City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening everyone. Welcome to the March 23rd meeting of the Aken City Council. I just want to let you know that our city manager Stuart and Beenbo is not going to be here tonight. his wife has had surgery and he's going to stay home and do the dutiful um nurse duties. And in in his place we have Mary Tilton, our assistant city manager. So if you are so 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 Aken 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 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.

Thank you. As the meeting begins, I will review the guidelines. Meetings are public forums in which many opinions are expressed in the business of the city must be conducted. As such, discipline, honorable and professional decorum is paramount. Courteous and respectful communication is required. There should be no disruptions from the floor while council members or members of the public are speaking. Anyone wishing to speak must be recognized so that we can retain order as we conduct the business of the city and all comments can be put into the public record. During public hearings, all questions and statements from the public shall 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. During the non-aggenda public comment section, each speaker has three minutes and can only speak once. We now move to additions and deletions to the agenda. I recognize Mayor Prom Kbr for this agenda item.

Thank you, Madame Mayor. Good evening. We're glad to have all of you here. And madame mayor, there are no additions or deletions to the agenda. So, I submit it to be passed as it is printed. Thank you for making the motion. And I need a second, please, from another council member. Uh, Councilman Msina made the second. Uh, all those in favor? Thank you. The minutes were provided to council for review prior to the meeting. Is there a motion for approval of the minutes? I so move. Thank you. Councilwoman Diggs. Second.

Second from Councilman Waldo. Uh any comments or changes? All those in favor? Thank you. We are we are lucky to have three presentations on the agenda tonight. The first presentation is a proclamation recognizing Nancy Hansen for her 44 years as a fitness instructor at H Odell Week Center. Will Miss Hansen please come forward for her honor of presentation. Councilwoman Morgan, please read the proclamation to us.

I would be honored to do so, Madame Mayor. This is a proclamation in whereas the city of Aken honors individuals whose dedication has has made have made lasting contributions to the health, well-being, and enrichment of our community. And whereas Nancy Hansen has devoted 44 years to fitness instruction at H. Odell Weeks Activity Center, marking more than four decades of partnership with the city of Akens Park Recreation and Tourism Department. And whereas she has provided affordable and accessible fitness opportunities five days a week through programs such as line dancing, fit forever, yoga, chair yoga, and silver sneakers. Each helping countless residents build strength, confidence, and daily habits. And whereas in the early 2000s, Nancy championed the Silver Sneakers program, which has since become a vital resource for older adults and has accounted for more than 5,000 visits to the center in the last fiscal year alone. And whereas Nancy and her fellow instructors have cultivated meaningful relationships with class participants and many of them are here tonight. A welcoming creating a welcoming environment that keeps community members engaged and connected while maintaining exceptional reliability with no class cancellations. And whereas she has expressed her hope that through her instruction, people have gained in strength and confidence and that we have improved or maybe even

extended the years that they have left in life. That people have leave our classes feeling supported and strengthened and uplifted. that they always walk out the door glad that they came and looking forward to the next class. And whereas Nancy has announced her retirement from instructing, including a rem concluding a remarkable chapter of service that has touched generations of Aken residents. And whereas her work has not only improved physical health but have has uplifted spirited spirits, fostered community and enriched lives in immeasurable ways. Now therefore, be it proclaimed by the city council of the city of Aken that we recognize and honor Nancy Hansen for her years of dedicated fitness instruction and her profound contributions to community health and well-being. Be it further proclaimed that the city of Aken extends the deepest gratitude and best wishes to Nancy in her departure. signed. Mayor and council members may just say thank you to all of you. I said I didn't want to speak, but I have to say that this partnership with the city and parks and recreation has been such a meaningful and powerful partnership and it's made it all possible. I felt supported in every

single way that it could be by the city and the community reception and what the community has made of the program and what my some of my team teacher team fellow team members are there. uh what we have created together. It's not a oneperson thing at all. It is what we the city, our community, these dedicated teachers and um just wonderful staff. And so I thank you for the opportunity because you you allowed me that space and that time. So thank you.

Thank you. What do I do? Thank you. The sec sorry the second is a presentation by Miss April Jordan of the Cumby Center regarding sexual assault awareness month. Would you come forward? Thank you. Good evening to you. Thank you. Thank you very much for having me. I appreciate it. This is a second time I believe I've been here, but this time I've got some slides to share with everybody. Um, and then we'll jump right on to it. So, my name is April Jordan. I'm the director of outreach at Cumby Center. Um, for those of you that are not aware of what we do, we are a nonprofit agency that serves victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in six South Carolina counties. We're in Aken, Allenale, Barnwell, Edgefield, McCormack, and Saluda. And we've been around for a long, long time, for those of you that may or may not know, since 1979. And my very first job out of college um back in the 1900s was at Cumbi Center. And then I moved on

to some other fabulous places to include the solicitor's office with our favorite solicitor, Miss Barbara Morgan. No offense to the other one if they're here. Um but anyway, just tell you a little bit about what we do and then I'll tell you why I'm up here telling you about the Cumby Center as well. So our formal mission is to support and empower domestic violence and sexual violence victims and their families by providing services reducing the tolerance of abuse and advocating for social change. So we have three arms um main arms of what we do and then underneath there we have very specific services. We have a direct service side as well as an indirect service side. All of our services are free and confidential and we serve everyone. We have a 24-hour crisis hotline. Uh we do lots of crisis intervention, case management, counseling services, court advocacy, orders of protection, hospital accompaniment and advocacy 247, 365 days a year. We have a safe house or a shelter, which is something some of you may have volunteered over at our safe house. We also do support groups, lots of lots of prevention groups, community awareness, as well as professional trainings. And then for those of you that know a million other things underneath all of those. So these are just a few statistics and I'm not going to go over all of them, but I just wanted to touch base with a uh about a couple of these statistics that are staggering and I always like to share these. On a typical day, there are more than 20,000 phone calls placed to domestic violence hotlines nationwide. Cumby Center is one of those hotlines. Our phones ring nonstop. Um, we have clients that walk in that don't have appointments, clients that do have

appointments, clients that are fleeing from an unsafe situation. Um, and that's just the domestic violence. Then a little bit about sexual violence as well. One in five women in the United States experienced completed or attempted rape during the lifetime. Now, I don't want to put a downer on what we just experienced, but these are some very real things that we're experiencing nationwide as well as in our state. Our state statistics show that almost half of our women are victims of domestic violence and almost half of our women are victims of sexual violence. We sit right around the 44 and 45% mark. And so when we're thinking in terms of the services that Cumby Center provides, it's much needed and we've expanded over the years to meet those needs. One of those needs that um well, one way that we meet those needs is through volunteers. We have a pretty stiff volunteer program. Um we want folks that are invested and are passionate about our um mission. Always in need of donations. I won't do that. But um what the So the main reason that I wanted to come up here and tell you all about Cumi Center is because April is sexual assault awareness month. Now, Combi Center um acknowledges and participates in three awareness months every year. One is February for teen dating violence awareness month, April for sexual assault awareness month, and October for domestic violence awareness month. In each of those months, we have multiple initiatives that we do to include, let's see, did I put it? Yes. to include

um hanging these awareness ribbons um in multiple towns of the counties that we serve. So you'll see these awareness ribbons along with information cards um hanging in Barnwell um along the circle in the edgefield square up and down Georgia Avenue in North Augusta and also on Lauren Street in Aken. And I always submit a request for approval for that um in advance, Miss Sarah, as much in advance as I can. Thank you so much. Um and um so we hang these in order to raise awareness and hopefully we can get some phone calls. Hopefully we can have somebody share the information about this public health crisis. And so that's why I'm here today is to say thank you for giving us the approval to do that. um and allowing our community to become more aware about this information. Um another initiative that we do during the awareness months is in April we have a bake off at wonderful Odell weeks and in October we have a chili cookoff. We have local individuals, businesses, organizations that come alongside us and they bake sweet treats or bake a pot of chili to share with our community members. It's free taste testing. Uh lots of fun. We have games for the kids, popcorn machine, all kinds of fun things. Um just to come together. It's sort of a community connection event that also provides some awareness for us to come together about this. Um, so thank you for those few minutes. I don't know if anyone has any questions or comments. I'd be happy to entertain.

Thank you for your presentation. Yes. Thank you. I appreciate it, Mayor. And thank you, council. We appreciate you, April.

The final presentation is a proclamation to Children's Place for Child Abuse Awareness Prevention Month. Miss Peggy Ford, will you please come forward? And Councilwoman Diggs, will you read the proclamation to her, please?

Yes. Whereas South Carolina's 1.1 million children residing in the diverse communities across our state, including 38,14 children in Aken County are our most valuable resource and will shape the future of our great state. And whereas childhood trauma, including neglect and abuse, is a serious problem affecting every segment of our community. And finding solutions requires input and action from everyone. And whereas adverse childhood experiences can have long-term psychological, emotional, and physical effects that have lasting consequences. And protective factors are conditions that reduce or eliminate risks and promote the social, emotional, and developmental well-being of children and youth. And whereas effective child abuse prevention succeeds when partnerships are created between child welfare professionals, education, health, community and faith-based organizations, businesses, mental and behavior health, law enforcement agencies, and families. And whereas communities must continue to work together to promote programs and activities that build strong children and strong families, raise awareness about child abuse and neglect, and

support the social and emotional well-being of children, youth, and families in safe, stable, and nurturing environments. prevention remains the best defense of our children and families. And whereas in fiscal year 2024 through 25 there were 7,24 substantiated child protective services investigations with 12,371 children in South Carolina and 135 investigations with 234 children right here in Aken County. Now therefore, I, Teddy Milner, mayor of Aken in the great state of South Carolina and the entire council of the city of Aken, do hereby proclaim April 2026 as child abuse prevention month throughout Aken and encourage all South Carolinians to dedicate themselves to protecting the quality of life for all families and children so that we end childhood neglect and abuse. And this is signed by our mayor and our entire city council member.

Thank y'all. Thank you so much. And thank you for all that you do for children and families. I want you to recognize the pin wheels because the center of that pin wheel is the family. It stands for happy childhoods, but happy childhoods are protected in families, but it's also protected by all of the little stars that come out around it because each one represents the community organizations and people that support families. And so I thank you today for making childhoods safe, for making them happy, and for having an Aken where we can have many, many children that thrive because without you that would not happen. You're an intricral part. Thank you so much for all you do for families and children in Aken County. Hold your pen wheel. You have pins in there, too. So, wear them on your lapel through the month. You hold it.

We're having some props.

Here we go. Thank you, Peggy, for all you do. Oh jeez.

We have to make sure Brayley gets got to come home with two. Now we open the floor to public comments on non-aggenda items. Comments are limited to 30 men. Uh three minutes rather. Sorry. 30 minutes. 30 minutes. Okay. Per speaker. Get your pillows and for a total of 30 minutes. Thank you. And I know you're going to speak first, aren't you, Lex? No. Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

Yes. Good evening. 30 minutes. My name is Thomas Dar D A R. and I live at 224 Grand Oaks Way here in Aken in the city. And I just want to ask council if they could uh do something about the dead trees on Laurens between Hampton and University. There's a number of completely dead trees and the people coming in from exit 18 or even exit 22 of Route 20 see this as one of the first things they see when they enter the city. Um, I've noticed it. I've lived here seven years now this month and uh I just think it's rather disgraceful that we allow those trees to just stand there and represent us as being dead wood. When I was in college, we had in fraternity at the end of the year, we'd uh vote for the member who was the biggest deadwood in the fraternity who meant he did nothing for anything for any purpose. And so I hope that council can take care of these trees or at least look into it on Hampton as they're dead wood and we don't want that to be what people first see us as. Thank you.

Thank you very much. I'm sure that Lex is duly noting it. Anyone else? Yes, ma'am.

Good evening. My name is Mary Anton and I reside at 212 Voxelder Drive in Aken. As chair of the Aken County homeless coalition for the past three years, I want to thank you all for taking the lead in the county in recognizing that the increasing homeless problem requires a collaborative multis- sector approach combining public, private, and nonprofit efforts to solve. The growth of homelessness and risk of homelessness has accelerated over the past couple of years due largely to economic factors out of our control. While we are all affected by the steep rise in housing costs, increase increasing food prices, and over the past few weeks, the jump in gasoline prices. Our lowest income households are increasingly finding it more and more difficult to remain housed. Back in 2024, Stuart Beenbaw asked me which group currently operating in Aken did I think would deliver the most bang for our bucks in addressing the growing homeless problem in Aken. I did not hesitate to say that Salvation Army. My reasons for this response were many. Later that same year, captains Michael and Malleica Good joined our community. And almost two years later, I am convinced that their assignment to Aken by the Salvation Army has been heaven sentent. I have seen their total commitment to our community in action, taking on extra work others might not have undertaken. While running the existing Salvation Army operations on a shoestring budget and providing emergency relief during the hurricane, they initiated an independent survey and data collection study to evaluate the needs of our community and possible solutions to unmet needs. The survey would not have been possible

without the city of Aken's 2024 award from the plutonium monies. As I do not speak for the Salvation Army, I am not I will not get into details about the study results, but suffice it to say that a conclusion was made that we desperately need a centralized resource center for the homeless and those at risk of homelessness. The centralized resource center will serve all those who need help and are willing to work towards sustainable living. It will also emphasize homeless prevention programs, ensuring a brighter future for our children. I would like to ask members of our community to keep a watch over the next several months as the details of this project unfolds. Contact Michael Good and ask him to come and speak to your church members or civic groups or ask how you can help. The goods cannot do this without each and every one of you. Let's show the goods that we are as committed to our community as they are. Become involved. Every little bit helps. If you want to hear more, come to my group's public meeting this Friday at 8:30 a.m. at the parlor at Saint at First Baptist Church and hear me talk about the year ahead as shining light and the work to be done. Thank you.

Thank you. Yes, Jacob.

Good evening, Madame Mayor, Council, Jacob Ellis, Aken, South Carolina. Um, with the upcoming Masters Weeks and summer approaching, we'll have more and more visitors in downtown Aken. And with that come coming, that means more people walking and enjoying our great downtown. But the timers on the