Latest / Saluda County Unplugged / July 13, 2026 County Council Preview
Transcript
- Josh Morton: The Saluda County Council will meet Monday, july thirteenth at six p.m. in the Council Chambers at the Saluda County Administration Building, located at four hundred West Highland Street in Saluda. As always, the meeting is open to the public and it will also be recorded and available through the Saluda County Government Facebook page. So to recap, Monday night's meeting includes three public hearings, final reading of the Capitol Project Sales Tax Ordinance, final reading of the Aiken pilot training lease ordinance, a resolution honoring Judge Joyce Schultz, and several operational items involving building permit fees, the county airport, county facilities, and the coroner's office. Have questions or an idea for an upcoming episode, email us at publicinfo at salutacounty.sc.gov. And remember, as Ted Lasso says, be curious, not judgmental. We'll see you next time on Saluda County Unplugged. Under New Business, Council will begin by considering a resolution honoring the retirement of Magistrate Judge Joyce B. Schultz. Judge Schultz has served Saluda County for many years, and this resolution is an opportunity for Council to formally recognize her service and contributions to the county. Council will also consider adopting a new building permit fee schedule. Building permit fees help support the work involved in reviewing permits, conducting inspections, and administering the county's building-related processes. Under old business, council will consider third reading of two ordinances. The first is third reading of ordinance five-26, the Capital Project Sales Tax Ordinance. If Council approves third reading, that does not automatically implement the tax. Instead, it moves the question to the voters. The referendum would appear on the ballot in November, and voters would decide whether or not the Capital Project Sales Tax is reimposed. Welcome back to Saluda County Unplugged. It's County Council Meeting Week. And this one has a little bit of everything: public hearings, capital project sales tax, airport planning, building permit fees, a coroner's office vehicle, and yes, even an HVAC unit. We'll walk you through the agenda. And we'll start with some important dates for upcoming CPST community information meetings. Let's get into it. Monday night's meeting will begin with the usual opening items: the to order, invocation, pledge of allegiance, approval of the agenda, and approval of the minutes from the June 22nd meeting. After that, council members will have an opportunity to provide reports and comments, and then the meeting will move into public comments. As a reminder, Before we dive in, one quick reminder. We record these preview episodes a few days before the meeting, so the agenda is still considered a draft when we're recording. And it's always possible that items could be added, removed, or changed before Monday night's council meeting. If you would like to speak during public comments, you'll need to sign up before the meeting begins. Public comments are limited to three minutes per speaker. Also, because there are public hearings on the agenda, make sure you sign up on the correct sheet depending on whether you want to speak during general public comments or during a specific public hearing. This is something that we'll continue talking about quite a bit over the next few months. The second old business item is third reading of ordinance six-26, which would allow Saluda County to enter into the lease agreement with Aiken pilot training. If approved, this would complete the ordinance process for that agreement. And don't forget, the Capital Project Sales Tax Community Information Meetings begin August 17th and continue through September 21st. We'll keep sharing those dates in each episode and we encourage residents to attend whichever meeting is the most convenient. As always, we'll be back next week with a recap of what happened at the meeting, what decisions were made, and what those decisions mean for Saluda County. Next, council will consider approval of an award for engineering and planning services for the Saluda County Airport. Airport planning is important because it helps guide future improvements and We'll cover the agenda as it is today, but be sure to check the county website or Facebook page for the most up-to-date version before the meeting. Before we get into the agenda, we want to start with something that will be important over the next couple of months. Saluda County will be holding several community information meetings about the proposed capital project sales tax referendum that is expected to appear on the November ballot. These meetings are informational only. No vote will take place at these meetings and no official action will be taken. There are three public hearings scheduled for this meeting. The first public hearing is on ordinance one twenty six, which amends and restates the Saluda County Comprehensive Plan. We've talked about the comprehensive plan several times, but in simple terms, this is the county's long range planning document. Keeps the airport eligible for certain grant opportunities and supports the airport's role as both a transportation asset and an economic development tool for the county. Council will also consider approving a funds transfer to replace an HVAC unit at the first steps building. It looks at where the county is today, where growth and development may happen in the future, and what goals should guide decisions related to land use, transportation, housing, infrastructure, economic development, natural resources, recreation, and community facilities. This is one of those items that may not sound exciting, but it matters. County-owned buildings have to be maintained, and replacing aging, heating, and air equipment helps keep those facilities usable for the organizations and residents that they serve. Finally, council will consider replacing a vehicle in the coroner's office. Reliable vehicles are essential for many county departments, and that is especially true for public safety and emergency response related offices. the purpose is to provide factual information about the referendum, explain how the capital project sales tax works, review the proposed projects, talk about estimated revenues, and give residents a chance to ask questions. All of these meetings begin at six o'clock PM and residents are encouraged to attend whichever one is most convenient. it serves as a guide for future decisions. The meeting schedule is as follows Monday, august seventeenth at the Old Town Fire Department, Tuesday, august eighteenth at the Trinity Community Center, Tuesday, august twenty fifth at the Circle Fire Department, Monday, august thirty first at the Hollywood Fire Department, Tuesday, september first at Sardis Community Center. The second public hearing is on ordinance five-26, which is the capital project tax ordinance. Vehicle replacements are typically considered as part of keeping county operations dependable while managing repair costs on older equipment. This ordinance would reimpose the 1% capital project sales tax, subject to approval by voters in a countywide referendum. It identifies the projects that would be funded, the maximum time the tax could be collected, the maximum amount of revenue to be raised, the priority order for projects, and the ballot question This public hearing is one of the formal opportunities for residents to speak directly to County Council before council considers third reading of the ordinance later in the meeting. Tuesday, September 8th at the Ridge Spring Fire Department, and Monday, September 21st at the Saluda County Administration Office. We'll continue sharing these dates in each episode between now and September 21st because we want to make sure residents know when and where they can come learn and ask questions. Now let's turn to Monday night's County Council agenda. I also want to take a moment to clear up something that we have spoken about erroneously in previous episodes. In previous episodes of the podcast, we have stated that this capital project sales tax referendum would be for eight years. However, I've recently been informed that the initial capital project sales tax, which is the one that is ending early next year, for eight years, but any subsequent Sales taxes are only for seven years. So I did want to take a moment just clarify that. The third public hearing is on ordinance six twenty six, which would allow Saluda County to enter into a lease agreement with Aiken pilot training. This item relates to operations at the Saluda County Airport. Like the CPST ordinance, this item will also come back later in the meeting for third reading.