Remarks by Gavin Smith
85 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 1 of 4
- Play at 12:24
“Thank you madam air that proposed amendment and Council's agenda packet is a proposed amendment chapter one 50 which specifically identifies each building code adopted and forced by the town. The current ordinance provides a general adoption of building codes reckon recognized and mandated by the state of South Carolina. The amendment list each applicable code individually to provide greater clarity regarding the codes formally adopted by the town. The amendment was developed based on guidance from the South Carolina Building Code Officials Association and recent litigation involving the…”
Town Council · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 18:00
“We asked a lot of questions at the last work session on this topic. So do we have any answers to those? And then I want to pose one more before I close out. Rachel, you sent us last week Some information on streetlights and neighborhoods that details the Charleston smooth aluminum fixture at approximately $640.80 per year to operate. But this agreement we're signing with Dominion has it at 790. So there's a significant difference there. Could you walk us through why there is said difference?”
Town Council · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 25:41
“So just by rough math, what I just figured out is if we did the 70,000 solar, there's about a seven and a half year break-even period. It would take us seven and a half years to break even, and that's no maintenance or anything.”
Town Council · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 25:56
“So by my rough math, the Dominion seems to be cheaper, and it accomplishes your objective of the same light being in that parking lot as around and if if we purchased our own lots it would be a 15 year break even 15 16 year break even and that doesn't mention any that doesn't account for any poles breaking or lights breaking or power or any of those other things so really it does seem that the dominion is actually cheaper it's a citizen yeah fair fair application of”
Town Council · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 26:35
“Okay. Well, thank you. I know for me, I'm satisfied. Thanks for looking into that. Madam Mayor.”
Town Council · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 28:33
“Let you know. Rachel, can you just ask for Dominion or ask Dominion what the difference in the lights are? Because this one that you sent us is a Charleston fixture as well, and that is $100 per light saving. I understand it's Go ahead.”
Town Council · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 29:09
“I would imagine this 640.80 per light is our municipal rate, right? Rachel?”
Town Council · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 35:38
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
Town Council · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 37:35
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
Town Council · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 37:56
“I understand what we have to do, but what will we do?”
Town Council · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 20:17
“Yes, madam mayor being that we're going to be delaying the road project and obviously doing utility work. I think I know the answer to this question, but I wanted to ask just to clarify. There's obviously a lot of other utilities at that intersection will those be put underground are we requiring those utilities to put those underground or can they remain above ground.”
Town Council · Sep 21, 2026
- Play at 21:40
“This may be a question for our attorney that can we not be our franchise agreement require when we make improvements like this in town for these utilities to bury their utilities. Or ordinance. Maybe it's not the franchise agreement, but I mean this is a major intersection in town. We're going to do a ton of roadway work. Could we not try to get these utilities underground, require them to put them underground so they don't have to come back eventually and tear up our road?”
Town Council · Sep 21, 2026
- Play at 23:15
“Well, and I will say, Madam Mayor, I reached out to Dominion Energy, not to call them out, but one particular utility about, you know, just trying to learn how we could get utilities put underground in the town. And what I didn't realize and what probably comes into play here is not just the service that's buried, but then it's the service line to the varying homeowners or the varying business. There's that cost as well. So how do we help those individuals not bear that cost. I don't know what that looks like. Maybe there is a solution. But being that this is such a substantial investment in…”
Town Council · Sep 21, 2026
- Play at 29:51
“One quick question I have we evaluated the use of rather than doing. You know Dominion energy or purchasing, you know standard lights that we evaluated the option of using solar lights.”
Town Council · Sep 21, 2026
- Play at 30:42
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
Town Council · Sep 21, 2026
- Play at 31:36
“To clarify, it wouldn't be an option because Dominion doesn't do it or we can't find a private vendor to do it?”
Town Council · Sep 21, 2026
- Play at 31:47
“So it is an option. It's just not an option if we have Dominion do it. Correct. Okay, so could we evaluate potentially if that vendor, I don't know what those costs looks like. I have no clue, but I would be interested, you know, if it's a similar lighting fixture and, you know, it's cheaper in the long run for our citizens, perhaps that's something we should look at.”
Town Council · Sep 21, 2026
- Play at 46:28
“No, you understand everything. So, Madam Mayor, I guess my first question is, and I I mean this with all due respect. Why are we talking about fixed costs? Because those aren't going to change. Regardless of where we go, we're still going to pay for the street light or the lighting that the town's responsible for, right? We're concerned with the variable cost, correct?”
Town Council · Sep 21, 2026
- Play at 47:13
“OK, so so just be clear about my math quickly. There's $267,500 of variable costs. That's the difference in the current expenditure minus our fixed fixed cost. Yes, so there's 267 five of variable costs that we're considering. Those are the streetlights that we're currently paying for and you would. You estimate that if we buy our ordinance today, if we took on additional neighborhoods, are you saying that 71,000 say 500? we would have additional exposure based on how the ordinance is written today.”
Town Council · Sep 21, 2026
- Play at 48:24
“And I guess my 2 questions to follow up there would be how did you come up with the 71,000 because and I've been very transparent about this I know just my neighborhood alone we we pay $42,000 a year for streetlights so that leaves $30,000 a year left over for the 40 ish neighborhoods or whatever that number was that are having their streetlights paid for I I'm not sure that math math.”
Town Council · Sep 21, 2026
- Play at 49:06
“Well, and I understand the rates. I'm sure the municipal rate is better than what, you know, the HOA is paying. But still, I mean, we have 30-ish neighborhoods or something like that that aren't having their streetlights paid for. So across all 30-ish neighborhoods that don't have their streetlights, the anticipated exposure is 71,000, correct? Correct. So if you subtract out one neighborhood that I know pays 42,000, the rest of 29 neighborhoods is only 30,000.”
Town Council · Sep 21, 2026
- Play at 1:01:17
“Thank you madam mayor, yes, can I just ask to follow up on councilmember Lyles question so if we were to shift the the responsibility to our homeowners and let's use the example of. Now it's lakes or Coventry they don't have a homeowners Association, let's say that They decide they don't want the streetlights. Or, you know, neighbor A, where they have a streetlight, and, you know, neighbor B, where they have a streetlight, one wants it, one don't, or one doesn't. Are we going to take the position of we require them to have that light, so we're going to require them to pay that bill?”
Town Council · Sep 21, 2026
- Play at 1:02:40
“okay um i will just say for and i don't know how the rest of council feels but i will just say for my um benefit i'd like to just see a spreadsheet i mean can we just see the neighborhoods what the costs are associated with the neighborhood and what fund apparently they're put in are they fixed or variable because the distinguish meant between uh fixed and variable isn't exactly making sense to me here i understand because you don't have an hoa You're included in our fixed costs, but we would be pulling them out of our fixed costs because we would stop paying for all streetlights and…”
Town Council · Sep 21, 2026
- Play at 1:03:38
“So wouldn't we just incentivize neighborhoods to not have HOAs?”
Town Council · Sep 21, 2026
- Play at 1:03:53
“But they don't have to have an HOA. We could just say, well, we want to establish an HOA. So now the town is going to pay for this.”
Town Council · Sep 21, 2026