Dear (Tega Cay) Resident,

Over the past several weeks we have received numerous calls expressing concerns about young children operating golf carts on our walking trails and general use of golf carts on City streets. I wanted to take a moment to inform you of what the law says and what our officers will enforce.

In accordance with § 56-3-115, golf cart owners must;

1) Have a valid driver’s license and be at least 16 years of age.

2) Have a permit from the Department of Motor Vehicles ($5.00)

3) Have Proof of Liability Insurance

4) Only operate on Secondary Streets and be within 2 miles from the residence or business

5) Only operate during daylight hours

6) Adhere to all other State and Local Traffic Laws.

Additionally, golf carts may cross primary streets (such as Tega Cay Drive) but cannot travel along primary highways or streets. Golf carts may not be parked on beach access paths unless signs exist indicating that golf cart parking is permissible. The law prohibits golf carts from being upgraded by adding equipment to convert the cart to a Low Speed Vehicle (§56-2-100- a Low Speed Vehicle is a four-wheeled vehicle whose speed attainable in one mile is more than twenty miles per hour).

If you are legal operating your golf cart on any of the walking trails or sidewalks in town, please be mindful of pedestrians and yield the right-of-way to them. If you see someone who is not adhering to these regulations, please notify the police department as soon as possible (803.548.0340). Please be prepared to give the location of the cart, the direction it is traveling and an accurate description of the vehicle.

If you own a golf cart and use it as alternative transportation around town, please: Obey the Law, Be Mindful of those around you and BE SAFE.

Boil Water Notice for TCWS (Carolina Water Service) Customers

As a precaution, they are issuing a boil water advisory until further notice. They ask that you please boil your water vigorously for at least 1 minute before drinking or cooking with it. A follow up message will be sent when this boil water advisory is lifted.

We apologize for any inconvenience, and should you have any questions or concerns, please contact their customer service department at 1-800-272-1919.

City crews are working as diligently as they can to collect all debris material. Crews will not be collecting bagged items next week due to extensive amount of debris that is still in the City. For next week only, residents can place large debris items at the curb. Crews will cut to appropriate lengths as necessary. If you hire a contractor to clean up your debris items, they are required to haul the debris away. City Crews will not collect items left by a contractor.

Grant Duffield has served the city for almost 10 years. His family will be relocating to Columbia SC were his wife will be serving as an associate pastor for a Presbyterian church in Columbia SC.

The Tega Cay City Council has been in communication with the Municipal Association of South Carolina and we have enlisted their help in hiring a new City Manager for Tega Cay.

Mayor Shepard’s satetd in his website notice;

Personally, I have had the pleasure of working with Grant and have known him as a very talented individual….I wish Grant and his family success and happiness in their future endeavors.

The election took place April 19 2011 filling the vacated seat by Larry Harper. There were 674 votes cast in Tega Cay with 214 votes for Chris Larsen which is almost 32% of the votes. Below is the election results.

Ballots Cast:     673

The vote will become official by 10 am Thursday. More on Chris Larsen on a post in last years special election.

The Lacrosse “community” has been a big supporter of Connor’s recovery. The article in the US Lacrosse magazine shares the Connor story with the National Lacrosse community and describes assistance from Lacrosse players and manufactures in creating for Connor modified sports gear (glove, cleated shoes) to help Connor play Lacrosse again.

All agree Connor’s recovery to be able to play lacrosse after his accident is nothing less than a wonderful miracle.

BTW, The Fort Mill Lacrosse Team, in their second year,  just won the state championship!

See the Vote results at http://seetegacay.com/tega-cay/who-won-tega-cays-special-election-for-the-open-council-seat/

The next big event in Tega Cay is the special election to fill Larry Harper’s vacant city council seat. The ballet has been drafted and voting day in Tega Cay is Tuesday April 19th 2011.

There are  5 candidates that officially registered their candidacy for the council seat with the county elections committee.

I summarized basic info on each candidate below from the Fort Mill Times article by reporter Toya Graham. To see her full article go to the Fort Mill Times

Ralph S Hughes

A resident since 1970, 72, once managed Tega Cay’s golf facilities. Hughes has criticized the city for not doing a good job at running the golf course and allowing the club house restaurant and bar to close. Hughes claims he left the city with three hundred golf members, a good restaurant, good food, good service.

Eddie Davis

Davis, 39 is a 7 year resident of Tega Cay. He ran for a Tega Cay City Council seat six years ago, but lost to Les Conner. Davis is the owner of Business Capital Solutions. Davis wants to make sure Tega Cay stays on the right direction.

Jerry Church

Church, 54, has lived in Tega Cay for approx 11 years. Church is a 8 year member of the city’s planning Commission and has served on the advisory committee for about 18 months said. Church is a chemist for Lubrizol Inc of Charlotte. He claims he doesn’t have an agenda but does believe things can be improved in the city especially trusting the city council.

Chris Larsen

Larsen, 51, is a 15-year resident, and has served with the Tega Cay Police Department. Larsen served as the city’s code enforcement officer for five years. Larsen has run for a council seat as a write in vote in a prior election. He owns his own construction company. Larsen said he respects the current council and would look forward working with them.

Greg Rogers

Rogers, 30, who is the youngest candidate, is a consultant with Tega Cay-based Palmetto Group Consultants. He also serves on the Fort Mill School Board’s strategic planning committee. He also has served for about two years on York County’s economic development board. Rogers believes the city needs a younger adult on the council for diversity.

Some of the tournament prizes include:

closest to the pin, closest to the line (straightest shot), longest drive, and an all-expenses paid Alaskan Cruise for the hole-in-one prize. We will also have a nice prize for the winning team. Palmetto Bay Designs is also going to raffle off a golf bag for the golfers who purchase mulligans. Each golfer can purchase two mulligans (use one per side) with each mulligan costing $5.

Anyone can attend the After Party. The After Party should be a lot of fun. Dress is casual. DJ Tim Brown scheduled to entertain all night (6PM-11PM), a menu of sliders, veggies, mash potato bar, and pulled Cajun chicken. The party starts at 6 PM and will go until 11 PM.

The raffle drawings and silent auction items will be done at 9 PM and you must be present to win.

The tickets for the After Party will be available beginning Wednesday. Remember, tickets are $30/individual or $50/couple. There are 300 tickets available to sale including the golfers.

Here are a few of the silent auction items.

• party rental from Kids R kids
• 14-person sky box rental along with 20 tickets for any regular season Charlotte Knight’s baseball game
• gift certificates from the Croquet Club- two certificates for two hours of play for 4 people and two certificates for one free annual membership
• a family consultation with Kane Family Chiropractics
• a gas grill from Lowe’s Home Improvement
• an autographed Arnold Palmer print
• a condo at the beach for a week or weekend
• a free teeth whitening at Smiles by Design in Baxter
• golf bag from Palmetto Bay Designs
• a certificate for a free Family Membership to the Beach & Swim Center
• * Panther’s Gear and certificates from Town Tavern.

Registration is still open for golf teams. Register now to confirm your spot. Register online a tcmayorscup.com/registration/.

Since its beginnings in the early 1970′s, many residents of Tega Cay have hoped that there might one day be an elementary school that Tega Cay could truly call its own. While Gold Hill Elementary School has served the children of Tega Cay as a center of educational excellence for many years, many in Tega Cay have longed for a neighborhood elementary school facility that, by its proximity and design, can foster a greater sense of community within our City.

Several months ago, the Fort Mill School District acquired 20+ acres of property along Gold Hill Road, immediately adjacent to the City of Tega Cay. On this property, the Fort Mill School District intends to construct Elementary School #8 – the Tega Cay Elementary School. The proposed facility will be the first two story elementary school structure in the Fort Mill School District and is being designed to accommodate up to 1,100 students. The proposed school site design includes field space and recreation areas as well as significant natural “buffer” areas. One of the most unique features of the proposed site plan calls for an extended driveway area which will enable additional “double stack” staging for the pick-up and drop-off of children. By so doing, the Fort Mill School District intends to help diminish traffic impacts that the new school may introduce to Gold Hill Road. Also unique to the proposed site design are sidewalk and walking trail connection points which will allow parents to walk their children to and from school, if they so desire.

City Staff are currently conducting a study to determine if annexation of the school site into the City is advisable. The findings of this study will be presented to Council in the coming weeks. The Fort Mill School District anticipates that Elementary School #8 will be opened to students in the fall of 2012.

On behalf of the City Council and Staff of the City of Tega Cay, I wish to thank you for your ongoing support of our wonderful community.

Read more about the New Fort Mill Elementary School