Richland County Council meets November 20, 2007
By Mike Cox MWC423@bellsouth.net

Chairman Joe Mc- Eachern, Vice Chair Val Hutchinson, Joyce Dickerson, Norman Jackson, Damon Jeter, Paul Livingston, Bill Malinowski, Mike Montgomery, Greg Pearce, Bernice Scott, and Kit Smith were present.

Transportation Report

Dr. Caroline Whitson gave the council an update on the progress of the transportation committee. So far there have been two tech memos with another scheduled in early December. Each of the tech memos was followed by a review. Late January or early February, the second public forum will take place, and the final recommendations will be ready by April. The committee will give the final report to Richland County Council at the May 15 meeting.

Citizens Input

Two citizens asked to speak on agenda items at the meeting but were refused permission. Both items already had a public hearing, and council rules don't allow a second forum. The rules can be waved but weren't done in this case.

Previous Minutes

Councilman Bill Malinowski continued his recent habit of correcting every grammatical and spelling error in the minutes from the last meeting. He is proving to his constituents he pays attention, and the minutes do need to be correct, assuming the corrected minutes will be transposed error free. (But still, it's like having Linda the Language Person sitting on council.)

Administrator's Report

County administrator Milton Pope dropped a bombshell in his report to council during the night's meeting. The state Department of Transportation sent Richland County a letter advising them that "C" Fund money, used to pay for road projects, has been over budgeted, which is political talk for " We didn't budget our funds correctly". What this means is that nearly every road improvement project for the county, projects dear to the hearts of council members, has been delayed.

The lifeblood of any elected official is what he does for the constituents. Road pavings, improvements, and traffic flow issues are things voters can see. If the funding goes away, the council members will be hard pressed to find the $10 million needed for these projects already being planned but not yet contracted. Agenda

A proposed sale of a lot in the county's Northeast Industrial Park was questioned by Malinowski. He was concerned about the two- year- old appraisal and how the determination was made deciding what amount of the lot wasn't usable. (In addition to being the language police, he's a real estate specialist.)

Pope told him the staff was confident the sale is the right thing for the county to do based on figures available and current market trends. The proposal passed 9- 2.

A proposal amending the language of the Hospitality Tax was given first reading approval at the last meeting with language added by Malinowski limiting the funding for the primary recipients of the tax.

Mike Montgomery proposed second reading approval to the amendment with the original language placed back in the ordinance. After some discussion by Malinowski and Norman Jackson, the amendment was approved as Montgomery requested.

A lengthy executive session involving a TIF update, the ever- present Northeast Sanitary Landfill, and three upcoming litigation cases preceded adjournment.