City Council highlights | September 20, 2022

Advanced Water Meter Infrastructure

The City Council Meeting on September 20, 2022, started with an important update from Columbia Water regarding the advanced water meter infrastructure throughout the City of Columbia (Item #2). Frank Eskridge, Director of Utility Operation for Columbia Water, spoke to City Council advising that the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) project that has been going on since March of 2019 was successfully completed.

As of September 2022, over 152,000 AMI installations have taken place throughout Columbia Water’s service area since the beginning of the Capital Improvement Project (CIP) to modernize the City of Columbia’s meter reading capabilities. Since the inception of this project, the City of Columbia has invested approximately $48 million in this infrastructure improvement process.

This new infrastructure throughout Richland & Lexington counties gives our Columbia Water customers more assurance and control in a number of different ways:

• Eliminates estimated and inaccurate meter reads for more accurate customer bills.
• Enables customers to track their daily and hourly usage to help better manage water consumption and troubleshoot potential plumbing problems.
• Provides electronic notifications to customers if they have a spike in use and/or a possible leak. Visit ColumbiaSCWater.EyeOnWater.com to learn more about the free smartphone app!

Reporting of Lost/Stolen Fire Arms

Another major item discussed and voted upon during the City Council meeting was the second and final reading of Ordinance 2022-080 (Item #15). This ordinance aims to amend 1998 Code of Ordinances of the City of Columbia for the reporting of lost/stolen fire arms, relating to firearms recovered from crimes of criminal activity. This ordinance will encourage firearm owners to notify law enforcement about the loss or theft of their firearm, which will help deter gun trafficking and help law enforcement return firearms to their rightful owners.

To learn more about Ordinance 2022-080, please visit http://columbiacitysc.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_LegiFile.aspx?Frame=&MeetingID=1487&MediaPosition=&ID=7813&CssClass.

Parking Spaces for Non-Residential Buildings

City Council also hosted a public hearing during the meeting for a host of zoning and planning matters in the City, including 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=1487&MediaPosition=&ID=7882&CssClass=.

City Council also voted on authorizing the City Manager to execute a Quiet Zone Construction Agreement with Special Provisions between the City of Columbia and Norfolk Southern Railroad (Item #26).

Mayor Rickenmann gave a brief recap of some of the topics discussed at the meeting. Please view it here: https://youtu.be/GfwoMBZj0Rg

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