In a 34-minute public input session Monday night, Laurens County Council was told twice that it should do better in maintaining the decorum of its meetings.
“The last time this council met, Mr. Kennedy interrupted the proceedings using terrible language. He said that Mr. Philson was not an n-word and that Mr. Carroll is not his plantation master; and I would like to think that I am not alone in saying that was disgusting and completely unwarranted and that Mr. Kennedy deserved to be removed for those awful comments,” Hannah Dendy said.
Ashley Riddle agreed, “The work of this council is too important to be overshadowed by disorder, interruption, or conduct that distracts. Any attempts to undermine the chair or any member of this council causes unnecessary tension and weakens the confidence in this body. Disruptions from the gallery distract from the work of the council and the ability to observe the work of the council in a respectful setting.”
They were referring to the March 9 regular monthly meeting, live-streamed on the County website, in which Rev. David Kennedy, president of the Laurens County NAACP, sided with Council Member Arthur Lee Philson as Council Chairman Jeff Carroll ruled a Philson question out of order. Kennedy said to Carroll, multiple times, about Philson, “He is not your n-word,” but he used the full word, a racial slur, in place of “n”.
Carroll did not respond directly.
The chairman did respond in Council Comments at the March 23 “listening session” — “Don’t take kindness for weakness,” he said.
Philson told the two county residents who called the lack of decorum to task, “I am somebody and I ain’t going to change for nobody. Y’all like it, deal with it, or don’t deal with it. I ain’t going to change. You don’t know the whole story. You ain’t been in my shoes, you don’t wear my shoes. You ain’t around me 24 hours a day 7 days a week, and I ain’t around you 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Where you came from, you might see one side but my side - it’s two sides to every story.”
These quarterly “listening session” meetings came about earlier this year as council moves away from open-ended public comments at each of its monthly council meetings, to allowing comments only on agenda items. Council Vice-chairman Matthew Brownlee persuaded council that if the “agenda items only” policy were adopted, that quarterly meetings should be set to hear comments from citizens on any topic.
The County Council’s regular monthly meetings (second Monday) and the public input meetings (quarterly) are posted under Government on the county’s website.
In this case, Council also set a called meeting for 30 minutes ahead of the “listening session” — it gave the 2nd of 3 required readings to an ordinance authorizing a fee-in-lieu-of-taxes arrangement for Project Sunshine, a proposed $350 Million investment to create 564 jobs in Laurens’ Hunter Industrial Park.
At this stage, industrial projects are code-named for competitive reasons. The name of the company will be revealed at 3rd reading, which also will include a legally-required public hearing.
Project Sunshine’s FILOT also carries a provision that its minimum investment could be $289 Million and at least 125 jobs, in order to qualify for a tax-break.
Giving the provision 2nd reading at this meeting allows it to stay on track for final action at the April 13 regular monthly meeting.
At the “listening session,” 3 other people addressed the council.
Michael Stagmiller, who has brought forth his concerns about fire-rescue training especially in the Greenpond area, said he wants the County to issue a response to people, like him, who bring forth issues. County Fire officials have publicly said they disagree with Stagmiller’s assessment of their training and accountability.
“I have spoken many times about concerns and have gotten nothing in return,” he said. “You have changed the rules from monthly to quarterly, and it would be good to get some feedback — a call, an e-mail, something in return - and now we have to wait every 3 months,” he said.
Tonya Brockman and Nancy Garrison spoke about continued issues regarding residential development in Northern Laurens County, specifically related to Durbin Road and Happy Valley Road.
Brockman said her farm now is surrounded by 3 subdivisions and, with the lack of an enforceable buffer, people from the subdivisions are trespassing, especially around her livestock. She said people from the County have come out to look at the situation 3 times since 2022 - and she appreciates those efforts - but she wanted the Council to aware of the continuing issues.
Garrison said she was speaking to keep the Council apprised of issues related to “development and changes” - things not being as they once were.
She said big trucks have wiped out her heavy stone mailbox and the mailboxes of 8 other Durbin Road neighbors. “I talked to Sheriff Reynolds and he told me to, diplomatically, talk to the developer, and I did, but I have not heard back. Our mailbox is heavy duty metal so it took out a chunk of their truck when it hit it but it’s been there 32 years, and it literally got wiped out.”
She said teen-agers are using a path beside her property for 4-wheelers, and speeders on the road “just about wiped out me and my husband, we don’t know where they came from … they must have been really moving.”
But it was Hannah Dendy’s remarks leading off the “listening session” that were the most impactful. She said her concerns are “serious and important and I think worthy of speaking on.”
She said the 4-member majority on the Laurens City Council recently “held the council hostage” as they adopted an ordinance related to alleged “ethical discrepancies” related to Laurens Mayor Nathan Senn. “These four individuals are black and, for that reason alone, they vote together,” she said.
She said Senn tried to guide the majority through what he considered an illegal ordinance but was not successful. “Mr Senn won the vote for mayor because the voters thought him to be competent and adequate for the role. He worked for it and he earned it. … And it is worth noting, that the SLED investigation into Mr. Senn came back with absolutely nothing.”
Her second item of concern was the Laurens County Council meeting of March 9 which, she said, could have given outsiders the impression that this is a racist community - something that Dendy called, “an outright and unsubstantiated lie.”
She said, “Mr. Carroll had made no attempt to silence anyone. No one on the council spoke so disrespectfully (as Rev. Kennedy from the audience). Mr. Philson then got up to tell Mr. Carroll that he would not be silenced. If there was some incident that happened that occurred privately, then it should have handled privately, and not in front of your constituency, and especially not on the recording of the meeting that was posted on YouTube for everyone to see. Actions like that of the majority of City Council and Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Philson will give a false narrative of our town, that Laurens is full of racists and that’s why this behavior is acceptable. That narrative is an outright and unsubstantiated lie.”
False accusations and “implications that someone on this council believes someone (else) on this council is an ’n-word’ or a slave, which was exactly what was implied, has absolutely no place in these chambers or in our county. Being black entitles you to nothing, not a job, not a political position, not an apology, and not to be vulgar, especially in public. You don’t exist free of consequences.
“Disagreement is not racism,” Dendy concluded. "People have the right to disagree with you with whatever they like and whenever they want to, and disagreement is necessary. It exposes lies and flesh out truth.
“South Carolina is a great state. It is beautiful, safe, and prosperous. Laurens County is a big part of that. We prove that year over year with the amount of people who move here, despite the fact that we have neighboring states with lower taxes. We should be proud that residents and businesses want to come here; and we should use this platform, this council and the city council to give a true impression of our town. We are a great community of God-fearing, kind, and respectful people governed with decorum; and anyone who shares those beliefs and ideas will be successful here.”
Carroll wrapped up the meeting with his Council Chairman comments, saying that if more “listening sessions” are needed, that could be accomplished.
“Frequency, if we need to have more, we can have more, we certainly can, these meetings are for things not on our regular agenda.”
If a person has a concern related to an agenda item, each monthly meeting has a window for those comments, the Chairman clarified; but in the listening sessions, “you can talk about things that are important to you or your community, so you have the opportunity to speak and be responded to — I hope we do a better job responding to the concerns. I appreciate those who spoke this evening about the council meetings (and) decorum. We have a huge responsibility leading this community and this county, as these great businesses come in and they invest in us, and they invest in our people, and they bring things to our community and the opportunities that will be coming forward that will continue to allow us to grow and to bring the right things to Laurens County and be that place where people want to come and live and work.”
Whether or not Laurens County grows its opportunities “is going to be predicated on what they see from us, as a leadership body, and what they can expect to have to deal with when they come to Laurens County,” Carroll said. “That is my goal, to present myself in a way that you can be proud of no matter what happens.
“I take it personally, I really do; and it’s offensive at times, but I’ll respond the way I should respond as a leader. Don’t take kindness as weakness, but know that the things that we do are on purpose and that we are doing things for the community and for you, so you can rest assured as we go forward, we will continue to do that upholding the respect for you that you deserve and giving the community the respect that we deserve.”
