Rock Hill City Council approves multiple ordinances, easements and contracts; new council member sworn

The Rock Hill City Council held a packed agenda on June 8 and approved a series of ordinances, resolutions and contracts affecting utilities, land dispositions and downtown redevelopment.

The council accepted the certificate of election and administered the city and state oaths to Ann P. Hardy, who was sworn in as a council member during the meeting.

On the consent agenda council approved, on second reading, two financing ordinances authorizing the city to borrow up to $5,567,402 (plus capitalized interest, if any) from the South Carolina Water Quality Revolving Fund Authority for combined utility system improvements, and a second loan not to exceed $5,734,493 under the Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund. The ordinances cite Title 48, Chapter 5 of the Code of Laws of South Carolina (1976) as the enabling authority; council approved these items as part of the consent agenda by voice vote.

Council removed item 6f from the consent agenda for separate discussion; after clarification with developer Greg Wilson about using a temporary construction entrance and keeping construction traffic off Miller Pond Road, the council approved the zoning amendment on second reading.

Resolutions closing short stretches of Neptune Drive and Taylor Street to vehicular and pedestrian traffic were approved to allow access adjustments related to nearby development and a parking lot serving McGirt Auditorium. The council also approved conveyance of property on Crawford Road to Trinity Baptist Church, in return for a blanket perpetual easement for public parking use.

The council approved a sale of city property on Pine Burling to the Housing Development Corporation of Rock Hill to support affordable housing development, and granted a 10-foot right-of-way easement to the York County Natural Gas Authority to rerun a gas line for their system integrity program; staff said the easement is non-exclusive and should not affect park operations.

Council approved a façade easement package to support work at 235 East Main Street with a $1,000,000 assistance figure cited by staff; officials said the city expects repayment via taxes and fees generated by the project over time. The council also voted to award the city’s external audit contract for fiscal years 2027–2030 to Malden & Jenkins LLC after staff reported only one responsive bid.

Administrative notes: the meeting recognized Rock Hill Police cadets and announced utility-billing winners Kurt Chambers and Arzada Paige. The council reported an earlier executive session in which no action was taken and adjourned the meeting without further business.

What the council decided: multiple ordinances, resolutions and contracts were approved by voice vote; the meeting included both administrative recognitions and several land-use and finance actions that will proceed to implementation by city staff.