Folly Beach City Council – December 8
Staff Report
The Folly Beach City Council held its monthly workshop and regular meeting, back-to-back, on December 8. Council member Tim Goodwin was absent from the meeting and Mayor Carl Beckmann explained that he was sick.
Council coup fails
Council member Tom Scruggs surprised the rest of Council when he made a motion to hold a special meeting on January 19 to discuss the possibility of inserting a referendum during next year’s April 6 election that would allow residents to change the City’s form of government from a “Strong Mayor” to a “Strong Council” system. Scruggs argued that the current form of government is not working and is evident in the fact that Council has done a lot of talking but can’t seem to get anything done. Maybe with a Council form of government, they would have made more progress over the past few years, he said.
Council member Dave Stormer concurred. “Something a little more collegial would be more appropriate in a community this size,” he said adding that the entire Council would share in the responsibilities and decisions that the Mayor currently wields. “It’s just a bad system.”
However, Council members Ellis, Beck, and McCarty all argued against the concept saying that the timing is terrible and that there is way too much going on with the litter issue, City Hall/Public Safety Expansion, bridge replacement, traffic study among other things. Furthermore, the City’s staff is already overworked they said. Ellis wrote the idea off as a simple personality conflict saying that Scruggs’s motion “is a direct response to him [Mayor Beckmann]”. Instead, he said it should be a campaign issue and the voters could decide that way. Beck argued that such a huge referendum needed more time to be digested by the Council and the citizens. Putting this on the April 6 ballot was too soon, she said. Scruggs retorted that his motion only opens the floor for a formal discussion among Council and does not actually create the referendum.
The Council voted 2-4 against the motion with Scruggs and Stormer casting the two affirmative votes.
City employees to see raises
The City Council unanimously passed a resolution that would add about $61,000 in expenditures to the 2009-2010 budget. The money reflects the results of a compensation study that suggested many of the City’s employees are underpaid in comparison to surrounding communities and similar municipalities. However, the vote did not occur until after Council member Eddie Ellis expressed some issues he had with the study and resolution.
Ellis suggested that the “higher-ups” in the City were getting raises before employees who sit lower on the proverbial totem pole. Furthermore, he asked if raises should occur retroactively since the study suggested employees were being underpaid the entire time the study was being conducted.
City Administrator Toni Connor-Rooks assured Ellis that everyone entitled to a raise would be receiving it at the same time. Council member Tom Scruggs also said that the study was necessary to see how much of a raise, if any, employees needed to receive.
According to Council member Dave Stormer, approximately 71 percent of the compensation adjustments will be occurring within the Public Safety Department. Employees receiving adjustments should expect to see the salary increases starting this month.
Mayor’s Comments
The Regular City Council meeting opened with Mayor Beckmann providing a short commentary on the Beach Management Patrol and Fire Department tours. He expressed a great amount of satisfaction in John Crisco of the City’s Beach Management Patrol which was forged this past summer and is charged with keeping the beach front free of litter and educating visitors on City ordinances.
“He is a ball of fire,” Beckmann said. When asked to provide some suggestions for improving the patrol and beach litter in general, Crisco responded with a 15-page report, according to Beckmann. He added that the patrol is doing a great job.
He also pointed out that the Public Safety Department recently had some visitors in the form of students who were given a tour of the City’s Fire Station. Interested members of the public should contact Public Safety Director Terry Boatwright or Deputy Fire Chief Brad Wade for information on tours.
Wanna do the repeater?
Deputy Fire Chief Brad Wade explained the need for Ordinance 21-09 which would permit the communication tower at the water plant to be increased in height by 50 feet for a total height of approximately 245 feet. The height is necessary for a potential, multi-phased approach to improving radio communication for emergency services as part of the consolidated 9-1-1 dispatch move which allows Charleston County to handle dispatch for local municipalities under one system. However, the transition has been less than perfect.
“We have a communication problem in Charleston County,” Chief Wade said. The problems, he said, are mostly occurring in island communities like Folly Beach. Communication is being disrupted by oceanic interference, which is unpredictable he added. On some days, radios are completely useless and Public Safety personnel have to use their cell phones to communicate.
The first phase of the solution includes creating a “repeater site” on Folly Beach. The current tower does not have any more room as it is filled with other users such as cell phone company. Increasing the height of the tower will provide the necessary space.
Chief Wade says that ordinance is a bit proactive as the County still has to agree on the plan. However, by passing the ordinance now, which requires another vote, the City will be ready if the County moves ahead with the plan. Furthermore, he adds that the City is not expected to incur any cost for the construction since the City subscribes to the County’s service and it is the service that is failing.
Motorola, the company behind the communication system, is sure this will fix the problem.
Other ordinances and resolutions
The Council unanimously passed Ordinance 22-09 which accepts a “Quit Claim Deed” from Milton Loehr for a property located on East Ashley at the Washout. The property is beach-side and basically underwater. The ordinance also directs the City’s attorney to prepare a Quit Claim Deed themselves giving the property over to the “Folly Beach Nature Conservancy. The TMS number for the property is 4391400029.
An ordinance that would get the Council more involved with special event requests was postponed. A Special Events Committee has been created that streamlines the process people have to go through when getting permission for special events such as Surfers Healing and Follypalooza, for example. However, Council member Stormer, who introduced the ordinance, pointed out that the Special Events Committee may have been introduced incorrectly and may not be authorized to make the decisions they have been making. The ordinance would create another step for applicants to take. The Council agreed to postpone the ordinance pending counsel from the City’s attorney.
The Council simultaneously and unanimously passed the following resolutions in one vote:
57-09: Authorizes Mayor Beckmann to sign a letter of agreement with B.P. Barber to provide preliminary engineering services and acquire an easement to cross the Folly River to replace the City’s sewer for no more than $8,300.
59-09: Expresses the City’s opposition to State House of Representatives Bill H-3272 and urging legislators to vote ‘no’. The City would like the Taxation Realignment Commission to complete its study of the State’s tax structure before the bill is voted on.
60-09: Adopts the 2010 meeting schedule for the City Council, Planning Commission, Design Review Board, Utility Board, Community Promotion Foundation and Official Holiday Calendar.
61-09: Approves the City Administrator’s request to surplus a 1995 Chevrolet long-bed pick-up truck.
