Town Will Cover Cost of Fencing Upgrades
BLYTHEWOOD – Richland County has agreed to remove the silver chain-link fences installed around two drainage ponds along Blythewood Road, but replacing them with more decorative fencing will require town funding and leave Blythewood responsible for future repairs, Town Manager Doug Polen said.
The county would remove the existing fences at its expense and credit their cost toward the Town’s cost for the replacement fencing, Polen said. Town Council must still decide what replacements to approve and authorize the money.
“I think we are where we need to be right now,” Polen said. “I need to get some direction from council.”
The agreement follows concerns about approximately 900 feet of silver chain-link fencing installed along Blythewood Road between Syrup Mill and Montgomery Ridge roads and a smaller fence near the Community Road roundabout.
Town officials previously said they could find no documentation showing the town had been notified or asked for permission before installation. Richland County Transportation Department Manager Michael Green claimed town officials could have learned about the fence in a 2018 public information meeting at Doko Manor. However, the current fencing was not planned until last year after the much smaller original drainage pond washed out.
Polen’s current preference for the larger pond is decorative fencing with a wrought-iron appearance along the front and probably both sides, with black chain-link fencing across the back.
The town has obtained prices for steel and aluminum decorative fencing, as well as black chain link. For the smaller pond near the roundabout, council would need to decide whether to use black chain link throughout or spend more for decorative fencing.
Polen estimated the town’s total cost to replace the chain link with decorative fencing might be about $40,000.
“It’s more the fact that it happened than the cost,” Polen said.
Beyond the initial expense, council must consider the town’s continuing responsibility for the upgraded fencing.
“If we go ahead and do this, we are on the hook for repairs in the future,” Polen said. “And so if someone runs into that fence, you know, we have to fix it, not the county.”
Keeping the silver chain-link fencing in place would leave responsibility with the county, he said. Choosing an upgrade would shift that obligation to the town.
Polen said the larger fence’s proximity to the road makes potential vehicle damage a particular concern.
“Every time someone runs into that fence,” he said, “it’s going to cost us money to fix it.”
Landscaping between the sidewalk and the fence or behind the fence is another possibility, although available space, underground utilities and stormwater requirements would need to be examined before shrubs or other plantings could be added.
The town would also bear the expense of installing and maintaining landscaping, along with irrigation if included.
“Landscaping would look great, but we’re on the hook for the cost,” Polen said. “It could look very nice, so I think it’s something we want to explore.”