Florence County Council plans hearing for fire district bond

Florence County Council will hold a public hearing Thursday regarding a potential $1.5 million bond to help the Howe Springs Fire District buy four new pumper tankers.

Howe Springs Fire Chief Shannon Smith said his department started with five trucks in 1988.

“The biggest benefit’s going to be replacing the aging fleet,” he said of the bond issue. “(With most of the vehicles) being 20 years old, we’re having a hard time finding parts for them.”

The ordinance providing for the bond’s issuance will be up for a second reading at Thursday’s council meeting. It must also pass a third reading before going into effect.

The bond’s annual debt service will be funded through a 3.3-mill tax levy within the fire district, which is included in the county’s 2008-09 budget.

The debt service, at a 5 percent rate, will be about $120,350 a year, according to county documents.

The council also will vote Thursday on a $250,000 grant from the S.C. Department of Commerce to pave part of a frontage road near Monster Worldwide Inc.’s future Florence County facility.

An about 0.3-mile stretch of the county road in the Pee Dee Touchstone Energy Commerce City is unpaved. Monster, an online job recruitment and careers resource, is seeking a guarantee of the paving so it can get a loan for construction, County Administrator Richard Starks said earlier this month.

Pee Dee Electric Cooperative has committed $50,000 to the project, which is expected to cover the remainder of the cost, Starks said earlier this month.

The road had been intentionally left unpaved because it runs so close to an Interstate 95 ramp that could be relocated.

The council also will vote on $31,015 in Road System Maintenance Fee funds to install a right-turn lane on Bellevue Drive at Second Loop Road. The S.C. Department of Transportation is paying for the installation of the traffic signal.

The Florence County Transportation Committee is considering paying half the costs of widening the road.

In other business, the council will:

• Vote on a $20,000 allocation of county Utility System funds to help Lake City pay engineering costs for a new Coward town wastewater collection system.

• Hold third and final reading of an amendment to allow libraries in the densest residential zoning districts — R-4 and R-5 — a change that would help in the construction of new Olanta and Timmonsville libraries.

• Hold third and final readings of amendments to correct deficiencies in the county code to ensure residents can purchase flood insurance.

• Hold third and final reading of an ordinance to change the Florence County Cultural Commission into a 13-member Florence County Museum Board.

• Hold a public hearing and second reading of an ordinance to remove antiquated job descriptions from the county code.

• Vote on an emergency ordinance to suspend Sunday labor regulations — while maintaining state alcohol restrictions — from Nov. 30 to Dec. 28, during the holiday shopping season.

IF YOU’RE GOING
WHAT: Florence County Council regular meeting; public hearings on $1.5 million bond for Howe Springs Fire District as well as county code updates to remove outdated job descriptions; announcement of 2008 county Christmas Card contest winner
WHEN: 9 a.m. Thursday
WHERE: Room 803 of the Florence City-County Complex, 180 N. Irby St.
INFO: Call Clerk to Council Connie Haselden at (843) 665-3035.