[0:02] Want to welcome everyone to tonight's
meeting of Greenville City Council. Nice
[0:06] to have you with us. If you'll rise now
for invocation by Council Member
[0:10] Brazington, followed by the pledge of
allegiance.
[0:14] » Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Would you please
join me in prayer?
[0:18] Dear Lord, we gather together here today
intend on doing good work. We seek to
[0:22] represent fairly and well all those who
have given us this important task of
[0:26] serving the public good. May our efforts
be blessed with insight and guided by
[0:31] understanding and wisdom as we seek to
serve with respect for all. May our
[0:36] personal faiths give us strength to act
honestly and well in all matters before
[0:42] us. Dear Lord, we ask for your continued
guidance as we carry on in our
[0:47] collective work and we offer thanks for
the many blessings that you have
[0:51] afforded us. It's in your name we lift
this prayer. Amen.
[0:55] » Amen.
I aliance to the flag of the United
[1:00] States of America and to the republic
for which it stands. One nation under
[1:06] God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all.
[1:12] » Thank you. Thank you all very much.
[1:17] That was a vigorous pledge. Thank you.
>> Very good. Clerk will now call the role.
[1:23] » Council member John Dewin.
>> Yeah. Council member Lillian Fleming
[1:27] » here.
>> Council member Ken Gibson.
[1:29] » Council member Will Breington
>> here.
[1:32] » Council member Tina Belgi
>> here.
[1:34] » Council member Dorothy Dao
>> here.
[1:36] » Mayor Knox White
>> here. You have the minutes of August
[1:40] 10th, 2026, which will stand approved as
submitted. Unless there are any
[1:43] objections.
Seeing none, they are so approved. We
[1:48] have a few folks who signed up to speak
to council tonight. Uh we have a
[1:51] threeinut rule. So there's the clock on
the wall there. So, just keep an eye on
[1:55] that and I'll take comments at this
time. Uh, let's see. Elias Ryan.
[2:02] Yes, sir. Thank you.
Good afternoon, council. My name is
[2:07] Elias Ryan. I'm an electrician. I live
in the Pleasant Valley neighborhood on
[2:11] the south side of town. And today, I'm
addressing the council in regards to the
[2:16] ALPR camera system, uh, mostly most
commonly known as block cameras. Um, I'm
[2:21] here today to speak about two issues
primarily. One of them is the potential
[2:27] for abuse from this camera system that
our city employs and the other one is
[2:32] something that I've called tourism
vandalism. And I'll start with that
[2:37] because I think it's the more immediate
issue. Um the flock camera systems that
[2:43] the city uses are u they're not
difficult to find and people who are
[2:49] seeking to uh vandalize the cameras are
going to start uh taking action in the
[2:55] city to vandalize them um and other
public property. And I don't want to see
[3:00] that because I like for things to be
kind of orderly and clean. And you're
[3:05] seeing a movement, especially in bigger
cities, but it's trickling down into
[3:09] cities that are our size of people
coming from out of town or from in town,
[3:13] but a lot of people coming from out of
town uh with the intent to vandalize
[3:17] these security systems. And these
security systems are not well
[3:23] appreciated by uh by the public. Myself
and my neighbors don't appreciate the
[3:28] surveillance system that's in place. Um,
but there are people who are uh doing
[3:33] things other than coming to speak to
y'all about it that are going to cause a
[3:36] lot of problems for not just the the
security system, but also for public
[3:42] property around the security systems.
Um, and so I just wanted to bring that
[3:45] issue to y'all's attention because it's
not something I would have thought of,
[3:49] um, until I, uh, heard a news story
about it this week, uh, about somebody
[3:54] coming from out of town to a town in
Texas, uh, driving across state lines to
[3:59] vandalize these cameras. And so I think
that maintaining this sort of
[4:03] surveillance system acts as uh, the
creation of a target for vandals and
[4:08] criminals to do damage to them and to
other city infrastructure. The second
[4:12] part I wanted to speak to you about was
the potential for abuse from the flock
[4:17] camera system. The Greenville County uh
Sheriff's Office had to fire two
[4:21] employees uh over flock abuses, Richard
Man and Lorie Wilkinson. Uh Miss
[4:27] Wilkinson was a dispatcher, not an
officer. Uh nonetheless, they both
[4:31] abused the flock camera system and were
thus fired. Um the city of Greer had a
[4:36] flock abuse incident a few weeks ago and
uh just two or three days ago uh
[4:42] suspended their flock camera system for
90 days following this incident in
[4:46] incident of abuse. And then in the city
of Malden uh another officer used the
[4:51] flock camera system to flag her ex's
vehicle 166 times. Uh my wife lives in
[4:59] the city. I don't want her getting
flagged by someone 166 times who's
[5:03] feeling vindictive or crazy for some
reason. So, I just wanted to bring this
[5:06] to your attention today, hoping that you
would uh move forward to legislate the
[5:10] deactivation and removal of the flat
camera systems from the city.
[5:14] » Okay. Thank you,
Mr. Billy Taylor.
[5:22] » Billy Taylor. Um, mayor, council, thank
you for having me. Um, I want to speak
[5:29] tonight about the surveillance network
taking shape around us. ALPRs, facial
[5:33] recognition, phone GPS location data,
and private databases are not separate
[5:39] when they can be connected. I don't know
if you guys are aware, but Flock did a
[5:42] firmware update last week. Anybody know
what it does?
[5:46] » You guys should record.
>> You should know what it does. [laughter]
[5:49] So, together, they can build a detailed
record of our movements, our routines,
[5:52] and our associations. What happens? The
question is, what happens to a
[5:56] generation raised to believe that the
government recording their movements
[6:00] without individualized suspicion, a
warrant, or their consent is simply a
[6:04] normal part of leaving home? Researchers
have not yet measured the lifelong
[6:08] effects of this technology. That is
precisely the problem. We are building
[6:12] an environment first and asking what it
does to people afterwards. A generation,
[6:16] bless you, a generation may come to
accept the innocent people belong in a
[6:21] searchable database. Is that right?
Citizens and rather than government must
[6:26] now justify privacy. That's not who we
are. That's not America. A plate reader
[6:31] records where the vehicle was and when.
Facial recognition attaches an identity.
[6:36] Location data reveals routines and
associations. Each supplies what the
[6:40] others lack. It's called text stacking.
I work in cyber security. This issue is
[6:45] the power created when the they are
combined. And if we are one additional
[6:50] and if we have one additional dollar in
our law enforcement budget, shouldn't
[6:54] that money go toward crime prevention
instead of crime solution? I would say
[6:59] yes. Here's a great example. In
Colorado, Flock Colorado Flock cameras
[7:04] showed Croissa Elser's vehicle or a
vehicle vehicle that looked like hers
[7:08] passed through a town near the time of a
package theft. An officer then turned
[7:13] that coincidence into a conclusion. He
arrived with a summon already prepared.
[7:18] Called the case 100%
locked in airtight and and refused to
[7:24] hear the couple's evidence. He said that
she could not, and this is his quote,
[7:29] take a breath without the police knowing
it. Is that where we want to live? I'd
[7:34] say it's not. The c the uh camera
produced a lead the officer treated as
[7:39] proof. She spent weeks gathering records
to establish what our justice system
[7:44] should have presumed that she was
innocent. The police chief eventually
[7:48] voided a summon, but not without its
impact on her. See, for the government,
[7:53] that was an error. It was a search and
an interference, a a summon. For the
[7:57] citizen, she had to take time off. It
cost her money. It meant fear. It meant
[8:02] bullying from that police officer. It
meant her expenses that she will never
[8:05] recoup. She was in a position to do
that. Most people are not. So the
[8:10] efficiency belongs to the government and
the burden the cost of their error
[8:14] belongs to the citizen. I ask council to
pause further expansion and place a full
[8:19] public review on this agenda. Publish
the contracts policies sharing uh
[8:23] sharing relationships, access rules and
audit results require we need to require
[8:29] enforceable limits and independent
oversight before um adding cameras,
[8:33] vendors or uh integrations. Um these are
our roads. This is our city. The last
[8:38] thing I'd ask every member is, have any
of you met with any of these
[8:43] surveillance companies in the past or do
you plan to? Have you signed an NDA with
[8:47] them? Have you received any money from
them? And if you do or have, you should
[8:51] expose all that to us or let us all
know. Thanks a lot. Thank you very much.
[8:54] » Thank you, Billy.
>> Mr. Tim Simpson.
[9:06] » How's it going, guys? Uh good evening.
Uh my name is Tim Simpson and I'm a
[9:10] resident here in Greenville. Um and I
ask you I came to ask you guys to lead
[9:14] on something. Uh right now every trip
you take across Greenville gets logged
[9:18] by automated license plate readers which
several of the folks here have already
[9:21] spoken about. Um and fed into
algorithmic tracking and surveillance
[9:25] system into an algorith algorithmic
tracking and surveillance system that I
[9:29] and many others believe is a clear
violation of the fourth amendment. And
[9:33] this is why one photograph of my car
tells you not a whole lot. Um, but
[9:38] thousands of them stored and searchable
become a mosaic of my life. Uh, where I
[9:43] worship, who I visit, and when I see my
doctor. Courts call this the mosaic
[9:48] theory. Um, and the Supreme Court has
embraced its logic. It's held that
[9:52] tracking a person's movements over time
is a search that requires a warrant. uh
[9:57] because the these scattered points add
up to something that the government has
[10:00] no business assembling on people who are
accused of nothing. And like people have
[10:05] already mentioned here, we already know
that the system can be turned on
[10:08] ordinary people because it just was. Uh
this summer, five employees of three
[10:13] departments around our county were fired
for using these cameras to track people
[10:17] in their personal lives. They were using
the system for exactly what it's built
[10:21] to do. Pull up a searchable map of
everywhere a person's car has been. The
[10:26] only thing that made it abuse was who
they aimed it at. Uh and the very same
[10:30] cameras are running right now, released
by our own police department and logging
[10:35] every one of us and every one of you.
Just last week, Aone County showed
[10:40] showed us a way forward. Their county
council had voted to advance an
[10:44] ordinance that they call protection from
mass surveillance. Uh the chairman put
[10:48] it plainly. We have the constitution to
limit the government for a reason. The
[10:52] effectiveness of the tool doesn't
outweigh the citizens right to privacy.
[10:56] And right next door, Greer has paused
its own cameras program to take a
[11:00] careful look at it. Um the upstate here
is already moving with this and
[11:04] Greenville can and should help take the
lead on it. You guys don't have to wait
[11:09] for the legislature or county to act.
That authority is already here in this
[11:14] room with you, the people that we
elected. So, here's my ask in two parts.
[11:18] First, let's get these cameras off our
streets. Direct your staff to end the
[11:22] contract and take them down. Second, so
we just don't swap one company's cameras
[11:27] for another. Pass public rules that
apply to any system like this, whatever
[11:31] the brand, no tracking our movements
without a warrant, hard limits written
[11:35] into law, and a public vote before new
cameras go up. A system this powerful
[11:39] aimed at people accused of nothing has
no place in our city, no matter whose
[11:44] name is on it. I genuinely welcome the
chance to sit down with any of you,
[11:48] share what we've learned at Deflock
South Carolina, and be a resource
[11:51] however I can. You are trusted with this
with this authority for exactly these
[11:55] kinds of decisions, and I'm asking it to
use it. I'm asking you to use it to
[11:59] protect the people who gave it to you.
Thank you.
[12:01] » Okay. Thank you,
>> Mr. John Doron.
[12:12] » Hello, Mr. Mayor. Council members, good
evening. I am here to uh represent my
[12:17] client on uh docket item Z-4-2026.
Um we've been before you before. We are
[12:25] um wanting to just give a quick update
on some of the efforts. As you're aware,
[12:28] we've we are requesting reszoning of
this property to an industrial
[12:32] designation from a client. Um we have
tried to follow staff's recommendation
[12:38] which did support suggest support of
this. Um, we've gotten the first reading
[12:42] passed. Um, we have expended a lot of
effort with uh, economic development and
[12:48] I've talked with several of you to try
to understand where we are with this.
[12:52] Um, we have looked at no less than four
additional parcels
[12:57] for those efforts and we have not been
able to find anything uh, that's going
[13:00] to be suitable for the potential land
swap or sale, however that would need to
[13:05] work. So, we are asking for your support
tonight to uh provide a reasonzoning of
[13:10] this property to I or IG designation uh
allowing my client to um advance work in
[13:18] the same area which he lives and work
and has for many years and we hope we
[13:22] can gain your support tonight.
>> Okay. Thank you.
[13:25] » Thank you. writing. We have a couple
presentations tonight to make uh 8A
[13:33] contest.
[13:43] [laughter]
>> Hi, how are you?
[13:45] » Yeah, good to see you.
>> Good evening. Uh mayor, city council,
[13:49] excuse [clears throat] me. My name is
Josh McGee and I am a senior uh special
[13:53] events coordinator for parks,
recreation, and tourism department. It
[13:56] is my honor tonight to introduce you all
to Leon Franco. Leon is a 13-year-old
[14:02] powerhouse vocalist, musician, and stage
actor. And uh recently he's been taken
[14:07] the upstate by storm. Uh after first
captivating audiences in the musical
[14:13] theater debut in the South Carolina
Children's Theater production of Juni B.
[14:17] Jones, Leon has continued to shine on
other stages across the region. And this
[14:23] summer, he soared to new heights in the
city of Greenville as he was named the
[14:28] winner of the 2026 Give Me the Gig
Battle of the Bands competition.
[14:41] Leon is the youngest performer to ever
compete, let alone win the competition.
[14:46] Uh he beat out almost 20 other local
music acts uh to claim his spot as a
[14:52] performer at this year's concert series
in Noma Square. A student at Rudolph
[14:57] Gordon School, Leon is already
nationally recognized for his
[15:00] extraordinary vocal range, earning a
coveted spot among the top 14 singers in
[15:05] the nation at the National Association
of Teachers of Singing Competition.
[15:11] Leon star continues to rise with recent
honors such as being named Rookie of the
[15:16] Year for his showstopping performance as
Olaf in the Wildcat Players theatrical
[15:21] production of Frozen.
He's also selected by the South Carolina
[15:26] Children's Theater as a featured
performer at the 2026 American Alliance
[15:31] for Theater and Educational Awards
ceremony. It's amazing. Um, no. Up next
[15:37] on Horizon for Leon, he'll take center
stage as the lead role as James u in the
[15:42] South Carolina Children's Theat season
opening production of James and the
[15:46] Giant Peach. Um, and uh, like we
mentioned, the Give Me the Gig. We
[15:51] invite you all to join us this Thursday
at 5:30 p.m. in NMA Square as Leon takes
[15:56] the stage as and performs as the 2026
Give Me the Gig Competition winner.
[16:02] Please join me in a round of applause
for this impressive young man.
[16:17] » Go right ahead.
I would like to say thank you to the
[16:21] community and to the city council for
this opportunity in order for me to come
[16:26] here and
um be recognized here cuz this is a
[16:31] great opportunity. I love singing.
Singing is my passion. It's what I want
[16:35] to do with my life. And I'm so grateful
for everyone here, all you community
[16:40] members, and even everyone over here
because
[16:45] because this is just this is just a
dream. I never would ever think that
[16:49] this would happen to me in my life. So,
thank you guys so much.
[17:00] » We look forward to hearing him on
Thursday. You said this Thursday. Okay.
[17:04] You can overcome your shyness. I think
you'll really go far. But uh but
[17:08] congratulations.
Speaking of another shy person,
[17:13] Dave, I believe uh are you the one?
[17:20] » You want me to follow that? Huh?
>> All right.
[17:22] » Really?
>> I'm not that guy.
[17:24] » You guys have talent, too.
>> All right,
[17:28] we're going to start.
[17:36] Excellence is not an act, it's a habit.
It's in the name public works. We
[17:44] Excellence is not an act, it's a habit.
>> It's in the name public works. We
[17:48] [music] are here to help the public.
>> We just ensure we give the residents
[17:51] what they're paying for, the best
quality service we can give them. for
[17:54] 30,000 agencies that are in inside this
APWA [music] organization, about 300 of
[18:00] them are accredited, which means that
[music] puts us at the top 1%
[18:05] of the nation.
[music]
[18:11] We've always said we set the bar and now
we've proven it. All the divisions here,
[18:15] everybody at [music] public works works
together as one cohesive unit.
[18:18] » On a daily basis, I'm picking up roughly
[music] around 700 trash cans. Um, I
[18:24] call it if they ask me, I'm picking them
up, putting them down.
[18:26] » I look at the [music] parking garages as
kind of the gateway to our city.
[18:30] Greenville is a walk-in city, but before
you can walk it and experience it, you
[18:33] have to park your car first. So, we want
to provide a great experience to begin
[18:37] with.
>> Wastewater, we do a lot of investigating
[18:40] and [music] maintain all the city's
sewer systems.
[18:43] » Getting to know a lot of people, knowing
that you help them with their repairs,
[18:47] their inquiries, and all the maintenance
of their vehicles, making sure they're
[18:50] safe. Excellence specifically for us is
something that we we try to achieve
[18:54] every day. [music] It's something that
we try to repeat. We go out there, we
[18:57] give everything we have to make sure
that we're serving the community here uh
[19:02] over and over again. And that's one of
the reasons why this accreditation
[19:04] [music] is so uh great is because what
we did is we documented how well we did
[19:08] this so it's always something that we
can repeat every day.
[19:11] » Not only are we providing a place to
park, but you know, our maintenance
[19:14] [music] staff, they keep the garages
clean. It just makes it just a nice
[19:17] experience all the way around. It's
[music] things that people and citizens
[19:20] take for granted are the stuff that we
help maintain and keep in order and make
[19:25] sure that it's okay because if there was
no public works, I feel like the city
[19:28] and the community would notice it very
quickly.
[19:30] » Honestly, [music] it's different
experience every day and I love the
[19:34] people that I work with.
>> I really enjoy the crew that I work
[19:36] with. Face a lot of different challenges
every day and problem solve together and
[19:40] it's nice uh nice having people [music]
to learn from.
[19:43] » What I love most about what I do is
having the satisfaction that our city
[19:47] looking good. Um, we work hard at it. It
just shows the community also that,
[19:52] [music] you know, we're here for them
and and we just strive to be the best at
[19:55] what we do. [music]
[20:07] » Well, Mr. Mayor, council members, this
is a really special night tonight. I've
[20:12] been waiting 40 years to be up here in
my career, over 40 years to be able to
[20:17] talk about this. So, it's a crowning
achievement for me personally, but this
[20:22] is about the public works department
that we have in the city of Greenville.
[20:25] It's an amazing team. So, every one of
those team members, all of our
[20:31] supervisors and managers are here, but
this is no small achievement. As you
[20:36] heard James say, less than we're number
231 out of over 30,000 agencies in the
[20:43] country.
>> Okay, less than 1%
[20:50] have achieved this. The other two cities
I worked at, there was no way. I mean,
[20:54] they were just it's just too much work.
It's too hard and it takes too long. But
[20:59] we persevered and here we are tonight
celebrating this. So it it reflects our
[21:06] strengths, our perseverance and unity of
everyone involved, all the city
[21:11] employees. So Shannon, thank you
Brandon, Tara for your support getting
[21:16] us to this point. I know it's been a
challenge. Uh had a little bit of a
[21:21] segue there with our friend Helen coming
to visit. So, that was a challenge. But,
[21:26] » and I know I'm in the South, so I should
probably talk about the national
[21:28] championship, but I'm going to talk
about the Super Bowl because this is our
[21:33] Super Bowl.
>> Okay, this is the Super Bowl of public
[21:37] works. So, I'm truly blessed and
thankful to be the head coach of this
[21:43] all-star team. It's amazing. Okay, I I
can't thank enough. First, I'm going to
[21:49] start with my the guys in the white
shirts. All right, those are the
[21:53] managers of the divisions, the major
divisions. So, of course, deputy
[21:56] director Ben Carroll right there. Well,
I guess he's in a white shirt underneath
[22:00] the jacket.
>> Solid waste recycling manager Hal
[22:03] Crawford.
Uh, Bill Foster, our parking manager.
[22:09] Where's Brad? Brad's over there
somewhere. There's Brad Rice hiding back
[22:12] there. Our facilities manager. And then,
of course, our all-star fleet manager,
[22:17] Scott MacGyver.
Um, your commitment, patience, and
[22:22] leadership often happen behind the
scenes,
[22:26] but the impact is front and center.
You serve as the backbone of our team,
[22:31] guiding, mentoring, and encouraging all
of our team members to be the best each
[22:36] and every day.
We also have all of our supervisors over
[22:41] here in blue shirts, I think. So those
outstanding supervisors and team team
[22:47] members are all the heartbeat of this
city. As you saw in the video,
[22:52] yeah, we do a lot of it behind the
scenes. People don't know until we do
[22:57] something wrong or something happens,
then they call us, but they don't call
[23:02] us and tell us, you know, you did a
great job picking up my garbage today.
[23:05] But anyway, every challenge, every long
day has led to this and to our success
[23:10] today. I'm so proud of that. You guys
are the best and you are true champions.
[23:16] You deserve the Super Bowl.
But every Super Bowl has an MVP
[23:22] » and we have that MVP here with us
tonight. Jennifer Simpson is our
[23:27] business and finance administrator.
She's the reason we're here tonight. She
[23:32] put in hundreds of hours, nights and
weekends, dogged every one of these
[23:38] managers in the field, everybody until
we got every single one of our
[23:43] accreditation points done.
>> It's amazing. So, you raised the bar,
[23:48] set the tone, and inspired all of us.
Jeff, great job. Um
[24:00] and finally really together all of us
the whole city and the mayor council
[24:05] managers all the departments and of
course all the public works team members
[24:10] who all contributed to this. This is an
incredible outstanding achievement very
[24:15] rare. I can count on one hand how many
cities have an accredited police
[24:20] department, accredited fire department,
accredited public works department, and
[24:25] an accredited zoo. And hopefully we'll
have public work or parks and wreck next
[24:31] year. So, it's an incredible
achievement. We're really proud of it.
[24:36] So, congratulations to all of my team.
Let's celebrate. Let's [clears throat]
[24:40] carry this momentum forward and continue
to strive for excellence each and every
[24:44] day. Thank you.
[25:00] Good evening, mayor and members of city
council. First, I just want to say I'm
[25:04] so proud to work here and to be a part
of this team. It's it's a wonderful
[25:08] place to be. Tonight, I want to express
my deepest appreciation to the many
[25:11] individuals and departments who made our
APWA accreditation possible. This has
[25:16] been a long journey. Thank you to Helen.
And we could not have achieved this
[25:19] milestone without a remarkable team
behind us. I also want to extend a
[25:24] heartfelt thank you to the APWA members
from our local, state, and regional
[25:28] chapters who have joined us tonight to
mark this occasion. Your support,
[25:32] guidance, and partnership throughout
this process have meant so much to our
[25:35] team, and we are grateful to celebrate
this accomplishment with you.
[25:39] to the following individuals. Jana Sains
and Athena Miller with human resources,
[25:43] Christina Junker and Laura Marfield with
finance, Mike Svenelli with legal and
[25:48] Morgan and Mary Pate with risk, Joe
School meers and Mike Jan with IT and MJ
[25:53] Simpson and Beth Brotherton with
communications. Thank you for all your
[25:56] help developing policies and procedures
and for the time you took to out of your
[26:01] regular responsibilities to meet with
the evaluation team this May. Many other
[26:06] individuals throughout most of our city
departments were also instrumental in
[26:09] helping us put the necessary policies
and procedures in place. It truly takes
[26:13] a city to go through this process. A
special thank you also goes to Taylor
[26:17] Talbot and Pam Lambert for their
assistance with the technology and
[26:21] logistics during the evaluator visit in
May. Their behind-the-scenes support
[26:25] helped everything run smoothly. To all
of you, thank you. Your willingness to
[26:29] give your time, share your expertise,
and go the extra mile was tremendous
[26:33] difference.
Within public works, especially to me,
[26:37] our operations managers and
superintendents were invaluable. In
[26:40] addition to fulfilling their already
demanding responsibilities, they
[26:43] documented procedures, created manuals,
and captured institutional knowledge
[26:48] work that ensures we continue providing
exceptional service for years to come.
[26:53] If I have inadvertently left anyone off
this list tonight, please know that it
[26:56] was certainly not intentional. There
were countless people who contributed
[26:59] their time, knowledge, and support
throughout this journey, and we are
[27:02] sincerely grateful to every one of you.
And last, but certainly not least, thank
[27:07] you to our head coach, the Vince
Lombardi of Public Works, Dave Dar.
[27:11] Under Dave's leadership, we are inspired
to aim high, set the bar for excellence,
[27:16] and serve the residents, visitors, and
employees of the city of Greenville with
[27:20] pride and purpose. To everyone who
helped get us here, thank you. The
[27:24] accreditation belongs to all of us and
we are proud to serve alongside each of
[27:27] you.
[27:39] » Now I'd like to introduce a past
national APWA president, Mr. Bill
[27:44] Spearman, right from our own state of
South Carolina.
[27:47] » All right.
>> Thank you, Dave. Folks, mayor, council,
[27:52] staff, citizen,
it's with great pleasure that I'm with
[27:57] you tonight. I think the last time I
address council was probably in 1991
[28:01] when we were implementing a storm water
act.
[28:04] » This is by far more pleasant and I get
smiles today when what's the state doing
[28:11] to us? But regardless, so glad to be
here. You've heard a lot about this
[28:15] process.
You were evaluated on 241
[28:21] practices. Just think about it. Just
even having that many practices is
[28:25] remarkable. And it was done a peer
review. This is not people like me or
[28:31] others consultants coming in. These are
public works folks who understand these
[28:36] folks who every day and how hard it is
to do what they do every day. My mantra
[28:43] when I was president was the public
works because of public works. And think
[28:49] about it, Florida and other people like
to do is the first responder and that's
[28:53] very important. But that public works, I
mean, think about COVID. Think about the
[28:58] solid waste folks out working during CO.
>> They gave us a semblance of normality
[29:04] that we really needed. And then Helen,
who could have imagined [clears throat]
[29:09] that a storm like that would have that
impact? But you know what you guys did?
[29:14] You recognize them and let them lead the
parade.
[29:19] » Those quiet folks that don't get any
recognition, only notice when something
[29:24] goes wrong, but you've made them proud.
And today they're wearing an accredited
[29:30] seal on their chest that everyone will
be wearing. That's a sense of pride.
[29:35] That's a pride in their community. And
you've got a lot to be proud of in this
[29:39] community. My grandfather owned a house
off the Lounge Hill Road and I had two
[29:44] aunts that lived there years ago when I
was a toddler. Hard to believe, but we
[29:50] would ride the bus downtown to shop. You
know, think about Mayor Heler, Mayor
[29:56] Workman, you staff, Mayor Knox, what you
guys have done for this city. And you
[30:02] know, it's a perfect example of what you
have done in the public works
[30:06] department. You've made this a place
where people want to live
[30:10] » and you've supplied them. One of the
most impressive things I've ever seen in
[30:14] public works is when they move their
equipment from the old facility to the
[30:20] brand new facility. And I have to tell
you that new facility is the envy of
[30:26] everybody in the state and for most of
the country. and y'all invested in that
[30:31] and you gave them a place to be proud of
where they could do their work so much
[30:36] better. So, you know, and not only did
they have to do the 241,
[30:42] this peer review group also recognizes
other things that are done and they
[30:47] actually
saw seven practices that this public
[30:52] works department does that they're going
to put out there that maybe some other
[30:56] department needs to do this around the
country. So, you're leading the way
[30:59] there. You know, I'm very, very proud of
you. Very, very proud to say I've been
[31:04] in Greenville for many, many years and
loved what's going on here. But I also
[31:09] have to say one thing.
>> Yes.
[31:12] » Your coach
>> is in the Hall of Fame. Number of years
[31:17] ago, he was named as a top 10 public
works leader. So when you can see the
[31:23] leadership and I had the pleasure of
knowing this gentleman when he was in
[31:27] Florida and when you brought him here
gave him the opportunities. Oh, I said
[31:32] where is this place going to go? It's
only going to go up. So I and he's a
[31:36] symbol of staff just like he has
everywhere else. But so today I'm very
[31:41] very happy to present today
the black
[31:49] that signifies your entrance into the
accredited agency hall of
[32:21] There is nothing more to add than what
you said. Thank you so much for bringing
[32:24] that message. Uh thank you so much. We
are so proud of this department, proud
[32:29] of Dave, proud of all of his team. Just
words don't express though. You said it
[32:33] better than anyone else can. But uh I I
think her I'm glad you mentioned
[32:37] Hurricane Helen because the day-to-day
work that makes neighborhoods shine. It
[32:41] shows our commitment to neighborhoods.
It's all expressed by our commitment to
[32:44] public works. But boy, when Hurricane
Elaine came by, that wasn't a test. You
[32:49] know, do we have that kind of
organization and we passed that test in
[32:52] flying colors. Thank to public works and
everyone else in the city. So, thank you
[32:55] for bringing that up as well. Well,
we're proud of everyone, but thank you.
[32:59] And accreditation to all the all the
different teams. We'll have to play that
[33:03] as a team sport. Yeah.
>> Thank you so much. Okay, council.
[33:08] Getting back to our agenda now. We have
a we have a No, we have a public hearing
[33:10] first. We have one more. Yeah. Public
hearing.
[33:12] » Yes, sir.
>> We have a proposed 75% annexation method
[33:15] of property located on Woodruff Road,
Interstate 385, Smith Hines Road, Love
[33:20] Drive, and Praau Way.
[33:26] Right.
[33:30] » 75% annexation method um for various
properties off of Woodruff Road.
[33:36] Proposal is to bring them into the city
limits. Um so pursuant to state law,
[33:41] there are a couple of things that we
have to go through for this public
[33:44] hearing. So just going to go through
these slides and make sure we cover our
[33:47] bases. Um this item is relative to item
15F on your agenda. So, first reading
[33:54] later this evening. Um, the 30-day
public notice public hearing
[34:00] requirements requirements have been met.
Um, the petition exceeds the
[34:04] requirements with 84.6 of the property
owners signing petitions owning 97.6%
[34:11] of the assessed value in the annexation
area. We have provided a copy of the
[34:16] petition for public inspection with the
clerk's office and that's been available
[34:19] in their office for review. Um public
notice was properly provided to uh
[34:25] newspaper of general circulation in the
community. It's posted on the city's
[34:29] bulletin board and mailed notice was
provided to all required parties
[34:33] including taxpayers of record, chief
administrative officer of the county,
[34:38] public service and special purpose
districts for the area and all fire
[34:42] departments in the public in the
annexation area.
[34:46] The property description is available in
the lobby for review. another state law
[34:51] requirement have to have it here at the
meeting. Um then these next five maps
[34:55] show the annexation boundary. So um
various part portions of uh Woodruff
[35:02] Road um including the I85 interchange
visible here on the screen. Um if you
[35:08] want to go through these next couple of
maps just just focuses on different
[35:12] areas of the annexation territory um
including the Sam's Club property. Next
[35:17] slide. uh Maravan uh business and
distribution park.
[35:24] The southern end of Maravan is also on
this screen. Um got Smithhines Road,
[35:30] which is another bridge over I85 or 385,
excuse me, as well as Contender
[35:35] Development there at the southern tip.
We got the shops at Maravan Shopping
[35:40] Center, um which includes Dave's Hot
Chicken and several other businesses
[35:44] within that area. and then uh various
other properties along Woodruff Road as
[35:49] well. So um the proposed zoning on the
next map is a combination of BG, BH and
[35:56] EX which are zoning districts inside the
city of Greenville and um there's more
[36:01] details that we will go over for the
annexation as a part of the uh ordinance
[36:06] reading later this evening. So um
services to be provided by the city upon
[36:12] annexation um are single family duplex
triplex and residential weekly solid
[36:18] waste recycling collection and street
cleaning as well as other public work
[36:22] services. Um they will also be subject
to the city's jurisdiction for police
[36:26] and fire coverage. They'll receive
planning, permitting and engineering
[36:30] services and uh participate in municipal
elections.
[36:35] Here are the associated taxes and fees.
These properties are currently in tax
[36:40] district 790 and we'll move to tax
district 500 which is for the city of
[36:44] Greenville.
That mayor, I will turn it over to you
[36:48] to conduct the public hearing.
>> Okay. Thank you very much. This is the
[36:52] public hearing. So if anyone wishes to
speak on this matter, this is the time
[36:56] to do that.
Okay.
[37:01] All righty. So it concludes the public
hearing. Thank you.
[37:05] Now we are ready for the consent agenda.
Madame clerk.
[37:10] Have a motion and a second on the
consent agenda.
[37:13] » So moved.
>> Second.
[37:14] » Motion.
>> Second.
[37:18] » Did I hear it? Okay.
>> I said second. Sorry.
[37:20] » Okay. Clerk, call the role.
>> Council member Dewarkin.
[37:23] » Hi.
>> Council member Fleming.
[37:25] » Hi.
>> Council member Brazington.
[37:27] » Hi.
>> Council member Belgi.
[37:28] » Hi.
>> Council member Dao.
[37:30] » Hi.
>> Mayor White.
[37:31] » I. Okay. Regular agenda 14A,
>> an ordinance to reszone approximately
[37:38] 5.06 acres of real property located on
Fork Scholes Road from RHV to IG.
[37:48] » Okay. Is there a motion?
>> Motion. Is there a second?
[37:55] » No. Second.
>> Second.
[38:00] » You may have a second for discussion if
you discuss. Do we need discussion?
[38:06] » Okay,
go ahead.
[38:08] » Um,
so this is sort of an item that's come
[38:12] back to us a number of, well, not a
number of times, but we deferred at the
[38:16] last reading. And just as a recap, um,
this property was annexed from the
[38:22] county into the city a little over a
year ago, June of 2025. Mhm.
[38:27] » It sits at the at the perimeter of SCAG.
It was zoned residential in the county.
[38:37] We annexed it and zoned it residential
in the city, which is
[38:43] general procedure, right? A like for
like zoning. Um
[38:49] my understanding is while there was an
attempt to develop as residential,
[38:53] uh an unforeseen requirement by Riwa,
um caused that to be not feasibly
[39:00] possible.
>> This property is fully wooded.
[39:06] Uh it does have a slope to it. Mr. Deron
has done some great work in outlining
[39:11] that and I appreciate you being here.
Nonetheless, it does drain towards a
[39:18] creek
bed fed from Connesty Park.
[39:23] And it's it's really an issue of
philosophy for me and this is why I'm
[39:27] opposing it
that we annexed it in as residential and
[39:33] residential is a priority for the city.
We recognize we need more housing at all
[39:39] levels.
Residential won't work on it. Um, it
[39:44] could serve certainly to to serve our
green space priorities. It's full of
[39:49] wooded next to our cherished Connesty
Park.
[39:53] That doesn't work for the property
owner. And I understand the property
[39:56] owner has been everybody opens the
conversation with, he is delightful to
[40:00] work with, which believe me isn't
something we always hear. And I really
[40:04] appreciate hearing that over and over
consistently. Um when it came up for
[40:09] second reading, we tried to um find a
pathway forward to find another site for
[40:15] the property owner. He wanted to uh
develop it to park his um industrial
[40:21] vehicles on and and so our economic
development group has worked hand inand
[40:27] with him over time along with Mr. own to
try and find another site within the
[40:32] city zoned for such and that has not
been successful. So here we are. It is a
[40:40] parcel that I can't in good conscience
support reszoning to industrial from
[40:45] something that was annexed with the
intent of residential serving one of the
[40:49] city's priorities with the prospect of
being kept as green space which would
[40:54] also serve one of the city's priorities
but certainly not as a surface parking
[40:58] lot for industrial vehicles that would
discharge ultimately into this creek.
[41:04] Um, you know, I think everybody tried
really hard on it and I appreciate
[41:08] everyone's efforts. I know there are a
number of partners interested in
[41:13] purchasing the property from the owner
to preserve it. However, they like a
[41:17] city are limited to appraised value of
the property. Cannot pay a premium for
[41:23] that. So, that's, you know, that's a
decision point for the property owner.
[41:27] But because of those reasons, I will be
voting no tonight. But a a deep level of
[41:32] thanks not only to the business owner
but also to our staff that has worked
[41:36] very hard to to make this work for
everybody. We just couldn't get to it.
[41:41] » Any other any other comments?
>> I'll just add in um uh first of all John
[41:46] thank you so much for being here and
appreciate your client as well. Um I'm
[41:51] I'm of I'm always the I think everybody
on this dasis understands a lot of
[41:54] people out there know I'm always someone
that tries to get to yes and if you
[41:59] can't get to yes try to find an
alternative pathway to find a solution.
[42:06] Um and uh I you know I I'd love to just
see you know what other opportunities we
[42:13] have but I think we may have ended up
exhausting those. So [clears throat]
[42:17] it's it it I think for all of us up
here, we do try to find a pathway to yes
[42:21] or at least a pathway to an alternative
instead of saying no because I think
[42:28] we're just we all have the personalities
up here of especially with good good
[42:32] people. We have the personalities up
here of trying to find a pathway
[42:36] forward. Um I don't think we have found
one. Um so because of that I'll you know
[42:43] I I would love to defer but I don't
know. I think if you defer, I'm not sure
[42:47] we're going to get we might just end up
same place in a month that we are today.
[42:52] Um, so I'm I'm disappointed we couldn't
find a path forward with it. So
[42:57] » yeah, I was just going to echo the same.
I mean, we have our 2040 plan to go by.
[43:02] We have future land use. I mean for the
case of the exercise, like is there an
[43:08] ability to when something goes to be
annexed in the city look a little more
[43:12] critically at the flu and we have to go
by residential to residential or and
[43:17] also just for practice, why was the
original staff recommendation
[43:23] for for this if it doesn't quite fit
with the change?
[43:29] » So, a couple points there. Um it's
usually kind of a like forl like
[43:34] reasonzoning. It's not always the case.
>> Um for a lot of our annexed areas, there
[43:38] is no future land use map
recommendation.
[43:41] » So um we look at a variety of factors
kind of existing development patterns in
[43:45] the area, growth trends um as well as
some of those future um or some of those
[43:51] existing like major uses. um balancing
the nature preserve with um with the
[44:00] location at the end of the SCTAC runway
there. Um and so going through our
[44:06] analysis, the work that they would have
to go through with the aeronautics
[44:09] commission for eventual site approval.
Um staff did recommend approval.
[44:14] Planning commission supported that that
recommendation and um then there obvious
[44:20] concerns over reasonzoning to industrial
council. So
[44:24] » so maybe if it's not always having to be
like for like I don't know maybe we
[44:27] could do like a postmortem on this a
little bit and see how when something's
[44:31] annexed do we create an additional
parcel? I mean you have to I don't know
[44:36] if you have to adopt a whole new flu
every time a new parcel. can't do that.
[44:40] But, you know, something to just to make
sure we don't end up back in the same
[44:44] space. But I really appreciate staff's
work on this too and um council as well.
[44:49] » Okay. Any other questions? Okay. Well,
clerk will call the role.
[44:54] » Council member Dewarkin.
>> No.
[44:57] » Council member Fleming.
>> No.
[45:00] » Council member Brazington.
>> No.
[45:03] » Council member Belgi.
>> No.
[45:06] » Council member Dao.
>> No.
[45:08] Mayor White.
>> No. Okay. Thank you very much.
[45:13] Uh 15A,
new business. First reading.
[45:17] » An ordinance to appropriate 30 $38,98
in the miscellaneous grants fund for the
[45:23] FY2025
Edward Fern Memorial Justice Assistance
[45:27] Grant Program.
>> So move.
[45:29] » Second.
>> Motion second. Cl.
[45:33] » Council member Dwarkin.
>> I.
[45:35] » Council member Fleming.
>> Hi. Council member Brazington.
[45:38] » I,
>> Council Member Belgi.
[45:40] » Hi.
>> Council member Dao.
[45:41] » Hi.
>> Mayor White.
[45:43] » Hi.
>> Uh, 15B,
[45:46] » an ordinance to appropriate 8,279,571
[45:52] in the utility undergrounding fund for
the Augusta Street undergrounding phase
[45:56] 1 project. So moved.
>> Second.
[46:00] » In a second. Clerk, call the RO.
>> Council member Dearkin.
[46:04] » I.
>> Council member Fleming. Hi,
[46:06] » Council Member Brazington.
>> Hi,
[46:08] » Council Member Belgi.
>> Hi,
[46:10] » Council Member Dao.
>> Hi,
[46:12] » Mayor White.
>> Hi,
[46:15] » do want to make one comment. This is
certainly one of the most one of the
[46:17] more significant burial of
undergrounding we've done some time now.
[46:21] So, I'm pleased we're finally making
some progress on that on Augustus Road.
[46:25] So, thank you. 15C,
>> an ordinance to abandon a portion of
[46:30] rightway on Spartanberg Street AB3.
>> So moved.
[46:34] » Second.
[46:37] motion in a second.
>> Mr. Mayor. Yes. If you don't if you just
[46:42] uh allow me just a moment that uh I I do
think we um uh continue to uh need to
[46:49] look at this part. This is not
Spartanberg Street, but just this part
[46:53] of Stone A. We need to continue looking
at I'll I'll see manager I'll keep
[46:57] beating the drum of u continue need to
look at that section of stone a where
[47:02] it's you know 11 feet wide or 12 feet
wide and big old trucks going down
[47:07] there. So lots of solutions unrelated to
this but appreciate you and Clint
[47:12] continuing to look at seeing what we can
do there.
[47:15] » It might be harder than 14A to find a
solution. I don't know. Okay, clerk will
[47:20] call the role.
>> Council member Dwarkin
[47:22] » I. Council member Fleming.
>> Hi.
[47:24] » Council member Brazington.
>> Hi.
[47:26] » Council member Belgi.
>> Hi.
[47:28] » Council member D.
>> Hi.
[47:30] » Mayor White.
>> I.
[47:31] » 15D.
>> An ordinance to annex approximately 0.18
[47:36] acre of real property at 41 East Fifth
Street and 0.02 acre of adjacent rideway
[47:42] and to provide the zoning designation of
RNA.
[47:46] » So moved.
>> Second.
[47:48] » There's a piece of it on the edge of the
city. Okay.
[47:53] Clerk, call the role.
>> Council member Dwarkin.
[47:56] » Hi.
>> Council member Fleming.
[47:57] » Hi.
>> Council member Brazington. Hi.
[47:59] » Council member Belgi.
>> Hi.
[48:01] » Council member Dao.
>> I.
[48:03] » Mayor White.
>> I.
[48:05] » 15e.
an ordinance to annex approximately 0.51
[48:10] acre of real property at 200 Minus
Street and 202 Minus Street and 0.15
[48:17] acre of adjacent prop right ofway and to
provide the zoning designation of RNA.
[48:22] » So move second
>> motion in second call.
[48:27] » Council member Dwarkin
>> I.
[48:29] » Council member Fleming.
>> Hi.
[48:31] » Council member Brazington.
>> Hi.
[48:32] » Council member Belgi.
>> Hi.
[48:34] » Council member Dao.
>> Hi. Mayor White.
[48:37] » I 18
F.
[48:41] » An ordinance to annex approximately
87.46
[48:45] acres of real property and 47.60 acres
of adjacent rightway comprising the area
[48:51] partially commonly known as Maravan
Center uh etc. And this is AX212026.
[48:58] » So move
>> second. And I have a question.
[49:00] [clears throat]
>> Motion and second question.
[49:02] » A question. Can we get the aerial aerial
I'm sorry aerial view up, Michael? Okay.
[49:09] Question for you. When you look at the
Maravan Center area,
[49:15] the teeny tiny teeny tiny green dot in
the middle.
[49:20] Are you with me?
>> I see it.
[49:22] » What's the story there?
>> Is that a cell tower? Yeah. It's usually
[49:26] a cell tower or a billboard. This one.
>> So, it doesn't it doesn't count as being
[49:29] annexed in with everything else. So that
will stay in the that will stay in the
[49:32] county.
>> Well, I hope nothing goes wrong with it.
[49:36] » Mr. Mayor, I do have a question.
>> Yeah, go ahead. Uhu.
[49:38] » So, assuming this uh item passes council
momentarily, um sizable acreage wise,
[49:45] where does this fall in terms of
annexation considerations historically
[49:49] in the city of Greenville? It's a bigger
proposition. So this uh represents our
[49:54] largest annexation
um exceeding some of the other previous
[49:58] ones that we've done in recent years
including Cherryale um cemetery. Um so
[50:04] um this actually crosses us over the uh
two square mile mark since we really
[50:09] started focusing on annexation efforts
back in 2021. And that's a huge kudos to
[50:15] the whole planning team, city attorney's
office, um, city manager, uh, city
[50:20] council, um, and then all of our
departments that go in and provide
[50:24] permitting and public work services for
these annex territories. Um, so really
[50:29] pleased to be able to bring these to you
and then to be able to provide those
[50:33] services after the fact. I do want to
also, of course, recognize um, Austin
[50:37] Rutherford for all of his work in
particular.
[50:45] It's like the super super bowl of
annexations, right?
[50:49] » That would be true. Yes. That's right.
Thank you, Austin.
[50:52] » Wait a minute. Let Austin stand up.
>> I know. Austin, stand up, Austin.
[50:56] » All right. There you go.
>> Oh, come on.
[51:00] » Yeah. The people have have just worked
on him and just gave him pure age. Bless
[51:06] his heart.
>> And sometimes he brings us Sometimes he
[51:08] brings us like 0.25 25 and all that kind
of stuff, you know. So, this is really a
[51:13] » good work.
>> And this is the super
[51:15] » every little bit.
>> Yeah. Clerk will call the clerk will
[51:18] call the role.
>> Council member Dwarkin.
[51:21] » Hi.
>> Council member Fleming.
[51:23] » I.
>> Council member Braington.
[51:25] » Hi.
>> Council member Belgi.
[51:27] » Hi.
>> Council member Dao.
[51:29] » Hi.
>> Excuse me. Mayor White.
[51:31] » I.
>> Okay. Thank you very much. 15G. We got a
[51:35] few more annexations to do. an ordinance
to annex approximately 0.16 acre of real
[51:41] property at 101 Mason Street and to
provide the zoning designation of RNA.
[51:47] » Some moved.
>> Second.
[51:48] » Motion and second off traction. Okay.
Clerk, call the role.
[51:54] » Council member Dwerin.
>> Hi.
[51:56] » Council member Fleming.
>> I.
[51:58] » Council member Brazington.
>> Council member Belgi.
[52:01] » Hi.
>> Council member D.
[52:03] » I.
>> Mayor White.
[52:04] » Hi.
15H,
[52:08] » an ordinance to annex approximately 1.20
acres of real property at 111A street uh
[52:15] and the streets that are listed before
you and 0.36 acre of adjacent rightway
[52:21] and to provide the zoning designation of
RNA.
[52:23] » So moved.
>> Second.
[52:25] » Motion to second. Got your map on this
one to roll up.
[52:30] There we go. Yeah.
Tip ends. Mr. Clerk will call the role.
[52:35] Council member Dwerin.
>> Hi.
[52:37] » Council member Fleming. Hi.
>> Council member Brazington.
[52:40] » Hi.
>> Council member Belgi.
[52:42] » Hi.
>> Council member Dao.
[52:44] » I.
>> Mayor White.
[52:45] » I.
>> Okay. 15H.
[52:49] » An ordinance to annex approximately 0.11
acre of real property at 22 Draper
[52:54] Street and to provide the zoning
designation of RNXC.
[52:58] » So moved.
>> Second.
[53:00] » Motion and second.
>> [clears throat]
[53:04] » Clerk will call the role.
>> Council member Dwarkin.
[53:06] » Hi.
>> Council member Fleming.
[53:08] » Hi.
>> Council member Brazington.
[53:10] » Hi.
>> Council member Belgi.
[53:12] » Hi.
>> Council member Dao.
[53:13] » Hi.
>> Mayor White.
[53:15] » Hi. Okay.
[53:20] That it
reports. [laughter]
[53:25] » We're exhausted.
>> I know. But this is some more good news.
[53:28] So, if you can just give me a couple
more minutes, Mr. Mayor. I have several
[53:32] recognitions to share with you this
evening. First, I'd like to recognize
[53:36] our Green Link employee, Cat Morland,
and William Flake. And Cat's here with
[53:39] us tonight. Cat, who is Green Link's
finance and compliance administrator,
[53:44] was named to Mass Transit Magazine's
annual 40 under 40 list.
[53:49] » Congratulations.
[53:55] The list honors individuals in the mass
transit field who have shown the
[53:59] capacity for innovation, demonstrating
leadership and a commitment to making an
[54:03] impact in transit. Cat has 18 years of
experience in the transportation
[54:07] industry before joining the Green Link
team in August of 2025. She spent more
[54:12] than 13 years as senior associate
director of parking and transportation
[54:16] services at Clemson University. We're so
glad to have her here. Congratulations.
[54:21] » Nice. Next, William, who is Green Link's
transit projects coordinator, has been
[54:26] named the 2026 support staff of the year
urban system by the Transit Association
[54:31] of South Carolina for his extraordinary
impact on Greenville's transit system.
[54:36] In just two years, William has
accelerated ADA compliant bus stop
[54:40] upgrades, improved systemwide on-time
performance, modernized writer
[54:44] information tools, and introduced the
innovative afternoon in sync program
[54:49] that dramatically reduced
misconnections. So congratulations to
[54:53] William. Also,
[55:00] I also want to recognize the public
works department
[55:04] and specifically the solid waste team
who recently received two national
[55:09] recognitions for excellence in solid
waste management. Mhm.
[55:12] » First, the solid waste division received
the safety award for workplace wellness
[55:17] from the solid waste association of
North America recognizing its commitment
[55:21] to employee safety and well-being. A
large part of the award was based on our
[55:26] citywide wellness and safety programs.
In addition, the division received the
[55:31] Tim Mccclure award for outstanding
corporate leadership from the National
[55:35] Recycling Coalition, honoring its
leadership and measurable impact in
[55:39] recycling, organics management, and
advancing a circular economy. These
[55:44] awards recognize the dedication and
innovation of the public works
[55:47] department and its solid waste division
house here to highlight Greenville's
[55:51] commitment to workplace wellness,
sustainable resource management, and
[55:55] exceptional service to the community.
Congratulations to our solid works team.
[56:06] Mr. Mayor, I think we saw tonight just
what a great team of city employees that
[56:10] we have here and what they commit each
and every day to providing outstanding
[56:14] community and public service and I could
not be prouder to work with the amazing
[56:19] individuals that work for the city of
Greenville. So, thank you.
[56:22] » Awesome. They're proud. Thank you.
>> We agree. Um, if you don't mind, madame
[56:26] man, I want to recognize James Keel, uh,
hosted helped bring to South Carolina,
[56:31] excuse me, bring to Greenville, the
South Carolina Public Transportation
[56:35] Association
>> first time in Greenville they've ever
[56:39] met. So, that was a great thing. And
James is president, so they may have
[56:42] something to do with it. You know, we
appreciate that. It's an honor to speak
[56:45] to them. And, uh, Clint, where are you?
C, can you tell everybody about the
[56:48] conferences? We have one of the largest
conferences perhaps ever to be in
[56:52] Greenville.
>> Big deal.
[56:53] » And they're here now everywhere. And
it's a good story to hear in light of
[56:57] our new conf downtown conference center
we hope to build because this may be a
[57:00] little hint of the future to come. So
tell everybody what
[57:03] » Yes. So this is um hosting SE DOT is
hosting the Sashto conference. Uh it
[57:09] started last Friday, went through
through the weekend, lots of events and
[57:13] networking um activities and events and
that sort of thing. and it runs through
[57:17] Wednesday of this week, but it's um
essentially about 15 different state DOT
[57:22] organizations um throughout the southern
region of the United States. It actually
[57:27] extends out to Hawaii and Puerto Rico as
well. They're they're included. Um but
[57:31] uh a large number of DOT um agency
representatives are here as well as the
[57:37] consultants and contractor community. Uh
but somewhere between a,000 and 2,000
[57:41] people that are that are here um
visiting Greenville and we're getting so
[57:46] many compliments. Uh everybody's having
a great time enjoying things um and
[57:50] really getting out and seeing our
beautiful city. So,
[57:53] » and you heard that right, nearly 2,000
delegates here for this. They're meeting
[57:56] at the Bonsor Center, the Peace Center,
taking over, I believe, every hotel in
[58:00] downtown.
>> That's right.
[58:02] » Unprecedented. But just a hint of what
is what our future could look like.
[58:06] » Mr. Mayor, think about all those people,
not only the DOT personnel, but all the
[58:12] contractors and vendors, all those
people that have never been to
[58:16] Greenville before
>> and now they have, right? How many
[58:20] people have never been to Greenville and
now they've seen what Greenville is
[58:23] about? That's a big deal.
>> Talk to probably five people today says,
[58:26] "I I've never been to Greenville. It's a
beautiful city. Y'all are doing great
[58:29] things here." It's a whole southeast.
It's Texas and Arkansas all the way to
[58:32] West Virginia and
>> Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama,
[58:36] Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, North
Carolina, South Carolina.
[58:39] » I sent Clint a little note yesterday
because I did a little welcome to one of
[58:42] the dresses. Basically, what are you
where are you? What are you up to? And
[58:45] he said just what we said networking,
[laughter]
[58:49] » whatever that means. Okay.
>> It's been good though. And they're
[58:52] they're having a great time. So, and
thank you for your help with this,
[58:55] mayor.
>> Okay. We look forward to the national
[58:57] public transportation group coming here
too, James, in the future as well. We
[59:01] get that group. Thank you very much, C.