By VICKI BROWN
Walterboro City Council met Tuesday, April 12th in a meeting that had been postponed from April 5th due to serious weather conditions.
Council members were presented with a recommendation from City Manager Jeff Molinari to annex a portion of Maplewood Drive from the county into the city. It was part of what is referred to as a donut hole, or an area that was once outside city limits.
The owner of property at Lots 67, 68 and part of lot 66 in the subdivision of Colonial Heights petitioned for annexation to the City of Walterboro. All applicable city services would be provided immediately upon annexation. This is undeveloped property consisting of less than one acre.
It was requested that the property be zoned Single-Family Residential, and include any road, waterway, easement, railroad track, marshland or utility line that intervenes between these properties and the municipal limits of Walterboro.
In other City of Walterboro business:
Fair housing
Walterboro City Council marked the 53rd anniversary of the passage of the U.S. Fair Housing Law of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 and 1989, that both support the policy of Fair Housing without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, familial status, and disability, and encourages fair housing opportunities for all citizens. A Resolution was passed stating that April is Fair Housing Month, and the City of Walterboro is committed to addressing discrimination in our community, to support programs that will educate the public about the right to equal housing opportunities.
New truck
Public Works Director Michael Crosby made a request to council that his department receive a new full-sized pickup truck. The proposed vehicle purchase will replace a 2005 pickup truck with 237,000 miles.
Three bids were studied, with a bid accepted from Walterboro Motor Sales for a 2022 F-150 single cab in the amount of $29,819.00. The expenditure will be absorbed in the FY 2021-2022 Public Works budget. The request was passed.
Police vehicle
Walterboro Police Chief Wade Marvin asked the city to purchase a new administrative vehicle for the police department. Molinari recommended accepting the bid from Love Chevrolet (Columbia, SC) for a Chevrolet Tahoe PPV Ford Utility Interceptor in the amount of $36,282.00. The expenditure will be absorbed in the FY 2021-2022 Police Department budget.
Lost Revenues Resolution
Resolution 2022-03 was passed regarding the standard allowance for lost revenues under the American Rescue Plan.
It reads:
“The Final Rule for Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery provides that American Rescue Plan Act Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (ARPA Funds) may be used for the provision of government services to the extent of the reduction in the recipient’s general revenue due to the public health emergency.
The Final Rule allows recipients to determine the reduction in general revenue by applying a standard allowance of $10 million.
The City intends to apply the standard allowance of $10 million to determine the reduction in its general revenue during the test period.
The Municipality will appropriate the ARPA Funds by budget ordinance, and will expend the ARPA Funds for qualifying purposes, before December 31, 2024.”
