Daniel Prince
Reelected council members take oath of office before the meeting
Newly reelected Lockhart Town Council members Donnie Adams and Mandy Sweat were sworn in for their new four-year terms as Tuesday’s meeting began. Magistrate Judge Kevin Morrow administered the oath of office, as fellow Town Council member Helen McFalls held the Bible.
McFalls summarized a risk management class she took earlier in the month, saying there are many risks and potential liabilities that towns have to watch out for, especially regarding events the town holds. She said it is important to ensure that those coming in to provide services or activities at such events carry their own insurance, in addition to the town having its insurance.
Mayor Connie Porter informed council that the SC Department of Commerce has awarded the town a $770,000 Community Development Block Grant for the upgrades to the Lockhart Drive lift station and main sewer line on River Street. The town was approved to provide a smaller local match of $20,000. Normally, a 10% match would be required, which would have been $77,000. Council unanimously approved a resolution to pay for the local match.
Council unanimously passed first reading of an ordinance to enter into an intergovernmental agreement relating to the South Carolina Local Revenue Service Programs. This deals with money the town gets from the Municipal Association of South Carolina. The MASC collects business license taxes at the state level, which it then distributes to municipalities across the state. It is rebranding the programs it uses to collect those taxes, meaning that towns have to update their ordinances to reflect the changes. Town Clerk Shannon Perry stated that the town normally receives $20,000 from the program, and last year it received $27,000.
Bids for the Summit Drive water line upgrade will be opened at Lockhart Town Hall on Tuesday, April 4, at 10 a.m. KCI won the engineering contract for the work, and bids are expected to come in around $1.25 million.
Mayor Connie Porter introduced a resolution regarding the Lockhart Cemetery. Porter said she always thought that the town owned the cemetery, but it turns out that Pacolet Milliken owns it. She stated that Bryan Stone of Lockhart Power contacted her about it when he discovered that, and he told her that Pacolet Milliken would like to donate the cemetery to the town. The town already maintains it, so Porter said nothing would change. Pacolet Milliken will also pay for the real estate attorney fees for the transfer of the land. Council unanimously approved the resolution.
Council member Helen McFalls talked about a yearly festival she helped to organize last year and hopes to continue in the future. She said the town needs a chance to come together and to bring the heart back to Lockhart. The event was held last spring, but McFalls stated she hoped to hold it before school starts this year. She will have more information on the festival later.
Finally, Mayor Porter handed out some information on annexation for the council members to look at and be ready to discuss at the April meeting.