Abby was born and raised in Tega Cay and will be attending Fort Mill High School as a senior in the fall. When asked why she decided to organize her food drive she said she just wanted to do something good for local residents this summer.  Abby told us this was not part of  a service project for a class or group, just a personal goal to give back to her community.

Abby got the idea for the food drive after reading a story about a Denver Colorado teenager organizing his own successful food and clothing donation drive.

Abby’s Food Drive began last weekend when her team of volunteers delivered almost 3,000 donated shopping bags and flyiers to Tega Cay residents. Her flyer asked residents to fill the bag with non perishable food and place the bag on their door step for pick up by 8am Saturday morning July 24th. A team of volunteers were assigned 22 pick up routes in Tega Cay and the bags were then loaded in a donated U haul for delivery to the Fort Mill Care Center.

The Fort Mill Care Center said receiving 3,265 pounds of food at one time in the slower summer months was a blessing and thanked Abby for all of her and her volunteers hard work.

Below was Abby’s message to Tega Cay Residents on The Food Drive flyer:

During the summer months is when local food pantries are in need of food donations the most. When school is out, hungry children no longer have free and reduced school lunches to rely on as their primary meal of the day. Children and  teens need food to help them grow and thrive. My mission is to help these children in  our community by hosting a food drive, here in Tega Cay, to benefit the Fort Mill Care  Center. I am asking that you take this paper bag and fill it with non-perishable food  items to donate to this cause. Do not feel limited to just one bag if you would like to  donate more! We will pick up however many bags you decide to donate. Thank you  for your time, help, and generosity towards feeding the hungry! Every little bit  counts

Much thanks to the following local businesses for their donations to help support the Food Drive:

• The Postal Route – printed the fliers
• Tega Cay Self Storage  – Donated the use of U haul
• Grocery Bag donations include Lowes Foods, Harris Teeter, Bloom, Wal-Mart, Bi-LO, Food Lion

Below is a list of Food Drive volunteers:

• Lewis Family
• Miller Family
• Mckemey Family
• Richardson Family
• Gregory Family
• Zeidner Family
• Ellis Family
• Casey Family
• Dahne Thompson
• Michael Dountz
• Asa Kryst
• Wilson Gregory
• Cameron Kirpatrick
• Paul Comely
• Kailey Pickitt
• Malayna Hasmanis
• Sara Robinson
• Aaron Robinson
• Julia Va Buskirk
• Meredith Yilburn
• Allyssa Resech
• Adrienne Cuff
• Alex Tomasovich
• Taylor Miller
• Lauren Hemmingsen
• Craig Brown
• Erin Garritty
• John Whitten
• Cali Matchunis
• Amy and Husband

* There will be no garbage collection on July 5th due to the holiday. All customers that are

currently collected on Monday and Tuesday will be collected on Tuesday, July 6th.

* Residents of Stonecrest Villas, Serenity Point and Lake Ridge will be collected on Wednesday,

July 7th.

Beginning the week of July 12th, the permanent collection schedule for Tega Cay Residents will be as follows:

* Lakeshore and Historic Tega Cay (all homes on the “Peninsula”)- garbage collection every Monday

* Stoncrest, Serenity Point & Lake Ridge- garbage collection every Tuesday

There is no change to the recycle collection schedule.

Mayor’s State of the City Address – July 4, 2010

Good evening and Happy Birthday Tega Cay!

I have been looking forward to this day with excitement and a nervous anticipation.  This celebration gives me the opportunity to talk with you about our extraordinary city.

I don’t have to tell you that the last few years have been challenging, but despite our hardships, our City is strong. The saying goes “adversity doesn’t build character, it reveals it”.  I believe that in these times Tega Cay’s strong character has not just been revealed, it is what has allowed us to excel. The character of the people in Tega Cay is demonstrated through their willingness to step up and do what’s necessary.  It shows in our volunteers, our staff and our elected officials’ commitment to working as a team, to meet challenges and their desire to keep looking ahead and planning for a great future. It is because of the extraordinary character of our community, we can say, a great city starts here.

I want to share with you some of the exciting things that we’ve accomplished so far this year, and what I believe the future has in store. I want to talk about them in the context of our government; our businesses and of course, our community.

Good Community Starts Here

Over the past few years, we have seen electronic communication explode. This year the City’s website got a new look and we began actively using Facebook, Nixile (an alert system for weather and other citywide emergency information), and of course we continue to use our email list.  Not only is city staff using Facebook, but be sure to check out the Tega Cay Golf Course

Facebook page for course updates and special offers.   I still don’t completely understand Facebook, but fortunately some of our employees do and they want to know if you have joined the City of Tega Cay “group” yet?

What was once the City releasing information is now two way communication?

Not only can we keep our residents informed and educated, we can get feedback from them.  Through the course of a week, a subscriber may receive several messages about:

• Events,
• Council agendas,
• Job postings,
• Request for bids and proposals,
• Road closings
• News about Tega Cay
• And any other interesting things happening in the City.

Good communication builds community!  If you are not yet connected through one of these lines of communication, please go to our website to join us.

As I mentioned before, Tega Cay never lacks for people who will step up when there is a need. This year, the Community Relations Committee was 85% NEW.  Those new members took up the challenge to put this celebration together and have done an amazing job with an extremely complicated first task.  They have worked countless hours, come in on budget, raised new sponsorship and created new features such as the outstanding Carnival of Fun.

Recently, I read that a volunteer hour is valued at $20.86 nationally.  The value of the volunteer hours this weekend alone is over $17,000.  Not counting committee meetings, shopping, planning, or any other function that went into making this weekend possible.  That is one committee for one weekend in this city.  Every function and event in Tega Cay has volunteers, can you imagine the dollar value that?  The human value? – Priceless.

I for one cannot thank the CRC enough for the work they did this weekend and the weeks leading up to it.

I would also like to thank every other committee and volunteer in Tega Cay for what you make possible for your fellow citizens.

Understanding the importance of volunteers in the city, is why one of the first things we did was set up a Volunteer fair, that enabled citizens to understand our city and how it works.  We changed the volunteer appointment process to better accommodate new volunteers on committees.  We are in the planning stages of adding ways for citizens to get involved and understand how the city government works.

Good Business Starts Here

Although development has certainly slowed and the economy continues to lag, we have had our problems to overcome but we are working diligently to address them. Yet, even in the midst of this economic downturn, the business community continues to discover something the rest of us have known for years.  Tega Cay is an amazing community bursting with opportunity.  I am proud to share with you that, while other areas are shedding businesses, at this time, we have four new establishments joining our community in the Stonecrest/Graystone area.  This is a testament to something we residents have long known – Tega Cay is a remarkable community bursting with opportunity.

As of today we are within reach of our budgeted rounds of golf for the year, the greens are beautiful and although I haven’t had time to play, I have heard as recently as yesterday that the course is and I quote “phenomenal”, “one of the best courses in the Charlotte area for the dollar value”.  We have encouraged residents to bring their family and friends from out of town to play our course with the Mayor’s Card, increasing our revenue with OPM (Other people’s money!).  Bryan and his staff continue to work hard to bring our course where it needs to be including hosting an NFL Alumni Golf Tournament [another one coming in the fall] which brings national attention to Tega Cay.  We have also hosted many corporate and charitable events including recently the annual Bank of America Golf Tournament.

We have also sought and met with the Chamber of Commerce to discuss ways of improving mutually beneficial business relationships here on the peninsula and in the Stonecrest area of Tega Cay.

Good Government Starts Here

This year, we have 3 council members in new positions, while I was on council, as your Mayor I have taken on a different role on council.  We also have two new members.  In any new job, statistically, it can be expected for it to take an individual a minimum of 6 months to get comfortable.  We have 60% of our council getting used to a new situation and the other 40% of council and all of staff getting used to a new team.  Change is challenging for anyone and we are working hard to make this transition.  Transitions do not come without bumps and bruises and we are working to reach smooth ground, of course I would hope that none of us reach the point where we are reluctant to present opposing views, I will admit, the path of least resistance may seem easy, but it is not necessarily right!

I can say I have never worked with a group of people more passionate about a common goal:  the future of Tega Cay.  This is evidenced by council voting to go to two council meetings per month until such time as we resolve long standing issues such as the sign Ordinance, the nuisance ordinance and others.

One of the earliest things we did as a new council was hold the FIRST ever Council/Staff retreat to create cross-communication between Elected Officials and Department Heads.  The purpose was to get to know each other and hopefully open avenues of communication.

We have been working a lot over the past 7 months on issues facing the city:

• We held public hearings with the State Public Service Commission to allow citizens to impress upon state regulators the concerns about their water and sewer rates.
• We have also arranged meetings with SC-DHEC to pose questions to the environmental enforcement agency about Tega Cay water service,
• We have met with residents about the sale of city hall. We have had educational meetings about storm water.
• We have obtained additional grant funding (county funds) to conduct large road improvement projects,
• And increased street maintenance funding within the existing budget to support the community.

Overall, the Staff/council/volunteers have managed to secure over $500,000 in grant funding including grants for Croquet, the Fire department, and the above mentioned County funds for road work.   We also took the time to listen to the needs of the community regarding the LPGA.

Nearly all of our elected officials and appropriate city staff have now achieved NIMS Certification status (National Incident Management System) which is required for Federal aid funding in the event of a disaster.

Committee minutes are now appearing on our website as well as most if not all of the council meeting agendas and attachments for residents review prior to council meetings.

We are in the process of seeking cooperative agreements with York County and Fort Mill to reduce operational costs and improve services; you are now able to pay your TCUD bill online, and we have been utilizing youth in summer programs to support City staff in buildings and grounds operations.

Maybe you have or haven’t heard about the property that the FM School district just purchased on the other side of the Tega Cay sign (better known as the McCall property).  The 27+/- acre property will have an elementary school for 1,100 students and for the first time in FM SD history it will be a partial 2 story building.  We have had conversations about the districts interest in the property being annexed into the city generating utility revenue on property we will already be first responders to in the event of an emergency.  This is Annexation that would add revenue without adding excessive burden.

In another first for our growing City, we have started the process of hiring our first two Full time paid fire personnel.  Advertisements have been placed in the newspaper and on the city website and we are already receiving many qualified applications.  The process will continue for the next several weeks and we hope to hire these firefighters by August first, placing two qualified firefighters in the city during the workday for immediate response to local calls.

Of course we are so glad to know that the County is proceeding with Hubert Graham Way, based on current projections, Hubert Graham Way should be completed by 2013 or 2014 depending on the environmental studies required for the project, greatly relieving traffic flow at the Gold Hill Rd & 160 intersection.

One of the key initiatives that I and Council immediately embarked on once taking office was addressing the long term fiscal needs of our community.  Through careful review of the budget, reassignment of some funds and a fiscally conservative approach including budget cuts, the City should have a contingency fund of over $275,000 by the end of this fiscal year, up from approximately $30,000 at the end of last year [$7,000 2 years ago], an increase of over 900% in a YEAR.

At a time when many communities are struggling under changing economic conditions, Tega Cay has actually managed to improve its bond credit rating from an A3 status to A1.  This is no small feat and a testament to the hard work and leadership of our staff.   To preserve our credit rating and ensure our future financial stability, fiscal rating agencies need to see 16% of annual budget in RESERVE – or approximately $800,000 in our case – a goal we are working to reach over the next few years].

I believe in 2010-2011 we will continue to have our eye on the budget, increasing our contingency and serving the city and its residents to the best of our abilities.

It is important, even in these times, to continue planning for and working toward our vision for the future of Tega Cay:  Financial stability and responsible growth.

I commend those on the Council and staff who have made difficult decisions for the right reasons. I look forward to continuing to work with a good elected and staff team as we build our future. There are many challenges ahead but we are ready.

I am optimistic about the future. I am optimistic because people in our community are willing to step up and do what is necessary; because it is through these partnerships that we tackle tough issues; and because we never quit planning for the future of this good community. I believe Tega Cay has a very bright future; and that “a great city starts here.”

Thank you for your commitment to Tega Cay, and thank you for being here today.

Your Mayor,

George

Monday, March 22, 2010

Tega Cay City Hall

Community Room

7:00 p.m.

~ Special City Council Meeting ~

~ AGENDA ~ 1. Call to Order

Mayor George C. Sheppard 2. Pledge of Allegiance

Mayor George C. Sheppard 3. Public Comments

New Business

4. Presentation by and Discussion with Tega Cay Golf Management Group, LLC City Manager Grant Duffield 5. Council Comments

6. Public Comments

7. Executive Session (if requested)

8. Adjournment

]]> http://seetegacay.com/tega-cay/tega-cay-city-council-meeting-agenda-march-22-2010/feed/ 0 http://seetegacay.com/tega-cay/new-tega-cay-sidewalk-construction-about-to-begin/ http://seetegacay.com/tega-cay/new-tega-cay-sidewalk-construction-about-to-begin/#comments Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:57:46 +0000 admin http://seetegacay.com/tega-cay/new-tega-cay-sidewalk-comstruction-about-to-begin/ Please be advised that SCDOT will soon begin construction of a sidewalk project from the First Properties building (on Gold Hill Road) along Tega Cay Drive to Water Trace Drive.  This $400,000 project was awarded to Tega Cay under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (Stimulus Bill).  Once construction begins, the project should be completed within 30 days.

Join George and Jan Wallace at their officaly Grand Open celbration this Staurday March 20th from 9am to 6pm. Jan says,

We can’t wait for you to see what we’ve been working to build! We hope you enjoy our peaceful ambience and beautiful setting while you help yourself to hotdogs on the grill and browse our unique selection of plants, pottery, and tropicals.

We hope to see you on Saturday!

Jan and George Wallace

_______________________

Sugar Creek Garden Center

3354 Highway 160 West

Fort Mill, SC 29708

803-802-2600

www.SugarCreekGardenCenter.com

Monday, March 15, 2010

Tega Cay City Hall

Community Room

6:00 p.m.

~ Executive Session ~

- Legal advice regarding TCWS

7:00 p.m.

~ Regular City Council Meeting ~

~ AGENDA ~

1.

Call to Order

Mayor George C. Sheppard

2.

Pledge of Allegiance

Mayor George C. Sheppard

3.

Review of Outstanding Questions

City Manager Grant Duffield

4.

Public Comments

5.

Approval of Minutes

Regular City Council Meeting, February 22, 2010

Mayor George C. Sheppard

6.

Volunteer of the Month

Mayor George C. Sheppard

7.

Special Presentations

Public Safety Presentation

Tega Cay Police Department

8.

Committee Reports

Beautification Committee

Community Relations Committee

Finance Committee

Parks & Recreation Committee

Planning Commission

Public Safety Committee

Public Works Committee

Committee Chairperson/

Staff Liaison

9.

City Manager’s Report

Final Financials for January 2009

NIMS information

TC Golf Course Update

Catawba Park Update

Budget process calendar

ALLTEL Contract renewal

Road Bond

Public forum concerning proposed sale of City Hall Building

SCDHEC public forum regarding TCWS sewer overflows

Grant Applications

Grant Award

Golf Committee request to be a standing committee

New Business

10.

1st Reading, Ord. No. 400, York Electric Coop Franchise Agreement Renewal

City Manager Grant Duffield

11.

1st Reading, Ord. No. 401, Council Meetings Rules of Procedures

City Manager Grant Duffield

12.

Approval of Scott Syzmanski, Chief, Tega Cay Volunteer Fire Department

City Manager Grant Duffield

13.

Proclamation of Appreciation of Ralph Ellingsen

City Manager Grant Duffield

14.

Council Comments

15.

Public Comments

16.

Executive Session (if requested)

17.

Adjournment

6:00 p.m.
~ Executive Session ~

- Legal advice regarding Stonecrest Development Agreement
- Contractual advice regarding sale of City Hall
- Contractual advice regarding Comporium Franchise Agreement
- Contractual advice regarding York Electric Coop Franchise Agreement

7:30 p.m.
~ Special City Council Meeting/Workshop ~

~ AGENDA ~

1.
Call to Order

Mayor George C. Sheppard
2.
Pledge of Allegiance

Mayor George C. Sheppard
3.
Public Comments

New Business

4.
Approval of Recombination Plat of Gardendale Phase 1,
Pod D, Map 2

Tom Goebel
Secretary, Planning Commission
5.
Approval of Recombination Plat of Gardendale Phase 2,
Pod F, Map 3

Tom Goebel
Secretary, Planning Commission
6.
City Council Goals

City Manager Grant Duffield
7.
Council Comments

8.
Public Comments

9.
Executive Session (if requested)

10.
Adjournment

The CENTURY 21® Carolinas Mega Awards Conference was held this last week in Myrtle Beach, SC. Century 21® Realtors® and Brokers from both North And South Carolina attended the awards conference. The real estate agents at Century 21® First Choice office, owned and operated by Pete Hall based in Fort Mill SC, received many awards for their outstanding customer service and home sales volume in 2009.

Pictured above left to right – Laura Pogue, Pete Hall, Linda Hall, Alex Dewey, Carmen Miller

The Century 21® First Choice Award Recipients are:

• Century 21® First Choice Office Pete Hall -  Gold Medallion Office, Quality Service Pinnacle Office
• Linda Hall Team – Centurion Team, President’s Team Award, and Quality Service Pinnacle
• Carmen Miller – Masters Emerald and Quality Service
• Laura Pogue – Masters Emerald and Quality Service
• Debbie Taylor – Masters Emerald and Quality Service
• Alex Dewey – Masters Ruby and Quality Service
• Jessica Sullivan – Quality Service
• Kellye Coltharp – Quality Service Pinnacle

Home Sales Ranking within South Carolina

• Century 21® First Choice – 6th in State

Realtor® teams

• Linda Hall Team – 2nd in State
• Debbie Taylor Group – 5th in State

Individual Realtors®

• Carmen Miller – 17th in State
• Laura Pogue – 22 in State
• Kellye Coltharp – 32 in State
• Alex Dewey – 41 in State

CENTURY 21® First Choice has served the Fort Mill SC area real estate needs for over 30 years and provides one of the most comprehensive residential brokerage services anywhere and is affiliated with the market-leading Century 21® Real Estate LLC. For more information, contact a real estate professional at CENTURY 21® First Choice. www.fortmillsc.com.