Lancaster City Council approved public beer and wine consumption at two sets of downtown events and passed second reading of an annexation ordinance bringing a 0.44 acre lot on Williams Estate Drive into the city during a work session Tuesday, Aug. 11, at City Hall. Council also met new Lancaster County Administrator Brian Tucker, who introduced himself as a Lancaster native returning after roughly 30 years away, and approved minutes from the July 28 regular meeting. Every vote was unanimous. All seven members answered the roll, and there were no citizen or employee comments.
The three action items together touch the fall calendar downtown and the city’s tax base. The two resolutions cover the Lancaster Regional Sickle Cell Society’s Family Day Sickle Cell Festival in September and the city’s own Finally Friday and End of Summer concerts in August and September. The annexation adds a lot where the owners plan to build a house, a step required before the city will extend water and sewer service.
New County Administrator Introduces Himself
Tucker told council he spent the last five years as an assistant city manager at a South Carolina coastal city, where the job centered on downtown redevelopment. That work included property acquisition, building rehabilitation and tenant recruitment, he said, and he pointed to Lancaster’s downtown buildings and housing stock as the reason he sees room for the county to partner with the city.
He said he graduated from Lancaster High School and that his family has generations of local ties, including grandparents and a great uncle who worked at the same employer as his mother. He has been married 26 years and has two daughters, one a nurse in Charleston and one working at an animal hospital at the coast.
Mayor T. Alston DeVenny said the city and county already work together through the police department and sheriff’s office, fire service and emergency services, and framed the shared challenge as serving the same residents and finding a way to pay for it. He said he moved to Lancaster in 1988. One council member told Tucker that the county’s unified development ordinance was the first item voted on after being elected to county council in 1998, and said land use planning is an ongoing job.
Sickle Cell Festival Gets Beer And Wine Approval
Resolution R26-14 authorizes public possession and consumption of beer and wine at the Lancaster Regional Sickle Cell Society’s 10th Annual Family Day Sickle Cell Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26. Council Member Miller moved approval, Council Member Hood seconded, and the roll call was unanimous.
According to the agenda packet, the day starts at the USC Lancaster Native American Studies Center with a Michael Jackson Fan Club meet and greet from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., followed by a Disabilities Awareness Parade at 3 p.m. The festival then runs at the Old Post Office parking lot until 8 p.m., when a fireworks show begins. Vendors, children’s games, community resources and a tribute band billed as The Icons Legends are on the schedule.
The resolution allows beer and wine in specially marked cups between 3 and 8 p.m. inside an event area running from Dunlap Street to Elm and Chesterfield Avenue and from Catawba Street to White Street. Drinks may be bought only from businesses licensed for on premises consumption that sit within or front that area, and the packet lists those as Totto’s, LA Tap Room and 521 BBQ. Buyers must show identification and wear a wristband, and the police chief or his designee can shut the activity down at any time.
Events and Promotions Manager Lisa Roddey told council the alcohol area is limited to two blocks of Main Street, with signs marking where drinking stops at the Chesterfield Avenue corner, the same setup used at other city events. Food trucks will be inside the parking lot. The city budgeted $10,000 for the festival, and the society is paying for off duty officers and cleanup and carries $1 million in general liability coverage listing the city as an additional insurer. The society has asked the South Carolina Department of Transportation to close Main Street from Arch Street to Elm and Chesterfield Street for the day. In an Aug. 7 letter to council, Executive Director Doris Ealey wrote that the festival now draws more than 1,000 people a year.
Concerts Cleared For Aug. 21 And Sept. 19
Resolution R26-15 covers the city’s 2026 Finally Friday and End of Summer Concert, set for 5 to 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21, and 3:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, at the city parking lot at 305 S. Main St. Council Member Koss moved approval, Hood seconded, and the vote was unanimous.
The events feature bands and a DJ playing beach music, R&B and southern rock, plus food trucks. As with the festival, attendees must be age verified and wear a wristband, and sales are limited to licensed downtown businesses inside or fronting the event area. The city has budgeted $18,000 for its summer Finally Friday and Cruising Main Street events, and the city is responsible for security and cleanup. Police Chief Don Roper and Administrative Lt. Adrena Massey were part of the planning and support the request, according to the packet.
Roddey said the September date is being run in conjunction with the Special Olympics vehicle run that the police department supports, with participating cars coming down Main Street before parking and the concert following. The city and county have paired with the event before, and Roddey said the goal is to pull visitors from surrounding counties into downtown so local businesses benefit.
Council members asked whether every downtown business expected to serve had its paperwork in order. A staff response indicated at least one business had applied but had not yet completed the process.
Annexation On Williams Estate Drive Passes Second Reading
Ordinance O26-10 annexes 0.44 acres at 1340 Williams Estate Drive, owned by William Curtis Cygan and Helena Queiroz Henry. Council Member Hood moved approval, Council Member Harris seconded, and the roll call was unanimous. Council approved first reading July 28, and the ordinance as written takes effect Aug. 11.
Staff told council the property is Lot 16 of Block J in the Williams Village subdivision and had been combined with the adjacent lot at 1334 Williams Estate Drive under single ownership, which left 1340 without its own municipal water and sewer connections. The owners split the combined parcel into two lots in April, kept 1340 and sold 1334. The lot is vacant, with a former swimming pool removed and filled, and the owners plan to build a single family house there.
Under Article I, Chapter 40 of the city code, new water or sewer service outside the city limits requires a utility service and annexation agreement, so the owners petitioned to come in. The parcel adjoins the city limits to the west and carries an interim zoning classification of R-6 Residential pending rezoning. Staff wrote that annexation adds no burden to police, fire or residential trash service, and that at an estimated home value of $285,000 the property would generate roughly $2,525 a year in property taxes.
DeVenny said the area around Caroline Court has long been in the city and that further annexation there looks like a natural fit as the neighborhood grows.
Council adjourned on a motion by Hood, seconded by Council Member Marsh. Meeting agendas and packets are posted at City Hall and on the city’s website, and meetings are streamed on the city’s YouTube channel.
Sign up for our Sunday Spectator. Delivered to your inbox every Sunday, with all the news from the week.
Thomas Hyslip lives in Tega Cay with his wife and daughter. After 27 years in the U.S. Army and Federal Law Enforcement, he retired to pursue his passion for teaching. Tom is now an Assistant Professor of Instruction at the University of South Florida. In 2 short years he has won 10 awards from the South Carolina Press Association, including first place in column writing, education beat reporting and best podcast.
