Sumter County Council Tuesday evening recognized the American Legion Public Safety Award winners, who were presented with gifts from Council Chairman James T. McCain Jr. on behalf of all council members.

*See PDF for information and scheduling.

Sumter County Council Tuesday evening during its regular meeting approved third and final reading on two rezoning requests.

City-County Planning Director George McGregor spoke to council members about a request to rezone a 46.99 acre parcel at 2320 Beckwood Road from Agricultural Conservation (AC) to Residential-15 (R-15).

There have been no changes since first or second reading, he said.

Councilwoman Vivian Fleming-McGhaney said she had checked with the S.C. Department of Transportation about the resurfacing of Beckwood Road and “it’s nowhere in sight for now,” but it will be considered for later. Councilman Artie Baker said he hopes they’ll consider a traffic light as well. McGhaney said a lot of the actions required will be more at the state level and McGregor’s office will collaborate in the future. Third reading passed unanimously.

McGregor then spoke about a request from Sumter County to rezone a 15 acre parcel and a 1.39 acre parcel at 160 Jefferson Road from General Residential (GR) to Heavy Industrial (HI). The request would support an economic development initiative, he said, and Planning Commission recommended approval. Third reading passed unanimously.

Sumter County Administrator Gary Mixon spoke about a request for a budget amendment, which is required by ordinance and needs three readings before council. He said there are three items that staff is recommending and the first was a $50,000 request from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office and the Sumter School District to account for after duty work the sheriff’s office performs at sport complexes. Two fire trucks in good shape and costing $50,000 each to be purchased from the City of Sumter would improve the county fleet, he said.

“We deem it to be a very reasonable cost for those vehicles,” he said.

The last request concerns a request from the Register of Deeds office to enter into a contract to digitally format old records in multiple phases. The first phase would cost $40,000, he said.

Council Chairman James T. McCain Jr. said all three items were discussed in the Fiscal, Tax and Property Committee meeting. First reading passed unanimously.

Clerk to Council Mary Blanding said the public hearing for that item would be at third reading and not second reading.

Council Vice Chairman Jimmy Byrd reported on the Internal Affairs committee meeting, and said a motion and a second to appoint Debbie Durant to the Historical Commission came out of the meeting. The motion passed unanimously.

McCain said there was an executive session during the Fiscal, Tax and Property committee meeting. Information was received and no action was taken, he said.

Mixon told council members that budget season is approaching, as the Fiscal Year begins in July. Individual departments present requests in March, he said, and in April budget workshops with council will be held. In May, the first meeting of council will include first reading and the second reading will be held during the second meeting of that month. The proposed third and final reading will be held at the first meeting in June, he said.

Hope Reid Watson spoke during the public comments portion of the meeting, as she bemoaned illegal dumping on Cannery Road.

The meeting adjourned at 6:39 p.m.

Sumter County Council will meet at 6 p.m. on Feb. 26 on the third floor of the Administration building at 13 East Canal Street.

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Thanks to a grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) administered by the South Carolina State Library (SCSL), the Sumter County Library will be offering a wide variety of craft and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) programs to people of all ages.

To make this possible, the Friends of the Sumter County Library furnished a Make Station room on the third floor of the Main Library that is specially designed to promote crafting, creating, collaborating, tinkering, and innovating.

There are several Make Station crafting programs available to adults. The library has partnered with the Sumter Shepherd’s Center to conduct monthly craft classes, and there are also monthly classes that are free and available to the general public. Crafty Folk takes place on the first Thursday of the month from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the Make Station room at the Main Library. Crafters can bring their in-progress crafts and socialize and share ideas. The library will also offer a Saturday Crafternoon class on the first Saturday of the month from 4 to 5 p.m.

No experience is necessary, and a different craft will be taught each month. Please call 803-773-7273 to find out if registration is necessary.

There are also programs for children and teens in the Make Station. We have partnered with the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club to provide regular STEM programming, and the library will also offer monthly activities that are open to the general public. The Tech Playground program in particular, geared towards students ages 8 to 16, is a great opportunity for youth to experiment with the library’s tech toys, such as Snap Circuit kits, STEM engineering kits, computer coding, and even LEGO robots.

*See PDF for information and scheduling.

A recently formed committee of community leaders met for the first time today at the City Centre to discuss the Census 2020.

Known as the Complete Count Committee (CCC), the group heard from Sumter Mayor Joe McElveen about the importance of the Census 2020. City of Sumter Project Manager Jason Stoddard also gave a presentation about the Census.

*See PDF for information and scheduling.

Another big upgrade for the Sumter County Airport is in the books.

A new LED lighting system surrounding the 5,500-foot runway and taxiway was made possible through a $1.265 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration. The S.C. Aeronautics Commission and Sumter County each contributed five percent of the funds while the FAA funded 90 percent of the project.

The new system includes two sets of PAPI lights (Precision Approach Path Indicator) and ODAL lights, or Omni-Directional Approach Lights, and replaces outdated incandescent bulbs.

*See PDF for information and scheduling.

REQUEST FOR BIDS

The County of Sumter is accepting separate sealed bids from qualified electrical contractors to install a Generator at the Shiloh Well site as called for in the attached specifications. Bids will be received in the Office of the Purchasing Agent at the Sumter County Administration Building, 13 East Canal Street, Sumter, SC 29150 until 10:30 am, February 5. 2019 Any bids received after the stated date and time will not be accepted. Bids will be publicly opened and read aloud at that time. Sumter County reserves the right to reject any and all bids and to waive any and all technicalities.

Bids may be mailed to or hand delivered to:

Office of the Purchasing Agent
County of Sumter
13 East Canal Street
Sumter, SC 29150

A mandatory Pre-Bid will be held January 29, 2019 at 2:00 pm at the Shiloh Water System facility located at the I-95 North Rest Area – Shiloh area.

RETURN BID ENVELOPES MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED: “SHILOH WELL SITE GENERATOR”

*See PDF for information and scheduling.

REQUEST FOR BIDS

The County of Sumter is accepting separate sealed bids from qualified electrical contractors to install a Generator at the Wedgefield Well site as called for in the attached specifications. Bids will be received in the Office of the Purchasing Agent at the Sumter County Administration Building, 13 East Canal Street, Sumter, SC 29150 until 10:30 am, February 5. 2019. Any bids received after the stated date and time will not be accepted. Bids will be publicly opened and read aloud at that time. Sumter County reserves the right to reject any and all bids and to waive any and all technicalities.

Bids may be mailed to or hand delivered to:

Office of the Purchasing Agent
County of Sumter
13 East Canal Street
Sumter, SC 29150

A mandatory Pre-Bid will be held January 29, 2019 at 11:00 am at the Wedgefield Water System facility located at 6130 McLaurin Road, Wedgefield, SC 29168

RETURN BID ENVELOPES MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED: “WEDGEFIELD WELL SITE GENERATOR”

*See PDF for information and scheduling.

The Sumter County Auditor and Treasurer's offices are located at 20 North Magnolia Street, now known as Magnolia Place. It is across the street from the Health Department and behind Wendy's. Handicapped parking is available in front of the building, and there's a ramp into the building.

*See PDF for information and scheduling.

The Sumter City-County Planning Department, in accordance with National Flood Insurance Program regulation 65.7(b)(1), hereby gives notice of the City of Sumter and Sumter County’s intent to revise the flood hazard information, generally located between Second Mill Pond Dam and the Pocotaligo River. Specifically, the flood hazard information shall be revised along Green Swamp from a point approximately 1200 feet upstream of the Pocotaligo River to a point approximately 150 feet upstream of Second Mill Pond Dam.

As a result of the revision, the floodway shall widen, the 1% annual chance water-surface elevations shall increase, and the 1% annual chance floodplain shall widen within the area of revision.

Maps and detailed analysis of the revision can be reviewed at the Sumter City-County Planning Department Office at 12 W. Liberty Street, Suite C, Sumter, SC. Interested persons may call Helen Roodman at (803)-774-1636 for additional information.

City-County Floodplain Information here

*See PDF for information and scheduling.

Job Readiness Training is available at the South Sumter Resource Center at 337 Manning Avenue. This program is for 14 to 17-year-old high school students who want to earn while they learn. This paid training program provides career exposure -- there's only 20 slots available. Call 803-436-2276 or 803-774-3899

*See PDF for information and scheduling.