TOWN HALL MEETING WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13: I will hold my first Town Hall Meeting at Odell Weeks, Room 3. I will be there at 3 P. M. and 6 P. M. to meet with citizens to discuss city issues such as the Capital Project Sales Tax (Penny Tax), City Budget, traffic lights, and other concerns or questions people might have.
VOTE NOW: Early voting has started in Aiken County at the County Elections Office on Vaucluse Road. The hours to vote are from 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P. M. Monday through Friday. If you cannot vote on November 2 or are eligible to vote early, please do so. As with every election, turnout is the key.
RECOMMENDATION FOR A SENIOR COMMISSION - One of City Council’s goals this year is to evaluate the need for a Seniors’ Committee. City Council developed a Senior Task Force earlier this summer, and they have been meeting on a regular basis and recommend the establishment of a Senior Citizen Commission for our community. They would be reviewing the following issues: health and safety, transportation, leisure services, homes and neighborhoods, social and community involvement, public information and awareness, and the development and operation of a Senior Center.
The senior population in Aiken is over 10% higher than the national average for those in the 55 to 64 age category and those 65 and above. For this reason they feel it is very important to establish a Commission that represents our senior population. Members of the Task Force included Julia Ball, USC-A School of Nursing, Lynda Bassham, Lower Savannah Council of Governments, Robbie Bowles, Carriage Hill Living Center, Rosamond McDuffie, Aiken Area Council on Aging, Shirley McIntosh, Aiken Regional Medical Center, Scott Murphy, Aiken Regional Council on Aging, Sharon Rogers, United Way of Aiken, Brian Sanders, Aiken County, and Jason Stewart, Cumberland Village. Should Council approve this Commission, they would be assigned to the City’s Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department. Their first goal is to develop a strategic plan to help advance the well being of seniors in our community. They would identify the needs of the aging in our community and create a citizens awareness program for those needs. Lastly, they would explore improved standards of service and new services for the aging both in private and public sectors.
The Task Force felt that the seven member Commission should consist of a representative from the Council on Aging, Lower Savannah Council of Governments, the medical community, the educational community, Aiken County government, a senior living facility, and two individuals at large. Council could draw names on which group their member would represent.
APPROVAL OF DEPUTY SOLICITOR – Daily, Ben Moore spends a large share of his time either preparing for or at City Court. He also provides assistance and help as Staff Attorney on many City issues. It is difficult for him at times to prepare for jury trials, especially non-traffic related cases. In this year's budget, funding was included to hire a Deputy City Solicitor who could assist Ben by trying a couple of cases every month before a jury.
We recommend hiring Pat Corey who has extensive prosecution experience and would be a great asset to the City. She would be working on a part-time basis for the City and needs City Council approval as per City Code.
APPROVAL OF GENERIC LEASE/PURCHASE AGREEMENT - Over the last several years the City has used a variety of options to sell homes as part of our Northside Renewal Program. We have had success in the past using a lease/purchase agreement for those individuals having low credit ratings. This process allows them to achieve their goal of obtaining a private loan to purchase the home within a couple of years with proper credit counseling.
Attached is a generic lease/purchase agreement for homes that we own in Crosland Park. We would like City Council's approval of this lease agreement which allows an individual to rent a home in Crosland Park at a minimum of $550 per month with $50 going into escrow. Within a three-year period of time, they would need to exercise this lease agreement or the City would have the option of terminating this lease. Under Condition 21 a set price would be established for the home that they would be purchasing. We currently have a family that is very interested in purchasing a home under this option and has been referred to us by one of our banking partners. Therefore, we recommend Council's approval of this lease/purchase agreement for any homes that we can sell in Crosland Park under this option.
APPROVAL OF LEASE/PURCHASE AGREEMENT FOR DANIEL ROBERTS - The City has several vacant homes waiting to be renovated in Crosland Park. One of our Memorandum of Understanding partners referred an individual to us who has the skills to renovate the home, but not the means to purchase it at this time. We would like Council to consider a unique solution to renovate this home by using a lease/purchase agreement with the labor provided by the future homeowner. The lease/purchase agreement is almost identical to the one you just reviewed. In this agreement, Condition 1-Rent, would escalate over the first year and beginning the second year would be $550 per month with $50 going into escrow. The individual under Condition 21 would be purchasing the home based on our initial purchase price plus any materials and costs for subcontractors involved in its renovation.
We would like the improvement to match the other homes currently being renovated by the City. In this case the City would purchase the materials and have Mr. Roberts install them under the guidance of our contractor. The City in Exhibit A lists the materials that we anticipate having to purchase and the subcontractors that would likely be needed to complete the work. It also lists the work that we anticipate the leaseholder to complete prior to him being able to purchase this home. This is a unique situation which we feel is very obtainable and can be used in the future with others who have the skills to renovate these homes. The value of their labor will not be included in the final sale price to the lease/purchaser and thus the cost of the home will be lower to the lessee. Meanwhile this family will have a home to live in during this renovation process.
FIRST READING OF AN ORDINANCE TO APPROVE THE ANNEXATION AND CONCEPT PLAN FOR MEADOW BROOK APARTMENTS - The owner of a 14.95 acre tract of land on Wire Road is requesting annexation under the Planned Residential (PR) zone. The purchaser is also requesting approval of a concept plan for a proposed apartment complex, which is planned to be built in two phases. The first phase would consist of the construction of 48 units to be built along Wire Road northeast of Crosland Park. A second phase is planned with an additional 40 units on the remaining 7.5 acres. The apartment complex is being built by the same developer who recently completed the apartments on the other side of Crosland Park along Rudy Mason Parkway. The 100% brick veneer apartments will consist of 30 two bedroom and 2 bath units and 16 three bedroom 2 bath apartments. As with the other complex the area will be landscaped and sodded and a children's playground and gazebo will be a part of the complex. They are also planning to have an on-site manager for this complex and the other apartments on Rudy Mason Parkway. They are asking City Council to waive a requirement to provide connection onto Jaws Lane which is the drive to the adjacent school property. We also received a letter from the school asking that they not connect directly onto that road. The apartments will have a vinyl covered chain link fence between their property and the houses in Crosland Park. In addition a minimum 25-foot buffer will be maintained and additional landscaping would be required if determined by the Planning Director. Although this property would be inside the City of Aiken, the water for the complex would be provided by Couchton-Montmorenci Water District and sewer by the City of Aiken. A Traffic Study was not required because the Level of Service on Wire Road is an A.
The Planning Commission unanimously approved the annexation and Concept Plan with the following conditions:
1. That the development comply with the Concept Plan submitted and that there be a note added to the plan that the project will comply with the provisions of the Planned Residential zone at 4.2.6;
2. A waiver should be granted from the provision of the Access Management Ordinance which requires the stub-out to Jaws Lane;
3. That anything shown on the Concept Plan to be undisturbed will remain so and that there be dense vegetation, either existing or added, in the 25-foot-deep buffer along the western property line as determined necessary by the Planning Director, and that the Planning Director be given the authority to modify the location and size of the undisturbed areas if warranted by necessary grading or installation of utilities;
4. That prior to the annexation taking effect, a revised Concept Plan listing any conditions of approval be submitted;
5. That the City provides both water and sanitary sewer if an arrangement can be made with Couchton-Montmorenci, but if not, that the City provide sanitary sewer and Couchton-Montmorenci provide the water;
6. That a six-foot tall vinyl covered chain-link fence be erected along the western boundary adjacent to the lots fronting on Croft Avenue; and
7. That the applicant executes an agreement listing the conditions of approval within 90 days.
APPROVAL OF STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS - One of City Council's goals this year was to update our 2000 Strategic Plan. This spring, five separate meetings were held to get input concerning our city's current and future plans. In addition, a more specific on-line survey was developed to gather in-depth results from these and other participants. At our September 13, 2010 meeting, we presented this information for
Council’s review. Since that time Richard Pearce has developed specific short and long-term goals listed under our original Family, Business, Green, and Historic cities based on responses from those meetings and the on-line survey.
We would like your input on these goals so we can finalize this data for the 2010 Aiken Strategic Plan. The updated and revised goals are a result of citizen input, Council goals, our Annual Report and pending capital improvement projects. These will be utilized in the future as we plan our budgets, identify future priorities, and finalize our goals at the City's Horizons meetings. The final Strategic Plan will be presented to the public at our 175th Birthday Celebration event at USC-Aiken on Saturday, December 18, 2010, from 1 P.M. to 4 P.M.
SAVE THESE DATES AND PLAN TO ATTEND:
Tuesday, October 12, 2010 at 6:00 p.m. the Planning Commission is holding a public hearing on tree maintenance and pruning standards for multi-family and commercial properties. This hearing will be in City Council Chambers.
Thursday, October 14, 2010 at 5:00 p.m. is our second zero based budgeting session, in Room 204 of City Hall. The public is invited to attend.
Friday, October 15, 2010 starting at 7:00 p.m., The Greater Aiken Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals Association will sponsor a festival on Newberry Street as part of Celebrate Aiken’s calendar of events with a family fun night focusing on our bright future.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010 at 5:00 p.m. is our third zero based budgeting session, also in Room 204. The public is invited to attend.
Tuesday Evening, October 26, 2010 we will hold a charette on future plans for the redevelopment of the area around out Visitors Center on Park Avenue at Union Street.
The exact time of this event will be announced soon.
Thursday, October 28, 2010 at 5:00 p.m. will be our fourth zero based budgeting session in Room 204, City Hall
CROSLAND PARK WORK BY HABITAT FOR HUMANITY: Habitat for Humanity has reviewed its policy regarding new home construction for qualified families and has decided to expand into renovating existing homes in Crosland Park as an additional partner in our Northside Revitalization Program. We have jointly developed a Memorandum of Understanding to set out the responsibilities divided between the City and HFH to renovate homes. We anticipate the first joint project to be at 1111 Croft Street in Crosland Park.
BEE LANE IMPROVEMENTS TIMELINE: Work on the final phase of our Bee Lane streetscaping, which completes another strategic plan goal, continues. This section – North from The Alley to Richland Avenue, East – will also feature the arbors seen by the West Side Bowery. Improvements include electrical service undergrounding and brick paver installation. Work is currently scheduled to be completed by December 17, 2010. We are also coordinating with the general contractor who is overseeing the porous pavement parking spaces work on Newberry Street to make sure alley traffic interruptions are kept to a minimum.
RADIUM LEVELS DROP AT SHILOH SPRINGS: You are aware that we had radium level readings in March 2010 of 5.8 pCi/L (picocuries per liter). That triggered a notice letter to all of our water customers. National and South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental regulations allow a maximum level of 5.0 Ci/L. As a result of the levels discovered, we have entered into a consent agreement regarding reasonable steps to be taken by the City to address this situation. However, there is a potential silver lining to this situation. The July readings show Shiloh Springs radium levels at only 3.87 pCi/L. We are very encouraged by this recent, significantly lower reading. With this July report, we are continuing to discuss this situation with SCDHEC to see if Mother Nature has possibly healed herself in this instance. The next quarterly report, with radium level readings through September of this year, is due out later this month.
PARK AT YORK AND RICHLAND: You have seen by now the work starting in the green space at York Street and Richland Avenue in downtown Aiken. We are also considering additional plant material, at the request of our City Arborist and Horticulturalist Tom Rapp, that will enhance our ongoing Green Infrastructure project underway in our downtown parkway systems on Park, York, Newberry, and Chesterfield Streets. We will install plant material that will soak up rainwater that would otherwise run off and enter our storm drains. The Recreation Commission has reviewed citizen-submitted potential names for this park. Their top four suggestions: Heritage Park, All America Park, Palmetto Park, and York Street Park.
GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE PARKWAY PROJECT: Work is continuing on this comprehensive approach to reducing the volume and velocity of storm water running into the Sand River of Hitchcock Woods after rains. Several renditions of the final look of the plantings in our parkways are included in your packet. In addition to these plantings, you will see the type of pedestrian bridge we are considering for installation in high pedestrian traffic areas through the parks once work is complete on York between the railroad cut and Park on Chesterfield between Park and Richland, and on Park Avenue between Laurens and Newberry Streets. If the weather continues to work with us and not against us, we expect this work – together with the porous parking space installations – to be completed by sometime in December of this year.
COMMENDATIONS: Members of the extended Aiken family acted as our Grand Marshals of the September 18, 2010 Celebrate Aiken! Transportation Parade. Tracy Aiken has written Assistant City Manager Richard Pearce congratulating our City Staff, volunteers, and all those who worked on the parade, the Depot project, and all others who have kept Aiken a special place to spend time visiting.
Connie Shade from the Lower Savannah Council of Governments has written to compliment our award-winning employee wellness program. She observed our wellness checks that were done last month at the HO Weeks Center. While there, she spotted the new fitness center upgrades and signed up herself, her husband, and a friend of theirs. We continue to see a lot of benefits as a result of the work our City Nurse Lauren Harris, our Revenue Administrator Al Cothran, and a host of others – including our Wellness Committee – who have all done a lot of work toward raising health awareness among our staff. As a result, many are well on their way to preventing serious health conditions from occurring if they had not identified and addressed their health conditions. Their confidential participation in this program has given them a better outlook on life which has made them more productive at work and working on healthier lifestyles.
Spring Stone Homeowners Secretary Carla M. Moziglia has written ADPS Chief Pete Frommer complimenting Lt. David Turno, Sgt. Jake Mahoney, and Chad Cathcart for all their work in support of a Block Party held by the neighborhood association.
