South Congaree, SC (Paul Kirby) – Lexington County Councilman Bobby Keisler said Friday that he had helped get the necessary funding approved to install additional sidewalks inside the Town of South Congaree. Keisler is the retiring councilmember that has served Council District Five for many years. That district includes Red Bank, a portion of the Boiling Springs community, and all South Congaree.
Keisler said he asked The Lexington County Transportation Committee (CTC) to approve $60,000 of C Funds for the Town of South Congaree. Last spring, $30,000 was approved for sidewalk extension on Ramblin Road, and $30,000 was approved for sidewalk extension on Sunset Drive. Councilman Keisler said Friday, “These were really needed. This is what I do, help my people!”
According to the South Carolina Municipal Association’s website at www.masc.sc, the "C" Fund Program is a long-established partnership between the 46 counties and the SC State Department of Transportation. They fund improvements of state roads, county roads, city streets and other local transportation projects. The state reserves 2.66 cents per gallon of the state gasoline tax for "C" fund projects. Both Ramblin Road and Sunset Drive are both publicly maintained roads and are eligible for this type of funding assistance.
Councilman Keisler said in a telephone call Friday that he has always loved the people of South Congaree. “I was a reserve police officer with the South Congaree Police Department long before I was on county council,” Keisler said. “I patrolled the streets with a young officer whose name was Josh Shumpert. He eventually earned the title of police chief, a position he still holds today,” Keisler continued. “I loved helping the people of South Congaree back then and the people of that area always returned the affection I had for them with thanks.”
Councilman Keisler continued by saying, “When I was elected to county council, it just gave me a bigger chance of doing good things for the people across my district. I brought a library to South Congaree, a fire station to Red Bank, and the park off Nazareth Road to all the people of District Five. I was honored when they named the main road into the park "Grave Digger" after me. Even though I’m retiring this year to spend more time with my wife and family, I’ll never forget the people of District Five and all my friends in South Congaree!” Keisler has always been affectionately called the “Grave Digger”, a name friends and acquaintances pinned on him as a reference to what he has done for a living his entire adult life, dig graves.
There is no timetable for the start of the building project. The sidewalks will need to engineer and a contract accepted prior to the first shovel of dirt being turned.
