The City of Lancaster City Council convened its regular meeting Tuesday, March 24, 2026, with Mayor T. Alston DeVenny presiding. The session was relatively brief but substantive, touching on a shooting incident the previous evening, aging city infrastructure, police department accreditation, concerns about cultural recognition, and a budget reallocation for a new downtown electronic billboard.
Shooting Incident Prompts Zero-Tolerance Response from Police Chief
The most urgent topic of the evening arose during the review of monthly department reports, when Council Member Harris asked Police Chief Don Roper for an update on a shooting that had occurred the prior evening — audible to many residents on the city’s side of town during the South Carolina basketball game.
Chief Roper reported that ShotSpotter technology, previously approved by council, had already alerted officers to the incident before any calls came in, with all officers receiving notification directly on their phones. A total of eight shots were detected. The system allowed investigators to pinpoint the precise location of the gunfire and to determine from audio analysis that it involved opposing gunfire — critical information for officers responding to the scene. One bystander was struck, a person who appeared to have no involvement in the altercation. That individual was transported and later airlifted to another facility, but is expected to survive.
Acting on the investigative tools ShotSpotter provided, officers obtained a search warrant for a nearby residence that the chief described as a longstanding problem location known well to the department. The search yielded a substantial amount of drugs, a stolen firearm, and numerous shell casings useful for linking the incident to other crimes. Chief Roper said he had a meeting scheduled that same afternoon with members of the police department, the solicitor’s office, the violent crime task force, and the drug task force to coordinate a response.
Council members were visibly shaken by the incident. One council member described a resident whose husband and brother-in-law were working in their yard when individuals entered the backyard, redirected a security camera, and began firing across the property. The council member emphasized that residents in the neighborhood — described as a good, historic community of hardworking people — heard the shots and were frightened, particularly those with young children.
Mayor DeVenny raised the possibility of using public nuisance and condemnation ordinances as tools to address properties where criminal activity repeatedly occurs, drawing a parallel to the city’s authority to condemn structurally dangerous buildings. Chief Roper welcomed any such guidance from council and emphasized that his department’s approach would remain lawful and thorough, but unequivocal. “Once someone makes that decision to commit violence,” he said, “there’s zero tolerance.” He also pointed to the city’s violent crime task force as a proactive effort to reach young people before they reach that point, while making clear that those who choose violence will face consequences.
Infrastructure Concerns Raised as City Grows
During discussion of the February monthly reports, Council Member Hood raised concerns about the city’s aging infrastructure, noting a marked increase in the volume of water line repairs compared to prior years. She specifically flagged Crescent Drive, which she described as beginning to wash away due to flooding, with existing craters in the road surface and no street lighting in the affected stretch.
Public Works Director Mingo indicated the road may already be on the city’s capital improvement list and committed to verifying that. The mayor noted that Crescent Drive is technically a state road, but said the city has historically stepped in to address urgent health and safety issues on state-maintained roads rather than wait indefinitely for the Department of Transportation to act. He said the city would continue that approach when conditions become dire.
The broader discussion about infrastructure was framed in the context of rapid growth. The mayor noted that the city’s project status and building report reflects an extraordinary volume of new investment — a level of development not seen in years — with most of it tapping into existing infrastructure. Council Member Hood argued that the growth makes it more urgent, not less, to address water lines, wastewater capacity, road conditions, police, fire, and trash services, and called for the city to bring on a planner to help manage growth strategically. “How are we planning for that?” she asked, pointing to potential development along Highway 9 and areas near Brooker and Highway 521.
Police Department Earns Praise for Accreditation Progress
Council Member Harris took a moment during the monthly report discussion to commend Chief Roper and the entire Lancaster Police Department for their work toward CALEA accreditation, noting that when he first joined council, complaints about the department were a regular feature of every meeting. He credited the chief’s leadership and the council’s willingness to support the department with the transformation. The mayor echoed the sentiment, noting that the accreditation effort has been recognized throughout the community and by the county sheriff’s department as well.
The March 10 work session minutes — approved unanimously at the regular meeting — reflected that the department’s patrol captain David Cristy, a 30-year law enforcement veteran newly hired by the city, had been introduced to council, and that department members were attending the annual CALEA Conference in Arizona for the final step in the accreditation process.
Council Raises Concern Over Missing Black History Month Recognition
Council Member Sowell raised a pointed concern that the city had failed to recognize Black History Month in any meaningful public way, noting it had been an annual tradition in prior years, sometimes spanning four weeks of recognition, and that this year had passed with nothing. City Administrator Flip Hutfles acknowledged that several community recognition and cultural programming items had been cut from the budget during a balancing exercise earlier in the fiscal year, including support for Special Olympics and Black History Month activities, and committed to restoring funding in the upcoming fiscal year budget.
Several council members pushed back on the idea that a budget cut fully explained the omission, pointing out that social media recognition costs nothing and that the city’s communications team regularly produces timely and well-received posts on other topics. The mayor agreed, saying the issue is one of consistent, planned messaging rather than budget, and directing that the communications function be more intentional and consistent going forward in recognizing cultural history months. He noted that nearly half the city’s population is Black and that honoring the community’s history is both meaningful and straightforward.
New Downtown Electronic Billboard Approved
Council unanimously approved Resolution R26-08, authorizing the reallocation of $27,753 in leftover capital improvement funds from the Bypass Christmas Display to the purchase of a new electronic billboard. The city had budgeted $69,000 for the Christmas display but spent only $41,247, leaving a balance. Combined with $25,000 already budgeted for billboard replacement, the city now has sufficient funds to cover a new electronic sign estimated to cost over $40,000.
Finance Director James Absher explained that the new sign, to be installed at the corner of Main Street and Woodland Drive — replacing the existing aging unit — would feature higher resolution and updated software. The current sign, which council members noted frequently malfunctions after rain events and sometimes loops the same two messages due to outdated programming, would be repurposed for traffic management and event detour notification at other locations around the city.
Work Session Minutes Approved
Council unanimously approved the minutes from the March 10, 2026, work session, which had included a presentation on concept designs for Reservoir Park, Wylie Street Park, and the Barr Street Football Field. The concepts proposed enhancements including walking trails, playground areas, a skate park, basketball and tennis courts, pickleball and sand volleyball courts, a dog park, floating boat docks, shoreline improvements, and lighting for the Barr Street football field. The work session also included first readings of two rezoning ordinances — one for a residential parcel on University Drive and one for a 50-unit workforce multifamily apartment complex proposed by Gateway Development Corporation at the corner of North Park Drive and North Park Square.
Council adjourned following the single resolution vote, with no further business before the body.
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