City Council Highlights | March 19, 2024

At the beginning of the City Council meeting, several proclamations were presented. Councilwoman Tina Hebert presented the Finklin Pharmacy proclamation to honor the family-owned pharmacy that has been a staple in the City of Columbia for over thirty-seven years. Mayor Daniel Rickenmann presented the Social Work Month proclamation to recognize and honor all social workers in our community including Rapid Shelter Columbia Director Kameisha Heppard, who is a master social worker. Lastly, Mayor Daniel Rickenmann presented the Community Development Week, National Fair Housing Month, and National Financial Literacy Month proclamations to honor the City’s Community Development Department staff and recognize the importance of fair housing and financial literacy month.

Finklin Pharmacy

During the consent agenda portion of the meeting, City Council approved several items that will continue to invest in water and sewer infrastructure.

City Council approved an amendment to the Construction Manager-at-risk contract for the next phase of the Saluda River force main improvements. This project will improve the conveyance of wastewater along the Saluda River and minimize sanitary sewer overflows during wet weather and peak flow conditions. This amendment provides funding for preconstruction services for Phase 2 of the force main extension (Item #16).

Social Work

Funding was approved to study the removal of perfluorinated substances at water treatment plants. As part of preparation for potential regulations, the City authorized the study to review the occurrence and potential treatment methods (Item #17).

Another amendment was approved in order to advance the Resilient Water Supply Project. As part of the overall Canal Embankment Recovery, this project will provide complete water supply and intake redundancy for the Canal Water Treatment Plant and is largely funded through an infrastructure grant from FEMA. The project is scheduled to move into the contractor procurement phase this summer (Item #18).

Community Development

As part of the continuing efforts to improve the provision of water and wastewater services in a responsive and efficient manner for our customers, approval was granted for a project amendment to improve the Mill Creek wastewater pump station, fund additional efforts to repair water leaks, and relocate water and wastewater infrastructure for transportation improvements on Caughman Road (Items #19-21).

City Council also approved funding for additional water meters to serve the needs of a growing system (Item #22).

For more information about upcoming City Council meetings or general information about the City of Columbia, please visit www.ColumbiaSC.gov.