Town Council Meeting Minutes - June 19, 2023
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The Gilbert Town Council met on Monday, June 19, 2023, with Mayor John Reeder and Councilmembers Pat Carson, Nancy Harmon, Cory Rish, and Mark Sanders present. Guests present were Mr. Donnie Cason, Mr. Steve Reeves, and Mr. and Mrs. Fred (Louise) Taylor.
Mayor Reeder welcomed everyone and asked Councilman Sanders to lead in prayer. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all.
COMMUNITY INPUT – Mayor Reeder recognized Mr. Reeves who stated he was present to ask what he could do with his property (25 acres) on Peachtree Street. He stated he bought the property and built his home on this as well as his business. He has now come to a time when he wants/needs to build a home for his mother and his mother-in-law. Each would be approximately 1,800 square feet or a little larger. He talked with Kenny Garcia, Zoning Administrator, and his request was denied under the premise that the property could only be subdivided once. Mr. Fred Taylor, former Zoning Administrator, explained the process and what needs to be done next. He will need to file with the Board of Appeals and this will also need approval through the County. Three houses on a piece of property constitutes a subdivision. Mr. Reeves needs to go back to Mr. Garcia and start this process.
Mrs. Taylor stated she would like to make a correction to the minutes from last month in that Mr. Tim Kyzer is not the Chair of the Park Board as that has dissolved; however, he is the Chair of the Community Club who has the responsibility of the park. She also stated no new bushes have been planted in the park by the Ruritan. She also stated the sign is going to be cleaned prior to the 4th and will need to be replaced. Mayor Reeder asked about pressure washing the bricks at the entrance and she stated this has not been planned.
Mr. Cason stated there is a rooster somewhere in town. He also expressed concern about the abandoned cars in town which is out of compliance with section 407 of the ordinances. There was also concern expressed about the boats at the corner of Carson and Broad Streets as boats are water vehicles. A registered letter is needed for these as well as the cars. There was mention that no more work has been done on the Asbill property on Waters Ferry Road.
Councilmember Harmon mentioned the banner that was put up for the high school graduates and she apologized for this and stated we should not pay for this.
MINUTES – Councilmember Harmon stated we need to take out the part about bushes being placed in the park by the Ruritan as well as taking out the part that named Tim Kyzer as the Chair of the Park Board and show him as Chair of the Community Club. With these changes being noted, Councilman Sanders made a motion to accept the minutes as distributed. Councilman Rish seconded the motion and it carried.
FINANCIAL REPORT – Mrs. Derrick distributed the financial report. Councilman Sanders mentioned that he noticed the current CD at First Community had been changed and another $100,000 placed in that CD. The new rate is 4.25 percent.
UPDATES:
ROADS – Councilman Carson stated there will be a trailer stamping at the Senior Center parking lot Friday, June 23 from 3:00 to 7:00. He did not have anything else to discuss.
UTILITIES – Councilman Rish stated there is a light that is burning all the time in front of the Scout Hut on Juniper Springs.
BEAUTIFICATION/LANDSCAPING - Councilmember Harmon stated she was sure everyone had noticed the flowerboxes that were built by John Reeder Remodeling and the flowers were furnished by the McLeods (planted by Mrs. Debbie McLeod who stated there would be no bill sent for these and she even threw in a few extras). This all looks great. Councilmember Harmon stated she would still like to see a “Welcome to Main Street” sign. Councilmember Harmon also stated the flowers around the town hall look very pretty.
Mayor Reeder stated Mrs. McLeod has four red, white, and blue welcome signs that will be put in the windows of the bank building as the new windows will not be in in time to install these before the 4th. Councilmember Harmon stated she has been looking for fall flags for Main Street and she would like ones that are two sided and these would cost about $20 per flag. She recommended the US flags stay up until Labor Day and that we fly the US flags from Memorial Day until Labor Day each year. She wants to order 50 of these fall flags. Council felt this is appropriate.
Councilmember Harmon also stated the crepe myrtles up and down Main Street are really sprouting at the bottom. She also stated the Post Office continues to look really bad. Mayor Reeder stated he will get his guys to spread pine straw if Councilmember Harmon will still donate the pine straw.
MAINTENANCE – Councilman Sanders stated the current student is working good. Councilman Sanders told him that if he continues to work good, we may be able to hire him fulltime. We have another student starting next week and he will work about 12 hours per week. Councilman Sanders stated Mr. Harold Taylor asked about the old barrels that were donated many years ago to mark off the sidewalks and the fact that they are breaking up. He was told to just get rid of these if they are no longer serviceable. Councilman Sanders stated we continue to have problems with the squirrels at the Depot. Councilman Sanders will tell Mr. Harold Taylor to call a professional business to handle this for us. Councilman Sanders stated we need an additional weed eater and he was told to go ahead with this. Mr. Harold Taylor is getting the ant killer and will be putting that out soon.
ZONING & PLANNING – Mayor Reeder stated Chair Kyle Miller was not present and he had nothing.
RESIDENT DEPUTY – Deputy Boozer was not present and had sent nothing to report.
DEPOT – Councilmember Harmon stated she made contact with Ms. Fouste and she had made contact with Mr. Milford Amick about the sign. Ms. Fouste also asked about a note on the WEB page about the Depot. Councilmember Harmon will work on this. Councilmember Harmon stated Ms. Fouste will be retiring soon from Ft. Jackson and is looking forward to working more with the Depot. She does plan to be open the first Sunday of July as well as the 4th and would like that included on the WEB page.
OLD BUSINESS:
BANK BUILDING UPDATE: Mayor Reeder stated we now have our permits but we will not be able to get anything done before the 4th. Councilmember Harmon asked about the safety of the wall on the shell building and if this should be taped off. Mayor Reeder stated he had been contacted to see if the Peach Festival could use Magnolia Square for parking and council felt this will be fine. The County met with Mayor Reeder and they feel there may be a problem with the handicapped entrance to the building and it may have to be moved to the back wall.
PLANTER BOXES UPDATE: Mayor Reeder stated it had already been discussed that the planter boxes are in and there have been many positive comments regarding these. Councilmember Harmon stated she would like to see more of these.
SAFETY RAIL UPDATE: Mayor Reeder stated the rail was installed and the copper caps have already been stolen.
LOT SIZE RESTRICTIONS: Mayor Reeder stated he felt the best way to settle this issue is to let the voters decide on the November ballot. Mayor Reeder stated he would really like to change the lot size. Councilman Carson stated he felt it should be changed as well. Councilman Sanders stated he felt we will have sewer in town within the five years. He also stated we must have a tax base to cover issues that growth will give the town. Half acre was one of the recommendations. Councilman Rish stated he felt the people need to vote on this if possible. Mayor Reeder will check with the Municipal Association and the town attorney as to what they think about this.
NEW BUSINESS:
FOOD TRUCKS AT PEACH FESTIVAL: Mayor Reeder stated Mr. Tim Kyzer had asked about food trucks at the Peach Festival. Mr. Fred Taylor stated he does not have a copy of the food truck ordinance. It was note that each food truck would need to purchase a Mobile Vendor License and this will be at a cost of $100 each.
COMMUNITY CONCERNS ABOUT COMMUNITY PARK UPKEEP: Mayor Reeder stated he had received several calls about the upkeep for the park. The question was if the town maintains the park and since that answer is no; they wanted to know if the town would be interested in doing so.
BUDGET – FISCAL YEAR 2023-2024 – SECOND READING: Mrs. Derrick presented her proposed budget for 2023-24 with a balanced budget of $225,560. Councilman Rish made a motion to give this final reading approval. Councilman Sanders seconded the motion and it carried. It was noted salaries will be discussed in Executive Session.
OTHER BUSINESS:
Councilmember Harmon stated something is about to happen at the GES building. She talked with a SLED person as she was walking and he said if the budget gets approved, they plan to put a substation in that building. She feels this is an exciting venture for the town. He indicated someone would be coming to our Council meeting to discuss this with us.
Councilman Carson stated the next Crime Watch meeting will be July 13 and there will be someone from the Attorney General’s office to discuss victim’s rights. There will also be someone to discuss home/internet security. He also stated he has ordered nine “Neighborhood Watch” signs.
There being no further business, Councilman Sanders made a motion to go into Executive Session. Councilman Carson seconded the motion and it carried. After returning from Executive Session, Councilman Sanders made a motion to increase Mr. Harold Taylor’s salary to $45,000; Mrs. Derrick be given a 5 percent raise; and the Mayor’s salary be increased to $5,000 and Council to $2,500 per year. Council’s salary cannot be increased for two years. Councilman Carson seconded the motion and it carried.
There being no further business, Councilman Carson made a motion to adjourn.
Respectfully submitted,
JoAnn Derrick, Clerk/Treasurer