BENNETTSVILLE — Council outlined pending grant applications, budget-transfer procedures and highlighted ongoing infrastructure work during a meeting earlier this month. Infrastructure improvements and ongoing overcrowding and funding needs at the Marlboro County Humane Society continue to be hot button issues facing residents, and many voiced raised concerns surrounding animal control needs and construction oversight. Others praised recent improvements to city parks and recreations activity opportunities.
Grant Discussions and Infrastructure Updates
During the meeting, City Administrator William Simon Jr. said the city would provide council with more information on budget transfers, including transfer forms showing account numbers, amounts, reasons and approvals.
Also discussed during the financial discussions was Ordinance number 268001 for the city to purchase large equipment. Councilman William “Bill” Jennings Jr. requested further clarification.
City Administrator Simon explained, “We discussed this during the budget process. If you can recall, we set aside a GL of $200,000 and we said that we wanted whatever that premium to come out to be for the first couple of years to be under that $200,000. But we all agreed, actually going back two years ago, that we needed to do this at some point for the city.”
Simon said the ordinance allows the city to purchase the kinds of large equipment needed for it to continue performing essential services.
“This ordinance allows us to purchase large equipment to provide services to the city such as a new front-end loader to continue to do trash pickup and bucket trucks for our electric department. We are down to one truck and actually last month we had to actually rent one. So, a lot of times when storms happen and other things happen, we’re having to respond at night. Our equipment is limited and so that hinders us significantly,” Simon lamented.
Grant staff reported several major applications, including about $2.6 million for generators at the water treatment plant, $1.1 million for a community emergency response team to support the Police Department, $60,000 for flood-management assistance and about $500,000 for watershed planning and water testing.
Britney Jones told council that multiple crews are working on infrastructure projects and said most are expected to be completed by the end of September.
“Just hold on just a little bit longer,” Jones said, adding that the city is “really excited to get some of those projects off the books.”
Simon said the city relies on Hannah Engineering for project management and inspections on SKIP-funded projects. “We are not the ones that’s inspecting the project and providing oversight,” he said. He also said contractors are expected to return for resurfacing and cleanup after the work is finished.
Public Comment
Public comments focused on parks, youth programs, animal control and contractor oversight. Jeremy Purvis praised the city’s work at the Cloud Street basketball court and described the court as a long-standing community asset. Quoting scripture, he said, “For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak and not lie.” Purvis said he has invested in the court for decades because it gives young people a place to socialize, network and grow.
“This is a gold mine,” Purvis said of Bennettsville. “We just got to keep digging, y’all. We just got to keep digging because there’s gold in the ground.”
Carolyn Prince followed by praising Purvis’ service and pledging financial support. “Service is the rent we pay,” she said, attributing the phrase to Shirley Chisholm. Prince said she would donate $500 and make annual donations to support Purvis’ work with youth.
Pamela Bass raised concerns about animal control, saying stray cats and dogs remain a serious problem in neighborhoods. “You have to get the population under control,” she said. “It’s that simple.” She urged officials to pursue stronger spay-and-neuter efforts and said residents are asking for help.
Rocky Brown said he supports efforts to help first responders but asked the city to improve oversight of infrastructure contractors. “There has to be somebody that can go out and make sure that our contractors are doing their jobs,” Brown said. “We just need to make sure that they’re doing it properly because if we’re not, if they’re not, then it’s just wasting money.”