Hartsville swears in new council members
Mayor Pro Tempore Johnny Andrews. Photo by Samantha Lyles
By Samantha Lyles, Staff Writer, slyles@newsandpress.net
Hartsville City Council convened their monthly meeting Nov. 10 and, as the first order of business, held a swearing-in ceremony for three returning council members victorious in the Nov. 3 elections.
Bernice Wilson was reelected to the District #2 seat, defeating opponent Christopher Shirley by a count of 90 votes to 11 votes.
Mayor Pro Tempore Johnny Andrews had no opposition in the race for council’s District #4 seat, and was summarily reelected. His fellow council members also voted unanimously to keep Andrews as the Mayor Pro Tem, in charge of conducting meetings when the mayor is absent.
Council member William “Billy” Shirley won a closely contested race against opponent Casey Copeland by just one vote, with a final count of 53 to 52. Though a protest was filed, a hearing held by the Darlington County Elections and Regis-tration office failed to produce any disqualifying evidence, so Shirley kept his District #6 seat.
Hartsville city attorney Martin Driggers swore in the three men, and, after a round of applause, council resumed business as usual.
On the regular agenda, council approved final reading of Ordinance 4218: a one-year lease extension of the Old Rail Passenger Station to the Old Darlington District chapter of the South Carolina Genealogical Society. The lease is for $1 per year, and the term ends Dec. 31, 2016. Andrews declined to vote on this matter because of his involvement with the genealogical society.
Council also approved final reading of Ordinance 4219, extending for three months the lease of 149 West Carolina Ave. to Eunice Alexander for the purpose of clearing out all materials and property from the business.
Ordinance 4221, amending the hospitality budget for fiscal year 2015/16, also received final reading approval. This measure transfers $125,000 in reserves from the hospitality fund budget to the general fund budget to facilitate capital improvements at the city’s airport and a new agreement with fixed-base operators Hartsville Aviation Group.
First reading was held for two other ordinances: No. 4222 would authorize the city to lease 222 North Fifth Street (where the Hartsville Museum is located) from the Hartsville Community Center Building Commission for 10 additional years at a cost of $1; No. 4223 would formally adopt design guidelines for the city’s Architectural Review Board, providing objective rules for proposed building improvements and new designs.
The Hartsville Veteran’s Memorial will soon get a facelift as council approved a $49,500 bid award for repair work. By Resolution 11-15-02, the city will contract with Mid-State Masonry to fix the monument’s water damaged mortar and secure the heavy faceplates, which depict scenes from American war history ranging from the Revolution to the Middle East.
The next regular meeting of Hartsville City Council is scheduled for December 8 at 5:30 pm at City Hall, 100 E. Carolina Avenue in Hartsville. This meeting is open to the public.
Bernice Wilson
William “Billy” Shirley
