Daniel Prince
Council votes to repave parking lot, form emergency committee, and replace fire hydrants
The Carlisle Town Council met for its regular monthly meeting last night. Mayor Mary Ferguson-Glenn updated council on the town’s wastewater project. She said a wet well in connection with the pump station cost $40,000. Originally, the county was going to allow the town to deduct the cost from $100,000 in aid it was providing, but that turned out to be unnecessary, as the town received a grant that covered the cost of the wet well. The town received a bill by SCE&G for electrical service connected to the pump station. The cost of that was $13,005. That was another expense that had not been budgeted for, but the mayor said the grant was able to cover that amount, as well.
The mayor said the town’s angel tree program went well at Christmas, and the town’s Christmas parade was well-attended.
Council unanimously voted to retain the firm Elliott & Painter Certified Public Accountants to be the accountant for the town. They have an office on East Henry Street in Spartanburg and at 405 West Main Street in Union.
Council unanimously voted to authorize Mayor Glenn to meet with the county supervisor about what it will take to bring the Town of Carlisle under the county’s burn ordinance that recently passed. Glenn said coming under the county’s ordinance would be easier than the town trying to write and enforce their own.
Mayor Glenn brought up repaving the Town Hall parking lot. She said it had been discussed a long time ago, and they were now ready to move on it. She had talked to Sailors Asphalt Paving, and they gave her an estimate of around $17,400 to repave and restripe the parking lot. Council unanimously voted to allow Sailors to do the work.
Next, Mayor Glenn proposed forming an emergency committee, which would meet and formulate an emergency plan for the town, encompassing things like where to go for shelter in an emergency, what to do in case of an extended power outage, checking on the town’s senior citizens, checking on the status of utilities in the town, and more. The council voted unanimously to establish that committee.
Glenn said the Carlisle fire chief had submitted a list of around 8 fire hydrants in the town that need replacing. The approximate cost of replacing them would be around $5000 each. Glenn proposed that the town replace four of them now, and then talk about it later and see if they could get the other four done. She said American Rescue Plan Act funds might could be used for that purpose. Council unanimously voted to replace four of the hydrants.
The mayor proposed forming an advisory committee, which would be comprised of people from around the town but not connected to the town’s government in any way. They would meet to come up with fresh ideas, help set goals, and help move the town forward. Council would consider the committee’s input in future meetings. The mayor said she would select the members of the committee, coming from a cross section of the town, with the business community, faith community, and others represented. Council would have final say on who would serve on the committee. The proposal died for lack of a motion.
Glenn mentioned the town needs to purchase a generator to provide emergency power to the town hall in case of power outage. She did not have details on cost or size, so she said she will bring that up at a future meeting.
Town Administrator Shannon McBride reminded the council members that the state Ethics Commission’s statement of economic interest form is due online by March 30th. The mayor stated she had talked to a company about radio read meters, and the company will come back with a price proposal. She met with Eric Harold with Union County EMS about possibly locating an EMS substation in the town. He said he would get back with her on that. She also noted that the town is still looking to hire a maintenance worker. There have been no applications received for that open position. The meeting then adjourned.