Society Hill bids farewell to police chief
By Jana E. Pye, Editor, editor@newsandpress.net
The town council members and mayor of Society Hill said goodbye to Police Chief Matt Hill at their October 11 meeting; Hill has accepted a position with the Myrtle Beach Police Department and reports for his training on October 17.
“I think of you as an adopted son,” said councilwoman Carolyn Oliver. “You will be missed…. you are leaving large shoes to fill.”
Mayor Bradshaw, “We wish you the very best. Good luck.”
Society Hill Police Chief Matt Hill accepted a token of appreciation from the Town of Society Hill from Mayor Tommy Bradshaw. Hill has accepted a position with Myrtle Beach Police Department.
Photo by Jana E. Pye
Hill has been in Society Hill for eight years, serving the past three years as chief.
After accepting a token of appreciation from the town from Mayor Tommy Bradshaw, Hill thanked the council and residents attending the meeting.
“I’d like to thank everyone in Society Hill,” said Hill. “In times of need, we all work together. Continue to take care of yourselves; it’s pretty rare to see a place like this these days. I’ll miss that. I appreciate the opportunity to take over the department. I’ll miss y’all.”
The town has begun advertising for a new police officer to join Lt. Dwayne Gillespie, and possibly a third part time office. In the meantime, the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office has been providing extra coverage to the town.
Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew:
Mayor Bradshaw said he wants to stress the importance of the town’s local first responders that live in the immediate area. Brandon Noah with his chain saw, Bill Noah, all members of the Fire Department and Rescue Squad, town Police Department, all were out first thing. “They were out clearing US Patrick Road, US 52, Burlington, town, Long Bluff, Society Hill road, Church Street, Presley, it was all over town – at least 25 humongous trees were down,” said Bradshaw. “We were basically blocked in with the exception of one or two places.”
Bradshaw said even from his home, he had to take several detours to get out and had to get out by Galey and Lord.
“The bottom line is in catastrophic events such as that, you cannot depend on SCDOT. You can’t depend on Darlington County EMS system. In fact, all phone lines were down. We have to depend on each other, and volunteers around town. We need to be thankful for the local people that volunteered around town and got out in the elements and they did a good job.”
Bradshaw said he will look into purchasing a generator to use for the rescue squad and fire department to have access to power in the event of any emergencies in the future, to take over in the event of a power outage. The one he suggested would run from a natural gas line.
Councilwoman Carolyn Oliver said, “Our town was clear for people to come through. I work at McLeod and have a lot of coworkers that live in Dillon and Clio and the only way they could get to Florence was through Society Hill. It’s a long way out of the way, but this was the way to get to work. You helped save more lives than you realize – there are a lot of people from this area that had to come through Society Hill.”
Members of the rescue squad added that that the Darlington County Sheriff’s Department helped in the town, too, and offered a vehicle.
Financial Report:
Bradshaw told council when they passed their budget this past summer, they had allowed for a contingency fund; this fund will pay for the fee to have the Code of Ordinances codified from a contractor from Tallahassee, FL, a firm recommended by the Municipal Association of South Carolina (MASC) that will cost between $8,000 to $10,000. “The ordinances have not been updated since 2003, and it was suggested by our town attorney John Milling that we do this as soon as possible.”
First Reading of Ordinance 2016/17-01: Accumulations Prohibited
The ordinance will allow the town to require that owners of lots to keep them neat; if the growth of vegetation becomes unkempt to the point it becomes a health or fire hazard, after determination of the Code Enforcement Officer, the Town will send a notice to the property owner to make corrections within 10 days; failure to comply will order the removal of the nuisance by a third party contractor paid by the town. The property owner will be assessed the full amount of the cost plus an additional 15% of the total cost for administrative services fee. If the fee is not collect4ed, the Town will proceed to collect by service fee assessed to b e collected with the annual property tax.
First Reading of Ordinance 2016/17-03: Entitled Recovery of Expenses
If a building or structure is repaired or demolished in accordance with the provisions of this code and the cost of such repair or demolition is borne by the town, the cost will be assessed against the owner of the property plus $100 or 15% of the cost of repair of demolition, whichever is greater. The cost of repair and demolition and the handling charge shall be a lien on the real property involved and collected in the same manner as town taxes.
First Reading of Ordinance 2016/17-04: Lease of Building and Parking Area of Property at 473 Main Street to Rosenwald Alumni Foundation
The Town of Society Hill will enter a lease of the property to the Rosenwald Alumni Foundation for use as a museum and meeting area; the town will continue to renew the lease as long as the parties both choose. Rosenwald will maintain the costs of all utilities, grounds maintenance, and tenant’s insurance. The town will maintain insurance on the property.
Catfish Festival will be held in Society Hill on November 5, 2016 at the St. David’s Academy grounds on Main Street.
The next regular council meeting will be November 15, 2016.