Mayor's Inaugural & Swearing-In Ceremony for Columbia City Council

The City of Columbia would like to extend a congratulations to Mayor Daniel J. Rickenmann and incoming councilmembers Joe E. Taylor Jr., Tina N. Herbert and Aditi Bussells.

The outdoor ceremony was held on Tuesday, January 4, 2022 at 3 p.m. in the heart of Columbia on the 1700 block of Main Street.

This location utilized City Hall as a backdrop, which is symbolic of the hope and spirit of our city, while also highlighting the resilient spirit of our community.

This occasion marked a new beginning in Columbia, a city that is proud of the strength, ingenuity and diversity of our community, while also being positioned and open for new opportunities.

Mayor Rickenmann's speech during the ceremony can be read here.

To view photos from the ceremony, click here.

Thank You Local Businesses

The City of Columbia would like to recognize these small businesses for their services during the Mayoral Inauguration and Swearing-In of the City Council members.

"Without the small businesses in our community, this event would not have happened. For that, thank you, we support you, we’re glad you are Open! So, I declare, City of Columbia is now OPEN! Open For Business. Open For Investments. Open For Ideas. Open For Collaboration and Open Arms for all!"

- Mayor Rickenmann' s Inauguration speech

Arbor Day 2021

Columbia’s Elmwood Park Neighborhood, along with the Forestry and Beautification Division, celebrated Arbor Day in South Carolina on Friday, December 3rd by planting two dogwood trees. Despite being recognized nationally in April; South Carolina celebrates it every first Friday in December.

Councilman Howard Duvall presented a proclamation outlining Columbia’s history of celebrating Arbor Day. With the proclamation and the planting of the two dogwood trees, Columbia can now apply to receive a Tree City USA award.

Columbia Police Department Officer Receives Knights of Columbia Award

Sgt. Timothy Baire from Southeast Region received the Officer of the Year award from the Knights of Columbia. 

City to Host Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Honor the Dream Virtual Food Drive

The City of Columbia, Richland School district One and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Foundation have kicked off the annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Honor the Dream Food Drive both in person and virtually benefiting Harvest Food Bank. Please join the City of Columbia as we help fight hunger in the Greater Columbia area. The food drive is held each year to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy of community service. To virtually donate, please click below.

Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive Supports Harvest Hope Food bank Fundraising Campaign for Harvest Hope Food Bank

The virtual food drive ends Monday, January 17.

Sixth Annual Ceasefire Columbia

Offender Call-In

Columbia Police Chief W.H. ‘Skip’ Holbrook and law enforcement partners including the United States Attorney’s Office – District of South Carolina held their sixth annual Ceasefire Columbia offender call-in on Thursday, December 9th at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.

The goal of Ceasefire Columbia, which was adopted by CPD in 2015 is to deter gun crime, develop and promote community outreach efforts and provide training for repeat gun crime offenders.

The program identifies offenders and helps them break the cycle of recidivism using a team approach with committed stakeholders including local social service providers and law enforcement agencies. Ceasefire Columbia is administered by the Office of United States Attorney, District of South Carolina as part of the national effort for Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).

The additional law enforcement partners participating in the 2021 Ceasefire Columbia Call- In are: The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), United States Marshals Service (USMS), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), Probation, Parole and Pardon Services (PPP), Richland County Sheriff’s Department (RCSD), and the Fifth Circuit Solicitor’s Office.

Columbia Police Department Chief William "Skip" Holbrook interviews with local reporters about the sixth annual Ceasefire Columbia Offender Call-In and speaks briefly about criminal offenders and a chance for them to avoid recidivism.

‘Firefighters Feeding Families’ Provides

200 Bags of Food to Area Needy

Roughly 200 households in the greater Columbia area were able to have needed food thanks to the efforts of our fire department.

CRFD’s annual ‘Firefighters Feeding Families Holiday Food Drive’ took in enough donations over the course of December to fill about 200 bags. Most of the items, which were mainly non-perishable canned goods, were collected during the department’s community collection day on Friday, December 17, 2021.

“It truly amazed me to once again see our community members step up the way they did to make this campaign a success,” said Columbia-Richland Fire Chief Aubrey D. Jenkins, “Every item we were able to raise will do a lot of good for families in our area who don’t know where their next meals will be coming from. I also would like to extend a huge thank you to the area merchants that donated food in support of this campaign to help get our bags filled.”

Families that received food assistance from the fire department were able to sign up for it in the weeks ahead of the collection day.



Last year was CRFD’s first time undertaking a food drive. In its inaugural year ‘Firefighters Feeding Families’ also fed about 200 households.

(from left) Fire Admin Account Specialist Tonya Robinson, Assistant Chief of Administration Mickey Folsom, Fire Accounting Technician Kembrely Williams and Executive Assistant Colleen Foster ready to unload some donations taken in for the ‘Firefighters Feeding Families Holiday Food Drive’

Donations taken in for ‘Firefighters Feeding Families’ were held in the department’s fire museum.

From there they were sorted and bagged by CRFD staff. Roughly 200 bags were filled by the end of this year’s campaign.

Land Use Boards & Commissions Change Monthly Meeting Dates for 2022

The City of Columbia Planning & Development Services Department will be moving their regularly scheduled monthly meeting dates for their Land Use Boards & Commissions in 2022.

The Planning Commission, which was originally scheduled for the first Monday of the month at 5:15 p.m., will now meet on the second Thursday of the month at 4:00 p.m. The Design/Development Review Commission, which was originally scheduled for the second Thursday of the month at 4:00 p.m., will now be meeting on the third Thursday of the month at 4:00 p.m.

These changes went into effect January 2022. The Board of Zoning Appeals meeting date remains unchanged, which is on the first Thursday of the month at 4:00 p.m. These changes were necessary to minimize rescheduling conflicts of the meetings, due to City observed holidays, and makes the meeting calendar more uniformed for all users.

If you have any questions about the changes in meeting dates, please contact the Planning Division at (803) 545-3222 or e-mail COCBoardMeeting@ColumbiaSC.gov.

For any information about the Land Use Boards & Commission, please visit https://planninganddevelopment.columbiasc.gov/about-land-use-boards-commissions/.

32 New Full-Time Firefighters Ready for Duty

Following CRFD Graduation

Columbia-Richland Fire Chief Aubrey D. Jenkins swore in 32 new full-time firefighters with the department as commencement exercises for CRFD Recruit Class 2021-01 were held on the evening of Wednesday, December 22, 2021 at Dreher High School.

29 members of class 21-01 were officially badged by Chief Jenkins after completing weeks of training at the department’s fire academy. Three volunteer firefighters with the department were also recognized as they completed required training to become full-time firefighters with CRFD.

“I have the honor of presiding over these graduations every year and with each one the sense of immense pride I have in our recruits is just as strong,” Chief Jenkins said, “Completing weeks of training at our academy is no small feat but another class of our recruits has done it at a time when the world is continuing to face major hurdles due to the ongoing health crisis. I applaud these newly sworn firefighters and I look forward to following their careers with CRFD in the months and years ahead.”

Several awards were handed out during the ceremony to recruits who performed exceptionally well during their training. Recruit Ryan Sesty was honored with the Maltese Cross Award while Recruit Demetrius Gardner received the Bryan P. Roberts Academic Achievement Award.

Friends and family members of the recruits were able to attend the graduation. All guests in attendance were required to wear masks and adhere to COVID-19 preventative guidelines.

The Columbia-Richland Fire Department extends its congratulations to our new full-time firefighters.

RECRUIT CLASS 2021-01

Mikiah Baker                                                                        Eduardo Mora

Elijah Blackwelder                                                              Trenton O’Rafferty

Joshua Campor                                                                   William Oswalt

John Christmus                                                                   Alexander Papalazarou

Hailey Crawford                                                                  Dustin Parthemore

Taylor Crews                                                                       Ryan Sesty

Nicholas Demko                                                                  Braeden Slater

Robert Tremain Durant                                                      Trever Sulser

Nicholas Finley                                                                   Tristan Tucker

Scott Fostel                                                                          Waylon Wolcott

William Gambrell                                                                 William Young IV

Demetrius Gardner

Isaiah Gates

Omar Flores Gill

Benjamin Hogue

Donovaun Jamison

Daniel Johnson

Chandler Miles

VOLUNTEER TRANSFERS

Desiree Colon                     Justin Gallman                    Nathan Phillips

Badges are prepared for Recruit Class 21-01 before graduation at Dreher High School

Members of CRFD Firefighter Recruit Class 2021-01 pose for a group photo following their graduation exercises at Dreher High School

Recruit Ryan Sesty receives the Maltese Cross Award at graduation from Fire Chief Aubrey D. Jenkins

Recruit Demetrius Gardner receives the Bryan P. Roberts Academic Achievement Award at graduation from Fire Chief Aubrey D. Jenkins

Police Chief W.H. "Skip" Holbrook and Deputy Chief Melron Kelly Receive the 2021 Dominion Award for Excellence in Law Enforcement

(Left to Right): Deputy Chief Melron Kelly, Douglas Hemminghaus with Dominion Energy and Police Chief William "Skip" Holbrook.

Chief William "Skip" Holbrook and Deputy Chief Melron Kelly traveled to Myrtle Beach to receive the 2021 Dominion Award for Excellence in Law Enforcement.

According to the award organizers, ‘The City of Columbia Police Department has taken news steps to increase transparency throughout their department and made policies and procedures available to the public. Chief Holbrook’s vision has also leveraged technology through the use of a program called ShotSpotter. This cutting-edge technology sends immediate information to officers on the street when shots are fired in certain spots of the city.

Officers can safely approach these areas and formulate a plan of action for the call for service. This technology is keeping Columbia police officers and citizens safer in the City of Columbia. 

2022 NxLevel Micro Entrepreneur

Solid Waste Leaf Collection Drop-Off

With increasing yard debris at the curb due to leaf season and high staffing vacancies, the City of Columbia Solid Waste Division will be allowing residents to drop off bagged leaves only at the Public Works Facility, located at 2910 Colonial Dr, Columbia SC 29203 on Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon.

Residents will be allowed to drop off bagged leaves only from now until January 31, 2022. For questions, please contact the Solid Waste Division at 803-545-3800.

Weekly messaging will be posted on the City of Columbia social media platforms with a collection update and where crews will be working.

City of Columbia Solid Waste Division is also asking landscapers to haul off material they generate in accordance with City Ordinances, Section 19. 41. F. as follows: 

Commercial cutting. The city will not collect without charge materials such as trees, shrubbery, underbrush, chips or sawdust resulting from commercial cutting operations. Commercial cutters, such as tree surgeons and landscapers, are required to dispose of waste produced by their operations promptly at no expense to the city.

 2022 FastTrac Growth Venture Programs

The City of Columbia Partners with SC DHEC to Offer Free COVID-19 Vaccinations

City of Columbia Parks and Recreation Recognition Ceremony

City of Columbia Parks and Recreation Department recognized Domino Boulware, Jeff Kefalos and the late Bill Mason for their commitments and contributions to the tennis program throughout the City of Columbia. These men collectively impacted so many lives through the game of tennis from children, teenagers, and seniors. 

Domino Boulware is a tennis professional and coach in Columbia, South Carolina. Along with serving as a tennis professional at City of Columbia’s Greenview Park for over 21 years and volunteering for over 10 years, he has coached at various schools throughout the midlands.

Domino Boulware has also encouraged many youth and adults to participate in United States Tennis Association (USTA) programs such as junior team tennis, adult leagues, and tennis apprentice. He credits the training received from the ACE professional tennis registry and USTA for many of his accomplishments in the tennis community. Boulware was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in December of 2017.

Domino Boulware

Jeff Kefalos has worked at the Columbia Tennis Center for the City of Columbia for almost 45 years. He was inducted into the University of South Carolina’s Tennis Hall of Fame in 2011. He was also inducted into the South Carolina Hall of Fame in 2014.

Jeff Kefalos was a four-time MVP as a player with the Gamecocks before taking the job as the women's coach in 1977. In 1982 he was a finalist for Coach of the Year. He currently oversees the tennis programs for the City of Columbia. Jeff is a Professional I member of the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) and a charter member of the South Carolina Professional Tennis Association.

Jeff Kefalos

Bill Mason taught tennis since 1984 and played the game since he was 15 years old. He was a USPTA certified tennis instructor. He was the king of the clay courts and had uncanny humor that was mixed with wit and charm that impacted many during his time. Bill worked as a Professional Tennis Instructor at the City of Columbia’s Tennis Center for 35 years.

Unfortunately, Bill Mason passed away on Tuesday, April 21, 2020. He was the son of the late William Seward, Jr. and Mary Frances Stevenson Mason. He is survived by a brother, Robert Stevenson "Bobby" Mason (Beth); sister, Kathryn Mason Lybrand (Ted); sister in law, Connie Williams Mason; nephew, Robert Stevenson Mason, Jr. (Rebecca); niece, Lauren Mason Gregory (Jeff); and great nephews, Ethan and Cameron. His contributions to the tennis community has been missed. 

Parks and Recreation Director Randy Davis, Representative Seth Rose, Bill Mason's family, Councilman Will Brennan and Assistant City Manager Henry Simons

City of Columbia Public Relations, Media and Marketing Calendar Pick-Up Information

The free 2022 calendars can be picked up at the following locations (while supplies last):

• Hyatt Park (950 Jackson Avenue)
• Busby Street Community Center (1735 Busby Street)
• Greenview Park (6700 David Street)
• COC Payment Center on Harden Street (3000 Harden Street)
• Drew Wellness (2101 Walker Solomon Way)
• Melrose Park (1500 Fairview Drive)
• Emily Douglas Park (2500 Wheat Street)
• Heathwood Park (800 Abelia Road)
• Woodland Park (6500 Olde Knight Pkwy)
• Public Relations, Media and Marketing Information Center (City Hall, 1737 Main Street)

City Offices Closed in Observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day

The City of Columbia offices will be closed for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Monday, January 17, 2022 and will reopen Tuesday, January 18, 2022.

First responders and emergency services personnel will be on duty as needed. Emergency police, fire and rescue services may be reached by calling 9-1-1. 

2022 City Holidays

Friday before Easter Friday, April 14, 2022

Memorial Day Monday, May 30, 2022

Juneteenth (Observed) Monday, June 20, 2022

Independence Day Monday, July 4, 2022

Labor Day Monday, September 5, 2022

Thanksgiving Day Thursday, November 24, 2022

Day After Thanksgiving Day Friday, November 25, 2022

Christmas Day (Observed) Friday, December 23, 2022

Day in conjunction with Christmas Monday, December 26, 2022

*Due to certain operations requiring staffing 24/7, some employees may be scheduled to work on a holiday.