City Council Standing Committee — Columbia, SC
Date: 2026-02-24
Time: 13:00

Columbia Health Social and Environmental Affairs Committee
 Meeting Agenda
 Tuesday, February 24, 2026 at 1:00 PM
 City Hall • Mayor's Conference Room
 1737 Main Street, 2nd Floor, Columbia, SC 29201
 City Clerk’s Office: (803)545-3045 or cityclerk@columbiasc.gov

 The Honorable Sam P. Johnson, At-Large, Chair
The Honorable Edward H. McDowell Jr., District II • The Honorable Tyler D. Bailey, At-Large


Call to Order

Approval of Minutes

1. Approval of October 28, 2025 Health, Social, and Environmental Afffairs
 Committee Meeting Minutes

Presentations

2. City Beautification Update – Mr. Robert Anderson, Director / Public Works
 and Mr. Brian Neiger, Superintendent / Forestry & Beautification

3. Animal Services Update – Ms. Victoria Clary, Superintendent / Animal
 Services

Adjournment




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Columbia Health Social and Environmental Affairs Committee
 Meeting Agenda
 Tuesday, February 24, 2026 at 1:00 PM
 City Hall • Mayor's Conference Room
 1737 Main Street, 2nd Floor, Columbia, SC 29201
 City Clerk’s Office: (803)545-3045 or cityclerk@columbiasc.gov

 The Honorable Sam P. Johnson, At-Large, Chair
The Honorable Edward H. McDowell Jr., District II • The Honorable Tyler D. Bailey, At-Large


Call to Order

Approval of Minutes

1. Approval of October 28, 2025 Health, Social, and Environmental Afffairs
 Committee Meeting Minutes

Presentations

2. City Beautification Update – Mr. Robert Anderson, Director / Public Works
 and Mr. Brian Neiger, Superintendent / Forestry & Beautification

3. Animal Services Update – Ms. Victoria Clary, Superintendent / Animal
 Services

Adjournment




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 HEALTH, SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
 MEETING MINUTES
 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2025


CALL TO ORDER

The Health, Social, and Environmental Affairs Committee conducted a meeting on
Tuesday, October 28, 2025 at City Hall (Mayor’s Conference Room), 1737 Main
Street, Columbia, South Carolina 29201. The Honorable Aditi Bussells, Chair called
the meeting to order at 1:11 p.m. and the following members were present:

 Attendee Name Title Status
 Aditi Bussells Chair Present
 Edward H. McDowell Member Present
 Tyler D. Bailey Member Present

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

1. September 30, 2025 Health, Social, and Environmental Affairs Committee
 Meeting Minutes – Approved

Upon a motion made by Mr. Bailey and seconded by Dr. Bussells, the Committee
voted unanimously to approve the September 30, 2025 Health, Social, and
Environmental Affairs Committee Meeting Minutes.

PRESENTATIONS

2. Animal Services Update - Ms. Victoria Clary, Animal Services Superintendent
 – Received as information

Ms. Victoria Clary, Animal Services Superintendent presented updates on the new
transparent website, declining intake and euthanasia rates, and expanded program
beams like Pet Fix and Return. She announced a Petco Love Grant that funded two
part-time positions and shared proposed ordinance updates to strengthen animal
welfare and modernize licensing. A 2023 Space Study found the current facility to be
inadequate, recommending demolition and construction of a $30 million modern
facility with improved design, ventilation, and medical space.

There was discussion about adding Richland County data intake to the website;
staffing and funding needs; grant opportunities; model facilities; funding of
comparable facilities; cost-based recommendations; collaboration with Richland
County and nearby counties; and ordinance updates.



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 HEALTH, SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
 MEETING MINUTES
 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2025


3. Columbia Gateway Signage Update - Mr. Robert Anderson, Director of Public
 Works – Received as information

Mr. Robert Anderson, Director of Public Works shared about the recent visit Right
Light facility in Charlotte to view the completed gateway signage. Installation began
with the first sign at Main Street and I-20 scheduled for unveiling on October 30,
2025 at 10:00 a.m. Additional installations will take place at Bull Street, I-126, and
Harbison Boulevard between November 14–19, 2025.

4. MyColaSC Application Update – Ms. Tiffany Latimer, Director of Customer
 Services and Ms. Carmen Flemming, Project Manager – Received as
 information

Dr. Bussells explained that residents reported that when using the MyColaSC app to
report potholes or road issues, they often received responses stating the road was
not city-owned or saw the issue marked as “resolved,” even though it was outside
the City’s jurisdiction.

Ms. Tiffany Latimer, Director of Customer Service reported that the City’s mobile app
marked its one-year anniversary in September. The app allows residents to report
and track non-emergency issues. It now has over 9,000 registered users as of
October 2025. Outreach efforts include Town Hall events, social media, bill inserts,
and new account letters.

Ms. Carmen Flemming, Project Manager / Budget and Program Management
explained that the app was created to give citizens an alternative way to
communicate with City staff and ensure timely responses. As of October 27, 2025,
nearly 4,000 service requests have been submitted on various topics, with staff
maintaining a 90% closure rate.

There was discussion about goal setting; app usage between Eye on Water and
MyColaSC; improving communication about non-City owned roads; enhancing
customer engagement; integrating payments; managing spam; and customer
feedback.




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 HEALTH, SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
 MEETING MINUTES
 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2025


ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 12:15 p.m.

Respectfully submitted:



Erika D. Moore Hammond, MMC, CPM
City Clerk




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Columbia Health Social and Environmental Affairs Committee
 Meeting Minutes
 Tuesday, February 24, 2026


Call to Order
The Columbia Health Social and Environmental Affairs Committee conducted a meeting
on Tuesday, February 24, 2026 at City Hall (Mayor's Conference Room), 1737 Main
Street, Columbia, South Carolina 29201. The Honorable Sam P. Johnson, Chair called
the meeting to order at 1:07 p.m. The Honorable Edward H. McDowell, Jr was present.
The Honorable Tyler D. Bailey was absent.

Approval of Minutes

1. Approval of October 28, 2025 Health, Social, and Environmental Afffairs
 Committee Meeting Minutes
Upon a motion made by Mr. McDowell and seconded by Mr. Johnson, the
Committee voted unanimously to approve the October 28, 2025 Health, Social, and
Environmental Affairs Committee Meeting Minutes.

Presentations

2. City Beautification Update – Mr. Robert Anderson, Director / Public Works
 and Mr. Brian Neiger, Superintendent / Forestry & Beautification
Mr. Clint Shealy, P.E., Assistant City Manager of Columbia Water welcomed Mr. Eric
Jensen, Richland County Assistant Administrator and Ms. Sandra Haynes, Director of
Animal Services for Richland County.

Mr. Brian Neiger, Superintendent / Forestry & Beautification provided an update on the
City’s beautification efforts. He highlighted corridor mowing; downtown self-watering
planters; fence and median upgrades; enhanced sidewalk maintenance; new equipment
to improve median cleaning efficiency; and the new "Welcome to Columbia" signage.
He also discussed the “Beat the Heat, Plant a Tree” partnership with Columbia Green,
which has distributed approximately 2,000 trees over two years.

Mr. Robert Anderson, Director / Public Works shared that the City has implemented an
Adopt-a-Street program, which focuses on major thoroughfares with organized
cleanups held several times a year. He also noted that the City is in the early stages of
additional beautification efforts, including evaluating flood-prone lots for potential
pollinator gardens and enhanced plantings. He stated that the City will continue
partnering with community groups to support these initiatives.
There was discussion about group crossover with regard to beautification efforts;
designated areas for gateway projects; use of the street sweeper; a grant program to
standardize signs at neighborhood entrances; the employment of youth for
beautification efforts; a road safety audit performed by the Department of
Transportation; and a map of neighborhoods that have or have not submitted tree
planting requests.

3. Animal Services Update – Ms. Victoria Clary, Superintendent / Animal
 Services
Ms. Victoria Clary, Superintendent / Animal Services presented proposed updates to the
City’s animal services ordinances, including reorganizing sections, adding definitions,
and aligning regulations with Richland County. Key changes include replacing the
outdated kennel model with a breeder permit requiring inspections and humane
standards, and strengthening the tethering ordinance. She noted that most revisions
focus on necessary animal welfare improvements. She shared the need for facility
upgrades.

There was discussion about addressing current ordinance language; penalty
enforcement; timeline for implementing proposed changes; building demolition;
tethering in bad weather; ear cropping; differential licensing exemption for
service/show dogs; levels of enforcement; and flawed building functionality.

There was consensus of the committee to review the proposed changes and continue
this discussion at the next meeting.

Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 2:20 p.m.



Respectfully Submitted:



Erika D. Moore Hammond, CMC, CPM
City Clerk