By Betsy Finklea
A number of items were discussed at the Dillon City Council’s December meeting.
Mayor Todd Davis took up several matters in his report including:
-The Plaza Cinemas may be opening around Christmas. Davis said he spoke to the owner, and they were stripping the equipment out.
– Davis asked Police Chief Joe Rogers to have officers keep an eye on people running stop signs and stop lights. He has received comments on this lately.
-Davis discussed the situation at the treatment plant regarding the orbal basin. He said there were serious problems from a safety standpoint and a DHEC standpoint. He said it was going to take an investment to fix. It will cost approximately $350,000. This would be a 35-40 year fix to the problem. Grants are being looked into to help with funds.
-Davis thanked the garden clubs for their Arbor Day program.
-Davis reported that the hot meals tax was holding about the same as last year. The account has about $952,000. The account takes in about $42,000 a month and is expected to take in an estimated $504,000 this year.
In the city manager’s report, City Manager Glen Wagner reported that:
-Taco Bell has purchased land. He said bids on the traffic signal light came in at $32,416, which is about $17,500 less than was anticipated.
-They were thinking about moving the playground to the front at the Wellness Center. Some of the reasons include parking, more security with better lighting, and that people can see it from the road. Councilman Phil Wallace expressed concerns about aesthetics. Wagner said it would not block the view and would be located in a dead area.
-The council appointed the members of the Golf Course Committee. Appointments were as follows: John Braddy – Felix McLellan, Todd Davis – Cecil Hewitt, Johnny Eller – Kenneth Stephens, Phil Wallace – David Morris, Connie Manning – Glenn Lane, and James Washington – David Leslie.
The group will meet once a month in the beginning with the initial meeting in January. The members serve at council’s pleasure and only as long as the council member is on council.
Maggie Riales, Revitalization Director, said that more than 700 people attended Holiday Goodness. Riales said they got a whole new demographic thanks to the Chili Cookoff held outside at the same time by the Humane Society.
There were approximately 60 vendors The city is also sponsoring a Polar Express ride.
The city council passed the second reading of the following ordinances:
-Ordinance #14-09 – Amend Compensation for Mayor and Council members
-Ordinance#14-11 – Repeal & Amend Provisions for Public Utilities
-Ordinance #14-12 – Amend Wastewater Pretreatment & Discharge Ordinance
The city council passed the first reading of the following ordinances:
-Ordinance #14-13 – Annex Dan & Alice Hamer property (700 Block of E. Palmetto St.)
-Ordinance #14-14 – Amend Zoning Map for Shelley Edwards’ property
-Ordinance #14-15 – Amend Zoning map for W. Lee Flowers & Company, Inc.
In council reports:
The Façade Grants were discussed. Riales said she cannot get businesses interested. Right now, businesses can take advantage of getting $500 to match $500 spent, but there is thought being given to giving away two grants in the amount of $1500 if a business spends $1500. This is only available to businesses in the historic district.