Minutes McClellanville Town Council December 6, 2010 7:00 PM Town Council held a regular meeting on the above-noted date; notice of the meeting had been published in accordance with law. Mayor Leland presided at the meeting; Council Members present included Bob Gannon and Aaron Baldwin. Councilmen Gussie Humes and Jim Scott were absent. Others present at the meeting included Clerk Mary Duke, Bud Hill, Bill Youngman, Daniel Bates, Cheves Leland, Oliver Thames, Gabe Purvis, and Sherry Browne. Mayor Leland called the meeting to order at 7:05 PM, and asked Council to review the minutes from the November 1 st meeting. After review, Councilman Gannon made a motion to approve the minutes as written. The motion was seconded by Councilman Baldwin and carried by unanimous vote of the members present and voting. Mayor Leland said that he would address the second agenda item later in the meeting, in order to avoid delay for several speakers who had asked to address Council. He then recognized Bud Hill, who presented an idea that he and Billy Baldwin proposed for a memorial at the boat landing. Their proposal was to place bronze castings of boots on dolphins at either side of the planned new dock; waders on one side and shrimpers boots on the other. They further suggested that the new dock be named the Seamen s Memorial Pier, and that the wader boots memorial be dedicated to Allen Boo Solomons memory and the shrimpers boots to Jimmy Scott s memory. Bud said that Billy had friends who could do the bronze castings, and that the Solomons family had offered to pay for one of the castings. Any additional funds needed would be raised from private sources. Councilman Gannon asked whether permission would be needed for locating the dolphins (groups of pilings) beside the dock. Bud and Council agreed that location of the dolphins should be included in the permit application to be submitted to DHEC OCRM and the Army Corps of Engineers for the new dock. With no objection, Council agreed by consensus to allow the proposed memorials, if approved by the permitting agencies. Bud, chairman of the Boat Landing Committee, then spoke to Council regarding a recommendation from the Committee to locate a portable toilet facility at the boat landing. He said that the Committee had met with a representative from Nature s Calling, Inc. to discuss the various options that are available. He said the Committee had agreed to recommend that Council authorize contracting to locate one portable toilet at the landing, preferably a flushing unit without a sink but with hand sanitizer provided, due to concerns about paper towel waste in the landing area. Clerk Mary Duke said that she had spoken with five or six companies, but only a few offered service to the McClellanville area and only Nature s Calling could provide the special order requested by the Committee. Councilman Gannon, Council s representative on the Boat Landing Committee, and Bud Hill both recommended that Council accept the quote from Nature s Calling. Bud Hill said that he had worked with the company in the past, and that they had
proved reliable. Mayor Leland then made a motion, seconded by Councilman Baldwin, to accept the quote of $135 per month for a flushing unit from Nature s Calling, Inc. The motion was carried by unanimous vote of the Council Members present and voting. The mayor then recognized Bill Youngman, who spoke to Council regarding suggestions for the Elizabeth Dawson Memorial Park. Bill presented draft plans for a Torii gate structure proposed for part of the memorial. He said that the wooden structure would have a clear or natural finish, allowing it to blend with the natural setting, and that a bench might be located just beyond the gate for those wishing to enjoy the marsh view. He and Bud said that a Torii gate had been chosen for the memorial, as Elizabeth and Ted Dawson had lived for a time in Japan and had a fondness for the structures. Bill said that he would like to know the location for the boardwalk proposed for the park, so that he could have a reference for location of the Torii gate. Council responded, however, that a location for the boardwalk had yet to be determined, due to the current lack of funds for a design plan and difficulties in finalizing the acquisition of the property for the terminus of the boardwalk. Council approved the construction of the Torii gate and bench, and indicated that efforts would be made to make any future construction compatible with that of the Torii gate. Mayor Leland next recognized Sherry Browne, the Town s Humane Officer. Ms. Browne told Council that the ASPCA had agreed to hold a spay/neuter clinic for the McClellanville area, tentatively in mid-january 2011. She said that the SPCA would pick up the animals from town, carry them to their facility in Charleston for the spay/neuter procedures, and return the animals for pick up by their owners on the afternoon of the same day. There would be no charge for the procedures. Ms. Browne said that she thought the grounds of the former McClellanville Middle School would be ideal as a spot for pick up and delivery of the animals. Council asked Clerk Mary Duke to contact the County School District to ask permission to use the Middle School grounds for this purpose. Ms. Browne said that funding had also been identified for trapping and spaying/neutering feral cats, but that she would need Council s authorization for this effort. Council agreed by unanimous consent to support this effort. Ms. Browne requested that Council consider purchasing one or two additional cat traps, as the current trap is somewhat damaged. Council agreed that two more cat traps could be purchased. Ms. Browne said that she would provide some information on the population control plan for feral cats to be published in the Town newsletter. Mayor Leland then asked that Council return to the second agenda item, discussion of trash collection issues. Councilman Baldwin said that he had spoken with the current trash collection contractor as a follow-up to a letter from the Town addressing certain complaints about the service. Councilman Baldwin said that he had concluded that many of the problems stemmed from poor communication between the contractor and his customers. He suggested that cards be printed that the contractor could distribute when he encounters a problem that interferes with trash collection for a customer. Councilman
Baldwin said that a checklist could be included on the card to indicate the most common problems, and that there would also be a space for any customer response. Councilman Gannon said that he agreed that the cards could help, but he still had concerns that lids were not replaced on trash cans as directed in the letter from the Town. He also reiterated that the Town s contract only requires that trash be bagged, not bagged and tied. Council agreed by consensus to try providing the comment cards for the contractor and continuing to assess the situation in the coming months. The next item on the agenda was a public hearing and consideration of final reading on two proposed ordinances. Council first addressed the proposed Ordinance Amending Chapter 13, Article I, 13.03 of the General Ordinances of the Town of McClellanville (Boat Launching Use Permits) to Provide for Daily Boat Landing Use Permits. The ordinance would allow one-day use launch permits at a cost of $10. Clerk Mary Duke said that she had some concerns regarding the effect of the availability of one-day passes on the revenue flow from launch permit sales, noting that it was difficult to anticipate how many customers might opt to purchase one-day passes rather the more expensive annual permits. She suggested that Council might consider waiting a year to assess the impact on the launch permit fund before moving forward with construction of a new dock at the landing. Council agreed, however, that if one-day passes proved to have a negative impact on the launch permit fund, the ordinance could again be amended to disallow the daily permits. Councilman Gannon made a motion to hold final reading on the proposed ordinance. Councilman Baldwin provided a second to the motion. Mayor Leland asked for any discussion or input from members of the public, but no comment was offered. He then called for the vote, and the motion was carried by unanimous vote of the Council Members present and voting. Cheves Leland said that she had witnessed on more than one occasion individuals without permitted vehicles launching boats at the landing and leaving the landing area to park elsewhere. Mayor Leland said that he would advise the town marshals to check more frequently for such violations. Councilman Gannon said that a notice would be included in the newsletter that the marshals would be increasing efforts to prevent such violations. Mayor Leland said that Council would next consider and receive public comment on the proposed Ordinance Amending Article IV of Chapter 4 of the Code of the Town of McClellanville (Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance) Pertaining to Definitions, Responsibilities of the Administrator and Accessory Structures. Clerk Mary Duke reminded Council that the proposed ordinance would base determination of allowable accessory structures on total square footage (800 sq.ft. maximum) rather than on the valuation of the structure. The amendment also updated and clarified language of the
Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance, especially regarding requirements for accessory structures. Councilman Gannon then made a motion to hold final reading on the proposed amendment. The motion was seconded by Councilman Baldwin. Mayor Leland asked for any discussion or comments, but none were offered. The mayor then called for the vote, and the motion was carried by unanimous vote of the Council Members present and voting. Council then considered the re-appointment of Nic Church for a new term on the Board of Zoning Appeals. Clerk Mary Duke confirmed that Mr. Church had agreed to serve another term, if appointed. Councilman Gannon made a motion, seconded by Councilman Baldwin, to appoint Mr. Church for a new term on the BZA. The motion was carried unanimously by the Council Members present and voting. Clerk Duke then updated Council on the status of negotiations for mitigation of an identified nuisance property at 710 Morrison St. Ms. Duke said that the property owners had responded by telephone to her recent letter informing them that action to remove the nuisance was required. They had not provided a written reply or proposed schedule of action as requested, but indicated they would forward this documentation within a week. Council directed Ms. Duke to put this issue on the February 2011 Council meeting agenda for further review of the status. Gabe Purvis questioned why the Town had been unable, thus far, to remove or require removal of a nuisance property on Cassena Street. Mayor Leland told Gabe that the property owner had never produced proof of clear title to the property, and so negotiations for the Town to buy the lot could not be completed. Gabe said that the Town should look into requesting a quitclaim deed from the property owner to the Town. Mr. Purvis also asked the status of efforts to acquire property across from the Pinckney St. green space as a terminus point for a boardwalk. Council and Clerk Duke said that this transaction was also awaiting production of a deed from the property owner. Council then moved its attention to Clerk Mary Duke s question regarding administrative approval by her for groups of less than 30 to use the municipal area when there is no request for serving alcohol at the proposed gathering. The clerk would inform Council of any request for use; any concerns raised by a Council Member would require a vote of Council rather than administrative approval of the event. Ms. Duke said that administrative approval for smaller events could simplify the process and remove much of the need for special Council meetings to vote on approval. Without objection, Council agreed that Ms. Duke could administratively approve requests for use of the municipal area by groups of 30 or fewer people, when no alcohol will be served during the event. Clerk Duke then discussed the County s Christmas and New Year s holiday schedule with Council, and Council agreed that the Town would observe the same schedule. As Christmas falls on a Saturday, Christmas holidays will include Friday, December 24 and Monday and Tuesday, December 27 and 28. The New Year s holiday will be observed on
Monday, January 3, 2011. As January 3 rd is the first Monday in January, the January 2011 Town Council meeting will be scheduled for Monday, January 10. Ms. Duke asked whether Council would like for the town attorney to attend an upcoming meeting to discuss proposed revisions/updates to the Town Code. Council agreed that the attorney might be invited to the February meeting, as the audit report is scheduled for the January meeting. Council reviewed the copies of letters from Mt. Pleasant Waterworks and the Tibwin Community Care organization, and accepted those as information. Clerk Duke then told Council of a request from Lincoln High School for the Town to purchase t-shirts to be distributed during the school s basketball games to promote team spirit. The town logo would be printed on the back of the shirt. Council approved by unanimous consent payment for 3 dozen t-shirts at a cost of $379.50. There being no further business, a motion was then made, seconded, and unanimously approved to adjourn the meeting. Mary S. Duke Town Clerk