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Town Council - Dec 3, 2007 |
Minutes McClellanville Town Council December 3, 2008 - 7:00 PM The Mayor and Council for the Town of McClellanville held a regularly-scheduled meeting on the above-noted date. Notice of the meeting had been published in the Town Newsletter and the Charleston Post and Courier. Mayor Rutledge Leland presided at the meeting. Council Members present included Bob Gannon, Gussie Humes, and Jim Scott. Councilman Aaron Baldwin was absent. Clerk Mary Duke was also present, along with the following guests: Building Official Paul Fields, Zoning Administrator Kathryn Basha, Fire Chief Mike Rakoske, Kathy Livingston, Wade Marlowe, Beren Duke, Steve Wright, David Stoney, and Kathy Leland. Mayor Leland called the meeting to order and congratulated the Council Members on their re-election. He asked Council first to review the minutes from the Nov. 5 and Nov. 14 meetings. After review, Gussie Humes made a motion to approve the minutes as written. Jim Scott made a second to the motion, and the motion was carried by unanimous vote of Council. Mayor Leland then recognized Fire Chief Mike Rakoske, who had asked to speak to Council regarding alternatives for fire protection. Chief Rakoske said that he would like to suggest that Council consider a requirement for installation of sprinkler systems for new homes constructed in town. He said that he believed this would soon be a legal requirement for mobile homes. He said that sprinkler systems would provide a more immediate response to fire emergencies locally, and would help to compensate for possible delays caused by understaffing problems at the fire department and lack of a reliable "fire flow" water source in town. Chief Rakoske said that he believed that sprinkler systems could save money for the Town and its residents in the long run. Jim Scott asked Chief Rakoske the approximate cost of a residential sprinkler system. He replied that installation of a system in a new home under construction would be approximately $1 - $2 per square foot. The Chief added that the cost of installing a sprinkler in an existing home would be around $4 per square foot. Mayor Leland asked whether other communities were currently adopting the requirement for sprinkler systems. Chief Rakoske said that this was true in some areas. Jim asked whether Charleston County was planning to adopt the requirement. The Chief said that the County did not have immediate plans to do so, but that he felt the State might put the requirement in place at some point. He pointed out that homes with sprinkler systems would qualify for savings on homeowner's insurance. He added that communities in which homes had these systems would require less revenue for infrastructure to make adequate fire response possible. Rutledge said that if a true incentive could be provided for homeowners to install these systems, such as a significant savings on insurance premiums, residents might be accepting of the requirement. The Council Members asked whether most residential wells would support a sprinkler system. Chief Rakoske said that an 80 gallon bladder tank pump would probably be necessary, as opposed to the 40 gallon tank pumps that most residents have at present. Bob Gannon asked the Chief whether grant money might be available to install wells around town to be used for fire fighting. Mayor Leland said that experience had shown that attempts to pull that amount of water from local wells usually did not work well. He said that often sand and rocks are pumped up, rather than water. Paul Fields said that other suggestions would be to install a water storage tank across the Creek in the Skippers Point area and to investigate the possibility of installing more dry hydrants around town. Mayor Leland said that Council would follow the progress of this idea with the County and would continue to study the issue. Chief Rakoske reiterated that he felt the requirement could save the Town money over time. Mayor Leland then said that Council would next hold a public hearing on the proposed "Ordinance to Provide for the Annexation of Property Bearing TMS No. 744-00-00-007 to the Town of McClellanville." First reading of the annexation ordinance had taken place in June, and the annexation had been pending as ideas for appropriate zoning of the property were studied. Zoning Administrator Kathryn Basha told Council that a public input meeting had been held by the representatives of the owners of the property proposed for annexation and the Planning Commission on November 26th, and that the recommendation from Planning for the zoning designation of the property was as a PD or Planned Development District. Mayor Leland asked Wade Marlowe, son and representative of the property owner, whether the property owner would be satisfied with the PD zoning. Mr. Marlowe replied that this zoning would be acceptable. Bob Gannon then made a motion to adopt the ordinance to annex TMS No. 744-00-00-007 into the Town of McClellanville. Gussie Humes made a second to the motion. As no discussion was offered, the Mayor called for the vote on the motion. The motion was carried by unanimous vote of the Council Members present. Council then considered the fourth agenda item, a proposal for first reading of an ordinance to amend the Zoning Ordinance to change the name of the Commercial Light Industrial District (CLI) to the Marine Commercial District (MC). Mayor Leland pointed out that the proposed ordinance would not change any of the uses currently allowed for the district, but would only change the name to make it more reflective of the uses allowed there. Council noted that the uses allowed in the district in question had always been those geared toward marine activities. Bob Gannon then made a motion to hold first reading of the ordinance to rename the CLI District. The motion was seconded by Gussie Humes. No discussion was offered and the motion was carried by unanimous vote of the Council Members present. Council instructed Mary to advertise a public hearing on the ordinance for the January 7th meeting. Mayor Leland asked Council to defer agenda item no. 5 until the end of the meeting, as it involved discussion of personnel issues. Council then considered the sixth agenda item, an inquiry from Town administrative assistant and technology specialist Gary Bronson as to whether Council would like for him to set up equipment to record Council meetings. Gary indicated that he already had equipment, so that there would be no initial cost to Council. After consideration, Council agreed to allow Gary to record meetings for a three month trial period and to evaluate the merits of recording at the end of the trial. Council next reviewed the information from Building Official Paul Fields on efforts to provide some relief from drainage problems for the Holloway family at 522 Pinckney St. Paul pointed out that the Holloway property was one of two properties in town identified by FEMA as "repetitive loss" properties for flood damage. Paul said that Mr. Holloway had given a verbal agreement to dedicate a drainage easement along the eastern boundary of his property to the Town. Paul said that easements from two neighboring properties might also be required to make necessary improvements. He added that Matt Rennhack with Charleston County Public Works Dept. had indicated that, once an easement was recorded, the County could probably dig a ditch along the edge of the property for no charge, or install pipe along the property line if the property owner or the Town paid for the pipe. Mary said that there were some funds still available from State grant monies that had been earmarked for drainage projects. Council agreed that Paul and Mary should study the drainage situation, consult with County Public Works, and report any progress on this situation to them. Mayor Leland noted that the agenda was completed at 7:34 PM. David Stoney asked to address Council, however, and was recognized by Mayor Leland. David asked Council to proclaim December 7, 2008 as Arbor Day in McClellanville. Council agreed by unanimous consent to do so. David invited everyone to participate in the Arbor Day activities, and also reminded the Mayor and Council that he would be showing a power point presentation prepared by the National Wildlife Federation, Global Warming: Forecast for South Carolina Wildlife, at town hall on Dec. 5. He encouraged all to attend. At 7:35 PM, Bob Gannon made a motion for Council to meet in executive session to discuss personnel matters with regard to applications for the post of deputy marshal. Gussie Humes seconded the motion, which was carried by unanimous vote of Council. Bob Gannon made a motion to return to regular session at 7:45 PM. Jim Scott provided a second to the motion, and the motion was carried unanimously. Gussie Humes then made a motion for Council to hire Beren Duke as the Town's deputy marshal. Jim Scott seconded the motion. Bob Gannon recused himself from the vote, as Mr. Duke is his wife's cousin. Mayor Leland called for a vote on the motion, and the motion was carried by unanimous vote of Council Members present and voting. Gussie Humes told Council that he was willing to represent the Town at the Pearl Harbor ceremony aboard the Yorktown on December 7th. Mary said that another McClellanville veteran, Huger McClellan, might also attend the ceremony if he could rearrange his schedule in order to be there. There being no further business, a motion was then made, seconded, and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting at 7:50 PM. Mary S. Duke Town Clerk |