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At the March 12 Allendale Town Council meeting, council members Pookie Smith and Marlon Creech raised frustrations regarding communication between council members and the handling of the town’s money.
A pattern of poor communication between council members and other municipal employees in the Town of Allendale is holding back several community projects, as discussed at the Town of Allendale’s March 12 monthly meeting.
Additionally, vegetation growth in the town of Allendale’s sewer system has created issues for public works foreman Lonzado Badger and other municipal employees.
Community center delays
In October 2023, council member Marlon Creech received a $25,000 grant from the Municipal Association of South Carolina’s Hometown Economic Development Council to reopen Allendale’s community center. According to a budget report distributed at the March 12 meeting, $40,000 has been allocated for community center repairs.
At the time that Creech received the grant, Creech said he hoped that the necessary repairs — which include repairing a leaky roof and refurbishing the building’s interior — could be made by the new year.
However, work on the community center has yet to begin. At the March 12 meeting, Creech attributed this to a lack of behind-the-scenes financial organization and communication in the town’s administration.
“I need to know what I need to do to make these projects come to fruition so our downtown area can look like something,” Creech said. “Why every time somebody has a question about money, we don’t know the answer? If the citizens come up and ask a question about money, we still don’t know the answer.”
Financial issues
In addition to financial issues regarding the community center project, the Allendale town council had issues with communication regarding movement of town funds.
“I did see something today that somewhat disturbed me: having a negative account,” said mayor pro-tem Pookie Smith. “I didn’t have any knowledge that we’re at that point… There’s nobody that can make any decision about moving any monies to any account without the full body agreeing, no one.”
This issue stems from a lack of larger coordination between all council members about ongoing issues the town is facing, Smith said; Making clear who is doing what must be a priority going forward.
“To be transparent to the citizens and the council, I ask moving forward that not one brown penny of town money moves without the full body agreeing to it,” Smith said.
Sewer System issues
The growth of vegetation in Allendale’s wastewater treatment plant was a major issue this winter due to it being the warmest winter in history, a result of global climate change. Lonzado Badger, the town’s public works foreman said at the meeting that he and other municipal workers have had to work overtime to address the issue.
“The vegetation is out of control,” Badger said. “We need to address that situation sooner rather than later.”
These issues were discussed by Sonya Johnson and Madison Leonard of Water Systems, Inc., a water system servicing company that works for the Town of Allendale. Leonard said the town’s wastewater system is facing “major issues” that range from the town’s pumps and wastewater plants.
“As far as the wastewater plant, we are seeing some excessive growth in the lagoons and the ponds themselves,” Leonard said. “It was a warmer winter, I think we can all agree to that, and spring is on the way. We need to prioritize getting that vegetation removed from ponds.”
Other issues discussed
• The town has received 37 applications for its open town administrator position, two of whom were office managers.
• Bob Snead, president of the Southern Palmetto Regional Chamber, has proposed creating a satellite location in Allendale by repurposing an old hotel owned by the town.
• The town passed the second reading of an ordinance that would amend the town’s budget and would increase revenue and expenditures for water and sewer use and appropriate insurance proceeds.
Elijah de Castro is a Report for America corps member who writes about rural communities like Allendale and Barnwell counties for The People-Sentinel. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep Elijah writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today.
