Daniel Prince
Deputy Wes Foster introduced as head of Community Action Team for Lockhart
At Tuesday night’s Lockhart Town Council meeting, Deputy Wes Foster introduced himself to the council and those in attendance. He will be leading the Community Action Team’s activities in Lockhart, taking over from Deputy Chris Patterson, who left the department. Foster retired in 2016 from the Charleston Police Department. He has also worked for the Spartanburg and Cherokee County Sheriff’s Offices and did nuclear security for a couple of years at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station. After a couple of years off, he was approached to teach the law enforcement and firefighting classes at the Union County Career and Technology Center. Sheriff Jeff Bailey then asked him to come on board with the sheriff’s office and lead the Community Action Team’s efforts in the Town of Lockhart.
During Foster’s talk, council member Helen McFalls fell ill and had to leave. With Amanda Sweat and Gina Porter also absent, the meeting no longer had a quorum. Mayor Connie Porter and Council member Donnie Adams went on with the meeting, but a special called meeting will likely need to be held to ensure that any votes taken will be valid.
Mayor Porter presented a letter from the Catawba Regional Council of Governments pertaining to bids taken for consultant services for the Lockhart Community Development Plan Project. The county, Lockhart Power, and Town of Lockhart submitted a grant to the Appalachian Regional Commission for this project, which deals with tourism and promoting the town. One bid came back from Destination by Design, though the submitted project cost was over budget. After negotiating with the town and taking out plans for a project website and promotional video, the group’s bid for a consulting contract was accepted for $68,500 by Catawba Regional. A meeting has been scheduled on November 14 with Catawba Regional, Union County, and Lockhart Power to discuss this further. Lockhart Power and the Town of Lockhart both paid $5000 and Union County paid $10,000 to cover the local matching portion of the grant that was received.
Mayor Porter presented two ordinances dealing with new water and sewer lines and the responsibilities of customers and contractors, as well as the fees involved. The first ordinance states that if an existing resident wants to put in a new water or sewer line, they must hire a licensed contractor. The contractor must present the license at Lockhart Town Hall before working on the resident’s pipes. The contractor would then do the work and connect the pipes to the main line at the cost of the resident. The contractor would be responsible for bringing the area back up to code.
The second ordinance essentially puts the town’s existing contract that is presented to all water and sewer customers on the books. It states that if a water meter is in place and it is only necessary to connect the line, the fee is $150. If the job requires a plumber, the charges will be the sole responsibility of the customer and the plumber would bill the customer for the cost of the work. If a sewage line is already in place on the property and it is only necessary to connect it to the main line, there will be no charge. However, if the job requires a plumber/contractor, the charges will be the sole responsibility of the customer and the plumber/contractor would bill the customer directly for the cost of the work. The town is only responsible for repairs but not replacement of main sewage line.
The meeting then adjourned.