§ 32.09. DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION AND ENHANCEMENT COMMITTEE.

(A)

Creation of the Downtown Revitalization and Enhancement Committee. There is created and established a Downtown Revitalization and Enhancement Committee for the Town of Lexington, South Carolina, to consist of fifteen (15) members. The membership of the Committee shall be as follows:

(1)

All members shall either reside in the Town of Lexington, South Carolina, own property in the Town of Lexington, South Carolina, or own a business operating in the Town of Lexington, South Carolina; provided, however, that at all times at least fifty percent (50%) of the members must reside within the corporate limits of the Town of Lexington. One employee of the Town of Lexington shall also be appointed by the Town Council to serve as Staff Liaison.

(2)

All citizen appointments shall be for three (3) years, and are renewable at the pleasure of Town Council for an additional three-year term. There shall be no limit on the number of terms a member may serve. The Staff Liaison shall be appointed by Council and shall serve at the pleasure of Council. All members of the Committee shall serve without compensation.

(3)

The Committee shall adopt its own bylaws and rules of conduct of meetings and shall keep a record of all meetings. The meetings shall be open to the public and held on a regular basis as determined by the Committee within its bylaws. The Committee may meet in executive session to consider any matter submitted to it by the Town Council which concerns issues properly considered in executive session pursuant to the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act. Members shall elect a chair at the first meeting who shall serve as chair for one year and shall be eligible for reelection.

(4)

Members of the Committee may be removed from service prior to term expiration for just cause by the Town Council, but shall be afforded a public hearing in such event, if requested in writing by the member affected or when a member misses three (3) consecutive meetings, either regular or called, or fifty percent (50%) of the meetings during any fiscal year, without notifying an officer of the Downtown Revitalization and Enhancement Committee to be excused, then that seat will be declared vacant and Town Council will be requested to appoint someone else to fill that seat. The secretary will be responsible for notifying any member whose seat might be in jeopardy.

(B)

Authority, purpose, and jurisdiction. The Downtown Revitalization and Enhancement Committee for the Town of Lexington shall be empowered to meet with representatives of Town Council and, at the invitation of the full council, may meet from time to time with the full council to study and make recommendations to the council upon issues pertinent to the conduct of the Town's business and the welfare of its citizens as more particularly described in subsection D of this section.

(C)

Council Liaison. The Committee shall function under the guidance and direction of the Town Council. A member of the Town Council shall meet with and advise the Downtown Revitalization and Enhancement Committee on a regular basis as liaison to the Council. Such service shall be advisory and nonvoting and shall not constitute actual membership on the committee.

(D)

Duties and responsibilities of the Committee. The Committee shall have the responsibility of studying, investigating, considering and discussing matters pertinent to the beautification, enhancement and revitalization and improvement of the image of Downtown Lexington in order to improve the quality of life for residents and to establish Downtown Lexington as a more attractive location for small businesses. The Downtown Revitalization and Enhancement Committee shall consider matters submitted to it by Town Council, and may also make other recommendations to the Town Council as it deems pertinent to the conduct of the Town's business in the aforementioned areas. The Committee shall make recommendations to the Town Council regarding such issues as soon as is feasible.

(Ord. 2006-19, passed 4-3-06)