TOWN OF CENTRAL
REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
1067 WEST MAIN STREET, CENTRAL, SC 29630
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2020 - 7:00PM
Present: Mayor Mac Martin; Council Members Paige Bowers, Joe Moss, Lynne
Chapman, Ken Dill, Harry Holladay, and Daniel Evatt; Administrator Phillip Mishoe;
Chief of Police Steve Thompson; Assistant Administrator Tom Cloer; Fire Chief Ed
Reynolds, Will Mullinax, Susan Abercrombie, Keith Abercrombie, Kyle Abercrombie,
Brian Cook, John Bednar, Kevin Edmond, and Town Clerk Susan A. Brewer.
The meeting was called to order by Mayor Mac Martin.
Joe Moss rendered the invocation.
The Town Clerk, Susan Brewer audited the Mayor’s Business License. Mayor paid the
Clerk his payment.
Reading of Regular Council Meeting Minutes 02.10.2020
Lynne Chapman made the motion to adopt Regular Council Meeting Minutes
02.10.2020; seconded by Joe Moss. The vote was unanimous.
Public Session
Keith Abercrombie approached Council and stated he was the owner of Joe’s Body
Shop and they have been there since 1972. He said he was very disappointed with the
Town of Central, Central Police Department, and the Town Council. He said on
February 17
th
a Central Police Officer was at his shop and earlier that day he had
ordered a can of paint from Car Quest Auto in Easley. He said the Police Officer was
Tim Striss and he was sitting in his car. He said the delivery boy came and got out of
his truck, walks across the parking lot and Tim was sitting in his car. He motions for the
delivery boy to come over to the car. He goes over to the car. Keith Abercrombie said
he didn’t know verbally what was said. He said he (Tim Striss) proceeded to write him a
ticket for no business license. The Town of Central went back for three years and
penalized him for three years. Keith Abercrombie said that this was the stupidest thing
he has ever heard of in his life. Keith Abercrombie said he was a delivery boy and he
could have been on his way to Clemson to the doctor and just come by to drop that off.
He said he was a delivery person and a wholesaler, he’s a supplier. So, after that
transpired, he said that he called Tom Cloer and he came to the shop and he listened to
him. Keith said he told him there absolutely nothing different than the Budweiser truck
delivering beer or the Pepsi truck taking in soda or food trucks or Greenville Office
supplies delivering to Town Hall. He said Tom Cloer said he would do some checking
and see. He said Tom Cloer came back the next day with a piece of paper with the
Business License Ordinance that said Contractors and Sub-Contractors. Keith said his
delivery boy was not a contractor nor a sub-contractor. He said you had to have a
signed contract to be that. He said his delivery boy was a supplier or vendor. He said
the other tale that Tom Cloer said that he had learned something new. He said Tom
Cloer said that the large corporations like Budweiser and Pepsi pay sales taxes to the
state and at the end of the year it is distributed to the municipalities so they were not
required to get a business license. He said several days after this Al Cumbie calls him
(Keith Abercrombie) and says he heard what happened at his shop. He said he couldn’t
believe what he had been told happened and he wanted Keith to tell him what
happened. Keith said he proceeded to tell Al Cumbie of what had transpired at his
shop. Keith said that he was only going to say it once because it wasn’t very nice. Keith
said that Al Cumbie first two words was Bull S***! He said that Al Cumbie said that there
was no way the Town of Central can do that nor can they police that. Keith said that
then he told him the second half of the story about the town receiving money about the
business license thing and that is when he let it rip again. He (Al Cumbie) said that the
town has never received a penny concerning Budweiser, Pepsi, or anyone else. Keith
said the next day Herb Thompson came to his shop and he told him the same story and
Herb said that was the craziest thing he has ever heard. He said that when he left the
town in 2006 the town had received no money from Pepsi, Coke, or anything like that.
Keith said he then received a reply back from JC Cook. He said he was the Mayor of
Clemson. He said Mayor Cook said “NO” and that it couldn’t be done. He said Mayor
Cook said that every year when you purchase your business license in the gross it
takes care of the people coming in bringing stuff to them. Keith said he may have thirty
different vendors with ten of them being regular basis. He said that he has asked
everyone of them that has come by if they have a business license. And he said they
said they are not required to have a business license. He said he has vendors that go to
NC, SC, and Georgia. They said they do not have a business license and they do not
need a business license. Keith said that can of paint he got from Car Quest was made
in Easley. Mixed in Easley. Paid for in Easley and was taxed in Easley. He said it had
absolutely nothing to do with Central except he was nice enough to bring it to him. Keith
said he has told all of his vendors if the Central Police follows you in to his shop or if
they are at the shop not to stop. He said for them to keep going and they would meet at
their secret rendezvous place for him to pick up his parts, which is ridiculous. Keith said
he has not found one person in agreement with this yet and he has asked a whole
bunch of people. Keith Abercrombie said last but not least that this was the most
important thing he was going to say. “Town Council you need to drain the swamp and
you need to fire Phillip Mishoe.”
John Bednar came and introduced himself to Town Council. He is announcing he is
running for the House of Representative seat in Washington. He gave them some of his
background and requested them to sign a petition that would allow him to have his
name on the ballot. Lynne Chapman asked him who he would be running against. He
said he would be running against Jeff Duncan.
Mayor made a statement as a private citizen and an employee of a wholesaler that
there is a state statute in SC that cover wholesalers and some of the stuff Keith
Abercrombie said was not true. He said that if they wanted to discuss it further, he
would. No one said anything.
Receipt and Disposition of Petitions
None
Reports from Council Committees:
All committee reports are on file in the Town Clerk’s office and available for review upon
request.
A. Planning – Paige Bowers
None
B. Streets and Public Safety – Joe Moss
Joe Moss thanked the Fire Department for the aid in removing victims from
the stalled elevator at the Jericho Project.
C. Finance and Marketing – Lynne Chapman
Lynne Chapman reported that the General Fund and Water Fund is good.
She said the Sewer fund is somewhat good. She said the Sanitation was in
the red. She asked Phillip Mishoe to report on that fund. He said we had a
major repair on the sanitation truck and we are not getting anything for
recycling.
D. Recreation – Ken Dill
Ken Dill reported the 2020 Release Point Disc Golf Rating System was
released last week. The Grand Central Station Disc Golf Course earned the
following rankings:
- #1 ranked Disc Golf Course in the State of South Carolina
- #28 ranked Disc Golf Course in the Nation
- #59 ranked Disc Golf Course in the World
- #1 ranked Disc Golf Course in the nation in the category of “Shots Required
to compete”
Ken Dill reported the Central-Clemson 8U Boys basketball team won the
South Carolina Athletic Programs State Championship on Saturday with a
61-55 victory over Cheraw. Central-Clemson defeated Seneca, 44-29, in the
semifinals earlier in the day.
Ken Dill reported the 14U Boys team finished second in the State
Tournament, losing to North Charleston in the championship game. The
17U boys and 10U girls’ teams finished third in their respective State
Tournaments, while the 12U girls finished fifth.
E. Enterprise- Harry Holladay
Harry Holladay reported the Sanitation Department ran on a normal schedule
and 80 work orders were completed. Harry Holladay said meters were read
February 18
th
and 35 disconnects were done on February 26
th
with 27
reconnects.
F. Tourism and Economic Development – Daniel Evatt
None
New Business
None
Old Business
None
Introduction and consideration of New Ordinances, Policies, and Resolutions
First Reading of Ordinance #04-13-2020 PUBLIC HEARING REVISION
Lynne Chapman made the motion to adopt on first reading Ordinance # 04-03-2020
PUBLIC HEARING REVISION; seconded by Paige Bowers. The vote was unanimous.
First Reading of Ordinance # 04-13-2020 BILLBOARDS ADDITION OF 601.6
Paige Bowers made the motion to adopt on first reading Ordinance # 04-13-2020
BILLBOARDS ADDITION OF 601.6; Lynne Chapman asked about the billboards that
were already here. Mayor said they would be grandfathered in; seconded by Joe Moss.
Vote carries six to 1 with Lynne Chapman opposed.
Consideration of Ordinances, Policies, and Resolutions already in possession of
Council
Second Reading of Policy # 03-09-20 RS
Paige Bowers made the motion to adopt on second reading Policy #03-09-20 RS;
seconded by Lynne Chapman. The vote was unanimous.
Second Reading of Ordinance #03-09-2020 AMENDMENT TO SECTION 501 R-12
ZONING
Paige Bowers made the motion to adopt on second reading Ordinance #03-09-2020
AMENDMENT TO SECTION 501 R-12 ZONING; seconded by Joe Moss. The vote was
unanimous.
Second Reading of Ordinance #03-09-2020 AMENDMENT TO SECTION 500 R-20
ZONING
Paige Bowers made the motion to adopt on second reading Ordinance #03-09-2020
AMENDMENT TO SECTION 500 R-20 ZONING; seconded by Lynne Chapman. The
vote was unanimous
Second Reading of Ordinance #03-09-2020 Fowl
Paige Bowers made the motion to adopt on second reading Ordinance # 03-09-2020
FOWL; seconded by Lynne Chapman. The vote was unanimous.
Reports from the Administrator and Mayor:
A. Administrator
Phillip Mishoe asked council for a head count for the PCMA in Six Mile on
March 23
rd
at 7:00pm.
Phillip Mishoe thanked the Town Clerk Susan Brewer for cooking for the
Council retreat March 2
nd
.
Phillip Mishoe said that the bids for the emergency sewer line would be
opening Thursday and we were still working on getting the right-of-ways. Ken
Dill asked if we were still working with the pump. Phillip Mishoe said that we
would be. Joe Moss asked about the progress of the right-of-ways. Phillip
Mishoe said we had one but we are working on the other one.
B. Mayor
Mayor said everyone had been discussing the recycling. He said some of the
stuff had changed that is recyclable. He felt like we would need to educate
our citizens on the changes.
Executive Session
Chair moved to go into Executive Session to discuss legal Section 30-4-70 (a) (1) and
Section 30-4-70 (a)(2), legal action; seconded Lynne Chapman. The vote was
unanimous.
Return from Executive Session
Council returned from executive session where no decisions were made only information
was shared.
Chair said that it was brought to his attention that someone else wanted to address
Council that he did not recognize. He opened the floor for anyone that wanted to come
forward.
Susan Abercrombie said she had a question for the Mayor about the comment he made
about Keith’s story not being true. She wanted to know what part he was talking about.
Mayor said he just happened to stop by his office and picked up a budget on his way
back in. He said he worked for a liquor wholesale dealer. He said they had discussed
this about 20 years ago with their legal team because this same issue was going on. A
paint distributer received a ticket for selling paint to Hardee’s. He said he was a
Councilman at that time he had asked the lawyer of Southern Wine and Spirits “Why do
beer, wine, and liquor not have to purchase a business license?” The reason was
because the wholesalers are tax collectors. There are excise taxes collected on the
sales of beer, wine liquors, coke, and pepsi and they pay taxes to the state of SC. Taxes
are changed by the legislature. Then, they send us a payment of the state shared taxes.
In our budget it is listed as state shared taxes. Line item # 10-3250 State Shared Taxes.
In 2014 we collected $111,000. Mayor said that he didn’t know where the information
came from that was given to Mayor Cook. He said maybe it wasn’t just specific enough.
Mayor said that Mayor Cook was his boss in the 80’s. Mayor said there were a number
of people who do not need to pay a business license. He advised Susan Abercrombie
she could look it up. He said to go to sc.gov/ municipal / business license.
Susan Abercrombie said she had one more thing to say about Keith’s comment about
the officer. She said Keith was disappointed in the way the officer handled the situation
by not getting out of the car. She said he called the delivery boy over to the car and she
did not feel that was professional and she said she also heard the officers were in a
competition in making money for the town by seeing who could find the most business
license. She asked the Mayor if he thought that was correct? Mayor said “No.” He said
we do not have a contract for stops. That was history. He said Officer Sapp was
chasing someone through his yard Friday night. On foot from downtown, catching him,
tasing him, and taking him to jail. He said if the officer is sitting in his car and resting for
a few minutes he is not upset about that. He said they are working hard to protect our
citizens. Keith Abercrombie said that is why Central is in the shape that it is.
ACTION ITEMS AS NEEDED VIA EXECUTIVE SESSION ITEMS:
With no objections, Mayor Martin adjourned the meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan A. Brewer, CMC
Town Clerk
Approved: 04/20/2020
