North Augusta schedules off-site retreat in Greenwood to weigh capital projects and FEMA funding

City Administrator Jim Clifford announced that the North Augusta City Council will hold an off-site retreat at the Art Center of Greenwood on Feb. 26 to review funding strategies for current and future capital project sales tax funds and to consider FEMA funding strategies.

Clifford said council members received hard copies of staff department details and that the Feb. 23 study session would have no focus item. "You have a hard copy of the staff department details there before you, and we'll have no focus item this evening," he said. He added the city will publish a full agenda by close of business the next day.

The retreat is intended as a workshop for council and staff to discuss and provide fiscal guidance, including rank-ordering and prioritizing outstanding projects and updating the council on how much funding remains in the capital project sales tax line. Clifford said participants will receive a staff update on remaining capital project sales tax funding.

The council read notice that, because a quorum of council members will be present in Greenwood, the gathering "will constitute a meeting as identified by the Freedom of Information Act," but that no votes or formal action will occur there and the session will be open to the public. The notice gives the workshop location as the Art Center of Greenwood at 120 Main Street in Greenwood, South Carolina, with a planned start at 09:00 and an expected return to North Augusta by 6:00 p.m.

City staff will post additional information about the workshop on the city's website and the administrator was listed as the contact for further questions. The retreat will focus on FEMA funding strategy and a deeper workshop on capital project sales tax strategy, according to Clifford.

Next steps: the city will publish the retreat agenda by the stated deadline and convene in Greenwood on Feb. 26 for the off-site workshop.