This is "HOW" and "WHY" I voted on the ordinance/resolutions up for vote at this council meeting.
Voted NO: Ordinance 2024-07 - to offer the conveyance of any all interest in certain real property in the City of Easley (First Reading)
This property is located at 106 Glazner Street and was given to the City of Easley by the School District of Pickens County Jan. 22, 2018. The Dream Center has rented this property for the past four years for $1.00/year, the deal provided by the prior administration. On Oct. 18, 2023 the city received an appraisal for this property; effective August 10, 2023 the As Is market value was determined to be $135,000. The Dream Center offered to purchase this property at the appraised As Is value. South Carolina State Code 5-7-40 allows a municipality to sell their property at FAIR MARKET VALUE.
I voted NO because the city did not obtain a current appraisal; the majority voted No on my motion to approve contingent upon getting the updated appraisal. Mrs. Davidson countered with another motion which passed by majority vote.
I think the Dream Center does awesome work in the community. I constantly donate to them, and I always tell people about them at every opportunity. I do not have anything against selling this property to them. The issue I have is with the city not following state code. There is a provision in the code that allows a municipality to consider nonmonetary issues when determining value so the Dream Center would not have paid the appraised market value for the property.
Voted NO: Resolution 2024-07 - to adopt the rules and protocols for public comment (One Reading)
I voted NO because these rules for public comments are not a product of the Easily City Council but from a meeting the mayor went to. She thought since other SC cities were using them, we should too. Also, we did not get a chance to thoroughly discuss before the resolution was created. Per SC Code: 5-7-250 (b) The council shall determine its own rules and order of business....etc.
Another reason I voted NO was I didn't like parts of the resolution and I knew the public would not be happy with this either. Also, the mayor and another council person kept saying we were practicing these rules already but how does the mayor practice what is not written down?
Here is what is in the Easley Code online (dated 2023) for Appearance of Citizens:
§ 30.25 APPEARANCE OF CITIZENS.
Any citizen of the city shall be entitled to an appearance before the Council at any regular meeting concerning any municipal matter with the exception of personnel matters.
But wait, there is more!
In November of 2023, the prior council (three are currently on council now) passed the second reading of Ordinance 2023-15 to express the rules for persons addressing council through a policy as opposed to an ordinance.
Why was the city code not updated with this revised ordinance and WHERE is that policy located for public viewing?
The "new" policy per the revised ordinance reads as follows: (and where was this policy posted?)
The time allotted for Persons Addressing City Council at a regular meeting shall not exceed thirty (30) minutes and each speaker shall be limited to three (3) minutes. Persons wishing to address Council are required to register their names before the meeting begins and registration shall be on a 'first come, first serve" basis. Council may enlarge the time limits set forth above by a seconded motion and approved by majority vote.
Voted YES: Resolution 2024-08 - to provide a work environment free of recognized hazards and support policies and procedures to protect employees, property, and the public.
This one was a no brainer. The city employees are important to the city and every effort should be made to protect them.
Voted NO: Resolution 2024-09 - pledging to practice and promote civility in the City of Easley.
This is another result of the meeting the mayor attended. The governor wants all municipalities to abide by this. I felt it was more of a mandate. This should have been brought before the council before the resolution was prepared so suggestions could have been given on how to handle this effectively.
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