Latest / Saluda County Unplugged / May 11, 2026 County Council Meeting Recap
Transcript
- Josh Morton: The documents referenced by Mrs. Sanders were provided by SafeBuilt, which is a private third-party entity contracted by Saluda County to conduct building code enforcement. It is our understanding that it is SafeBuilt's policy to redact information that identifies the specific inspector. The meeting also included a presentation from Stevie Herron about the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program for 2026. The program provides $50 vouchers to qualifying seniors that can be used at participating farmers markets throughout South Carolina. To qualify, residents must be at least years old, low income, and live in Saluda County. One of the more eye-opening parts of the CPST discussion involved the Sheriff's Department expansion project. As always, if you want to watch the full county council meeting yourself, you can find it on the Saluda County Government Facebook page. The final major CPST project discussed was sewer line expansion from Holly Ferry Road towards the traffic circle area. And this was framed as a long-term growth and economic development project. The committee talked about how growth from Lexington County continues moving westward and how infrastructure is one of the biggest factors determining whether businesses can locate in a particular area. Basically, if you want commercial growth, industrial growth, restaurants, As always, the meeting started with council comments and one of the major themes early on was about the county's new EMS headquarters building. Several council members mentioned that they attended the recent open house and ribbon cutting ceremony and you could tell that they were genuinely proud of the project. Councilman Kerry Bedenboe mentioned that EMS had been operating out of the basement of the nursing home facility since 1974, which is kind of crazy when you stop and think about it. That means that more than 50 years Probably the biggest item of the night was first reading of the proposed Capital Project Sales Tax Ordinance, or CPST, which people around here have probably heard talked about quite a bit lately. is ⁓ that this is not brand new tax. This would continue the existing one cent Capital Project Sales Tax that is already in place. Council also held second reading on both the county operating budget and the school district budget. Chairman Jim Moore spent some time explaining how county budgets and millage calculations work, which is helpful because local government finance can get confusing very quickly. He explained that county budgets are essentially educated estimates based on expected expenditures and anticipated revenues. Expenditures are usually easier to estimate because counties know roughly what departments spent Welcome everybody to another episode of Saluda County Unplugged. I'm Josh. And today we're recapping the May 11th, 2026 County Council meeting. This was definitely one of the more packed meetings we've had in a while. There were a lot of agenda items, several lengthy presentations, and some pretty important long-term discussions about where the county is headed over the next several years. The council also recognized two retiring county employees during the meeting. Maintenance supervisor John Oscar Perry was honored for his service to the county and detention center employee Sheila Abney was also recognized for her years of service. The meeting also included appointments to the library board and airport commission. But the final major discussion item of the night focused on the county annex building on Main Street that was damaged severely during Hurricane Helene. The public comments portion of the meeting focused heavily on transparency issues, FOIA requests, and concerns about public records. Regina Sanders discussed inspection documents related to the new public safety building. Her concerns centered around the fact that the inspection records she received through the FOIA request did not appear to include inspector names, signatures, numbers, or other identifying information showing exactly who performed the inspections. Rachel: and I'm Rachel. And if you enjoy these recaps, make sure to follow, like, share, subscribe, and whatever else I'm apparently supposed to say at the end of podcasts now. Josh Morton: And speaking of new buildings and facility upgrades, another project in the list ⁓ is for a fire station for the town of Saluda. The current station ⁓ is a bit smaller than what they need and won't accommodate some of the newer trucks. Rachel: This week on Saluda County unplugged, County Council moves forward with a proposed capital project sales tax referendum that could fund recreation, fire EMS upgrades, sewer expansion, and sheriff's department improvements. Josh Morton: And remember... Ricky Bailey talked about touring the Sheriff's Department facilities and said the committee was surprised by how overcrowded some of the spaces had become. He specifically mentioned evidence storage, training areas, office space, and the use of older portable buildings that have been there for decades. There was one moment where he joked that one of the portable buildings was so old that he remembered being in it when he was a student at Saluda High School. Everybody laughed, but underneath the joke was a pretty serious point. Rachel: Local government affects your everyday life more than you probably realize. We'll see you next time. Josh Morton: ⁓ those meetings you could really see the balancing act that local governments deal with every day. On one side, you have aging infrastructure, growing service demands, and long-term planning needs. On the other side, you have concerns about taxes, budgets, transparency, and making sure projects are actually worth the investment. And the Capital Projects Sales Tax Discussion is So paying attention matters. Voucher distribution will happen on June 4th at the Tomorrow Center in Ward, and they're actually planning to have a produce vendor on site during the distribution event. So seniors who receive vouchers can immediately use them that same day if they choose. Plus, the council discusses a structurally damaged county building following Hurricane Helene, hears public comments about transparency and FOIA requests, and continues to work on the county budget. So a new facility there would allow for more modernization of that fire department as well. previous year and what new expenses may be coming. Revenue is a little harder because counties don't always know exactly how much money they'll receive from property taxes, vehicle taxes, state reimbursements, and other funding sources until later in the process. She also raised concerns that the files provided to her were editable Word documents rather than locked or finalized PDFs. Her point was that official records should be protected against alteration and should clearly identify who approved or certified inspections. or any other investment, utilities matter. Water and sewer infrastructure are often the first questions that developers ask about. County EMS services were working out of the basement of a facility that wasn't really designed to be a standalone emergency services headquarters. Councilman Biedenboh also talked about how impressive the facility is and praised EMS Director Jacob Starnes and the EMS staff for the work that they do every day. Councilman Atkinson echoed that and said he believed the building would be a major benefit for the county moving. Rachel: And programs like this are beneficial from several different angles, especially here. Josh Morton: going to be a big part of conversations over the next several months because those projects touch nearly every part of county life. Recreation, fire protection, EMS, law enforcement, and future growth. Rachel: And honestly, this may have been one of the most information heavy meetings we've had in a while. Josh Morton: The Sheriff's Office has grown significantly over the years, but the facilities haven't kept up with that growth. The committee also discussed the need to expand the county's 911 system infrastructure and how that impacts available workspace inside the building. Rachel: And this is one of those conversations that communities all over South Carolina are having right now. Growth is pushing outward from larger areas and smaller counties are trying to figure out how are we going to prepare for that growth without overwhelming existing infrastructure. Josh Morton: This is Saluda County Unplugged. Rachel: He also spent time explaining millage rates and ad valorem taxes, which include property taxes, vehicle taxes, and watercraft taxes. The proposed county operating budget currently sits at a little over $19.4 million, district budget is a little over $30.3 million. Council also said that they expect the budget to be balanced by third reading once revenue estimates are finalized. Gail Meyer addressed concerns about how her FOIA requests have been handled by the county and argued that she believes she is being treated differently from other citizens requesting public records. this is one of those areas where local government can get complicated quickly because FOIA laws exist to ensure transparency and public access to records, but at the same time, counties also have to manage legal processes, staff workloads, and compliance requirements. Regardless of where people fall on the specific disagreements, it's pretty clear that transparency County officials reviewed a structural engineering report describing extensive damage the building, including roof problems, water intrusion, deteriorating brick mortar, Josh Morton: The really detailed part of this discussion came from CPST committee chairman, Ricky Bailey. County Council comments also talked about a very real part of serving in public safety. Today our thoughts and prayers are with the City of Greenwood Police Department in neighboring Greenwood County Rachel: And whether people ultimately support the referendum or oppose it, at least now there's a much clearer picture of what projects are being proposed and why the committee prioritized them in the order that they did. Obviously it helps our seniors access fresh produce, but it also supports our local farmers and encourages people to shop at local farmers markets. the fact that this program is now statewide is pretty impressive. They mentioned that every county in South Carolina is participating this year, which means there's clearly been a strong support for expanding it. Yeah, and one thing I noticed during this meeting was that several council members and presenters really tried to explain the reasoning behind projects instead of just voting and moving on. Sometimes council meetings can feel like a lot of procedure and legal wording, but this meeting actually included quite a bit of explanation and context, which I think helps people better understand why some of these projects are being proposed in the first place. mold, structural framing issues, and foundation concerns. Officials indicated that repairing the building could become extremely expensive, especially considering the age of the structure and the extent of the damage. the historical nature of the building since parts of the building date back to the early 1900s. And it really is a significant milestone for the county. Emergency medical services have changed dramatically over the last several decades. The equipment is more advanced, staffing needs are different, and modern EMS systems require space for vehicles, supplies, training, communications equipment, sleeping quarters for crews, and all kinds of operational needs that old building just couldn't accommodate anymore. There was also recognition of National Police Week during council comments. Josh Morton: who gave a long presentation explaining how the committee approached the process of selecting projects. The committee has held multiple public meetings since January, including field visits to project sites around the county. Mr. Bailey said that the field trip completely changed some of their perspectives because they were able to physically see conditions at certain facilities instead of just reading reports about them. Rachel: EMS substations were another major focus. The proposal includes replacing the EMS stations at the Traffic Circle and in Ridge Spring. And honestly, some of the discussion about the current conditions was pretty eye-opening. They talked about the temperature control problems for ambulances and medications, limited space for staff, and operational issues caused by older facilities. The committee also emphasized that they intentionally kept the proposed project list under the projected revenue amount because they wanted a cushion in case construction costs increase or unexpected expenses come up later. and access to information remain major issues for members of the public right now. And honestly, these kinds of conversations are becoming more common in local governments all across the country, not just here in Saluda County. Josh Morton: So let's get into it. And the family of officer DJ Keller, who was killed in a crash in the line of duty on Monday. Rachel: And the committee really tried to organize projects around several major themes, helping children and senior citizens, improving emergency services and infrastructure, and supporting future growth in the county. along with appreciation for law enforcement officers And congratulations to several Saluda County athletic teams that have had very successful seasons this year. Council also announced that there will be a county budget workshop on May 26th, where the department heads will be able to publicly discuss their budget requests, ⁓ which is always one of the more important parts the county budget process because that's where some of the more detailed conversations happen. council didn't make any final decisions during this meeting, but they did say the issue will likely come back up during budget workshops and future meetings because whatever decision is made will probably have a significant financial impact. One thing they explained is that some of the medications have to remain within specific temperature ranges and because of the limitations of older stations and ambulances, crews sometimes have to physically move equipment and medication bags indoors to maintain safe temperatures. So while people sometimes hear new building or facility upgrades and immediately think it sounds excessive, a lot of these discussions were really centered around operational need and the realities of modern emergency services. One of the largest projects discussed was Recreation Gym partnership involving the county, the town of Saluda, and the YMCA. The committee described it as a project that could serve basically every age group in the county, from youth recreation and summer programs all the way to senior wellness activities. They also discussed fire department projects, specifically improvements for the Duncan Road and Fruit Hill areas. A major part of that conversation focused on the insurance ratings and fire protection coverage. The committee explained that improving the fire coverage in those areas could potentially lower insurance costs for the residents and possibly improve countywide ISA ratings over time.