County Council - Regular Meeting

planning commission after public hearing discussion made a recommendation that the six approved. Thank you, Mr. Administrator. Uh this is district one. So, anybody have any comments or questions? If not, I would appreciate someone making a motion and second for our first reading. So, move sir. Second move by Miss Cooper Smith and second by Mr. Law Frasier that we do first reading as outlined. from the administrator. All in favor of it, please say I. I.

Any opposes? Eyes have it. The motion is carried. Item number four is the resolution public hearing and this is a resolution by county council to apply for funding from the South Carolina Office of Public Transit. Mr. Administrator, I would ask that you give a summary for the public and then I would open the floor for public um Yes, sir. Mr. Chairman, Orangeburg County has the transit system that provides a system that has a regular route that take people around Orangeburg. And we also um do transportation for people with disabilities and other um service needs. And this is a resolution that's required for us to be able to apply for money from the Federal Transit Administration Program. And um this is what's needed to help fund that bus system. And thankfully um the bus system has been running for these years um through the support of council and and administration.

Thank you so much council. I have question Mr. Chairman. Will there be any additional stops other than the ones that are designated already? Once we apply for the funding and see what funding is, then at that time we will initiate additional routes because of some changes that made around town and so we have requested that in this application to FDA to look at routes to see if we can do any changes. I hope we are not denied but if we are denied then things go

in around town and up to that area and to the campuses and we have the veterans route that takes the veterans to the VA hospital um once a week and they a lot of that is used to transportation veterans to and all of that is used and done with uh federal transportation money. So we have to apply for these funds and then the rest of it is through the provisioning from county council the budget process to allow us to have a bus system that I have one last question. Will water re and lower Savannah still play a role?

Yes ma'am. Uh Santi water will still play a role but um it just depends on if they renew the contract because right now they are the provider. Um, as long as they stay in business um, and renew the contract, they will be, but if not, we would have to get another provider. Thank you. Any other questions? Anything on public hearing? If not, could I get a motion second for the resolution?

Second by Miss Cooper Smith and second again by Mor. There's item four as explained by the administer. All in favor of it say I. Any opposes to it? I have it. Motion's carried. Item five is uh approval of the 2027 budget calendar. I think a copy of it in your package and just something that we do every year process.

No sir, Mr. Chair. This is the standard budget calendar that we have [clears throat] to have a timeline for us to approve the budget that has to be approved by July. Submission budgets to the department to departments fill out the budget request back to administration and we review them as the administrator and then that's presented to council. We have budget hearings throughout the period with council. Then we have public hearings so the public can give input and once that's done we have app budget in time to start. So much council. Anybody have any questions?

Dr. Motion, a second to pass by. Make a motion that the approval of the 2027 budget calendar. Moved by Mr. Walker and second by Miss Frasier that we uh approve the button counter as outlined by the administrator and staff. Uh all in favor say I. I. Any opposes to it? The motion is carried. Uh before we ask for journal comment Mr. Chair, you want to go from right to left or left? I'm go from left to right. No sir.

No comments. Yes, and I guess you know what it is. Yeah. Um, in riding around Orangeburg County, I have seen more litter than I have seen in some time. I don't know why, but Belleville Road and other roads a trash year than I've ever seen them

with our country celebrating a 250th anniversary this year. Not saying that we need to have it clean because of the anniversary of the country. Need to keep ours cleaner than it is all the time because visitors and tourists are just They they come to places that they enjoy seeing and not a dirty place. So the trash could keep money out of our town. So that's do what you can in your community. Just do what you can in your community. And if you can do something outside of your community, do it too. I can't do much, but I can talk

and I can do what I can. So, let's keep Artsburg cleaner than it is. Thank you very much, M. Smith. Good comment. I agree with you. I'm good, Mr. Fras. Again, you're saving me for last, but that's all right. I got it right, Mr. I always do. We put the microphone on. I do that for last because when I let you go first, when I let everybody else finish, you want to come back again. So, this I turn so that way you can keep on trucking. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

First of all, I want to say merry Christmas and a happy new year to everybody even though it's late. Um, Mr. Green, I'd like to say thank you very much for following up on the bus system so that those students or any citizen in Orangeburg will continue to have transportation and they will be having the bus back again at Henry's on Ed Drive, which is a plus for me. The second thing is the prune hunters. I don't know how many of you attended the hunters um get together, jamboree or whatever you want to call it for the weekend, but if you didn't, you missed it. And I tell you, there were dogs of plenty. There were plenty dogs of all kinds, shapes, colors, and all. I enjoyed myself. I had a good time out there. Even though it was messy, I was out there. Um, the third thing, South Carolina State University, and help me Pat will be hosting a parade for the champs, which is South Carolina State University football players. And I would like to invite everybody here to give us some suggestions. We want to have you included in making suggestions as far as what we need to do for a parade because we are going to have a parade and I would hate for it to be said, "Oh yeah, they didn't invite us or we knew nothing about it." Spread the word. We're going to have a parade and right now I'm extending to everybody in here. Give us a suggestion as to what you might want us to do. Okay. Um, I was at the wrong place at the right time the next thing and someone gave me Cliff, please [clears throat] hold one up. As I said, I was at the wrong place at the right time and someone gave me a whole case of sanitizer. So, I told Cliff since he's on the door in the back

to make sure that everybody gets one. You can either get one or two until they run out. And that's my last conversation for the day. Yeah. I think I read about the 26th for the parade. Has that changed? If I'm not mistaken, the parade is going to be the 21st. Pat, right? The 21st, right? 21st.

And they're looking at doing it from the conference center up on South Carolina State University. And again, I'd like very much to have some input from the audience or from the community as to what we need to do at the parade. We'd be glad to. And I hate to hear a lot of people say State College is self-contained. Now we're extending. Help us. Let us help you. Thank you. That's it, Mr. Yeah, that's it. Thank you. That's it. That's it.

Thank you, sir. I just uh two things I wanted to uh talk about in relation to Miss Danny Cooper. we did meet with the delegation and um I don't know the exact figures of how much but some of the state roads like Delville and other roads that um used to be covered was covered under the um litter pickup money that state had pushed down um that some of that money got cut by the state and so that's why you see less of that happening. Todd, do you know the exact amount that was cut? It was cut about 75%.

Yeah, about 75%. as what was happening was the state was putting money in the pot and they had contractors that were coming and picking up some of the state roads within the county and so that's why a lot of that was being done and the county focuses on the county roads the state was picking up roads like Belleville and other roads that we put on the list every council person was given an area that they felt like was a priority we put those names in that pot and they were doing those roads but that money got cut and so they do as much of that as they were. And so if you see that more of that now, that is actually a state issue as far as how some of those funds got cut, not necessarily the county because the county is still doing working on um county roads. So I just wanted you guys to know that for that sake. And um the other thing is in in regards to Mr. Green, appreciate what he did as far as the bus system, but I also, you know, we always look at the press in a negative light. Well, uh, Jamon and Jean helped me try to, um, reach out to the bus system and once they started getting pressure from the county, the press, and the local citizens, and we also met with Congressman Clin. So, we want to give them appreciative as a part of helping get the um, the bus back, but it was brought to life by Mr. I appreciate that. And then, last but not least, want to recognize the fact that um, our own Mr. Cis Williams was on W uh, NBC News in Expose about the U museum partnership that we're doing with the museum that's to come. So want to say thank you and appreciate that was a great pickup machine that we bought in operation.

Yes, but it's being used on county roads, not state roads like some of the other state roads. Mr. Mr. Chimp, Mr. Minister, this is I don't know if you can answer this or not, but I know some groups have adopted highways and the state law they can only clean up that area four times. Um, do those people who adopt those highways if there's a contract and does it run out at the end of a year or so many years? Because I I don't think some of these roads that are say they adopted are being did not. And part of that it was a um you may view this but um I think that um the extension was helping um kind of manage that as far as the adopes that we get some and whatever but I don't think it's been done to the point that it that it used to be and there was some criteria you had to do it every so often to be name on the road but it's not being done like it used to or should be. Thank you all for putting comments in anymore. Sir,

I don't know. Um, Mr. Brown, you probably know something about it. I know the AM churches um had adopted roads that they were picking up with as well cuz I was contact to get some bags and six of sorts so that they could do that. And that's an operation as well. And when individual or groups can do that is a plus for our family as well. All right. Um give consent. Appreciate the motion. Thank you all again for coming. Uh all of you. It's good to see you. It's been a new year. Always good to see you, Miss Hart. You give me hope all the time.

And she has a brother next to her, Miss She used to attend, but have you moved that time? I didn't move up. I just update help. Thank you for coming. I get a motion and a second for make a motion that we moved by Miss Walker.