City Council Committee Meeting Recap

Mauldin’s held its monthly committee meeting on Tuesday evening, here is a recap of the highlights (Note: Any motions passed require approval at the City Council meeting later this month): 

A citizen brought the ongoing dispute between SCDOT and the . Leo Joyce questioned SCDOT’s influence with respect to the city of Mauldin and expressed particular concern about what impact the planned construction at the intersection of Corn Road and East Butler Road would have on emergency services. City Administrator Trey Eubanks assured Joyce that the impact would be negligible, if at all.

Councilman Bob Cook seemed to agree with Joyce.

“SCDOT is coming in and taking property of houses in the city of Mauldin,” Cook said. “I don’t know if there’s anything we can do about it. But we need to let them know we don’t appreciate it. We should have some control over what happens here.”

Also: 

• Police Chief Bryan Turner said the department had received for the prevention of underage drinking.

• 58 city employees will contribute $3,600 to United Way. That’s up from 50 and $3,200 last year. 

• The city will have an eight percent increase in health insurance from provider BlueChoice. That increase is below the 10-11 percent increase expected across the industry. There will be a two percent increase in the responsibility of subsidizing dependents by city employees, moving from 60 percent to 58. Eubanks said that the change will amount to approximately $10 per paycheck for employees and that the city would eventually like to get to a 50 percent subsidy. Eubanks also noted that the city will save an estimated $22-25,000 by self-funding dental and vision benefits.

• The council voted unanimously to switch the type of sidewalks that will be installed as part of the . The city opted for “high visibility” crosswalks instead of the “stamped asphalt” crosswalks that were originally planned. The city will save approximately 50 percent per square foot as a result of the change, with no cost to durability.

• The closing of the was also addressed. City officials indicated that Ingles, which owns the building, has switched to monthly leases, which some businesses find untenable. Big Lots has since moved to a location in Simpsonville. Dollar General, which also is leasing from Ingles in the same plaza, is looking to relocate to the 864 Building a little further down West Butler Avenue.

Despite the departure of Big Lots, the issuance of business licenses is on the rise. Since 2008, there has been a nearly 30 percent increase. The numbers for the past three fiscal years:

2008 - 621

2009 - 745

2010 - 796

“This is an indicator the economy is turning the corner slowly but surely,” Eubanks said.