City Council - Regular Meeting

Let us bring the city of Spartanberg city uh council meeting to order. We're going to stand as I survey. Don't see any boy scouts. Stand for a moment of silence and then we'll be led by pledge of allegiance. Amen. May pro 10, would you lead us in the pledge, please? I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you. We have item three, approve of the minutes for the March 9th, 2026 city council meeting. So moved. Second. All in favor? I. Any that opposed? Eyes have it. Item four, approve of the agenda for the March 23rd, 2026 city council meeting. So move. Second. All in favor?

Any that oppose? Eyes have it. We have public comment. We have a few here. Uh and the way it works, guys, you don't have to give your address any any longer. Just come up and restate your name as I call you up just so we know that that is you. So we're going to start off. Mr. James Jones. You have two minutes after you give your name, please. Good afternoon. James A. Jones, uh, candidate for South Carolina's 31 House seat. Mr. Mayor, members of council, Sparberg deserves government that not only listens but learns from its people and with its people. The decisions before you shape our economy, our environment, and our shared identity. They're not abstract choices. They touch every home, and every h heartbeat in this city. So, first, I urge you to adopt a resolution requiring a balanced expert research and full public input before another large data center is put anywhere near our city. These vast facilities may promise investments, but they also raise serious questions about the demand for power and water and their impact on our environment and our health and other costs to our residents. A thoughtful study must come before any commitment from any other officials in this area. Anything that touches our water, our health, our environment, they touch the city. The second thing I asked you to do was to honor your request to meet with and cooperate with the Save Our Towers proponents um before making any other movements toward the rebuilding and restructuring of the downtown clock tower. I understand you have something on the agenda tonight about that, but I also understand you didn't meet with us. You got to keep your promise. Council members, the consequences of failing to properly engage meaningfully with the people is more than just public frustration. It's the erosion of public trust. When

residents lose faith in your leadership, they lose faith in government itself. Once that trust is gone, it's kind of painfully hard to rebuild. True leadership, Mr. Mayor, invites scrutiny. It welcomes questions. It honors its commitments. Let Spart be known not only for what we build, but how openly and how honestly we build it together in the full light of day with the people you serve at the very center of the process. Thank you.

Thank you, sir. All right. Let's uh try to keep everything civil. We usually just go through the public comments. We don't want to miss the next name that comes up. So, uh please keep your applause, guys, to a minimum. We do appreciate that. Thank you. Thank you for being here. Laura Coggins. Hello.

Hi, I'm Lori Coggins. I was born and raised here in Spartanber. I have lived in both the city and the county. I left in 1989 to work out of town and returned in 2009. When I returned, my employment was in Greenville, but I lived here in Spartanberg. I have tried my best to do all my shopping here in Spartanberg, unless what I wanted could not be obtained here in town. People would tell me, "You are so lucky. You can go shopping in Greenville after you get off work." And I would tell them, "No, I get off work and I come straight home because my loyalty is here to the Berg." I have seen the Berg grow and change. But never before have I seen leaders intentionally work to indust to destroy what makes Spartanberg special, what gives Spartanberg character. When you look around, other towns are actively working to restore and add character to their town. Greenville just recently built a tower and they have restored the star at Roper Mountain Science Center. The city of Charleston is restoring the St. Julian smoke stacks. The city of Lawrence is res is restoring the sidewalks and the brick streets. The projects are being done to enhance the downtown areas and preserve the history and character of those towns. The city has eliminated approximately 300 parking spaces that allow easy access to the downtown area. I recently spoke to a local small business person who said he will be relocating his bis his business when his lease is up due to the parking issue. other small businesses may be follow suit. Please keep in mind that the Spartanberg city businesses need Spartanberg County residents to thrive. It breaks my heart that city leaders don't care how the residents of the area feel. The history

of Spartanberg or or the court order to rebuild the Clark Clark Tower has not been monitored. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Thank you for that. Mr. Stoddard, Wesley Stoddard,

Wesley A. Stoddard. Uh, Mr. Mayor, members of council, thank you for letting me speak to you tonight. I know we've got one new council member since I was here last time. So, I'll give a little bit of history about our clock tower. Uh, I'm a lifelong resident. There are eight stern houses in Converse Heights. We have never left Spartanber. We all are still here. I practiced law on Magnolia Street where I've been since 1975. My dad started his firm there 1947 and he was mayor of Spartanberg from 1962 to 1973. After he his terms were up three terms, he's found he was appointed county chairman of the Spartanber County bsentennial and he came with this idea of 10 different projects but one the main project would be to go to city hall and say let's get the clock and bail out of storage where they had been for 15 years. build a clock tower and allow him to go to the schools to recruit donations to solicit donations for school children. He for a year he spent going around the schools in Spartberg County, not just Spart City. Got 20,000 students to donate money. They raised $10,000 toward the clock tower. The Mr. Mayor and Councilman Fulmer's names are inside that clock tower. They were school kids. They donated money and for many years it clock tower dedicated 1979. There's a picture of my dad in Applebee's in his uniform dedicating this. 10 years later, it was moved to 1989 to where it stood until this year. We solicited online 3,000 signatures plus say preserve the clock tower where it was. I got an attorney general opinion saying the heritage act preserves anything that was built to memorialize a historic event or historic person. I presented that to city council. Look at the numbers. 20,000 school kids. That's amazing. You know, I've met so many people the past year fighting to preserve the clock tower who gave money. School kids said there would be somebody in their classroom that didn't have money. They would give money for them so their name could be on it. Wedding

pictures taken in front of it. Prom pictures taken in front of it. Forget any magazines about Spartberg. The clock tower is an icon of Spartanberg. Preserve it, please. Thank you, Mr. Starter. Miss Dr. Brenda Lee Price. I was ready. Mr. Mayor, take me old folk a minute to get up to get going. Thank you, sir. Um, thank you,

Mr. Mayor and and member of council. Uh, I come before you this evening representing the Southside South Cumber Street Neighborhood Association. I think we have some members here. Tony, stand up. and um Miss Dawkins and of course Miss Little John. Stand up, Miss Little John. Council, but just wanted to share with you an experience we had on Saturday. It was one that I've never witnessed in all my years here in this community with community spirit coming together moving forward. the idea that you as council would like to see happen in our communities. You had Forest Park, you had Hampton Heights, you had Dr. Miles from up at um USC Upstate, you had so many people in the community watching the kids run around and playing. So, you have information on the unveiling there. Please go on site. Somebody have it somewhere on um on the computer to see. I think somebody videoed it, so you ought to be able to get that. But just want to thank you so much for supporting communities because that work got done. We made it happen with the folk who just stood up with the people in the neighborhood with Kim and her staff, the city staff was just awesome. But what the the big hit of the day were the firemen there. They had on their they had on their fire uniforms and they were serving the hot dogs. the kids and the parents and people who attended had a wonderful time. So, please continue to support local projects because it make a difference and it brings your community together. We've had all everybody know where where the cemetery is now. Everybody knows where the southside is now. Wonderful things are happening on the south side. I would say ride over there and see what happened. And again, thank you and thank you for your support and thank you for

your commitment. I've been where you are. It's a tough task. So, I'm going to talk some more. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Price. We do appreciate that. We have item six, appointment of council members to the hospitality tax committee. Presenter uh is Miss Christy Lindsay. Uh good evening, mayor and council. I'm before you this evening, we need to appoint two council members to the hospitality tax committee. Um, I have been given information that Council Member Sally and Council Member Rogers are willing to serve in that capacity. So, I look to you for recommendation.

Mr. Mayor, I make a motion that we appoint uh, Council Member Sally and Council Member Rogers to the Hospitality Tax Committee. Second. All in favor? I. Any that opposed? All right, you guys have it. Thank you, Council. Your willingness to volunteer. Item seven, ordinance. an ordinance to amend the uh various section of code of the city of Spartanberg to improve neighborhood code enforcements. Um Mr. Limehouse will be our presenter today, assistant city manager. Yes, sir. Very quickly in

That's right. Um Mr. Mayor, members of council, very briefly, just to give some context for what Mr. Kohler is about to present. uh staff has heard uh the will of council and the the comments that y'all have had regarding code enforcement. We've also talked to a number of our citizens and we've taken some time to thoughtfully go about how we can do that and want to put that into context. Martin uh Livingston our uh and his team have put together a number of suggestions that they've reviewed on how we can be more efficient with our code enforcement. Uh Mr. Polar has reviewed that and uh we wanted you all to know that we've taken the time with these suggestions. Um but it is not the only thing we're doing. Uh these suggestions we feel will help clarity for citizens and also help us with an enforcement uh when people do unfortunately try and violate or become repeat offenders or do things that their neighbors or you know council see that we have to act on. Um, but it doesn't take away from our ability to have grace when we see, you know, a grandmother who's, you know, struggling with their yard or something along those lines. It doesn't take away for the soul of who we are, but it does help give us some additional enforcement opportunities and give clarity for our citizens. Additionally, we're doing some more internal operations to make sure that some things are streamlined and working with our court systems to make sure when we need to enforce, we do improve. Um but I have the bittersweet um privilege to turn over uh to Mr. Kolaro I believe on his last presentation for you all. But certainly between all of us we'll answer any questions that you have.

Thank you. I'll just I'll just kind of fill you in a little more on the on the nuts and bolts of the of the ordinance. Um so as you go through your packet you can see that we've added some new langage. You see the added language is underlined. The deleted language is stricken through. Um let's start with well I'm glad to start with questions if you want or we can just kind of walk through the just go ahead and walk through.

Okay. All right. Um the first ordinance that you'll see that we're um updating section 1-2 of the property maintenance code that we adopt as part of our city code. uh city um code enforcement guys asked me just to tighten that language up and define structure. There's been some confusion when they get into court. So, we've taken the most simple definition of structure from the property maintenance code um or from the the zoning ordinance and added that. So, we we've tightened that up to just help define structure. The next update you'll see is removal required. As you know, our code enforcement guys go out and try the best they can to make sure people are keeping their property maintained subject to our property maintenance code. And um we have rules that require people to remove certain things. Um our after Hurricane Ela, we had a lesson that there were a lot of trees and branches that just simply didn't get removed for whatever reason. We gave people grace, gave them time, but uh we've added a couple of things like fallen tree limbs and fallen trunks. if they're not removed timely, our our city guys, sir code can address that. We'll do everything we can to work with you and help you, but at some point that stuff has got to get picked up. That that ordinance also adds um other conditions that will require removal, uh rubbish, a fall, um rotting food, those kind of things. That all falls under 20-29. Again, it's just a couple of more items that if we see accumulating in people's yards, we we'll gently ask them to to remove them, and if they can't, we'll help them. If they can't do it that way, we'll have to address that. Uh same thing, the 20-33 is a notification. All of the um items in this uh ordinance are are stated elsewhere in the code. They're things that you you can't have accumulate. Um, one important part of this code is that our our code enforcement people deal with what's called repeat offenders. And so they'll get out and they'll give a notice and a couple months later they're

back there. So what what we've instituted is kind of a one-year notice. You get a notice that covers you for a whole year, but if we're backed out every month, we um we're not going to give you another notice over and over again. We'll work with you and let you know, but um that notice is going to require you to keep property in good condition for a reasonable period of time. So that's what 20-33 the changes to that ordinance um include. Um our building code uh department and code enforcement asked me about trailer coaches. Those are your campers. Um there's a giant movement across this country with people having campers, vans, all kinds of things, living offrid, whatever. Um our code up until today allowed those to be parked on the streets unless they were being used or occupied. Well, we got into court a lot of times and and we couldn't establish if they were actually being used if they're just being stored. So now the ordinance will prohibit the the storage of them. You'll have to find a place to store storm. You can't store your unhitched uh camper on our streets where it becomes a a hazard, a detriment, and just a an eyesore. So that that's the code section you'll see in 34-3. Um 30-12 um is an update to our uh picketing and protest ordinance. Um I'll be glad to go through that real quick. Um what you'll essentially see is when I first wrote when we first wrote the picketing and protest ordinance, we had a per se blanket ban on amplified sound. Um the uh joy of a federal lawsuit and and court uh taught us a small lesson. We and as you know that area law is ever evolving. Uh but the current state of the law that as we understand the Supreme Court you can't per se prohibit magnified amplified sound what you can do is stop it if it becomes noise. So, so our ordinance where we were per se

prohibiting amplified sound, a street preacher, a saxoponist, uh a violinist, um somebody who just wants to read the constitution out loud can use amplified sound up until that sound becomes noise. In other words, their rights will stop where somebody else's rights start and and those might be somebody dining, picnicking, trying to enjoy a quiet time. So, as you know, the the use of city property is an ever evolving challenge between between every group that wants to use it. But the ordinance now will we will not have a per se ban on amplified sound. But I I remind you that doesn't mean that there's a free-for-all with amplified megaphones on Morgan Square. It means that you can do it but if it becomes noise and then our officers would be u tasked with documenting that recording that taking reports about that and if it rises to that level you could be asked to stop using the amplification or stop altogether if it's noise. So it's a it's a change that we made as a result of a of a pretty protracted lawsuit um and lessons learned. So we're taking it out and and cleaning it up. The other chain, minor change you'll see in there is originally the picketing ordinance required permits or notifications for groups. Well, the state of the law currently is Supreme Court says that any group smaller than 10 a city can kind of deal with on on the fly. So there's no permit or notice requirement for small groups. Anything under 10. Anything over that, there's a graduated um scale and as you go up, you'll have to give us more time to notify us of your event and then we can prepare for that and up to 200 when you get a certain number of

Could you change the slide for the audience so they can see the language? Thank you.

Go back. Go back. Yeah. So, so that's we're we're striking a blanket prohibition and the the enforcement or regulation of of noise as a result of protest or pickets will be regulated by our noise ordinance, not our picking ordinance, which is the current approach for just about every municipality in the country. Bob, um, if I intend to have a protest of 10 or less, don't need to contact the city, correct,

whatsoever, but my protest grow to people just want to join 20 to 25 to 30 we're going to ask you to go home and give us notice to get ready because we want to make sure especially in in this day and age. We know protests can get contentious, right? Your protest may, you know, innocently grow to 12 or 13, but there will could be a counterprotest. So, we're going to ask you to give us time to make sure we're ready that both protests can be held at the same time and both groups can be heard equally. So, yeah, with small groups, again, the courts seem to think that those are they can be handled by any municipality. as they grow, we get the the luxury of preparing for uh the the whatever counterprotest may occur.

Question um Bob on the to the discussion of when it becomes noise that would be up to one of our individual officers to determine in consultation with the city attorney or somebody. Yes. But it is a very spa fact-sp specific fact-driven analysis. Not only in the field as it's occurring, but that fact scenario will be dissected over and over again if there's a court case. It is there is there. It's a gray area. But but to your point, we already have a noise ordinance on the book.

We do. Um, and so that's something that our officers are are already aware of and I can imagine already deal with in one way or another. I I've had a dozen conversations with the chief and he understands that that there are speech issues and that if we are going to decide at some point to stop free speech, we better by goodness make sure it's it's noise. And so we've had those conversations and sometimes they do cross that line and and sometimes they don't. very fact specific, very fact-driven analysis,

but but we're really not dictating free speech. We're just we're just trying to create an environment where that free speech can't infringe on somebody else's right to come downtown and enjoy dining or whatever they're doing in our downtown area or anywhere in our city for that matter. Right.

That's that's the balancing act of of the city property. So it I mean it we should be doing some proactive work with our patrol officers to make sure they know how to recognize it. I mean I I think the the process of them when those issues arise trying to find you on a weekend or you know your replacement on a week you know whomever that seems a little inefficient to me. I mean, if we could get them better equipped to to recognize what we think that threshold is, then then they're empowered to deal with it. The other issue as it relates to noise that I would ask about is these loud vehicles. I mean, anytime you go down to downtown and you're sitting outside, there's somebody in a hot rod or a motorcycle that goes raring by and it's it's very disruptive. Um,

it is per se prohibited in our city. Well, I would be interested to know how many people we've cited for that. Yeah, I get those that information, but it is it is under our noise ordinance that loud or modified vehicles are prohibited. So, I'm pleased to see these changes as a whole package being made because I think they all independently and collectively address some of the flaws in our ordinance um in our city code. I would like to see some, you know, renewed intentional enforcement of these of these um these new Yes. revisions.

And I agree with that. And again, a loud vehicle is is often in the in the eyes of the beholder because a Ferrari revving at 6,000 RPMs is music to some people's near ear. It's it's noise to some other people. So, you're right. But it's training. I don't think this is a motorboat humming through downtown. This is a car that's designed to be loud to get attention and drive fast and you know I mean I think you can go on any weekend day or night and you're going to you're going to see hear that coming through. Attorney what he just said about the the loud noise with the car that's not only just downtown that's within the neighborhood as well.

Yeah. Citywide. Citywide. Okay. But now it's up to the neighbors to record it. Yes. And our officers, it helps us if we have evidence to show the judge when we get to court six or nine months later that that it was in fact an unreasonable intrusion upon the ears of of the listeners. Okay. Councilwoman, um, switching subjects to the trailer coaches conversation, would that also include a school bus? There's been an issue in my district about a parked school bus.

So, um, no, trailer coaches is is is generally defined as as a a trailer hitch with an axle, a school bus. We do have an oversized vehicle regulation. If it meets the the if it's too if it's oversized per our regulation, those can't be can't be parked on our city streets either. Uh, I don't know the size of the bus and but it could be addressed, but it could be parked in your driveway potent. There could be a violation there, too. I'm I'm I'm trying to think through the entire code. Well, I don't we don't need to get into it, but this does not cover school bus. Not on streets. Not Not this one. Correct. But is it an active school bus? No, not an active school bus. They're often remodeled as

a junk school bus. Is it used? I mean, does it does it drive? because it cannot be disabled vehicles cannot be what I would encourage is is let our code enforcement our code enforcement is well aware so I was hoping this would help with that I'll be glad to look at it now will not thank you councilwoman Rogers thank you mayor um this is exactly this question so how are these changes communicated how do our residents know about this ordinance and the changes if we pass this what's the communication plan.

So the anybody's watching tonight and by next reading will know, but we would have to institute some kind of a push out plan. Um that they go into the code and the code's available to everybody, but I know people don't read the code weekly like Chris Story does. So um they'll we'll have to institute some kind of a push out. Okay, Mr. Mayor.

Sure. So, I'm I'm still not clear, I think, on this sound issue. Um, you know, I read some other um ordinances with some other municipalities near us and they are specific and no amplified sound unless you, you know, you have a permit to do that. I don't have an issue. You can say whatever you want. I don't care. But if I'm outside eating a meal and somebody wants to come and recite 50 Shades of Gray with an amplifier or a megaphone 10t over my shoulder, that is noise. and and and and my my issue is if there's not clear guidance of what our officers can do, you know, it all becomes subjective and then you run into instances where people feel like they can't go and enjoy a meal. I mean, I was in downtown Greenville for the basketball tournament, preacher man preaching, stopped and listened to him, but he was his amplification was his voice,

right? And I had I don't have no issue with that. If I was having a meal and he was standing over me with a megaphone, I would have a problem with that. So I it just seems a little I'm just

It's gray. There's no question about it. There's no ifs, ends, or buts about it. It is it is a gray area. It is facts specific to every case. All I can tell you is that a municipality cannot in today in in the law today cannot per se prohibit amplification of somebody protesting, picketing or speaking. Can't do that. What I'm telling you is a city can always regulate the time, manner, and place of noise. And so when that person speaking or expressing their views or whatever they're doing morphs from that to noise, which is defined as an unreasonable intrusion upon the piece of somebody else, then it's illegal. that changes with every single scenario or factor of of of

well why can't the standard in terms of application be if somebody's using an amplification device I mean that that takes it from being yeah I think our neighbors not far from us h have are specific to whether it's yeah whether it's defined in the I mean maybe it could be caveed in the code but but I mean to me that is you know the the very definition of taking something from free speech to additional noise is the use of an amplification device. Amplification device.

You can All I'm telling you is that if you if you enact an ordinance that says that you can't use an amplification device to express express free speech, it's unconstitutional and it's illegal. Well, then why then why couldn't we say something to the effect of um you know that to the extent that that that free speech becomes noise for example via the use of amplification device that escalates the the volume.

That's exactly what the noise ordinance does. If and when the let's take a a pre a street preacher for example with a megaphone. if and when they become noise. There's no there's no I I will share with you what what the what the law is. I don't I can't give you a a a laundry list check of how to address that. Um but I'm

I'm just trying to think about it. If I'm, you know, Art Little John and I'm in downtown Spartanberg and I'm trying to identify that issue and whether or not it meets the threshold, if if I'm enforcing that, my opinion would be that the enforce I mean that the the threshold would be the use of something that's beyond their god-given voice. Yeah. And that that'd be illegal. Decil decimals either. Council glad to discuss further in executive session the nuances of of constitutional law and free speech because we could debate it all night but I don't think we're getting anywhere with this council woman.

Yes Bob the question was asked how is this word going to get out and you responded by saying if they are watching they will know. I believe that's what you said. I represent a district that the majority of my people are seniors and they do not watch this and they have no way of going on to the computer or to check things out. I think there should be a better way of us getting the word out especially if we want folks to obey sure the policies that are put in place.

Don't don't disagree at all. I I think you're right. I think we should push out a public media campaign with that information. No, no question about that. Any other questions? So, I hear a motion. Make a motion that we adopt the edited language as presented. Second. All in favor? I. Any that opposed? Nay. Thank you.

One nay. Thank you. Thank you. We have item eight, presentation of Bernett Park venue improvements and programming enhancements. Mr. Chris Story, city manager, uh, assisted by Mitch Kennedy, deputy city manager. Yes, Mr. Mayor. I'm going to uh cover a number of Chris, I'm sorry. We'll keep moving that. Okay, I will uh try to get it on the right one. Yeah, I'm going to make a a couple of um

substantive recommendations over the next little while. Um and uh I just want to be clear at the outset that we are we are seeking no votes tonight, no action tonight. We are publicly presenting these proposals so that the public can then let you know in various ways how how they react to to to that. Um ultimately it'll come back for a a vote at another time, but this is an effort to just be um uh begin a a dialogue about uh these particular proposals and projects. I wanted to start though it's a little bit out of order. Um but I wanted to start by by clarifying um one thing. You know, as we've said all along, as we'll talk about the the clock tower in a little while, as we've said all along about the clock tower, people that feel strongly about the clock tower are not our enemies. We don't have adversaries in this discussion. We have we have folks who might u uh have different views about uh what is best and what should be done. But one of the things we want to be clear on is the the specific facts and what indeed the city has promised in regard to the clock tower. Um and the primary um uh way that that has been done was through the the settlement of the litigation that was referenced um uh by a couple several public commenters tonight. So, here's the the the um here's a number of copies if anybody in the public wants one of of the settlement agreement. It's been a public document that's been available for anybody who is interested in reading it for several months now. And I thought before we dive in on the on the recommendations, we would sort of level set about what has been promised and and

what is what is that um language because I think you will find that we are intending to far exceed what has been promised. We we intend to to go beyond um uh the the minimum required by the litigation settlement. But I do want to be clear on what it is that sets that that frame. These are the these are the substantive promises made. They are A, B, C, D, and E. Uh the one that relates um um to some of the recent comments is um I'll start with item C. The new location of the clock tower will include the appropriate historical elements. The new location of the clock tower will be selected by city council after a study involving available and feasible locations and public input. Um, so the the important point there is ultimately it's it's it's your decision and public input is is an expectation and in this and all uh discourse that the city has about investments or choices uh to make. Importantly, the agreement doesn't distinguish between any groups or any individuals um in the um public input. everybody's a member of the public to give their input. There's no specific rights or privileges to the plaintiffs um in the litigation about how this process is to be conducted. Item D in the settlement is that the city will in good faith move the project forward in a manner consistent with prudent city planning, construction design, and implementation principles. So, I just wanted to uh to cover that that ground so we can um uh think about how we'll go above and beyond that. And these are copies here

if any members of the public are interested. Uh so, uh next I want to I want to pivot back to the agenda item of of um Barnett Park. Well, actually I have one other um clear one other thing I want to clear up that has a recent question that has surfaced in relation to discussion. Um that is uh is the new clock tower uh architectural feature planned for the joint government complex still part of that plan? And the answer is yes, it is. This image uh shows the original government building with the clock tower and then its successor government building with the clock tower and the portion of the government building with the clock tower that is currently under construction on Church Street. That project continues. It is fully contracted under construction. that new facility will include um a tall um clock tower feature there and that so that work is ongoing. Okay. So um with those two things about which there's been some confusion cleared up I'll move uh to what are the criteria influencing uh staff's recommendations that you'll hear uh tonight u uh related to that. First thing we're doing when we when we when we um try to determine the the future of the clock tower is that we're we're seeking a site unlikely to be impacted by a change for generations. The one of the reasons we want to do that is to avoid any potential for a third movement of the clock tower. as was referenced earlier tonight where it was originally planned and designed

lasted about seven years before there was discussion of movement and then after it was it was put in place that it was in place for another several decades before discussion of of movement began. We want to avoid a third uh time for that. So that's our most important uh criteria. We are seeking uh for it to be highly visible. That is important sentiment we have heard throughout um from folks about the clock towers. They want it to be highly visible. Um and uh so that's influencing our thinking on that. Uh wanted to be a downtown location that is that is prominent. Uh folks expressed desire for unrestricted public access to it. In other words, didn't want it to be behind a of a locked door or, you know, anything of that nature that or a locked gate. So, we wanted unrestricted public access. Um, and as a practical legal matter, we need the facility. We need the location to be city-owned. We can't go putting uh a structure on property that we don't have a legal right to do so. And then and then finally, and we've touched on this publicly before, but uh given that uh a public clock tower is currently under construction on Church Street, the the the clock tower we're we're looking for a location for presents an opportunity to add a prominent landmark in another area of downtown. let it be a positive contributor to enhancing um uh an area of downtown um that um would benefit from its presence. So, um as I'm sure many have figured out, we're going to talk a little bit about Barnett Park as it um as it

relates to that. Um, we we are proposing tonight some improvements and additions to Barnett Park. Barnett Park is our largest downtown green space and a unique downtown venue. Barnett Park presents an opportunity to provide additional programming and events to the community. As many of you know, uh, Barnett Park's amphitheater is a great space for a for a show and performance that can handle thousands of people. Uh, I've attended events that our staff estimates were five and 6,000 attendee events. Uh, and everyone had great sightelines to the stage and, uh, the the facility worked very well. Um but we've struggled uh frankly to achieve a strong consistent slate of performances there in the amphitheater. Uh so in some ways although the park is used heavily um for different community events and festivals as a performance venue, we've never been able to fully tap its potential. And so we want to talk a little bit about changing that. There are two primary reasons in staff's logic that we have failed to to fully realize the potential of the Barnett Park Amphitheater um uh and the Zimly Zimmerly Amphitheater um as a consistent performance venue for touring acts and things. And those those two factors that have constrained us are that the sound lighting and staging infrastructure is lacking which and that limits the types of acts that can successfully perform there and then when there are performances requires the

promoter of whatever performance to rent and bring in a significant amount of equipment. So that is an impediment to folks booking additional um uh performances there. And the second factor is candidly um as a community we have lacked the local professional expertise necessary to book the kinds of touring acts that fit well in that audience range. That is a professional uh of set of skills that that we at the city really haven't had access to. So from staff perspective, it's those two factors that have kept us from having a a a robust uh spring, summer, and fall schedule of performances um in the in the Zimmerly Amphitheater at Barnett Park. But I'm excited to share that Mitch Kennedy has facilitated an effort that we think addresses both of them uh both of those impediments simultaneously. Has two primary elements. One is uh we've had some anonymous donors come forward um and pledge resources to cover much of the cost of fixing the staging and lighting and performance in infrastructure, the physical upgrades to that. And secondly, uh, uh, Roger Newton, the CEO of Spartanber Memorial Auditorium, who's with us tonight, um, who has in his, uh, relatively short ten tenure managing the Memorial Auditorium, dramatically increased the, uh, the the the quality of offerings there, has expressed openness into a to a programming uh, arrangement that would solve our second impediment. So, um, as we'll unpack over the next few minutes, we think we can achieve a significantly improved slate of offerings with a relatively low investment of city funds, which could be

included in the FY27 budget. And what ties that to to to the next agenda item is that in addition to the improved stage and performance infrastructure, we are recommending that the clock tower become the grand new entrance to this fabulous performance venue. This would enable the clock tower to be a contributing feature of a major downtown amenity and destination, increasing its visibility and prominence. We see these as mutually reinforcing steps forward. We believe this will allow families u um to to experience the clock tower in a way that's part of uh their social and entertainment and event life in a very healthy way. Uh we think it will establish um it as an additional landmark in a portion of of our downtown that will benefit from its highly visible presence. And um we're excited to sort of illustrate and show you more about the possibilities. But again, as I emphasize, uh these are proposals shared tonight so that you and the community can begin considering them. And no actions or approvals are being sought at this time. And at this time, I'll uh ask my colleague Mitch Kennedy, who who's put this uh um this arrangement together, to share additional details.

Thank you, Chris. Evening, mayor, members of council, just to add a little bit more context to how we got here. So last year in 2025, we were approached by uh professionals in the music industry of their desire who have a strong passion for the Sparberg community but are doing uh unique um projects in other amphitheaters in other markets approached us about the opportunity to uh improve the amphitheater in creating more activity sustain activity around m music performance. We were also approached in the similar time frame about community stakeholders about their frustration in not seeing this. This led staff to go through a period of due diligence where we did engage individuals in the music industry, individuals from the construction and design about what our current limitations are with the new facil with the existing facility and what will be required to position us to take advantage of this market in which we sit. As Chris noted, we also had community members who committed resources to making this possible. So I will now ask uh for Roger Newton to come up to just provide a perspective from the programming and the opportunities we have if we had these improvements and we had dedicated programming. Followed by that, William Gray with McMillan Pasen Smith will walk us through concepts uh uh for the amphitheater improvements as well as the clock tower. Roger

go that mic. You can use that. Yeah. Okay.

Before you do that, I I just wanted to to highlight these bullets so everybody can hear specifically of what that due diligence period. So the the amphitheater opened in 2001. The vinyl roof at that time was a iconic feature for amphitheaters. Today the roof hits its 25 year lifespan. The height and the weight load for the roof prevents any attaching of any equipment, lighting and sound. This limits our ability to attract bands and artists to our venue for concerts. You might say, "Well, we've had concerts there." Well, they make modifications to what they normally do. And often we will have artists, what they call track artists. They don't have a live band. They're just singing uh with backup music. The improvements to the roof, which would include improvements to our restrooms in the rear, green rooms, artists like to, you know, have accommodations as well as our loading dock. Um, loading docks are critical to groups that are bringing equipment in where they can assess the amphitheater and this will position us to promote and program the amphitheater. We have seen, as Chris noted, vast improvements in our local entertainment and we hope to leverage the professional knowledge that we currently have in the Spartanberg community to uh to part Bet Park. Roger.

Sure. Um, well, I'm I'm glad uh I'm glad this is being addressed. I think there's a there's a gold mine available out there. I think there's a real opportunity. Um if the venue can be improved, um it has had its limitations. Uh and u the and the primary limitation has been the stage house. And so I think uh the design addressing the stage house is going to go a long way. Um as Mitch alluded, the um the stage house and all of the backstage amenities, those are all very very important to an artist. when an artist comes in and their management team comes in, it's their home for a day. And so they they want to feel welcome. Uh they want to be comfortable. They're on the stage for an hour, give or take. And so we try to get them in a good mood because if they're in a good mood, odds are it's going to be a good show. Um, and then I would I would also add that it's also important that when we have five or six thousand people there having a great time that uh we want the fan experience to be great. We want the artist experience to be great but also the fan experience. So I think things like um parking um access um restrooms food and beverage all those things are going to be very very important to the overall experience. Um, we I I I've been in this market now for over 20 years. I managed the Bond secures wellness arena for 10 years and I've been in the industry for over 40 years. Um, so um I know a little bit about how to book something and and I've been here for four years. I love love love what Spartanberg is have they how they have responded and uh you know for us we're only as good as the last show we do and and we're all about selling tickets and we're grateful that we are selling tickets and the more tickets we

sell the more shows we get the more big names we get and so one just helps the other so I think there's a void with that will be filled with this amphitheater if you stop and think about capacities for a minute um we're 3,000 capacity give or take at the auditorium, the new stadium, we call it 10,000 capacity. I'm talking about concerts, of course. Um 10,000 capacity give or take. And I think this this is what I call a boutique amphitheater, meaning it's a smaller smaller amphitheater, five or 6,000 capacity. And that has become the trend in the industry. the big large Live Nation or or other 18 20,000 capacity amphitheaters. They do well in major markets and will always do well, but I think for smaller midsize markets, these boutique amphitheaters are the way to go. Um, so I think the good news is you're you're addressing this in the right way. Um um we will have challenges. Um we have to be very very strategic about about promoters and about how we how we attract acts. Um do we want one promoter or do we want multiple promoters? At the auditorium I have 14 promoters I deal with and that works very well and that may be the way to go. Um and then we have to look at our competition. Our market is is not just Spartanberg. Our market is Asheville to Anderson and all points in between. and there are 2 million people. So, the good news is we have a we have a lot of population. People have good jobs and and people are are responding by going to events and going to shows. Um, now the downside is over the next three years there are going to be at last count six boutique amphitheaters in our market. Okay. And

so there there are there's one in Asheville already. I'm sorry. There are two because another one's opening this summer. Two in Asheville. Anderson announced a remodel of their existing amphitheater um to make it a boutique amphitheater and they're planning on opening in 2027. Um the new soccer stadium in Malden plans to do concerts. Um, obviously you've got the big amphitheater in Simpsonville and then um you may have heard about the big uh renovation to the arena almost $300 million uh that will take place and and there is a 7,000 capacity amphitheater planned for that expansion. Um I'm leaving out maybe leaving out one or two more but my point is over the next few years we will have competition. So, I I try to be conservative. I I've I've said that I've told the city I think we'll do about six con six concerts a year. Um, a year being April through October. I think that could grow. That could grow over the years, but it will grow if we are successful. So, I think that's the key is for us to come out of the gate strong. Um, if we can get this up and running with good management, we have a great experience for the artists, great experience for the fans. Um, the entertainment business is a, believe it or not, it's a small industry. Everybody talks to everybody. So, when that when that country music band gets back on their bus on Saturday night and and drives back to Nashville by Monday or Tuesday, if they've had a great experience with this new venue, by Monday or Tuesday, we're going to get calls from agents and managers saying, "You've got to try this new venue in in Spartanber." So, I think it's a great opportunity. I applaud the efforts and I'm available for questions.

Before you sit, uh, Roger, thank you for what you, uh, have done over at the auditorium. You and I have had conversations from bringing the, uh, Broadway shows to Kevin Hart to, you know, but just thank you for what you are doing at the auditorium for Spartanberg. Thank you. Thank you, mayor. Thank you.

Oh, sure. Tammy has a question. I just wanted to ask may again reiterate what the mayor said about you know thank you for your contributions to to rejuvenating the auditorium important uh venue in our community and has a rich history and and uh it's exciting to see it relevant again um and I think you alluded to it but I just want to underscore as it relates to the inventory of assets that we already have um the auditorium fifth third part um you know how would this fit in and do you see these as complimentary pieces that only enhance our market as an attractive venue for different types of acts up and down the dial?

I don't think the three the three venues you mentioned uh I don't think that they are going to compete. I think the competition will be Charlotte is a is a competitor. I think the competition will be the similar venues artists when they go out on tour. I should have I should have said this in the beginning, but when artists go out on tour, they typically decide whether they are going to do an out an amphitheater or we call it a shed tour or an indoor tour. So, you know, when they decide if they're going to do an indoor tour, meaning an arena or a theater tour, well, um Fifth, Third, and Barn Park will not be in play. Um, conversely, if they're going to do an outdoor tour, then they would have to decide based on how many tickets they think they're going to sell, which venue would work best for them. Um, so yeah, I don't I don't see any I see comp complimentary and not competition between those three venues.

And I just wanted to note that we did uh in our due diligence process talk to the leadership of the spine. Tyson is well aware of our intentions and don't want to speak for him but what he shared with us that they would do no more than two concerts and to Roger's point it would be much larger crowd than what we have. I would also note that Roger and myself and members from one Spartanberg and others meet regularly to talk about events. We started that last year when Spartanberers came online. We have strategic meetings making sure that we're seeing from the same sheet of music when Rogers have an event there might be accommodations that we need to make a parking and things of that nature as well as uh Tyson and his teams. So there was communication. Good.

William. All right. Good evening. Thanks for having me. I get the privilege of going through some images and letting you all understand the concept that's been discussed. This is not my brainchild. This is a team's brainchild. I want to be clear about that. A lot of collaboration went into this. I told my daughter what I was doing tonight. She said, "Are y'all going to make it so Taylor Swift can come?" And I said, "That's not going to happen." Right, Roger? Okay. A little small for that. Okay. I'll let her know that. Yeah. Back then.

So, what we're going to do is walk through a series of images. We're gonna show uh all the aspects that Chris and team just outlaid uh ahead of this um and and we'll try to attempt to answer questions. I'm sure there'll be plenty. But as you can see uh this is kind of midway down into the amphitheater looking at the stage. So you can see and I'm going to get closer, but you can see it's an overhaul of what's there today. The intent was to try to utilize as much of the structural footings as we could. We've got to analyze that a bit. Um and and also uh the idea is to build off of that and create a structure that is easier to maintain and also stronger and can hold all the infrastructure that was mentioned. So we can have a diverse range of acts um and support them. A little bit closer view. Uh you can see I don't know if this laser will show up on the TV. It will not. But you can see the footings down there. That's approximately where they are today. So you can imagine the big red poles that come out of the ground. That's where those uh large columns tie in today. So it's very similar in scale. It's not some huge uh behemoth. It's very similar in scale. Um you can see the lighting rig and the large speakers and the monitors up there tied into the structure. That's the idea. Roger touched on it. We want to have all that stuff that allows a worldclass event to come to this park and activate it. Uh, one thing worth noting, I don't know if you can notice it, but that uh, the silver backdrop that's there today is currently maintained in the design. All the back of house stuff is kind of screened behind that. So, as an audience member, you may not notice it, but there's a I think green room, some restrooms, some pre-unction areas for the axe. Uh this is zooming up and down kind of at if you were attending a show kind of where the uh the sound booth would be looking at uh looking at kind of the scale of it. I think that's important to

look at. Uh one thing we thought as designers that was interesting and the team agreed with this kind of mimics what you have going on at the Memorial Auditorium a barrel vault roof. Uh very uh very conventional structural members and materials easy to maintain and suspend things off of. And then one more view uh looking east. Okay, so the clock tower. What we've attempted to do here is to really elevate the design into something that's timeless. The one that was, you know, again, the things that were historic are the the bell, the mechanisms that operated the clock, all of that stuff. The intent would be to have that here, celebrate it, and literally elevate it into something that that belongs in Spartanberg and has and can stand the test of time from a design standpoint. Um, this is a zoomed out view looking down. You can see where it sits on the corner. It actually plays really nicely with everything that's there. The statue that's in the the, you know, if you could see the cross on the corner, that would stay in place. all of the arbors that go around the fountain would stay in place. And it's hard to imagine, but this is actually larger in width than the current uh than the former tower. Okay, larger in width. You can actually go inside, experience it. You will see some renderings when we get a little bit closer. Um, you can see how these arched walls kind of shape out that corner, really give it some presence. You can I'm go back to that image so you can get a better sense of scale there. Um, one thing we talked about a lot is this is really when you think about our town and how it's shaped up over time. This is the premier civic and cultural spot for the city of Spartanber. You've got the Chapman Cultural Center there. You obviously have a huge venue. You've got parking infrastructure and you have

accessibility. Arguably that didn't exist downtown. People couldn't park easily and walk to it and experience it. Right now when there's a show at the Chapman Center, it's not unreasonable to think people could walk over, see the clock tower and and and literally touch it. Um, which was something that was lacking in the uh in the prior location, surrounded by traffic. Uh, this is another view looking out towards the Denny's building. You can see in the background, like I said, you can see all of the arbors preserved. Everything that's there, the the the splash pad, everything is preserved. If you go inside that area, what we're proposing is that all the plaques are preserved and reinstalled. All the ones that you saw in the former clock tower would go back and be on display in this area. I know Chris mentioned too about preserving some of the bricks. I'm sure that's achievable. Uh, another item that we're trying to achieve is in the former clock tower, you couldn't even see the bell. It was kind of tucked away in the top. Couldn't see it. In this case, and I don't know which view shows it best, but you would you would actually be able to see the bell as you're walking around the the entire site. And also, there is an opportunity um that you could look up and see the bell suspended above you. That might be a little scary for people, but the idea would be is that all these historic elements are actually on display now rather than than tucked away. Okay, similar view. Uh, this would be a night shot. Again, unlike the previous version, we would ideally illuminate the top where the bell is. It's on display, illuminated at all times. The interior of the clock tower is illuminated. people can experience at all times of day.

And then there you can see uh again it's hard to not be able to communicate this without a laser, but you can see the axis as you enter the site. The the stage is on center with that corner clock tower. So you'll see a video in a minute that kind of spotlights that, but you can imagine experiencing the park. You come in through the corner and then it opens up. You you experience the clock tower, then the park opens up and you see the band shell below. Everything works well together with a lot of purpose. And then there you are down at the bottom looking up. Really gives everybody in the park a sense of orientation to where the corner of um where the entrance is really. And then there's a night view looking from the stage. You can see the tower at the top. And forgive me for going through these so quickly. There's just a lot of images. I want to make sure we have time for everybody. Okay. And there's another night view.

Okay. And so now we have a quick Oh, Christie, you want to talk? Okay.

That's the last one. I believe in the back they will play a quick video for us so you can understand everything comprehensively. Yep. That's nice. Nice jazz. Okay. Mr. Mayor, we have just a just a couple more pieces of information and then we can all take questions and take it from there. Um, we wanted to um

uh Okay, good. We're back to the deck. In the in the interim, we have a, you know, in the in the time that it would take to finalize design and and construction. In the interim, we have a we have an opportunity that we that we think is unique and that we're also excited about. Um, as you know, the bell was purchased in 1881, and it is, to my knowledge, the oldest civic asset that we can tangibly uh touch. Um, u, and so our our friends, um, well, let's see, uh, I'll come back to that. our our friends at um at the Spartanber County Public Libraries headquarters have have are in the process now of putting together a a display of of that when we uh uh in the time since you've last seen the the bell. It has gone from that which was covered in pigeon poop and years of uh um uh of of weathering and and whatnot. We've had an appropriate uh appropriately credentialed um professional polish and restore it. Um, nice.

And and we are excited about having it go on display in the library uh so people can come right up to it. Um, and and see it. It's inscribed on the back. It has its original uh detailing in it. I was blown away uh uh when when I got to see it. So, I'm excited about the folks who who um in this well, I'm excited about everyone getting to see it, but particularly those with a strong connection to it, getting a chance to be close to this civic asset that has been in four or five different locations over over its time in our possession since 1881. Uh so, we're thankful for the library to doing it. they'll be announcing the specific day that uh but it'll be a a multi-week uh uh display with the the bell and other elements um including the restored plaques that um uh the that tell the history and purpose of it um that'll be on display. Um, and as I discussed u at the opening, uh, part of our obligation and and and our general way of doing business is to is to request public input on that. And so uh we've just to make that logistically as simple as folks I mean obviously folks will communicate uh in in in a variety of ways but if they want to ensure that that that their their views on on these proposals are integrated into a a binder that you will receive in a few weeks. They could send it to that email address clock tower city ofpart.org and we'll keep that open at least um uh through your meeting on April 13th. Um

and and so that's that's the uh material that um uh staff had to present on these two agenda items. Mitch and myself and and presumably William and Roger be glad to to to take questions if there are additional Sure. Council Malud, John.

Yes. I believe the clock tower, you know, got the new location that's proposed. I think that is a better location than what it was downtown because it's going to have more visibility because people are going to be seeing it. And um during the time it was downtown, you had to actually go downtown to see it and plus it didn't work anyway. But uh you know, you're going past the culture center now and you're going to be seeing that. And I just my personal opinion, I think this is a great move and I like the bill going in the library.

Thank you for that. No, no, no decisions will be made of just comments. So, Mr. J Jane Councilwoman mayor um I think the bell is just awesome. It's my pleasure. But I want to know we've done all this. Will it be working?

Uh yes, the the well the original clockworks are um that was an interesting part of of this process. Um, and we will those will be available for folks to see, but they were literally shimmed with different pieces of random material to, you know, and that that type of thing. Um, but one of the things we're excited about uh about celebrating um uh this bell is that with modern and in in with modern lighting um as as William referenced the sightelines. I mean, I'm envisioning all that huge volume of cars on uh St. John Street, which is by far downtown's largest volume of traffic, comes up and down right by this site. We'll be able to use the the modern lighting to make sure that the this the glimmering bell is visible u u uh from from various uh points of view in a way that uh frankly was tough in the in the prior location. Um, so we're excited about that, but we are we're trying to see what's possible about the gearing mechanism and and that type of thing. That was originally uh when uh folks brought it out of uh storage, you know, it was it was in storage for about 20 years and then when it was brought out of storage in the 70s, uh Joe Griffin, who was the founder of um of Griffin Gear um and had extensive knowledge of those the mechanics of that kind of thing, he personally uh restored the the gearing infrastructure um And u so that was a unique asset. We're not sure what's possible in relation to that.

Now now your answer is just for the clock itself running and operating. Oh absolutely that absolutely. But the bell itself will it ring? What's that? The bell will it ring? I have that bell absolutely rings. It would it would wake us all up in this room if uh if it were if we're here. So yes, it's maybe an hour. Every 12 hours. Absolutely. Um Chris, it it was clear as William commented that it was wider than the original one. Um is it taller also? I don't know the dimensional

come forward. I didn't share with y'all earlier, but we ma we matched the same height and there's a spire on top that actually extends taller, okay, than the former. Originally, it was shorter and then we got the proportions right. Sorry, me and Chris, you commented on this when we were going through the original discussions. The the scalability is so different there and in what you just showed us. I mean, it obviously they're renderings and concepts,

right? Um, but it looks so much larger because there aren't the the giant hotel that's going to go right there that would really have dwarfed the size of the clock tower, but it being alone and being on the corner and um I mean it looks like it's taller than the Chapman there, right? It is.

So, it's taller than the Chapman Cultural Center. So, it to me that really allows it to um to shine and be much larger and um uh what's the word I'm looking for? Imposing almost um than it ever could have had it stayed in its in its location.

We're we're excited about it being a a landmark and a visual identifier in that area. And the Chapman Center is not going anywhere. Barnett Park's not going anywhere. And so we think it'll it'll keep that iconography. Now, to the question of of the width, I'll leave it to the designers to talk about things like proportions and mass and that kind of thing, but I will remind everyone that the history of it when it was designed in the 70s, the site was literally the middle of the uh then pedestrian pedestrianized intersection of Liberty Street and East Main Street. So it had to given that geometry be be a relatively small footprint. Um and one of the attributes we're trying to achieve, we're trying to raise the prominence of it. And one of the reasons why it's it's got a little bit wider base is so you can literally enter the the the splash pad area and the venue through it. And the old one, yes, a person could walk through it, but I believe it was 4T 8 in wide. That means a family couldn't walk through it together. And that means multiple people couldn't walk a breast through it. So the additional functional grand entrance aspect to it is part of the the actual practical side of the design. And William may want to talk about the the the the other things to do with the dimensioning

as as Mr. Stoddard said, "Now you can get your whole prom group inside, not just your individual prom picture in front of it." So, um, William, one last question. In the renderings, I so love the the statue that we have right there of the woman kind of flowing in the wind. Is that still envisioned to be there or it is? That will remain. Okay. Exuberance is the statue. Yes, it will stay in place. It's you. It's Erica. The one thing that uh just when we think about dimensions, the current the former clock tower would literally fit inside this one.

It's that much bigger. So that's interesting point of reference. Custom one. Um Chris, may I ask about the Barnet Park in this stage? Will the city maintain the responsibility of securing the the artists and the the venues that would be coming or Mitch whoever?

Um I will tell you our history around uh programming was that we just waited for a promoter to call us. We've never had a proactive approach to programming um the amphitheater. We proposed an agreement with a professional entity that would do that with us. Uh there are things that we're tentatively discussing depending on the direction the council gives us but we believe our best approach to that will be contracting with somebody to do that and we have not I'm just going to be frank those third party promoters we have basic fees that we've charged but we've essentially given a park away to have programming under a dedicated approach there would be additional revenue that we would capture they would also offset the cost for that contracting of that professional capacity to program it.

Thank you. Um Chris, and then another question, um with the with the information and the the library display on the history of the tower and the clock, will that be captured? I know, um William, you said the plaques will be there. Is is there any discussion or plan on on continuing that history in a place where where the community can continue to access it whether the library or any other city city space?

What what we currently envision is that well there were well there there were two things that I call there might be a more specific term that I call plaques that were at the former clock tower. One is the listing of names and you saw those in a similar configuration as as they were um in the in the concept images. The second was actually groundmounted at both the original location and the second location that um has it was multi-panel that had several paragraphs uh that was written in the in the 70s to describe their intent with that. We have also res had it restored, polished, refurbished. Um, and so we believe that that would be on display immediately adjacent to it. And one of the things we were trying to achieve with this is make it so whether there's an event going on or not, it would be in a location that folk could get to it because, you know, if for example, you're an individual whose name is is is on one of those plaques and you want to show a grandchild, well, that may not conveniently happen at a certain time and place, but in this configuration, you could go see it whenever you wanted to. Thank you, Grace.

Yes, ma'am. Mr. Mayor,

um super excited about the expansion of the sound um and giving it a facelift of of the amphitheater. Um I've heard that story for a very long time as far as bringing artists into to Spartanberg and um I am just so appreciative, Roger, what you all are doing at the Spartanberg Memorial Auditorium. Um, it really has made us more competitive in the upstate when it comes to live music. And I think it's just it's it's just great to see as someone who very much enjoys going to concerts yourself. Um, I'm going to preface this by saying, William, you're one of my dearest friends. So, I love the design. I absolutely love the design. I'm not in love with the location. And I'm just been scribbling and have a few reasons why and it's just my personal opinion on why I am not a big fan of the location. Um, you know, I feel like this being such a significant landmark for our city. Um, I feel like that significance also matters by how much people encounter it. And Barnett Park is not in the core of downtown. So there's not a whole lot of foot traffic unless there is an event and so I feel like people ac accessing the clock tower, you know, you're going to have to make an effort. So it's not like I'm going to go eat a meal down at Sophia's and then walk to, you know, walk a block over with my family and, you know, check out grandpa's plaque or whatever. Yeah.

Um, and so, you know, I feel like sometimes parks, they're more like episodic when it comes to like foot traffic and it's all based on events that are had. And so, I get that Barnett Park, you know, it's not geographically far from where it was before, but I do feel like the location of the tower is a little bit like out of sight, out of mind, unless you're like driving by it. And so, that that's just my personal opinion. Um, I'm super excited about the design. I think that's great that people will be able to like kind of walk in and really explore. Um, but I'm not super excited about the location because I feel like it's not people can't access it as easily as they would have. If you are in the down to town core area of of of Spartanberg where all of our restaurants and businesses are, you're going to have to trek, which I don't mind walking, but for others it might be difficult. Um, and I feel like putting landmarks in high visibility areas and highly trafficked areas also helps boost, you know, small businesses and, you know, cuz while you're walking by, you're like, "Oh, we're going to pop in here and to the tea exchange and grab some spices and that kind of thing." So, I'm super excited about all of it. I'm just not a huge fan of the location and that is just my personal preference.

Thank you, Councilman Farmer. Yeah. I mean, I'm um All right, guys. Let him finish his comments.

Yeah. I mean, I I mean, Chris, Mitch, William, Roger, everybody that that put time and effort into this, I I appreciate it. I mean, there's a lot for us to consider. Um, you know, as we think through this. Um, by the way, I'm glad you like Exuberance. My mother was involved in the in the committee and the group that brought Exuberance to town. Um, and and also she was involved in the the restoration of Daniel Morgan statue and and those of us that are old enough will remember when it came back from a foundry in Philadelphia, they put it in the at the time the Art Center on Spring Street and people got to go in and actually experience it close up, you know, on a ground level. that wasn't on a pedestal. Uh, and it was really cool to to really study that sculpture and and statue and sort of see it firsthand and and I'm excited about that along with the exhibit. Um, thinking about the the tower at Barnett Park. Um, you know, I I was questioning how it would fit if if it would go there. And as as I see your design, it's given me even more questions, but it seems to really capture the essence of of Barnett Park in a way that I think we never engaged with as a community. It gave it a gateway that that I think ties it to Barnett, the the downtown to Barnett Park in a way that it had not before. So, I'm thinking through that in my own mind. Um, as it relates to the other treatments, you referenced the water fountain in the back. I assume that will nothing will change with that.

Um, you referenced the enhanced lighting components and and um I I love the idea, even though it may be a little scary, of looking up into the into the tower at the bell to see it and and you know, the the lighting treatment inside the bell tower. I mean, I you know, and I do think it's a hightraic location. I mean, I think you're right. It's vehicular traffic mostly or largely, but it's I mean, I pass it 10 times a day. Um, and so it's it's something to think about. Pass it more than I certainly pass uh the existing tower in any of its either previous locations. Um, but I'll, you know, I'll be interested to hear kind of uh and think through this thought process. But but I'm I'm dazzled by by what you've done and and it it it is it is I'm envisioning what Barnett Park can become as part of our downtown as a result of not only this but the the improvements to to making the park, you know, a living, breathing thing in ways that it hasn't been in the 24 years that it's been in existence. So I appreciate that and and excited about what we can what we can do here. Good. So, I think uh everyone, you know, we this is being presented to um the mayor and council just like everyone else in the audience. Chris, my question is so has the public input uh piece already started? So, I mean, as you see, the clock tower at cityofspotenberg.org or is that website up there?

That email is email address is live and they'll all be uh collected in a in a volume that will go to all of y'all. Okay, good. That's that's what we wanted to see. We have your input um there and there will be others. One one piece I also wanted to ask this still has to go through a review um um as to if if it is decided at Bernett Park. Yeah, I believe it would be subject to design review board processes and it has another public another public uh uh information piece there, right? Yes.

Okay. Yes, ma'am. Oh, just a little light comment. I noticed that the response date is going to be on April the 13th. Y'all, that's my birthday. Happy birthday, Mr. Mayor. The and the only rationale for April 13th is you all meet that night. U and we want to make sure folks had several weeks to, you know, do that. Council. Yes. I would also add for for those that are interested in giving public comment to to remember some of the key items, you know, we want to make sure that the that that the locations, if your public input is suggesting a location, that it's something that is accessible to us. Yeah.

Um and not privately owned. um we do not want to be sitting here 20, 30, 40 years from now or or the whoever is on council then um

to be having this conversation again about demoing and you know this the hope is for this to become the the lasting resting place for the new clock tower. Well, I I think we need to be more finite in what we request though and so people understand what it is the city h I mean maybe could you give us some examples of what you you the team looked at when trying to contemplate where to to to put this tower so that we can sort of zero because I can imagine that type of opening to condiment could give us you know everywhere around the city and most of those locations may not be you know optional you know right

we Uh we think you know this this is the the list of considerations that that we work through. Um

and uh you know some are very practical and simple uh like it you know we need to have a legal right to to do it. Um uh some are nuanced, you know, more nuanced judgment like the last point about trying to use it as an element that that adds life and and notice uh uh you know in a in a in a you know that expands the the positive uh footprints and destinations in our downtown. Uh so we would we we're seeking to adhere to that or at least that's what these are the criterion staff utilized and staff would recommend to you all that you utilize. And so uh any public comments that are that are at least uh uh reflective of of those would be the most helpful.

Good. Good. Any other comments? Thank you. Thank you. Uh Chris, we have staff updates. Uh item 10. Yes, sir. We have um uh I better check my notes. Um we have one significant uh staff update tonight and I'm going to uh call on Bob Kohler to deliver that and then I'll come back. Uh all right. Thank you. Here for me. You ready, Mayor? Sure.

Mayor, council members, um I asked Chris to just give me a couple of minutes during staff updates. As you guys know, on Friday, I'll be closing the chapter of my public service career, nearly three decades. Um and I've spent almost a third of that with y'all. And I I I just wanted to thank you for that. Um give me the opportunity to sit in that chair for that time. Um, I first came to Spartanberg as a 27y old fresh out of law school, worked for the county as a prosecutor and was welcomed to the community with open arms, the the city, the county. Um, I worked a lot with the the police officers of our city department. I think a major little John had hair back then when I first met him. Um, but but I just I I was welcomed with open arms. Um, I left the Spartanberg County for about a decade to go to another jurisdiction and I thought I was going to learn how to become a city attorney. I was an assistant city attorney, worked for a seasoned city attorney, learned a lot. Um, but after 10 years, I had the chance and the honor to come back here to be your city attorney. And as soon as I got here, I realized I didn't learn how to become a city attorney there. I learned city law, but when I got here, I learned what it meant to be a city attorney, and that's the community. I learned that uh what you and your staff preach every single day. Um I'm not just here to give advice. I'm here, we're all here to serve the public. Um I have met with hundreds of people, maybe thousands in my in my time here. And um the what I wanted to do because of the community, because of the feeling in this building, because because of what we do is make sure everybody was heard, make sure everybody came, they got to say their their piece, they were listened to. Oftenimes I couldn't agree with them, and I couldn't give them what they want. We couldn't give them what they want, but we wanted them to leave there being heard. and that that notion

reverberates through city hall to this day, starting with you guys and and and filtering down to your staff. So, um I I just wanted to thank you for for teaching me um what the what the real meaning of community is and and you guys personify that. Um I can tell you for anybody that will listen um and I can attest to this because I've been in deliberations with you, public deliberation rooms, I've been back in executive sessions. I've been in conversations with you in private, in public, um, to a person. Everybody up there does the right thing for the right reason. Everybody up there to a person considers just about every side to an issue. Nobody comes into the room pre with a decision pre-made. You guys come in and you look at everything and I appreciate that. I hope um, the people of the city continue to understand that that that's the way you all approach things. So, you know, for giving me the opportunity to sit in the chair, uh, for being a small part of what Spartanberg is, of course, what it's becoming, we're the we're the darling of the city with all of our growth. Um, but thank you for letting me be a small part of that. Um, I'll forever be grateful and I will forever keep bringing in my heart. Bob, we do appreciate you, man. We We won't continue because it might be a tearjerker, I see. But but no, um we we really do appreciate you. Appreciate your professionalism and what you have delivered uh to us and and the rest of the citizens here in Spartanberg. Thank you. Thank you.

All right, Mr. Mayor, I'll I'll be glad to take questions, but before I just want to say on behalf of the rest of the staff team how much we've uh appreciated uh having an an in-house general counsel who is oriented to the to the to the values we share of of of serving uh this community and doing so in in a ethical and honest way and I'm just really grateful and we'll miss uh Bob on a personal and a professional level. Definitely. Thank you. Any questions that I can address on staff update?

Chris, Mr. Mayor, I um Chris, on the way over here tonight, I noticed that the signage is up for a new surface area parking lot in the city.

Yes. Uh uh Mitch and Jay Squires have have worked out to add, we don't know the exact final number yet of additional um uh surface lot spaces at the corner of uh St. John and Church Street. um through a uh through a private property lease that goes uh also with the additional public parking, surface parking that was added diagonally across that intersection um within the past year. Um and uh just collectively and more options, more choices for folks

with all the fluid changes um maybe not at our next meeting but at a at a future meeting soon uh when we have a light agenda. Um, you know, it might be helpful to get a downtown operations update. Um, you know, just with all the road closures and and you know, all the things that that we're doing in downtown to try to mitigate the inconvenience, the valet parking, the shuttle service. I know we've got another shuttle coming. our downtown ambassadors are working extra hard and their schedules are changing some to accommodate um you know the the continued service of our visitors to downtown. So it might be helpful to kind of get in public forum uh an update on that. Um and then lastly um it it appears in that same area of of downtown it appears that the Fairfield in is close to opening. Do you have a targeted open date for that? I don't have a specific opening date, but I I know they're moving in the kind of things that tell you that they're within weeks. Um,

well, I was thinking about with college graduations pending um that that it's next month. It will not be um this March, right? It will not be next month. Um they're looking more at least likely. There's a big event happening in April. They could not accommodate anything. They're waiting on one big item that is instrumental to this opening. They've been waiting on it for a while, but I understand they're close. Okay. Well, it' be I mean I you know I think it would be great for them and and our town if they'd be open in time for college graduations locally. That's just me. Yes.

Uh Chris, I was asked um this weekend about where to access the plans and where to look at more details on the website. So to echo your question, I think it would be great not only to to have updates, but to clearly define where on the website that information exists.

Sure. I think I think the best single destination is cpspart rides.com. Is that what we want to say there, Christopher? I'm looking back. He's nodding at me. Um, and that's where we have the real time information. And you can see what's being built and the and some of the logistical information. If you really want to drill into what's being built, you can go to the other section of our website that keeps meeting amend meeting information and go to the design review board um, uh, discussions of those individual projects which have all the many renderings and details and that kind of thing. the but the big picture and the logistical stuff um and time-sensitive updates cases sparbergrise.com.

Awesome. That's it. All right. Thank you, Mr. Story. Thank you. All right. We have city council updates. Starting to council Rogers.

Mayor. Um so just a a couple things on my mind this evening. Um, I really enjoyed the once burner caffeinated conversations. Uh, last week it was held at the fire department. Um, senior deputy fire marshall Russell Green presented to to a engaged group on all the different programs that are offered through our fire department. Um, even uh training programs and personnel recruitment uh programs that are available for 18 year olds. they are they are looking to to recruit young firefighters. Um, but I think the the biggest thing in terms of just community safety and engagement and how they interact with businesses locally to prevent fires, I did not know this, but the fire the the fire department with a truck and everything will come to your home and install um uh

fire alarms for you in every room. So um and and they have a list of education uh within the community and and with our youth as well. So um they have a lot of online resources as well. Please do take a moment and just share that and look into all the wonderful things that they are doing at the fire department. Um next thing on my mind is uh enjoyed the walk with uh Mr. mayor this Saturday in district 2 which is just around the corner from my home. Um we explored uh the pal trails, a little bit of uh the cottonwood and we saw the rainbow bridge and just had the opportunity to speak with the group about all the collaborations that make the trails possible. I know we've recently had a presentation um by Laura Ringo around the trails um at council, but just seeing it in person, walking, being outside, having conversations was was truly lovely. And uh we did go through the Fernwood neighborhood as well. Um ah oh yes, and I did on said walk learn about uh several things that Spartanber Water is doing, including this report that just happened to be on on the table here. But this is the 2025 popular annual financial report. Does not sound intriguing, I will say, but it is on their website. And there is a lot of a lot more information about their community impact and and their planning for the future, which I think is very pertinent to conversations we're having right now in the community. So, please check out this information if you would like to learn more about what they are doing. Um, and let's see. Uh, last thing. So, I did get some feedback about parking over the weekend. Um, St. Patty's Day, the busyiness. I know city

staff is on it. Um, but using the, uh, Laura brought up parking um, earlier in our meeting, but using the parking garages and knowing capacity. So, I know the city is is definitely addressing making sure that if you're going to enter the parking garage, you know that there's a space up there and there there isn't a um a frown and a bit of frustration when you have to turn around and be nice to your neighbor as you all go back down the parking garage. Thank you, Councilwoman Smith. Thank you,

Bob. Just want to say thank you to you. Um, I think we started at right about the same time and you've been a a real support to me professionally and getting to know this this role and how to figure this out, but then also personally asking about track questions or or kids going to college and wish you and your family the best of luck. Um, I know Christiey's going to miss you and just don't take her with you. That's that's a word of warning. Um and just hope that as we enter this next phase of public input about the clock tower, it can be different than the first phase. Um it is incredibly easy to critique and much more difficult to create. And so join the public in helping to create solutions and not just clickity clack on your um Facebook posts, but to instead join in the solutions. And sometimes it's okay to all agree and to, you know, for the dog to catch the car and to claim your win and to move on to a next issue. So, I'm looking forward to us um putting this behind us and having a great Barnett Park where maybe Mumford and Sons can actually come and play because we missed them last year because we didn't have a place. So, thank you for all of that. Council Brown.

Bob, it has been a pleasure. Um, I know you make mention some of the comments and feedback that you'd give sometimes. You know, I'm not satisfied with, hence my vote, just so you are aware, Kevin, it had nothing to do with the other um line items in the ordinance. It's just it was all one one vote. Um, and so I'm I'm still sticky on the the noise thing, but um I wish you and your family the best. Um, I know that you're a Syracuse fan too, aren't you? Or did you I upstate New York, but not a Syracuse.

Okay. Okay. I thought we talked about that before, but um I almost went there. So, um, but it has been a joy. And I hope that even though you're still not on our team, you know, it'd be still okay to text you questions if I or or nag or gripe or complain. So, I appreciate it and wish you all the best. Thank y'all for being here. Councilwoman S.

Good afternoon every good evening everyone. Um first Bob I want to say thank you. You really has helped me a lot not only professionally but personally and I appreciate that deeply and I wish you well on your endeavors your family and everything else that's going to occur. Um, I want to say that on this past Saturday, I did enjoy the unveiling of the ceremony for the uh flag uh that has been brought to the city and the portraits done, the the artwork that was done by the artists that shown what the flag meant to them as well as what it means to the community. Thank you, Tony, for pushing it out there. And Miss Dawkins, I think you're over there. So, I really appreciate um you all working together to make it happen. And and Miss uh well, Professor Dr. Price, thank you for making sure that we keep on point with our history. Um also, the mayor and I attended the National League of Cities. I wish that you all could have been there on Tuesday afternoon when he presented his uh discussion on the 2020 census. and he did a magnificent job. Um he had everyone around him flowing in and asking questions and how did we get it done in Spartanberg. So he was let's give him a hand for doing the wonderful job. I do have I think you can find it and I if I do I'll share it where they have him u videoed and thank you all for coming.

Council for uh yes Bob thank you for your years of dedicated service. Um, you know, I know actually my first meeting on council, uh, the first item I voted on was the new city attorney, which was a new position at the time. And and I remember leaning over to Larry Flynn, the late Larry Flynn, who was our acting city attorney, and I said, "Is this guy a good guy? Should I vote for him or not?" And he said, "Oh, yeah. Yeah." You know, and and so so that was how I did my diligence on that very first vote. probably not as detailed as I have on other votes subsequently, but um but no, it's it it was a good decision and and we appreciate all you've done, not only as as a a legal counsel, but also as a member of our senior staff. I think I think like I said, it was a um you know, a test to to bring that position on full-time in-house, and I think it has proven valuable uh for many different reasons. Um, and then, um, changing subjects, uh, I had the opportunity to go to Duncan Park last week. Uh, Pal was doing a information listening session about some changes that are going to be made to the trail along the Duncan Park section. Uh, and that was a great session. Uh, Ruth was there and and we had a good conversation. Uh, but also I was amazed. I looked across and the tennis courts and the pickle ball courts that we've added. Uh I mean you it was standing room only. People were in line trying to It was a beautiful night and uh it was just a a really exciting uh active scene with people walking on the trails, biking on the trails, playing pickle ball, playing tennis. Uh it it really was was exciting and I think uh Kim Brown and her team a lot of credit for that. Um and then finally as we talk about the the clock tower discussion and the next generation of that to me the the clock tower has always served as a symbol of progress. Um it was a symbol

when it was originally erected in in uh 79 as part of a a redesign of of the that part of uptown downtown. Uh when it was moved it was moved because of uh the necessity to create space for the Spartan Foods Tower. we've had to move it again uh to make exciting new changes and and so I don't look at it so much as putting it behind us as as looking forward to what it can do to to serve as a catalyst for our downtown or parts of our community going forward. And so I'm very excited about those discussions. Um I'm encouraged by what we saw from from uh from William tonight and and look forward to drilling in deeper on it. But but I think it has caused me in my mind in just the 45 minutes to to process this to rethink Barnett Park as a whole and what it can be for our community. And and the more I think about it, the more exciting excited I get. But but but still a lot to process in in that uh in that area. But but I appreciate everybody being here and I appreciate the input that we've received um in the past and look forward to engaging going forward.

Mayor Pro Tim. Yeah, Bob, I want to thank you for your service and I am going to miss you because you always respond. You always respond and you even responded on weekend. I was surprised about that. I am grateful for the service that you have provided to the city and and to us individually and um I wish you well on your journey because I know you're going to do well go wherever you go and um I had an opportunity go to get away this weekend. My husband uh has been invited by his college roommates several times over the years going to come up to Rock Hill for things that they are doing and he take off and go and I never went. However, I committed back in January. I told him that I would go. So, it happened to be on the same weekend that Duncan Park, I mean Duncan Street was doing the unveiling. And so, I am grateful to Tony Sutton for writing the grant for that mural. I'm grateful to you, Tony, and for the other grants that you're writing. And I am grateful to Dr. Fielder for the artwork as well as the other artists. And I understand that you stood in as the council person. Go. Thank you go for that. Um I want to thank everyone who was involved, you know, go with that mural there on Duncan Street. Um, I had an opportunity to, um,

present a proclamation on behalf of our mayor, Jerome Rice, and I'm glad that you were out of town because it gave me this opportunity to do this to present a proclamation to the Afroappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated at Wolford. college charter day on yesterday. It's the um I am so happy that now we have a sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority on Walford's campus and I was happy to be able to participate in that. If you had been here, I probably wouldn't have been you wouldn't have had the opportunity.

I wouldn't have had the opportunity. That's so I'm glad that you were not here. And then my last thing is that uh on the 25th um on this Wednesday, the residents in the South Converse neighborhood are invited to come out for a 15 to 20 minute front porch briefing from our very best Spartanberg Police Department. Um, I know that they have held this in several other neighborhoods, but they're going to do it on my front porch on this Wednesday coming at 4:00. So, I'm asking the residents to come there at least by a quarter of and it's only going to be about 15 to 20 minutes, right? Or Okay. So, you don't have to stand and if you have a problem standing, bring your folding chair. Okay. Anyway, it's going to be on Wednesday coming.

Good. Thank you very much, man.

Awesome. Um, again, I I I've expressed to Bob, talk with Bob ever since we've heard of u him um uh leaving and and going in another direction, but we we do appreciate all that you um do mean to the the city of Spartanberg. Um on behalf of uh uh the the the journey continues with the mural over on Duncan. Um great. I rolled by as soon as we got back in town to take a look. Uh awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Um just again showing us what community and neighborhoods could do. not, you know, just one neighborhood, but other neighbor neighborhood partners coming together and uh just a um um just iconic in in in the approach and and what we're doing here in Spartanberg. I did have the opportunity to speak uh about the being an early test site for the 2030 census here in Spartanberg um at the National League of Cities. Um so we had um a a panel of about three of us um talking about uh what we're doing and and how we have mobilized a team here um to get in front of the census to make sure we have an accurate count. There's so much that goes into uh the census numbers and and part of it is just resources for your for for your city representation as well, but uh we won't go into all that, but I do thank the city of Spartanberg uh for the opportunity to serve in this capacity as the mayor. Thank you all for being here uh this evening and we do look forward to the conversation about the clock tower moving forward. Thanks a lot. Do I hear a motion? A motion to adjourn.

Oh, we should go into executive session. Second. I'm ready to go home. All in favor? Hey, I'd be in favor of that one, too. All right. You got a phone.