MINUTES
TURBEVILLE TOWN COUNCIL MEETING
September 14, 2021
6:30 p.m.
Members Present: Mayor Kathryn Turbeville, Councilmembers Herbert Mims, Tammy Hicks,
Judy Coker, and Doyl Gray
Others Present: Town Clerk Kaitlin Alexander, Town Administrator Bill Taylor, Clarendon County Councilman Benton Blakely, Town Inspector Curt Whaley,
Eric Coker, Juanita Welch, and Renea Carter
- Mayor Turbeville called the town council meeting to order at 6:30 pm and declared that a quorum was present. Councilmember Mims offered the invocation.
- Mayor Turbeville asked if anyone was present who wished to address council. County Councilman Benton Blakely stated that Clarendon County is still trying to get people to apply for the Community Grant Program. He stated that, out of the $850,000.00 set aside for this program, $750,000.00 has already been committed. The deadline for applying for these funds is Monday, September 20, 2021 at 5:00 pm.
- Juanita Welch mentioned an issue with debris on property that she does not own. Mayor Turbeville stated a letter was sent to the owner of the property and that she was reprimanded for sending the letter. Mrs. Welch stated she believes that everyone should be treated equally and that it is difficult for the property owners who take care of their own property.
- Eric Coker brought up an issue with the copy machine contract that the town had with Coker Business Systems. Mr. Coker said he received a verbal confirmation to go forward with ordering a new copy machine for town hall. Mayor Turbeville stated the copy machine from Coker Business Systems had not been working properly for six weeks. The clerks at town hall have been preparing multiple documents for the upcoming audit and they did not have a way to print larger documents, fax documents, or scan documents to the auditors. Mayor Turbeville said she had to do what was necessary to get the job done. Mr. Coker said he had not heard of any problems with the Town’s copy machine until he received the letter stating the Town of Turbeville would be terminating the contract between Coker Business Systems since a new copier was purchased from a different company. Mayor Turbeville said there were multiple calls made to the Coker Business Systems to try and get the old copier fixed or to obtain a borrowed copier for the town clerks to use until the parts for the current copier were received. She stated an answer was never received when she asked when the parts would be in or when the spare copy machine would be brought to town hall. Councilmember Hicks asked if Mayor Turbeville had to have council’s approval to purchase a new copy machine. Administrator Taylor said anything over $10,000.00 had to be approved by the town council. The new copy machine was under $10,000.00 so council’s approval was not needed.
- Mayor Turbeville introduced for council’s consideration the minutes from the August 10, 2021, regular council meeting. A motion was made by Councilmember Mims to approve the minutes as written. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Hicks and passed by unanimous vote.
- Mayor Turbeville introduced Curt Whaley, The Town of Turbeville’s Building Inspector, to give an update on his activities in Turbeville since he became the town’s inspector. Whaley stated one new house is under construction and one new home has been built. He also has done a few electrical inspections as well as a mobile home inspection. Mr. Whaley explained that there are only a few things that do not require a permit and that stop work orders are complaint based. There was some discussion about permit fees and that council would be updating those later this year to cover the costs for Whaley’s inspections.
- Mayor Turbeville told council that letters were sent out to the businesses that have not yet purchased a business license for this year. A list of these businesses was given to the councilmembers. Mr. Eric Coker asked if a separate business license was required for each individual business and was informed by Mayor Turbeville that they were.
- Mayor Turbeville reported that there was an issue that needed to be discussed in Executive Session. The issue was an employment matter in accordance with 30-40-70(a)(1) of the State Code. Councilmember Coker made a motion to enter Executive Session, seconded by Councilmember Gray. Motion was passed by unanimous vote.
- The Council returned from Executive Session. Councilmember Hicks made a motion to re-enter the regular session seconded by Councilmember Mims. Motion was passed by a unanimous vote.
- Mayor Turbeville stated that while in executive session, no decisions were made, or votes taken in the session.
- Councilmember Hicks made a motion to hire Taylor Osborne for the new town clerk position. She will be offered the position as a part-time employee. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Coker and passed by a vote of 4-1 with Councilmember Gray voting in opposition.
- There being no further business, Councilmember Gray made a motion to adjourn. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Mims and passed by a unanimous vote. The meeting was adjourned at 7:15 pm.
