Town of Honea Path

Town Council Meeting

January 14, 2008

7:00 PM

Members present:  Mayor Meyers, William Hall, Town Administrator, Beverly Crawford, Clerk/Treasurer. Council members: Davis, Gilmer, Mattison, Taylor, Branyon and Lark.  The meeting was called to order by Mayor Meyers.  Lark opened the meeting with prayer.

William Hall read the December 4, 2007 minutes. Taylor made a motion to approve the minutes and seconded by Davis.  All voted in favor of the motion and the motion passed.

The Town Council discussed the second reading on the ordinance for new decorative light poles. The property owner or home owner's association shall be responsible for the purchase of any and all decorative light poles.  Decorative light poles must be comparable and similar with all decorative light poles in the particular sub-division. The prices of the decorative light poles will be subject to change.  The decorative light poles, once purchased by the above property owner, will be owned by the Town of Honea Path and maintained by Duke Energy.  The light heads for the decorative light poles must be comparable with 100 watt high pressure sodium lights.  All requests for decorative light poles will be handled individually by the Town of Honea Path Council and Mayor. Lark made a motion to approve the second reading on the proposed ordinance and a second was made by Davis.  All voted in favor of the motion and the motion passed.

The Town Council discussed the downtown parking situation and the additional lighting needs for the parking lot located between Dr. Taylor's building and the Floral Shop located on Main Street.  Several merchants have expressed a desire for additional lighting for this location.  Lark discussed the bid proposal from Branyon Electrical.  The bid was for a total of $1,354.27.  A motion was made by Davis to approve the bid, seconded by Mattison. All voted in favor of this motion.

The Mayor reported that L.C. Jones was now current with his payments and is continuing on the demolition project for Chiquola Mill.  Mr. Jones has proposed to tear down the next five bays into the plant.  A motion was made by Davis to allow the Mayor to work with Mr. Jones to insure that the demolition work is performed in an orderly matter and that all material and debris is removed from the site.  The motion was seconded by Mattison. All voted in favor of this motion.

William Hall reviewed the budget and financial report as of December 31, 2007.  Hall reported that we are exceeding the budget in the area of gas and oil for vehicles.  Nearly all gas and oil accounts are over the budget due to the rising gas prices.  The Mayor has discussed various measures to reduce gas consumption with department heads.  Mayor Meyers has looked at alternative fuels to reduce the cost of gas and oil.

Mayor Meyers and Councilman Davis discussed the Palmetto Pride grant that the Town of Honea Path will receive in the amount of $3,900.  This grant will be used to purchase garbage containers and benches.

Davis thanked the Mayor for all of his hard work and leadership in moving into the Watkins Community Center.  Davis reported on the Town recycling efforts and stated that the newsletter material is due by January 15, 2008.  Davis expressed his concern on the recycling dumpsters being full behind Main Street.

Gilmer thanked Elaine Ryder and the News-Chronicle for all their hard work and reporting on the happenings in Honea Path.  Gilmer asked about the status of the bus service/terminal for Honea Path.  Gilmer asked about the location of night deposit to pay the water bills. Gilmer also asked about the estimated utility (Duke Power and Piedmont Natural Gas) cost for the new facility.   Hall estimated the additional cost to be $5,000 per year.

Mattison asked Burns about the status of new housing grants.  Taylor discussed various potholes in Honea Path and what we could do to solve the problem.  Branyon asked the Mayor how much we have for paving from the County this year and the Mayor stated it is approximately $35,000.  Lark stated that Carlisle Drive is in desperate need of resurfacing and discussed the need for Town employees to park across from the Watkins Community Center to free up parking for citizens.

Dr. Jimmy Smith submitted a new application for a fireman (Rudy B. Hughes).  A motion was made by Davis to approve the new fireman, seconded by Mattison. All voted in favor of this motion.  Dr. Smith reported on the 2007 Annual Fire Report.  There were 522 calls and most were fire related. The average response time was 2 minutes and 9 seconds.

Mattison made a motion to adjourn and a second to the motion was made by Davis and the motion passed.

Lollis Meyers, Mayor

William S. Hall, Town Administrator