1 00:00:01,540 --> 00:00:13,260 Let's bring the City Council meeting to order. We're going to stand for a moment of silence, and we'll be led by a pledge. 2 00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:31,920 Amen. 3 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:50,680 We 4 00:00:56,470 --> 00:01:01,490 have item three approval of the menace for the July 27th, 20th, 20th, 26th City Council meeting. 5 00:01:02,190 --> 00:01:02,670 Second. 6 00:01:02,670 --> 00:01:09,490 All in favor any that oppose as have item four approve of the agenda for the August 10th 7 00:01:09,490 --> 00:01:11,670 2026 City Council meeting 8 00:01:12,790 --> 00:01:19,150 Second all in favor any other pose. I just have it item five. We have public comment 9 00:01:19,150 --> 00:01:27,750 Well, I do have two here in the way it works. You have two minutes after you come up and give us your four name and 10 00:01:27,750 --> 00:01:32,910 And, um, Christie Lindsay will start the clock out that you give us your full name. 11 00:01:33,150 --> 00:01:36,330 So we're going to start off with Sam Bakkerin. 12 00:01:36,670 --> 00:01:39,740 Come on up, Sam. 13 00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:40,480 Good. 14 00:01:48,130 --> 00:01:48,850 You can do sitting cancel. 15 00:01:48,870 --> 00:01:49,950 My name is Sam Bakurin. 16 00:01:50,170 --> 00:01:52,490 I live at 177 Peer Park. 17 00:01:53,710 --> 00:01:54,290 I'm sorry. 18 00:01:54,430 --> 00:01:54,850 I'm sorry. 19 00:01:55,250 --> 00:01:56,350 Say your name again, Sam. 20 00:01:56,350 --> 00:01:56,970 Last name. 21 00:01:57,270 --> 00:01:58,630 My name is Sam Bakurin. 22 00:01:59,110 --> 00:01:59,550 Bakurin. 23 00:01:59,850 --> 00:02:00,270 Thank you. 24 00:02:00,370 --> 00:02:00,510 Yeah. 25 00:02:01,790 --> 00:02:04,830 I live at 177 Peer Park Avenue here in Spartanburg. 26 00:02:05,990 --> 00:02:13,750 I am on the, I just wanted to voice my kind of support for the transportation plan and just kind of want to talk about a few things I'd like to see in it. 27 00:02:14,350 --> 00:02:30,610 Namely the, I hope to see in the plan a protected bike lane for the Magnolia Street bike lane that street kind of parallels church street and kind of connects the north side to downtown. 28 00:02:30,610 --> 00:02:36,070 and it would enable people to get downtown and connect north side to downtown a lot easier. 29 00:02:36,850 --> 00:02:38,210 So hopefully I like to see that. 30 00:02:39,370 --> 00:02:43,510 You know, Spartanburg has a really well-developed bike and trail system already 31 00:02:43,510 --> 00:02:46,230 and it's really exciting to see it being developed. 32 00:02:46,410 --> 00:02:50,590 I myself am on the bike and pedestrian committee so I'm trying to do my part 33 00:02:50,590 --> 00:02:52,670 to help improve that little by little. 34 00:02:52,970 --> 00:02:58,890 I just wanted to just kind of say thank you to the city for doing a good job so far 35 00:02:58,890 --> 00:02:59,990 I'd like to see it improve. 36 00:03:00,790 --> 00:03:05,610 I'd also like to see more connections to major shopping centers 37 00:03:05,610 --> 00:03:07,630 both from the east and west side of the city. 38 00:03:08,150 --> 00:03:12,330 Right now, it's kind of lacking if you want to go to the east side Walmart 39 00:03:12,890 --> 00:03:16,990 or maybe the public's over there, the Aldi, same for the west side. 40 00:03:17,130 --> 00:03:20,770 So hopefully they can prioritize that kind of connection in the future. 41 00:03:21,870 --> 00:03:22,470 But yeah. 42 00:03:23,070 --> 00:03:23,450 Thank you. 43 00:03:23,730 --> 00:03:24,510 Sam, thank you. 44 00:03:24,630 --> 00:03:25,890 I do apologize on your name. 45 00:03:26,230 --> 00:03:26,990 Thank you. 46 00:03:29,990 --> 00:03:30,950 Livingston Hawkins. 47 00:03:36,930 --> 00:03:43,610 Hello, City Council. My name is Liv Hawkins of City Council District 6. I'm the chair of the Bicycle Investory and Committee also 48 00:03:44,450 --> 00:03:47,590 One of the youngest members, which is really cool to get to chair it 49 00:03:47,590 --> 00:03:51,470 But I also want to speak about transportation about biking in Spartanburg 50 00:03:52,030 --> 00:03:57,610 Once again, I spoke at a comment not that long ago about the East Main bike lane. I want to once again reiterate I 51 00:03:58,330 --> 00:04:02,030 Love it. I really hope to see protection in a future phase of it 52 00:04:02,030 --> 00:04:07,690 but I really love it. And I was biking to Strong Town, Spartanburg, our meeting at 53 00:04:07,690 --> 00:04:13,830 Fretwell the other month. And I used the Magnolia Street bike lane as I'm leaving my apartment 54 00:04:13,830 --> 00:04:19,670 to get over there. And then I get on East Main. And those are just night and day because with 55 00:04:19,670 --> 00:04:25,210 the configuration of the Magnolia Street one, you are in the door zone in front of the courthouse 56 00:04:25,210 --> 00:04:31,210 versus that parking protection of East Main. You really feel the difference. So I want to provide 57 00:04:31,210 --> 00:04:36,490 that feedback as someone who rides their bike all over the city that whenever we take another 58 00:04:36,490 --> 00:04:42,070 look at Magnolia and as we look at other corridors within the downhound transportation plan 59 00:04:42,070 --> 00:04:48,490 and the penny projects, I hope to see more protected bike lanes but even as a cost-effective measure 60 00:04:48,490 --> 00:04:53,550 parking protected bike lanes like East Main because I think it's been really gray and that allows 61 00:04:53,550 --> 00:04:59,150 me to get the fret weld, it allows me to go see my sister who works at Converse, I brought her a 62 00:04:59,150 --> 00:05:14,970 coffee the other day, because they're getting ready to move in right now, so I was able to bring her that and I used the Eastman bike lane to do so, so I really appreciate all the work we've been doing as a city, and I hope as the Chair of the Bike Pet Committee to continue to be a citizen that's involved in that. Thank you. 63 00:05:14,970 --> 00:05:16,830 Thank you I 64 00:05:20,290 --> 00:05:24,030 said that concludes the public comments item six we have ordinance 65 00:05:24,030 --> 00:05:32,590 Hey an ordinance to authorize the city manager to execute an agreement for the transfer of scatter site properties located in holly and neighborhood 66 00:05:33,190 --> 00:05:34,250 First reading 67 00:05:34,910 --> 00:05:38,230 Mr. Livingston community development director 68 00:05:38,950 --> 00:05:47,230 Good evening, Mr. Mayor members of council staff is requesting approval of transfer of one vacant lot to 69 00:05:47,230 --> 00:05:55,050 You have tat for humanities, a lot is located in the Highland neighborhood, consistent with the Highland Transformation Plan. 70 00:05:55,710 --> 00:05:58,530 Habitat will be building nine homes in the community. 71 00:05:59,590 --> 00:06:02,890 They already have eight lots of study construction. 72 00:06:03,090 --> 00:06:08,170 One house completed that, a start construction on their second house and working on that. 73 00:06:08,910 --> 00:06:12,530 And so this will be their third house before they move on to the other properties. 74 00:06:13,490 --> 00:06:22,430 This slide is located at 457 Bethlehem Drive and they intend to build a 4-bedroom home for a large family. 75 00:06:22,890 --> 00:06:26,790 There's a floor plan in front elevation of what the home would look like. 76 00:06:27,230 --> 00:06:34,110 This is a mock-up and they may have another design that they choose but this is one example of a 4-bedroom plan. 77 00:06:35,190 --> 00:06:38,830 The slide is located on the corner of Westover and Bethlehem Drive. 78 00:06:38,830 --> 00:06:46,610 So by 0.23 acres and here are the other two lots construction have started on these two 79 00:06:46,610 --> 00:06:51,510 lots in Bethlehem Drive and then the other six lots are located on the corner of Bethlehem, 80 00:06:51,710 --> 00:06:56,110 Norris and Highland Avenue now I'll answer any questions you may have. 81 00:06:57,210 --> 00:07:05,350 Martin how many homes currently do do they have oh I mean that better so one is completed 82 00:07:05,350 --> 00:07:06,990 and one is under construction okay. 83 00:07:06,990 --> 00:07:12,000 In total throughout the city, how many do they have, you know? 84 00:07:12,260 --> 00:07:13,500 Oh, I don't know. 85 00:07:13,580 --> 00:07:16,020 I know they're scattered throughout the city. 86 00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:18,960 They have some on North Forest. 87 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:21,640 Probably about six. 88 00:07:21,860 --> 00:07:24,300 They have a few others in the north side area. 89 00:07:24,640 --> 00:07:27,540 They've built a couple of blocks along the way. 90 00:07:27,800 --> 00:07:31,200 We will have a presentation from the Raymond Davis, 91 00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:33,780 who was the executive director of Habitat. 92 00:07:34,220 --> 00:07:37,160 He should be here on August 24th Council meeting 93 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:37,780 to present. 94 00:07:37,780 --> 00:07:43,460 a little bit more beyond just hollering what their work is in Spurnberg County. 95 00:07:45,740 --> 00:07:50,020 Any other questions in the table? 96 00:07:52,300 --> 00:07:57,240 I heard a second before you finish. 97 00:07:57,700 --> 00:07:58,840 You want to reiterate? 98 00:07:59,740 --> 00:08:00,940 Re-iterrate? 99 00:08:01,340 --> 00:08:02,080 Council with Sally? 100 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:03,940 Second? 101 00:08:05,380 --> 00:08:12,120 and all in favor? Any that opposed? I just have it. Thank you, Mr. Livingston. Thank you. 102 00:08:12,820 --> 00:08:19,980 Downtown Transportation Plan Update, Fred and Frazier, planning director. She's walking a little 103 00:08:19,980 --> 00:08:24,260 gingerly. My impersonation of Hop-A-Long Cassidy? 104 00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:35,820 So I'm not the presenter, first of all, good evening and council members. 105 00:08:36,540 --> 00:08:40,920 Tonight we're going to give you an update on the transportation plan. 106 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:43,240 This area is actually focused on downtown. 107 00:08:43,360 --> 00:08:47,020 So we're really focused on the downtown core and not beyond. 108 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:51,020 But we will take into consideration the comments from the bike pad committee. 109 00:08:51,020 --> 00:08:57,100 In fact, this plan came before you back in February 2024, right before I came on board. 110 00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:04,640 We have had several meetings with SCDOT to really get their opinion on some of these 111 00:09:04,640 --> 00:09:07,540 really significant big moves that require their input. 112 00:09:07,880 --> 00:09:12,040 I would say for the most part, they've been very cooperative and have signed off on some 113 00:09:12,040 --> 00:09:12,420 of those. 114 00:09:12,760 --> 00:09:15,760 There are others that are going to require some additional work with them. 115 00:09:15,760 --> 00:09:17,680 but Ernie is here. 116 00:09:17,980 --> 00:09:20,340 Ernie Bowman is here to present the full plan. 117 00:09:20,460 --> 00:09:22,260 They are the consultants that worked on it. 118 00:09:22,820 --> 00:09:25,320 But in addition to our meetings with SCDOT 119 00:09:25,320 --> 00:09:27,460 that occurred over the past several months, 120 00:09:27,640 --> 00:09:29,260 we've also met and had the opportunity 121 00:09:29,260 --> 00:09:30,900 to meet with the bike-ped committee. 122 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:34,120 Just for them to present the work that they have done, 123 00:09:34,120 --> 00:09:37,040 and I must say they've done a significant amount of work 124 00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:40,840 on their own to assess problem areas in the downtown. 125 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:44,640 And we're glad to see the majority of their recommendations 126 00:09:44,640 --> 00:09:48,880 questions aligned with recommendations that are already in the plan and is live mentioned. 127 00:09:49,220 --> 00:09:54,600 There are some other ones that we do need to work on, but we're kind of in sync there in terms of their recommendations. 128 00:09:54,860 --> 00:10:06,620 I'll turn it over to Ernie rather than holding up the rest of the time here, but both, I think Jay's here, but I'm here from a staff perspective to answer any questions in addition to what you may have for Ernie. 129 00:10:14,120 --> 00:10:16,580 Good evening, Mr. Mayor, members of Council. 130 00:10:17,320 --> 00:10:17,980 Good to see you, Arnie. 131 00:10:18,220 --> 00:10:19,260 It's good to be here. 132 00:10:19,660 --> 00:10:20,620 It's been a minute. 133 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:22,260 So it's good to be here. 134 00:10:22,700 --> 00:10:25,720 Thank you for this opportunity to provide an update on the 135 00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:27,840 Spartanburg Downtown Transportation Plan. 136 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:31,160 On behalf of Tool Design, the company that I work for 137 00:10:31,160 --> 00:10:34,600 and our partner, Modern Mobility, it's been our pleasure 138 00:10:34,600 --> 00:10:38,160 to work with the city of Spartanburg, Spartanburg County and Spats 139 00:10:38,160 --> 00:10:41,780 on this important project in my hometown, 140 00:10:41,780 --> 00:10:44,360 which it always makes me proud to be able to work here. 141 00:10:45,660 --> 00:10:48,220 Let's see here. I'll move on here to the next slide. 142 00:10:48,980 --> 00:10:52,960 Our study area is historically, it's the historic downtown area, 143 00:10:53,080 --> 00:10:55,100 what we think of historically. It's bounded by 144 00:10:55,620 --> 00:10:57,840 Daniel Morgan Avenue to the west and the north, 145 00:10:58,600 --> 00:11:02,260 Henry Street to the south, and Pine Street to the east. 146 00:11:04,510 --> 00:11:07,230 The study was guided by these five principles. 147 00:11:07,670 --> 00:11:11,310 They focus on improving mobility and safety for all modes, 148 00:11:11,310 --> 00:11:14,990 in particular for vulnerable modes like bicycling and walking. 149 00:11:16,010 --> 00:11:21,650 They also are, they look to be efficient with the infrastructure that we have in place already, 150 00:11:21,870 --> 00:11:27,270 and also to produce realistic, affordable, and implementable solutions. 151 00:11:28,630 --> 00:11:31,810 The project followed a systematic planning process, 152 00:11:32,290 --> 00:11:36,530 and I'm pleased to say that you now have a draft final plan in your packet, 153 00:11:36,710 --> 00:11:39,930 which you received earlier, and that's there for your review. 154 00:11:39,930 --> 00:11:40,930 our 155 00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:47,800 technical analyses and public outreach found that intersections in the 156 00:11:47,800 --> 00:11:53,480 downtown currently perform well for motorists. So I will we do have that 157 00:11:53,480 --> 00:11:58,580 underlined congestion does occur in the downtown but it's primarily during 158 00:11:58,580 --> 00:12:04,720 commuting hours and on commuting corridors so that congestion tends to be in 159 00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:09,860 smaller increments but downtown does have room for the growth that we're 160 00:12:09,860 --> 00:12:14,840 experiencing, which is a really good news, as well as adding infrastructure and strategies 161 00:12:15,180 --> 00:12:18,820 that will improve walkability and bicycling in the downtown. 162 00:12:21,400 --> 00:12:26,580 Our recommendations fall into five primary categories, and I want to say I'll reiterate 163 00:12:26,580 --> 00:12:31,420 what Fredlyn just said that the recommendations do duct-held well with the work that the 164 00:12:31,420 --> 00:12:37,180 BITE PED committee has been recently doing, and they also address concerns that we heard 165 00:12:37,180 --> 00:12:39,480 from you folks on Council as well as the public. 166 00:12:40,340 --> 00:12:45,660 In your package, you also received a table that outlines Council's prior comments and 167 00:12:45,660 --> 00:12:47,600 how they are addressed in the plan. 168 00:12:48,700 --> 00:12:54,620 Within the limits of the scope of the plan, many of the recommendations directly address 169 00:12:54,620 --> 00:12:55,440 your concerns. 170 00:12:56,040 --> 00:13:02,420 Your areas of concerns were previously centered on key corridors, corridors like Main Street, 171 00:13:02,740 --> 00:13:04,000 Church Street and Pine Street. 172 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:10,300 also you had a desire to slow vehicular traffic and improve pedestrian and 173 00:13:10,300 --> 00:13:16,080 motorist safety, as well as safety of all modes. Because of the guiding 174 00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:21,300 principles of the plan that I just showed you, we balanced that balance to 175 00:13:21,300 --> 00:13:27,820 high priority on balancing the modes and increasing safety. So recommendations in 176 00:13:27,820 --> 00:13:32,900 this plan directly and indirectly address counsel and public comments 177 00:13:32,900 --> 00:13:40,100 including affirming and incorporating specific quarter recommendations from prior planning documents, 178 00:13:40,680 --> 00:13:46,760 which is always important, like the safety action plan that was done for the entire county and the city's comprehensive plan. 179 00:13:47,420 --> 00:13:54,820 We've also established what we call character, corridor overlays, and I will speak to those a little bit more in a moment. 180 00:13:54,820 --> 00:13:59,800 We also have site-specific recommendations at critical intersections along Main Street, 181 00:14:00,180 --> 00:14:03,540 Church Street, Pine Street, and Converse Street. 182 00:14:04,460 --> 00:14:07,220 So let me show you those character corridors that I just mentioned. 183 00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:13,820 These have been established as ways to identify the character of the streets 184 00:14:13,820 --> 00:14:15,220 and how they should be developed. 185 00:14:15,940 --> 00:14:21,160 So primary character corridors are what we kind of refer to as the front of house in downtown. 186 00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:37,200 So these have an elevated pedestrian focus, they strengthen the street wall, and they also minimize the number of curb cuts along them to begin to prevent accidents, and also to keep bicyclists and pedestrians more safe. 187 00:14:38,140 --> 00:14:48,240 The secondary corridors are more back of house. This is where we expect the service functions of downtown to occur, but they still should be walkable streets. 188 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:50,740 and this is where primary, primary, 189 00:14:50,980 --> 00:14:53,800 primary vehicular access would occur. 190 00:14:57,440 --> 00:14:59,940 We have a group of site-specific records. 191 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:29,980 Commendations, as you can see here on the map, and you can tell by the color coding that these have been broken into three implementation phases or periods. We have the short term, which is zero to three years, and we're going to look at those in more detail in just a moment. These are the recommendations that will keep the momentum going downtown. They will resolve immediate issues, and they will ensure continued success. The midterm recommendations are in the three to set. 192 00:15:29,980 --> 00:15:34,820 period, there's not an immediate need for these recommendations, but we should 193 00:15:34,820 --> 00:15:39,220 begin coordination on them now to ensure that they can be implemented in that 194 00:15:39,220 --> 00:15:43,940 timeframe. And then we have the long-term implementation period of eight to 195 00:15:43,940 --> 00:15:48,360 15 years. These are forward-looking recommendations that meet the needs of 196 00:15:48,360 --> 00:15:56,400 downtown for many years to come. So as promised, here's a blow-up or a zoom-in of 197 00:15:56,400 --> 00:16:03,740 the short term recommendations and I hope you can see those letters on there. I know 198 00:16:03,740 --> 00:16:08,340 almost grain I'm looking at I've got them a little small but I'll go through them rather 199 00:16:08,340 --> 00:16:14,600 quickly just for the sake of time. A and B on here is the closure of Dunbar Street and 200 00:16:14,600 --> 00:16:19,620 Main Street through Morgan Square which is part of the Morgan Square redevelopment project. 201 00:16:20,120 --> 00:16:25,220 Those were tested as part of this plan and they do work fine within the Transportation 202 00:16:25,220 --> 00:16:27,860 network to have those segments closed. 203 00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:33,080 Item C that you see on there is to add a dedicated pedestrian phase 204 00:16:33,080 --> 00:16:36,300 at Church Street and Main Street. And what that means is 205 00:16:36,300 --> 00:16:41,440 that's the core intersection in downtown where we have a lot of foot traffic. 206 00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:46,100 And so what we have talked to SCDOT about and what they greatly support 207 00:16:46,100 --> 00:16:48,900 and actually say could be implemented immediately 208 00:16:48,900 --> 00:16:54,580 is adding a phase to that signal where all traffic and all direction stops 209 00:16:54,580 --> 00:17:00,200 and pedestrians with the only people crossing that intersection during that time. 210 00:17:00,640 --> 00:17:05,380 That would not eliminate the ability to still cross during a green light as well. 211 00:17:05,760 --> 00:17:08,600 So it just increases the ability to cross that intersection. 212 00:17:09,900 --> 00:17:17,300 Item D that you see up there is to replace the northbound left turn lane on church street 213 00:17:17,300 --> 00:17:23,860 as it approaches Main Street and this is the turn lane that previously you would have turned into Morgan Square on. 214 00:17:23,860 --> 00:17:30,220 on. So that lane has been closed for a number of years now, so it could be repurposed as a planted 215 00:17:30,220 --> 00:17:35,660 median with a pedestrian refuge island that would not only beautify that area, but it was slow 216 00:17:35,660 --> 00:17:44,440 traffic and give pedestrians better safety as well. Item E is to convert Dunbar Street to stop 217 00:17:44,440 --> 00:17:50,820 control right now. There's a traffic signal at Dunbar and Church Street, but we'd turn that into a 218 00:17:50,820 --> 00:17:58,780 stop sign and it would be right turn only off of Dunbar on to church, excuse me, which 219 00:17:58,780 --> 00:18:04,700 would reduce traffic conflicts in that area where the intersections are rather close to 220 00:18:04,700 --> 00:18:13,320 one another. Item F is to convert that crosswalk right there at Dunbar Street across church 221 00:18:13,320 --> 00:18:19,800 street into a midblock crossing because obviously the signal would now be gone so we would need 222 00:18:19,800 --> 00:18:27,620 a midblock crossing there with a planted median and pedestrian refuge as well. Item G which 223 00:18:27,620 --> 00:18:33,340 is not pictured here, it's a little north on Church Street of this picture but it's to add 224 00:18:33,340 --> 00:18:39,140 one or more midblock crossings between St. John Street and Daniel Morgan Avenue. So this is the 225 00:18:39,140 --> 00:18:47,840 stretch kind of between the Marriott and St. John Street which is a very long block and we really need 226 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:53,340 to provide pedestrians the ability to cross other than at the signals because it's unlikely 227 00:18:53,340 --> 00:18:57,720 people are going to walk that far if they want to cross that street in those areas. 228 00:18:58,900 --> 00:19:05,480 And then we have item H, that is to add a raised midblock crossing on Dunbar Street. 229 00:19:06,100 --> 00:19:11,680 So you can see it here, there's a midblock crossing on Dunbar Street right now to the garage. 230 00:19:12,460 --> 00:19:17,320 basically just raised that to a tabled intersection in that area just a slow 231 00:19:17,320 --> 00:19:22,440 traffic on Dunbar Street for that crossing and then the last one item I is not 232 00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:26,860 pictured either it's just off to the right of the slide but it's to add a 233 00:19:26,860 --> 00:19:31,620 three-way stop at Liberty Street and Main Street which right now has 234 00:19:31,620 --> 00:19:37,620 crosswalks at it but the traffic on Main Street never has to stop and rarely do 235 00:19:37,620 --> 00:19:42,620 they stop for pedestrians there. So it would be a pedestrian safety measure just to turn 236 00:19:42,620 --> 00:19:47,020 that into a three-way stop. And it would only need to be three-way because Liberty Street 237 00:19:47,020 --> 00:19:48,380 is a one-way street. 238 00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:56,980 And then I just want to thank you for your time this evening. You 239 00:19:56,980 --> 00:20:05,460 will have a few weeks to review the plan document, but I am happy to attempt to answer any questions 240 00:20:05,460 --> 00:20:06,520 that you have right now. 241 00:20:07,980 --> 00:20:09,100 Good questions. 242 00:20:10,180 --> 00:20:11,580 Mr. Mayor, I have a couple. 243 00:20:12,560 --> 00:20:14,340 Ernie, thank you for this. 244 00:20:14,540 --> 00:20:16,140 And I look forward to reviewing it. 245 00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:18,900 I did notice, just in a quick skin, 246 00:20:19,940 --> 00:20:22,020 that a couple of the concerns, 247 00:20:22,740 --> 00:20:25,620 or one of the concerns that I had raised previously 248 00:20:26,400 --> 00:20:29,840 about the need for refinement of the main street, 249 00:20:29,840 --> 00:20:37,380 Converse Street or bike lane where I've seen multiple vehicles either cross 250 00:20:37,380 --> 00:20:44,260 into the to the median treatment that's there or cross over it and so I think 251 00:20:44,260 --> 00:20:50,180 given the call I would love to see that moved into a more short-term phase 252 00:20:50,180 --> 00:20:56,220 because that is already there and it needs to be refined just because it's in 253 00:20:56,220 --> 00:21:03,360 use currently, and so I would think, particularly given a relatively minimal cost, because I think 254 00:21:03,360 --> 00:21:07,440 something bad could happen there if we don't account for it. 255 00:21:08,120 --> 00:21:14,100 The other thing that I've actually saw this today, when we've talked about it previously, 256 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:20,700 I've expressed some concerns about the width of the bicycle lanes that are put in as part 257 00:21:20,700 --> 00:21:28,540 of the day in downtown including Morgan Square. I mean I know Kennedy Street and I think 258 00:21:28,540 --> 00:21:34,940 it is so wide that it lends itself to confusion for vehicular traffic sometime and I saw 259 00:21:34,940 --> 00:21:43,080 a lady drive down the bike lane on Kennedy Street just about an hour ago. She turned 260 00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:47,800 and I don't know if she got confused. So given the fact that they're already wide we need 261 00:21:47,800 --> 00:21:53,100 to look at and think about putting some dollars or something, you know, at those intersections 262 00:21:53,100 --> 00:21:57,700 so that vehicular traffic doesn't go down, particularly during a busy time, you may 263 00:21:57,700 --> 00:21:59,740 have bikers or walkers or whatever. 264 00:22:00,680 --> 00:22:09,280 And then the third comment question I would have is that I love the treatments of church 265 00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:12,440 and main church and Dunbar and what you're doing on Dunbar Street. 266 00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:15,260 I think that will connect our downtown a lot better. 267 00:22:15,260 --> 00:22:21,120 I think it will connect the upper part of Main Street toward the east toward the Denny's 268 00:22:21,120 --> 00:22:26,840 building to the rest of Morgan Square and I think that's been sorely needed for many 269 00:22:26,840 --> 00:22:33,840 of our businesses along Main Street but I do think and wonder what we're contemplating. 270 00:22:35,190 --> 00:22:42,880 You mentioned another mid block crosswalk closer to the Marriott but there's not one being 271 00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:48,320 contemplated, at least I can't see one being contemplated across from the Social Security 272 00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:50,260 Building to the parking garage there. 273 00:22:50,360 --> 00:22:51,340 There is one, actually. 274 00:22:51,740 --> 00:23:00,540 I believe it's in the midterm, but what we're looking at there is because we are doing 275 00:23:00,540 --> 00:23:07,160 what we are at Dunbar, it lends itself to allow us at Commerce Street there to put in a midblock 276 00:23:07,160 --> 00:23:11,500 crossing as well, because yes, sir, that is we have folks darting across there all the 277 00:23:11,500 --> 00:23:11,820 time. 278 00:23:11,820 --> 00:23:12,900 They're playing Frogger every day. 279 00:23:13,540 --> 00:23:21,140 So we've recommended to take out the left turn from church on the commerce. 280 00:23:21,660 --> 00:23:23,340 Take out that left turn lane there. 281 00:23:23,960 --> 00:23:28,060 Put in a pedestrian refuge island and a crosswalk at that location. 282 00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:37,660 The other nice thing that allows us to do is it allows us to lengthen the left turn lane from church street going on to St. John. 283 00:23:37,660 --> 00:23:42,540 on which right now sometimes backs up into the through travel lane. 284 00:23:42,800 --> 00:23:46,320 So if you're headed out of town on church street and you're wanting to turn left on 285 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:50,680 St. John to go toward the beacon, that left turn lane would be able to eat a 286 00:23:50,680 --> 00:23:53,420 length and a little bit because right now what we have is we have two left turn lanes 287 00:23:53,420 --> 00:23:55,500 backing in to each other there. 288 00:23:56,220 --> 00:23:58,600 And that's a dangerous situation as well. 289 00:23:58,820 --> 00:24:00,460 So there's several things we can do there. 290 00:24:00,540 --> 00:24:03,940 But yeah, in the midterm recommendations, we do have that midblock crossing. 291 00:24:03,940 --> 00:24:08,400 I don't, I don't need to look to see what the call's associated, but I think given the 292 00:24:08,400 --> 00:24:13,700 practical date, and Steve probably has an opinion on this, but just the practical aspects 293 00:24:13,700 --> 00:24:19,260 of the fact that so many people cross from that garage to the, I mean, I would consider 294 00:24:19,260 --> 00:24:24,160 moving that up to more of a short-term priority because I think that's a critical need because 295 00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:29,480 I think that's a potential danger situation, particularly given the fact that many of the 296 00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:31,520 people going to the social security office have no 297 00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:32,260 any issues. 298 00:24:33,140 --> 00:24:35,300 I'd like to take a long hard look at that. 299 00:24:35,780 --> 00:24:39,380 And the other question I'll have is that sometimes we create a 300 00:24:39,380 --> 00:24:42,540 treatment for a solution that doesn't mimic the behavior 301 00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:46,620 and making sure that whatever treatment we put in 302 00:24:46,620 --> 00:24:49,220 will be the accepted use. 303 00:24:49,720 --> 00:24:53,540 I've seen college campuses where they put sidewalks in 304 00:24:53,540 --> 00:24:57,300 that deviate from the pattern of the students going from building to building 305 00:24:57,300 --> 00:24:58,760 and so they just create their own paths. 306 00:24:58,900 --> 00:25:01,700 And I think that's sort of what we've seen on a church tree. 307 00:25:01,820 --> 00:25:02,580 Absolutely, yeah. 308 00:25:02,940 --> 00:25:05,780 No, it's a trick within the planning and design 309 00:25:05,780 --> 00:25:08,980 industry is wait for the goat paths, and then put it there. 310 00:25:09,760 --> 00:25:13,660 What I will mention, certainly things can 311 00:25:13,660 --> 00:25:17,220 be juggled within the implementation terms. 312 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:20,180 However, one thing we've got to be careful about 313 00:25:20,180 --> 00:25:22,820 is there's a certain order we have to implement in. 314 00:25:22,820 --> 00:25:29,340 So, again, we need to do the changes at Dunmar before we can do some of the changes upstream. 315 00:25:29,840 --> 00:25:34,720 And so, that is really the only reason some of these things slid into midterm. 316 00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:41,400 And that's also while I mention, I don't know if you noticed or not, but short term is zero to three years. 317 00:25:42,300 --> 00:25:48,840 So, normally I would call midterm four to seven years, but we actually called it three to seven years. 318 00:25:48,840 --> 00:25:53,660 So those two implementation periods actually do overlap each other a little bit. 319 00:25:54,220 --> 00:26:00,440 Another thing that we always put in the plans is if there's opportunity to get something 320 00:26:00,440 --> 00:26:04,900 done, it may not matter where it is in the implementation period. 321 00:26:05,120 --> 00:26:10,620 So if money becomes available, if an adjacent project happens, if a development project happens 322 00:26:10,620 --> 00:26:15,560 that could bring something later in the plan forward sooner, we would absolutely say to do 323 00:26:15,560 --> 00:26:15,760 that. 324 00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:22,420 And then my last question, sorry, with the new joint government complex coming in on 325 00:26:22,420 --> 00:26:27,640 broad, would there any recommendations made for strengthening with the Planetarium 326 00:26:27,640 --> 00:26:33,360 there and its connection to Project Wrap down at the baseball stadium and Project Core 327 00:26:33,360 --> 00:26:36,800 and the associated buildings, which there's some treatments included in that. 328 00:26:37,120 --> 00:26:44,020 So there are some pedestrian refuge around broad and church, excuse me, that is a strong 329 00:26:44,020 --> 00:26:48,040 It's got strong crosswalk amenities now and a signalized intersection. 330 00:26:48,600 --> 00:26:53,500 So our analysis said that would handle it, and then of course, you know, moving down 331 00:26:53,500 --> 00:26:55,280 Kennedy also has those. 332 00:26:55,820 --> 00:27:00,460 So outside of the recommendations that are right at the intersection of broad and church, 333 00:27:00,980 --> 00:27:02,960 there's nothing in the mid block or anything. 334 00:27:03,340 --> 00:27:05,560 What about broad and spring? 335 00:27:07,910 --> 00:27:13,570 Because you're going to have two large multi-family projects as well as a new signature 336 00:27:13,570 --> 00:27:20,870 right there? Sure. And then you'll have additional office capacity there. So, you know, 337 00:27:21,090 --> 00:27:24,890 thinking about people moving around downtown at lunchtime or, you know, in the evenings. 338 00:27:25,370 --> 00:27:26,910 Right. You'll be looking at that as well. Okay. 339 00:27:29,300 --> 00:27:29,840 Councilman Smith. 340 00:27:31,060 --> 00:27:37,900 Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Councilman Fulmer addressed a few of my questions. On, 341 00:27:37,900 --> 00:27:44,480 And Fredelin mentioned that SCDOT has been agreeable to the majority of these. 342 00:27:44,760 --> 00:27:51,560 The short-term ones that you shared and the slide are all of the, has DOT agreed to all 343 00:27:51,560 --> 00:27:51,980 of those? 344 00:27:52,480 --> 00:27:52,580 Yes. 345 00:27:52,860 --> 00:27:53,020 Okay. 346 00:27:53,520 --> 00:27:58,720 We are very blessed in District 3 of SCDOT with the leadership that we have. 347 00:27:59,640 --> 00:28:06,160 I work in every district across the state and every district is like it's own little 348 00:28:06,160 --> 00:28:12,940 many DOT. And if you folks sat in your counterparts chairs, saying Florence 349 00:28:12,940 --> 00:28:16,920 South Carolina, it would be a much different story. So we're very blessed. 350 00:28:19,830 --> 00:28:24,130 I was it. Any other questions? Yeah. Councilor Morages. 351 00:28:24,790 --> 00:28:30,330 Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um, if you could you go back one slide just so that the audience 352 00:28:30,330 --> 00:28:36,470 could see? Um, can you give a little bit more detail about the different 353 00:28:36,470 --> 00:28:44,370 crosswalks. So specifically the Dunbar and Raised versus a pedestrian refuge and why we're 354 00:28:44,370 --> 00:28:51,350 not seeing, you know, F, I don't want to say seen necessarily, but those crosswalks don't seem 355 00:28:51,350 --> 00:28:58,290 to be raised or anything compared to the Dunbar. So I just complimented DOT didn't I? 356 00:29:02,590 --> 00:29:07,450 The one difference between Dunbar Street and Church Street is who owns and maintains them. 357 00:29:08,230 --> 00:29:13,330 So the city owns and maintains Dunbar, so we have a lot more ability to do things like 358 00:29:13,330 --> 00:29:15,110 raised crosswalks. 359 00:29:16,390 --> 00:29:24,790 Church Street is a U.S. highway, and so you're not going to find a raised crossing on a U.S. 360 00:29:24,790 --> 00:29:30,890 highway, probably anywhere in the nation, but certainly not in South Carolina at this point. 361 00:29:31,070 --> 00:29:32,850 So that is the key difference. 362 00:29:33,030 --> 00:29:36,590 So what we've tried to do is as much treatment as we can. 363 00:29:37,530 --> 00:29:42,410 And so they do allow pedestrian refuge, which gives that extra safety. 364 00:29:42,490 --> 00:29:47,330 They do allow us to plant the medians with lower plantings. 365 00:29:47,890 --> 00:29:51,170 So we try to change the character as much as we can. 366 00:29:52,630 --> 00:29:56,570 But again, that is the key differences who owns and maintains those two roads. 367 00:29:57,870 --> 00:29:58,870 Okay, thank you. 368 00:29:59,070 --> 00:29:59,230 Sure. 369 00:30:01,540 --> 00:30:29,680 If you can go back to the study area, I just had a question. I didn't, I haven't seen anything really addressed, but if you are going down Main Street East, you can cross over there that crosses over into Richardson Park. There's a sidewalk that leads you, you know, up Richardson Park, but that crosswalk that can take the cars that are coming just 370 00:30:29,680 --> 00:30:31,140 is zipping around that corner. 371 00:30:31,880 --> 00:30:37,640 I have seen people racing to get across that corner area. 372 00:30:37,940 --> 00:30:40,300 And I'm not, I think that would be a city road. 373 00:30:41,140 --> 00:30:45,380 Well, it's almost like blind across the United States. 374 00:30:45,520 --> 00:30:47,640 And I have mentioned that in the past. 375 00:30:47,640 --> 00:30:50,160 And so I want to just put that on record 376 00:30:50,160 --> 00:30:52,740 that something maybe we could take a look at just 377 00:30:52,740 --> 00:30:54,960 because I have mentioned that in the past. 378 00:30:55,140 --> 00:30:59,100 And I've seen people, you know, because if you get 379 00:30:59,100 --> 00:31:03,500 on the island and you realize you can't cross, you have to walk back and then cross across 380 00:31:03,500 --> 00:31:10,040 the street and go on the first Baptist side, you know, East Main to get over. So, I want 381 00:31:10,040 --> 00:31:17,040 to make sure I know where you're talking about. This is, is this East Main where broad comes 382 00:31:17,040 --> 00:31:25,320 into it? Yes. Okay. All right. Yes. Okay. Okay. We can certainly tell you. Okay. Thank you. 383 00:31:25,320 --> 00:31:31,680 Gurney, as we look back at the notes from 2024 Council recommendation, nothing with 384 00:31:31,680 --> 00:31:37,360 Sparta was included at all. I know we made some improvements with our Sparta go, but 385 00:31:37,360 --> 00:31:46,360 you guys still. So analysis of the bus lines or their routes was not part of our scope. Certainly, 386 00:31:46,700 --> 00:31:52,700 everything we did with pedestrian and walkability, we thought through from a transit accessibility 387 00:31:54,420 --> 00:31:57,740 But that is kind of where the limits of our scope. 388 00:31:58,780 --> 00:32:05,860 I just noticed that we did mention, even though we have looked at some improvements on the city side, 389 00:32:05,940 --> 00:32:08,940 I'm still within the notes at that particular time. 390 00:32:10,020 --> 00:32:14,900 Any other questions? Mr. Baumann, thank you again. 391 00:32:15,040 --> 00:32:16,420 Good to see you as always. 392 00:32:16,820 --> 00:32:18,140 Thank you. Always enjoy being here. 393 00:32:18,420 --> 00:32:18,660 Thank you. 394 00:32:18,660 --> 00:32:19,240 Thank you. 395 00:32:24,930 --> 00:32:31,370 We have item eight staff update. Mr. Story. 396 00:32:33,650 --> 00:32:38,150 Yes, Mr. Mayor, I have a significant and positive one tonight. 397 00:32:39,390 --> 00:32:45,730 Chair, if I might. I thought the way best way to go about this might be to 398 00:32:46,610 --> 00:32:55,470 to you all and to the folks present. The bulk of an email sent to our police department 399 00:32:55,470 --> 00:32:57,390 just a few minutes ago. 400 00:32:59,980 --> 00:33:04,160 So I'll take just a couple of minutes to read that and then 401 00:33:04,160 --> 00:33:10,560 I'll make some other comments related to this update. To the men and women in the police 402 00:33:10,560 --> 00:33:15,220 department, the longer I am in this role, the more my admiration grows for the men and 403 00:33:15,220 --> 00:33:20,140 women of our police department. You do your important work with courage, intelligence, 404 00:33:20,620 --> 00:33:26,360 discipline, and empathy. Together, you are a well-motivated team performing very complex 405 00:33:26,360 --> 00:33:32,980 work at a very high level. I also have deep appreciation and admiration for Chief Alonzo 406 00:33:32,980 --> 00:33:38,580 Thompson, whose leadership over the last 12 years has served this community and this team 407 00:33:38,580 --> 00:33:44,660 very well. He is leaving us in a position of strength with the capable team built on sound 408 00:33:44,660 --> 00:33:49,160 values. I am among many who will be grateful for Chief Thompson for years to come. 409 00:33:50,840 --> 00:33:56,840 Tonight, I will share with City Council, which I am now doing, in the community an important 410 00:33:56,840 --> 00:34:02,020 update on the next phase of evolution of this important police department. 411 00:34:02,920 --> 00:34:08,320 Months ago, we launched a national search for our next Chief of Police. The search and hiring 412 00:34:08,320 --> 00:34:12,840 The nursing hiring process was conducted by an experienced team of professionals. 413 00:34:13,520 --> 00:34:19,460 Most of you participated alongside former Charlotte North Carolina Chief of Police Johnny 414 00:34:19,460 --> 00:34:22,920 Jennings in an early element of the six phase process. 415 00:34:23,440 --> 00:34:28,960 That organizational assessment influenced the various surveys, written in verbal exercises, 416 00:34:29,340 --> 00:34:35,400 assessments, and other activities that led us to make this selection with great confidence. 417 00:34:35,400 --> 00:34:38,420 We had candidates from across the country. 418 00:34:39,240 --> 00:34:46,180 Two weeks ago, a two-day series of exercises administered by seven sitting active police 419 00:34:46,180 --> 00:34:51,260 chiefs from around the south gave us deep insight into the candidate's aptitudes 420 00:34:51,260 --> 00:34:52,820 for this very complex role. 421 00:34:53,940 --> 00:35:00,100 In that process, it became clear that major art little John is the right leader to serve 422 00:35:00,100 --> 00:35:01,960 as our next chief of police. 423 00:35:01,960 --> 00:35:07,080 I look forward to sharing that news with our community later today, which I am now doing. 424 00:35:09,180 --> 00:35:14,840 Mr. Little John's sound judgment, commitment to ethical and responsible policing, broad 425 00:35:14,840 --> 00:35:21,500 experience and passion for providing excellent service to his hometown, separated him from 426 00:35:21,500 --> 00:35:23,600 a strong field of qualified applicants. 427 00:35:25,080 --> 00:35:32,120 Growth in change in our community and the increasing complexity of policing nationally make this 428 00:35:32,120 --> 00:35:36,640 a particularly critical time for us to embrace the need for continued evolution. 429 00:35:38,320 --> 00:35:43,780 Upon his installation as chief, Mr. Little John will be asking you the men and women of 430 00:35:43,780 --> 00:35:48,700 our police department to help shape those advancement efforts. He will also be challenging 431 00:35:48,700 --> 00:35:53,800 each of you to be bold, creative, flexible and adaptive so that together we might meet 432 00:35:53,800 --> 00:35:58,560 this moment with excellence. There will be additional information in the coming days 433 00:35:58,560 --> 00:36:03,860 about official ceremonies and matters relating to the transition. In the meantime, please join 434 00:36:03,860 --> 00:36:10,120 me in congratulating Chief Designate, Art Little John. I want to share a little bit more with you 435 00:36:10,640 --> 00:36:20,080 about I think we all know art as part of our team and as part of this community for quite some time, 436 00:36:20,080 --> 00:36:28,340 but we sometimes forget just how far-reaching his career and excellence in policing has been. 437 00:36:29,600 --> 00:36:36,560 Back in 1988, when Mitch Kennedy and I were sweating out our grades in the halls of 438 00:36:36,560 --> 00:36:44,860 Spartanburg High School, Art Little John became a patrol officer in our community. 439 00:36:46,720 --> 00:36:55,160 He has served in the Housing Authority Division, the Dare Instructor, Crown Prevention 440 00:36:55,160 --> 00:37:02,760 Sergeant, Patrol Lieutenant, a community-oriented policing coordinator, lieutenant over the 441 00:37:02,760 --> 00:37:04,980 important office of professional standards. 442 00:37:04,980 --> 00:37:08,420 That's our sort of internal affairs bureau. 443 00:37:09,000 --> 00:37:14,460 He was promoted captain back in 2009 and major in 2015. 444 00:37:16,520 --> 00:37:24,020 He served throughout his time with us on the tactical neutralization team, been the leader 445 00:37:24,020 --> 00:37:32,620 of that and the tactical commander and in, let's see, I forgot to jot down the year, 446 00:37:32,880 --> 00:37:39,020 but he is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, which is a multi-month executive program 447 00:37:39,600 --> 00:37:43,880 completed by fewer than 1% of law enforcement officers nationally. 448 00:37:47,380 --> 00:37:55,360 Major Little John is a recipient of the Strong Thurman Award for Excellence in Law Enforcement 449 00:37:55,360 --> 00:38:10,100 He was recognized for that in 2022, and that's a statewide honor that honors one law enforcement in the entire state of South Carolina that's awarded by the US Attorney's Office. 450 00:38:10,100 --> 00:38:22,280 He has also received the award, King Quite Pronouns, for heroism issued by the FBI National Academy 451 00:38:22,280 --> 00:38:30,400 Associates and he received in 2021. So there is a breadth and depth of excellence and experience 452 00:38:30,400 --> 00:38:39,040 in our community that we have tend to know as the friendly collegial member of ever present 453 00:38:39,040 --> 00:38:46,640 in our community. But a serious minded leader with a vision for how to take our important 454 00:38:46,640 --> 00:38:53,100 police department to the next level. And so I just want to share with you all and with 455 00:38:53,100 --> 00:39:01,240 the community and Mitch was alongside me in every step of this process, but it's one 456 00:39:01,240 --> 00:39:09,080 of those things where at each further step, at each different external expert that looked 457 00:39:09,080 --> 00:39:14,220 at the field of candidates and each new piece of data that came back our way, the picture 458 00:39:14,220 --> 00:39:20,340 became clearer and clearer and clearer that we had the right leader for the next phase of 459 00:39:20,340 --> 00:39:26,600 growth for our organization with us, so if I could, Mr. Mayor, call forward Major Little 460 00:39:26,600 --> 00:39:28,880 John or Chief Designate, Little John. 461 00:39:29,220 --> 00:39:30,160 Chief, please do. 462 00:39:31,660 --> 00:39:31,820 Please do. 463 00:39:31,820 --> 00:39:32,080 Please do. 464 00:39:38,220 --> 00:39:39,220 I'm a Little John. 465 00:39:39,400 --> 00:39:39,540 I could, 466 00:39:53,700 --> 00:39:58,520 as you need before you start, I guess, have to say, Council, I'm a Little John was 467 00:39:58,520 --> 00:40:00,940 on pins and needles to give them a file. 468 00:40:01,480 --> 00:40:05,080 He didn't know what to do, but no, we're all so happy for you, let's go ahead and do 469 00:40:05,080 --> 00:40:05,800 one studio time. 470 00:40:05,900 --> 00:40:08,360 Well, thank you very much, and I won't take much of your time. 471 00:40:08,360 --> 00:40:18,680 I'm sure that the opportunity for me to talk to you more in-depth later, but first I am truly honored to be the next police chief of the Spartan Work Police Department. 472 00:40:19,580 --> 00:40:30,280 I want to begin by thanking each one of you, Mayor and Council, City Manager, Mitch, Kevin, for everything. 473 00:40:30,820 --> 00:40:35,540 I also want to thank the men and women of the Department of Police Department for supporting me over the many years. 474 00:40:36,400 --> 00:40:40,760 A lot of years, so 38 years, believe it or not, but I am still going strong. 475 00:40:41,360 --> 00:40:43,200 I am ready to serve and I'm ready to go. 476 00:40:43,800 --> 00:40:51,300 I've had some great leaders that has taught me over the years with WC Bane starting with Tony Fisher and Alonzo. 477 00:40:52,320 --> 00:40:54,340 Thompson, as a chief, has some great guidance. 478 00:40:54,860 --> 00:40:58,400 Often tell people all the time I said, I'm not the smartest, I'm not the strongest, I'm not the fastest. 479 00:40:58,400 --> 00:41:00,080 At least not anymore, it used to be. 480 00:41:01,500 --> 00:41:03,480 But I am committed to serving others. 481 00:41:03,840 --> 00:41:08,680 I have a great worth at it, and the Lord has blessed me with that, and so I am proud 482 00:41:08,680 --> 00:41:09,860 to serve moving forward. 483 00:41:11,580 --> 00:41:15,700 As you know, I spent my professional career here with the Spurmer Police Department since 484 00:41:15,700 --> 00:41:20,520 1988, and I've had an opportunity to see a lot of things, and there's things that come 485 00:41:20,520 --> 00:41:26,800 up and that I see, and people often ask about youth violence and youth, and I've been there, 486 00:41:26,800 --> 00:41:31,460 I've seen that when you see holding a young person in your hand and you're having conversations 487 00:41:31,460 --> 00:41:33,860 with them and being there on the scene. 488 00:41:34,400 --> 00:41:37,260 So when I say that I'm passionate and I care about this community, I do. 489 00:41:37,960 --> 00:41:42,000 Not because it's a number or not because it's a statistic if people say about it, but it's 490 00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:44,220 because I was there holding that person. 491 00:41:44,940 --> 00:41:48,420 And I'll give you in one example and I'll just take you back, Benji Easler. 492 00:41:49,780 --> 00:41:50,700 Do you know him? 493 00:41:52,300 --> 00:41:52,920 Some people do. 494 00:41:53,760 --> 00:42:00,180 Benji Easler, a six-year-old, died on a train crash at Cleveland Park. I was there that day. 495 00:42:00,480 --> 00:42:04,980 Those are the kind of things that I want to continue to serve to make sure that we have young women 496 00:42:05,520 --> 00:42:10,900 in place to see those things and to provide them with the things that they need because when they see those things 497 00:42:10,900 --> 00:42:14,480 at 22-23 years old, they never forget those things. 498 00:42:15,160 --> 00:42:19,700 And so we have to make sure that we'll put officers in a place where they continue to serve 499 00:42:19,700 --> 00:42:23,300 where things are not with them for the rest of their lives that they don't get passed. 500 00:42:23,940 --> 00:42:28,220 And so I am here, I would definitely answer questions for you as we continue to move forward. 501 00:42:28,920 --> 00:42:33,660 But today I want to let you know that I am here, I'm ready to serve, and I'm ready to go. 502 00:42:34,100 --> 00:42:35,000 So thank you so much. 503 00:42:35,120 --> 00:42:35,840 Awesome, awesome. 504 00:42:36,020 --> 00:42:36,380 Thank you. 505 00:42:46,020 --> 00:42:51,540 There is a lot additional I could say, but I will just say that it is a great luxury 506 00:42:51,540 --> 00:43:00,380 to know that it's literally impossible for the next chief of police to ask a young officer 507 00:43:00,760 --> 00:43:05,760 to do something for this town and this community that he has not already done. 508 00:43:07,140 --> 00:43:10,700 He has done it, and I'm excited about seeing it progress. 509 00:43:12,640 --> 00:43:17,880 I have no other substantive updates tonight, but certainly welcome any questions on any topics 510 00:43:17,880 --> 00:43:18,820 of the Council may have. 511 00:43:20,280 --> 00:43:20,720 Questions? 512 00:43:25,390 --> 00:43:25,670 Awesome. 513 00:43:26,030 --> 00:43:26,650 Thank you. 514 00:43:27,830 --> 00:43:28,270 Updates. 515 00:43:30,990 --> 00:43:31,430 Yeah. 516 00:43:31,810 --> 00:43:32,690 Updates from City Council. 517 00:43:33,990 --> 00:43:34,510 You'll start with me? 518 00:43:34,910 --> 00:43:35,130 Yes. 519 00:43:35,610 --> 00:43:36,770 Councilor Sally. 520 00:43:37,230 --> 00:43:37,690 Thank you, Mayor. 521 00:43:38,550 --> 00:43:40,910 I want to say good evening to each and every one of you. 522 00:43:41,070 --> 00:43:42,230 Congratulations, Art. 523 00:43:42,430 --> 00:43:43,370 I appreciate you. 524 00:43:43,510 --> 00:43:45,470 And I know you will do a terrific job. 525 00:43:46,310 --> 00:43:52,560 Also, I'd like to mention that on the first of August, 526 00:43:52,700 --> 00:43:53,580 which was the Saturday, 527 00:43:53,580 --> 00:44:03,340 the community back to school for our event was for our cert. I believe by STP we just 528 00:44:03,340 --> 00:44:08,940 stopped the Valance committee and some other partners that they were that was included 529 00:44:08,940 --> 00:44:15,420 was a great success with lots and lots of kids and of course we want to welcome them back 530 00:44:15,420 --> 00:44:18,180 the school this week for a full week of education. 531 00:44:20,700 --> 00:44:28,180 Secondly, and obviously 30th, Bethlehem Center 532 00:44:28,180 --> 00:44:33,020 did an event for a higher community service. 533 00:44:33,800 --> 00:44:37,400 And President was done stately, Erica. 534 00:44:40,520 --> 00:44:42,640 It was a wonderful event. 535 00:44:42,820 --> 00:44:44,420 It was attended very, very well. 536 00:44:44,500 --> 00:44:46,260 I hope that if they do that again. 537 00:44:46,260 --> 00:44:53,260 because they need a bit of space in upstate campus life center because they didn't know all 538 00:44:53,260 --> 00:44:56,420 everybody, but that was a great event. 539 00:44:58,020 --> 00:44:59,980 So the vice, the vice, the vice. 540 00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:28,040 I chat with her was very interesting. I wish it was a little bit longer. She, I can see why her, her, her player is a lover of the death because she is down to earth. And that was a more rewarding experience. Last but not least, I'm looking forward to meeting the new candidates for the citizen academy tomorrow. And again, I want to say thank you all for coming. Thank you. Councilman Forman. 541 00:45:31,420 --> 00:45:36,520 Thank you for your long career service and we're excited about the new leadership that 542 00:45:36,520 --> 00:45:38,680 you're going to provide to our community. 543 00:45:39,660 --> 00:45:46,980 Also, I think it's important to know that as we go through the replacement of Chief Thompson, 544 00:45:47,640 --> 00:45:53,000 the rigorous search that we went through on a national basis where we had candidates coming 545 00:45:53,000 --> 00:46:00,240 from across the country who are interested in Spartan one, I think, shows the health and excitement 546 00:46:00,240 --> 00:46:07,100 that people feel about the city of Spartanburn. But I also think it's validating to your selection 547 00:46:07,100 --> 00:46:13,020 as our next chief. You competed with the candidates from all over the country who wanted to be in 548 00:46:13,020 --> 00:46:20,220 Spartanburg as our chief of police and with the rigorous tests and all of the things that went into 549 00:46:20,220 --> 00:46:24,380 that search, you stood out as the candidate that was best for Spartan Brigade this time, 550 00:46:24,380 --> 00:46:29,920 and I think that even speaks more and more to the excitement that we all feel and making 551 00:46:29,920 --> 00:46:30,400 that choice. 552 00:46:30,560 --> 00:46:35,260 This wasn't just, we have a good candidate, let's promote them to the next level. 553 00:46:35,800 --> 00:46:40,420 This was, let's look around the country and see if we can find somebody better and we 554 00:46:40,420 --> 00:46:41,000 didn't do it. 555 00:46:41,240 --> 00:46:44,520 And so I'm excited about that and excited about your leadership. 556 00:46:44,520 --> 00:46:50,940 And lastly, Mr. Mayor, I was fortunate to join you at Regents with Health Care on Friday 557 00:46:50,940 --> 00:46:57,200 night for the grand opening of their new business administration and training center, which 558 00:46:57,200 --> 00:47:02,840 is an exciting new chapter for the good work that they do in service to the 30,000 clients 559 00:47:02,840 --> 00:47:04,380 that they see on an annual basis. 560 00:47:04,680 --> 00:47:06,780 And so, look forward to great things coming from them. 561 00:47:07,220 --> 00:47:07,460 Awesome. 562 00:47:08,040 --> 00:47:10,460 I just want to say one more thing. 563 00:47:10,460 --> 00:47:13,680 Welcome, welcome, Stenson. It's good to see you there. 564 00:47:14,080 --> 00:47:15,440 Thank you. 565 00:47:15,840 --> 00:47:16,680 Tell us one more, John. 566 00:47:17,140 --> 00:47:17,500 Yes. 567 00:47:18,820 --> 00:47:19,980 Congratulations, Art. 568 00:47:21,540 --> 00:47:22,500 Wonderful choice. 569 00:47:22,900 --> 00:47:23,540 Wonderful choice. 570 00:47:23,740 --> 00:47:25,120 I am excited for you. 571 00:47:25,340 --> 00:47:30,220 I am also excited for the one that was not selected 572 00:47:30,220 --> 00:47:33,640 because we had some great choices from right here in 573 00:47:33,640 --> 00:47:35,680 Spalkenburg to choose from. 574 00:47:36,180 --> 00:47:38,480 And one is sitting right back there in that corner. 575 00:47:38,480 --> 00:47:48,780 honor. So, great choices and congratulations. I welcome you to Stinson on this election. 576 00:47:49,300 --> 00:48:02,820 And on August the 7th, I celebrated my grandson's second birthday and with all of the gifts 577 00:48:02,820 --> 00:48:09,260 that he got. I mean, young people just go overboard, but my goodness. He hasn't 578 00:48:09,260 --> 00:48:14,400 ever gifts there for three Christmases. I just could not believe, but it was 579 00:48:14,400 --> 00:48:24,460 wonderful for being there for his second birthday and then Hampton Heights held 580 00:48:24,460 --> 00:48:35,940 their history day on yesterday and Brian, well, I should have made my notes. I didn't 581 00:48:35,940 --> 00:48:36,760 bring my paper. 582 00:48:40,810 --> 00:48:44,070 Hampton Heights did that. Well, if you're all watching or you know that 583 00:48:44,070 --> 00:48:52,550 I just forgot to write your names down, it was wonderful. And it was a great day of history 584 00:48:52,550 --> 00:49:01,750 being told about Hampton Heights, and I enjoy it every bit of that. I will say, when 585 00:49:01,750 --> 00:49:08,070 I first moved back here, Tammy Stokes, who was the president of Hampton Heights at that 586 00:49:08,070 --> 00:49:17,270 time, gave me a lot of history about Hampton Heights. And so the people over there have 587 00:49:17,270 --> 00:49:24,810 I've done a wonderful job because I applaud everyone who are working to make Hampton Heights 588 00:49:24,810 --> 00:49:27,810 a better place every day. 589 00:49:30,160 --> 00:49:32,150 Also, I hope 590 00:49:34,550 --> 00:49:45,250 I just want all of us to sit at C.C. Woodson, the south side promise had that 591 00:49:45,250 --> 00:49:52,990 graduation because I congratulate Nick not on the work that he did, you know, 592 00:49:53,090 --> 00:49:55,890 because she's getting that together because these were wonderful kids. 593 00:49:55,890 --> 00:50:00,190 They had to stand up in front of everybody because she didn't talk and they 594 00:50:00,190 --> 00:50:07,950 did a wonderful job. I congratulate them and I'm going to say this and I'm not 595 00:50:07,950 --> 00:50:13,530 going to say it again. I am not going to look for grocery store to come to 596 00:50:13,530 --> 00:50:18,370 Southside because if somebody wants me to do a cushion, they want to spearhead it. 597 00:50:18,590 --> 00:50:19,570 I would get on board. 598 00:50:19,570 --> 00:50:22,910 If you can get somebody to finance it, I would get on board. 599 00:50:23,250 --> 00:50:28,570 But I don't know anybody that I can ask for money, go for a grocery store on this 600 00:50:28,570 --> 00:50:29,090 Southside. 601 00:50:29,650 --> 00:50:29,930 Gotcha. 602 00:50:30,470 --> 00:50:30,550 Okay. 603 00:50:31,090 --> 00:50:31,890 Councilwoman Rogers. 604 00:50:33,250 --> 00:50:34,410 Thank you, Mr. Mayor. 605 00:50:34,830 --> 00:50:36,710 I, congratulations, Chief Dex. 606 00:50:36,970 --> 00:50:37,910 It doesn't hit little John. 607 00:50:38,410 --> 00:50:40,410 Very much looking forward to your leadership. 608 00:50:41,450 --> 00:50:48,290 I had the pleasure of attending the Hampton Heights historical overview yesterday. 609 00:50:48,530 --> 00:50:55,470 It was beautiful to go listen and see pictures all the way back to the early 1800s. 610 00:50:56,470 --> 00:51:03,550 I just think today it is fitting that we honor not only the evolution of time and service 611 00:51:03,550 --> 00:51:07,630 in our police department, but we also covered a transportation plan. 612 00:51:07,630 --> 00:51:10,310 the day after I heard about our long-time history 613 00:51:10,310 --> 00:51:13,070 in the downtown of Spartanburg in our city. 614 00:51:13,910 --> 00:51:17,470 And just how we're planning for the future 615 00:51:17,470 --> 00:51:20,430 and creating openings for leadership 616 00:51:20,430 --> 00:51:23,330 and for those in our police department 617 00:51:23,330 --> 00:51:25,190 that have truly served and then there 618 00:51:25,190 --> 00:51:28,210 and have the experience and the leadership 619 00:51:28,210 --> 00:51:31,130 to really help us through the next phase 620 00:51:31,130 --> 00:51:32,350 of our growth as a community. 621 00:51:33,170 --> 00:51:33,830 Thank you. 622 00:51:34,070 --> 00:51:34,610 Thank you. 623 00:51:34,930 --> 00:51:35,430 That's my smile. 624 00:51:35,910 --> 00:51:36,610 Thank you, Mr. Mayor. 625 00:51:38,330 --> 00:51:47,810 I appreciate your friendship and partnership over the years and I'm definitely looking forward to your new vision and leadership of the department. 626 00:51:48,790 --> 00:51:55,430 I got a text from someone who works for Habitat for Humanity and the question was how many homes do they have? 627 00:51:55,590 --> 00:52:00,990 There's 162 Habitat homes, the majority of them are in the city. 628 00:52:00,990 --> 00:52:05,310 We should not know the exact number, but we can thank them for their partnership and 629 00:52:05,310 --> 00:52:11,050 what they do to make sure that our families have stable and safe housing. 630 00:52:13,050 --> 00:52:15,910 Council on Sally mentioned schools starting back. 631 00:52:16,550 --> 00:52:20,590 Many of you know that I work for the Spartanburg Academic Movement. 632 00:52:21,230 --> 00:52:28,630 Last year we launched Big Moe, which is our community's College Access Program to support 633 00:52:28,630 --> 00:52:35,270 our young people as they think about what is next after high school senior year is such 634 00:52:35,270 --> 00:52:41,330 an exciting time as people enjoy being kind of the king and queen of the campus but then 635 00:52:41,330 --> 00:52:47,870 also thinking about what adulthood and life on their own can be but it's also scary thinking 636 00:52:47,870 --> 00:52:53,890 about all of the decisions that you have to make but Big Mo is here to support you and those 637 00:52:53,890 --> 00:52:58,910 signups have opened, so if you have a senior in your life or work with young people, you 638 00:52:58,910 --> 00:53:03,190 can tell them that they can go ahead and get signed up now. 639 00:53:04,090 --> 00:53:06,630 So we're excited to be there. 640 00:53:07,250 --> 00:53:13,850 And for those of you that got to go to the Banana Ball game, that was such an awesome experience 641 00:53:13,850 --> 00:53:14,950 talking about the future. 642 00:53:14,950 --> 00:53:22,330 I don't know if that's the future of baseball, but it was certainly quite the experience. 643 00:53:22,330 --> 00:53:28,090 So to think that only in our second year of having a baseball team, we were able to get 644 00:53:28,090 --> 00:53:36,670 a two banana ball teams here for, I'm sure, what five sold out, three sold out games 645 00:53:36,670 --> 00:53:41,550 it was quite the experience, so thank you to that whole team and our city team that 646 00:53:41,550 --> 00:53:42,750 we're able to pull that off. 647 00:53:43,470 --> 00:53:45,970 Banana ball brought to you by Walter College Graduate. 648 00:53:46,230 --> 00:53:46,350 Yeah. 649 00:53:46,510 --> 00:53:46,970 That's right, maybe. 650 00:53:47,130 --> 00:53:47,450 That's right. 651 00:53:49,470 --> 00:53:55,190 Mr. Mayor, happy to be back, sorry it was out for the last meeting, an opportunity to head 652 00:53:55,190 --> 00:54:00,450 home to the low country and I miss it a lot, but I do not miss that low-country heat. 653 00:54:02,230 --> 00:54:09,210 So chief to be, I like that better, it rolls off the tongue a little, it's kind of cooler. 654 00:54:10,050 --> 00:54:16,730 I'm super excited for you and just very excited for what you are going to bring, what you've 655 00:54:16,730 --> 00:54:19,270 always brought to the city but what you'll continue to do 656 00:54:19,270 --> 00:54:22,910 except let's be very happy to have you was not here at the 657 00:54:22,910 --> 00:54:26,790 last meeting so congratulations to Stenson I'm so happy 658 00:54:26,790 --> 00:54:29,010 that you're a part of this team I think we've known each 659 00:54:29,010 --> 00:54:33,350 other for two decades now so we met when we were two 660 00:54:35,510 --> 00:54:38,270 so I'm just thrilled to have you as part of the team as well 661 00:54:38,270 --> 00:54:42,510 so welcome thank you also also that is welcome to Stenson 662 00:54:42,510 --> 00:54:46,070 to see her in the seat we introduced at the last council 663 00:54:46,070 --> 00:54:50,390 meeting but to see her off sitting there in the attorney's seat. Welcome to the team. 664 00:54:50,810 --> 00:54:56,750 Art, congratulations to you. We will continue to talk and say many other great things about you. 665 00:54:57,150 --> 00:55:03,570 A lot has already been said. A highlight since the last council meeting was to actually meet 666 00:55:03,570 --> 00:55:11,770 Dawn Staley with the Highland fundraiser. Very authentic as councilwoman Sally said. 667 00:55:11,770 --> 00:55:17,410 just down to her really approachable. She even let the mayor know that I was talking too much 668 00:55:17,410 --> 00:55:24,350 before she came out. So I'm like, wow, I don't get that too often. But no, I'm pretty sure 669 00:55:27,570 --> 00:55:37,030 also to the Banana Ball game, three soul out events, just also just another minute in attraction 670 00:55:37,030 --> 00:55:42,410 to Spiderman. I'm definitely waiting on the numbers to see how many folks actually came 671 00:55:42,410 --> 00:55:52,690 through Spiderman just for that event. Midnight basketball that was housed throughout the summer 672 00:55:52,690 --> 00:56:00,650 at our recreation centers. Great event. The last one concluded on this past Friday. I know 673 00:56:00,650 --> 00:56:06,650 So, Miss Tess, a contestant was there and had her group stop the violence groups, so thank 674 00:56:06,650 --> 00:56:09,650 you for all your help and leadership throughout the summer months. 675 00:56:10,150 --> 00:56:16,370 And our young people had a blast, speaking of Nick, our young people had a blast at the 676 00:56:17,010 --> 00:56:23,510 Midnight Basketball, no I did not, I did not throw me off. 677 00:56:24,230 --> 00:56:29,790 Monument Monday, I was not able to make the very first Monument Monday, but I did make the 678 00:56:29,790 --> 00:56:38,630 last one that we had with the professor, Jessica, given the talk in the tour of the 679 00:56:38,630 --> 00:56:48,010 monument and very, very well spoken, just another great asset to Spadenberg, young people 680 00:56:48,010 --> 00:56:55,630 back in school, they are in school, trust me, they are in school, and so be careful when 681 00:56:55,630 --> 00:57:01,090 When we talk about transportation and talk about the roads, that's definitely be careful 682 00:57:01,090 --> 00:57:06,350 with more young people up early going to school and actually more young people up early 683 00:57:06,350 --> 00:57:07,170 catching the bus. 684 00:57:07,750 --> 00:57:15,410 So be mindful as we travel in the early morning, the early hours here in Sputonburg. 685 00:57:15,790 --> 00:57:20,070 So again, thank you all for joining us this evening. 686 00:57:20,230 --> 00:57:21,150 Thank you all for coming. 687 00:57:21,890 --> 00:57:23,050 Councilman Farmer. 688 00:57:23,050 --> 00:57:28,270 miles of the mayor. Thank you. Yes, thank you. I'm about to forget that I 689 00:57:28,270 --> 00:57:31,070 didn't write it down. Miles with the mayor that's coming out of the eight o'clock. 690 00:57:32,170 --> 00:57:37,250 AMs we will start. We will get our start at Pine Street Elementary. We're still 691 00:57:37,250 --> 00:57:42,550 trying to beat the heat. That's why we're going at eight. Maybe October will start 692 00:57:42,550 --> 00:57:47,050 back at nine. But eight o'clock Pine Street Elementary talk a little bit about 693 00:57:47,050 --> 00:57:52,170 Pine Street as well as have a walk through cumbersides and talk a little bit 694 00:57:52,170 --> 00:57:59,710 about that over there. Comber's height. Anything? And Captain Suber, I usually put it on 695 00:58:01,370 --> 00:58:08,290 Kathy Hill, but Captain Suber has gotten us around throughout Comber's height. He said 696 00:58:08,290 --> 00:58:15,390 it is about five and a half miles, so come here and we'll make it happen. Awesome. Awesome. 697 00:58:15,530 --> 00:58:17,930 Do I hear? I'll make a motion. We'll go into executive session. 698 00:58:18,850 --> 00:58:21,050 All right. Thank you. Thank you.