City Council Meeting | Tuesday, April 20, 2021
In the interest of public health, the Columbia City Council will conduct a virtual meeting using video conferencing technology on Tuesday, April 20, 2021 at 1:00 p.m.
Accordingly, members of the public and/or media who want to observe the meetings may do so remotely by one of the following options:
Listen: The public may participate via phone. You may call: 855-925-2801. The meeting code: 9318.
Those participating by phone will receive three options on how to participate:
• (star one) *1 will allow you to listen
• (star two) *2 will allow you to record a voice message that will be read into the record.
• (star three) *3 will allow a participant to be placed in a queue, so they may speak live when prompted.
For additional meeting information visit www.columbiacitysc.iqm2.com. You may also register at this site to post comments related to items on the agenda.
For questions regarding the meeting portal, please contact the City Clerk at (803) 545-3043 or CityClerk@columbiasc.gov.
Please see attached agenda here.
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Columbia Facilities Corporation Board
Board Meeting
Thursday, April 22, 2021 9:45 AM
*Please see the attached agenda for more information*
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Environment and Infrastructure Committee
Council Committee Meeting
Tuesday, April 20, 2021 10:00 AM
*Please see the attached agenda for more information*
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Registration Period Has Kicked Off for City’s Youth Baseball League
Registration for the city’s Youth Baseball League for children ages 5-8 years old has now kicked off, and will end Friday, April 23, the Columbia Parks & Recreation Department announced.
Participants can retrieve and deliver a registration form at any local Community Center, Monday-Friday between 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm. Registration forms can be dropped off at the following locations; Woodland Park (6500 Olde Knight Parkway), Lorick Park (1600 Lorick Avenue), Greenview Park (6700 David Street), Pinehurst Park (2300 Pinehurst Road) and MLK Park (2300 Greene Street) between the hours of 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm, Monday-Friday
For more information, call the Parks & Recreation Department at 803-545-0456.
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City of Columbia Bicyclist & Pedestrian Counts:
volunteer to help make the City of Columbia a safer place to walk and ride!
The City of Columbia is seeking volunteers to help conduct our routine Bicyclist & Pedestrian Counts throughout Columbia. By counting pedestrians and bicyclists, volunteers help to ensure that all of the City’s residents count: transit riders, pedestrians, and bicyclists are often not accounted for in traffic studies – the same traffic studies used to make important decisions about our City’s landscape. In counting, volunteers are also taking part in a national effort: the National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project.
The City targets key intersections and crossings for pedestrian and bicyclist counts; these are locations which are heavily used, and at many of these locations pedestrians and/or bicyclists have been injured or killed. By collecting data routinely, on weekdays and weekends, we are able to provide valuable and robust feedback to the many agencies that plan for our roadways. The survey will help us better understand who uses the City’s roadways – streets and sidewalks included – and how they use them. A greater understanding of people’s behavior, as well as new data, will help to influence people-oriented planning and policy that inspires walkable, bikeable, and livable transportation design.
Volunteer to count as many times as you please! Eight time slots are available, and each of the locations must be counted once on a weekday and once on a Saturday. Surveyors can select from a list of count locations, and will count pedestrians and cyclists at one location for two hours.
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Community Development Celebrates National Financial Literacy Month and
National Fair Housing Month
The City of Columbia's Community Development Department celebrates April as National Financial Literacy Month to raise the awareness, highlight the importance of financial literacy and teach individuals how to establish and maintain healthy financial habits. Financial Literacy helps Columbia’s residents understand the importance of managing their personal finances in terms of budgeting, credit building and affordable banking products.
Also April is National Fair Housing Month to recognize and celebrate the 1968 passage of Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act into law, which prohibited discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of dwellings, and in other housing-related transactions, based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status and handicap continuing to help countless thousands of Americans achieve the American dream of obtaining safe, decent and affordable housing.
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Dominion Energy to Perform Tree Trimming Activities as Scheduled for 2021
Dominion Energy will perform tree trimming activities along overhead utility lines in the following neighborhoods for the next two weeks:
Distribution Line Tree Trimming:
Forest Hills Neighborhood
Forest Hills North
Midland Terrace Neighborhood
Pinehurst Community Council
Rochelle Heights/ Victory Gardens
Citizens with specific questions or concerns should contact Forestry and Beautification at 803-545-3860 or Dominion Energy at 1-800-562-9308 to meet and discuss in advance of the work being completed.
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City Video Hub
Find in-depth perspectives from news, updates, and recent events in the City of Columbia.
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City Updates | April 19-23, 2021 |
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Bicycle and Pedestrian Counts
The City of Columbia is seeking volunteers to help conduct our routine Bicyclist & Pedestrian Counts throughout Columbia. By counting pedestrians and bicyclists, volunteers help to ensure that all of the City’s residents count: transit riders, pedestrians, and bicyclists are often not accounted for in traffic studies – the same traffic studies used to make important decisions about our City’s landscape.
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The Fair Housing Act Protected Classes:
Color
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The Fair Housing Act Protected Classes:
Sex/Gender
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The Fair Housing Act Protected Classes:
Religion
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The Fair Housing Act Protected Classes:
Race
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The Fair Housing Act Protected Classes:
National Origin
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The Fair Housing Act Protected Classes:
Familial Status
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The Fair Housing Act Protected Classes:
Disability
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Free Community Vaccination Clinic in Columbia Able to Give Up to One Thousand Pfizer Shots Every Day
After a Wednesday kickoff to the Community Vaccination Clinic at Columbia Place Mall, FEMA, the State of South Carolina, the City of Columbia, and Richland County are seeing immediate results in their collaborative effort to deliver up to 7,000 doses per week. Hundreds of people have already received their vaccinations at the clinic, located at 7201 Two Notch Road. The clinic will be open seven days a week for eight weeks, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Ages 16 and up will receive free shots of the Pfizer vaccine via drive-thru or walk-in stations.
No appointment is necessary to get vaccinated, and no photo ID is required. Sign language and Spanish interpreters are assisting on site, as well as technology to virtually assist in interpreting any language.
There are also accommodations for those who must have their access or functional needs met to get vaccinated.
The Comet is providing free rides the fixed route buses for everyone who is going to get their vaccine. If you are age 65 or older and/or disabled, please call 803-255-7123 and make a reservation with The COMET. All others may ride fixed routes 55, 75 or 501 free if they are getting their vaccine.
Help Promote the Clinic by
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Downloading and distributing or posting the flyer (English, Spanish) and/or the postcard.
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Sharing the audio or video PSAs
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Sharing the good news that you've been vaccinated and encouraging others to do the same! Access the banners, badges, filters, and other vaccine social media assets we have available, and then apply them to your profiles.
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DHEC Statement on Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 Vaccine
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) released the following statement concerning the April 13 federal announcement about the Janssen vaccine, also referred to as the Johnson & Johnson vaccine:
South Carolina public health officials received word this morning, like many throughout the nation and the state, that the CDC and FDA have recommended immediately pausing use of the Janssen vaccine due to concerns with blood clotting. Our top priority is protecting the health and safety of the public. This pause is evidence of very close safety monitoring as part of the strict quality assurance that is in place to ensure patient safety.
DHEC has placed an immediate pause on our Janssen distribution and has contacted providers to alert them of this new development. In addition, we are currently in the process of rescheduling or changing planned vaccine types for events that were going to use Janssen.
We recognize that this will impact our current supply of vaccines across the state and are awaiting to hear more information from the federal government. South Carolina, like most states, had been receiving a small amount of Janssen vaccine from the federal government — about 7,000 doses a week — compared to the more than 40,000 doses each of Pfizer and Moderna we receive each week. Because of this, the pause on Janssen vaccine is less of an impact in our state than we would experience if a pause occurred on Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. Millions of people in the United States have received doses of vaccines with very little side effects.
We continue to encourage South Carolinians to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to best protect yourself and others and will keep everyone updated as we learn more about the Janssen vaccine.
"Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare. COVID-19 vaccine safety is a top priority for the federal government, and we take all reports of health problems following COVID-19 vaccination very seriously. People who have received the J&J vaccine who develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider
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Have questions about COVID-19 vaccines or need help finding vaccine providers?
Call the COVID-19 Vaccine Information Line at
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Follow these easy steps to help prevent the spread of COVID-19:
1. Wash hands often with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds.
2. If soap and warm water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
3. Clean surfaces frequently with disinfecting supplies (telephones, keyboards, copiers, printers, desks, etc.)
4. Stay at least 6 feet (about 2 arms’ length) from other individuals
5. Do no gather in crowds and groups.
6. Maximize social distancing among co-workers and the public.
Remember, Safety Starts with an “S” but it begins with “YOU”.
Let’s continue to unite and fight the spread of the Coronavirus.
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For more information please visit
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Stephen K. Benjamin
Mayor
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Sam Davis
Councilman District I
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Tameika Isaac Devine
Councilwoman At-Large
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Howard E. Duvall, Jr.
Councilman At-Large
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Edward H. McDowell, Jr.
Councilman District II
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Daniel J. Rickenmann
Councilman District IV
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Will Brennan
Councilman District III
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Teresa Wilson
City Manager
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