NEWBERRY – Newberry City Council approved a resolution to support the inclusion of the Palmetto Trail into the City of Newberry.
The motion to approve the resolution was made by Councilman David DuBose and seconded by Councilman Thomas Louis Boyd.
Rachel Price, AmeriCorps program director, spoke on behalf of the Palmetto Conservation Foundation and shared their thanks for the City of Newberry agreeing to the addition to the Palmetto Trail.
“The Palmetto Trail really is a story of partnerships in a number of ways,” she said. “We’re really excited to bring our trail users into the City of Newberry and let them eat her and enjoy everything here you all have to offer.”
More information on the Newberry Passage of the Palmetto Trail to come soon.
Recognitions
Several city staff and volunteers were recognized for their years of service by City Council. Daniel Werts was honored for his five years of service with the City’s Fire Department. Werts began working full time with the department on February 17, 2014 after first serving as a volunteer. He holds the position of fire engineer.
“Daniel is passionate not only about fire safety, but community risk reduction,” Fire Chief Keith Minick said. “We really appreciate his effort, time and energy.”
From the utility department, Craig Dominick was also recognized for five years of service. Dominick began working at the city’s Waste Water Treatment facility on February 10, 2014 and holds the position of Plant maintenance technician. Utility Director Tim Baker said he appreciated Dominick’s positive attitude.
“He’s always there to do what he can to help within the department,” Baker said of Dominick.
Angela Summer was also recognized by Council and Baker for her 30 years of service to the city. Summer began working at the Water Treatment Plant on February 20, 1989 and holds the position of Water Plant superintendent.
Baker said Summer was instrumental to the city’s recent upgrades to the water treatment plant.
“Water is critical to any community and she [Angela] makes great water and we’re very proud of that,” he said.
City Council made two special recognitions including Corey Shealy, recently named Volunteer Impact Responder of the Year for the Newberry Fire Department. Shealy well exceeded the department’s standard of 10 volunteer hours per month and completed the year with 625 volunteer hours in 2018.
While Shealy has been a volunteer with the Newberry Fire Department for 10 years, he also volunteers with the Pomaria Rescue Squad, is a lieutenant with the St. Phillips Fire Department and is a full-time heavy equipment operator for the City of Newberry’s Public Works Department.
Newberry College tennis head coach and Oakland Tennis Center director of tennis, Mark Gardiner was also recognized for recently being named the Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) Member of the Year for the state. Gardiner received this award at the PTR International Tennis Symposium earlier this year.
New Business
Under new business, a motion was made by Councilman Zebbie Goudelock and seconded by Boyd to allow alcohol in designated areas for Pork in the Park, held on April 13. The Newberry County Chamber of Commerce requested permission of council to allow beer, served by designated event venue staff, using pre-approved plastic cups to be sold at the event from a beer cart parked on Boyce Street between Memorial Park and the Newberry Opera House and taken from the designated venue into the outdoor event area.
This allows event patrons to travel the event space with an alcoholic beverage by foot, if they are carrying in the pre-approved event cups and wearing an over 21 wristband provided by event organizers. The event area includes Main Street from Nance to Caldwell Streets, Boyce Street from Nance to Caldwell Streets, McKibben from Boyce to Main Streets, and Caldwell from Boyce to Main Streets.
With a motion made by Boyd and seconded by Councilman David DuBose, council approved the recommendations of the Accommodations Tax Committee (ATAC) for the applications submitted for possible funding in 2019. ATAC met on February 12 to consider applications submitted, Mayor Foster Senn said. Total funds available for distribution were calculated at $78,582.43.
After a presentation and discussion of each project, the committee approved the following funding amounts:
Newberry Opera House: $28,223.10
Downtown Development Association: $17,413.10
Parks, Recreation and Tourism: $18,823.10
Oktoberfest: $14,123.13
In other business, first reading was held of an ordinance to amend the zoning map for 72.89 acres of the Newberry Recreation Complex from OS-Open Space to R5.5 Residential. The Newberry Planning Commission met on February 25 and recommending rezoning the property. City Manager Matt DeWitt told council they would like to hold that parcel for future residential development, with the idea that young families like to locate around recreational opportunities.
“We think it has a lot of potential,” DeWitt said.
Motion was made by Councilman Lemont Glasgow and seconded by Boyd. The change would allow the city Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department to apply for and receive grants to aid in the building of the recreation complex for the remaining 142.10 acres.
Old Business
Motion made by Glasgow and seconded by Boyd for second reading of an ordinance to amend the current business license ordinance to conform to state standards. The ordinance aligns the city with the model ordinance from the Municipal Association of South Carolina (MASC). The adjustment would change the due date for all business license applications from April 15 to April 30 of each year, beginning in the year 2020.
Motion made by Boyd and seconded by Councilman Edwin Wicker for second reading of an ordinance to relocate existing easement located on Confalonieri Drive, also known as Cannons Creek Way. Samsung has recently expanded its manufacturing facility and has plans for further expansion. The future expansion will be located on Confalonieri Drive where the city has existing utilities in place.
Motion made by Boyd and seconded by Wicker to approve second reading of an ordinance to amend the purchase power adjustment calculation. The Piedmont Municipal Power Association (PMPA) voted to issue each participating city a wholesale credit on their bill for the next two months based on their base billing demand. City staff request that the city credit the funds to customer’s accounts to be spread over a 10-month period as outlined in the ordinance in order to provide customer rate relief.
