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Of course, I never could get nobody to go down there with me and look at it and — but it’s still just like that when it gets full of water, that pipe, but, other than that, if people in the community and there may be need to whoever owns property may need to have a letter that they come and meet with a meeting to give approval to be able to go on their property with a piece of equipment like this to do what needs to be done, to have -
MAYOR WHITE: Mr. Buddy, I don’t mean to cut you short on that but that is something that I’ll be addressing at the next meeting as far as ditch concerns but I appreciate your comment.
Mr. Bill Sisk.
MR. SISK: Normally when you pay water and sewerage fees, that, that — all that does is go for the upkeep of the water and sewerage system once it’s built. My question is what is your plan for paying back that 12 ½ million that it’s initially gonna cost and how’s that gonna affect me as a resident.
MAYOR WHITE: Well, like I stated during that — when I gave that presentation, with the increase in growth that we would have, with businesses that would come in, there would be revenues generated to help pay back those, you know, whatever bonds that we would establish for that.
MR. SISK: So we don’t know how that’s gonna affect me as a resident?
MAYOR WHITE: At this time we don’t.
MR. SISK: In other words, if I voted for that I’d be giving you a blank check.
MAYOR WHITE: Charles Michael.
MR. MICHAEL: That 12 million, like you say, that’s for paving the road and everything back after it gets here?
MAYOR WHITE: I’ll let Mr. Seabrook answer that.
MR. SEABROOK: Typically those projects plans would include repair like that. If you use any of the state highway rights of way it would be a permit that would have to be acquired from the DOT and they would require that the roads be repaired, yes.
MR. MICHAEL: But the guy who tears up, they got to repair the roads?
MR. SEABROOK: Yes, sir. That would be part of the contract.
MR. MICHAEL: Well, I just noticed that most is with rocks and stuff back on it and put it back to the grade level. Then somebody, then the town would have to take money to pave the road theirself.
MR. SEABROOK: No, not — If you’re talking about paved roads, paved state highway roads.
MR. MICHAEL: Right.
MR. SEABROOK: They would not release the permit, clear you on the permit and the funding agency would not release the final funds until the DOT inspector said, okay, it’s back the way it should be.
MR. MICHAEL: Oh, okay. All right.
MAYOR WHITE: Thank you.
Cheryl Frazier (phon.).
MS. FRAZIER: Are you saying that it’s not gonna cost us to hook up to these systems?
MAYOR WHITE: It will cost us to hook up to these systems. I did not say that it wouldn’t cost us.
MS. FRAZIER: No, that’s what I’m asking.
MAYOR WHITE: Yes, there will, there will be a tap-in fee but there will be — If I understand this correct and I’m — You know, I’m not as well versed on exactly how the — You know, there’s several options there.
I know that when the initial project comes through, if you tap into it, I know that it’s a lower rate than after the project is complete, if they have to come back and tap in again.
Is that correct, Micky?
MR. SEABROOK: Yes, sir.
MS. FRAZIER: I’m just — How — Okay.
You’re asking us to put it to a vote but y’all talk like then Colleton County can come in here and force it on us. Why wouldn’t Colleton County have to put it to a vote, also?
MAYOR WHITE: It’s already been voted on. The referendum has already passed for them. They have established a water and sewer district which is Colleton County. I mean a water and sewer authority which is Colleton County and, you know, that’s how it is; it’s countywide. They can go in to anywhere, really, and set up their — to provide water and sewer throughout Colleton County.
MS. FRAZIER: Yeah, but don’t you think we’re kind of just assuming a lot, that all these businesses are gonna come in here and everything?
MAYOR WHITE: Well, we are assuming a lot, like with these services that are in place, once your services are in place, it is a lot — there is a lot more chance for growth to occur than if you have nothing.
Just like now, you have one restaurant in town and we can’t have any more restaurants and we can’t have a grocery store because we do not have a water system.
MR. RICO: We don’t have the population.
MAYOR WHITE: Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Dewitt.
MR. DEWITT: Yes.
I’ve lived in this condition of having sewerage brought in to an area. You will pay tap-on fee. You may even have to pay for the pipe going in front of your home and you may start off with a small bill and, take my word, it, it will increase. My water rates, I think, before I left Charleston was running around $60 a month and after I left, it was just my wife and myself, just only two people and we didn’t water the garden. Then I rented it out and I think it was $80 a month.
The person left, didn’t pay the water bill. That thing was up to 300.
The point I’m saying, the water bill will increase no matter what you say and you will pay a tap-on fee and you may pay the running line in front of your property and out here we have a lot of territory to run.
You mentioned you came here from another area. What did you move here for, then? Improve Cottageville? It’s a pretty little place.
COUNCIL MEMBER EUTSLER: I’m not sure I understand your question. I’m new here, yes.
MR. DEWITT: You’re new here.
COUNCIL MEMBER EUTSLER: Yes, sir.
MR. DEWITT: I didn’t move to Cottageville to make it a metropolis. I moved because it was a nice, friendly little town and we ought to leave it like it is. It’s a friendly town.
I didn’t care whether they paved the street. It was good people live around and we don’t need that. Every time you turn around somebody wants to build something. Mt. Pleasant would like to get rid of a few people.
Thank you.
MAYOR WHITE: Thank you.
George Addison.
MR. ADDISON: Yes, sir, couple of things.
One is that our new school system is operating. They have a great pond out in front that the water — the fire department get all the water they would ever need from. They have a water tower. They have 450 students and I don’t know how many teachers they have but they’re on a septic system. They’re on a well and a septic system. They’re self-contained and to make a statement, I feel, that we can’t have any more businesses because of the sewerage requirement I don’t think is accurate.
I have a piece of land right down here that’s four acres that’s been approved for a laundry mat, which is the best, all you can get for a septic tank.
Okay.
And so the reason we don’t have any more business in town is because there’s not a demand for it, not because it can’t be done.
Okay.
Two points. Another thing is I wanted to bring up is most of the people in this town moved here to move to a small town. They moved away from Summerville, Charleston. These places are very congested and it costs a lot of money and everybody was telling them what to do. They moved out here so they can live a good country, friendly life without everybody telling them what to do and, and making their costs a lot more to live so if you’re gonna put water and sewer in here, these people that moved out here for the reason they moved to Cottageville just as well move on down the road somewhere else because you’re gonna make it another Summerville.
Okay.
And another thing is that I reviewed your pending zoning ordinances. They’re so tight that you couldn’t get a business to come here to save your life under those zoning ordinances. You can’t get one to come here under the loosest zoning ordinance and so to expect that businesses is gonna be all the way down 17A and pay all this money from these poor people that live out here in the woods that are on retirement, on disability and you have, like, a thousand people in the town of Cottageville and I guarantee you the median income is not what they’re telling. People have — in the outlying areas it’s less than that because they move here on retirement and disability and things like that.
Okay.
It’s not a lot of money here in these people. These people don’t have money like people in Mt. Pleasant or Awendaw do.
Okay.
And property values are cheap here. That’s why they moved here and they will not, in my opinion, support -
MAYOR WHITE: Let’s wrap it up, please.
MR. ADDISON: Sir?
MAYOR WHITE: Let’s wrap it up. Time. You’re past your two minutes.
MR. ADDISON: Okay.
So you don’t like what I’m saying, is what you’re -
MAYOR WHITE: No, I’m just saying that, you know, that’s what — It’s two minutes. I would like for you to wrap it up so we can give everybody else a chance to talk.
MR. ADDISON: Okay.
Well, I think that pretty well says it. Y’all not gonna listen anyway because, and one more thing I’d like to wrap it up with -
MR. NULL: Point of order.
MAYOR WHITE: Yeah. I think that’s it.
MR. CARD: Just a question. The meeting you’re referring to about the drainage being discussed, in the town, is that gonna be a special meeting?
MAYOR WHITE: It’s just gonna be at the next monthly meeting.
MR. CARD: Okay.
Well, I’ll just defer my time to the next.
MAYOR WHITE: Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Capshaw.
MR. CAPSHAW: Well, I guess I’m more or less against it but I could be swayed. I know that there’re issues with the quality of our soil and the population density that are rising the issues.
One thing I’m sure of is that the zoning does need to be corrected. As, as I understand the plan, it’s overall very good but related to businesses it is overly tight so regardless of what happens, that needs to be addressed and I know y’all are looking at that.
And the other thing would be that that 12 ½ million dollars works out to, like, 16 5 per person which is a little on the high end so I think that if you’re gonna — In order to attract a business base we also need to enforce the nuisance ordinances because there’s a lot of blight in the town and I think it would be terribly expensive to clean up but the combination of just a general cleanup to attract business and the addressing of the ordinances would probably leave us in a position fairly rapidly to be able to provide this type of investment is reasonable.
Thank you.
MAYOR WHITE: Thank you.
Mr. Carl Null.
MR. NULL: The only thing I want, if any of you’ve been to some of the county meetings, there’s a big push. The county’s spending a lot of money on, you know, South Carolina being the new south and, yeah, they will force us to get on it. That’s — There’s no doubt.
We’re growing; it’s gonna happen. It’s not gonna happen overnight even if you were to say yes right now. You’re not gonna get it in three years. The engineer just told you if you said today yes, we want it and you’re all for it, it’s three years before they’d even open a ditch. So why are you panicking?
But you’d better get, you know, the horse in the barn before it’s too late. That’s all I can share with you. You know, it’s coming. We’re getting more and more people; lot of our kids are having kids. Where they gonna live? They’re gonna live here, so you need more space and you can’t keep having septic tank on top of septic tank on top of septic tank.
Yes, a lot of you folks moved into the area. Back then, 15, 30 years ago it was wide open. It’s not that now.
That’s it.
MAYOR WHITE: Okay.
Thank you very much.
As I said, the referendum, those are the two questions will be on the ballot November 4 and whether you vote yes or no, vote for the good of your conscious and for the good of the town and thank you very much for coming tonight.
Meeting adjourned.
– Meeting adjourned at 7:35 p.m. -

I, the undersigned Donna Hartley, Official Court Reporter and Notary Public, do hereby certify that the foregoing is a true, accurate and complete transcript of record of all the proceedings had at the Town Council Meeting for The Town of Cottageville, South Carolina at Cottageville Town Hall on Monday, July 7, 2008.
I further certify that I am neither of counsel nor kin to any person attending this meeting nor am I interested in any manner of its outcome.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and seal this nineteenth day of July, 2008
Notary Public for South Carolina
My Commission Expires April 23, 2017