures of the hospitality tax, if approved, in ways that reflect stated goals of the city's comprehensive plan whenever possible. In closing, I appreciate council and staff's desire to keep finding ways to improve Aiken. I know that this is not easy to balance community concerns, and I appreciate your efforts to do so in this particular circumstance. Thank you.

Thank you, Peter. Yes, ma'am. Good evening to you.

Good evening.

My name is Sharon White, and I live Tennessee-related Aiken.

Aiken is a beautiful town, and it's been around for a long, long time. But I have a question. I wonder, I've spoken with someone in Columbia. Why we haven't become a historical district for downtown Aiken, okay? A national historical district. Charleston, Savannah, there's other historical national districts. And Aiken would qualify for it. We would be eligible for grants. The businesses downtown Aiken would be eligible for grants if we applied. We have building structures down there that's more than 50 years old. That's all you have to be. that would qualify for funding to help us fund a lot of the expenses that we have here in Aiken. So I was just wondering, you know, why we, you know, seemed like we would look at something like that as far as funding and helping the businesses because they also, not just the city, as a historical national business downtown Aiken, the businesses would qualify to apply for grants also. So I was just wondering, you know, I mean, I know you're restructuring. We got the hotel that you're getting ready to refurbish. That's already historical. We only have the winter colony in Aiken. That's a national historical monument here in Aiken. And we should have more. And we should have a downtown historical district, just like Charleston, Savannah, and some of the other downtown towns nationally who has one.

Thank you.

Also, and I am very for historical preservation. And I feel that as far as what we have here that's historical, you should have some type of committee to make sure that our historical buildings and things are being taken care of.

Thank you, ma'am. I'm going to let someone speak about the hospitality tax. That was the purpose of this meeting. Okay. All right.

I'm finished. Thank you.

That's fine. Thank you. Yes, sir. Good evening.

Good evening. Thanks for the opportunity to speak tonight. My name is Alex Chingaleski. I'm a little nervous. I hadn't gotten up in front of a group of people in a while. I've lived in Aiken for 26 years, 25 of them at 1420 Audubon Drive. My family loves Aiken. We are originally from Charleston, and everybody says, why are you in Aiken? Because we love Aiken. We like it. It has been a wonderful place to raise a family. The reason that I'm here to speak today is real simple. I do have a major issue with the hospitality tax. Bluntly, I feel like you're looking to double the tax without presenting a comprehensive plan as to how it will be used. That's where my issue therein really lies. Is it very necessary? Is it the only option? We know we have a signed agreement. We have to have the parking deck built. I also remember downtown being super crowded when Hotel Aiken was open, and everybody said, we need a parking deck terribly. That was 2015. Right now, the problem is we're selling the parking deck as a free parking deck, and it's not because we're getting charged a tax and giving away 43% of the parking spots in it. Those won't be free. Those won't be for the public. Those are for the hotel. You know that. The original tax in 2015 was slated to fund that parking deck that I just talked about that back in the day we all said we needed. And as Mr. Biedenbaugh just said, when that parking deck wasn't built, kind of different context, but the tax wasn't rescinded. Okay, so I think we have some proof that we all know that this may not really go away. So to the earlier comment about could we look at putting something in, that's great because we have a tax that's there already that wasn't repealed when it wasn't used how it was sold to us. I'm a huge supporter of our parks and rec. My daughter has played four or five sports. If y'all know me, you know Lauren. You know Lauren plays a ton of sports. She's going to be a PE teacher. A lot of that is because of the sports that she played here in Aiken. Okay, my wife and I, we live on Audubon Drive. I'm right around the corner from Citizens Park. We walk there all the time. Now, I'm going to be honest. At night, it's gotten really, really hard with all the people parking on the street, the people driving on the walking tracks, all the different issues because it has become extremely crowded at Citizens Park in the evenings. So now I've started going to O'Dell Weeks. We've actually started walking more in the Horse District because, again, it's very close for us. But those tracks are wonderful. We use it. We use it all the time. So I have a vested interest. I have the same kind of vested interest that our football club has, that our other people have. But I'm looking at this a little different because I still don't see a big plan. I'm hearing a lot of could support. I'm hearing a lot of, we could have playgrounds, we could have parks, we could have beautification, we could have Christmas decorations. We could have a lot of different things. Even tonight, we've heard Mr. Biedenbaugh talk about, you know, green space or groundwork in buildings. And then we've heard Mr. Erb talking about Christmas decorations. So we're all over the place. We don't know what it's going to be used for. Sell it to us. Give us a plan. Let us know how this is really going to be used. The PRT program, the PRT needs survey doesn't even end until Friday. We couldn't even have that information here tonight.

Okay?

Basically, let's see. When we think about all of this, you know, we also think about, and I'm hearing our residents talk about who's really paying for this. You know, I think we've already talked about this in an earlier meeting, I heard it said, one third, one third comes from out of town people, but two thirds of the revenue from our tax comes from our residents. So is this really a tax on our residents, or is this a tax on visitors? Because two thirds says it's a tax on us. I don't like hearing things like, and I'll just be honest, it's just a personal thing, I don't like hearing, well, North Augusta has it, so we should too. I don't think that's the right reason. I also think that this is a bad time to raise taxes, given the fact that in our state, we've not only reduced property taxes on items such as boats, but also working to reduce income tax, and even potentially going, we're a lot of talk, right, to going to no income tax. You know? But here's Achan looking to raise tax. That's bad timing. Okay? A lot of things I've heard about is growth. Starting to run out of time. One of the things I've heard a lot about is growth. But, you know, Councilman Messina brought up that over 5,000 new homes had been approved with 10,000 people. When those homes are approved, why are we not making them pay in to contribute at that time to reduce the strain on parks and rec?

Thank you.

Okay.

Thank you. Thanks a lot.

And I would like to say, we do, Council approved in 22 the master plan for PRT, and it talks about facility recommendations to include significant renovations, retrofits, and additions to facilities that are outdated, including Odell Weeks and Smith Hazel. I know Smith Hazel is a primary focus. Some of you that were on council, remember we had a ribbon cutting for the fruits of that two days before Hurricane Helene came through. So we do have that plan from 2022 that was approved by council. And we're doing the update, which we'll hear about, I believe, at the August 10th. council work session. So I did want to state that just so there's not any misperception that there isn't a plan.

Thank you. Anyone else like to speak? Yes.

Good evening, Madam Mayor.

Council members, my name is Graham Hall, Edisto Avenue resident here in Aiken. I am currently the Aiken City Recreation Chair, and I've been on that board for several years now. I've been a 41-year member of Aiken outside of the few years I went to college. I love this town, but I'm very invested in this town as it relates to endeavors, nonprofit commitments, business relations, and I have a family here that used the facilities in Aiken, recreation, parks, tourism, the like, so... The commission has been in favor for this tax for many years. I think the appetite now for commissioners or for council members is now could be a good time. I totally get the concerns of restaurant owners, particularly those maybe not associated with downtown and how that relates to them. But I think when you hear a longtime restaurateur, Sam Erb, speak that this is long-term picture, this is a benefit. It will ultimately pay dividends long-term for our small businesses. But what we really should focus on, I don't think this is political, is how it benefits our community members, our stakeholders, particularly our children that have the facilities now, but we are lacking way behind as it relates to what our youth have compared to others. Not for the public, but for our youth, we are lacking. And that's no fault of Park Recreation and Tourism Department of City of Aiken. They do a heck of a job with what they are given to work with. But the concerns on both sides are very valid. I think if we invest in this and it's allocated appropriately, it will pay dividends for our small businesses, for our restaurants. Getting these big, large events in on off-peak weeks, getting heads in beds, hospitality tax raised on those weekends will do really well. at the end of the day my concerns are for the future of our our city residents that being our kids now and how that how that affects our city going forward so we are in favor for increasing this tax and love your consideration thank you thank you graham anyone else don't see any more hands okay

We have exhausted this. Thank you all for coming and expressing your opinions we we truly appreciate it and we love the fact that you are involved in are interested in what goes on in the city. We have one item of old business this evening. It is second reading and public hearing of an ordinance to extend Oliver Hospitality Group's option to purchase property in connection with the redevelopment of Hotel Aiken and certain surrounding properties. Mr. Bedenboe.

Thank you. This is an ordinance of the City Council of the City of Aiken, South Carolina, authorizing a supplement to the existing agreement for the sale of certain real property in connection with the redevelopment of Hotel Aiken. and certain surrounding properties and other matters related thereto. This is just an extension of their right to purchase. expired actually several about two weeks ago this would extend it to October 12th with an option to extend it an additional 60 days from what they are telling me and just from what I'm hearing from other folks they're working with in terms of from the lending standpoint we don't expect this to go further than the initial 60 days. They're just getting all their paperwork in order. But since the option has expired in the interest of transparently moving this project forward, it was believed best to have this extended by the council for your consideration. You heard this at first reading at our meeting July the 8th. I'm sorry, July the 13th, and it is before you for second reading tonight.

Thank you. Do I have a motion, please, to accept the ordinance? I so move. Councilwoman Broll made the motion.

I second.

Second from Councilwoman Diggs. Any comments from the public? Yes, sir.

Yes, I'm Gil Allensworth, 227 Twin Ponds Lane. I'm just asking a question. So without this option, does Oliver have the opportunity to back out of the deal?

I mean, I'm not a realist. There's nothing to prevent them from backing out at any time. But that's a speculative question that...

So what's the need to resign? That's a speculative question. What's the reason to resign the option?

Because it's expired. And I think after what we went through with the prior project that was known as Pascalis, I just... believe it is appropriate to bring this to council to renew it because we want to do things differently than how project pascalis was done so my my concern here stewart at this point is why did this option expire I will tell you, I think the main reason why it expired is they gave a presentation to the Design Review Board, I believe in May, a work session, and Design Review Board received everything favorably, and they were moving, but they had work to do to try to get the project moving forward, and they were rushing to get it to the meeting of the June Design Review Board. And I said, you do not need to rush something this important and substantial. Take your time. do the design correctly and respond to all of the design review board concerns. And because of that, it did not get to the design review board until July. And, I mean, that's just a conversation I had with them because of the gravity of this. And frankly, I think nobody would dispute it's a very scrutinized project. And the option... lapsed July 12th, and this would extend it. There's no, again, it's just showing, since the public and plaintiffs in the Blake lawsuit were very clear, they believe things weren't done properly. This is just, I believe, trying to do things in a way that shows we're being transparent and following good established practices.

I think we're on the same page.

Oh, yeah, but it's just, it is unusual, but I take the, I take the, if you want, I don't really think it's blame, but I mean, I told them, take your time to put this together.

The thing from the citizenry, yeah you brought up project pascalis oh yeah we sit back and we read that we lost five million dollars and for the city and we read about the lawsuit we understand everything the city's going through and all the trainings and the countless hours that i'm sure you're having to handle and the expenses that we're having to incur beyond the settlement just the actual running of the city And, I mean, it's a big deal. So when I see the option to purchase, it caught me off guard. I was not aware. I missed the first reading of it. And then this may be a little bit out of tune, and if I am, I apologize. Have you negotiated at all with that? I think people are looking at the 43% of the parking garage as a negative. I don't see it as a negative. I see it as a positive. So they're going to be paying...

They're going to be paying a market...

They're going to be paying a bill. Is that going to cover... Could that potentially cover the... For lack of a better term, mortgage payment?

Probably not. The rate, and again, we have not determined a final rate, but probably not. The rate, I do expect it to be in a range, you know, give or take $50 per space per month.

Okay.

All right. That was all. Thank you.

Thank you. Any other comments? Yes, sir.

My name is Jensen Jones. I live at 138 Florence Street Southwest, Unit 3. Good evening, council and mayor. I just have a quick question because I've been following this as best as any of us can, and maybe I've missed some details along the way, but maybe some clarification on this would be helpful. So we're asking for an extension for these individuals to buy it properly. But why were we in such a rush to not kick out? I don't love that. Well, I'm also somebody who works in the landlord business, so I don't love saying kick out. But for lack of a better word, push out a business when we have to extend this real estate deal. It kind of just seems like... Well, I don't know, what crappy PR, like, I'm, you know, I respect all of you up here, so it's not being disrespectful, but genuinely, like, what was your thought behind that?

Madam Mayor, and Daniel Plyler filling in for Gary Smith today. So I think you're referring to the last tenant that hasn't actually vacated the affected properties. Part of the reason I'm going ahead and sending out the notice saying, hey, and for the public's benefit, this is a conversation that actually started back in 2021. When Pascalis was still going through and a lot of the plan that Oliver has for the property is similar to what would have been done if that project had gone through. And it knew that it was going to affect certain properties, especially along the corner of Newberry and Richland. So there were some conversations there about, hey, at some point in the future, we're going to have to ask you to vacate so that this project can go forward. The process of actually getting a tenant out can extend for an extremely long period of time. So when it became clear that Oliver was ready to move forward, the council's position was then unfortunately we're going to have to go in and ask that last tenant to vacate. I know there's been some talk about why it was 20 days. There's a state statute when you're dealing with the ejectment of a tenant, you have to give at least 20 days notice. I can't tell you that time frame is being negotiated. I can't get into the deal sales of that. But 20 days is what the statute requires is the reason it was worded that way. But it's at a point where because it could take a considerable period of time to get a tenant out, we had to go ahead and start the process. But we are trying to work with that tenant on exactly how long will it take for you to get out.

Awesome. I think that's great, and it helps clarify for us. Like I said, I think you guys do a lot of hard work. This sales tax increases are, of course, a big bugger for some folks. I'm going to say I've been on the fence with it, but as a father of a young child, I see the benefit. It's like when we talk about the taxes on our roads, you know? We're talking about, oh, roads need to get fixed, but they're not getting fixed because there's not enough taxes. Well, you at least have some foresight to say, hey, these infrastructure of our parks and our facilities need to have some sort of stable funding. So I see where you guys are, and I support you reluctantly so in that endeavor. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Any other comments from the public? Comments from council? All those in favor? It is unanimous, thank you. will now move into an executive session the session notice reads as follows on monday july 27 2026 after the special council meeting the aiken city council will go into executive session pursuant to section 30-4-70 princesses a princess two and princess three there will be discussions regarding the lease of city-owned property There will also be discussions regarding negotiations incident to a proposed contractual arrangement and the receipt of legal advice where the legal advice relates to a pending threatened or potential claim or other matters covered by the attorney-client privilege. Specifically, City Council will discuss the following. One, the receipt of legal advice regarding contractual discussions and a pending threatened or potential claim regarding the property known as 213 Richland Avenue West, Aiken, South Carolina. City Council may take formal action in a public meeting following the executive session. Is there a motion to go into executive session, please? I so move, Madam Mayor. Thank you, Councilwoman. Roll made the motion. I need a second. Councilman Waldo. Thank you. We will now all those in favor. It's unanimous. Thank you. We will now move into executive session in room 315.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Is there a motion to come out of executive session? Councilwoman Price made the motion.

I second, Madam Mayor.

Second from Councilwoman Morgan. All those in favor? Thank you. It's unanimous.

Madam Mayor. Yes. So during executive session, council received legal advice and updates on a contractual matter and threatened or pending litigation regarding same specific to the property currently leased or residing in by Taj Aiken on Richland Avenue. The discussions have centered around a contract that was signed with Mr. Kumar in March of 22, a contract similar to other tenants that would be effective in the same way. They had to do with the relocation assistance that the city would be willing to provide, or at that time it was the AMDC, but the city now stands in their shoes. The contract has terms about a payment of money that's based on rent that was held in escrow beginning in December of 21. It also deals with the notice to vacate that we have sent Mr. Kumar, which currently gave him 20 days effect that began to run on September, excuse me, July 15th of this year. During my discussions with counsel for Mr. Kumar, they've asked that that timeframe to vacate be extended. So what I'm asking from counsel at this point is authority to either agree or negotiate the move-out date. The current request is that the 20-day notice be extended to a 60-day notice, which would make his move-out date September 13th of 2026. I would ask that counsel approve that request and allow me to or authorize me to convey that to his attorney. So I... Given that I need your authority to do that, I'm asking that you provide me that authority.

I so move. So with that, I need a motion.

Madam Mayor, I so move that we give Mr. Plyler the authority to negotiate the extension for the 60 days instead of the 20 days, and that the terms of the payback or the rent... Give it back.

well yeah there is in you yeah there is something else i'll need to ask you all but right now i just need to know am i authorized to negotiate that 60 days and that's a motion from councilman morgan yes and a second from councilman waldell thank you uh all those in favor thank you very much it is unanimous

Right, and then the second part that I'm asking for authority on is Mr. Kumar's attorney has expressed that they're demanding an additional $100,000 in excess of what the March 22 contract would provide. As I mentioned a moment ago, the contract that he signed Similar to the ones that were signed by all resident. Excuse me all tenants along this same block And it had it allowed for the rents that were paid beginning in December of 21 To be held in escrow with an agreement that they would be paid back to the tenant after they vacated There were some other terms including some like non-disparagement clauses in there so obviously he would have to comply with those as well and to be eligible for that payment. Given the fact this was signed in 22 and it secured all rents from December 21 to the present, that total is $155,700 that he would be entitled to under the contract provided he complies with his end of the contract. So what they're asking for is $100,000 in addition to that $155,700. I need to know if I have authority from y'all to negotiate any additional monies in advance of the, or excuse me, in addition to what it's already provided for in the contract or not. So that's my ask from y'all is do I have authority to try to negotiate that or do I have authority to tell him no, we're not going to pay more than what we've agreed to in the contract?

So can I have a motion to accept his son?

I'd like to make a motion that we do not authorize our attorney to proceed into any further contractual monetary negotiations beyond the funds that we already agreed to as part of his lease.

I'll second that, Madam Mayor.

We can go with that? Is there any discussion? Thank you.

My only point of clarification in regards to that amount we've extended his lease, that payback still exists for that extension. Does that make sense, what I'm asking?

Yes, Mr. Warren, I understand your question. In the letter that we sent him on July 15th, when we provided the notice to vacate, we told him we would not accept any additional rent. So provided, now that you've given me the authority to agree to 60 days, and provided he does move out September 13th of 2026, he's not going to pay rent. He won't pay rent in August, and he won't pay rent in September. So there would be no additional funds added to it. He would just not have to pay rent.

but he would still be entitled under this extension to the monies of rent held in escrow, and that amount would be some $150,000. Right, so $155,700.

The rents are $152,700, but it was a $3,000 security deposit, so you add that to it. And again, that is all contingent on him complying with the terms of the contract, which included he would vacate when asked to vacate. So what you would be doing is saying the date we're asking you to vacate is September 13th of 2026. So provided he complies with that, then he would still be entitled to the payments under the contract. Yeah.

So nothing has changed. He is held whole for the benefits that have been promised him as long as he gets out and complies with the terms and the extension that we've given him. And the motion that Mr. Messina has just said is that in regards, that is not affected, but a desire to add $100,000 to the settlement or to authority to settle is what he says no to, not what he's entitled to already.

Yeah, the motion that's on the table that y'all would be discussing and voting on as voiced by Mr. Messina is we're not saying that we won't pay what we said we would pay under the contract. You're telling me that I don't have authority to negotiate anything in addition to that. That's the motion that's currently pending.

Thank you for that clarification.

So I have a motion from Councilman Messina, and I need a second.

I second. It was seconded.

I second. It was? Bye.

Okay.

Oh, I missed that.

Just need to know if there's any additional discussion.

That's right. Okay, sorry. So now we're ready to do a vote.

If there's no additional discussion.

Oh, any more discussion. Madam Mayor, if I may, Mr. Plyler, the contract that we had with Mr. Kumar was very similar to the contracts with the other clients, correct?

Yeah, my understanding is the same contract was offered and signed by everybody that would be affected along Richland and Newberry Street.

Okay, thank you. If there's no further discussion, we will go to the vote. All those in favor? Thank you. It was unanimous.

Thank you. I appreciate you all letting me know what my authority is. Thanks.

Thank you very much. Is there a motion to adjourn the City Council meeting this evening?

So moved.

Second.

Councilman Diggs and Councilman Waldo. Made the second. All those in favor? Thank you. The meeting is adjourned.