INCORPORATE THE LAKE MURRAY AREA OF RICHLAND COUNTY NOW !!!

There will be a Referendum on February 16!
Next Public Hearing at Ballentine Park at 6:30 pm on Monday Feb 7
Bring a friend and get all your questions answered!


December 2007 and January 2008:
The Secretary of State approved the "Incorporation Packet." The Secretary of State appointed the Municipal Election Commissioners and charged them to conduct the Referendum. The US Justice Department signed-off on the Referendum (per Voting Rights Act).

Summer and Fall 2007:
Behind the scenes, the "Incorporation Packet" is being completed (dotting I's and crossing T's) and reviewed by legal counsel for submission to the Secretary of State.

Next Incorporation Petition Drive Set:
Join us Saturday May 26 at 9:30 am at Light House Marina (1625 Johnson Marina Rd)
Bring a friend and get all your questions answered!


Monday May 7, 2007 - 6:30 pm… … … … … … …BDFCA Community Meeting at the Community Center in Ballentine Park. Please make plans to attend. Bring a friend and sign the "Incorporation Petition."

03/28/07-
This MAP (printable, black and white) and LETTER were hand-delivered to The Town of Irmo at 10:58am by Les Tweed. (To view them, click on the words map or letter. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. This free application can be downloaded at ADOBE)

Click here to view a map in color.

The purpose of the letter is to have Irmo address our Ballentine area incorporation issue at their council meeting Tuesday 4-3-07.

Our legal council says that;
A. They can be nice about it by responding and that clears the way for incorporation or
B. They can choose not to respond and we can still move ahead but the Town can't be officially incorporated for 6 months.

In either case, our attorneys Bruce Holland and Bert Cassell, as well as Howard Duvall (the Executive Director of the SC Municipal Association), all believe we are on solid legal ground to proceed with incorporation of these borders.

The PRELIMINARY FINANCIAL NUMBERS are in:
From the tax base going to Richland County alone, we should be able to operate the New Town without instituting a town property tax! This includes a very healthy "cushion." These "conservative" numbers do not even include the additional revenues that will be available through State, Municipal Assn., and other sources. One major issue all along has been whether or not Incorporation can be achieved without a town property tax.

A PETITION DRIVE MEETING is set for Saturday, April 7, at 9:30. The meeting will be held at the COMMUNITY CENTER IN BALLENTINE PARK. If you would like to help with the Petition Drive to incorporate, please come to Saturday's (April 7) meeting. We need your help to make this a successful endeavor. The meeting should last 30-45 minutes. For more information, call Ken Colton (Chair, Petition Committee) at 749-0417.

To view the PETITION, click on the word. (Again you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader).

Click here to view Frequently Asked Questions about the Petition Drive.

It is very important that all this information is distributed to as many residents of the proposed Town as possible. Please HELP by forwarding a copy of this to your friends & neighbors in the proposed town limits. Copies of the map must be printed out to accompany the petition when requesting resident voters signatures.

Please make plans to attend the Ballentine Civic Meeting this coming Monday April 2nd at 6:30pm at Ballentine Park Community Center. OPEN INVITATIONS TO ALL!!!!

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Lots of behind-the-scenes work throughout February and March.....
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February 1- A WORD FROM THE PRESIDENT ABOUT INCORPORATION
We are making great progress with our efforts to Incorporate the Town of Ballentine. Although we have had to redraw the proposed boundaries several times, we seem to have a winner. The new proposed Town of Ballentine is considerably smaller than previous versions. This smaller version seems to be our best chance to create a firm foundation from which we can grow. A map has been presented to Irmo Town Council with a request for them to address the matter at their February 6th council meeting.

Along with addressing the border/ boundary issue, we are compiling the financial data necessary for a newly incorporated municipality.

Every day, members of the incorporation committee are asked “when do we get petitions signed, when do we put signs out, why aren‘t we doing more“, etc.

The answer is simple: until the two main points of town limits and is this a fiscally responsible venture are resolved, we don’t want to waste anyone’s time.

At our last meeting 37 names were submitted as volunteers to work on six different facets of the incorporation process. That is a great indicator that people are willing to see this through. Believe me, I can’t wait for the whistle to blow and it’s full steam ahead. I think the lead team is doing a great job lining things up so we don’t hurt ourselves by launching a false start.

We have a lot of talent working on this and some well-laid plans for success. Be patient, the real action and a call to arms should begin by mid-month.

So now you want to get into the details pertaining to where, when and how much. Well, I’m sorry, that is just too much to write plus more information comes in daily. You are just going have to make plans to come to our next big meeting Monday 2/5/07 at 6:30 pm. Keep watching the local papers also.


Tuesday January 16 at 7 pm..........
The Irmo Town Council will deliberate our proposed boundaries for the Incorporation of Ballentine at its regular meeting at the Irmo Town Hall on Tuesday January 16 at 7 PM. Ballentine Residents are encouraged to attend to show support for our efforts.

Wednesday January 17 at 6 pm..........
PUBLIC MEETING at Ballentine Park to offically kick-off our campaign to INCORPORATE BALLENTINE. Please attend to share your ideas, get answers to your questions, and see the proposed boundaries. (based on Irmo Town Council's response to our letter to the Secretary of State).

STOP IRMO ANNEXATION!!!

Well, it’s been a long time coming but it’s finally here. Irmo has started annexation into the Ballentine Community. While the 48 acre site near the corner of Broad River (176) and Dutch Fork (76) is the highest profile, Irmo has recently annexed as many as 10 parcels in the area.

We do not oppose growth and development, we promote Smart Growth. When development comes to our Community, the folks of Ballentine wish to have some say in what it is, how it looks, how it’s built, etc. Irmo's plans of expansion reaches fingerlike to annex commercial property to expand its tax base

BALLENTINIANS, IT’S TIME TO ACT!!!!

Irmo is heading in this direction, with Columbia not far behind. At a special Meeting on October 2, the Ballentine-Dutch Fork Civic Association and other Community Leaders developed a two-tier plan to combat this Annexation. The time has come for Ballentine to take the steps to control our own destiny, in essence, Home Rule.

To prevent further annexation, we are starting the procedures necessary to Incorporate Ballentine. The next step is to identify a set of boundaries to submit to the Richland County Planning Commission. For more information and to help please contact Phil Kuzlik (click here).

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