Recap: Mauldin City Council Monthly Meeting

Mauldin City Council held its monthly meeting on Monday.

Prominent local business owner Joel Ann Chandler shared her continuing frustrations with SCDOT during both public comments sessions of the meeting.

Chandler, who is the owner of the Mauldin Open-Air Market, also asked local residents and local vendors to speak on her behalf. Both vendors and customers asked council for their assistance in helping stop the SCDOT's construction project near the intersection of Corn Road and East Butler Road.

Chandler informed Mayor Don Godbey and the council that she has collected more than 2,800 signatures on a petition to stop this project. She plans to submit the petition to the Governor's Office, Mauldin City Council and to members of the Greenville-Pickens Area Transit Study.

Mayor Godbey told Chandler that he attended a meeting on Monday morning and advocated that Chandler and SCDOT might reach an agreement that would be beneficial to all parties.

Construction Updates

Council members also were updated on two construction projects that are underway.

Work continues at the Mauldin Cultural Center. City administrator Trey Eubanks said that a lot of work was going on in and around the center.

One of the areas of interest is the Veterans Memorial. Eubanks said that the flags at the memorial will now be shifted back about eight feet to accommodate utility poles and lines. Eubanks said they have learned it will provide a better area for memorial services and other programs.

Inside the cultural center, he said they are working to preserve the large murals in the hallways, as they will begin painting that hallway and down to the auditorium. Eubanks said that they are working on the ceiling grid for the auditorium and area waiting to drop in the ceiling tiles. He said the stage has been shored up. Construction should wrap up in a few weeks, Eubanks said, and is currently on budget and on schedule.

Landscaping outside the center also is coming along nicely, Eubanks said. The project is expected to be completed in the next 4-6 weeks.

Construction also is on schedule for the new fire station being built off Bethel Road. Chief Russell Sapp said a construction meeting would be held Tuesday morning to discuss the project. Construction is expected to be completed in October.

Sapp said August response times for fire and medical calls averaged 2.6 minutes.

Police Accreditation

Mauldin Police Chief Bryan Turner said the department is preparing for a national accreditation team visit in October. Turner said the preparation for the accreditation had been a good thing for the department.

"We have re-written our policy manual, which had not been updated in some time," according to Turner. The department will be evaluated on more than 400 standards, but Turner said he feels comfortable with all the improvements and changes the department has made while going through this process.

Eubanks said that following the accreditation, he would be working with both the police and fire departments to talk about the needs of a coordinated 911 system. He said they will work to assess the needs early next year for acquiring a better computer system for 911.

In Other Business:
* A property at 307 Murray Drive was rezoned for residential use.
* Council voted unanimously to refund in full $523 in penalties accrued by B2B Media, in acquiring a business license, following the purchase of the business by a new owner.
* The city public works department said that they have hauled more than 6,000 pounds of eWaste out of the City of Mauldin. This includes televisions, computers and other electronic equipment. This was an additional cost to the city due to local unfunded mandates being handed down to communities, Godbey pointed out.

Upcoming Events in Mauldin:
* The Mauldin Christmas Parade will be held Nov. 27.
* The Annual Breakfast with Santa will be held Dec. 3.
* Two ribbon cuttings for new business in Mauldin are expected in October.
* In recognition of the 75^th birthday of the original Mauldin High and Elementary Schools, the Mauldin Cultural Center will host a reunion and fundraiser at 6 p.m. on Nov. 5. Read our story.