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CITY OF DARLINGTON REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING April 3, 2012

The Regular Meeting of Darlington City Council was held April 3, 2012 at 7:00 P.M. in the Council Room of City Hall at 400 Pearl Street.

PRESENT AT MEETING: Councilpersons: Hines, Segars, Cannon, Cohen, and Cooper. Also present: Mayor Watkins, City Manager, Mr. Howard Garland, Mr. Lee Bass, Police Chief Danny Watson, Fire Chief Stone, Mr. Kinsaul, Mr. Langley, Mr. David Vaughan, Robert Garland, Mrs. Rita Pegelow, Mrs. Rosena James, Ms. Jannie Lathan, Mr. Danny DuBose, Mrs. Joyce Thomas, Mr. Craig Outlaw, Ms. Janice Murray, Ms. Carolyn Hunter, Sherriff Wayne Byrd, Auditors, Mr. Rob Jordan & Mr. Charlie Cserny, and a room full of visitors.

NEWS REPORTERS Also present was News Reporter, Ms. Lisa Rock and Mr. Dwight Dana.

PRAYER Councilman Cannon gave the invocation which was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mr. Cooper made a motion to approve the minutes of the Regular Council Meeting on March 6, 2012 and a Special Meeting/Work Session on March 20, 2012. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Hines. All approved the motion.

DDRA MANAGER – MR. DAVID VAUGHAN Mr. Vaughan introduced Mr. Grady Culbertson to everyone because the Market was his vision. Mr. Vaughan said The Market on Darlington Square reopened on March 17, 2012 with twenty-nine vendors. Mr. Vaughan said this year the committee is offering a year’s fee of $120.00 to vendors instead of $200.00 and even allowing the vendors to swap out with another person if there is a month they can’t be there. The Darlington Free Medical Clinic is planning a “Diabetes Awareness Walk” on April 21, 2012 in conjunction with the “Market on Darlington Square”. DDRA will host The Annual Golf Tournament on Wednesday, April 11, 2012 at the Darlington Country Club.

1 Mr. Billy Hill & Mr. Ronnie Ward are co-chairs for the event. The “Taste of Darlington” is scheduled for April 19, 2012 at the Darlington Raceway from 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM. He said DDRA co-sponsored a grand opening and ribbon cutting at Palmetto Paws Dog Grooming business on Saturday, March 17, 2012 at 10:00 AM. Mr. Vaughan said The Beautification Board approved $900.00 for the purchase and planting of trees by Tommy Taylor’s Nursery at the Lamar Highway entrance to the City. The trees were planted today and they are maintained by the Pilot Club of Darlington. Mr. Vaughan said last Friday The Darlington High School Key Club and Student Government held a service work day for the City of Darlington, They brought over sixty students that were divided up between the Admin Building, The McCullough House, The Carnegie Library, Williamson Park, The Humane Society and The Habitat House. The students worked from 9:00 AM until 2:00 PM and did a very good job. The City provided lunch for the students at the recreation department. The Garden Club supervised the students working at the Admin Building and the library. The Recreation Department provided supervision for Williamson Park.

MR. DANNY DUBOSE – GREATER DARLINGTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Mr. DuBose said the Chamber banquet held two weeks ago was a great success. He said they are planning an outing for Administrative Professionals Day on the 25th of April at the Country Club. Mr. DuBose said they are moving forward with trying to get individual members to be a part of the Chamber. He said they have made the new structure so that anyone can afford to be a part. Mr. DuBose said his concept is to bring the people together. He said they will be facilitating what people would like to do. He said the Chamber is looking forward to working with DDRA on some projects that are coming up, such as the re-beautification of the amphitheater.

MR. ROB JORDAN & ASSOCIATES – 2010-2011 AUDIT PRESENTATION Mr. Rob Jordan presented the 2010-2011 audits to council. He referenced pages 3, 4, 16, 17, 19, 20, & 21. On page 27, Mr. Jordan went over the four classifications of funds. He told Council they could do some things to show the fund balance is being used because right now it’s unassigned and will take action from Council to do it. Restricted Funds included amounts restricted by external sources (creditors or lawyer, etc.); Committed Funds includes amounts that can only be used for specific purposes and requires

2 action by Council; Under Assigned Funds, City Council can give the City Manager authority to make an assignment for approval and Unassigned, which is where we are now. Mr. Jordan told Council they might want to study this and get back with him about what they want to do. Mr. Garland said there was discussion about this with the Audit Committee and staff recommends that these funds be used on an annual basis to meet our cash needs and replenish the fund when we get our tax money back. Mr. Garland said this is what we have been doing for the past few years. Mr. Jordan went over pages 39, & 60. Mrs. Cohen said the City has made great strides this past year. She said the outside Accountant, Mrs. Holly Schofield who is an expert in governmental accounting has been working with staff and is very complimentary and has helped us use our software better. She said the water & sewer department has a positive cash flow. Mrs. Cohen said all around everything is a whole lot better and it is really paying off that we went through this process.

SANITATION DEPARTMENT UPDATE MR. LEE BASS Mr. Bass said he and Mr. Langley were asked to look into what steps we could take to restructure our garbage and recycling. He and Mr. Langley went to Cheraw and Dillon and also talked with several people on the phone. Mr. Bass said our current contract costs approximately $99,000 per year to provide residential recycling to our customers. If the City takes over from Allied, we would not have funds to purchase a vehicle, but we have a vehicle that’s available. Mr. Bass said we already have a licensed CDL driver on staff, so there would not be any costs incurred to hire a person. They recommend that two people work on the vehicle to handle recycling. The added costs to hire another person will be somewhere in the $23,000 range. He said if the City handles the recycling themselves, the overall savings to the City will be $51,000. Initially, they will need to have $56,000 to purchase larger recycling bins which will allow the City to go to a 26- week recycling schedule or possibly pick up recyclables two times a week. He said the workers can handle the City’s recycling in two days. He said the bins will be 96-gallon containers. He said the price difference in a 40-gallon bin and a 96-gallon bin was $4.00, so he didn’t see the purpose in buying a 40-gallon when you can get a 96-gallon for $4.00 more. Mr. Bass said there are 321 commercial trash carts that are serviced by Allied Waste at the present time. Their fee is $12.12 per month per roll cart. The City currently charges $15.00 per month commercial trash. Mr. Bass suggested that the City take over handling the commercial roll carts. He recommends the commercial recycling rate of $15.00 per month be increased to the same rate

3 as residential customers. He said residential customers pay $20.00 per month for recycling. Mr. Bass said Allied is charging the City $44.48 for a 2-yard container, but the city is only charging the customer $25.00. Allied Waste is charging the City $55.59 for a 4-yard container, but the City is only charging the customer $50.00. Mr. Bass said based on what the City is charging vs. what Allied is charging, the City is losing approximately $1,050 a month. Mr. Bass and Mr. Langley recommend that the City begin to do residential recycling and commercial pick-up of the roll carts and still re- negotiate our contract with Allied Waste to provide commercial front load service. Mayor Watkins suggested to Mr. Bass that he and Mr. Langley get with Mr. Garland and the department head and put this in the form of a recommendation to Council. Mr. Cannon made a motion to let the committee along with the department head & City Manager brings a recommendation to Council. Mr. Cooper seconded the motion. Mrs. Cohen said Council needs to have a work session between now and then to work on this. Mr. Garland said he already has several work sessions scheduled. All approved the motion. Mr. Langley said with our people and our equipment he feels we can expand the sanitation department by getting our workers to start taking down dilapidated houses. He said in a couple of years, we can make this as a stand alone department where it pays for itself.

SECOND READING ON ORDINANCE 2012-02 – FEE FOR SWEEPSTAKES MACHINES Upon motion of Mrs. Hines, seconded by Mr. Cannon, Second Reading on imposing a $500 fee per machine for Sweepstakes Machines, which unanimously carried.

RESOLUTION NAMING RECREATION CENTER FOR HARMON BALDWIN Mr. Ken Howle and Mr. Renny Johnson came to a special meeting in March and mane a request that the City consider renaming the recreation center for Mr. Harmon Baldwin. Upon motion of Mrs. Hines, seconded by Mrs. Cohen, Resolution naming the Recreation Center for Mr. Harmon Baldwin, which unanimously carried.

CDBG FAIR HOUSING RESOLUTION Upon motion of Mrs. Cohen, seconded by Mr. Cannon, Resolution designating April as Fair Housing Month, which unanimously carried.

4 SALEEBY LOOP PAVING REQUEST Mayor Watkins said last year a number of residents that live in Brockington Heights and the surrounding area near the dialysis center on Saleeby Loop complaining about the condition of the street. The City resolved that as soon as funds became available, we would make this street out top priority and pave the street. Mrs. Hines made a motion to pave Saleeby Loop for a cost of $19,500. Mr. Cooper seconded the motion. Mayor Watkins asked where we would get funds to pay for the paving. Mr. Garland said the “reserve fund”. Mrs. Cohen said she thought Council decided they were going to prioritize paving streets. Mrs. Hines said Saleeby Loop is top priority. Mrs. Cohen asked why would we want to go into the reserve fund rather than what Council had planned to which is whatever we have allocated in the upcoming budget. Mrs. Hines said $5,000 was allocated to PDRTA and we should allocate funds for Saleeby Loop. Mrs. Cohen said she agrees, but the money did not come from the “reserve fund”. Mrs. Cohen asked Mr. Garland if there was money in the budget we can allocate to pave the street. Mr. Garland said we have $8,000 that can be taken from line item 570. Mrs. Cohen wanted to know if we could pay the $8,000 now and wait until the new budget year for the other half. Mayor Watkins said the appropriation has been made. All voted in favor of the motion except Mrs. Cohen who voted against it.

DISCUSSION OF J.C. DANIEL AUDITORIUM Mr. Bass showed pictures of the corrosion of the exterior wall of the auditorium. Mr. Bass said several trees are planted too close to the wall and the root system has penetrated the foundation wall and has compromised the wall to the point that a five foot section of the exterior wall is completely exposed with nothing underneath it. Mr. Bass showed pictures of the interior of the basement and/or changing area underneath the stage, there is an access hatch that leads under the auditorium and there is standing water that is the entire length of the wall. He showed a picture of ravines with running water washing out dirt from underneath a pier and the footing of the building. Mr. Bass said the interior and exterior of the structure is covered with mold. Mr. Langley said, “The scary thing is we don’t know where that water is going”. Mr. Bass said the water flows out and has penetrated the opposite exterior wall and they can’t find where it’s coming out. Mr. Bass described it as a “babbling brook” under the building in three or four spots. Mr. Bass said the architects report is basically more of the same as his which had one page of their analysis and sixty-eight pages of photographs. He said the cost estimation for repairs by using nationally recognized cost analysis,

5 the low end will cost between $500,000-$600,000 depending on how much water damage there is to the exterior wall and how much it would take to prevent the water from entering the building to a high of $2 million dollars. Bass said the building as it sits right now is condemnable. Mr. Bass said the architect’s analysis and his analysis and school district officials all agree that the building is unsafe for occupation and condemnable at this point. Mr. Garland said there are issues because there is a shared wall with the school. Mr. Bass said he wouldn’t say at this point that collapse of the structure is imminent, but if repairs are not made, at some point, it the building will eventually begin to collapse. Mayor Watkins said he is saddened by this news and with the information presented, at this point, the City’s interest is not there.

CITY MANAGER’S UPDATE 1) Mr. Garland told council the deadline for the economic development questionnaire that was handed out at the March 20th work session has been extended to April 17th. All answers that are received will be incorporated into our economic goals and policies for the next few years.; 2) Mr. Garland told Council members they should receive a brochure in the next week or less for the MASC Annual Meeting in Hilton Head, SC on June 28th – July 1st; 3) S.C. Department of Commerce sent a letter congratulating the City on Phase 2 of the Renaissance Grant which has been officially awarded. Mr. Garland said he talked with Mrs. Wanda Selph at Pee Dee COG on yesterday and she said they are doing current grant applications for the next funding round and will not be able to start work on this until May. Mr. said he asked her when could we put out bids for engineering and Ms. Wanda Selph said sometime in May; 4) A budget work session is scheduled for Monday, April 23rd; 6) Mr. Garland said the S.C. Retirement rate will go up 1/2 % July 1st; 7) Mrs. Jannie Lathan will give her Storm Water presentation on Monday, May 14, 2012, 6:00 PM at the City Admin Bldg.

REMINDERS: Friday, April 6, 2012 City office closed for Good Friday. Thursday, April 19, 2012 “Taste of Darlington” 7:00 PM-9:00 PM at Darlington Raceway; Saturday, April 21, 2012 Marketplace on the Square-10:00AM – 2:00 PM; Friday, April 27, 2012 – City Cookout Noon-1:00 PM at the Recreation Center Tuesday, May 1, 2012, at 7:00 PM – Regular City Council Meeting

6 EXECUTIVE SESSION Upon motion of Mrs. Hines, seconded by Mrs. Cohen to go into executive session at 8:40 P.M. to discuss a contract/personnel matter.

SALEEBY LOOP (CON’T) Mr. Garland received information during the break that the funds for Saleeby Loop paving should not come out of the reserve fund, and after coming out of executive session Mrs. Cohen changed her vote in favor of the motion to pave Saleeby Loop.

Mr. Cannon made a motion to end executive session at 9:29 P.M. Mrs. Hines seconded the motion.

ADJOURNMENT Upon motion of Mr. Chapman, seconded by Mrs. Hines, the meeting adjourned at 9:21 PM.

ATTEST:

Clerk & Treasurer