townofcarlisle.com
Daniel Prince
Town to reimburse county, address water issues with American Rescue Plan Act funds
At Tuesday’s meeting of the Carlisle Town Council, Mayor Mary Ferguson-Glenn updated council on the status of the town’s wastewater project. The pump station construction has already begun. It will take two years to complete, after which time the city will own and operate the town’s wastewater system. Final details of the agreement between the city and the town are still being worked out regarding the rate scale and the cost to citizens.
Council unanimously passed the first reading of an ordinance for a regional wastewater agreement between the Town of Carlisle and the City of Union.
Council voted on a resolution dealing with the American Rescue Plan Act. The resolution states that Mayor Glenn will be the town’s representative regarding the ARP, and Town Administrator Shannon McBride will be the designated contact person. Rolled into the resolution was a proposal to give the county of Union $100,000 from the town’s ARP proceeds to reimburse the county for some of their contributions to the town’s wastewater treatment. The resolution passed unanimously.
Prior to the vote, Mayor Glenn informed the council that the town stands to receive $205,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds. She asked the council if they had any recommendations for projects to spend the money. The council did not have any recommendations ready, but Mayor Glenn proposed using the rest of the money towards the town’s water infrastructure. Here’s what she had to say:
audio below story
No official action was taken on that suggestion, but council members seemed to agree that sounded like a good idea. In its final action of the evening, council unanimously approved spending $5000 for the town’s share of administrative costs for a regional feasibility plan. The city is applying for a grant to study the water and wastewater systems in both Lockhart and Carlisle. Lockhart Town Council approved a similar resolution last week.
In other meeting news, the council heard from members of the former Capital Project Sales Tax Commission. They noted that the commission’s work is finished, and they are volunteering to go to the various municipalities and talk about the projects and answer any questions that come up. The Capital Project Sales Tax will be on the ballot in this November’s special election, set for Tuesday, November 2. Members of the Capital Project Sales Tax Outreach Team will be on WBCU Thursday morning at 9 a.m. to discuss the proposed tax and the projects on which the money will be spent.
Mayor Glenn urged council members to get her a list of properties that need to be condemned and demolished so she can submit them to the county. She noted she met with DHEC officials earlier in the day to talk about health care needs of the town. She said access to health care is the biggest thing, as citizens have to drive several miles to get health care services. She suggested to DHEC that if a clinic could come even once a month to the town to provide some services, it would be a big help to the community.
Council member Maxine Spencer said the town’s back-to-school bookbag giveaway was a big success, with churches, citizens, and even some from outside the community donating. She also noted that no applications have come in so far for the town’s part-time maintenance position.