During their October meeting held Tuesday, Williamston Town Council heard an update on storm response, heard information on the proposed one cent sales tax for roads and allocated funding for merit bonuses for town employees.
Williamston Mayor Rockey Burgess said the town prepared in advance as best it could for Hurricane Helene and responded during the height of the storm when it came through the upstate two weeks ago.
Burgess said town employees and firefighters began responding to downed trees on streets about 5 am which is about the time power in the area went off.
Due to 911 call center being overwhelmed, Burgess said he and Fire Chief David Huff coordinated and dispatched five three man crews throughout town. By 5 pm on the day of the storm, all streets in Williamston were passable. Some only one lane but enough for emergency vehicles to get through. (See separate story)
Mayor Burgess said the town had contracted with a company to pick up yard debris, limbs and trees from the storm.
Burgess said the company out of Florida is working through SCDOT to provide cleanup in the town and all over Anderson County. He said the company will be paid through FEMA.
“They are handling all the paperwork required by FEMA,” Burgess said. “The Town will not have to pay out anything. They have the heavy equipment and trucks to pick up large trees, leaf and limbs and haul off the debris.” They will not be picking up any garbage or construction type materials.
Burgess said a temporary holding site for debris is staged on Town property located on Mill Street.
Cut trees and tree trunks up to 12 feet long and 6 feet in diameter will be picked up by the contracted company, he said. They will start Oct. 11 and be in the area for 50 days.
Burgess said the town equipment could not handle the volume or size of a lot of the trees.
According to the Mayor, Town employees will be working on site work preparation and laying a foundation for a new shelter at Brookdale Park. A team will be coming Oct. 28 to begin constructing the new shelter, he said.
Pamela Christopher presented information to Town Council on a proposed one cent sales tax for roads and transportation projects throughout Anderson County.
The one percent sales tax will be on the Nov. 5 ballot as a referendum for voters to decide.
If approved, the sales tax will be in effect for seven years and will raise $366 million solely “for improvements to highways, roads (paved and unpaved), streets, intersections, and bridges within Anderson County, South Carolina, including related drainage system improvements.”
It will also include a $15 million general obligation bonds, secured by the sales tax and (as required by the South Carolina constitution).
The Bond authorization is a separate question and can only be passed if voters pass the sales tax. The bond amount is relatively small compared to expected tax proceeds but will allow the county to begin work as quickly as possible.
There is an approximately one-year lag from when the sales tax is passed until the county receives significant revenue.
According to Christopher, the Anderson County ranks the condition of its asphalt roadway network on a scale of 0-100, with 100 being a roadway in new condition. The current average condition of all the county’s asphalt roadways is approximately 64.7.
Anderson County maintains over 1550 miles of pavement and 157 bridges. Of those, 54 are currently load-restricted, she said.
If passed, the proposed one percent transportation sales tax would take effect on May 1st, 2026, and last for a period of 7 years ending on April 30th, 2032.
Following the presentation there was considerable discussion between Councilmembers, the Mayor and Christopher on how the tax funding would be applied to the municipality.
“There are no guarantees,” Councilman Lee Cole said about how the funding will be allocated throughout the County and to municipalities.
Council also approved a budget amendment to allow the mayor to provide merit bonuses for town employees. The amendment allocates $10,000 from the general fund to be used at the mayor’s discretion for merit bonuses for outstanding performance.
Any allocations will be reported by the mayor to council.
Envision Williamston Executive Director Roberta Hamby updated Council on projects and events.
Junk in the Trunk yard sale event will be this Saturday, Oct. 12 from 7 am to 1 p.m in Mineral Spring Park.
A pastors breakfast scheduled for this week was canceled due to busy schedules related to the storm.
Hamby said a food outreach was held at the Caroline Community Center. It was organized by New Prospect Baptist Church. Due to so many people being without electricity the event gave area residents a chance to come in for a meal. Volunteers from Palmetto High School Beta Club, Envision Williamston, and others helped cook and serve food.
Envision Williamston also helped coordinate a cleanup effort in Mineral Spring Park.
“A lot of people helped out”, Hamby said, including local churches, volunteers, neighbors, and some people from Illinois.
