By Al Dozier
After months of backlash on its cancellation of a long-standing roads maintenance agreement with cities and towns, Lexington County Council has decided to return to the original agreement.
In an interview with The Irmo News, Lexington County Council’s new chairman, Todd Cullum, said it was a unanimous vote at the Jan. 28 council meeting to restore a maintenance agreement with municipalities that goes back to 1978. He said no further action is needed.
”This will reinstate the longstanding 1978 roads agreement with each municipality in the county,” Cullum said in introducing the measure at the council meeting.
The council voted to cancel that agreement in December 2023 as several new housing developments put a strain on the county to maintain roads in the new neighborhoods.
But that didn’t go over well with leaders of local governments, who contend that it is the county’s responsibility to maintain roads
The county offered to renegotiate a deal individually with municipalities that would provide for stricter rules on development, but many municipalities refused to negotiate.
The motion at the Jan. 28 council meeting came after Cullum received a formal request from Hazel Livingston, the mayor of Lexington, who had strongly opposed the cancellation.
“The prior agreement served us well for over 40 years,” Livingston wrote to Cullum after he was recently elected council chairman. “It’s essential that all residents have equal access to county road maintenance through a standard agreement, no matter the size or location of their municipality. It wouldn’t be fair for some residents to receive fewer services for the same tax dollars they contribute, simply because of where they live.”
Irmo Mayor Bill Danielson said the county’s decision to restore the agreement “is a step in the right direction.”
In an interview with The Irmo News, he said the move will set the stage for “an open dialogue” with the county and municipalities.
Irmo was one of the towns that refused to negotiate any new agreements with the county.
