Saturday, November 30 will be the 15th Small Business Saturday®, since its creation by American Express in 2010 and the Kershaw County Chamber of Commerce and City of Camden Downtown program want you to celebrate with your favorite small businesses in Kershaw County.
On “Plaid Friday”, otherwise referred to as Black Friday, November 29th, Amy Kinard, director of the Kershaw County Chamber of Commerce and Kat Spadacenta, Community Development Coordinator for the City of Camden, will once again hand out Shop Small goodie bags filled with promotional items from local merchants. They will be at Broad Street Park, at the corner of Broad and Rutledge Streets in Downtown Camden, from 11 am to 1 pm with bags for the first 150 people, encouraging them to shop locally on Friday and Saturday. Leave behind the long lines in front of the big box store and make shopping for friends and family a pleasurable activity once again with your Camden and Kershaw County local merchants.
As in years past, Kinard and Spadacenta are pledging to spend a significant amount of their gift giving budgets this holiday season at businesses within Kershaw County, and this year they are challenging the community to do the same.
On its 15th annual Small Business Saturday this November, American Express will donate $1 for each purchase made with an eligible American Express card at qualifying small businesses across the US to expand its grant commitment to support small businesses impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The company founded Small Business Saturday in 2010, coming out of the U.S. financial crisis, to help drive consumer spending to small, independently-owned merchants and restaurants during the critical holiday shopping season.
The City of Camden, South Carolina is seeking qualified vendors to provide a totally integrated/cloud based Financial System and Utility Billing Software. Read the full Request for Qualifications here.
Individuals in Kershaw County, including the City of Camden, are now eligible for disaster assistance to cover uninsured loss due to Hurricane Helene. Assistance is available for, but not limited to, home repairs, lodging, rental assistance, and funding for immediate needs such as food or medicine. Residents can apply for assistance in three different ways: apply online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, using the FEMA app on your smartphone, or by calling 1-800-621-3362. Additional information on assistance eligibility can be found online at Questions and Answers About FEMA Individual Assistance in South Carolina | FEMA.gov.
The City of Camden has recently updated its ordinance regarding the collection of garbage and refuse from residents inside city limits.
The most significant change is in the collection of trash, formerly referred to as yard debris. All refuse that cannot otherwise be classified as household garbage is considered trash. It may include grass clippings, leaves, shrub, tree parts smaller than 4”caliper and less than 5’ feet long and similar types of yard and other natural debris.
Effective immediately, it is unlawful for households and/or their employees, agents or contractors to place more than 8 cubic yards (see image above) of trash for collection by the city. If it becomes necessary for the city to remove and properly dispose of trash in excess of 8 cubic yards, the property owner and/or occupant shall be charged 4 times the monthly sanitation fee per occurrence, pursuant to a schedule of rates adopted and approved by City Council, and will be billed to the residential utility bill in the next utility billing cycle. It is unlawful to intermingle boxes, empty containers, scrap wood, metal, fabrics, furniture, appliances, electronics, and other types of waste with trash.
Additionally, effective immediately, bulk waste and white goods up to 3 cubic yards in size may be collected from any residence a maximum of one time per month. Residents must schedule this collection by calling the city’s sanitation department. Residents shall be charged 4 times the monthly sanitation fee per collection, pursuant to a schedule of rates adopted and approved by City Council, and will be billed to the residential utility account in the following billing cycle.
See the complete ordinance pertaining to garbage, refuse and other matters related thereto, or download our Residential Sanitation Services brochure for information on collection of household garbage, recyclable materials and other items. Please help us keep our city clean. Any questions or requests may be directed to our Sanitation Dept. at 803-425-6045.
On October 24, 2023, Camden City Council adopted Ordinance No. 2023-27 implementing development impact fees on new construction permits within the City of Camden. Beginning October 25, 2023, the City began collecting impact fees for the following categories:
• Fire Protection • Municipal Facilities and Equipment • Parks and Recreation (only charged for residential projects)
Development impact fees are one-time fees that are be collected at the time a building permit is issued. Impact fees are determined for each project based on a formula contained within the impact fee ordinance. The basis for each fee calculation includes: the number of proposed units; persons per household (residential) or employee space ratio (commercial); the replacement cost for each fee category; and any discount rate adopted by City Council. As of October 24, 2023, those discount rates are 20% for Parks & Recreation, 20% for Fire Protection, and 20% for Municipal Facilities & Equipment.
Consistent with state law, the impact fee ordinance authorizes exemptions for the following types of construction projects: rebuilding, remodeling, repairing or replacing an existing structure (provided there is no increase in the number of service units); residential additions; construction trailers and temporary offices; neighborhood amenities (playgrounds, tennis courts, clubhouses, etc.), volunteer fire stations, elementary schools, middle schools, secondary schools, and affordable housing units which meet minimum eligibility requirements.
Impact fees are based upon generally accepted industry criteria, including Census Bureau and ITE data. In instances where an applicant contends that the assumptions included within the impact fee ordinance are not accurate for the intended use, the ordinance allows an applicant to perform an independent fee calculation (at the applicant’s expense). The ordinance also authorizes credit agreements for approved monetary or in-kind contributions.
The South Carolina Association of Counties (SCAC) scholarship program is now taking applications for 2024. A $5,000 one-time scholarship is available to high school students who plan to attend a college or university in South Carolina. This year, students from Clarendon and Kershaw County are able to apply.
Applications and supporting documents must be submitted online or postmarked no later than February 1, 2024. All awards will be announced in May.
