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MAYOR WHITE:     Let’s get this under control.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER:     Actually, the sign is like you’re talking about.  If you want a town limit sign on Pierce Road coming into town, correct?
MR. HAYNES:     Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER:     Actually, I met with DOT and met with them twice, called them.  Actually, they came out.  They’re supposed to be putting up a sign so you’ll know exactly where the town limits start when — on Pierce Road coming into town.
Like I say, that’s already — We’re just waiting on DOT.
MAYOR WHITE:     But I’d also want to say one other thing.  There is a mutual aid agreement and if the cops, the police officers are called outside by the sheriff’s department they can respond outside of the town limits of Cottageville and we are working on getting that sign put up on Pierce Road.
MR. HAYNES:     I understand what you saying and I also know but we are, too, because I got a daughter in the law.  I got a nephew is a state trooper so I know, so I know about the law.  All I’m saying is what they complained to me about.
MAYOR WHITE:     Well, if you would, have them — Have them come.  We have complaint forms at town hall.  They can come in there; they can fill out a complaint and then also the best thing, if they have a complaint is for them to come to town hall and complain to the chief about it.  That would be the best thing for them to do.
MR. HAYNES:     They didn’t complain to the — They just want to know he was at a higher rate of speed and, like I told them then, he could be at a silent so that’s why he was driving so fast.
MAYOR WHITE:     Well, thank you.  I appreciate —
MR. HAYNES:     So you know what I mean?  I don’t know.  From, from the time I been here I hear all kinds humping on me.  I don’t like people bothering me, you know.
I’m a dreadlock and I’m a God dreadlock and if you might not know nothing about that.  If you travel a little bit, been to the islands or been to Hawaii and all that, you meet all kind of people but, like I say, you know, they, they got on me just because I live in town limits, you know, saying that, well, hey, he can’t — You know, I, I see them all the time.  You know, I see them all over the place, all over . . . (inaudible) . . . back down the road.
I go down there to fish.  You can’t fish now because these people down there now just fighting.  Matter of fact, last week, Wednesday there goes a fight we had.  Black and gold came and it take them longer to get there than it take them to get there but that’s out of their control, you see.
I’m just saying, only saying what they approached me with.
MAYOR WHITE:     Well, thank you.
MR. HAYNES:     That’s all.
MAYOR WHITE:     I appreciate it.
MR. HAYNES:     All right.
MAYOR WHITE:     Anyone else?
MS. UNDERWOOD (PHON.:    My name is Tammy underwood.  I’m better known as Tall Paul’s – whatever you call him – wife.  Not many people talk to me. Ted Paul normally has the voice in the family.
The reason I’ve decided to speak tonight is I’ve watched several of the meetings and since we’re new to the community, we’ve only been here a couple of years.
We live over on . . . (inaudible)
. . . We live in a trailer.  We have livestock.  We moved to Cottageville because we were able to do those things. We have a little bit of Americana in the fact that we wanted to start a homestead.  And to be able to do that, especially with the economy the way it is now, it was by doing a mobile home on land.
To belittle people for what their financial situation is and by the choices that they make in the communities that they choose is sometimes put across what people say here, the things that they like and they don’t like.
We’ve listened on many meetings where people did not like certain things; they were wanting to get rid of certain things, so it seemed to us that they had personal agendas instead of the town agenda . . . (inaudible) . . .
We have watched this evening people patting themselves on the back for your accomplishments for this town.  We’ve also watched people bring up the faults of others to show theirselves as better prospects for the town.  That is kind of childish and redundant in the goals that we’re trying to make.
I feel that this community is wonderful.  I love this community.  I wouldn’t trade living here for anything else.
I was raised in Summerville.  I went to school in Charleston.  I live in Cottageville; I work in St. George.  I love this area.  I go through small towns on my way to work.  The drive that I have is fabulous.  I want that experience for everyone that comes to this community.  I want them to experience how wonderful it is to be in a small town and have the benefits that we can have here by coming together as a community.
This, oh, how can I say it without being rude?  This, this high-school behavior and what people say about each other behind each other’s backs does not get us any closer to where we want to be.
The diner is a wonderful little part of this community.  They are struggling with trying to excel here.  They’re battling people, not supporting them.  It’s one of — It’s one of the most — Everybody knows about the diner.  When I moved to Cottageville everybody says that you go to the diner.
Yes, when I moved to Cottageville everybody says you’ve moved to the speed trap.  The speed trap stigma happened long before I was born and it has continued.  It’s not gonna go away overnight and we all know that.  And it’s not us that you have to convince that it’s not a speed trap; it’s the people that come through here.  It’s the 8,000, 10,000 cars that come through here because it’s been that way forever.  So I know that everybody preaches that and say — says things like that.
And as far as the speeding is concerned, an officer in pursuit of someone, we have watched it from the diner several times and it’s not the officers.  A lot of those officers are . . . (inaudible) . . . anymore.
And it’s not the fact that they speed to pursue someone.  It’s the fact that they neglect to put on the lights and we did not know, I did not know that you did not have to put on your light when you were in pursuit or when you were doing something.  So that’s, that’s something new for us, I’m sure for everyone.
The problem is communication.  Everybody assumes that we all understand what’s coming out of each other’s mouths and what we’re doing is we’re talking at each other and not with each other.
The proposed numbers that you gave us, we would rather see reflection of numbers in the same months in comparison.  That’s what we would look for.
And the fact that you don’t have any more data than that in a business, let alone a town, that’s really sad and we would all support any, anything that comes out of that.
And I want you to know it’s not that we’re neglecting to support what the committee is trying to do, the council’s trying to do.  What we are having trouble with is the personal agendas that come across when you speak to us and the personal agendas that have been after the fact with the way some people act.
Thank you.
MAYOR WHITE:     Thank you.
MS. CARTER:     My name is Lisa Carter and I’m really here for J.W. for the tire station.
You were talking about having some businesses come into town.  Well, we used to have the support of the town and the cars, the changing the oil, brakes, the tires, whatever we needed but y’all take that business elsewhere and — But there’s no business done here in the town.  Y’all don’t do the business here.  And we don’t see that anymore.  We just feel like that y’all aren’t helping us grow . . . (inaudible) . . .
MAYOR WHITE:     Thank you.
MR. ADDISON:     I’m George Addison.
Part of this stuff that you’ve been talking about happened during my administration.  When I was in office I was not perfect but I tried to make adjustments and correct things that were wrong.
Okay.
The next mayor, I can’t speak for him but I can say when these trips and things happened I think that Terri was the town clerk.
Okay.
Did she bring it to anybody’s attention?  That, hey, somebody’s doing something wrong?  No.
MS. CROSBY:     I did. Thank you very much.
MR. ADDISON:     You did?
MS. CROSBY:     I did.
MR. ADDISON:     Okay.
Shift to old George.
Okay.
He’s the one that’s worried about it apparently.  When George took over this office of mayor, okay, I had people renting a building uptown where the window’s broken out, this famous window broken out and she came to me and said I can’t do it anymore because George is mad with me and he’s just gonna pick on me as the mayor and I’m gonna have to move out.  And that was $500 a month that I was gonna pay for the damn window with.  So I lost that business.
I lost the business across the road.                 Okay.
I don’t know why but nobody wants to rent it anymore.  It’s not because of the glass broken out; it’s because of the attitude of the people that’s in charge here and I see and it’s about two or three council members that look down their noses at people that have mobile homes.  They’ve had them trailers since 1950, okay?  Look down their noses at mobile homes.  Rick lives in a mobile home; Carl in a mobile home.  I don’t know where Charles lives.
And so there’s nothing wrong with mobile homes.  There’s a lot of mobile homes here that looks better than your house, okay?  And here you have your house back up to your business.  You’ve got the two combined together and you gonna stand in judgement of all these other people.  And that’s not the way it is.
And as far as all this crap here, I wished you’d hurry up and get it over with.  I mean I’m beating an old cow to death.  It’s been nine years since all this stuff happened.  And it’s been beat and beat and beat.
Now, you talking about being positive, why don’t you move forward and do something positive?  Every meeting’s the same old stuff.  Look at what I did, look what they did, okay? . . . (inaudible)
. . .
MAYOR WHITE:     Anyone else?
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER:     Speaking of positive things, it was George Addison and T.K who started the Christmas . . . (inaudible) . . . They also started the Halloween carnival.  They did many positive things in this town that you’ve been trying to tear down . . . (inaudible) . . .
And, Peggy, I can’t believe after this many years you still hate trailers.  I heard your — I saw the copy of the meeting the other night where you were saying can’t we keep those trailers out of here, can’t we keep them from doing this, can’t we keep them from doing that.  That’s long time ago, Peggy; move on.
Even . . . (inaudible) . . . said the trailers look better than the houses.
Y’all are just — Y’all just too great for us. Y’all . . . (inaudible) . . .
MAYOR WHITE:     Anyone else?
(No response.)
MAYOR WHITE:     Well, thank y’all for coming this evening and I’ll go ahead, at this time call for a motion to adjourn.
COUNCIL MEMBER EUSTLER:     I make the motion we adjourn.
MAYOR WHITE:     Do I have a second?
COUNCIL MEMBER COOK:     I second.
MAYOR WHITE:     All in favor?
(All council members indicated yes.)
MAYOR WHITE:     Ayes have it. Thank you.
– MEETING ADJOURNED AT 8:26 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 Municipal Complex on Monday, August 3, 2009.
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 tenth day of August, 2009.

Notary Public for South Carolina
My Commission Expires April 23, 2017