Council approves outfall-ditch bid; members debate bid notice, timber consultant process and business-license notifications

Marion County Council voted to award the Marion County outfall ditch-cleaning contract to Mark Hewitt and discussed procurement-notice accessibility, email notifications to business-license holders, and consultant-managed timber sales.

County administration said the prior contractor is deceased, the county solicited bids for at least two weeks, and the lowest bid came from Mark Hewitt; the council approved the award. During discussion, a council member said some constituents find bid postings hard to locate on the county website. County staff said bids are posted under departments and on the South Carolina business-opportunities site; staff said they will make bid notices more accessible on the county front page.

Council members discussed whether the county could email bid notices to every holder of a county business license. Legal counsel advised caution about selectively notifying subgroups because personalized or targeted notifications could create legal or fairness concerns; counsel said sending notices to all business-license holders across the board would be acceptable. County staff said the business-license system is being updated and that future system capabilities may make mass notifications possible.

Council members also discussed timber-sale procedures handled by a consultant. Staff said timber sales were managed by a consultant through American Forestry of Bennettsville; the consultant handled timber bid awards rather than the county, and the consultant had opened notifications to local loggers after county staff raised awareness concerns.

No roll-call vote with individual names was recorded in the transcript for the outfall-ditch award; the action was recorded as a motion, second and voice vote in favor.