I attended the Town Council meeting so you don't have to

 Fort Mill holds its town council meetings on the first—and third, if they deem it necessary—Monday of each month at 6 PM, and the streaming link can be accessed through their website. I don't live in Fort Mill, but I do go to school there and spend a lot of my time there, so I feel as if my place at the meeting is allowed. 

After stating the Pledge of Allegiance, saying a quick prayer, and going over a few formalities, comments written to the Council were read. There were 11 read tonight, 7 of which were from those who live in the Fort Mill Township, not the Town itself. 

Six concerned the Heritage Act, five in favor of asking our State Senators to repeal it, one against. Three of these were adapted from a form letter, but were sent in nonetheless. Four other letters asked for the removal of the Confederate statues in Fort Mill, which cannot be done without going through state government, thus prompting the six earlier who wrote of the Heritage Act.

One woman wrote in asking for the removal of the mask mandate. 

None of the comments presented were granted a response; they were merely read aloud. 

After these were read—no commentary was given—the meeting moved on to discuss the farmers' market. The market has grown from 5 to 15 vendors, with 200-300 attendees, some of whom wear masks (which are not currently mandatory to wear outside) who have generated more than $17,000. The woman presenting this information proceeded to ask for an extension of the market until Halloween or the Saturday before Thanksgiving, as opposed to ending with summer as was originally planned. The Council agreed without even needing to vote, so long as social distancing is practiced. They discussed putting out an interest survey to see what town members would like to see at the market, potentially on their Facebook page. 

Next was commentary on a pre-submitted economic report about Impact Fees. Mayor Savage explained this as something "to address the cost or impact of growth in an area... the impact fee is to remove some of the burden on the existing population... so it's growth paying for growth." The data from this year was compared to that of 2015, and the person presenting the report—Chris Pettit—mentioned that the increasing discount rate of this fee cannot be the same as it was in 2015 because of general economic growth and COVID-19. Currently, they have a flat 10% impact fee rate; the last time there was a report, it was 50% across a few categories. Either way it's done, though, the fee will be higher than it was five years ago because the tax rate has not changed in 20 years, despite the changing number of people and services provided in Fort Mill. The council members voted unanimously to conduct another report sooner rather than later. 

The fourth item on the agenda concerned fall sports. Brown Simpson reported that, for young children, flag football and T-ball will not happen in accordance with social distancing guidelines, and teams for the remaining sports will be smaller. Spectators will be required to social distance, and hand sanitizer will be provided. Coaches must wear a mask during team huddles, parents are not allowed on the field and must sign a waiver form. 

Though the next council meeting is scheduled to be in person, they discussed an extension of the emergency ordinance allowing meetings to be livestreamed. This was approved without debate, then made official with a quick unanimous vote. 

Another COVID-19 item was next on the agenda, this time one extending the mask mandate inside retail and food-related establishments "and matters related thereto" for an extra 60 days. Mayor Savage mentioned that the council has received a "fair number of emails" on both sides of the debate before opening up the discussion for comments from the council itself. In past, they have viewed mask mandates as "an essential way of protecting each other," but this was not reflected in today's discussion; the movement did not pass. How exactly this will operate the mask mandate put forth at the state level, the council was unclear. As it stands, though, requiring masks in the town of Fort Mill will no longer be in effect. 

Lastly, they discussed Davy Broom's request to be appointed for Accommodations Tax Advisory Committee. It was unanimous, so Broom will become a member of the Committee. 

The council members made some final comments about their pride felt about remaining professional while serving, and then the meeting ended.