As a Columbia business continues to expand, employees need more parking and a county owned piece of property could be the answer.
Sharon James, director of residential services for Care At Residential Services located at 403 S. Main St., spoke with members of the Marion County Board of Supervisors about the options. Supervisors agreed to research the issue and draft a potential lease.
“My late husband, Sidney James, died some years ago, and since then, I have attempted to carry on the legacy of his company,” she said. “We go into senior homes and help them with personal care. We cook, clean, and do errands. It keeps them in their homes rather than in nursing homes. It can save their families a lot of money.”
James said the company’s main office is at the South Main location.
“As a result of the company growing, we have about 180 employees,” she said. “Not all of them come to the office, but we have to have people to do the paperwork. The people that are doing the paperwork, the supervisors and management, are at 403 South Main and we need parking spaces.”
Next to the building is a lot that is state owned, however, it is not suitable for parking, according to James.
“It has a big drop-off, so only about a third of the land is useful,” she said. “We need probably 20 to 30 parking spaces. We have some land to park on, but it’s not enough.”
James said that during the citywide cleanup last Saturday, she and her employees had cleaned the lot in question.
“We actually cut and bush hogged that area,” she said as she showed Board members a map. “This land is owned by the county. In return for parking there, we’ll keep it up. We just need somewhere for our employees to park. We have some space, but not enough.”
James said she did not want to relocate the company from its current location.
“We want a presence in what used to be called the Webb Quarters,” she said. “We feel it is important to stay in that neighborhood and show a positive image. I think that neighborhood needs us.”
Board President Calvin Newsom said he had spoken with James and wanted the Board to find a solution to her parking problem.
County Board Attorney Joe Shepard said it was likely that the county could not legally allow her to use it for parking without some sort of written agreement.
“We could arrange some sort of nominal lease,” he said.
District 2 Supervisor Terry Broome said the county needed to make sure it could legally lease the property to James.
“I don’t think we have a problem with your parking on it,” he said.
Newsom said he would contact James when the research was completed and a potential lease drafted.
The Board also renewed a lease at the Marion County BusinessPlex for Robert Rawls of Open Wings Outreach. Rawls paid $5,948 last year for the lease of a building for the senior adult day services he provides. The lease had an option to renew at the same terms.
Board members inquired how the business had done in its first year in the facility.
“It’s going pretty good,” Rawls said. “This has gotten the ball rolling. We average 15 to 25 clients per day. We feed them breakfast and lunch. We do health and wellness activities and have arts and crafts. They go home about 2 p.m.”
The Board unanimously approved the lease renewal and thanked Rawls for being a tenant of the Business-Plex.
