Cheraw Town Council Meeting

Cheraw Town Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, May 12, 2026 at 5:30 pm 1. Call to Order Minutes: Mayor Byrd called the meeting to order at 5:30pm. Members Present: Mayor Byrd, Jim Crawford, Tom Boan, Jerry Tucker, Amy Gavin (via phone) and Robert Williams Others Present: Brian Rogers (Town Manager), Patti Norris (Clerk/Treasurer), Madison Scott (HR Director), Teresa Meakins-Linn, Carolyn Cole Green, Karen Wilkerson, James Redfearn Jr, Catherine Redfearn, Melvin Wilkerson, Steve Snyder, Avery Dickson, Barbara Dickson, Gail Brunzo, Mary Gillespie, Renee Spencer, Helen Palmer, Irene Cole, Chief Julius Riley, Bennie Miles (The Link), Patricia Dixon, Joette Dukes and Stevenson Pierre. 2. Invocation given by Pastor James Redfearn Minutes: The invocation was given by Pastor James Redfearn. 3. Pledge to Flag. 4. Approval of Minutes of April 14th, 2026, Council Meeting. Minutes: Councilman Boan made a motion to approve minutes. Councilman Crawford seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously. Councilman Crawford did state that executive session was noted twice in the minutes. Clerk Treasurer Patti Norris stated that has been corrected. 5. April Financial Report. Minutes: Councilman Crawford made a motion to approve the April financial report. Councilman Boan seconded the motion, and the motion passed by unanimous vote. 6. Comments from Doctor Tapp and Cathy Spencer (Animal Control) Minutes: Animal Control Officer Renee Spencer, as many of you know as of July 2025, the shelter stopped taking cats all together. Since that time the cat population has exploded. I have received numerous calls asking me to pick up pregnant cats and  litters of kittens and I have to tell them that there is nothing I can do. This has become a growing concern both for the residents and the community. Along with the growing population we are seeing an increase risk in rabies and other diseases that can affect both animals and people. The longer the issue goes on the greater the concern for public health and safety. In order to find a solution, I have been working closely with Dr. Tapp and others to address the issue and explore possible options moving forward. I would like to ask Dr. Tapp to come forward to address council. I am Dr. Tapp and I have a proposed solution, a non profit group. We have already started Sandhills Stray Solutions, that will be non profit. We are already registered with the state and have applied for our 501C3, we have a bank account and we have a board. I have three veterinarians, myself, Dr. Milligan out of Darlington and Dr. Causey out of Florence. We wanted to see what works best for the veterinarian and the community before reaching out to more. We have all agreed that we can do at cost, which for a spay would be about a $100 and for a neuter it would be about $45. We are only proposing doing feral cats, non owned cats. If someone wants to have their pet done they need to take care of that themselves. We would have volunteers track the colonies one at a time. We would then capture the cats, fix them, vaccinate for rabies and that will last for at least one year. We would mark them by doing an ear tip, so far away you can see that the cat has been fixed. We will then release them back to the site they were picked up from. This will slowly decrease the population but allow the cats to take care of the rodents. We are asking for your blessing and for kickstart money. We not only have the cost of the spaying and neutering but we have to get our website up, insurance for volunteers. So far we have had a donation of $220, my clinic donated $300 and all the time that I have given. I feel like this is the least we can do for our children that love the cats and for the little old ladies that are feeding the cats and trying to hide how many cats she has. Councilman Crawford asked if he sees stray cats in his yard, who does he call? Animal Control Officer Spencer stated that at this time there is nothing she could do. Councilman Crawford asked if they had applied for a 501C3. Dr. Tapp stated that yes she had in the beginning of April. She stated that she would ask like to see if the town has an empty building that she could bring the cats to after their surgery to recover. Dr. Tapp said for a feral cat she would state the recovery time to be 48hours. Mayor Byrd asked Dr. Tapp to provide the town with the spreadsheet that she has created with the breakdown of the costs. Dr. Tapp stated that she would be glad to share that but she does ask that if the town can donate that it not come out of the animal control budget. As Officer Spencer is spending her funds diligently. Dr. Tapp did state that if the receiving veterinarian saw something wrong with the cat that they would have permission to go ahead and euthanize the cat if necessary. 7. Swearing in of the Town of Cheraw New Fire Chief Minutes: Clerk Treasurer Patti Norris swore in Philip Avery Dickson as the new Fire Chief for The Town of Cheraw. 8. Citizen Comments. Minutes: Teresa Meakins-Linn executive director for Tri-County Mental Health. May is mental  health awareness month and we want to thank the town for the support that you have given us and the ways that you have advocated and supported mental health during the month of May and throughout the rest of the year. One of our goals is to break the stigma around mental health. We want to bring awareness to the problem with people asking for help and feeling comfortable when we talk about mental health. I have some packets for each of you with resources about our services and some general facts. One of the things I really wanted to point out is that just in SC, one in five people will suffer from some type of mental health condition in a year. Conversations need to be happening about mental health and we as a community, as partners we need to do everything we can to help start those conversations to help break the cycle. We need to make it okay for people to feel comfortable saying, I am not doing so well, I need some help. And then be able to say, here are some resources, we are here for you and we care. This is a safe place to talk about it. Breaking the stigma and starting those conversations is really what Tri-County is about. It is really what the State of SC Office of Mental Health is about. It is what mental health awareness month is about. Carolyn Cole Green, I have heard that we had a new town manager who has officially been named. I wanted to say thank you to him for continuing to give your service to the town. We are so glad to have you and so proud of council and their step forward. For Council Action 9. First Reading of Ordinance: a. Ordinance 2026-13: An Ordinance Amending Sections 19-7 (b)(1) and (2) and 19-51 (a) and (b) of the Cheraw Town Code Increasing Certain Water and Sewer Charges Minutes: Brian states that this ordinance would move our current minimal bill for water and sewer rate from $69.26 to $73.99, which is a 10% increase. The purpose of the increase is to be able to afford the construction of our new water treatment facility that we desperately need. The current facility has reached its life cycle and is in bad shape. Mayor Byrd asked what the increase was last year. Brian stated that it was a 10% increase as well. Mayor Byrd asked what the projected cost of the new facility is. Brian states that the projected estimated cost for the new facility is somewhere between $50 and $68 million dollars. By raising the rates we have justification by seeking federal and state funding to help us build the new facility. Councilman Boan asked if we still rank low in the state for our pricing. Brian stated that yes we are still one of the lowest in the state. Councilman Boan made a motion to approve the ordinance. Councilman Tucker seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously. b. Ordinance 2026-14: An Ordinance to Raise and Adopt a General Operating Budget for the Town of Cheraw, South Carolina, For the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2027 Minutes: Brian states that we are proposing a general fund budget of $10,443,367, water  sewer budget of $8,556,898, hospitality budget of $993,340 and a local accommodation budget of $155,000. This makes a total budget of $20,148,605.00. This budget does not call for a tax increase and the millage rate will remain at 155. Councilman Boan made a motion to approve the ordinance. Councilman Tucker seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously. 10. Resolution a. Resolution 2026-13: A Resolution Authorizing the Town Manager to Execute and Advance Funding for the SCPRT Grant Match Related to the Arrowhead Splash Pad Project. Minutes: Brian states that the project came in way over bid and he needs the opportunity to be allowed to go back to SCPRT and ask for more funding to make sure that the project can be completed. This grant is a 50/50match. Councilman Crawford asked if the $850,000 is the total cost for our match, Brian stated yes. Councilman Boan made a motion to approve the resolution. Councilman Williams seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously. 11. Request from Town Manager for Approval of the Rebranding by Destination by Design. Minutes: Brain states that over the past several months, Destination by Design has been working with staff, residents and business owners regarding the new marketing image. As a a result of this process Destination by Design has provided us with an updated logo for visual identity and tourism branding. We look to spread the cost of implementation over time as we update the towns inventory and materials with the new look. Mayor Byrd states that he looks forward to being able to finally move forward with this project. Councilman Crawford made a motion to approve the request. Councilman Boan seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously. 12. Request from Town Manager to Appoint New Member to the Board of Architectural Review Committee Minutes: Brian states that Walker Davis has resigned from his seat on the Board of Architectural Review. I am requesting that his seat be appointed to Warren Davis. Warren owns properties in the historic district and has a background in architecture. Councilman Boan made a motion to approve the request. Councilman Tucker seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously. For Council Information 13. Activity Reports a. Business License Report b. Code Enforcement Report c. Fire Report  d. Parks and Grounds Report e. Personnel Report f. Police and Animal Control Report g. Recreation Report h. Public Utility Report i. Public Works Report j. Loss Control Committee Report 14. Executive Session a. Request to Enter into Executive Session to Discuss Contractual items. Minutes: Councilman Boan made a motion to enter into executive session. Councilman Tucker seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously. Entered into executive session at 6pm. Councilman Boan made a motion to exit executive session. Councilman Crawford seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously. Exited executive session at 7:34 pm. No action taken. 15. Adjournment. Minutes: Councilman Boan made a motion to adjourn. Councilman Crawford seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 7:40pm Rules for Citizen Comments The citizen comment period is designed and intended to allow members of the public to provide information directly to the Town Council. Other than asking a question to clarify a statement council members will refrain from entering into a dialogue with the speaker. This time on the agenda is not intended to be a discussion between Town Council and the speaker and should not be intended for that purpose. Persons wishing to make comments during this time will need to observe the following: 1. Person should approach the podium and state their full name and address before addressing the Town Council. 2. All speakers must conduct themselves in a professional manner. 3. All speakers will be limited to three minutes to speak. This time allotment may not be transferred to anyone else. The Town’s Clerk/Treasurer will notify the speaker if they exceed their three minutes to talk. 4. Speakers will refrain from using: profanity; language likely to incite violence or outbursts from the audience; language that is disruptive to the orderly process of the meeting; engaging in conversations with individual council members; making comments of a personal nature regarding others; shouting, yelling, or screaming. 5. Speakers should understand that the Town Council cannot deliberate on any questions presented by the speaker if the question or topic is not posted on the agenda. Freedom of Information Act In compliance with the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act written notice of this agenda was delivered to the local media by email at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting time, duly posted at Town Hall located at 200 Market Street, and made available on www.cheraw.com. | Minutes published on 06/05/2026 at 2:50 PM