Richland County Council meets January 8, 2008
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.

Starting the year off right

Whether it was revitalization from the holidays, the idea of starting the new year off right, or the desire to get home in time for the latest episode of Prison Break, the 2008 version of the Richland County Council hit the ground running. General business was handled in less than an hour, and executive session was a near record for brevity.

With the committees in transition and little business carried over from 2007, the agenda was as vacant as Paris Hilton's brain cavity, but still. The council was efficient, attentive, and swift. Here's hope the trend continues.

Picking leaders and seats

Before council begins each year, a chair person and vice- chair are elected. This year Norman Jackson made a motion to keep Joe McEachern as chairman and Val Hutchinson as vice chair. The measure passed without opposition. No one pulled a McEachern and voted against the chair just to keep it from being unanimous, as the current chairman did two years ago to Tony Mizzell.

Many council watchers consider the Picking of the Seats

to be the highlight of the year. Several staff members and the voting public sat on the edge of their own seats waiting to see if someone would move away from their current spot.

The picking order is based on seniority with any ties determined alphabetically. Bernice Scott was first and decided to stay put. Those who make change for no good reason don't last long in politics, and this group of veterans knows that. After careful consideration by each member of the council, the seating remained the same. When Bill Malinowski, the last to choose, said he would stay put, everyone in the chambers eased back into their chairs and began breathing once again.

The agenda

County administrator Milton Pope gave the council an update on the upcoming retreat in Clemson, told the members a first meeting had been held with Cayce concerning the annexation of part of Richland County, and gave details of an upcoming work session on incorporation of services with Columbia. Pope was also given the green light to deal with two employee grievances.

The farmer's market situation and a lawsuit over tap fees by the Homebuilders Association highlighted the executive session.

A sheriff's department funding request to purchase Taser equipment and training was approved for second reading as was an economic bond project involving Waste Management of South Carolina.

Ballentine asked for a lease extension for its park in order to qualify for some playground equipment. The PARD grant requires a 20- year lease on the playground and the Richland/Ballentine lease will end in 2023. Council approved the request without opposition.

A resolution concerning the farmer's market passed at the last meeting was reconsidered from the minutes and passed without additional language identifying the original Shop Road site in the proposal.

After executive session, the council adjourned. The new year has begun.