By Stan Welch
Pelzer Town Council met last Thursday, in the absence of Mayor Roger Scott who has suffered a series of medical events that made it advisable that he not attend. The meeting was held on a Thursday morning to accommodate his condition, according to Town Clerk Cheryl Boudreau.
There was also another reason. The entire Council traveled to Columbia Tuesday to show their support for Senator Mike Gambrell’s bill to correct the situation that currently prevents Pelzer, and fifty nine other municipalities around the state, from establishing a tax base. That inability has severely restricted Pelzer’s options for raising revenues. On Tuesday, the legislation was voted out of committee and will be brought before the full Senate.
In other business, the Council elected Mike Matthews as mayor pro tem. They also voted to move the time for their meetings to 6 p. m. instead of 7 p.m. The day of the meeting is still the second Tuesday.
Councilman Gary Pridemore raised the question of the town purchasing a leaf and grass bagger for the town’s mowing machine. Two estimates were considered, but the issue was tabled while town clerk Boudreau obtains more information.
Bill Davis reported to the council about the need to replace a number of lights in the gymnasium and the potential energy savings by changing to LED bulbs. Councilman Eddie Waits stated that he had made inquiries about the cost of scaffolding to reach the lights, citing weight concerns about the old gym floor and putting a power lift on it. He also raised the possibility of a grant from Duke to modernize the bulbs and possible the fixtures.
Waits also expressed his desire to review Anderson County’s firearm ordinances, with an eye towards possibly adopting them. There have been problems with firearm discharges in the town limits recently, but the county requires adoption of its ordinances verbatim if they are going to enforce them.
For additional information on the tax relief bill mentioned above, look for an article in next week’s issue of The Journal.
