Council Members
| Councilwoman Val Hutchinson |
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District Nine County Council Vice-Chair
213 Wood Duck Road
Phone: (803) 462-1373 |
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NewsRichland Farming Family Continues the Legacy of Preserving Rich Farmland in Rapidly Growing Northeast -April 28, 2008 Councilwoman Hutchinson Hosts Northeast Conservation and Beautification Meeting Councilwoman Val Hutchinson will host a Northeast Conservation and Beautification meeting on Thursday, February 19, 2009, 7pm at the Lake House - Clemson Sandhills Recreation and Education Center at 900 Clemson Road. Topics include: Announcement of conservation easements as well as discussions on Active Living and Stormwater Management. For more information, please contact the Richland County Office of Public Information at (803) 576-2062.  District 9 Sowing the Seeds of Democracy Awards Councilwoman Val Hutchinson presented the first ever District 9 “Sowing the Seeds of Democracy Awards” on May 15, 2008 at the Lake House at Clemson Sandhills Recreation and Education Center Ms Hutchinson awarded citizens throughout District 9 that have demonstrated outstanding community service to the Northeast. Sowing Seeds of Democracy Awards 1. George Davis - Fishers Wood: Patiently steered the process of having the County use Private Pond Policy to dredge Wood Duck Lake. Painstakingly negotiated with neighbors and County to bring a successful result. 2. Sam Smith , Clay Watts, Dan “Watch Dog” Rooney- Briarcliffe: Brought attention to sewer odor in neighborhood and guided the process that took over 2 years to re-route sewage around Briarcliffe and reduce odors by over 90 %. Ongoing beautification efforts. 3. The Monroe Family, G.P. and Virginia and family, Delano Monroe , Preserved beautiful farmland in Conservation easement to protect water and air quality in perpetuity.(total 170 acres) Jim Podell and John Kirk, Brickyard Village and Greenhill Parish Conservation easements 4. Suzanne Enz, Greensprings: Alerted me to removal of trees in a wetlands and destruction of egret habitat. Efforts led to formation of a Homeowners Association. Patron Saint of Egrets! 5. Ed Vraniak, Jeff Lummel, The Summit. Helped me secure funds at Richland County Transportation Committee for new traffic light in The Summit. Helped me formulate a new Richland County policy to provide traffic lights on County maintained roads, and pass the Summit Light project at County Council. 6. Bill McDougall- Wildewood: Significantly guided effort to rezone golf courses in Richland County as Traditional Recreation Open Spaces. Organized communities to speak at hearings at Planning Commission and County Council. My right hand man in this effort. 7. Steve Corboy- The Summit. Served on Road Task Force to provide better road design for Richland County. Served on Transportation Committee and Midlands COG Environmental Protection Committee, to preserve water quality in future growth. 8. Elaine Pierson, Barbara Wyatt, North Springs: Elaine served ably as North Springs HOA president and arranged for the beautification of entrances and dredging of lake. Barbara served 8 years on Planning Commission (no pay), working to protect trees and buffers during development process. Contributed significantly to new land use code in Richland County. 9. Larry McDaniel- Woodcreek. Lost house in fire, worked for new fire house near entrance to Woodcreek. Active in protecting quality of life in Woodcreek and getting homeowners organized. 10. Laura Jordan, Pat Brezney, The Woodlands: Active for many years in Woodlands Homeowners Association, bringing attention to traffic, safety, and quality of life issues. 11. John Monroe, Gwen Smythe, Jay Martin-_ Perpetual organizers of the Sparkleberry Fair festival which draws over 30,000 people each year, and contributes scholarships to Richland Two Schools. 12. Dave Cuculic, Tracy Barnes – Rose Creek neighborhood advocates who spent hundreds of hours negotiating with the Clemson Road Business Park team and the County, to get the best possible development next to their neighborhood. 13. Michael Koska- Business leader in NE who started petition to widen Hardscrabble Road. Later served on County Transportation Committee. 14. Leroy Tyson, Ed Hogue: Candlewood Homeowners presidents who diligently reported violations of county ordinances in their area, and stayed on top of neighborhood issues. 15. Maxey Love, Paulette Kindler: Maxey, a resident of the NE, is chairman of the Richland County Conservation commission, and is dedicated to preserving the cultural and conservation legacy of Richland County. Paulette, a Master Gardener, serves on the Richland County Appearance Commission, who originated the Fort Jackson Gateway Project, promotes the “Appearance Counts” awards, and supports the conservation/beautification efforts of County government. 16. Lynn Roth – Recreation. Lynn is my appointee to Recreation Commission to advocate for more athletic fields and facilities in NE Richland County. Lynn entered a highly political and difficult job and has made great effort to speak up for the underserved Northeast recreation community. Lynn and I would like to recognize: Ron Tryon, Trip Miller, Bill Spillane, and David Dawson for their contributions to NE soccer, baseball, softball, and football. Each has given hundreds of hours of service to the children of the Northeast. 17. Shawn Sorrell- first alerted me to the poor conditions at Critter Cabin, and advocated for a stronger County program to protect the treatment of stray animals. Led to City/County cooperation for housing of stray animals and better adoption and spay/neuter programs. 18. Lou Emmott, Johnny Mack - Advocates for Robin Hood Acres neighborhood, testing of wells for water quality, storm water problems, speeding issues, and play area for children. 19. Woodley’s Garden Center- Robin Klein, Rick Woodley- Unfailing support of Children’s Garden since 1994. In charge of Winnie the Pooh’s Garden, which brings joy to so many children in the NE. 20. Jay Warren- Wildewood Downs: Bright and energetic resident who participated in negotiations resulting in safer traffic operations in front of Polo Road Elementary School and at the intersection of Alpine and Polo Road. Trusted advisor on many important issues in the NE. 
Over 150 local citizens, public officials, and conservation groups attended the Blue Rivers and Greenways Conference on February 14th, sponsored by the Conservation Commission and Riverbanks Zoo. Supporting conservation partners provided exhibits and materials. An exciting agenda featured speakers on watershed planning and restoration, greenway success stories, and green development which enhance communities. County Council Vice-Chair, Val Hutchinson, and City Council member, Anne Sinclair, outlined several green initiatives that are making a difference in our neighborhoods. Brad Wyche, Upstate Forever, provided the keynote address at lunch on Water in South Carolina: A Time for a Paradigm Change. Other key topics included Gills Creek Watershed Restoration, Columbia Three Rivers Greenway, Fort Jackson Conservation, Greenhill Parish Conservation preservation and Trails, and the Richland County Greenway Vision Plan. For more information, contact our office at 576-2084.  Richland County Council, Conservation Commission and the Eleazer family signed on the dotted line and preserved the 250 year-old family land on Monday, December 10 as part of the County’s Conservation Easement Program. The 62 acres are vital in helping to protect a sensitive ecological system of the Hollingshed Creek Watershed which drains to the Broad River. The Eleazer Family has a rich family heritage of agriculture, forestry, wildlife, recreation and conservation. Citizens can volunteer their land and become partners with Richland County through a Conservation Easement agreement which protects valuable natural resources, ensures water quality, enhances wildlife habitat, and provides valuable green space in a rapid developing community. For more information on Conservation Easements, Contact the Richland County Conservation Commission at 576-2084. Richland County and the G.P. Monroe Family signed a Conservation Easement Agreement on Monday, August 20, 2007 to preserve 70 pristine acres of land in Northeast Richland. The Family Farm is located at 10651 Two Notch Road. The easement will ensure that the land will not be developed regardless of who owns the property. This is especially important with the increased growth that is being seen in all areas of the county. The conservation easement agreement has several direct benefits that will affect residents all over the County. The easement will result in less storm water runoff, less water quality issues, less sediment in lakes, forest buffers along roadways, protection of wildlife habitat and wetlands, and preserving green open space through family legacy. G.P. Monroe and his wife Virginia reside in the Pontiac community on their family farm along with their children, Cynthia, Mylla, and Gill. This peaceful setting provides a quality of life that is quickly disappearing in Richland County. In fact, County researchers estimate that in the past fifty years more than 80% of the land in the Northeast has gone from being rural to being designated residential, commercial, and industrial or some other more high density zoning designation. * For more information on conservation easements, contact Jim Wilson, Environmental Program Manager at 576-2084. 
 
 Val Hutchinson endorsed Arbor Day Awareness at Polo Road Elementary School on Thursday, November 30th, among 200 students who were entertained by Tim Womick about the value of trees to our communities. We applaud the students and the Midlands Arbor Day Committee for an outstanding program. A large tree was planted on the school grounds and sponsored by the Richland Conservation District. The guest speaker was sponsored by the SC Forestry Commission. 
County Council Member, Val Hutchinson, hosted a public forum to educate citizens on conservation opportunities in their neighborhood and the need to enhance our community with beautification projects. The forum was held on Thursday, November 9, 2006 at the Sandhill Research and Education Center in Northeast Richland County. Jim Wilson, with the County Conservation Commission, announced grants available to communities for conservation and historical improvements. Maxey Love, Commission Member for District #9, encourages volunteer conservation easements on private lands to protect natural resources and capture green space for buffers and recreation. Landowners and developers are encouraged to partner with the county on more “Green Space“ to enhance our development footprint on the landscape. Several areas were suggested for beautification, such as road frontages, park entrances, islands, medians, and commercial boundaries. The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, January 4th at 7:00pm. For more information, contact the Conservation Commission office, at 576-2084, or our County Public Affairs Office, at 576-2065.  
Republican Valerie Hutchinson, one of the most recent members of County Council, was elected to office in 2004. She sees her common-sense approach as an asset to finding solutions to county problems. While on Council, she hopes that her interest in protecting the environment while encouraging development and growth, will lead to better long-term planning in the County. Mrs. Hutchinson has earned a bachelor's degree in psychology as well as a Master of Arts in Teaching. She holds positions on many community organizations, including Chairman of the Children's Garden at Clemson's Sandhill Research and Education Center in Northeast Columbia. Nature and teaching are two of her passions, which she combines as an instructor of wildlife habitat and composting in the Master Gardener program. This former geography and social studies teacher believes it is important to give citizens a greater voice in government decisions. Connecting with community residents is important to Mrs. Hutchinson, who can be reached by phone at (803) 462-1373 or through the mail at 213 Wood Duck Road, Columbia, SC 29223. Her e-mail address is hutchv@rcgov.us. Ms. Hutchinson's term of office expires in 2008 Valerie Hutchinson, as well as other members of Richland County Council, can also be reached through the office of the Clerk of Council, 2020 Hampton Street, PO Box 192, Columbia, SC 29202. Direct inquiries to Michielle Cannon-finch at (803) 576-2060. |
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