During the October meeting for the Summerton Town Council, the Council held the second and final reading of the MASC Updated Setoff Debt Ordinance. This ordinance allows Summerton to hold a contract with the Municipal Association of South Carolina to pursue delinquent debt owed to Summerton.
The MASC will charge a fee for this service and will pursue such debts through the SC Department of Revenue, as defined in the Setoff Debt Collection Act, S.C. Code Ann. § 12-56-10, et seq. Delinquent debt includes “collection costs, court costs, fines, penalties and interest which have accrued through contract, subrogation, tort or any other legal theory regardless of whether there is an outstanding judgment for that sum which is legally collectible and for which a collection effort has been or is being made.”
The Council voted to approve the second reading. To ensure all records are in place properly, they also approved adopting the MASC Updated Setoff Debt Agreement as written and adopting the MASC Updated Setoff Debt Resolution as written.
Beth Phillips, Executive Director of the Summerton Revitalization Committee (SRC), spoke about a resolution. After providing a brief history and structure of the SRC, Phillips spoke about the organization’s goal.
“Our goal was to reinvigorate the Summerton Downtown Development Association,” said Phillips. “We wanted to expand to include anything with a Summerton address.”
The main focus of the SRC, according to Phillips, is currently the Briggs Delaney Pearson Interchange at Exit 108 on I-95. She compared the weedy interchange at 108 to the nicely kept interchanges nearby on I-95.
“With the vision and energy out of this Town Council, they deserve a group to come together to give them assistance in moving forward,” said Phillips. She stated the only way the SRC could assist the Council would be if the SRC had sanctioned authority from the Council, which is what the resolution spells out.
This would allow the SRC representatives to discuss funding, discuss issues with the Commerce Department or to assess issues with the Exit 108 project. However, the resolution would still require any action be approved by the Council. The SRC would not have final authority.
“Therefore, be it resolved, this Council of the Town of Summerton hereby declares its support of the stated objectives of the SRC, thereby empowering the SRC to actively seek funding and assistance from governmental and private entities to accomplish the SRC’s aforementioned revitalization goals, subject to the specific approval by Council of all funding requests and matching requirements, which support is based on ongoing collaboration and communication,” Phillips read from the resolution.
The Council agreed to use this as a first reading on the resolution. Mayor Mac Bagnal discussed the lack of a Town Administrator for the Town of Summerton. They approved the first reading.
“We really don’t know what’s out there,” said Bagnal. “And we don’t have time or the knowledge to see that stuff. We have a lady and a group to help with both time and knowledge, to go work on stuff.”
Bagnal offered his status report. Duck Fest was discussed, as the meeting was prior to the weekend event. Bagnal listed events which would be held and encouraged everyone to spread the word about the event.
“I never had a vision of this thing getting that big. But one of the things we can do sitting in this room and we can control is the fun stuff in Summerton,” said Bagnal. “It’s up to the business owners to make business decisions to bring businesses into town.” He went on to mention the new grocery store coming into town and other small businesses which have sprung up in the last year.
Bucky Brailsford discussed the update on the water expansion to Manning. The engineers are securing the final permits from DHEC, DOT and Santee Cooper. The project is still “inching along” and will continue forward.
Brailsford then discussed Duck Fest and how it has grown rapidly since its inception. He mentioned possible new features, including a petting zoo and the .5K fun run. Summerton Police Chief Ray Perdue spoke about the security for the event, as well as traffic management.
The progress on the Exit 108 truck stop was discussed last. According to Bagnal, the last word he received is that the truck stop company is doing the environmental phase I study.
“There has not been any money to change hands,” said Bagnal. “But it’s all a go if everything else lines up. I was told it was an 18-month process two months ago. That’s going to be huge for this town.”
