Richland County Council approves multiple proclamations, grants and procurement actions; removes one rezoning from agenda

Richland County Council voted on a bundle of proclamations, grants and procurement items during its Sept. 16 regular meeting, approving a prostate cancer awareness resolution and several administrative actions while removing a rezoning request from the agenda.

The council approved a resolution recognizing September 2025 as Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and a separate resolution honoring the Jubilee Festival of Black History and Culture. Council members also accepted a staff recommendation to approve the 2025 assessment roll for the Village at Sand Hill Improvement District, approved acceptance of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and state grants to rehabilitate taxi lanes at Jim Hamilton Owens (J. H. “Jimmy” Hamilton–Owens) Airport, and authorized use of an alternative supplier under a cooperative purchasing agreement to procure residential roll carts as needed to supplement the existing contract.

Why it matters: the grants and procurement decisions fund infrastructure and operational items that county staff said are covered by state or federal funding or already budgeted local matches, while the assessment-roll approval enables property owners in an improvement district to be billed for their assessments.

Key actions and outcomes

- Proclamation/Resolution — Prostate Cancer Awareness Month (resolution 4a): motion moved and seconded; roll call recorded as Yes from council members; motion approved. The South Carolina Cancer Alliance attended the meeting; Nicole Echols, identified in the meeting as CEO of the South Carolina Cancer Alliance, addressed council during presentations invoking the need for PSA testing and awareness.

- Resolution — Jubilee Festival of Black History and Culture (resolution 4b): motion moved, seconded and approved by roll call.

- Approval — 2025 Assessment Roll for Village at Sand Hill Improvement District: council approved the resolution necessary to continue billing property owners in the district for assessments associated with previously issued assessment revenue bonds. The staff report referenced ordinance 003-04H (March 2, 2004) establishing the issuance authority and cited a remaining principal balance figure; the motion carried on roll call. A subsequent motion to reconsider that approval failed on a roll call vote.

- Grant acceptance — FAA/state grants for taxi-lane rehabilitation at Jim Hamilton Owens Airport: staff said the grants will cover 95% of the rehabilitation project; the county’s 5% local match was included in the fiscal 2026 budget. Council approved acceptance of the grants by roll call; a later motion to reconsider failed.

- Procurement approval — residential roll carts contract: council approved use of an alternative supplier through a cooperative purchasing agreement to procure roll carts to supplement the existing contract; the motion passed on roll call. A motion to reconsider failed.

- Economic development first-reading items (committee recommendations approved): the council approved a first-reading authorization to expand the I‑77 Quarter Region Industrial Park to include property related to a planned development and related infrastructure-credit agreement for Vulcan Development LLC (a proposed full‑service boutique hotel project with staff citing roughly $35 million in capital investment). Separately, council authorized the sale and transfer of roughly 27 acres in Carolina Pine Industrial Park to Magnus Holdings LLC for construction of a roughly 2,000-square-foot industrial building. Both items were presented as first-reading actions and approved by council.

Procedural notes and agenda changes

- Council removed two items (agenda items 14 and 15) from the agenda at the request of the applicant; County staff said the rezoning request at Garner’s Ferry Road and Chang Gang Road had been deferred from a zoning public hearing and the applicant withdrew their application after being told the sponsor planned to deny it. Council member Jason Branham (who spoke about the item during agenda adoption) thanked constituents and staff for participating in the discussions.

- Several motions that sought reconsideration of approved items failed on roll-call votes, as recorded in the meeting.

Speakers quoted or on the record for these actions included Administrator Brown (county administrator), Director "Kyle Hostclock" (identified in the meeting as the information-technology director in remarks acknowledging IT awards and Workday implementation), and representatives of the South Carolina Cancer Alliance who accepted the proclamation.

What’s next: Several items (the assessment roll, grants and procurement approvals) will lead to implementation steps by county staff; the airport grant acceptance and roll-cart procurement were tied to budgeted local matches noted by staff.