►
Description
City of Charleston Committee on Ways and Means 11/22/2022
B
C
Let
us
all
pause
and
silence
and
close
our
eyes
and
take
a
few
moments
to
reflect
upon
those
things
which,
for
which
we
ought
to
give
thanks
all
of
us
according
to
our
beliefs,
each
in
our
own
way.
Let
us
set
aside
any
notion
of
taking
anything
for
granted
and
recognize
an
attitude
of
gratitude,
for
there
are
many
great
things
that
should
prompt
us
to
be
thankful.
Let
us
be
thankful
for
our
family
that
we
are
together
during
this
time
that
we
laugh
and
catch
up
on
old
times.
C
Let
us
be
thankful
for
our
health
and
remember
our
dear
friends,
our
neighbors
and
our
colleagues,
all
of
those
whom
we
owe
a
debt
of
gratitude
for
their
support
and
humble
assistance
and
their
companionship.
During
this
time,
I
hope
each
of
us
has
a
safe
and
Happy
Thanksgiving
in
your
name.
We
pray,
amen,
amen.
B
D
I
did
want
to
mention
and
I,
don't
know
if
anyone's
here
that
has
the
number
but
the
the
savings
and
carbon
the
output
from
this
conversion
to
the
LED
lights,
and
this
is
for
the
conventional
Mast
street
lights.
That
we
have
is
is
remarkable,
maybe
by
the
beginning
of
city
council,
I'll
get
that
number
I
think
Katie
was
supposed
to
get
it
for
us,
but
it
really
fulfills
a
a
big
big
shot
of
our
climate
action
plan.
B
As
well
as
the
savings,
nine
thousand
dollars
a
month,
yes
item,
seven
again,
we
had
a
and
a
second
okay,
that's
probably
the
second
time
we
did
that,
didn't
it.
It
is
okay,
all
in
favor,
say
aye
aye
the
eyes.
Have
it
em
eight
moved
in
properly
seconded
any
discussion,
if
not
all
in
favor,
say
aye.
E
D
I
just
wanted
to
shout
out
to
council
member
seekings
for
kind
of
putting
this
deal
together
and
our
business
Neighborhood,
Services
and
I
I
think
it'll
go
a
long
way
to
add
in
yet
another
safety
component
to
to
Upper,
King
Street
and
our
efforts
up
there.
But
thank
you
councilmember
for
your.
E
Work
on
that
confidence,
very
briefly,
Mr
chairman,
thank
you
and
thank
you.
Mr
Mayor
I
appreciate
that
I
really
did
very
little
of
the
work
of
Meg
Thompson's.
Here
she
really
worked
hard
on
this
and
is
continuing
to
work
hard
on
us.
We
should
have
it
all
in
place
and
launched
by
the
second
week
in
December.
A
full
complement
of
31
businesses
I
think
we're
not
quite
there
yet
we're
gonna
get
there.
Also
I'm
deputy
chief
Thompson
is
here
just
in
case.
You
have
any
questions.
I,
don't
know.
E
If
you
all
know
this,
but
the
technology,
the
software
that
we're
going
to
put
in
the
hands
of
the
businesses
our
Police
Department,
currently
uses
it.
So
we
know
it
works
and
I.
Think
if
you
had
any
questions,
Chief
Thompson
can
tell
you
that
so
another
tool
out
there,
a
good
partnership
between
the
city
and
the
late
night
establishments,
of
whom
we
I
ask
a
lot,
giving
them
back
just
a
little
bit.
So
we
can
make
King
Street,
more
hospitable
and
safe.
That's
really
I!
Think
and.
B
E
So
I
would
I
would
thank
and
and
urge
each
one
of
you
to
support
this
and
we'll
report
back.
Tell
you
how
it's
going!
Okay,.
F
F
But
it's
you
know
that
young
people-
that's
thinking
it's
underage
and
when
they're
getting
like
that
and
they're
drinking
and
they
don't
know
what
they're
doing
after
they
get
intoxicated
if
you
make
and
they're
up
in
the
streets
doing
certain
things,
so
this
would
kind
of
help
to
alleviate
some
of
that,
even
with
the
businesses
and
with
the
business
you
know
and
attention
that
they
can
do
something
to
stop
them
from
coming
in
to
do
it
that
they
wouldn't
get
in
trouble.
F
With
doing
this,
you
know:
selling
underage
young
people,
alcohol,
so
I
think
this
is
going
to
be
a
great
in
that
area.
That
will
help
us
a
lot
and
help,
even
in
all,
the
police
department
are
a
lot
doing
this
and
see
the
business
will
have
to
be
making
sure
that
they're
using
this
to
help
us
doing
that.
So
we've
been
happy
to
have
all
our
Public
Safety
officers
down
there.
You
know
just
looking
and
trying
to
check
people,
but
you
know
they're
on
age,
so
this
would
help
us
a
lot.
Thank.
G
G
Let's
just
be
cognizant
of
the
fact
that
this
is
not
going
to
prevent
young
people
from
drinking
underage.
This
is
just
going
to
maybe
shift
where
that
activity
takes
place.
So
let's
just
be
cognizant
that
as
we're
reviewing
this
we're
paying
attention
to
how
this
impacts
our
neighborhoods
and
things
of
that
nature,
especially
on
the
peninsula.
Okay,.
B
H
Do
it?
Thank
you
Mr
chairman
I
I
know,
I
spoke
to
you
briefly
earlier
I
know,
I,
wasn't
aware,
I
didn't
see
this
until
it
came
onto
the
agenda
on
Thursday
and
was
wondering
in
what
committee
it
was
discussed
and
I
think
it
was
just
got
you
you
told
me.
It
was
discussed
in
executive
session
at.
H
I
would
certainly
like
to
have
seen
this
have
been
in
discussion.
You
know
in
our
budget
Workshop,
you
know
just
seeing
that
we're
talking
about
the
budget
right
now
raising
taxes,
we
have
sort
of
a
shortfall
again
that
that's
really
my
only
comment.
I
I
obviously
want
to
see
all
of
their
employees
get
bonuses.
You
know
we
want
to
see
them
get
paid
more
get
bonuses
all
of
this,
but
I
certainly
just
wish
that
we
had.
H
You
know
again
since
we're
so
close
to
having
another
budget
Workshop
and
we're
looking
at
that
shortfall
and
trying
to
find
a
way
to
make
up
for
it
that
would
have
been
I
would
have
liked
to
see
it
there,
but.
B
A
F
D
A
And
echoing
your
comments
that
you
just
made,
so
we
have
a
we're
going
to
pass
a
budget.
Hopefully
that's
going
to
see
a
huge
pay
increase
across
the
board
for
our
employees,
but,
as
you
have
brought
out
and
councilman
awareness
brought
out,
there's
more
to
it
than
just
a
pay
increase
that
we're
dealing
with
on
retention
of
our
employees,
all
of
whom
I
think
are
viable
employees.
A
There's
there's!
Sometimes
you
have
to
give
people
a
pat
on
the
back,
and
you
can
do
that
in
various
ways.
You've
we've
talked
about
incentive
pay.
We
talked
about
the
ability
to
be
promoted
with
within
you
and
I
have
going
out.
Councilman
Mitchell
have
grown
up
in
the
federal
system.
We
understand
that
well
of
how
how
that
operates.
A
So
in
the
big
stream
of
things,
while
two
million
dollars
is
a
good
chunk
of
change
and
significant
amount
of
money
that
we're
spending
I
think
at
the
end
of
the
day
the
Dividends
are
going
to
be
received
from
our
constituents.
Our
community,
the
people
who
are
being
served
by
our
employees,
is
going
to
be
well
surpassing
the
money
that
we're
paying
out
on
this
thing.
You
know
the
higher
more
people
come
in
and
to
train
them,
whatever
Department.
A
That
they're
in
is
an
expense
we've
seen
that
in
the
fire
department,
particularly
the
police
department,
particularly
of
getting
these
folks
to
come
back
in
and
train
them.
If
we
can
retain
by
people
10
people
20
people,
whatever
that
number
may
be
I
just
I,
just
want
to
applaud
you
in
councilman
we're
actually
bringing
this
to
the
Forefront
and
having
this
pass.
A
So
thank
you
very
good
and
I
I
understand
councilman
Parker's
concerns,
but
I
think
at
the
end
of
the
day,
this
is
going
to
be
a
very
positive
step
in
the
right
direction.
Okay,.
D
Gray,
thank
you.
Thank
you,
Mr
chairman,
and
also
appreciate
the
concern
about
next
year's
budget.
Of
course,
this
funding
is
coming
from
this
year's
budget
from
employee
saving
because
of
all
those
vacancies
we
had,
hopefully
with
the
compensation
adjustment
we
have
for
next
year,
we're
going
to
be
filling
those
vacancies,
but
the
point
I'd
like
to
share
is
that,
because
those
vacancies
were
there,
all
of
our
employees
will
pull
an
extra
weight.
D
Thank
you
to
them
for
this
year
for
what
they
did
in
2022
and
I
certainly
hope
you
all
support
it
and
I
also
think
you
Mr
chairman
and
council
member
Waring
for
for
bringing
this
idea
forward.
Councilman.
Thank.
I
You
Mr
chairman,
just
a
quick
question:
we
had
a
bonus
issued
earlier
this
year
that
was
3.2
million
dollars
from
arpa
funds
and
I.
Don't
remember
exactly
how
that
broke
out,
but
I
just
was
curious
as
to
how
this
is
going
to
be
distributed
to
the
employees.
Do
you
have
any
Clarity
on
that?
You
can
provide
us
so.
D
So
it'll
be
a
uniform
bonus
to
all
employees,
all
employees
will
be
included
and
then
we
do
allow
departments
to
make
requests
for
individual
kind
of
special
performance,
and
we
we
expect
to
have
a
few
of
those
recommendations
as
well.
Yeah.
D
It'll
be
a
little
less
than
a
thousand
dollars
per
employee
and
then,
after
the
taxes
come
out,
it's
it
it.
You
know
it
Nets
down
below
that
I
think
the
figure
is
more
like
700.
To
be
honest,
with.
E
Very
briefly,
because
I
do
think
you
know,
process
is
important.
We
talk
about
that
and
I.
Thank
you
for
bringing
that
up.
Just
to
be
so
clear
in
the
mayor
did
mention
it.
This
money
is
coming
out
of
a
budget.
We've
already
passed,
it's
salary,
Surplus
money,
so
we're
not
raising
taxes
for
it
or
any
of
that,
and
you
know,
I
mean
you
got
salary
Surplus,
because
you
are
understaffed.
It
makes
logical
sense
that
those
people
who
are
filling
in
those
positions
are
working
a
little
extra
hard.
E
J
Thank
you,
Mr
chairman.
You
know
years
ago,
I
used
to
serve
on
as
chairman
of
South
Carolina
jobs,
Economic
Development
Authority,
that
works
with
a
Department
of
Commerce
to
try
to
recruit
industry,
to
recruit
the
boeings
and
the
new
course
into,
and
the
and
the
Googles
into
the
state
of
South
Carolina.
Well,
some
years
ago
we
had
the
opportunity
to
recruit
Microsoft
a
pretty
serious
division
of
Microsoft
into
the
state
of
South
Carolina.
We
lost
out
to
North
Carolina,
because
we
didn't
have
the
incentives
baked
in
to
recruit
intellectual
property.
J
We
had
the
incentives
baked
in
for
smokestack
Industries.
So
if
you
need
a
railroad,
you
needed
a
railway
coming
into
a
factory.
You
needed
electrical
power,
you
need
water
and
sewage.
You
need
a
roadway.
We
had
all
of
that,
but
in
the
case
of
Microsoft,
the
most
valuable
asset
they
have
is
the
people
walking
in
the
office
building
and
the
people
walking
out
into
apparent
the
men,
I
couldn't
be,
and
councilman
CA
the
most
important
asset
that
the
City
of
Charleston
has
I
know.
J
All
13
of
us
agree
with
this,
but
I
think
it
will
dwell
to
be
said.
Is
the
people
that
come
to
work
for
the
city
every
day
even
doing
a
pandemic,
even
during
a
period
of
time
when
we
were
down
some
250
employees,
everybody
pitched
in
even
when
we
were
fearful
of
furloughing
people,
it
was
a
lot
of
department
heads
that
came
forward
and
said
you
know
we.
We
can
also
save
money
and
I.
J
Remember
going
with
councilman
mapelle
saying
how
can
we
get
another
400
000
I
mean
we
were
that
that
title
on
that
furloughing
people
and
it
was
a
member
of
staff.
I-
could
call
the
name
but
I
want
that
came
forward
and
say
we
can.
J
We
can
save
some
more
monies
this
way
and
we
did
and
you're
right
it's
the
people
that
hung
in
there
with
us
when,
frankly,
you
know
a
lot
of
talk
on
the
news
with
so
much
stimulus
money
out
there
until
people
just
wasn't
coming
to
work,
but
our
people
came
so
when
I
think
of
the
international
African-American
Museum,
the
Gaillard,
the
battery
white
Point's
gun
I
mean
all
the
wonderful
assets,
good
old
Bangkok,
that
this
city
has
the
most
vital
asset
that
we
have
is
our
people
who
are
walking
in
and
out
of
the
city
every
day
to
run
it.
J
If
they
don't
show
up,
we
no
longer
number
one.
We
no
longer
number
two.
We
go
down
real
fast,
so
we're
the
largest
City
in
the
state,
and
we
have
some
of
the
most
complex
projects.
J
I
think
certainly
a
mistake.
In
some
cases,
the
union,
when
you
look
at
the
the
September
clock
spring
fresh
spring
drainage
project,
it's
a
model
to
behold
and
look
at
our
in-house
people
with
one
of
them.
The
most
beautiful
linear
parks
that
we
all
get
to
enjoy.
That's
taking
place
unfolding
right
now
on
the
low
battery,
headed
at
record
Pace
at
tremendous
savings
costs
because
of
an
in-house
employee
watching
over
the
the
dollars
and
cents
to
see
when
we
can't
watch
over.
J
He
certainly
has
the
knowledge
to
watch
over
and
has
literally
saved
millions
of
dollars
on
that
project.
So
I
think
all
our
council
members
think
about
an
interact
process.
Ms
Parker!
Maybe
we
should
have
included
more
people
on
the
executive
session.
I
would
agree
with
that,
but
that
said
we'll
be
better
the
next
time
around,
but
I
thank
everybody
for
pushing
the
elbows
and
and
just
saying
job
well
done.
Okay,
thank
you.
Mr.
B
Tim
yeah
and
I
I
totally
agree
with.
You
is
the
largest
city
in
the
state,
the
number
one
tourist
destination
that
just
didn't
happen,
but
for
our
employees
I,
don't
think
that
would
happen.
Just
imagine
a
City
without
them,
our
employees
are
our
greatest
asset
and
I
think
what
we
need
to
do
is
pay
them
accordingly,
all
in
favor
say
aye
the
eyes
have
it.
B
I
will
call
on
chairman
of
Hell
committee
on
real
estate.
Thank.
G
You
Mr
chairman
the
committee
on
real
estate,
met
yesterday
afternoon
at
3
30..
There
were
only
two
items
on
our
agenda
other
than
our
annexations.
The
first
was
a
request
from
the
Children's
Museum
of
the
Lowcountry
for
a
lease
amendment
that
would
have
entailed
a
1.2
million
dollar
contribution
to
the
museum
from
Hospitality
taxes
and
a
50
000
a
year
contribution
from
the
city
annually
until
the
year
2120.
G
100
year,
lease
extension,
so
there
was
some
heartburn
on
the
committee.
I
think
that's
fair
to
say
about
the
term
of
that
agreement.
There
was
also
some
discussion
at
the
meeting
that
that
1.2
million
dollars
was
really.
It
was
really
an
intent
to
get
three
times
that
much
in
Hospitality
fees.
G
So
what
we
talked
about
was
going
back
to
the
drawing
board
trying
to
pull
together
some
more
support
from
the
community
and
donor
bases
come
back
to
us
and
the
city
I
think
is
ready,
willing
and
able
to
make
serious
commitments
to
improve
the
facility
over
there.
We
want
the
facility
to
remain
it's
a
very
important
part
of
the
city,
but
we
need
to
have
all
the
pieces
in
place
before
the
city
can
get
comfortable
with
that
sort
of
commitment,
and
so
ultimately
we
deferred
that
item.
G
The
hope
is
that
the
Children's
Museum
will
come
back
to
us
with
more
of
those
details
soon.
The
other
item
was
a
parking
lease
agreement
for
the
international
African-American
Museum.
This
is
for
the
back
surface
lot
of
the
Charleston
Maritime
Center
and
that,
of
course,
was
approved
unanimously,
and
there
was
some
good
discussion
from
the
mayor
about
maybe
finding
some
funds
to
enhance
the
curb
appeal
of
that
parking
lot,
especially
considering
what
it's
serving,
which
is
truly
amazing.
G
Addition
to
our
community
I
had
the
opportunity
to
tour
the
international
African-American
Museum
on
Friday.
It
is
exceptional
what
they
have
done
over
there
and
you
want
to
talk
about
incredible
job
by
our
city,
employees
and
everybody
over
at
the
Museum.
I
can't
wait
for
the
grand
opening
early
next
year,
so
we
then
consider
I
think
this
is
certainly
a
record
since
I've
been
on
the
chair
of
the
real
estate
committee,
two
four
six,
eight
nine
annexations
that
all
were
approved
unanimously.
G
We
had
four
in
District
11,
four
in
District,
nine
and
one
in
District
Five,
and
thanks
to
everybody
who
helped
facilitate
that
and
with
that
being
said.
That
concludes
my
report
and
a.
A
Just
want
to
pick
back
up
on
the
discussion
on
councilman
Rappel
had
on
the
Children's
Museum.
A
We
had
a
pretty
thorough
and
spirited
discussion
about
that,
somewhat
surprising,
with
the
request
that
they
they
made
concerning
the
work
that
needs
to
be
done
and
and
comments
being
made
were
that
we
want
this
to
be
a
first
class
children
museum.
A
We
have
a
first
class,
it
gives
Museum
of
Art,
we
have
a
first
class
Charleston
Museum,
and
they
certainly
want
to
be
on
that
same
level
of
those
institutions
as
well.
However,
what
was
missing
from
this
was
a
clear
definition
and
plan
of
what
they
need.
Overall
5
million
I
think
was
sort
of
a
number
we've
heard
about
it
around
bring
this
thing
up
to
Snuff,
but
to
a
member
of
that
committee
we
all
were
committed
to
helping
them
and
getting
to
that
that
goal
I
mean
we.
A
We
have
a
very
good
track
record
in
the
city
of
supporting
our
museums
and
our
Arts,
and
this
is
a
Hands-On
Museum
sort
of
abuse.
The
word
museum
is
sort
of
a
misnomer
for
this
place,
because
it's
a
Hands-On
operation
and
our
children
benefit
from
that,
and
they
do
serve
us
a
lot
of
our
our
citizens
and
in
the
community.
However,
we
we
just
need
to
find
a
better
way
of
getting
them
the
money
that
they
need
with
the
oversight
that
I
think
that
we
need
to
be
provided
to
them.
A
I've
had
discussions
with
the
representatives
from
the
museum
about
placing
members
of
council
on
that
committee
and
I
in
Conga,
chica
I
volunteered
a
couple
of
our
committee
members
on
there,
but
we
do.
We
do
need
to
include
some
of
our
younger
council
members
who
have
children.
Our
our
older
council
members
who
got
grandchildren
can
be
on
the
board
of
the
children,
museums,
we've,
helped,
guide
them
and
push
them
in
the
direction.
A
I
think
that
they
need
to
be
going
in
to
get
this
thing
to
the
point
that
they
need
to
be
so
the
the
deferral
that
I
made
yesterday
was
not
to
deny
them
this
opportunity.
The
deferral
was
to
go
back
on
a
blank
canvas
redraw.
The
lines
give
us
some
definition.
A
That's
how
we
could
better
serve
them
and
help
them
down
down
the
road,
so
I
hope
that
will
happen.
We
want
them
to
be
successful.
We
want
them
to
be
a
first
class
operation.
We
can
do
that
and
partying
with
them.
So
we'll
see
what
happens.
Probably
the
first
of
the.
D
I
did
want
to
share
on
the
lighting
change
up
to
the
LEDs
and
I
think
most
people
would
guess
that
street
lights
are
a
major
component
of
the
city's
energy
use.
We
we
pay
for
all
that
power
generating
those
lights
every
night
in
our
city,
but
this
conversion
will
save
US
31
of
our
energy
usage
of
all
those
lights.
I'm
told
it's
over
3.7
million
kilowatt
hours
per
year
and
that's
a
lot
of
energy
savings
and
you
do
the
equation
and
it's
a
huge
number
in
metric
tons
of
carbon
savings
per
year.