WINNSBORO – “We are recommending a one-year delay in implementing newly established boundaries between Richland and Fairfield counties so that officials can work out how to maintain services for those residents affected,” Fairfield County Administrator Vic Carpenter said during the Nov. 9 council meeting.
Carpenter said the counties concerned are recommending that the General Assembly be asked to return the boundaries to where they were previously.
The state’s boundary determination affects Fairfield’s borders with Richland and Kershaw counties. In Blythewood’s Cobblestone Park neighborhood, about 19 residential properties were identified earlier this year as affected by the Fairfield-Richland boundary clarification, with some homes divided by the newly surveyed boundary line.
Carpenter said the boundary adjustment, prompted by the state, is to be certified Monday, Nov. 16. He proposed the following next steps.
“Right now, it’ll be staff’s recommendation that we request that the actual implementation be delayed for a year,” Carpenter said.
That would give county officials time to develop intergovernmental agreements so services could continue without interruption, he said.
Carpenter said Fairfield staff have met with staff from Richland and Kershaw counties to discuss the transition, including which county would provide emergency services.
Officials are working to arrange a meeting with affected residents Dec. 10 at Doko Manor in Blythewood, where Carpenter said the bulk of the affected homes are located.
The transition primarily involves residents coming into Fairfield County, Carpenter said, creating questions about differences in services.
“Richland County provides curbside garbage pickup. We do not,” he said.
Emergency response is equally complicated. Carpenter said Fairfield responders could have to travel through a subdivision they do not serve to reach a handful of homes now assigned to their county, even when the stations in the county they previously were in might be closer.
“There are a lot of issues that could be very confusing to our citizens,” Carpenter said, giving 911 as an example. “Staffs of all counties involved are working toward recommendations to present to their respective county councils.”
The state has described the boundary project as re-establishing the county line according to its description in state law, rather than creating a new boundary. Historical records, legal descriptions and surveys were used to locate the line.
Residents interviewed for The Voice’s September story raised concerns about garbage collection, emergency response, schools, voting, taxes and property values.
Carpenter said restoring the previously recognized boundaries would require action by the General Assembly.
“Ultimately, the goal that staff will recommend at this point to our respective councils would be that the General Assembly return the boundaries to where they were,” he said.
In the meantime, he said, officials are pursuing a pause while working out how residents can continue receiving the services they are accustomed to.”