By Betsy Finklea
The Dillon City Council held their regular monthly meeting on Monday night.
Mayor Todd Davis gave his report.
Davis said the Save-A-Lot grand opening was a success. He said the Dillon Plaza was pretty much occupied now, and it made a good impression when people came to town.
Golf carts are still a concern for Davis. He said especially when youngsters drive the carts without lights.
He said the council needed to start getting ideas for the budget. He said they had a plan for the alleyways and a bucket truck needed to be purchased. He said the department heads should let the council know what their needs are because they are in a position where they can fill some of the necessities.
The Wellness Center revenues are down. Wagner said they did not bring in the revenue that they thought they would bring in. He said they had cut some positions, and they could close more days, but then people wouldn’t like that and wouldn’t join.
Davis said they were looking at demolishing the donated buildings, which includes the old Belk building in March. He said that it will go before the Board of Architectural Review (BAR) in February.
Davis said he had been thinking about what they could do with the empty half block once the buildings were demolished.
One idea Davis had was placing a shell brick building (approximately 900-1,000 sq.ft.) there with parking beside it and adequate lighting.
Councilman Phil Wallace said it would also be an ideal place for a restaurant with an outside eating area.
Councilman John Braddy said if they build a building a certain size, he felt they were limiting their prospects. He said when the demolition is complete, this area will not be left vacant. It will be developed. He said it was a great opportunity.
In the City Manager’s report, Glen Wagner said they had received the renewal contract with the auditor, Kenneth Cobb, to renew until 2015. The council approved this.
Wagner said he had met with County Administrator Clay Young, the building committee, Sheriff, Police chief, and magistrate about a possible joint effort to build a law enforcement center. He said it would give more space to the Sheriff’s Department and the Police Department
Wagner said when the jail was designed, a portion of the design would have allowed for this type of expansion.
Wallace asked whey the city didn’t buy back the building on the other side of the courthouse and place the center there. Wagner said parking would be a problem.
The new center would be a one-stop place. Wagner said he didn’t foresee anything happening on this project for 6-12 months.
The city bucket truck needs to be replaced. It is 25-30 years old and is used nearly every day. The estimated cost for replacement would be about $120,000.
There is a very complex problem at the Commerce Drive lift station. It will cost at least $75,000 to $100,000 to fix the problem and possibly more.
A citizen appeared to complain about the dumping of garbage from a business. After discussion, Davis said they will talk with the  owner.
In council reports, Wallace said he had a large number of family members stay at local hotels recently which brought back to mind that they needed some type of track towards the Wellness Center.  Braddy said he would like to see the city pursue an external walking trail at the Wellness Center. Wagner said they were working on it.