* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:03] SO FOR [1. CALL TO ORDER] MONDAY, AUGUST 28TH AT 11:00 AM TO ORDER, UH, WOULD THE CLERK PLEASE CALL THE ROLE COUNCIL MEMBER TABER PRESENT, COUNCIL MEMBER RES PRESENT AND ONLINE COUNCIL MEMBER LAWSON. COUNCIL MEMBER HOWARD HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER GLOVER. HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER DAWSON. PRESENT ONLINE. COUNCIL MEMBER CUNNINGHAM. COUNCIL MEMBER BROWN. HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER BARTHOLOMEW. HERE. COUNCIL VICE CHAIRMAN MCALLEN IS ABSENT. CHAIRMAN PASSMAN PRESENT. YOU HAVE A QUORUM. THANK YOU. WOULD YOU ALL RISE FOR THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE? I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL PUBLIC NOTIFICATION OF THIS MEETING HAS BEEN PUBLISHED, HOSTED AND DISTRIBUTED IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE SOUTH CAROLINA FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT. I WOULD ASK A MEMBER [4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA] OF COUNSEL TO MOVE AND SECOND, THE APPROVAL OF TODAY'S AGENDA. I'LL MAKE THE MOTION TO, FOR THE MS. TABER MAKES THE MOTION. I'LL SECOND THAT. MS. BROWN MAKES THE SECOND DULY MOTION AND SECONDED. ANY DISCUSSION? SEEING NONE. THE AGENDA WILL BE APPROVED WITHOUT OBJECTION. AND THERE ARE NO OBJECTIONS. UM, AT THIS [5. CITIZEN COMMENTS- 15 MINUTES TOTAL] POINT IN TIME, WE HAVE A, A COMMENT TO BE MADE BY A MEMBER OF THE AUDIENCE. UNDER CITIZEN COMMENTS, WOULD YOU PLEASE COME FORWARD? YOU'RE UP, MR. HOLGAN? I THINK HE HEARD US. YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES, SIR. THANK YOU. I THINK INSTEAD OF MAKING A A GENERAL COMMENT, I'M GONNA JUST RATTLE OFF HOW MANY THESE DOCUMENTS THAT I HAVE, UH, THE DOCUMENTS THAT I HAVE ARE TO SHOW WHY WE MUST HAVE A FORENSIC AUDIT BY A, UH, A QUALIFIED GOVERNMENT, C P A, UH, AND EVEN BETTER, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, F B I, FORMER F B I AGENTS, WHATEVER. THERE'S A LOT OF FIRMS IN SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA THAT DO THIS. YOU CAN GOOGLE ALL THIS, BUT I'M PREVENTING, I'M PRESENTING DOCUMENTS ON WHY WE MUST HAVE A FORENSIC AUDIT ON EVERY OFFICE IN EVERY DIVISION IN BEAUFORT COUNTY BASED ON THE GREENWAY SCANDAL. AND I CAN TELL YOU, I DON'T KNOW WHO HIRED THE LAWYER AND WHO YOU'RE GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT TODAY ABOUT DOING THE FORENSIC AUDIT, BUT I'M TELLING YOU THAT IT CANNOT BE AN INTERNALLY ANOTHER INTERNAL HIRED SITUATION. IT'S GOTTA BE TOTALLY INDEPENDENT. AND I'M GONNA TELL YOU ANOTHER THING. A LAWYER IS NOT QUALIFIED. UH, FACT, EVEN A C MOST CPAS ARE NOT QUALIFIED TO DO GOVERNMENT, UH, FORENSIC AUDITS. IT HAS TO BE SOMEBODY THAT'S TRAINED TO DO A FORENSIC AUDIT, UH, ON GOVERNMENTS AND ALL THE DIVISIONS OF GOVERNMENT. SO I HAVE MANY DOCUMENTS, AND WE DON'T WANT ANY OF THE LAWYERS OR ANYBODY TO HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS. IT'S GOTTA BE TOTALLY INDEPENDENT AND HIRE SOMEBODY THAT WE CAN TRUST. SO I'VE GOT A LOT OF DOCUMENTS ON THE VIOLATIONS OF THE BUFORT C B B AND THE CHA, THE CHAMBER. I'VE GOT THE, I'VE GOT THE REASONS WHY. UM, I'VE GOT SOME INFORMATION ON AUDIT FIRMS. I'VE GOT INFORMATION ON THE, AN AUDIT OF THE PALM BEACH C B B CHAMBER, WHICH WILL SPELL OUT, UH, THIS IS AN OLD AUDIT. IT'S, IT, IT, BUT IT'S STILL RELEVANT. UH, WHY YOU MUST AUDIT THE C B B AND ALL THE ACCOMMODATION TAXES. WHY YOU MUST AUDIT THE BONDS WITH BUR FOREMAN, WHO IS A CHAMBER LAWYER. LAW FIRM SITS ON THE CHAMBER BOARD. WHY? WE GOTTA SEE WHERE ALL THE HOSPITALITY FUNDS HAVE GONE. THE A TAX FUNDS. WE HAVE TO SEE EVERYTHING. WE'RE AT A VERY, WE'RE AT A FINANCIAL JUDICIAL CRISIS OF BEAUFORT COUNTY. AND Y'ALL MUST RECOGNIZE THIS. WE HAVE NOT SEEN ANYTHING FOR YEARS AND YEARS, AND TENS AND HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS HAVE DISAPPEARED. NOW, HERE IS, UM, HERE IS, UH, INFORMATION THAT WAS SENT TO THE AG ATTORNEY GENERAL, UH, ON, UH, ON ALL THE CHAMBER AND C B B CORRUPTION, NOT JUST IN BEAUFORT COUNTY, BUT THE ENTIRE STATE. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A BILLION DOLLAR CORRUPTION. WE'RE NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT A FEW MILLION. UM, HERE'S A, UH, EVEN A FRAUDULENT CHAMBER OPINION BY NEX PRUITT LAWYER. I'VE GOT THAT, I'VE GOT ALL THE INFORMATION ON, UH, UH, UH, I'VE GOT INFORMATION ON THE, UM, UH, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, UH, UH, UH, BY THE, UH, BY THE YANKEE INSTITUTE, WHICH TELLS YOU HOW TO AUDIT A SCHOOL DISTRICT AND WHY, WHY YOU MUST AUDIT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. AND ALSO HAVE ANOTHER, UH, EXAMPLE BY THE COLUMBIA, UH, LAW SCHOOL ON, UH, SMALL TOWN AND SMALL COUNTY CORRUPTION. AND IT LAYS OUT HOW YOUR AUDITOR WILL DO THE AUDIT OF THE COUNTY. IT SPELLS IT ALL OUT. SO I'VE GOT ALL THIS INFORMATION FOR YOU. I'VE DONE, I'VE MY, MY, I HAVE SPENT A LOT OF MONEY WITH THE PEOPLE THAT WORK FOR ME TO DO THIS FOR Y'ALL BECAUSE I KNOW YOU'RE ALL PART TIME AND [00:05:01] YOU CAN'T DO THIS YOURSELF. AND I'VE DONE THIS FOR YOU AS A, AS A FAVOR. I'M HERE TO HELP YOU. I'M NOT HERE TO, I'M NOT HERE TO FIGHT WITH YOU. I'M HERE TO HELP YOU. OKAY? UM, THERE ARE NO OTHER COMMENTS. UH, I WOULD ASK FOR A MEMBER OF COUNSEL [EXECUTIVE SESSION] TO OFFER THE FOLLOWING MOTION PURSUANT TO SOUTH CAROLINA CODE SECTION 30 DASH FOUR DASH 70 A TWO TO ENGAGE IN DISCUSSIONS AND NEGOTIATIONS, INCIDENT TO PROPOSED CONTRACTUAL ARRANGEMENTS. MOTION PLEASE. SO MOVE 'EM, MR. CHAIRMAN, MR. GLOVER AND MS. HOWARD MAKE THE MOTION AND SECOND DULY MOTION. AND SECOND, ANY DISCUSSIONS? SEEING NONE, WE ARE GOING TO BE IN EXECUTIVE SESSION. THE EXECUTIVE SESSION WILL LAST AT LEAST AN HOUR. WE WILL HAVE MATTERS ARISING OUT OF EXECUTIVE SESSION. WE ARE IN EXECUTIVE SESSION IN YEARS FORT PRINCE FREDERICK. A SMALL STRUCTURE MEASURING JUST 125 BY 75 FEET AS A TYPICAL FRONTIER STYLE LOG AND EARTH IN FLOOR ARTILLERY STOOD AT THE READY TO SLOW ANY APPROACH BY THE SPANISH FLEET. AS SOON AS THE FIRST [7. MATTERS ARISING OUT OF EXECUTIVE SESSION] WARNINGS FROM THE WATCH CANNONS AT THE MOUTH OF THE SOUND WERE FIRED, THE WILL BE DISPATCHED THE TABLE TO HAVE THE SETTLERS OF THE ISLANDS ENVISION SOMETHING STURDIER, A STRUCTURE THAT COULD OFFER THEM REAL PROTECTION IN TIMES OF TROUBLE. ANSWERED OR PETITIONING THE COMMON HOUSE ASSEMBLY, THE GOVERNMENT FOR THE MONEY TO FINISH FOR BILL STOUTLY 73, THE FRENCH HUG SETTLE CONTRACTOR. MR. CHAIRMAN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UM, FIRST THING I WANNA SAY IS THAT I BELIEVE BOTH FIRM A AND B ARE WELL QUALIFIED TO DO WHAT WE NEED. AND, UM, I AM GOING WITH FIRM B AND, UH, VERY STRONGLY FEEL THAT THEY HAVE THE CAPABILITIES, UM, TO GET TO WORK RIGHT AWAY. AND, UM, I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING WHAT ELSE THE OTHER COUNCIL HAS TO SAY ABOUT FROM A OR B. HE DID IN 1733, THANK YOU. PROBABLY ABANDONED GLOVER 40 HAD THAT SHORTAGE. OKAY. AND FOR THE FIRST SEVEN YEARS, IT WAS AGREE, 1726 TO S BOTH. IT WAS THE SOUTHERN FRONTIER IN NORTH AMERICA. UM, AND ALTHOUGH THE BRITISH OCCUPIED PORT ROYAL FOR A TIME DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, THE GREATEST BATTLE WAGED BY FOR PRINCE FREDERICK OVER THE NEXT CENTURY AND A HALF WAS WON WITH THE WEEDS. AND THE WE HISTORICAL AND A PLANTER BY THE NAME OF JOHN JOYNER SMITH CAME INTO POSSESSION OF THE LAND EARLY IN THE 18 HUNDREDS, TURNING THE EXPANSE ABOVE THE OLD FORD INTO FIELDS OF COTTON TENDED BY THE ENSLAVED. BUT ALL THAT CHANGED IN NOVEMBER OF 1861 WHEN UNION FORCES OVERCAME THE CONFEDERATE TERRITORY. WHEN THE PORT ROYAL BALLPORT ROYAL SOUND HAPPENED IN THE FALL OF 1861, LEGAL AND THE PLANTERS FROM THE BEAUFORT REGION GET AD, AS THEY CALL IT, UM, THEY LEFT BEHIND BETWEEN EIGHT AND 10,000 SLAVES SOMETIMES. UM, I'VE SAID IT, AND, YOU KNOW, AND PEOPLE WERE SO JUBILANT LAWYERS NOT BEST FRIENDS WHEN THEY HEARD CANONS GO OFF, BECAUSE SOMETIMES WE'D LOVE TO HAVE SOMEBODY IN THAT ELSE, OTHER THAN A LAWYER THAT THEY CALL IT DOING INTERVIEWS, BIG GUN SHOOT DATE. SO, AND WHEN THEY, WHEN THEY HEARD THE BIG GUN SHOOT, THEY, THEY SAID, FREEDOM IS THERE. THE YANKEES ARE HERE, SO WE FREE PICK ONE. BUT THAT AREA ON THOSE UFF LOVE FORT FRONT IS, UH, WHERE THERE'LL BE CAMPS THROUGHOUT. I WOULD GO WITH EIGHT. THERE'LL BE EVERYTHING FROM ARTILLERY TO MS. HOWARD CAMP, BOTH WHITE AND WHITE. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. THEY WILL BUILD, APPEAR OVER TOP OF THE WALLS OF FORT FREDERICK OUT INTO THE BUFORT RIVER OVER THE TOP OF OLD FORT FREDERICK STEP. THE FIRST BLACK REGIMEN MUSTERED IN AS THE FIRST SOUTH CAROLINA OF AFRICAN DESCENT. IT'S GONNA BE IN THE SUMMER OF 1862. EVERYTHING SORT OF BEGINS TO CHANGE AND PERMISSION IS GIVEN TO BEGIN RAISING BLACK REGIMENTS. AT THAT TIME, PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN SENT A MILITARY GOVERNOR TO PORT ROYAL GENERAL RUFUS SAXTON IS GIVEN PERMISSION TO BEGIN RAISING UPWARDS OF 5,000 BLACK TROOPS. AND ONE, THE FIRST THINGS HE DOES IS HE ORDERS THEM TO ASSEMBLE AT THE SMITH PLANTATION. AND THAT WILL BECOME THEIR CAMP. AND EVENTUALLY IT WILL BE NAMED CAMP SAXTON IN HIS HONOR. DOZENS OF MISSIONARIES, TEACHERS AND PHYSICIANS FROM THE NORTHEAST PART OF THE US ARRIVE IN SOUTH CAROLINA TO BEGIN A PROJECT THAT WILL COME TO BE KNOWN AS THE PORT OIL EXPERIMENT. AND, UM, AFTER ADDING UP, THEY ARE JOINED BY THE FAMED HARRIETT TUBMAN, WHO BROUGHT MANY PEOPLE TO FREEDOM WITH THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD. SHE NURSED THE CIVIL WAR INJURY [00:10:01] WHILE SHE SHOWED THE NEWLY FREED PEOPLE HOW TO WILLINGLY WORK IN A WAGE BASED SYSTEM, RATHER THAN BEING FORCED TO LABOR UNDER THE THREAT OF THE LASH. MS. LAURA TOWN ESTABLISHED A PENN SCHOOL ON ST. HELENA ISLAND, JUST A FERRY RIDE ACROSS THE SOUND FROM FORT FREDERICK, AN INSTITUTION THAT IS STILL IN OPERATION TODAY. LINCOLN WATCHED THE EXPERIMENT WITH GREAT INTEREST, AND DURING THE SUMMER OF 1862, ANNOUNCED THE PRELIMINARY EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION. IMMEDIATELY PLANS WERE MADE FOR AN ELABORATE CELEBRATION AT CAMP SAXTON FOR JANUARY. TIM ? YES. SO I, I'LL REITERATE BOTH FIRMS WERE IMPRESSIVE. UM, I'M GONNA GO WITH B I LIKED THEIR FLEXIBILITY IN BILLING, BUT ALSO I REALLY LIKED HOW THEY TALKED ABOUT, UM, TRANSPARENCY. AND THEY TALKED ABOUT CRISIS MANAGEMENT AND PERSONNEL. THE, THE PEOPLE THAT SPECIALIZE IN PERSONNEL, BOTH, BOTH FIRMS, SO THE PUBLIC KNOWS WOULD ENGAGE OUTSIDE CPAS TO DO FORENSIC AUDITS AND OTHER AUDITS. SO THEY'RE NOT USING INTERNAL PEOPLE AND BOTH FIRMS WILL WORK WITH SLED AND THE ETHICS COMMISSION AND EVERYTHING ELSE. SO I WOULD STILL GO WITH B MARK. YES, AND, AND I AGREE WITH EVERYONE ELSE. IT'S KINDA LIKE GOING TO DINNER AND DECIDING WHETHER YOU'RE GONNA GET THE, UH, RIBEYE STEAK OR THE, UH, NEW YORK STRIP. SO I, YOU KNOW, I'M A RIBEYE GUY, UM, , SO, UH, HAS TO HAVE BONE IN THERE. I, I'M GONNA, UH, I'M GONNA SAY, UH, FIRM B AND THE REASONS FOR FIRM B, AGAIN, BOTH FIRMS VERY, VERY QUALIFIED, VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE. UM, I, I LIKE THE, UH, FEE STRUCTURE THAT WE HEARD MORE FROM FIRM B. UM, I LIKE THE FACT THAT, UH, THEY ALREADY COME WITH, UH, THREE OR FOUR SPECIALIZED PEOPLE IN EACH SECTION THAT WE NEED. SO ALL THOSE CAN INVESTIGATIONS CAN START AT THE SAME TIME. HOPEFULLY WE CAN GET THIS DONE QUICKER THAN, THAN HAVING ONE DONE AFTER THE OTHER. UM, I LIKE THE FACT THAT, UM, THEY WERE ABLE TO SPELL OUT SOME MILESTONES OF, OF WHAT WE WOULD EXPECT AND HOW QUICK WE COULD GET THINGS OUT TO THE PUBLIC. AND AGAIN, NOT, NOT TO, UH, SAY THAT THAT FIRM A COULDN'T DO THOSE THINGS, BUT AGAIN, IT WAS SOMETHING THAT IT JUST SEEMED, UH, MORE FLUID AND, AND SOMETHING THAT, THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, CAME NATURAL TO WHAT, WHAT THEY'VE DONE IN THE PAST AND WHAT THEY'VE DONE ALREADY WITH THEIR EXPERIENCE. SO AGAIN, FIRM A IS GREAT, BUT UM, I WOULD LEAN TOWARDS FIRM. MR. DAWSON, ARE YOU AVAILABLE? ? YOU ALREADY WENT TO LUNCH? ? NO, HE WAS THERE A MINUTE AGO. OH, HE WAS . OKAY. UM, HOPEFULLY HE'LL BE BACK. UM, YEAH, I'M FIRM A AND I'LL TELL YOU WHY. WHEN THEY INTERVIEWED, THEY PRESENTED FACTS THAT ONLY WE CAN USE FROM THE STANDPOINT OF THE CREATIVITY OF WHAT THEY'VE DONE, THE HISTORY OF WHAT THAT FIRM DOES. FIRM B IS HIGHLY QUALIFIED, BUT YOU SAW THAT THEY'RE ENGAGED IN OTHER ENTITIES AROUND US. THAT IS A CONCERN I HAVE THAT THEY ARE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO DEVOTE THE TIME THAT WE NEED. SO I AM FIRM A ANY FURTHER QUESTION? NO, LIEUTENANT GERALD. UH, NO FURTHER ACTION. THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED. THANK YOU. OH, THE GAVE IS LOUD. OKAY. YOU HAVE, YOU SHOULD BE OVER HERE. OH YEAH. YEAH. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.