Orangeburg City Council approved first reading of a proposal to sell the old city gym building for redevelopment, as well as a proposal to accept a grant from the county to help relocate the Cecil Williams Civil Rights Museum.

Council OK’d a proposal to sell the old city gym at 1420 Broughton St. to Firefly Toys and Games LLC of Columbia. The company has offered to buy the 1.79-acre site for $175,000, City Administrator Sidney Evering said.

Firefly operates a store that sells video, board and card games, as well as hosts an arcade and gaming space and hosts gaming events, according to their website.

Orangeburg City Council

The gym property had been appraised at $170,000, Evering said. The company is also interested in purchasing the adjacent basketball court, he said. It was unclear if the company was prepared to offer more money to acquire the court as well as the gym building.

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The court property was bought by the city using federal grant money, Evering said. The city will not be in compliance with the grant if the property is no longer used for recreation, but the company’s plans for the entire site could fall under that requirement, he said.

It is unclear if Firefly can charge fees for individuals using the basketball court under the requirements of the grant, Evering said.

It was also unclear if the company would still be interested in purchasing the gym building if it could not also buy the basketball court, he said.

The proposal passed unanimously on first reading (three readings are required) despite Council member Jerry Hannah saying the offer was less than he would like.

In other matters:

  • Council approved first reading of a proposal to accept a grant from Orangeburg County to relocate the Cecil Williams Civil Rights Museum from its current location at Williams’s former home at 1865 Lake Drive to the Railroad Corner corridor.

The county has offered the city a $1 million grant to assist in renovating the old State Theater and adjacent soda shop to offer around 10,000 square feet of space for the museum, Evering said. This would join nearly $1 million in federal funding for the relocation announced in March.

The county has asked to share the naming rights of the museum as part of the funding, he said.

The motion passed unopposed.

  • Council’s Tax Advisory Committee presented its recommendations on how the city’s accommodation tax fund should be allocated. The committee recommended:

City Parks and Recreation Department – $110,000 for marketing and facility upgrades for the Dixie Youth Baseball World Series next summer, as well as $5,000 for promotion of a local music, dance and arts festival.

County Fine Arts Center – $25,500 for signage and promotions for exhibitions.

Downtown Orangeburg Revitalization Association – $20,000 to promote its First Friday concert series.

Tiffany Grant Foundation – $20,000 to hold a two-day international festival.

Orangeburg County Historical Society – $10,000 for Salley Archives Compact Shelving.

A total of $190,500 of the $232,000 in the city’s accommodation tax fund was recommended to be allocated by the committee.

Council member Kalu Kalu asked why the Orangeburg County Fair did not receive any funding. Interim Parks and Recreation Director Shawn Taylor said the fair’s proposal did not meet the committee’s standards of travel and tourism and was voted down.

The committee’s recommendations were approved unanimously.

  • A new ordinance that would allow Department of Public Safety officers to give written or verbal warnings, fines and subsequently arrest individuals camping in urban areas of town passed its second reading.

Individuals removed from the streets will be directed toward the Samaritan House or toward other relevant services, Evering said.

“We always assist the homeless in getting help for them, but some of them just deny,” council member Liz Zimmerman Keitt said. “So we’re glad to see the ordinance so that we can try and get them someplace decent to live and take care of themselves.”

The ordinance will go into effect upon third reading.

  • Council also gave final approval to the Department of Public Utilities’ 2023-2024 budget, which will see rates go up and raises for city employees, including council.

The budget passed with council members Kalu, Keitt, Knotts and Stroman voting in favor. Council members Haire and Hannah opposed, as they did at the previous readings of the proposed budget.

The budget, raises and increased rates will go into effect on Oct. 1. Haire will not benefit from the pay raise as he will retire and be replaced by Annette Dees Grevious, who was elected to fill the seat on Sept. 12 and will be sworn in on Oct. 3.

Contact the writer: cbozard@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5553. Follow on Twitter: @bozardcaleb.

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