City of Orangeburg reopens offices as COVID declines

City Administrator Sidney Evering provided City Council an update on COVID, noting one employee of the city’s 200 has currently tested positive. He said about 152 employees or 77.5% are vaccinated.

Evering informed council he has gotten inquiries about when the city will relax its mask mandate for city businesses since the virus numbers are going down.

Councilwoman Liz Zimmerman Keitt suggested the city leave the mask mandate in place until it expires April 16 and see how numbers are at that time.

Two readings rather than three?

Council tabled first reading of an ordinance amending the city code to require two, rather than three, readings for each city ordinance.

Council members Bernard Haire, Richard Stroman and Jerry Hannah expressed concerns because reducing the number or readings will limit the time the public will have to provide input, interact or comment on ordinance changes.

“We have had three readings ever since I have been a part of council and much longer than that,” Haire said. “If the public comes to a meeting on second reading and if there are concerns they may have, it (a change) does not give council time to take those comments and concerns and think about it over a week until the following council meeting.”

“All this speeding up to me is not good for the citizens having as much input as possible. I am opposed to going to two readings instead of three,” Haire said.

Council tabled first reading, expressing a desire to have a work session of all the city’s procedural ordinances to receive a better comprehension of what is expected and what is correct.

Keitt said three readings “does slow up the process of moving this city forward.”

City attorney Michael Kozlarek said the change to two readings would align the city’s code with the South Carolina code that requires an ordinance be read two times on two separate days with at least six days between each reading.

Currently, each ordinance has to go through three separate readings on three separate days.

“This is inconsistent with state law,” Kozlarek said. “Please don’t hear me say that I think it is unlawful, it is simply inconsistent for state law for a city.”

Kozlarek said there are some city ordinances that require three readings, such as a budget.

He also said it would be up to the council’s if it wanted to add a public hearing or public comments to the agenda, though he said these would not be required by state law.

Other business

• Council unanimously passed a resolution to provide 10% of the matching funds toward its 2022 Spring Round Community Development Block grant application for water main improvements in the Quicktown community. The grant will be provided through the South Carolina Department of Commerce and the Lower Savannah Council of Governments.

The Quicktown community consists of these streets: Watson, Lovell, Dickson, Maxcy, Clarendon, Dorchester, Liberty, Quick, Washington and Lloyd.

The project will cost a total of $3.8 million. The grant will be between $1.5 million to $2 million.

The design of the project is complete. The project is expected to be bid out in June or July with a 12 to 18-month construction schedule.

• Council recognized patience as the community of character trait for the month of March and encouraged citizens to practice the trait.
• Mayor Michael Butler requested that the Orangeburg community keep South Carolina State University and the family of Zeleria Simpson and Shemyia T. Riley in their thoughts and prayers. The women were killed Feb. 26 in a fatal car crash.

A 23-year-old Greenville man is facing multiple felony charges as a result of the accident.

• Council went into closed session to discuss a contractual arrangement for the proposed sale of property between the Department of Public Utilities and Calhoun County; to discuss an amendment of a lease agreement between South Carolina State University and the city; and to receive a presentation of Skatepark and Gateway Projects.

Council also received legal advice on the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA); discussed the compensation of the DPU manager as well as taken up personnel matters related to the Department of Public Safety.