Johnson and Brock bid farewell to County Council
Darlington County Council chair Bobby Hudson (right) presented a plaque to departing council member Wilhelmina Johnson thanking her for 28 years of service on County Council.
Photos by Samantha Lyles
By Samantha Lyles, Staff Writer, slyles@newsandpress.net
Darlington County Council said goodbye to two departing council members at their December 5 regular meeting. Wilhelmina P. Johnson and Robbin Brock were lauded for their years of service to the county, and received plaques and certificates presented by council chair Bobby Hudson.
Johnson served on Darlington County Council as representative from Darlington’s District #3 for 28 years. Johnson was unseated in the 2016 election by challenger Joyce Wingate Thomas, who will take over the District #3 seat in January of 2017.
“Mrs. Johnson, we appreciate your service. You worked hard for your community and your constituents,” said Hudson. “We know you’ll always be a part of Darlington County.”
Brock served as Darlington County Council’s representative for Hartsville/Kelleytown District #7 representative since 2013, and served two years as council vice chair. Brock also lost his seat to a challenger, Lewis Brown, who will be sworn in as the new District #7 rep in January.
Darlington County Council chair Bobby Hudson (left) presented a certificate to departing council member and vice chair Robbin Brock thanking him for his three years of service on County Council.
Photos by Samantha Lyles
“He was EMS director for 25 years, volunteered since he was 12 years old. We commend you on that and we appreciate it,” said Hudson of Brock.
During citizen’s comments, Darlington County coroner Todd Hardee offered thanks to Johnson for her tireless efforts on behalf of children – including multiple education and food programs conducted through her non-profit CRC foundation – and thanked Brock for his dedication to improve county emergency medical services and for his support and friendship.
Hardee also marked the loss of two other county public service icons: retiring treasurer Belinda Copeland, who served in that office for 30 years, and longtime county auditor Rosa Hudson, who passed away in November. Hardee wished luck to their elected successors, and also to incoming county sheriff Tony Chavis, who unseated incumbent Wayne Byrd in the 2016 Democratic primary.
On the regular agenda, council passed third and final reading of Ordinance 16-20, which will allow the Darlington County Library System to receive and expend an additional $18,000 in state aid from unclaimed lottery funds. This addition would bring the library’s total from state aid to $103,000 for the current fiscal year. Council also held a public hearing and passed second reading for Ordinance 16-23, allowing the library system to receive and expend an additional $36,956 in lottery funds.
Council approved a new Memorandum of Understanding with housing developer Keith Evans of K.E. Developers permitting him to continue building homes at the Summerville Subdivision on Hoffmeyer Road. Evans had reached the limit of 25 built homes permitted by the original memorandum and approached council last month requesting permission to continue. Evans and his attorney provided proof that he has an agreement with SCDOT to build a required turn lane (or pay for DOT to construct one), so council voted to approve additional sales and construction within the subdivision.
A paving project to upgrade the parking lot at the Robert L. Grooms building in Lamar was awarded to Palmetto Corp. of Conway. The County Transportation Committee awarded $66,085 and $17,375 for the project, totaling $83,460 in costs to remedy poor drainage and paving defects in that parking lot.
Also receiving approval: expenditure of $51,400 toward a screen plant to recycle concrete materials for Roads & Bridges, with the balance of $46,400 coming from CTC funds; receipt and approval of a five-year capital improvement plan for the Darlington County Airport, which will be submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration so the airport is eligible for grant consideration; and the holiday schedule for the Darlington County Landfill and recycling sites, which will close at 1 p.m. on Christmas Eve, and remain closed until December 26 when a full schedule resumes.
Ordinance 16-18, amending county Fire Prevention and Protection codes to allow for fee changes, was carried over until January. These amendments amount to a cost recovery process to help the county streamline insurance company billing. The ordinance extract states that “at no time will a citizen be charged for fire department services.” Changing insurance company billing procedures should yield an additional $7,000 annually for the Fire District.