NEWBERRY – Abigail Fuller, Newberry County librarian, was introduced by Mayor Foster Senn to city officials at the Newberry City Council meeting in February.
Originally scheduled as a guest at Senn’s 2021 City Update last month, the council congratulated Fuller on his new role for the Newberry County Library System to include the Newberry and Whitmire branches.
Having grown up in Gilbert, Fuller said that the city of Newberry has always had a special place in his heart. Fuller’s husband is a professor at Newberry College, bringing them back to the region in 2005.
“We truly love the city and we love being able to contribute to it,” she said.
Moving on, Fuller said the library wants to develop its already successful outreach program. Depending on the status of the COVID-19 vaccines and the pandemic, Fuller said he hopes to start his summer program as a way to extend his reach.
“Working through strategic partnerships in the community, truly serving all people in the county – from Whitmire and the city of Newberry, Prosperity and Little Mountain and everywhere in between, so that we can really make a difference in everyone’s life people in the Newberry community, ”said Fuller.
In the coming months, Fuller said he also hopes to launch a new website and remake his social media platforms.
Also under updates and announcements, Senn introduced Miss Newberry 2020, Peyton Worley and Miss Newberry Teen 2020, Emma Connelly. Due to the pandemic, both Worley and Connelly were unable to compete, representing Newberry, and offered to continue in their positions this year, until a date this summer was selected for them to compete.
Worley spoke on his platform, The Mind Matters: End the Stigma on Mental Health. As someone suffering from anxiety and depression, Worley said through the Miss South Carolina Organization, she was able to show who she is and talk about something she never thought she would do.
On his platform, Solutions Addressing Substandard Housing, Connelly said he worked to raise awareness by starting an online campaign to help inspire other teenagers to serve causes related to homelessness and substandard housing. She was also able to donate food, books and clothing to local organizations, in addition to helping organize a food collection campaign.
Senn told Worley and Connelly that they continued to persevere and that set great examples across their platforms, representing Newberry well.
More updates:
As an update to the board, Director of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Scott Sawyer said that concrete cushions for the pickleball and ping pong areas at the recreation complex have been placed. Siding was being installed in the concession building and Sawyer said he was doing great.
For Wise Street Park, Sawyer said that while time slowed progress, construction of the trail had begun, with approximately half the trail having been shed.
Sawyer said that the project schedule was being awaited by the city contractor for work at Wells Japanese Garden and that they were trying to complete the project as economically as possible. The first part of the updates will include a tank renewal as it is the most critical.
With regard to tourism, Sawyer said the department is in the process of replacing interstate vacation posters with “Visit Newberry” poster designs.
Old business:
In the old subject, the council approved the second and last reading of an ordinance to amend the revenue and expenses with appropriations in the current year’s budget. Senn said city officials see the need to change the budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year due to several unknown factors when submitting the original budget requests. These items were discussed at the January City Council meeting.
The motion was made by Councilor Jackie Holmes and seconded by Councilor Carlton Kinard to approve the second reading.
The second reading was also passed with a motion by City Councilor Edwin Wicker and supported by Kinard amending a previous decree establishing a fee stabilization fund for the Newberry City Combined Utility System.
Although the original law passed in 2019 established a fee stabilization account for the city’s electricity distribution system, the flow of funds to the fee stabilization account was inconsistent with the city agreements contained in its securities law.
The amended and amended city ordinance enacted on April 14, 2015, which provides the mechanism for issuing revenue bonds for the city’s combined public utility system, consisting of its electrical distribution system, water supply system water and sewage system, previously provided for procedures to establish a fund stabilization tariff. The city’s financial policies dated April 21, 2015 also provide for the financing of a rate stabilization fund, which is consistent with the securities ordinance.
The enactment of this ordinance to amend an earlier ordinance makes it consistent with the ordinances in the ordinance and obligation policies.
The second and last reading of an ordinance was also approved, establishing fees at the Newberry Recreational Complex. The motion was made by Kinard and supported by adviser David Force.
New business:
Under the new deal, the motion was made by councilor Lemont Glasgow and supported by Holmes to extend the city’s face mask decree. This will extend the ordinance until April 14, 2021 and will have the same requirements as before.
A presentation of Newberry City’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) policy was approved by the council on Tuesday. Although city manager Matt DeWitt said the city has always had a FOIA policy, this was just to formalize it and also to add that this policy centralizes the city’s FOIA requests with the secretary for the council. In the past, each individual department handled its own orders, DeWitt said, moving forward, they will be taken by the secretary to the council office.
The motion of approval was made by Holmes and supported by Kinard.
The final item in new business was an approved consideration of an external water order for a property located at 127 Brown Chapel Drive. The owner agreed to sign an attachment contract indicating the willingness to attach if the property became adjacent to the city limits and the council determined that it was in the city’s interest to attach the property.
The property is located next to an existing waterline, but a hole will be needed below Brown Chapel Drive to connect the property to the city system. The motion of approval was made by Wicker and supported by Glasgow.
Elyssa Haven is a public relations coordinator in the city of Newberry.