The minutes of the regular meeting of the Town Council of the Town of James Island held Tuesday, May 11, 2004 at 7:00 p.m. at the Town Hall located at 1246 Camp Road.
The meeting was called to order by Councilman Bill Wilder, presiding as Mayor Pro Tempore with Councilmen Parris Williams, Bill Woolsey and Mayor Mary Clark in attendance, as well as Town Attorney Mike Socha and Frances Simmons, Secretary. There was a quorum present for conducting business.
The invocation was given by Councilman Williams and was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
Councilman Wilder noted that the meeting was to be conducted under Robert’s Rules of Order and in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act.
Election Commission Report: Alan Laughlin, Chairman of the Election Commission gave an update noting that this will be the final report from the Election Commission. He thanked and congratulated all candidates on a smooth and pleasant election process. The Election results are posted in the window of Town Hall. There was a total of 1,958 ballots cast with 11,211 active voters; a 17.7 % turnout in the electorate of the Town. The Election Commission presented to the Town, with the intent of it going to the Planning and Zoning Commission, the precinct maps which includes street names; small precinct maps are also available to committees as needed. Marie Copeland and Frances Simmons will have access to these maps.
Mr. Laughlin reminded everyone who ran for office to pickup their signs.
He then requested that Council deactivate the Election Commission until such time as the Commission is needed to conduct business. Council thanked the members of the Election Commission -Alan Laughlin, Rose O’Neal and Susan Milliken, for doing and outstanding job on this election.
Councilman Wilder offered the minutes of the Public Hearing of April 20, 2004 for approval. Councilman Woolsey made the motion to approve and Councilman Williams seconded and it was unanimously approved.
Councilman Wilder offered the minutes of the regular meeting of April 20, 2004 for approval. Councilman Woolsey made the motion to approve and Councilman Williams seconded and it was unanimously approved.
Mayor’s Comments: None
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Citizen’s Comments:
Carol Jacobsen: Announced that Margaret Fabri has sent letters that the Commercial Corridor Design Review Board will meet on Thursday, May 13th at 5:00 p.m. at 75 Calhoun Street on the 3rd floor to discuss Ellis Oaks. The area is near the Lowe’s on Daniel Ellis Drive with many plans for building on this site. Mrs. Jacobsen encouraged everyone who would like to see the trees remain to attend this meeting. This item will probably be first on the agenda. She said we are losing something valuable; if the trees were of the same age and were man-made structures, we would not be here to talk about having them taken down, but since they are trees, we are. The Commercial Design Review Board looks at the mass of the project, they have asked to have the parking lots and the building outlined in order to see the other parcel. It is very important that everyone attend this meeting; it is very worthwhile and we need the support of the people. Please tell others.
Committee Reports:
Ways and Means: Mike Socha reported that a report from the Treasurer was presented and that Councilman Qualey made a motion to amend Ordinance #2004-12 to allow the salary for the Planning Commission Chairman is retroactive to April 20, 2004.
Old Business:
a. Update on Speed Hump Process. Councilman Wilder stated that Charleston County has sent a letter to the Town stating that they do not construct speed humps; this work is performed by private contractors. The County’s contract expired in 2003; bids for contracts will now range from $3,000 to $4,000 per speed hump, depending on the type that is requested. It was determined that this cost would have some impact on the budget. Councilman Woolsey asked the status of where the speed humps are to be placed and how many are needed on the streets we have identified which are Burnet and Nabors Drive. Mayor Clark said that there are regulations that must be adhered to prior to the humps being placed. An engineer would need to determine where the humps are placed; such as Mr. Covington at the County; we have not contacted anyone to do so as yet. Greg Kent reiterated that the County has placed work on hold because they do not have a contract; the Town needs to determine what it would like the County to do in order to move these projects forward. There was some discussion about the prices that were quoted to Mayor Clark for temporary asphalt speed humps. She said the humps were merely to be a temporary solution for Rainbow Road and Bur Clare Drive until the permanent humps could be placed. Mayor Clark will contact the County and determine what our next step should be.
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b. Second Reading – Ordinance# 2004-12 Compensation to BZA and Planning Commission Members. A motion to adopt Ordinance# 2004-12 was made by Councilman Woolsey, seconded by Councilman Wilder and unanimously approved.
Councilman Woolsey made a motion to amend Ordinance #2004-12 to allow the salary for the Planning Commission Chairman to be retroactive to April 20, 2004, seconded by Councilman Williams. After discussion by Councilman Williams, the motion was approved unanimously.
Councilman Woolsey asked and was granted permission to amend the agenda to discuss the deactivation of the Election Commission. Councilman Woolsey stated that according to our Ordinance, Election Commission Members are elected to serve for six years. Mr. Socha agreed and added that the Commission will not have any duties since the election is over, they only need to meet if there is a business matter that needs to be addressed.
Councilman Wilder asked and was granted permission to amend the agenda to discuss staggered terms of office. Councilman Wilder expressed concern about continuity with the terms of office as it currently is and thought that consideration should be given to this issue. Mr. Socha responded the terms of office could be staggered if the Town’s elected office were to serve 4 year terms; however, the people of the Town voted for 2 year terms of office. The Statute states that it can be done during the first election after incorporation; it can also be done by Ordinance. The Town has an at-large system, no other Town having an at-large system has done this and there are no case laws to tell how it can be done. Councilman Woolsey stated that a referendum was held 2 years ago and the majority of the people wanted 2 year terms. A referendum would probably be the best way to do this rather than the enactment of an ordinance. Councilman Wilder said if the present Council and Mayor had been voted out of office, a new group would have to start over again; Councilman Woolsey pointed out that the Town’s staff provides the continuity that the Town needs. He did not think a special referendum was needed; after this 2 year period perhaps a referendum question should be placed on the ballot regarding this issue. After some discussion, Councilman Woolsey asked Mr. Socha to research a procedure on this issue and report to Council at a later date.
Citizens Comments:
Mayor Clark announced that the Town will host an event in honor of Armed Forces Day on Saturday, May 15 at 12:00 noon in the parking lot of Town Hall.
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Greg Kent said he will fax a copy of the bid specs/contractor information that Mount Pleasant uses to Mayor and Council for their consideration.
Councilman Wilder asked the status of the 4 roads that the Town approved for pavement. Mr. Socha said the County took the roads off of their list to allow the Town to request projects through the CTC funds and that projects cannot be on both the County and CTC lists. Mayor Clark expressed concern about the 10 roads were taken off of the County’s project list; the Town had agreed to contract with them to have the roads paved. Again, the County’s intent was for the Town to put these roads on the CTC list. Mayor Clark said she would follow-up with the County on these matters.
As there was no further business to come before Town Council at this time, Councilman Woolsey moved to adjourn which was seconded by Councilman Williams and it passed unanimously.