2026-10-13 - Committee on Ways and Means

00:47But anyway, I just

01:11Right.

01:28Council member Waring, if you would,

01:29please lead us in an invocation or

01:31moment of silence.

01:47All right, thank you very much. First

01:49item on our agenda is approval of

01:50minutes from

01:51September 22nd, 2000

01:52>> Move for approval.

01:53>> Got a motion, do I have a second? Got a

01:54second. Any additions, corrections,

01:56deletions? If not, all in favor?

01:58>> I.

01:59>> The eyes have it. Bids and purchases, do

02:00I have a motion?

02:02Got a motion, is there a second? Any Any

02:04conversation? Any discussion? All in

02:06favor, I.

02:07>> I.

02:08>> I.

02:09>> The eyes have it. All right, community

02:10services, livability and tourism,

02:12approval of request for $7,500 from the

02:14Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation

02:16implement

02:16>> approval.

02:17>> accelerator program to support continued

02:19monitoring and documentation of vacant

02:21structures.

02:22Um looks like there's no local match.

02:24We've got a motion and a second. All in

02:25favor?

02:27>> I.

02:27>> Any opposed? The eyes have it. I looked

02:30at this one earlier and I have no

02:31earthly idea what it is. Information

02:33technology, approval of budget transfer

02:36for Tyler EnerGov muni cloud migration

02:39in the amount of $125,000

02:42from 161200 to 58012

02:45to 161100

02:47to 5206 to cover the cost of Tyler

02:50EnerGov and muni cloud system.

02:54Do I have a motion?

02:55>> Move for it.

02:55>> Second.

02:56>> Do I have any questions?

02:59>> Sounds crystal clear.

03:00>> Anybody Anybody Anybody on the committee

03:02want to explain what this is? It's all

03:04right.

03:08>> [laughter]

03:09>> It's our own version.

03:10>> it's a software update from a minute

03:12ago.

03:12>> Which we previously I think approved.

03:14All right, all in favor?

03:15>> I.

03:16>> I.

03:16>> Any opposed? The eyes have it. Number

03:19six, legal department, a resolution

03:22authorizing the mayor to execute a

03:24waiver of right of first refusal or or

03:26right of refusal as it relates to the

03:29sale of property identified by

03:30Charleston County TMS number 459 and

03:33more digits, 4 Blake Street. Um this is

03:35being brought forward due to time

03:38constraints.

03:38>> Move for approval.

03:39>> We've got a motion. There is a second.

03:41Any discussion?

03:43Questions? Comments? Going once, going

03:46twice. All in favor?

03:48>> I.

03:49>> Any opposed?

03:50The eyes have it.

03:53Quick pause. I think we look like we're

03:56a sparse crowd here. I do believe we got

03:57three council members online. Am I right

03:59about that?

03:59>> Yes.

04:00>> Jennifer, council members Polkey,

04:02McBride, and

04:04>> We have four now.

04:04>> Four. Brady.

04:06>> Council members Polkey, McBride,

04:08>> Bragg.

04:10>> Bragg. All right, so we actually I think

04:12have a full house tonight, just not all

04:13of them sitting here. All right. Next,

04:16legal department, an ordinance to amend

04:18chapter two, article

04:2011, division five, increasing the

04:22procurement threshold for council

04:24approval from 40 grand to 100 grand.

04:27This is by ordinance. This is giving the

04:28authority of the mayor. Got a motion

04:31>> Second. And for discussion, Mr.

04:33Chairman,

04:34this was something that I guess council

04:36approved before I came into office. It

04:39just

04:40never was accurately recorded. So, we're

04:42just it's housekeeping effort.

04:44>> I thought we'd done this before. Do we

04:46have Do we have to go through all three

04:47readings again?

04:50>> So, I believe I believe it was a

04:51resolution. It was passed by resolution.

04:53This is just codifying it in the code.

04:56>> Okay. So, this will be first reading for

04:57it?

04:58>> Yes.

04:58>> Okay. All right, any discussion,

05:00questions?

05:01All in favor?

05:02>> I.

05:03>> I.

05:04>> The eyes have it. We'll bring that

05:05forward to city council for first

05:07reading. Next, legal department,

05:09authorization for the

05:10>> I'd like to move to deferral on this

05:12one. This was an agreement we have with

05:15the ports authority that I've spoken to

05:18Chairman Boyd on this.

05:20He has some questions on it. Happy to

05:23meet with any other council members

05:24about it as it relates to this property

05:28and wanted kind of an update on

05:30conversations with the port

05:34in a larger capacity as it relates to

05:35Columbus terminal and Union Pier, that

05:37sort of thing. So, happy to do that.

05:41Again, this was something

05:43just to defer. Yeah.

05:44>> I've got a motion by the mayor to defer,

05:45seconded and Council member Waring. Any

05:47discussion? Any good discussion by a

05:49member online?

05:52If not, all in favor of deferral of item

05:54number eight, please say aye.

05:56>> Aye.

05:56>> Aye.

05:56>> Aye.

05:57>> Opposed? The ayes have it unanimously.

05:59Number nine, legal department. Legal

06:01department has got a lot on the agenda

06:03tonight.

06:05Legal department, approval to accept an

06:06award in the amount of $1,261,648.13

06:12for

06:12>> approval.

06:12>> for funds available through the South

06:14Carolina Opioid Relief Fund. The grant

06:16will fund opioid abatement efforts

06:18within the city of Charleston. There is

06:20no match. We've got a motion and a

06:22second.

06:24All in favor?

06:25>> Aye.

06:25>> Aye.

06:26>> Any opposed? The ayes have it. Can I get

06:28a motion to take numbers 10 and 11

06:30together, please?

06:32All right. Motion and second to take 10

06:33and 11 together. All in favor?

06:35>> Aye.

06:35>> Aye.

06:35>> Wait, may I add one thing? I need to

06:37recuse myself from number 10.

06:38>> All right. Once we take them together,

06:39then we'll let you recuse yourself. How

06:41about that? All in favor of taking them

06:42together, say aye.

06:43>> Aye.

06:44>> Aye.

06:45>> Now, recuse yourself.

06:46>> Recuse also number

06:47>> Okay. Awesome. We'll perform. Excellent.

06:50Thanks, sir.

06:51All right. Um numbers 10 and 11, legal

06:54department, authorization for the mayor

06:55to execute a franchise agreement with

06:57Dominion Energy, and 11 is exercise

07:00exercise a franchise agreement with

07:02Berkeley Electric Cooperative.

07:04>> Move for approval.

07:05>> We've got a motion and a second.

07:07I see our legal counsel.

07:10Mr. Chairman.

07:11>> Thank you, Mr. Chair. And good

07:13afternoon, members of Council. Uh or

07:15Ways and Means Committee, excuse me. So,

07:17>> [clears throat]

07:17>> the key changes for these new franchise

07:20agreements are up here on the screen.

07:22Just bear in mind too, the Berkeley

07:23Electric Co-op, this will be a

07:25completely new agreement uh with

07:26Berkeley Electric for the uh

07:29the small area of coverage that they do

07:31have. Um the reason these are coming

07:33together is that Dominion and Berkeley

07:34Electric have worked out a territorial

07:36map. And so, by adopting these together,

07:38we're setting that map for them.

07:40Um but also just keep in mind with

07:42regard to this new franchise agreement,

07:43key terms, uh, 20 years with a 10-year

07:46renewal.

07:47Uh, the franchise fee is set, yet again,

07:50uh, for an average 11 to 14 million

07:52annually, which is 5% of gross of

07:54electric and gas. Uh, 0.5% of that is a

07:59match that Dominion holds for the

08:01undergrounding projects. So, when the

08:03city puts up a project for work, this is

08:05what they'll match for the dollar for

08:07dollar that we put up. Uh, one of the

08:09biggest changes is, um,

08:11in the prior agreement from '96, there

08:13was a 5-year just general permit where

08:15they could just come in and do work

08:17without cooperating, um, with the city.

08:19So, what we've done now is break it out

08:21with the help of traffic and

08:22transportation,

08:23um, break it down into four categories,

08:25you know, the emergency, general

08:26maintenance, um, large larger-scale

08:28projects, and based on the number of

08:31days they'll uh, be closing roads, um,

08:34they will be required to coordinate with

08:36the city as well as the comms team. Um,

08:39so, in case of tree trimming, which this

08:41agreement is not about tree trimming, I

08:43want to be very clear, there is a

08:44separate agreement for that, but in this

08:46instance, uh, annually we meet to talk

08:48about tree trimming, they'll meet with

08:49our staff and our comms team, and we'll

08:51be working to notify the neighborhoods

08:52in advance. So, that's a good, um, a

08:55good addition to this new agreement. Um,

08:57if you have any other questions, those

08:58are the key points I'd like to hit, but

09:00otherwise I'm open to questions. And Mr.

09:02Cassis is also here from Dominion if you

09:04have any questions of Dominion.

09:06>> Any discussion by any member of the

09:08committee? Um,

09:10any discussion? I For me, I would like

09:12to see if I can get an amendment to the

09:14motion or to, uh, approve first reading

09:17with the caveat that we get an

09:19opportunity to sit down with Mr. Cassis

09:21and and Dominion and talk about it. This

09:23is a up to 30-year agreement that we're

09:25about to enter into, and one of the big

09:27parts of it is the NSSF, the

09:28non-standard service fund, which is the

09:30underground wiring, so we're all on the

09:32same page, all have a complete

09:33understanding of it, and when we leave

09:35these chambers, we can answer to our

09:37constituents any questions they might

09:38have with about what's going to happen

09:40for the next up to 30 years with

09:43electricity in the city of Charleston.

09:45And I know I don't know how long Ms.

09:47Copeland and I have been negotiating

09:48this, but it's been for a while. I think

09:50a little bit more than a one-page slide

09:52would be really good for all of us. So,

09:54I would love to see us after we give

09:56this first reading have a workshop on

09:57this.

09:58>> Mr. Chairman, I'll amend my motion for

10:00approval subject to having a meeting

10:03with Dominion and staff

10:06to discuss just that and the details for

10:09any council member that likes to would

10:11like to attend either in person or

10:13virtually. Because again, you make a

10:15good point. There has been a lot of work

10:17that's gone into this. We do get a lot

10:19of money from the franchise agreement.

10:21So, there is incentive obviously for the

10:24city to have this agreement. Um

10:27and it gives us protections that we will

10:29get that fee.

10:31And also, but clarifying the

10:34tweaks that we've made to the

10:36non-standard service fund, it will make

10:38it easier for bearing of power lines,

10:42which is ultimately the solution from my

10:45perspective when it comes to the

10:48concerns a lot of our constituents have

10:50over tree trimming and um other things

10:54that

10:55relate to the safety of those lines. So,

10:58I think it's a great suggestion and

11:00Dominion is more than happy to

11:03participate and um walk us through all

11:06of the

11:07uh the details that Ms. Copeland and her

11:09staff have been working on for almost a

11:11year now working through this. So, this

11:13is a lot of work's gone into this.

11:17>> I'm going to motion in a second to give

11:18both um

11:20>> Recording in progress.

11:21>> 10 and 11 first reading with a workshop

11:24between second and third reading. Any

11:27further discussion or any more questions

11:29for Ms. Copeland?

11:31If not, all in favor.

11:32>> I.

11:33>> Any opposed? The eyes have it.

11:34>> And Mr. Chairman, before we get off that

11:36one, just for housekeeping, what we will

11:38do is

11:40work with Dominion on a date between now

11:43and second reading, get that uh to

11:46everybody. We may need to do two,

11:47depending on what people's availability

11:49is and interest is.

11:50So, we should have something to y'all

11:53either today or tomorrow or um

11:55Thursday.

11:56>> Great. Thank you very much.

11:58Okay, next uh the Committee on Real

12:00Estate um

12:02Chairman Tickle.

12:05>> Thank you. Uh the Committee on Real

12:08Estate met September 21st.

12:11Uh number items were taken up. Uh just

12:13sort of

12:14go through several of them quickly. We

12:16addressed um

12:18a parcel in the County Industrial Park

12:20that was already off the tax rolls. Um

12:23We've got uh utility easement.

12:26Uh

12:27we looked at

12:29um

12:32uh

12:33putting in some some EV charging over

12:36there by the old um

12:38uh baseball field off of

12:40Grove Street. Um

12:43we've got uh a little correction on a on

12:46a a Daniel Island parcel that uh

12:49we we dealt with it in uh

12:51probably about a year ago, but uh to

12:54remove some some

12:56basically a cell phone tower that was

12:58mistakenly included in that deal. Um

13:01and we added a

13:03uh another year to the lease with the

13:06with the Hope Center. Um some of the

13:08some of the big issues that we addressed

13:11uh

13:12well, we we we talked a little bit about

13:14the MUSC Foundation giving uh the city

13:18or or selling the city their interest to

13:20the city over at the the West Edge. Um

13:24that was deferred. Uh so, you know,

13:26we're still discussing that.

13:29Um

13:31What's the And then And then uh

13:33there were five annexations.

13:36Uh

13:36and then

13:37finally, we discussed uh we went into

13:40executive session relating to

13:43um the 993 995 Morrison Drive

13:47agreement that we're we're talking to

13:49the county about. It was an It was an

13:51executive session.

13:52Um

13:53Out of executive session, there was a

13:55unanimous vote to move forward with

13:58uh with with the terms of the agreement,

14:01but

14:02you know, I I don't know if um

14:05Uh

14:06>> [clears throat]

14:06>> well,

14:08if any any of the council members have

14:09any questions about that. I know um Ms.

14:12Copeland had reached out, I think, to

14:13everybody to discuss that.

14:15Uh yeah, this this might be an

14:17opportunity if if any there are any

14:18questions, whether you want to ask them

14:21in open session or whether you move for

14:22executive session. I'll give council

14:25members that opportunity to so we can

14:26get that done now. Um

14:29Are there any questions about that that

14:31arrangement?

14:34>> Questions directed directly to the

14:36Morrison Drive issue.

14:37>> That's right. Um okay. Well, without any

14:39questions, I mean, the the the last big

14:41thing I know

14:42uh Councilman Bowden is is is very

14:45interested in this project, the Savannah

14:46project. We have

14:48uh

14:49approved an an amendment to the

14:51development agreement that would allow

14:53them uh to

14:56look at certificates of occupancy rather

14:58than um

15:00permits in order to essentially fund the

15:03the um the

15:05the the road that they're going to be

15:06putting in there. So, it it changes it

15:08slightly, but it's not going to mean any

15:10residents are going to be moving in

15:11before the road is is available. So,

15:14all all of these, except for that one

15:16deferral, passed unanimously. Um

15:20you know, unless there are any

15:20questions, um uh I'll move for the

15:23adoption of the report.

15:24>> Got a motion for adoption. Is there a

15:25second?

15:26>> Second.

15:26>> Any questions for Chairman Tinkler on

15:28the real estate report? Yes, sir,

15:29Council member De- D'Alessandro.

15:31>> Um are we able to get a little more

15:33information about the EV charging

15:35stations

15:37over there by the Citadel? Um is that

15:39lot right by Grove Street?

15:40>> Yeah, I can give you a little bit more.

15:42So, that property, the College Park, uh

15:46is owned by the Citadel the city

15:49and Dominion. And so,

15:52uh what we're looking at doing is um

15:56redesigning the parking lot. And part of

15:58that is Dominion wants to put in some uh

16:02charging stations that would be

16:04universal.

16:05I think it's funded by through a grant

16:06from Tesla, but it is universal, not

16:08just Tesla's.

16:10Uh that would be in a line along

16:13where the dog park is.

16:15So, dog park would remain. Uh these

16:17would just be open spaces for people to

16:20charge their EVs.

16:22Um and it technically is on Dominion's

16:25property. Uh so, that's one of the

16:27reasons why they wanted to have it.

16:29>> Um if uh if these spots prove to be not

16:34as popular as thought to be, is there an

16:37avenue to

16:39revert them back to just normal spots?

16:43>> Um

16:45yeah, I mean, I think, you know, um

16:46that's within I would say our control if

16:49if Dominion's not making any money off

16:51of them, um nobody's charging there,

16:54then I would think that

16:57um uh we could just go to a normal

17:00parking space, which is one of the ideas

17:01we're talking about is

17:03um having it cleaned up for parking, so

17:06there's more neighborhood parking up

17:08there as well. But,

17:10not where people can just go and leave

17:12their car for days on end.

17:14>> Yeah, that is appreciated.

17:15>> Yeah.

17:16>> I think it's going to be a good model up

17:18there with the EV stations and I hope

17:20they are popular.

17:21>> Agreed.

17:23>> Any other questions? Council member

17:24Bowden, yes sir.

17:26>> I just wanted to get a little time

17:28re-emphasize what

17:31Council member Tinkler said about the

17:32Long Savannah agreement. So this was

17:36as part of the development agreement

17:38once they hit a certain number of

17:40building permits that had been issued

17:43they had to complete

17:45the Long Savannah Parkway which is going

17:47to be one of the main entrances back

17:50into the back into the development and

17:52that's and that was an effort to make

17:54sure that the infrastructure was there

17:55by the time that people moved in

17:57exactly what our constituents

17:59consistently ask for. This is just a a

18:03minor technical change from building

18:06permits to certificates of occupancy

18:09which are issued at the end of the

18:11construction process when it's

18:12substantially completed and is required

18:15for people to move in. So they still

18:17have to complete this road before that

18:20same number of certificates of occupancy

18:22are issued which is why

18:25Council member Tinkler made the point

18:26that nobody will people won't be moving

18:28in before this is built just the

18:31construction will be continuing on the

18:33houses while it's built

18:35and then the road has to be completed

18:38before those certificates of occupancy

18:39are issued.

18:42>> Any other questions?

18:43Any other questions about the real

18:45estate report?

18:46If not we've got a motion I believe in a

18:48second for adoption of the report. Am I

18:50correct about that?

18:52Any no further discussion all in favor?

18:54>> I.

18:55>> Any opposed? The eyes have it. If

18:57there's nothing else to come before this

18:58committee

18:59>> Mr. Chairman.

19:01>> Oh, sorry Council member McBride.

19:03>> You're you're all good. Just I want to

19:05clarify one thing I think we kind of

19:06might have inadvertently brushed over

19:08item 11. So we talked about

19:10deferring uh the Dominion agreement but

19:12I don't think Berkeley Electric was

19:14mentioned.

19:15And I'm assuming that was also deferred

19:18for the same reasons.

19:19>> For clarity, we didn't defer

19:20>> We did not defer. We gave first reading

19:23with the proviso that before between

19:25second and third reading there would be

19:26a workshop for all council members to

19:28talk about both agreements on any topic

19:31that they feel that they need some

19:32education on.

19:34>> Okay, so for Is that Is that for item 11

19:36as well? For Berkeley Electric? Okay.

19:39Great. Thank you.

19:40>> Sure.

19:41Uh any other questions, comments,

19:42concerns? If not, by acclamation, this

19:44meeting is hereby adjourned. See you

```*