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Residents press board to act on Silfab safety concerns and scrutinize Citadel EHS contract
Summary
Multiple public commenters urged the Fort Mill board to convert its March 10 resolution on hazardous chemical operations near Flint Hill schools into concrete action, questioned whether contracted monitoring (Citadel EHS) performed adequately during incidents, and urged legal and zoning approaches to protect students.
During the public hearing portion of the Fort Mill School District board meeting, residents pressed trustees for tangible follow-up to a March 10 resolution calling for the removal of hazardous chemical operations adjacent to Flint Hill Elementary and Flint Hill Middle School.
Brandon Langford told the board, "The resolution you passed on March 10th ... was a very strong statement. Now, the community is looking to see whether the district's actions, contracts, and financial priorities will reflect that same commitment." He asked trustees to review the district's relationship with contracted environmental services (Citadel EHS) and whether monitoring and consultant contracts delivered measurable protection during chemical incidents at the Silfab site.
Langford said taxpayers have funded environmental monitoring and consulting but, in community members' accounts, the monitoring equipment did not detect chemicals that were later involved in reported incidents and Citadel did not provide a coordinated public response. "Parents deserve to know whether taxpayers received the services they paid for and whether that contract delivered meaningful protection," he said.
Board response and context: Board members said they supported the intent of the March 10 resolution and discussed next steps including review of contracts and, where warranted, legal or legislative options. The administration acknowledged ongoing environmental monitoring efforts and said contract performance and emergency-response coordination would be reviewed; no immediate enforcement action or new contract termination was reported during the meeting.
Why it matters: The site raised in public comment (Silfab/7149 Logistics Lane) is adjacent to two district schools and parents and staff cite proximity and safety as reasons to press for faster, concrete action beyond a resolution. The public commenter urged board members to consider reallocating funds toward legal and advocacy work aimed at addressing zoning, land use and safety at the site.
Status: The public speaker called for legal action and more aggressive oversight; the board committed to follow-up but did not vote on specific legal or contractual actions during the meeting.
