Reports to Council at the Jan. 6 Clinton City Council meeting gives us a window into some of the city’s challenges as the new year breaks.
A new city manager will have to redevelop Musgrove Street - everybody know that - but there is so much more on that person’s plate.
At the Rec Center (Hwy 56), the first layer of roads have been put in, delayed by weather, and more paving will be done after the cold pushes through Inspectors have come in and everything is just as it should be, according to City Manager Tom Brooks. A memo of understanding has been signed for the redevelopment of the Industrial Supply building into Uptown Clinton apartments. A timber management plan has been done for the former Whitten Center property, and other property behind the Blue Ocean restaurant will become a hotels complex, with tax breaks from the county. At the Uptown splash pad and carriage house, the City got money from a local foundation — an annual donation every year for next 3 next years - to develop the carriage house into restrooms. In the spring the splash pad should be up and rolling — Council Member Anita Williams said, “That small tank is disappointing. The pad does not look like it would accommodate 10 children, and it’s not finished. The design, to me, the look as I look at others, is not a good design.”
“Thank you (for the input),” Brooks said.
In finance, the city council wants to have a workshop meeting about transparency.
Two audits are underway. One is a pensions and benefits audit, and the normal audit starting Dec. 16 and continuing through e-mail. Today (Jan. 15) FEMA is here following up on a first meeting in December to list hurricane damage. Site adjusters will be looking at sites. The priority will be to submit damages to get recovery money quickly into the city, and then collect invoices for other payments (such as visting electrical linemen).
There was general agreement with Council Member Danny Cook’s statement that the overall audit should come before the council in February, and no later. They need that information to start budget deliberations.
The City is looking for money to upgrade its Springdale Drive fire substation. Laurens County has signed a renovations contract with Mashburn Construction to develop space for SC DSS to move into Clinton’s MS Bailey Municipal Building (it is a lease). It was not known when the work will start. Look for the fire/police main station to be completed this spring. Santee Cooper has given the city a $700,000 grant to assist with vegetation management - that’s cutting trees and limbs off electrical rights-of-way.
The City wants to hire its own animal control officer, and it has budgeted $170,000 to make that happen (officer, equipment, a way to house captured dogs).
Debris is still a major concern. Council Member Williams: “We need to get our city cleaned up as much as possible.”
Missing street lights must be repaired, by the 6 members of the city’s electrical line crew.
The City has a new industry moving in - Nordson is moving manufacturing employees from a union shop in Amherst, Ohio (announced in June), which the company has said is “landlocked” to the city’s second spec building, which the company bought and added onto (photo above). Brooks said they have hired 135 employees, which is what they said they would do in their incentive package, and the CEO said he was pleased with the hiring process.
Brooks said he wasn’t sure about the status of a company moving into the former Renfro socks plant, but he would inquire.
And, finally, what is the city going do with all these gigantic tree stumps. These will be last things to be picked up, because you can only get a few on the trucks at one time.
Contact Vic MacDonald at 864-833-1900.