Hartsville funds Vet Memorial repair
By Samantha Lyles, Staff Writer, slyles@newsandpress.net
At their Aug. 11 regular meeting, Hartsville City Council voted to fund repairs to the city’s Veterans Memorial located in Burry Park.
“If you haven’t seen the Veterans Memorial, it’s in terrible shape,” said Hartsville city manager Natalie Zeigler.
The memorial consists of five bronze relief panels showing soldiers fighting in conflicts from World War I to modern day Middle East operations. Since its dedication five years ago, the monument has suffered water penetration damage and some of the cast stone is now held together by wire.
By approving Resolution 08-15-01, council resolved to expend $44,650 for Hardscapes of Georgia to remove and replace the cast stone, caulk joints, and clean the monument. Zeigler noted that this money will come from the Cargill Fund (funded by the sale of city property on Cargill Way) and may only be utilized for projects on the Cargill site.
Council passed one other resolution:
Resolution 08-15-02 clears the city to apply for up to $500,000 in Neighborhood Revitalization Grant money from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. If received, the grant money would go toward South Hartsville revitalization programs, including the demolition of the abandoned Lincoln Village apartments. A ten-percent match from the city would be required.
Public Hearings and Final Readings on these ordinances were all approved:
Ordinance No. 4204 leases property at the corner of Marlboro Ave. and Seventh Street to the Hartsville Rescue Squad for $1 per year. The current lease expires in September.
No. 4205 leases property at 407 Mill Ave. to an HPD officer for $400 per month. This resident police officer is a required part of the city’s match for the Oakdale Village Renaissance Grant.
No. 4206 sets the city’s cable service provider franchise fee at 5-percent of the provider’s gross revenue (the maximum percentage allowed by state law), and No. 4207 grants the State of South Carolina consent to the application of Time Warner Cable Southeast LLC to operate cable and video service within Hartsville.
No. 4208 and 4209 amend the city’s Comprehensive Plan to include a Transportation Element (to guide transportation efficiency for existing and planned development) and Priority Investment Element (to analyze projected funds for capital improvement projects).
Specific items cited for development in the Transportation Element include major roads (like Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Streets), bike and walking paths, parking, rail systems (for industrial and commuter use), the city airport, and public transportation.
Also at this meeting, council member Teresa Mack criticized the city for inadequately welcoming the tens of thousands of African-American motorcyclists who attended the Biker Roundup at the Darlington Dragway August 5 through 9.
“If we should ever have that huge amount of people in town again, I don’t think we should be so fearful. We need to give them a chance and a fair opportunity,” said Mack.
