Daniel Prince
Council votes to pre-purchase equipment for Carlisle sewer project
Based on a couple of annexation and zoning requests received by the city, it would appear there will be a new restaurant locating near Walmart in the future. At Tuesday’s Union City Council meeting, council was asked to annex properties at 107 Mims Lane and 509 North Duncan Bypass into the city and zone them A-2 highway commercial. The Mims Avenue property is 1.08 acres, with an assessed value of $4560. The property is owned by Carla Bardis. The 509 North Duncan Bypass property is owned by Harold and Brian Freeman. It is 0.293 acres, with an assessed value of $450. It currently has a temporary fruit stand and a billboard on it. The properties, if annexed, are expected to be combined for the future use of a restaurant, with access to the property provided by an existing curb cut from Mims Lane. The annexation and zoning would close another zoning donut hole in the city. Council voted unanimously to pass first reading of the ordinances to annex and rezone the properties. A public hearing and second reading will be held at the June meeting.
In other news from the council meeting, council awarded a bid for the pre-purchasing of the pumps, controls, and valves for the two new pump stations needed for the Carlisle-Union Regional Sewer Extension project. One bid was received from Pete Duty and Associates, which is the same company doing the work on the other seven pump stations associated with the project. The bid came in at $204,772.
Council awarded a bid to JL Construction Company for $115,550 to replace the sodium hypochlorite tanks at the water plant. They are downgrading the tanks from 12,000 gallons to around 6600. The new tanks have already been bought and are expected to arrive before the end of the month. JL Construction would remove the existing tanks and install the new ones, complete with installing new piping, valves, and supports. Council voted unanimously to award the bid to JL Construction Company as the low bidder.
Council had its first look at the first draft of the proposed new voting districts in the City of Union. The SC Office of Revenue and Fiscal Affairs prepared the draft, which brought the districts from a deviation of more than 50% from the ideal size to a 6.46% deviation. Ideal district size is 1362. The smallest proposed district is District 1, with 1321 people, a -3.03% deviation. The largest district would be District 4 with 1409, a 3.43% deviation. The public can view the draft map at Union City Hall at make suggestions. The redistricting plan will be up for vote at the June and July council meetings.
A public hearing prior to the meeting was held on a rezoning request for 106 Bison Street. The request was to rezone the property from A-2 highway commercial to R-6 residential. There are two single-family residences adjacent to and across from the property in question. These were grandfathered into the existing zoning ordinance. The predominant land use in the area is commercial, and the planning commission was concerned that this request would be a spot zoning. They voted unanimously to recommend not rezoning the property, and City Council voted unanimously not to rezone the property.
Council unanimously voted to extend City Judge John M. Rollins, Jr.’s term by another two years, to expire on July 31, 2024. The part-time position pays $30,000 a year.
Council voted to enter into a contract with RCI of SC, Inc., to provide the city’s building inspection and code enforcement services. RCI charges $55 an hour for inspections during normal business hours, and $40/hr. for clerical work. They will conduct plan reviews for 50% of the collected fee. They will provide code enforcement services to the city, as well. The contract would run from July 1, 2022, to December 31, 2024. Council member Ricky Todd Harris abstained, while the other council members voted to approve the contract.
We’ll have more from the meeting in tomorrow’s newscast.