2 weeks Ago By DIONNE GLEATON T&D Staff Writer
Bamberg County will join an effort to develop flood-risk reduction plans for the Salkehatchie River Basin. “The program was developed to coordinate regional flooding reduction solutions within the seven counties and 34 municipalities along the Salkehatchie River Basin,” County Administrator Joey Preston said during a Bamberg County Council meeting on Sept. 9.
“You all know what we experienced when Debby came through with all the flooding that we had along the river and, of course, in towns. They’ll work with 10 communities to co-produce reports that identify vulnerabilities to flooding and other hazards and develop strategies to address these risks based on the information gathered and in coordination with communities,” he said. The S.
C. Resilient Coastal Communities Collaborative Program will develop the plans as a pilot program. The effort will help with future watershed-based planning efforts.
The project team will work with individual communities to co-produce 10 community risk and vulnerability reports with identified solutions. The reports will be integrated into a Salkehatchie River Basin Watershed Resilience Plan which prioritizes actions that increase community and ecosystem resilience. Preston hopes the plan doesn’t just sit on a shelf.
“They’ve committed to help this region work with the state to try to figure out how to get this plan funded in the future, which I was really glad to hear,” Preston said. He’d like to specifically see storm drainage issues addressed in the county. “I’m excited that we were selected to be a part of it.
...
We want to take advantage of it and get as much money as we can to try to help our community,” he said. In other business, he reported that the Federal Emergency Management Agency visited Bamberg on Sept. 9 to assess damages in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Debby.
The county had to reach a threshold of $60,280 to qualify for federal assistance for the storm’s costs. “We’ve doubled that, and there’s several numbers that we haven’t included in ours yet that we’re still trying to gather. .
.. Right now, we’re at $112,800.
For every dollar that we submit, we get 75 percent of that back,” he said. Preston said it could be as late as next fiscal year before the county sees “a dime” of that money, “but at least we know it’s coming back and we can book it that way.” He also reported that the county secured a low bid of $290,700 from Perry, Ga.
-based Utility Service Co. Inc. to begin work on the county’s water tank.
The county had already secured a $500,000 grant from the state Department of Health and Environmental Control to make improvements to its water tower. “That’s going to be enough money to not just refurbish the tank, but ..
. to paint it, fencing, everything that we need to do. We’re pretty excited about that,” Preston said.
Preston also reported that the county is looking at the possibility of retaining an outside consulting organization to assist in redoing fire department zones. “We’ve got two companies from South Carolina we’re talking to right now,” he said. Councilman Clint Carter, a member of Bamberg County Council’s public safety committee, said he was approached by a few of the county’s fire department chiefs about looking at the zones.
“For instance, we have a road in my district: One side of the road is answered by one fire department, the other side of the road is answered by another fire department. It just doesn’t make good sense,” Carter said. Also during the meeting, Preston read an emailed comment from Bamberg County resident Ken Ahlin, who asked council to abolish its three-minute limit for comments at its meeting.
“Three minutes is barely enough time to adequately describe issues that need to be addressed to the public,” Ahlin said. He noted that getting a public response is “even more elusive.” Carter said, “I would concur with him about the time being short.
I’m sure it could be worked around, but I don’t know the details. I think that would need to come from council.” Council Chairman Evert Comer Jr.
said, “We’ll take that under advisement and see what we might be able to do with that at some point.” Preston said, “I’d be more than happy to address it, write a letter. I can do that .
.. if you want me to.
It’s in your ordinance.” Other business: • Council passed a resolution recognizing the 90th birthday of Bamberg County resident Samella Porter, whose career with the former Bamberg School District 1 spanned more than 35 years. Porter was born on Sept.
5, 1934. • Council passed a resolution recognizing the Bamberg Diamond Youth Softball 10U Girls Team. The team placed fourth in the nation in the Diamond Youth Girls Softball World Series on July 21 in Fairview, Tenn.
The members were appointed Bamberg County Ambassadors. Contact the writer: [email protected] or 803-533-5534.
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