The Voice of Blythewood & Fairfield County

Ridgeway shells out for water upgrades

RIDGEWAY – Ridgeway Town Council voted 4-0 last week to take $13,677 out of their contingency fund to help pay for the conversion of treatment of the town’s water supply from chlorine to a chloramine-based method. Mayor Charlene Herring reported during Council’s April 11 meeting that the ammonia tank has been purchased and expects the conversion to be completed in the next two weeks. The total cost for the project was $172,220, with the Town of Winnsboro picking up $158,543 of the tab. Herring said notices will be sent out to water customers once the changeover is complete in the event they notice a change in the taste of their drinking water.

Herring also suggested that Council consider taking bids on a fence to be placed around the heating and air conditioning unit outside the Century House. The Mayor said that a new business next door to the building Ridgeway uses for Town Hall has increased traffic of large trucks through the shared driveway. The unit has suffered damage in the past after being clipped by a truck using the narrow driveway. Councilman Russ Brown suggested roping the area off as a cheaper alternative.

Council also voted to accept the recommendation of the Ridgeway Planning Commission to adopt two changes to the Town’s zoning ordinance. The first amendment changes the definition of “Residential Detached” to “A single dwelling unit in a single structure which is surrounded by yards or other open areas.” The Planning Commission’s report to Council said the change is to clear up “ambiguity regarding the types of structures permitted on a lot that is zoned R-1.” The change will limit construction to one “Dwelling Unit” per lot under R-1.

The second change will put manufactured homes on a case-by-case basis on land zoned R-2. Construction of manufactured homes will still be allowed, the Planning Commission’s report states, but will have to be approved on an individual basis after a hearing by the Board of Zoning Appeals as a special exception.

“This change will give the Town greater discretion in approving proposed construction of homes of this type,” the report states.

Both zoning changes will still have to go through the public hearing process, which has not yet been scheduled.