PAMPLICO — Pamplico Town Council has taken its attorney’s advice and voted unanimously to drop an ordinance that would forbid residents from wearing sagging pants.
Mayor Gene Gainey said Monday that town attorney Jimmy Epps has concerns about the constitutionality and possible legal challenges that could result from such an ordinance.
Gainey said the town will observe how successful a sagging-pants ban would be if passed in some of the state’s larger cities.
Council voted last month to table the ordinance so that Epps and council members would have more time to consider the measure, which passed first reading July 21.
The ordinance would have made it a misdemeanor to wear pants more than three inches below the hips thereby exposing skin or “intimate clothing.” The style began in the 1990s, when it was made popular by hip-hop artists.
Council on Monday also gave its final approval to a five-year lease agreement on a former Main Street bank where the town intends to place its police department and town judge’s office. The lease, with The Citizens Bank, will cost the town $100 over five years, Gainey said.
The current police department will become an evidence room, Gainey said, while the public works director will move into the mayor’s former office and the fire chief will move into the clerk’s former office. The town hall moved from River Road to Main Street last month.
Gainey also told council that the town will soon need to do repairs on a 43-year-old town water tank on River Road.
“On down the road, we’re going to have to spend some money on that tank,” he said.
The cost of renovating the tank would be $150,000 to $200,000, while a new tank is projected to cost $700,000, he said.
In a report on the town’s 2008 Cypress Festival, held this past weekend, councilwoman Cynthia Parks said about 400 people attended the first-ever Friday night portion of the festival while about 600 participated in Saturday’s festivities.
Council also heard from Barney Derrick, a safety and loss-prevention specialist with the S.C. State Accident Fund. He told council how their workers’ compensation premiums are calculated as well as steps the town can take to ensure a safe work environment and keep insurance costs down. Council had been concerned about rising premiums after recent major claims, particularly in the police department.
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