Society Hill Council tables minutes, hears plea for EMS
By Stephan Drew, Editor
The Society Hill Town Council’s meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 13, opened with a dispute over the written record of its last meeting and closed, nearly 100 minutes later, with residents pressing the council to act on ambulance response times they described as dangerously long. In between, the council worked through police reports, park projects, and a stormwater grant that has come in more than $8,000 short of the lowest bid.
Council member Tommy Bradshaw objected that the citizens’ comments section of the September minutes was incomplete. He said it was written in fragmented sentences that failed to capture what was actually said, including what he described as contentious remarks from citizen speakers.
“Reading this today makes no sense, and just imagine what a reader would take away from this in the future. Utterly nothing,” Bradshaw said.
Town Clerk Brenda Nettles was absent from the September meeting, and the minutes were taken by a citizen who was present at the time. Bradshaw moved to approve the minutes on the condition that the citizens’ comments be deleted entirely at the next meeting.
The mayor pushed back, saying corrections should be raised with staff before the meeting rather than on the floor. He said Peterson had made notes and Nettles had interpreted and transcribed them in good faith for the official record.
Police Chief Mark Thomas Campbell, advising the council on Robert’s Rules of Order, said the deletion was not the council’s to make. “You as a council do not have the legal authority to omit anything from a public meeting that is documented,” he said, adding that a record has to exist regardless of its form.
The council voted to table approval until its next meeting, with each member to note discrepancies for the mayor and Nettles in the meantime. Bradshaw thanked the council for the decision.
During the financial discussion, members noted the town is in the third year of a website contract, with roughly $3,600 spent, and still has no operating website. According to the clerk’s notes, the site is ready to go live and the company was contacted Oct. 6. The town is waiting on its IT vendor, Asset Technology, to complete a domain transfer. The vendor, which is going through internal changes, has not called back. Council members said they hope the site will be live by the November meeting.
Campbell reported a standoff over a drainage issue at the boat landing. He said an SC Department of Transportation supervisor told him DOT will maintain only 30 feet from the center of the road, and the ditch in question lies beyond that. The supervisor also chastised the DOT crew that had been doing the work, the chief said. Campbell suggested the council send a letter to SC DOT.
The Parks Committee chairperson reported that the first batch of new playground equipment has been delivered and is stored in the fire station bay. A quote of more than $2,000 has been obtained to surface the concrete platform with an approved material.
A placement problem remains. The grant requires certified mulch and a fall zone around a handicap-accessible rolling table, but its planned spot is too sunny for children. The committee is gathering bids for the second part of the grant and discussed buying materials directly, such as a $5 bag of mulch from Lowe’s rather than paying a contractor’s markup, to stretch grant dollars, so long as the grant’s specifications are met. Councilmember Kevin Long reminded Mayor Graham and the council that the preferred mulch was a specific type, not ordinary mulch.
At Professor’s Park, where the town wants to expand its playground equipment, officials first need to locate a drain line installed roughly 20 years ago and confirm the property entrance. Ed Schumer, who holds the plans and history, has been unreachable, and the council discussed contacting school superintendent Dr. Ferguson.
Separately, three repair quotes were tabled after members realized no paperwork had been included in their packets. One quote was described as completely out of line, one as mid-range, and one as very reasonable. The figures will be emailed to members before the next meeting.
The evening’s largest dollar item was a stormwater drainage project funded by a Rural Infrastructure Authority (RIA) grant of $225,340, based on the engineer’s estimate. Bids were opened Sept. 16 from three bidders. The low bid, from Cherokee Construction, was $233,555, or $8,215 more than the grant.
The town’s grant writer, from the Pee Dee Council of Governments, is asking RIA for the additional money. The bid remains valid until Nov. 15, about a week after the council’s next meeting. If the gap is funded, work could start no earlier than late February or March 2027, since asphalt is usually not poured in winter.
The mayor stressed that the town’s bank account is not at risk. “This is not a reimbursement grant. Rather than paying in arrears, it’s paying in advance,” he said. RIA releases funds to the town as the engineer approves milestones, and the town then pays the contractor. No engineer’s approval means no payment.
Under new business, the council discussed:
• Replacing the town’s aging Christmas-light fixtures, described as outdated, heavy, and plagued by broken bulbs, with LED upgrades
• A Church Street sign blocked by a bush, creating a sight-line safety issue, which will be examined
• Potholes caused by settling water on a truck route
• Posting a town calendar of events and observances, such as Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Domestic Violence Awareness Month, on the website once it is live, so planning does not happen at the last minute
Citizens’ comments were dominated by calls for better emergency medical response. Residents said ambulances now take 20 minutes or more to reach Society Hill from Florence, since the volunteer fire and EMS service were defunded about two years ago. They complained of paying the same county tax rates as everyone else while having no constant EMS coverage of their own. Speakers described three recent incidents within three miles of Town Hall, each involving waits of about 20 minutes, including one which involved an unconscious person.
The mayor did not dispute the concern. “Twenty-three minutes is life and death,” he said. He offered residents rides to the next Darlington County Council meeting, where one citizen stated he has already requested a 10-minute presentation slot on the issue and is asking Society Hill residents to turn out in support.
The exchange also produced the evening’s most pointed moment on how change happens. The mayor urged residents to submit issue lists in writing so concerns do not “get lost in the mix” between meetings. He appealed for community involvement, including petitions, turnout, and a unified voice, saying he and council members cannot carry the town’s case to the county alone.
One resident answered that council members are the town’s leadership and that the EMS issue has been raised in meetings for nearly two years. Along with police coverage, the resident said, it may be the most pressing problem the town faces.