www.cottageville.net

MINUTES
TOWN COUNCIL MEETING

COTTAGEVILLE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX
MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2009
7:00 P.M.

Mayor White called the meeting to order, explained signing to speak during public participation and led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Members present were Mayor White, Council Member Thomas, Council Member Eustler, Council Member Cook and Council Member Strickland.

The following takes place in open session.
ATTESTATION

Page        Line        Change/Correction        Reason

Minutes approved: ______________

_________________________
Terri Crosby, Town Clerk

. . . PROBLEM WITH RECORDER . . .
(Kathy Shider spoke about after school program.)
. . . PROBLEM WITH RECORDER . . .
MAYOR WHITE:     I also had a call today from Sylvia Rollin (phon.) with the Colleton County library.  Miss Rollin and Doug Burns (phon.), the county supervisor, are evaluating our buildings to determine what will work best.  Originally she thought about trying to get three of the . . . PROBLEM WITH RECORDER . . . to try to figure out what expenses would be incurred by both the library and by the Town of Cottageville. . . PROBLEM WITH RECORDER . . .
. . . is not being concerned because they don’t live in the town.  That cannot be farther from the truth.  Tonight is a prime example.  They are proud of the town and they help out on special events and town functions.  I think every one of them brought a plate tonight and also Dawn’s mother, she actually helped out kept everything . . . PROBLEM WITH RECORDER.
I think that’s what I have concerning that.
I’m very disturbed about the articles that are coming out in the paper.  Do we have to destroy out town because a few people — because of a few people?  Do we need to continue have our reputation ruined and basically to sell papers for The Press and Standard?
You know, you can say anything you want to about me; I really don’t care but, you know, Terri or, I’m sorry, Miss Underwood put an article in the paper, called Terri a cancer which was — That was how you felt.  That’s a shame that it would come to that. She’s a town employee. She has certain rights but this last article I just — I think that was discussing the way that we transfer funds to the bank.
I’m very upset about that because it puts my clerks in danger . . . PROBLEM WITH
RECORDER . . . Then traveling to Walterboro.  People are still gonna be thinking that they transfer funds that way.
We don’t use police cars.  I don’t know where that came from and I would like to know where the charge that we use police cars to carry funds to Walterboro.  We don’t do that.  The police do not have control of the funds and that is something that is very upsetting to me.
I feel like it was reckless and I don’t talk about how any business transfers funds around the town of Cottageville and I thought that it was just totally out of line that we would go ahead and speak about the way that money is moved.  If you want to destroy the town, that’s your prerogative but the idea of to go ahead and put my employees in danger I don’t, I don’t accept that and all.
MS. UNDERWOOD:        Mr. White, I don’t appreciate you singling me out in a public forum.
MAYOR WHITE:     I’m sorry you —
MS. UNDERWOOD:         I have a right to say what I need to in the paper . . . PROBLEM WITH RECORDER . . .
COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS:     . . . We talked about getting Safe Kids here and so we’ve got a lot of things lined up.  I’m not sure what’s really gonna happen yet.  We’re just trying to firm up things but we’re looking forward to that.
And then, of course, fifth of December is our Christmas parade.  That will be at 11:00 in the morning.
So we’ve got things coming up till the first of the year so we’ve had a little flier that we sent out that had everything on it.  So if you’d like to know what’s going on you can pick up one of those fliers here or you can call town hall, call me and anybody on the revitalization committee and Shane knows what’s going on, and we’ll be glad to enlighten.
And we can always use volunteers.  We’re still interested in trying to get more people involved on our revitalization committee and for coming out and helping when we have different occasions but, so if you’d like to be a part of it just come out and help.  We’ll be glad to have you.
MAYOR WHITE:     Thank you.
Carlie Strickland, emergency preparedness.
COUNCIL MEMBER STRICKLAND:     I don’t have anything.
MAYOR WHITE:     Okay.
Charlie Cook, public works.
COUNCIL MEMBER COOK:     Nothing to report.
MAYOR WHITE:     Rick Eustler, technology.
COUNCIL MEMBER EUSTLER:     Nothing to report.
MAYOR WHITE:     Unfinished business, ditch update.  As it stands right now the workers that I had planned, they have a little bit of a problem right now so it’s gonna be at least another month before they get started but we may have to go ahead and get additional, or other workers to do that.
New business. Roni Abdella, the building official, she had planned on being here tonight.  She left a permit fee chart based on the $200,000 house to give information on surrounding areas.
The problem is, is Roni was sick when she came here tonight and she had to leave early.  I don’t know if she has the flu or what but she’s planning on coming back November to go ahead and address the council and the audience.
At this time I have a proclamation on domestic violence.  Cottageville Town Council Proclamation Domestic Violence Awareness Month, October, 2009.  Whereas we in Cottageville are committed to restoring civil right, the right to freedom from fear in our own homes and whereas violence against women and children continues to become more prevalent as a social problem because of the imbalance of power due to gender and age and whereas and our quest to impose sanctions on those who break the law by perpetrating violence, we must also meet the needs of battered women, their children who suffer grave financial, physical and psychological losses and whereas the crime of domestic violence violates an individual’s privacy, dignity, security and humanity due to systematic use of physical, emotional, sexual, psychological and economic control and or abuse and whereas the impact of domestic violence is wide ranging effecting society as a whole.  Now, therefore, I do hereby proclaim the month of October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month and urge all citizens to observe this month by becoming aware of the tragedy of domestic violence, supporting those who are working towards its end and participating in community efforts.  Dated this fifth day of October, 2009.
October 15 is set for the council debate and that will be at 6:30.
I think that’s it.
Now public participation, George Addison, budget, et cetera.
MR. ADDISON:     My name is George Addison.
I would like to apologize for putting clerks and their safety in jeopardy for transporting money but I think the real culprit maybe is the person that made a decision to do that to begin with.  If you transported the money to a local bank you could have police escort, would have done it any time of the day you wanted to do it.  Nobody would’ve been put in harms way.
Thank you.
MAYOR WHITE:     Brad Capshaw, Griffith Acres through trucks.
MR. CAPSHAW:     I’m Brad Capshaw.
I was uploading some articles on the Internet last week, I think, and I saw where, I think it was you had looked in to declaring Griffith Acres off limits for through trucks and I think that’s a really good thing.  At 35 miles per hour on a two lane road, at least on this end of it, it’s fairly populated and I would like to see that ban but I really don’t know how to go about it.
I mean I know it’s not really the town’s road.  If you could designate somebody to give me a hand I would like to pursue that.
MAYOR WHITE:     Well, what happened, Brad, is, I don’t know if you noticed or not but Shane, Shane and myself got a — We got a good bit of flack from the sign that’s posted at the end of Sally Ackerman Road which says no trucks with four tires or greater.  I mean with — What’s it say?  Greater than four tires.
Well, of course, that affects the Subway delivery.  Also, you know, I have 6-wheel trucks and 18-wheelers that deliver to me but when I talked to the highway department about it, what basically happened is the sign that was installed on Sally Ackerman was basically a sign that was supposed to get installed in Griffith Acres.  So they’re looking in to that right now because we did put in a request.
That was actually through Miss Hardwick who put in a request for that and that was done, I had the date and it’s slipped my mind.  It was about a year ago and Deborah (phon.) was instrumental in going ahead and getting that taken care of.
The only thing is, is the sign was put on the wrong road.
MR. CAPSHAW:     If I can get a copy of that, I’d like to make a couple phone calls.  You know, sometimes things slip through the cracks, good organization like the county or the state.
MAYOR WHITE:     Well, it’s really SCDOT and the person I talked to up there was Charles Byrd.
MR. CAPSHAW:     All right.  Thank you.
COUNCIL MEMBER COOK:     I have a question about that.  Is it still gonna be no more than four tires?
MAYOR WHITE:     Well, it looks like the whole — You know, it was — I think it was supposed to be axles, not tires but they actually have to go back to Charleston for reevaluation.  So that’s where they’re at right now.
Yeah, we had a problem with school bus, too.
Jimmy Ramsey, plans.
MR. RAMSEY:    My name is Jimmy Ramsey.
I’d like to ask, has council made any plans to move the police over here and my second part of the question is have you made any plans to pay off the back assessments.
MAYOR WHITE:     Jimmy, you know, we are still working on back assessments, to try to figure out how we’re gonna pay them.  We had an attorney looking at that but it was a conflict for the attorney that we were using.
So as it stands right now we’re still trying to figure out how we’re gonna do that and eventually we’re trying to figure out right now what we’re gonna do as far as we’re trying to maintain the separation between the police department and the town offices and we’ll address that at some point in the future.
Shane and myself have been talking about it and when we make a decision council and yourself will be made aware.
Does council have anything else?  If not, I will call for a motion to adjourn.
COUNCIL MEMBER COOK:     I make a motion we adjourn.
COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS:     I second.
MAYOR WHITE:     All in favor?
(All council members indicated yes.)
MAYOR WHITE:     Ayes have it.
– MEETING ADJOURNED AT 7:30 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, October 5, 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 eighteenth day of October, 2009.

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