2026-09-09 - Ad Hoc Budget Advisory Committee

00:01I don't know, mayor, if we want to do a

00:04moment of silence or anything.

00:06>> Oh, sorry. I'm supposed to kick it off,

00:08right? Um, yeah, before we get started,

00:11let's uh start with a moment of silence.

00:21All right. Um,

00:24well, uh, welcome to

00:27ad hoc budget meeting. Um kicking off

00:30with

00:32public works budget request. So Matt,

00:35you going to take it from here?

00:37>> Yes, sir. I will take it and we will

00:40cover the new program request um this

00:43year for public works. Um so we have

00:48four

00:50Can you see my screen?

00:53>> Yes. Well,

00:54>> okay.

00:56Can you Yeah, I think you can get

00:59>> Hey, Matt, if you do the PowerPoint like

01:01the

01:03slideshow, then you can just see the

01:08>> Yeah,

01:09>> better.

01:11>> Just take your notes off. Your notes are

01:13on there. I don't know.

01:15>> Why are my notes on there?

01:21>> Which screen are you seeing? Oh, you can

01:24see the notes. That's weird. Yeah. Or

01:25just share at the other screen. You know

01:28what I mean?

01:29>> Yep.

01:30>> Okay.

01:43All right. Let's try this

01:46>> better.

01:47>> Yep. You got it.

01:49>> All right. So, the we have, like I said,

01:53we have four um new programs that we're

01:55going to ask for this year. Uh the first

01:58one is going to be a new streets and

02:00sidewalks crew. Um this will help with a

02:04CDOT, pothole repairs, sidewalk repairs.

02:07Um the second one is a new uh new heavy

02:10duty mechanics. Um, the third one will

02:14be for two. I'm sorry, that should be

02:16for two. And the ASL should be one new

02:19ASL garbage route and then one new

02:21pressure washing crew.

02:26We will start with the new uh crew for

02:28streets and sidewalks. So, currently

02:31streets and sidewalks has 113 open work

02:34orders um that we are in the process of

02:37working. Now, this could be anything

02:38from um ADA ramps to curb to sidewalk

02:43repairs. Um we have three primary work

02:47areas, which is potholes, SCD roads, and

02:50sidewalk repairs. We are requesting one

02:53new crew um that would help uh with some

02:57of these open work orders. And then it

02:59would also allow us to support SC DOT

03:02roads um and um begin that um pothole

03:08partnership that we are in the process

03:10of working through with SC DOT which um

03:13that would allow us to fill uh potholes

03:16on SCOT roads. Um and they would supply

03:19the asphalt um via PO and we would just

03:22go to the um supplier and um pick up

03:26that asphalt. Um

03:29so this would be you know help us fill

03:33more potholes um faster response and um

03:37gives us some flexibility to support um

03:40the 113 open work orders that we're

03:42currently working with our current

03:44crews.

03:46Are there any question? This is a big

03:48expenditure and a big initiative. Just

03:51wanted to and I think it's exciting.

03:53Again, this is no question it should be

03:56DOT roads. I mean DOT work, but I think

04:01we all know that DOT does not have the

04:04capacity to come close to addressing all

04:08the needs. So, um it's the biggest

04:11complaint I get. I think you all get it

04:13too. So, just wanted to make sure

04:15everybody,

04:17you know, understood the

04:20uh pretext behind this and if there are

04:22any questions.

04:25>> Mayor, council members wearing and Greg

04:27had their hands up.

04:29>> All right, we'll go with Greg and then

04:31wearing.

04:33Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Yeah, just uh

04:35regarding the reimbursement. So,

04:39um

04:40and DOT is going to pay for asphalt.

04:42That's it is what I'm

04:44>> That's it. Yes, sir.

04:47>> I mean, here's here's where I get

04:49worried about this kind of stuff is uh

04:53you know, we take care of DOT's

04:55responsibilities and then they allocate

04:57those dollars that they should have

04:59allocated to, you know, the low country

05:01and then they get sent somewhere else in

05:03the state like, you know, Sumpter County

05:05just pulling that out of thin air. Um,

05:08and so, you know, are we sort of

05:10creating a uh is this like a

05:13self-fulfilling prophecy where we're

05:14going to like do DOT's work and then how

05:17are we going to hold them accountable to

05:18continue to fund our roads and do the

05:21work that they're supposed to do down

05:23here um while we're sort of taking off

05:26some of their workload.

05:28>> Now, I think you make a really good

05:29point and it's a valid concern and

05:32certainly a risk. I think the way we

05:36counter it is we keep track of uh the

05:40cost associated with this crew and this

05:42truck.

05:43um and you know all the work that we're

05:46doing and just give you give some sort

05:49of annual report to them and um and then

05:52we we pay close attention to you know

05:55where they have been spending funds

05:58which we're compiling now um really it's

06:01Charleston County related and um you

06:06know just making sure we're getting our

06:09share. I mean, that's it's going to be a

06:11lobbying effort. And again,

06:14um I think it my my hope is that that

06:17this would go the opposite direction. It

06:19shows that we're

06:22committed and trying to help and it'll

06:25give us some some political capital in

06:27Colombia.

06:28>> Okay.

06:28>> Yeah. And this is going to be more of a

06:30partnership. So, they're not washing

06:33their hands at potholes. They are still

06:34going to be heavily involved in the

06:36potholes as well. we are just kind of

06:38subsidizing our efforts. You know, if we

06:41are in that area, um we're going to go

06:43ahead and repair that rather than us

06:46leaving it behind and then calling them

06:48and having them come down. So, it's just

06:50a way to supplement this this work. Um

06:53you know, we're going to make sure that

06:54they're getting weekly work orders. Um

06:57if a call, you know, they're going to

06:59get notified anytime that we receive a

07:01call. Um and everything is going to be

07:04documented documented weekly with them.

07:08All right, Councilman Wearing, I think

07:09you had a question.

07:11>> Um, yeah. Is this something we already

07:13doing? And let me tell you why I'm I'm

07:15asking. I saw last week uh actually

07:19entering the neighborhood I live in area

07:21on the street that was about I guess 20

07:25ft long, the length of a lane as you

07:27approach the stop sign. And when they

07:30tore it up and did all the repairs, I

07:32saw all city trucks and you know, Ashley

07:35Hall Road, I'm pretty sure it was a

07:36state road. Um, and I wonder when I saw

07:39that, I said, I didn't realize we were

07:42doing it. So, um, is it something we

07:44already doing?

07:46>> So, we will do it only if um, SC DOT

07:50can't get to it in appropriate amount of

07:52time. M

07:53>> so we do get some calls that that they

07:56have not completed and we will go out

07:59there once in a while not very often um

08:02and fix it if it becomes a huge issue um

08:05but that's coming out of city budget

08:07right and now this will be coming out of

08:09their own budget.

08:10>> Okay.

08:12>> All right. Thanks. When I saw it I

08:14thought I thought it's strange. I was

08:16expecting to see SE do on the trucks,

08:19not the city seal, but

08:22>> anyway, thanks.

08:24>> Yep. Um, so this slide kind of walks you

08:26through how the S do DOT roadway.

08:30>> Yes. Well, real quick, um

08:34I

08:36don't know if we measure this or not,

08:37but I mean, if we were to look at

08:40well, potholes in general, I mean, what

08:42what cost of a pothole repair is

08:45allocated to labor and what cost is

08:46allocated to materials because they're

08:49they're they're going to contribute the

08:50materials, right?

08:51>> Yes. So, right now, they get uh asphalt

08:55for $85 a ton. So it just depends on the

08:58number of potholes that we find during

09:04um you know that work. So you know and

09:07our truck holds four tons. So you're

09:09looking at what $400 roughly uh in

09:12material.

09:15>> Okay. So it sounds like labor is is the

09:18is the larger share of final repair.

09:20>> Yeah. [snorts] Yeah. So it will be

09:22labor. Yes. Um, like I said, this crew

09:24is also going to be subsidized to help

09:26catch up on the 113 open work orders

09:28that we have.

09:29>> Understood. Yeah. No, I I think I think

09:32certainly

09:34whether whether we like it or not, we

09:36get blamed for potholes all over the

09:39city. So, this is certainly going to go

09:42um

09:43go the extra mile and and addressing a

09:45lot of concerns I hear. So, I appreciate

09:48it.

09:49>> Yep. Great. We will move on now to heavy

09:53duty mechanics.

09:56So currently um our fleet consists of

09:59about 450 light duty assets. So that's

10:02344 vehicles and 106 trailers and we

10:06have nine mechanics. That averages out

10:08to about 38 um assets per mechanic. Um

10:12our heavy duty side we have 251 assets

10:16and four mechanics which averages out to

10:18about 62 63. um assets per mechanic. You

10:23know, uh one of the thing currently is

10:26um heavy duty has a 64% higher asset

10:29load than our light duty and we have

10:31five fewer mechanics. Um and heavy duty

10:36mechanics maintain a more complex fleet

10:38and higher maintenance needs because

10:40they have hydraulic systems and other um

10:43items on there that light duty vehicles

10:45do not. Um, and our, as you can see

10:49here, our industry standard is between

10:5140 and 50 light duty assets per

10:54mechanic, and we're just under that at

10:5638. Um, but our fleet is growing, so

10:58that will be within range here hopefully

11:01soon. Our heavy duty side, on the other

11:04hand, is um the industry standard is

11:07between 35 and 45, and they're currently

11:10at 62. uh hiring the two new mechanics

11:13will put them right in in where they

11:15should be at 41, right about right in

11:17the mid of that uh industry standard.

11:23And you can see here, so we would go

11:25from four to six mechanics and we would

11:27go down from 62.75 per mechanic to 41

11:31assets, which is about a 33% lower uh

11:34workload.

11:38Any questions on these?

11:47All right, we'll move on to the garbage.

11:50So, uh we are asking for one additional

11:53route um and truck um to cover um to

11:59help with some of our overtime and

12:02things. Currently, we have 20 ASL routes

12:05and they service about 16,300

12:08um stops um per week. Um 20% of the

12:12routes require overtime.

12:16And right now here you can see that our

12:18scheduled work hours are 9.375

12:22for a total of 37 and a half hours for a

12:244-day week. Um in 2026 we had 523

12:30stops. our our average route time for

12:35from March um through September 4th was

12:3813 hours and n almost 14 hours basically

12:42and you can see here routes ex exceeding

12:45the 10 to 12 hour mark or there's 23.3%

12:48of those routes or 122 of the 523

12:51routes.

12:53Um, and then exceeding 12 hours, there

12:56are 273 routes that have exceeded

12:59um, the 12-hour mark out of the 523.

13:05Um, and here you can see the average

13:07route time by month. Um, 13.8 14 13.7

13:13and then August is 13.49. So we are

13:16running about four extra hours um, above

13:21our normal schedule. our our work

13:24schedule anyway.

13:26And then here's a comparison. Currently,

13:29we have 20

13:32um ASL routes that service 16,000 and

13:35it's about 816 stops per route. Adding

13:39uh a truck will increase the um four

13:42routes, which would move that down to

13:44680, which would shrink each route by

13:48about 136 stops and should produce a

13:52reduction in workload by about 16.7.

13:56And this should significantly in um

13:59decrease our um overtime. And here you

14:03can see here's the annexations and new

14:05builds that have been coming online uh

14:07since 2021 just in our service area.

14:10This does not include our contractors.

14:12So in 2021 we had 136 additional 22 130

14:17was a downfall in 23 um and then it

14:20started going back up in 24 and so far

14:23for um for this year um uh we are at 110

14:29that should be 2026

14:31not 2025

14:34questions on the garbage.

14:39Mayor, Council Member Greg has his hand

14:41up.

14:42>> Okay. Council member Greg.

14:43>> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you, Mr. Al.

14:46Um just so looking at the budget, so um

14:52the uh the request was for 525,000

14:55for the the loader. Does that include

14:58the That's just the the actual um truck,

15:02right?

15:03>> So, that should be the truck. I'd have

15:06to look. I don't have it in front of me.

15:07The truck should be right around 4

15:10something. Okay.

15:12>> 450, 460. Um, and then we would need an

15:15employee for that truck.

15:18>> So, I guess have we done an analysis to

15:20see like what's the is it more efficient

15:23to hire a contractor to do this work?

15:26Um, I mean, what does Trident charge

15:28for, you know, this kind of route? Um

15:33I'm just curious if you know if it's uh

15:36if it's less expensive for the

15:38contractors to do it. We already have

15:39pretty good contracts in place with some

15:41of these certainly with Trident. Like

15:43would it be better to to add that to

15:45theirs than us taking that on?

15:48>> So if we do that then then we're going

15:50to intermingle the routes currently,

15:54right? They do outer West Ashley, John's

15:55Island, Daniel Island. the stuff that

15:57we're talking about adding is inside um

16:00West Ashley, inner West Ashley and

16:02John's Island or James Island, sorry.

16:06>> Okay. Well, yeah. I guess, you know, at

16:09some point I'd like to see a comparison

16:10of like what we're spending on a per I

16:12don't know how to what the metric would

16:14be or KPI or whatever you want to call

16:17it, but um you know, what's the dollar

16:19per per uh residence or per per

16:23collection

16:25um when we're getting a contractor do it

16:28versus when we're doing it inhouse um

16:31with our own uh trucks and and staff?

16:35Yeah, we can I can pull that contractor

16:37information.

16:38>> Okay, thanks. Y,

16:44>> mayor, council member Bowen has his hand

16:46up.

16:47>> Okay, council member B.

16:49>> I sort of had the same question and um

16:51just wanted to add that I think it's,

16:53you know, might might be time to look at

16:56that kind of going forward as uh the

16:58areas that are serviced by these

16:59contractors are about to um you grow

17:03pretty rapidly. Uh, so I imagine that's

17:05gonna cause some, you know, having to

17:08rethink these contracts. Anyway,

17:12>> no, I it's something that we're looking

17:15into as well. Well, I mean, this is a

17:17question that's been brought up a couple

17:19of different times and um and always

17:22bears just going in and checking to see

17:26um you know, the performance metrics to

17:31Councilman uh Greg's point are

17:35you know what is the cost per pick and

17:38then also what is the um you know where

17:42where do we get the u the complaints,

17:45right? and and I will say that our crews

17:49have done a pretty good job on uh the

17:52service. Uh but we need to look at it

17:55holistically. So

17:58definitely agree.

17:59>> Yes, sir. And I can tell you that both

18:02the last time I ran the numbers, both

18:04are under 1% in complaints compared to

18:07the number of stops they run each week

18:09and month. So, um, that's just a number

18:13of complaints that we've been getting

18:14through, um, Leslie's team over there at

18:18the call center. So, it averages out to

18:20less than 1%.

18:23>> Got it.

18:27>> And then the last thing that I have here

18:30is the um, we're asking for a pressure

18:32washer crew um, and they would be

18:35servicing the central business district.

18:37And here's a map of that area that this

18:40um pressure washer would be in. We

18:42currently have one and we're averaging

18:45about two to three blocks per day. Um so

18:48by adding a second one, we're going to

18:49be more productive. Um our response time

18:53is going to go down and hopefully we'll

18:56be able to get through this area a lot

18:58faster and you'll see improved

19:01cleanliness in this area.

19:08And that's all I had.

19:12>> Any other questions

19:15on this report?

19:16>> Yeah, I do. Mr. M. Um,

19:19down the road when Ashley Landing gets

19:22finished and you have that green space,

19:24you know, in the middle.

19:27Who's going to keep that clean? Is it um

19:29Edens or is that going to be a city

19:30responsibility or do we know yet? I

19:34think in the development agreement they

19:36um handle the majority uh of the

19:40maintenance but we can confirm that.

19:42Okay.

19:43>> All right. Thanks.

19:48>> Any other questions before we move on?

19:51All right. Um what's next?

19:57>> Traffic and transportation and Michael

20:00Matis.

20:01>> Michael's ready.

20:02>> Yes, sir. Good afternoon. It's good to

20:04see you again.

20:05>> Long time no see, Michael.

20:09>> I'm g share my screen real quick.

20:19You see that? Okay.

20:21>> Yep.

20:22>> All right. Uh so, good afternoon. Uh

20:25this is our uh budget request summary

20:27for traffic and transportation.

20:33We'll start with the priorities. Our

20:34number one priority is going to be our

20:35what we are calling our meterless

20:37parking reservation. Um this is in

20:39conjunction with our transition away

20:41from single space meters. Um you'll be

20:44hearing more about that in the next

20:45several weeks. Um but as part of this,

20:48we need a way to reserve parking meters

20:50uh parking meter spaces for events and

20:53construction uh type activities. So

20:55we've come up with a solution that um is

20:58used in other cities across the nation.

21:00Um it's temporary post with signage.

21:03It's it has a magnetic base to it and it

21:06should be should open up our streets,

21:07allow for a cleaner street and um allow

21:10more room for pedestrians and other

21:11things. So uh that's our number one

21:13request. We need that in order to move

21:15forward with the um uh transition away

21:19from the parking meters.

21:22Our number two request is uh replacement

21:24of our traffic management center video

21:26wall. Uh this is important uh from a

21:28operational reliability standpoint as

21:31well as all of our intelligent

21:32transportation systems. Um we are uh our

21:37current video wall has outlived its

21:39useful life. Uh it's a little over 10

21:41years old, about 10 years old and uh

21:44needs replacement and um at some point

21:46this would potentially be part of a

21:48larger regional effort. Um but in the

21:51current uh environment we need this to

21:53help run our intelligent transportation

21:55systems.

21:57The uh number three request that we have

21:59on our list is the mobile automatic

22:01license plate reader um for vehicles. Uh

22:04we already have one of these currently

22:06in operation. Um and I can give you a

22:09few stats on that. Um it is going

22:12through all the neighborhoods. Uh we

22:14have seen an increase of over 600%

22:17and scans daily uh of license plates in

22:21the residential neighborhoods.

22:23um from the same from the time in 2025

22:26same time in 2025 and 2026 we saw a 30%

22:29increase in revenue

22:31uh and citations have increased 19%

22:33during that same time period and our

22:35vehicle immobilizations have increased

22:37430%.

22:39So this u certainly pays for itself and

22:43um is very useful to us and we look

22:45forward to implementing another one.

22:48>> I think our potential neighborhoods are

22:50really looking forward to this as well.

22:54Mr. Mayor, I think council member

22:56seekings, he may couns you to uh do a

23:00confetti uh drop or something.

23:02>> Yeah, but just a couple of just points

23:04on these that Michael I think sort of

23:07implicitly stated but not explicitly.

23:09Both request one and request three will

23:11have behind them revenue streams long p

23:14long past the purchase of this. So they

23:16will pay for themselves ultimately. um

23:19which I think is really good. When it

23:20comes to traffic management center video

23:22wall, there is a talk about doing a

23:25regional or a regional traffic

23:27management center, but that's still a

23:30ways out. So, I think uh if you haven't

23:32been into our TNT department and seen

23:33what that traffic management video wall

23:35does, it really gives you a view of the

23:38entire city and what's happening out

23:39there. Uh it's it's invaluable. So, I

23:42think all these requests are really

23:44needed and ultimately pay for

23:46themselves.

23:47And I think just from a the the regional

23:50um

23:52kind of command center concept that uh

23:56they have one similar that we're

23:58modeling after in Jacksonville. This is

24:00something that the tri county is looking

24:02at doing and this would actually I think

24:05be a complement to it not uh redundant.

24:09So um

24:10>> yep.

24:14>> Okay. Thank you.

24:17Going on to number four. So, I just

24:19talked about going meterless. Um, there

24:21is the potential that we may need some

24:23parking kiosk to help supplement our

24:26meterless uh parking system. Um, so

24:29we've asked for some additional funding

24:31just to cover that just in case we need

24:34those parking kiosks. We do have these

24:35kiosks located throughout um several

24:39metered parking lots in the city. Um, I

24:42think there's seven parking lots and

24:43there's eight kiosks that have that are

24:46deployed. So, if you want to see what

24:47one looks like, uh, the kiosks are

24:50located in the parking lots adjacent to

24:52to George Street.

24:54Uh, number five um is an important one

24:57for us as well. We're actually going to

24:58get started on uh the first piece of

25:00this um this year. It's boards for

25:03flooding. Um, and it will be the same

25:06system that we are using to um reserve

25:08our parking spaces. And this would be to

25:11not only increase efficiency but u help

25:14us um act more quickly when we when we

25:18have flooding events.

25:20These posts would be deployed uh as soon

25:23as we we are aware of a flooding event

25:25and it requires a metal plate that goes

25:27on the road and we're working with the

25:29SEDOT and they are on board with this.

25:31So, uh, this is something we're excited

25:33about to help both the, um, emergency

25:35management as well as, uh, the police

25:37department and traffic and

25:38transportation deploy these.

25:40>> Mr. Mayor, I think council member Bowen

25:42had his hand up a moment ago.

25:44>> Okay. Council member Bowen,

25:47sorry, I can't see the hands, but um,

25:50appreciate you. Uh, clerk, let me know.

25:54>> All good. I was just I was going to ask

25:56about um the the mobile license plate

26:00reader thing. I didn't really understand

26:02what that was, but it's kind of

26:04interesting idea.

26:06>> Yes, sir. So, these are You'll never

26:08know this what this vehicle is unless

26:10you uh see the little cameras on top of

26:12it. It's a It's a black car that drives

26:14around, has little cameras, and it scans

26:15the license plate as it drives down the

26:17street. Um, it can it can scan an entire

26:20street in in minutes and it notifies us

26:23of whether or not someone it it um

26:26chalks vehicles and it notifies us if

26:28they have if they're overtime or um if

26:32they have other issues with, you know,

26:34that are outstanding.

26:36>> But for it's the same thing that our

26:38meter mates do um visually. It's just do

26:42doing it um via camera. Would that be an

26:46accurate statement, Michael? Mr.

26:48>> Uh, more or less. Yes, sir. Our our

26:50parking enforcement officers walk around

26:51with a handheld device that scans

26:52license plates now, and they mostly

26:55check the metered spaces, but they do

26:57venture into the residential areas. Uh,

26:59the automatic license plate reader will

27:02help us better enforce the residential

27:04areas, which we struggle to do.

27:06>> Um, and we all those stats that I I

27:09mentioned earlier have been done without

27:11um increasing any staff whatsoever.

27:14We've sort of maintained our staff

27:15levels.

27:18>> Okay, got it. Just wanted to make sure

27:20we're not adding a bunch of fly cameras

27:22or something. [laughter]

27:24This is different than that.

27:26[clears throat]

27:27>> I had a followup to that. U will it will

27:30it tell you if a car is stolen?

27:33>> Uh yes, sir. It does notify us of issues

27:36related to the license plate

27:38>> and we report those to the police

27:40department.

27:41>> Thank you.

27:42>> Yes, sir.

27:47So, I'll jump down to number six. Um,

27:50this is a request for smart

27:52signalization along Clemens Fair Road.

27:55Uh, this type of um technology has been

27:59implemented on Calhoun Street. Um, and

28:02we're in the initial stages of

28:04implementing it on May Bank Highway at

28:05three locations as well. Uh you may have

28:08you may remember us receiving a about a

28:11$900,000 grant to do this work on

28:13Calhoun Street. Um so this would be the

28:16same type of uh implementation on

28:18Clemens Fairy Road. Uh and as part of

28:21that just some internal studies that

28:23we've done, we've seen about a 20 to 25%

28:26efficiency increase in efficiencies

28:29along Calhoun Street in terms of traffic

28:30flow and safety. So it's been a positive

28:33improvement.

28:36Mr. Mayor, um, council member Greg in

28:41seekings.

28:43>> Greg first in seekings.

28:50>> Greg, you on mute.

28:54>> Sorry about that. Uh, thank you, Mr.

28:55Matthysse. Uh, thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um,

28:57what's the timing for the uh, so if this

29:00gets in the budget? I mean, how does it

29:02is this the is this 383 for the the

29:05equipment the capital improvements or is

29:07this the sort of initial planning

29:09engineering study work?

29:12>> Sir, that that would be the full

29:13implementation of the of the system

29:15along Clemens Fairy.

29:16>> So, we could potentially see this in

29:18place sometime next year.

29:20>> Yes, sir. It would definitely be next

29:21year.

29:22>> Great.

29:24>> Thank you, Cings.

29:26>> Just more on that. um Clements Fairy

29:28Road. Michael, is there any hope or any

29:30any availability of grant money much

29:33like we have on Calhoun Street to sort

29:35of supplement or lessen the blow

29:38directly to our budget?

29:40>> Yes, sir. So, um I'm going to talk a

29:42little bit about our grants in a minute,

29:43but we do we are requesting money

29:45through the Attain um grant for Septima

29:49Clark and Folly Road,

29:52but not Clemus Fairy Road. We um we'd

29:54like to fund this one through our budget

29:56if possible, but we can certainly uh go

29:59out later. If we don't receive an

30:00approval in the budget, then we can try

30:02to seek a a grant or other funding for

30:04Clemens Fair.

30:05>> Is there still smart grant money out

30:07there or is that a is that one and done?

30:10>> Um I I don't think there's any smart

30:12grant funding available that went away

30:15with the new administration.

30:16>> All right. Thanks.

30:18>> And council member Tinkler has his hand

30:20up. Mayor, council member Tinkler.

30:23Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um,

30:26Mr. Matthysse, I Well, you maybe you've

30:29got this on another slide, uh, but since

30:31we're talking about signalization and

30:32and grants, I know I mentioned or I

30:35think we had talked about doing some of

30:38these, uh, retiming

30:41um, of the intersections in West Ashley.

30:44I I don't know if if there's anything in

30:46the budget or we need matches or

30:47anything for that, but I don't know if

30:51maybe I'm talking out of out of place

30:53here.

30:54>> I'm I'm going to cover it in about two

30:56more slides if you

30:57>> Okay. Well, there I I'll ask questions

30:59in.

31:00>> All right.

31:01>> And Council Member Wearing had his hand

31:03up.

31:04>> Okay. I'm gonna wait till that time

31:06also. Thank you.

31:08>> Sounds good.

31:11Uh so number seven, one of the ones that

31:13we are um pushing for in the budget but

31:16also have application for a grant is the

31:19Septima Clark Parkway uh for smart

31:21signals. Same thing as the Clements

31:22Fairy Road one. Um but this is one that

31:25could really use and benefit from the

31:27smart signal technology from a

31:29pedestrian safety standpoint.

31:32Um moving on to number eight and nine.

31:34These are new masts that uh we are

31:37proposing to install. Uh number eight is

31:40part of a an ongoing study and project

31:42with the South Carolina Department of

31:44Transportation as well as Charleston

31:45County. Uh it involves the relocation of

31:48a traffic signal from Sumpter Street to

31:50Carolina Street. The SAD DOT just

31:53received approval yesterday at the

31:54Charleston County Transportation

31:56Committee to begin work on their road

31:57diet in this area uh between Line Street

32:01and Carolina Street. So this would be uh

32:05in conjunction with that and supplement

32:07that work that the DOT is doing. The new

32:09mast arm at uh East Bay and George

32:11Street is existing wood poles that we

32:14are trying to uh upgrade and um install

32:18mast arms. We had a pole failure

32:22um within the last year at that location

32:24and we just want to upgrade and make

32:25that a little safer with mast poles.

32:31Our last three requests, uh the first

32:33one is a new position that we're asking

32:35for as a senior traffic safety

32:36inspector. And this uh person would

32:38manage the day-to-day uh operations of

32:40our traffic safety team. As the city has

32:43grown and we've uh added traffic safety

32:45inspectors, we need someone to help

32:47manage not only those traffic safety

32:49inspectors, but uh some of the larger

32:51projects that are coming in that are uh

32:53taking a lot of time away from our

32:55inspector's duties, which really should

32:57be out in the field u working. And this

32:59would be similar to a senior code

33:01enforcement officer with livability. And

33:03those titles may have changed with the

33:05um the recent upgrades with HR. So we'll

33:08adjust that. And then the number 11 is a

33:12senior traffic control technician. This

33:14is simply taking an existing position

33:15that we have vacant and upgrading it so

33:18that we can create a new team. So this

33:20is creating more efficiencies with

33:22positions that we have uh and creating a

33:24new team to to better um serve the city.

33:29And then our final one is a high water

33:31gate arm. This is one that's uh been on

33:34the request for a few years that we've

33:36tried to to get through. It's um it

33:38would be a gate at the US7 ramp onto US

33:41or on SC61 or St. Andrews Boulevard. Um

33:45and it would close automatically or

33:48potentially um yeah, it would close

33:51automatically and just keep anyone from

33:53driving down that ramp when it's

33:54flooded. Um it I was driving that way

33:57yesterday and it was flooded. So it's

33:58something that is needed. We do have uh

34:01flood detection technology out there

34:02that lets us know when the road is

34:04flooded and we have some flashing signs

34:07that uh notify the public as well.

34:10So that is all of our new program

34:12requests and then this is our just to

34:15give you a little bit of information

34:16>> before we keep going. We've got uh

34:18Councilman Seekings and then Sheileley

34:21S.

34:21>> Yes sir.

34:22>> Thanks Mr. Mayor. Michael, what is the

34:24flood detection technology that we've

34:26got at 17 and61?

34:29>> Sir, there is a um it uh it's located on

34:33the side of the road. You would never

34:35know it was there unless you were

34:37actually looking for it. Um but it

34:39notifies us when the water reaches a

34:41certain level in that area. Uh it's

34:43similar to what's at Fishburn and Hood.

34:48>> It seems to me like that would be useful

34:50technology in some other parts of the

34:51city as well. one that comes to mind

34:53because of like yesterday 17 and 61

34:57Broad and Lockwood.

35:02>> Yes sir.

35:04That was uh one that the Broad Street

35:06location was on our is on a list that we

35:08have of locations we would like to

35:10deploy these type of um flood detection

35:12technology. But

35:13>> the technology yesterday was me getting

35:15a text during city council and walking

35:17over to the police chief and asking him

35:19to send out an alert. We could probably

35:21be more efficient than that.

35:23>> Yes, sir.

35:25>> Thanks.

35:29>> Um, what was the other question? Sorry.

35:32Uh,

35:32>> council member Sheileley, I think.

35:34>> She, sorry.

35:35>> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um, Michael, just

35:37wanted to check the the high water gate

35:40arm. Will that be will it be further

35:43back on that bridge? I know that, you

35:45know, when you come off, there's really

35:46kind of no option once you're off into

35:49that lane. Will, and I know you're

35:51saying there'll be some notice. Um, but

35:53I guess will that arm be further back

35:56toward the bridge, I guess, before you

35:58actually commit?

35:59>> Yes, sir. That that would be the plan to

36:01try to get it as close to 17 as possible

36:03so that people can divert onto 17 and

36:06not drive down 61.

36:08>> Okay. All right. Thank you.

36:13>> Any other questions I'm missing here?

36:17Okay, Michael.

36:20>> All right.

36:20>> Yeah.

36:21>> So, this is our uh just how we fund some

36:24of our other projects. I wanted to show

36:26this to you. We have several grants that

36:28have been awarded and a couple that we

36:31have applied for. Um a lot of these

36:33don't require a city match, which is

36:35always good. Uh some of them do. Um, we

36:38have the chats regional mobility program

36:40which is going to fund uh dynamic

36:43message signs uh that will be placed

36:45strategically throughout the city. I

36:48believe there's one on James Island, one

36:49in West Ashley, and a a few downtown.

36:52Um, and this just gives advanced notice

36:54for for flooded roads and other uh

36:57emergency type events, but that is fully

36:59funded through Chats. Uh, the next one

37:01is the Chats Carbon Reduction Program,

37:03and Council Member Tinkler, this is the

37:05one you were asking about. This is going

37:06to fund signal timing evaluations and

37:10retiming of signals all throughout West

37:11Ashley. Um again, that is no city match.

37:16Um and then we have the next two safe

37:18streets for all grants that we have a

37:20demonstration grant that is going to

37:21fund some temporary safety improvements

37:24that will allow us to do proof of

37:25concept and uh hopefully get funded for

37:28permanent improvements. And then the

37:30safe streets for all planning grant was

37:33approved a couple of years ago. Uh but

37:35this was this funded our safety action

37:37plan that has led to all the data that

37:40we are using to justify a lot of the

37:42improvements uh from a bike safety

37:44standpoint um and other improvements

37:47throughout the city from a from

37:48transportation

37:50>> with transportation. And then the

37:52strengthening mobility and

37:53revolutionizing transportation grant or

37:55the smart grant was a $99,000 grant that

37:58we received for Calhoun Street uh and

38:00the smart signals that are there. And

38:03the ones that we've applied for uh is

38:05the safe streets for all implementation

38:06grant which is $5 million. There is a

38:0920% match with that. Um but that that

38:11would be a million dollars from the city

38:13to match with that f with the to go

38:15along with four million. Um and that

38:18would we would use our safety action

38:19plan and um other data to support bike

38:22and pedestrian improvements uh

38:24throughout the city. Then the advanced

38:27transportation technology and innovation

38:29grant or the attain grant is 2.6 million

38:34um that we have requested. There is no

38:35city match there. It's actually a vendor

38:37match and that would fund um the smart

38:41signals along Septma Clark and Folly

38:43Road.

38:45Mayor, council members wearing um and

38:48then Tinkler had their hands up.

38:50>> All right. Where council member Wearing

38:52>> actually Tinkler was first. I let him.

38:55>> Okay. Sorry. Council member Tinkler,

38:59>> I think you are first, Councilman

39:00Wearing, but uh I um

39:04guess really two questions. One relating

39:07to that that Chad's grant um in West

39:09Ashley. Is that have we identified the

39:11corridors yet that that we're looking at

39:14for timing retiming?

39:16>> Yes sir. Um all the all the cor

39:18corridors will be addressed even from be

39:21fairy all the way in. So

39:24>> uh and with the SS4A

39:28uh grant that we've applied for u is

39:32there

39:33is there sort of a a

39:36a time when we're going to hear back

39:37from it? Is there a deadline when we're

39:39going to get a response?

39:41>> Uh, well, we're waiting on the federal

39:43government, so I'll let you interpret

39:46what that means.

39:47>> Well, uh, okay. So, I guess there's

39:50nothing in their materials that would

39:52suggest a some sort of deadline for

39:54their response. Um,

39:57>> we anticipate an answer any day now,

39:58sir.

39:59>> Okay. Well, I won't keep my fingers

40:01crossed just yet, but I'll knock on

40:04wood. [clears throat]

40:06Thank you. Yes, sir.

40:10Is that at least where council wear?

40:12>> Thank you. Thank you, Mr. May. Mats on

40:15if I'm headed west on Orange Grove. So

40:18that's coming from Orange Groves from uh

40:21Sam Rittenberg to Ashley Hall Road. Uh

40:25and I want to make a right turn. Um I

40:28have to stop on red to make that right

40:31turn. Okay. on if I'm headed I think

40:33south on on uh Ashley Hall Road

40:38um at that intersection there's a left

40:41turn lane that I can make a left turn

40:44off Ashley Hall onto

40:46uh Orange Grove Road if I want to go

40:48there but if I'm um needing to make a

40:53right turn while that left arrows on I

40:56still have to make a um you have to make

40:59a stop as opposed to when that left

41:01arrows there. If we had a right arrow,

41:04traffic can continue to flow. Um during

41:07during our rush hour and particularly in

41:09the afternoons, that would make a big

41:11difference on on actually on on Orange

41:15Grove Road. The traffic sometimes it

41:17doesn't back all the way to um Sam

41:20Rittenberg, but it certainly backs up,

41:22you know, to Orange Branch Road, which

41:26is 75% of the way. And if we if people

41:29didn't have to stop and had that

41:31continuous flow during the left turn, uh

41:34traffic would clear out a lot better.

41:36So, um is there anything in there? Is

41:38that going to be looked at upon? And

41:39what does it take to get a right turn

41:41lane added where there's a left turn

41:43lane existing or left turns arrow? I'm

41:46sure existing.

41:47>> Yeah. If it's just invol involving

41:49signalization, changing the signal heads

41:51or adding a signal head to the to the

41:53existing setup, um we can evaluate that

41:56internally. um submit it to the DOT and

41:58and see what they say. That's something

42:00we can do internally without any issue.

42:02>> Talk about doing knocking off traffic

42:03and give you a ride over there. You see

42:04what I mean?

42:05>> Yes, sir.

42:06>> Yes, sir.

42:08[laughter]

42:09>> We can certainly do that for you. We can

42:11>> I'm just kidding. Yeah, that's good.

42:12Thank you.

42:17>> All right, Michael, is that the end of

42:20your Excuse me. Um Mr. Matthysse, is

42:24that the end?

42:25>> Yes, sir. And that's the end of my

42:27presentation. If you have any questions,

42:29any additional questions, happy to

42:30answer those.

42:31>> Any further questions from any of the

42:33committee members?

42:35>> Need any extra funding in case the city

42:37councilman got a boot put on that tire?

42:39Uh bring relief.

42:42>> Well, we have the mobile license plate

42:43reader out and running, sir. So, I would

42:45uh if you get a boot, I would not be

42:47surprised. So, just be careful how you

42:49park.

42:50>> That's that's an old joke, Mr. Mayor. We

42:53were working on the budget a number of

42:54years ago and I came back. We used to

42:56get tickets and u obviously we were city

42:59business. We would turn them in. Well, a

43:01couple of mine must not have gotten

43:03taken care of. So I I'm wearing a a

43:05budget ad hoc committee meeting. I come

43:07back to my my truck and there's a boot

43:10on my uh on my tire man. So that Mr.

43:14Mats

43:15well he bailed me out man because I was

43:18a mushroom cloud was coming off top my

43:20head. Let's put it like that.

43:21>> Yeah. Um, I can I can relate because I

43:24have I'll just say leave it at that. I'm

43:26very familiar with the boot. Um

43:30[laughter]

43:33U. All right. Well, look, any um if

43:38there are no further questions, I did

43:40want to just give a compliment uh to

43:43both Mr. uh Altop and Mr. Matthysse. I

43:47thought the um presentation

43:50was very well laid out and um very

43:54organized and

43:56uh graphically

43:59uh done to where uh I understood it. So,

44:04um kudos to you. Uh any any further

44:07questions or comments?

44:10>> I want to piggy back on that because

44:11when Miss Wharton sent it out last

44:13night, uh I was looking at that tennis

44:16match. I don't know if y'all saw that

44:17between um anyway guy from Spain and guy

44:21from the US didn't go I was looking at

44:23one eye didn't go off until like 3:20 in

44:26the morning but so I was reading this

44:28what presentation book that was

44:30forwarded you're right it was very easy

44:33user friendly so well done well done

44:39>> okay um any other

44:44uh points of discussion for the good of

44:46the cause.

44:48If not, then I'll say this meeting is

44:51ajourned.

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