Richland County Council meets December 4, 2007
By Mike Cox MWC423@bellsouth.net
Roll call

Chairman Joe McEachern, 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.

Presentations

The annual Appearance Counts awards were presented to 20 individual winners. Corporate winners included the Forest Acres Appearance Council and Sonic. Lisa Maseng thanked the council for recognizing the importance of the appearance of Richland County.

Ryan Nevius, chairperson for Appearance Counts, announced a ten- year plan to improve the appearance of the I- 77 corridor, which runs near Fort Jackson. The project includes several corporate partners including the base. The final project will coincide with the 100 year anniversary of Fort Jackson in 2017.

Athletic Director Willie Washington gave the council a game ball for supporting the Pioneer Bowl over the years. Washington said all the area hotels and restaurants were full this year, and the hope is to bring other events of this kind to Richland County.

Agenda

The first item discussed was the proposal to adjust the way Hospitality Tax funding is approved. The A&F committee was divided so the staff's recommendation was brought before the full council. Audrey Shifflett answered council members' questions. The primary changes proposed would have two periods where requests would be taken, 50 percent of the group's budget would be the maximum allowed, and the council would make final decisions concerning awarding funds to approved groups.

Paul Livingston asked if a group could apply in both periods. He was told they could unless their initial request was approved. Val Hutchinson asked what would happen if all the designated funding was used in the first request period. Shifflet said there was an understanding that funding needed to be available for the second period and requests would be handled with that in mind. She also reminded the council they made the final approval decision for each request.

Norman Jackson was concerned only 50 percent of the budget request would be awarded. He said many small businesses and ventures were unable to operate without full financing. He also expressed concern about how the large recipients of the fund would always get funds, and their share would grow as long as the Hospitality Tax grew.

Bernice Scott expressed concern about the rural areas being treated fairly. Joe Cronin said the staff was trying to develop a system to track where the funding goes so each district would get equal funding, but it would be difficult because some groups were not limited to one district and therefore hard to tally.

Kit Smith made a motion to approve the staff's recommendation without the 50 percent rule and to develop a plan where groups accepting Hospitality Tax funding would reduce the amount they need from Richland County each year.

Executive session

After a relatively short executive session, the council gave the county administrator authority to try to resolve the Riverside property dispute. Then the meeting was adjourned.