BLYTHEWOOD – After a story was published in the July 17 edition of The Voice regarding the comping (partially or completely) of events scheduled at the Manor, an investigation is unfolding in town hall as Blythewood town officials try to determine who is authorizing certain events at the Manor to be comped, which events are being comped, and to what extent.
All events scheduled at the Manor are logged on the Manor Reservations List. That list includes the following information: Event Name, Event Start Date, Event End Date, Total Cost of the Event, and Payments.
The Manor reservation list from July 1, 2024 through June 20, 2025, obtained by The Voice, includes a number of reservations that appear to be comped, including the following reservation for Richland County Councilman Derrek Pugh: Event: The Manor Reserved – Council Man(sic) Pugh Event for his Mom | Date: 5-17-2025 | Total Cost: -0- | Payments: (blank).
According to current Doko Manor event rates, the basic rate to rent the Manor on 5-17-2025, a Saturday, is $4,500. (In the previous story, The Voice incorrectly reported May 17 as a Sunday which has a rate of $3,700.)
“Out beside about a half a dozen of these [events] is the word ‘Mayor,’ where he comped the event,” McKenrick said. “That’s your facility that the mayor gave away,” McKenrick told the audience at a Q & A at Blythewood Park Monday night where council members answered questions in regard to the referendum calling for a change in the town’s form of government from a mayor-council form to a council-manager form.
“You simply cannot comp a reservation for a political friend,” McKenrick said.
Mayor Pro Tem Donald Brock added, “Nowhere on the fee schedule does it say the use of the Manor is free.
“It actually says that the Manor director is required to enforce the adopted fees, but has the authority to negotiate fees within 60 days of the event,” Brock said.
Brock also noted his concern that, for the last fiscal year (2024-25), the Manor operated at a $175,000 net loss.
“If you’re giving away your main source of rental revenue, you’re destroying your own fortunes,” Brock said at the Monday night Q & A.
In a phone interview with The Voice, Pugh acknowledged the event held at the Manor saying it was for his mother-in-law, not his mom, but denied that he was comped for it. He said his wife took care of the payment. Asked about the cost of the event, Pugh ended the conversation, saying he would call right back. A few days later in a brief call from The Voice, Pugh said, “I think I’ve got it figured out,” referring to payment for the May 17 rental, and that he would call The Voice back the next morning with an explanation but, again, has not called.
According to the Manor event rates, which are available on the Manor’s website, charges for use of the Manor depend on the number of hours reserved and also on the day(s) of the week the facility is used.
“A 15th birthday party was held at the Manor, and we charged the family $$3,900. We charged a non-profit for foster children $1,200,” said McKenrick. “Yet, Derrek Pugh gets the facility for free because he’s a friend of Sloan Griffin? That’s wrong.”
The Voice has learned that town officials are also looking at other events on the Manor Reservation List that appear to be comped or otherwise raise questions.
Brock said at the Monday evening Q & A meeting that Title IX, Chapter 93.03 – User Fee Schedule – prohibits the mayor from waiving or reducing fees related to the rental of Doko Manor and Amphitheater.
The Manor’s user fee schedule was approved by council and codified with Ordinance 2022.013, which received first reading on Sept. 26, 2022 and second reading on Oct. 24, 2022. Both readings passed with a 5-0 vote.
The Voice has been told by a town official that on or before May, 2025, Mayor Sloan Griffin met with Pugh to discuss the event for Pugh’s mother-in-law that was held on Saturday, May 17, 2025.
Neither Pugh nor Griffin have offered an explanation for why no charge or payment is shown on Pugh’s reservation.
“The fee was 100 percent waived,” the town official said, providing The Voice with internal documentation as proof.
