ST. MATTHEWS - St. Matthews Town Council on Tuesday voted to begin demolition of seven dilapidated houses that were budgeted for this fiscal year.

Mayor Joe Sikes said one of his campaign promises was to "clean up the town," adding that, "as a show of good faith" to the residents, he wanted to tear down one old house before the end of the year and the other six after the first of the year.

Town Administrator Dick Whetstone was instructed to advertise for bids immediately.

Also during the meeting, Roger Sears of Alliance Engineers reported that changes to the preliminary engineering report were submitted to DHEC and Rural Development to reflect the council's decision to use the Wannamaker property for a wastewater spray field instead of the drip-irrigation field originally planned for the Gressette property. He said he expects approval within 30 to 60 days. Sears said results of the soil analysis are still pending.

Because the pipeline will cross wetlands, approval is required from the Corps of Engineers, he said, but since the pipe will be bored under the wetlands area, there should be no problem.

Noting that the owner of the Wannamaker property requested a purchase agreement, the administrator said he had a rough draft on hand.

In other business, council discussed a letter submitted by Boy Scout Hunter Lake, who was unable to attend the meeting, requesting approval of his Eagle Scout Project to replace the purple martin houses lost as a result of the construction on U.S. 601. Lake said he was only asking for permission from the town, noting that all funding will be raised through private donations. He said he plans to approach SCE&G, the St. Matthews Rotary Club, the St. Matthews Area Revitalization Team and the St. Matthews Garden Club for financial assistance. Boy Scout Troop 51 will assist with the project. Council approved Lake's request.

Also during the meeting:

* Whetstone said the S.C. Department of Transportation repaired the damage caused to one of the town's bridges when it was hit by a truck. He said a replacement streetlight is on order. According to Darrell Larrymore, Whetstone said, SCE&G had to special order the lamppost. It will not arrive for three to six weeks and won't be available for Christmas, he said.

* Whetstone said the "TRUCK/NO TURN" signs for the streetscape area were installed, expressing the town's thanks to SCDOT. He said the Rotary clock is broken and a factory repairman should arrive within three to six weeks to fix it.

* The administrator, responding to a request by Councilwoman Aileen Floyd, said the due date for payment of this month's water bills will be extended from Dec. 25 to Jan. 5.

* Councilwoman Eloise Shuler Guinyard said the town will distribute fruit baskets to all children from noon until 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 13 at St. Matthews Town Hall.

* Councilman Virgil Jacobs said the town needed to resolve the problem with payment of music fees to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers so St. Matthews could once again hold Christmas parades.

* The town's financial report for November showed deposits of $303,149.69 and expenditures of $109,133.53 for a balance of $236,160.63. Whetstone said $20,000 was transferred to the water account and $154,463.95 was received as a SCDOT reimbursement for the streetscape project. The water and sewer report showed deposits of $191,768.31 and expenditures of $147,501.04, for a balance of $50,292.29. It was noted that $77,706.62 of the deposit was from a CD that was cashed in and $20,000 was from the town account. Expenditures included $14,830 to Alliance Engineers; $11,161.28 for repairs to two sewage pumps and $4,308.89 to rent a sewage pump.

T&D Correspondent Larry P. Jordan can be reached by phone at 803-874-3276. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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