268 replies to this topic

[viking1988]

I care but am confused over why so much turmoil at the county.  The "professional" managers who county council hires are paid handsomely but for whatever reason they leave.

Thanks for responding.  I think the key her is "for some reason they leave"  Just trying to read between the lines, maybe they (the managers) leave because the council is so dysfunctional and they become frustrated at their lack of ability for any real progress or reform.  Hoping that the near future brings some stability and fiscal accountability so we as a community can move forward.

[viking1988]

Good example in today's paper:  Somehow the county cant find a way to work with the Humane Society to take in strays.  I mean, how complicated could this be?  Noncontroversial it would seem.  But it is about money, and the county really has no plan for increasing its tax base or tax revenue, hence this seemingly straightforward governing task is a mess.

Yet another example would be article in the paper regarding long lines at gas stations (offering low prices) blocking neighborhood access in Boiling Springs.  Could this be poor, or non existing zoning at play??

[spartanburgh]

I went by Cleveland Park and was surprised to see the entire fenced area still closed. After the train wreck the playground equipment was removed and the park essentially closed. Does anyone know if the park plans to reopen or if the County has any effort to move past the accident and reopen the Park? It seems as if everything takes forever to move forward in Spartanburg!

[Spartan]

viking1988, on 28 October 2011 - 04:57 AM, said:

Good example in today's paper:  Somehow the county cant find a way to work with the Humane Society to take in strays.  I mean, how complicated could this be?  Noncontroversial it would seem.  But it is about money, and the county really has no plan for increasing its tax base or tax revenue, hence this seemingly straightforward governing task is a mess.

Yet another example would be article in the paper regarding long lines at gas stations (offering low prices) blocking neighborhood access in Boiling Springs.  Could this be poor, or non existing zoning at play??

It could be the lack of zoning, but most likely not. IMO it's a combination of things. Usually DOT's have a "controlled access" area around interstate exits, which prevents driveways and other things from being built that could disrupt the flow of traffic. That side street, Candlenut Lane, wouldn't have the same rules. Candlenut is also a dead-end street. If the County required developers to connect to each others' subdivisions then they would have multiple ways to access Hwy 9.

People make such a big deal about issues like this, and zoning is one tool that could certainly have helped. Honestly, I wouldn't want to invest in an area where I didn't have some security in knowing what could be built around me.

[westsider28]

So, apparently Spartanburg is the 8th most dangerous city in the US.

WSPA article

What should be done about this?  Because this kind of thing definitely hurts our image to outsiders (prospective companies, visitors, etc).

Personally, I've both driven and run all over the city and rarely feel unsafe.  Sure there are some bad spots to avoid, but every city has those.  I once took a wrong turn on the west-side of Greenville, and that area was pretty sketchy.

I suspect part of the problem is our small city limits.  That magnifies any crime, since it's measured on a per-capita basis (which explains "Center City" as a crime hot spot in that study--few residents).  If we could annex more residents into the city, it would "dilute" the crime numbers.  Obviously greater police presence would help, too.  Any other ideas, opinions, or analysis?

[Spartan]

There is a difference between crime rate and actual safety. Most of Spartanburg's crime is contained within a few relatively small parts of town. The per capita measure hurts us.

[westsider28]

The City sent out a press release about the City Fire Department (posted on Spartanburg Spark) maintaining its Class 2 Public Protection Classification, which means that they provide an excellent level of fire protection.  That's certainly good.

However, the main thing I noticed was later on where they mentioned that because of the high rating, city residents enjoy significant savings on property insurance premiums compared to non-city residents (several hundred $ per year).  This is the sort of thing the City should really publicize to "sell" annexation to residents just outside the city limits.

[westsider28]

I saw this (video) story online at WYFF4.com that I was really encouraged by.  It's about a neighborhood store on Collins Ave.  They don't sell alcohol or lottery tickets, and the owner gives money to local kids who make A's on their report cards.  He's really making a positive impact in a community that certainly needs it.  Great to see.

[new prospect]

westsider28, on 01 March 2012 - 12:22 PM, said:

I saw this (video) story online at WYFF4.com that I was really encouraged by.  It's about a neighborhood store on Collins Ave.  They don't sell alcohol or lottery tickets, and the owner gives money to local kids who make A's on their report cards.  He's really making a positive impact in a community that certainly needs it.  Great to see.

Great story.  I wasn't sure where Collins Ave. is, so I looked it up on mapquest.  For those who don't know, it's a block north of Duncan Park.

[westsider28]

The City of Spartanburg is holding a public forum on Monday, March 19 at 5:30 pm at Bethel United Methodist Church about "Quality of Life Amenities" (i.e. parks, greenways, recreation facilities, etc).  They basically want public input on how the City's money should be spent as it relates to these items.  Here's a PDF of current "QOL" spending from the City's website.

Just a few highlights.  The report recommends building a new TK Gregg Recreation Center on the Northside (I've heard near the VCOM as a possibility), then closing the current TK Gregg & Northside Rec Center (basically consolidating to save on maintenance costs and get more usage).  It also recommends closing the Swim Center.  Those are the big things.  Lots of other info, as well.

Anyway, I encourage you to attend the meeting if you can.

[westsider28]

So, USC Upstate is looking to open a downtown Greenville campus (HJ article).

I'm sorry, but I have to vent about this.  Why is this happening?  Upstate says Greenville is under-served by their current presence at the University Center.  Well, USC Upstate is Spartanburg's public undergrad university, not Greenville's.  This all started with the name change several years back from USC Spartanburg.  Is there not one thing we can have that Greenville doesn't?  NC State doesn't have a Durham campus.  UNCG doesn't have a Winston-Salem campus.  It's only a 30 minute drive to USC Upstate from Greenville.  It's not too much to ask for students to drive here or (gasp!) move to Spartanburg!  I'm probably overreacting, but I don't really care.  Plus Clemson is expanding their presence in downtown Greenville (and the main campus is not far away, not to mention ICAR).  Is that not enough?

</rant>

[spartanburgh]

I agree!

[GvilleSC]

Whether it's under the name of USC Upstate, or some other guise, it's still a state-supported 4-year institution, which Greenville currently lacks. If Greenville Tech transitioned into a 4 year school tomorrow, it would arguably impact Spartanburg no differently than this move. I think patience is in order to find out the true extent of what USC Upstate intends.

For the record, Clemson's programs in downtown Greenville will be graduate programs.

[roads-scholar]

westsider28, on 21 March 2012 - 12:09 AM, said:

So, USC Upstate is looking to open a downtown Greenville campus (HJ article).

I'm sorry, but I have to vent about this.  Why is this happening?  Upstate says Greenville is under-served by their current presence at the University Center.  Well, USC Upstate is Spartanburg's public undergrad university, not Greenville's.  This all started with the name change several years back from USC Spartanburg.  Is there not one thing we can have that Greenville doesn't?  NC State doesn't have a Durham campus.  UNCG doesn't have a Winston-Salem campus.  It's only a 30 minute drive to USC Upstate from Greenville.  It's not too much to ask for students to drive here or (gasp!) move to Spartanburg!  I'm probably overreacting, but I don't really care.  Plus Clemson is expanding their presence in downtown Greenville (and the main campus is not far away, not to mention ICAR).  Is that not enough?

</rant>

My question is why does the state of South Carolina need to grow an already bloated publicly-funded higher education system?

Edited by roads-scholar, 21 March 2012 - 09:45 AM.

[westsider28]

Back on the topic of the City's recreation amenities, the Herald-Journal had a good editorial about the Swim Center today.  It suggests building a new, high-quality indoor swimming facility at a new recreation center (thus replacing both TK Gregg & the Swim Center).  It also says that the county should be involved in helping fund the facility.

What are your thoughts on this issue?

[drexel]

westsider28, on 25 March 2012 - 04:41 PM, said:

Back on the topic of the City's recreation amenities, the Herald-Journal had a good editorial about the Swim Center today.  It suggests building a new, high-quality indoor swimming facility at a new recreation center (thus replacing both TK Gregg & the Swim Center).  It also says that the county should be involved in helping fund the facility.

What are your thoughts on this issue?

I thought that the editorial made a lot of sense. With SC strict annexation laws the county and city should work together on projects like this. The seven school districts high school swim teams would also benefit from a new facility. Unfortunately, the new YMCA's lap pool will not accomodate large swim meets.

[Spartan]

GvilleSC, on 21 March 2012 - 06:59 AM, said:

Whether it's under the name of USC Upstate, or some other guise, it's still a state-supported 4-year institution, which Greenville currently lacks. If Greenville Tech transitioned into a 4 year school tomorrow, it would arguably impact Spartanburg no differently than this move. I think patience is in order to find out the true extent of what USC Upstate intends.

For the record, Clemson's programs in downtown Greenville will be graduate programs.

When they changed the name of from USC Spartanburg to USC Upstate they said it was to embrace their role as the second largest university in the upstate and the regional nature of the student body. At the time, many people in Spartanburg thought it was pandering to Greenville and predicted that over time, a campus in Greenville would be created and the presence and necessity of the Spartanburg campus would be reduced.

I'm not in the camp that views the Greenville campus as a "threat" (so to speak), and quite frankly this development was inevitable. The University of South Carolina's mission is to serve the entire state. Greenville is the 3rd largest urban area and it lacks a 4-year public university. It's only logical that a USC campus exist there. The "Upstate" nomenclature acts as an umbrella allows them to accomplish this without having to create a USC Greenville (which would be viewed by Spartans as a big ole slap in the face).

Here's my logic though. It takes 30-45 minutes max to get to the USC Upstate campus or Clemson's campus from Greenville. The UNC Charlotte campus is 30-45 minutes away for most people in Charlotte unless you live in the University City area of town. I don't see that mount of time as being an unreasonable thing for someone in Greenville to do. But at any rate, I'll give props to USC for looking at establishing an urban campus instead of the suburban model of the USCS campus.

[spartanburgh]

If the campus were established in Greenville years ago and no campus existed in Spartanburg, you can be your sweet *** Greenville would never let Spartanburg get a campus!!!

[gsupstate]

I've wondered this every since I moved to SC.   USC has something like 9 or 10 campus locations......crazy for such a small state.  Frankly, I'd be happy if USC did NOT build in Greenville.  Seems like a waste and also, really not interested in seeing more ugly black and garnet chicken stuff.  LOL.

[roads-scholar]

gsupstate, on 02 April 2012 - 03:38 PM, said:

I've wondered this every since I moved to SC.   USC has something like 9 or 10 campus locations......crazy for such a small state.  Frankly, I'd be happy if USC did NOT build in Greenville.  Seems like a waste and also, really not interested in seeing more ugly black and garnet chicken stuff.  LOL.

Again I ask: why does the state of South Carolina need to grow an already bloated publicly-funded higher education system?