The Anderson City Council concluded its meetings for 2006 on a quiet note, hearing public comment from several community members about keeping the gates of the skateboard park in Volonte Park open 24 hours a day. Joe Shannon and two other persons asked the council to consider removing the gates permanently so they and other members of their group could use the skateboard park without having to wait for the Anderson Police to unlock the gate.

According to Shannon, there have been problems with rocks littering the area, as well as debris from storms, which must be

removed before the skateboard park can be used by skateboarders. Shannon said that he and others remove the debris on their own to make the park useable.

The council asked city staff to investigate options for keeping the gate open and plans to revisit the issue in January 2007.

In other business, the council voted to proceed with a grant application to fund a feasibility study of changing the district

into a city fire department. The Anderson Fire Protection District recently agreed to contribute funding a cash match of $5,950 toward the study, which the city needed to proceed with the grant process. Assistant City Manager Dana Shigley, who prepared the grant application, said that available funds from the State Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program are dwindling. She will submit the grant application immediately to improve the likelihood of its being funded. The grant requests $35,000 and the city has agreed to pay costs that may exceed the combined amount of $40,950.

Before the regular council meeting, the current council interviewed the seven candidates for council seat which will become

vacant on Jan. 9, 2007 due to the exit of Supervisorelect District 5 Les Baugh. Candidates each responded to 10 questions, which ranged from how they would manage Anderson’s growth to meeting the time commitments required of council members. The current council will meet on Jan. 2, 2007 to determine, based on a majority vote, the candidate selection

process they will use. At the Jan. 16 meeting, they will use the process to select a candidate. The new council member will also be sworn in and take their seat at that meeting.