Community Development Committee

Regular Meeting

Columbia, SC · February 17, 2026

Minutes

Columbia Community Development Committee Meeting Minutes Tuesday, February 17, 2026 Call to Order The Columbia Community Development Committee conducted a meeting on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, at City Hall (Mayor's Conference Room), 1737 Main Street, Columbia, South Carolina 29201. The Honorable Tina N. Herbert, Chair called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. The Honorable Will Brennan and The Honorable Sam P. Johnson were present. Approval of Minutes 1. September 23, 2025 Community Development Committee Meeting Minutes Upon a motion made by Mr. Brennan and seconded by Mr. Johnson, the Committee voted unanimously to approve the September 23, 2025 Community Development Committee Meeting Minutes. Committee Discussion 2. Mobile Market Update — Ms. Ayesha Driggers, Director / Office of Business Opportunities and Mr. Larry Schneeberger / Toms Creek Mobile Market Ms. Ayesha Driggers, Director of the Office of Business Opportunities provided an update on the city’s Mobile Market. She reported that approximately $300,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding supported operations over the past two years, but the funding has been exhausted. The market operated at Hyatt Park, the COMET Transit Center, the corner of Millwood Avenue and Gervais Street, and the former Save-A-Lot site. About $335,645 in city funds and a $30,000 contribution from Elevation Church also supported the Mobile Market. Tom's Creek plans to pursue additional grant funding for continued operations. The Mobile Market will resume in May with two fixed locations and one rotating day. Mr. Larry Schneeberger, Tom’s Creek Mobile Market discussed several partnerships that have developed through the program with FoodShare, the University of South Carolina Campus Store, Richland County Public Library, and the Broad River RV Park. He noted that these partnerships have been strengthened through the city’s collaboration and the visibility created by the Mobile Market trailer. There was discussion regarding sustainable business models for small business ownership; library clientele; free partnerships; products offered on the trailer; grant opportunities; the proposed operating schedule; top-selling produce items; use of senior vouchers; connectivity planning; and an update on the brick-and-mortar location. 3. NeedNoMore Intiative — Ms. Ayesha Driggers, Director / Office of Business Opportunities, and Ms. Svitlana Koval and Mr. Yurii Koval, Co-Founders / NeedNoMore Ms. Ayesha Driggers, Director / Office of Business Opportunities introduced a new initiative involving an app designed to improve communication and access to food resources through local food banks. The concept was recently presented at Launchpad Cola. She explained that the founders have been working on a Memorandum of Understanding with the Office of Business Opportunities. Ms. Svitlana Koval and Mr. Yurii Koval, Co-founders / NeedNoMore presented a digital platform designed to improve access to food resources by connecting food pantries with people in need. The app provides a real-time map of pantry locations, allows users to update information, and enables filtering by food type and eligibility requirements. Pantries can also indicate available items and send alerts when they have excess donations. The platform helps to reduce food waste, improve communication, and provide real-time data to help the city better understand food access needs. Mr. Alan “Blake” Blackborough, representative of Launchpad Cola explained that the program supports early-stage entrepreneurs by helping turn ideas into scalable businesses. He highlighted NeedNoMore as a strong example of this process and emphasized the platform’s potential to reduce food waste and better connect available resources with people in need through community-driven technology. There was discussion about technology accessibility; a potential partnership with the library; maintaining the platform as a web-based application; funding opportunities; organizational outreach and networking; working alongside grocery stores; the number of food pantries in the area; and a potential connection with the Mobile Market. There was consensus of the Committee to endorse the proposed Memorandum of Understanding with NeedNoMore for City Council's consideration. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 11:29 a.m. Respectfully Submitted: Erika D. Moore Hammond, MMC, CPM City Clerk

Agenda

Packet

Columbia Community Development Committee Meeting Agenda Tuesday, February 17, 2026 at 10:00 AM City Hall • Mayor's Conference Room • 2nd floor 1737 Main Street, Columbia, SC 29201 City Clerk’s Office: (803)545-3045 or cityclerk@columbiasc.gov The Honorable Tina N. Herbert, District I, Chair The Honorable William Brennan, District III • The Honorable Sam P. Johnson, At-Large Call to Order Approval of Minutes 1. September 23, 2025 Community Development Committee Meeting Minutes Committee Discussion 2. Mobile Market Update — Ms. Ayesha Driggers, Director / Office of Business Opportunities and Mr. Larry Schneeberger / Toms Creek Mobile Market 3. NeedNoMore Intiative — Ms. Ayesha Driggers, Director / Office of Business Opportunities, and Ms. Svitlana Koval and Mr. Yurii Koval, Co-Founders / NeedNoMore Adjournment Page 1 of 1 Page 1 of 6 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2025 CALL TO ORDER The Community Development Committee conducted a meeting on Tuesday, September 23, 2025 at City Hall (Mayor’s Conference Room), 1737 Main Street, Columbia, South Carolina 229201. The Honorable Tina N. Herbert, Chair called the meeting to order at 11:01 a.m. and the following members were present: Attendee Name Title Status Tina N. Herbert Chair Present Will Brennan Member Present Tyler D. Bailey Member Present APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. June 3, 2025 and August 19, 2025 Community Development Committee Meeting Minutes – Approved Upon a motion made by Mr. Bailey and seconded by Mr. Brennan, the Committee voted unanimously to approve the June 3, 2025 and August 19, 2025 Community Development Committee Meeting Minutes. COMMITTEE DISCUSSION 2. Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) for Fiscal Year 2024-2025- Ms. Felicia Kilgore, Director of Community Development – Received as information Ms. Felicia Kilgore, Director of Community Development presented the department’s annual HUD (Department of Urban Housing and Development) report for the final year of the 2024–2025 Consolidated Plan. She reported receiving over $3 million in CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) funds, $700,000 in HOME (Investment Partnership Program funds, and $1.8 million in HOPWA (Housing Opportunity For Persons with Aids) funds, along with $18.5 million in congressional mitigation grants supporting the Olympia Fire Station and canal head gate projects. The department leveraged $5.8 million in federal funds to generate $11.9 million in additional investment for housing, economic development, and community services. Programs such as Love Your Block, neighborhood sweeps, and housing loans benefited hundreds of residents and 878 citizens received utility assistance through the Customer Assistance Program (CAP) program. She noted the disaster recovery program has been closed out and the annual report will be submitted to HUD by September 29, 2025. Page 1 of 3 Page 2 of 6 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2025 There was discussion about public notice requirements; funding for the Olympia Fire Station and use of capital improvement dollars; eligibility and use of HOME American Rescue Plan ACT funds for homelessness prevention; and park restroom upgrades. Upon a motion made by Mr. Bailey and seconded by Mr. Brennan, the Committee voted unanimously to approve the submission of the CAPER report. There was consensus of the committee to present the report to City Council at a Work Session. 3. Update on City-owned, Vacant Residential Lots - Mr. Jeff Palen, Assistant City Manager/Chief Financial Officer and Ms. Felicia Kilgore, Director of Community Development – Received as information. Mr. Jeff Palen, Assistant City Manager/Chief Financial Officer provided an update on city-owned residential properties and development activity. A total of 68 residential lots are being tracked through the GIS Department, with maps showing properties across areas such as Five Points, North Main, and Two Notch Road. Several parcels are being used through the City’s housing programs in partnership with the TN Development Corporation. There are nine homes nearing completion as part of phase one and plans for additional lots in phase two. There was discussion about whether any listed parcels were located outside city limits; the status of Ridgewood properties and their ownership history; adding TN Development’s phase-one lots to future reports; tracking property activation and development progress through the GIS system; and creating a five-year real estate strategy to guide the use of vacant residential parcels. 4. Establishing a Process to Support State Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Projects - Ms. Felicia Kilgore, Director of Community Development – Received as information. Mr. Jeff Palen, Assistant City Manager/Chief Financial Officer provided an overview of the City’s process for reviewing and supporting affordable and workforce housing developments seeking municipal assistance or letters of support. Ms. Felicia Kilgore, Director of Community Development explained how developers request City backing for State Low-Income Housing Tax Credit applications and other funding sources. Page 2 of 3 Page 3 of 6 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2025 There was discussion about creating a clear review process for housing development requests; ensuring City Council’s awareness before letters of support are issued; coordinating with state housing deadlines; involving neighborhood associations; addressing low income housing on Bull Street; integrating the process with the loan committee; and setting a funding threshold for Committee notification. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 12:08 p.m. Respectfully submitted: Erika D. Moore Hammond, MMC, CPM City Clerk Page 3 of 3 Page 4 of 6 TO: Erika Hammond, City Clerk FROM: Ayesha Driggers, Office of Business Opportunities Director DATE: February 9, 2026 SUBJECT: Mobile Market Update OBO will provide an update for the Toms Creek Mobile Market. The contract for the mobile market ended in January 2026. Currently the mobile market is taking a break during the winter months, due to the decrease in activity. Toms Creek continues to take the mobile market to Soda City market on Saturdays. Toms Creek will restart the market in May (maybe earlier). At that time, they will identify two (2) set locations and one (1) rotating day. If you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our office. Page 5 of 6 TO: Erika Hammond, City Clerk FROM: Ayesha Driggers, Office of Business Opportunities Director DATE: February 9, 2026 SUBJECT: NeedNoMore, Inc. OBO will introduce a potential pilot program to address food access. NeedNoMore is a civic-technology organization that develops data-driven tools to improve food access and reduce food insecurity. NeedNoMore operates a multi-stakeholder platform that enables real-time information sharing among food pantries, community members, and public agencies. Its services include but are not limited to: live maps of food availability, community-reported food needs, surplus alerts from food pantries, and analytics that help identify gaps in food access across time and geography. The organization desires to collaborate with the City of Columbia on a time-limited pilot to test the use of NeedNoMore’s platform and data analytics tools to support food access and coordination among food pantries serving residents of the City of Columbia. NeedNoMore will aim to: • Provide access to the city dashboard on its platform and relevant pilot-level data related to food searches, pantry availability, and surplus alerts within the City of Columbia; • Share aggregated insights and summaries generated during the pilot; • Designate a point of contact for coordination with the City of Columbia. City of Columbia (OBO) will aim to: • Serve as a liaison to support awareness of the pilot among relevant City departments and community partners; • Designate a point of contact for coordination with NeedNoMore; • Use pilot outputs to inform internal understanding of food access needs during the pilot period. • Support general awareness of the pilot by sharing information about NeedNoMore through appropriate City channels and introductions, including, where appropriate, connections to community organizations, food pantries, and healthcare or social service providers. The six-month pilot will be provided at no cost to the City of Columbia. If you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our office. Page 6 of 6