The City Council Meeting on October 4, 2022 began with a proclamation celebrating National Code Compliance Month (Item #3). The City of Columbia and the Columbia Police Department will kick off a public education campaign to help educate the public about code enforcement and the impacts it has on our communities. To find out more about code enforcement, please see the attached flier or visit www.ColumbiaPD.net/Code-Enforcement.
During the consent agenda portion of the meeting, City Council approved a contract renewal for the water and sewer rate study, as requested by Columbia Water (Item #12). An annual review of the financial plan and associated water/sewer rates is considered best practice for public utilities. The review consists of the development of a 5-year financial plan for the water and wastewater utility, which includes evaluation of current and anticipated revenues, expenses and capital project needs.
In addition, City Council approved the issuance and sale of up to $85 million of bonds to support investments in the water and wastewater utility. These bonds were considered as part of the Fiscal Year 2021/2022 rate review and will support capital improvement projects that are ready for construction.
City Council also held second and final reading for Ordinance 2022-091 (Item #23) that amends the 1998 Code of Ordinances of the City of Columbia to change the development standard for the minimum number of off-street parking spaces for non-residential buildings. If approved, this ordinance will significantly affect business development throughout the City, as it will lower costs associated with making and reviewing proposals, as well as accelerate the beautification of Columbia by incentivizing development of vacant lots, existing properties and new construction. To learn more about Ordinance 2022-091, please visit http://columbiacitysc.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_LegiFile.aspx?Frame=&MeetingID=1489&MediaPosition=&ID=7882&CssClass.
City Council also held first reading for Ordinance 2022-082 (Item #25) that amends the 1998 Code of Ordinances of the City of Columbia that permits purveyors of cannabis products to post clear and conspicuous signage about the effects of cannabis products. The signage must detail how the products may cause a person to fail a workplace drug-screening test and the signs must be equal to 50% of the size of the purveyor’s product signage. For more information about Ordinance 2022-082, please visit http://columbiacitysc.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_LegiFile.aspx?Frame=&MeetingID=1489&MediaPosition=&ID=7961&CssClass.
Mayor Rickenmann gave a brief video recap of some of the topics discussed at the meeting. Please view it here: https://youtu.be/sxwwumKb5eo.
For more information about upcoming City Council meetings or general information about the City of Columbia, please visit www.ColumbiaSC.gov.