Town of Lexington Councilman Todd Carnes will run for another term on town council, a seat he first took up more than 10 years ago.

He told the Chronicle the biggest highlights from his current term were opening Virginia Hylton Park and the Old Mill Pond Trail, and that he hopes to be a part of major decisions next term regarding town water and sewer infrastructure.

“In the next term, there’s the huge infrastructure issue with water and sewer that we have to make a good decision about,” he said. “That’s a good 20 to 30-year decision. … If you’re not thinking 20 or 30 years in advance, you’re behind.”

Carnes said infrastructure plans take time, and having been on council for over a decade, it’s exciting to see long-term plans come to fruition across town.

“People will see a lot of the transportation work that has been done on paper start to spring up,” he said. “Long-term, they’re going to see a bunch of work on North Lake in front of the Chevrolet dealership by Moe’s. That entire area is going to have a massive makeover. And you’re going to see a massive makeover at the Corley Mill interchange for 378.”

Thinking long-term for the betterment of a large population of locals is a skill Carnes said takes time to build as a town council member.

“You severely overestimate what you can do in six months and you severely underestimate what you can do in six years,” he said. “You just need to slow down.”

As one of the founding pastors of Radius Church in Lexington, Carnes said there are qualities important in pastoring that he uses as a town leader, such as team building, consensus building and encouraging multiple different departments, all integral to the town.

“I think I've been elected thus far because I've invested 25 years in this community and I know this community,” he said. “I’ve opened businesses in this community, I’ve planted a church in this community and my wife was a teacher and a coach at Lexington High School.”

People are moving to Lexington because of the positive environment, according to Carnes; that’s why his family moved here after many years abroad.

Here’s his brief biography:

“Todd is a graduate of the University of Alabama and Southeastern Baptist Seminary in Wake Forest, NC. Over the span of his career, he has lived and worked as an engineer in Florida, a missionary in Russia, a church planter in Lexington, as one of the founding pastors of Radius Church and as a business executive with SouthernMED Pediatrics. He currently serves his Lexington community as an elected Town Councilman while building his latest venture, Todd Realty Partners. Todd has been married to his wife, Kerri, for 31 years and they have three daughters. He chronicled his life story in his autobiography entitled ‘Burying Home - Memoir of a Mill Village Missionary.’”

Carnes’ seat is one of three on Lexington Town Council with terms expiring this year. Councilman Gavin Smith and Mayor Pro-Tem Ron Williams hold the other two.

Lexington County candidate filing begins Aug. 1, and Election Day is Nov. 4. Filing can be completed at the Lexington County Voter Registration and Election Office from noon Aug. 1 to noon Aug. 15. The office can be reached at 803-785-8361 and more information is available on the county’s website.