State Of City Report For 2022
Mayor Foster Senn hosted a 2022 State of the City update Wednesday complete with conversations with local guests in the fields of retail recruitment, public safety and education. The update was hosted via an online platform and broadcasted on WKDK Radio.
In February 2021, Senn said the City of Newberry was resilient, having made it through a most difficult year. He said the community had remained resilient.
“In 2022, as we see many encouraging signs, the state of the city is hopeful,” Senn said. “There are new businesses, new projects and new construction. The unemployment rate in Newberry County is the third lowest in South Carolina and 1,000 more people are working this year in Newberry County compared to last year, according to state statistics.”
In the last six months, Senn said a number of new small businesses had opened up and that small business activity was on the rise.
“And for non-profits, government agencies and outreach groups, we’re hearing new ideas and renewed energy as they look forward,” he said.
Retail Recruitment
Jeff Sommer, with Retail Strategies represents Newberry as a retail consultant and recruiter. Sommer said that city staff had put an extreme emphasis on the recruitment of grocery and that they were working diligently to put Newberry in front of grocery brands.
“There are a handful of brands that are growing in South Carolina. We are having conversations,” he said. “They’re not quite ready to pull the trigger on Newberry, but we’re staying in front of them.”
Sommer said the incentive packages that both the city and county had put together were a great tool to have for recruitment.
Senn thanked Sommer and Retail Strategies for their work on Harbor Freight, Big Lots as well as Huddle House, Starbucks and other businesses.
The fast-food chain, Cookout is currently looking at a location of the Tractor Supply parking lot, to which Senn said they were doing some engineering work and hopefully we would hear more in the coming months.
Residents shopping local is key when it comes to attracting new businesses, Sommer emphasized.
“Citizens have to vote with their dollar,” Sommer said. “The national brands take that information and if they see that the sales figures are strong with the current brands there, that means that they want to locate there.”
SCDOT Road Projects
Senn provided and update from Jeremy Knight, SCDOT engineer saying that more road work would be done in Newberry and across the state.
“I’m excited to see so many road improvements in Newberry County,” Senn quoted Knight.
Reported from Knight were:
* The Boundary Street Bridge project is slated to be complete in December 2023.
* New stoplights will be placed at Highway 219 and I-26 by late spring.
* Repavings coming up this year across Newberry County will include: S.C. Highway 56 (Chappells), Pender Ridge Road, Walker Road, Indian Creek Road, Jalapa Road, Main Street (Newberry).
Building Activity
Senn provided updates from the city’s Planning and Development Department, provided by Wayne Redfern to include that Home2Suites anticipates to start back with their construction in the next few months.
“That will be a big deal to have a new hotel in Newberry,” he said.
Also at the interstate, Love’s Truck Stop has upcoming additions and renovations planned, he said.
Newberry Landing, the subdivision off of Smith Road in Newberry has secured permits with builder, DR Horton to begin work on 19 new homes for the area.
Utility Updates
City Manager Matt DeWitt provided utility updates on behalf of the city to include the Main Street water line replacement. In the coming weeks, work will begin, DeWitt said with the winning bid belonging to Tom Brigman Contractors.
Should customers have any complaints or concerns during the project timeframe, DeWitt encouraged them to reach out to the city so that their needs may be addressed.
“We’re excited about the water line replacement and the repaving of Main Street,” he said. “We’re going to have a much more enhanced entranceway into our downtown and that’s exciting.”
The city’s utilities department has also been upgrading the water tank on College Street with maintenance that he said needed to be pursued. This includes sandblasting and repainting the tank’s exterior as well as the interior. Additional valves have been installed, helping with the filling and emptying of the tank. Cables and antennas will also be redone on the tank, making it more visually appealing, DeWitt said.
Parks, Recreation and Tourism
DeWitt touched on three updates within the city’s Parks, Recreation and Tourism department. Phase one renovations on Wells Japanese Gardens are complete which included renovations to the pond as well as plantings. Phase two will soon begin that includes walkways, fencing, entryways and signage to the park.
“We’re excited about a major renovation to the Japanese gardens getting completed in this fiscal year,” he said.
Another project the department is pursuing with Land and Water Conservation Funding are renovations to Wise Street Park. Most of the demolition has already taken place to make way for the new improvements. Last year, DeWitt said enhancements were made to the shelter and trail system.
As a facility update, DeWitt said the Newberry Arts Center would be moving in the coming months/years to the former location of The Newberry Observer on Main Street.
“The city has already started doing demolition on the old printing press and has started to remove that from the back of the building,” he said.
Michael Kohn Architecture will be presenting the city with a plan on interior renovations to get it ready for the arts center, DeWitt said.
Senn said that one of the things coming up was the Capital Project Sales Tax and that the city would be submitting a proposal for new features at the Newberry Recreation Complex.
Because of the park’s success in the community, Senn said they’d like to potentially look into expanding Gully Washer Splash Park, a paved walking trail, a miracle field for children and adults with disabilities and special needs and a skateboard park.
Police
Senn said Police Chief Kevin Goodman was headed towards the finish line of his first year on the job as chief and that he had done an outstanding job.
Goodman said it had been a great first year and described his department as resilient.
At the time of his promotion, Goodman said the relationships between law enforcement and the community were under scrutiny and his focus was for them to close the gap starting with Newberry.
“We adopted a model called ‘Relationship Based Policing,’ he said, which focuses on building relationships with the community, rather than just partnerships.” “Working in collaboration with the community and creating an atmosphere of trust between the police and the community that we serve.”
Goodman said the department did things such as joining up with Serve and Connect Greg’s Groceries, handed out boxes of food throughout the community to people in need. The department worked with DSS during the holiday season to adopt both adults and children. They also joined in with Newberry Middle School to distribute food to those in need.
Senn told Goodman that he was very approachable as was his staff and he appreciated the work they did within the community.
The Newberry Police Department is currently looking for additional officers and Goodman said he was looking locally as he knew there was a lot of talent right here in Newberry.
“I’d like to focus on trying to get some of those people to come in to help serve and protect the community they love and grew up in,” Goodman said. “That will help us continue to build those relationships with the community.”
Fire
Community Risk Reduction is a constant goal for the Newberry Fire Department, Chief Keith Minick said.
“If we can prevent it, we don’t have to fight it,” he said.
For the past few years, the department has been awarded the Fire Safe Community Award, and with that award, Minick said there were things they were required to do staff-wise to make sure people have the “Core 4.”
These include:
* Having the right alarm in the right location – having working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, even bed shaker alarms for those hard of hearing.
* Having a fire drill or plan in place and preparing those with your household as well as guests.
* Fire sprinklers save lives
* See a problem, take action. Whether it’s blocked exits, drop cords in the home, etc.
Minick said the department was always looking for people to serve whether it was in a junior or volunteer capacity.
“We do have some openings and we’re looking forward to hiring some people,” he said. “If we can keep them at home and serving the community that they’re working in, that’s a big plus.”
Newberry College
Lori Ann Summers along with Whitney Mitchell provided updates on the ongoing projects taking place at Newberry College. At the corner of College and Evans Street, Summers said construction had begun on the new nursing and health science center. The groundbreaking is slated for February 21, she said.
A groundbreaking for Phase Two of the college’s stadium project is scheduled for March 12 which includes adding 800 seats to the East Side of the stadium. The section will have two levels to include game day suites as well as athletic administrative offices. The project is hoped to be completed in May 2023. Following that phase, Phase Three will kick off which is a complete renovation of the stadium, Summers said.
On the site of the former tennis courts, a groundbreaking will take place on April 29 for a new residence hall. As enrollment continues to stream upward, Mitchell said they needed more beds for students. This new residence hall will have 104 beds and will be apartment style. Each apartment will have six beds and each suite will have two study rooms.
“We plan to be able to occupy that for our students in the fall of 2023,” she said.
Affordable Connectivity Program
Mayor Pro-Tem, Lemont Glasgow touched on the Affordable Connectivity Program, a $14.2 billion program that supports low-income households, struggling to afford monthly internet service.
“Internet service is vital to have in your home today,” Glasgow said.
The program provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for eligible households and a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer or tablet from participating providers if they contribute more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase price.
A household is eligible if a member of the household meets at least one of the criteria below:
* Has an income that is at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines; or
* Participates in certain assistance programs, such as SNAP, Medicaid, Federal Public Housing Assistance, SSI, WIC, or Lifeline;
* Is approved to receive benefits under the free and reduced-price school lunch program or the school breakfast program, including through the USDA Community Eligibility Provision in the 2019-2020, 2020-2021, or 2021-2022 school year;
* Received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year; or
* Meets the eligibility criteria for a participating provider’s existing low-income program.
In conclusion, Senn thanked Jimmie Coggins with WKDK Radio for putting the update on air and for the guests that spoke on the various topics.
“Let’s have a great 2022,” he said.
Mayor Foster Senn hosted a 2022 State of the City update Wednesday complete with conversations with local guests in the fields of retail recruitment, public safety and education. The update was hosted via an online platform and broadcasted on WKDK Radio.
In February 2021, Senn said the City of Newberry was resilient, having made it through a most difficult year. He said the community had remained resilient.
“In 2022, as we see many encouraging signs, the state of the city is hopeful,” Senn said. “There are new businesses, new projects and new construction. The unemployment rate in Newberry County is the third lowest in South Carolina and 1,000 more people are working this year in Newberry County compared to last year, according to state statistics.”
In the last six months, Senn said a number of new small businesses had opened up and that small business activity was on the rise.
“And for non-profits, government agencies and outreach groups, we’re hearing new ideas and renewed energy as they look forward,” he said.
Retail Recruitment
Jeff Sommer, with Retail Strategies represents Newberry as a retail consultant and recruiter. Sommer said that city staff had put an extreme emphasis on the recruitment of grocery and that they were working diligently to put Newberry in front of grocery brands.
“There are a handful of brands that are growing in South Carolina. We are having conversations,” he said. “They’re not quite ready to pull the trigger on Newberry, but we’re staying in front of them.”
Sommer said the incentive packages that both the city and county had put together were a great tool to have for recruitment.
Senn thanked Sommer and Retail Strategies for their work on Harbor Freight, Big Lots as well as Huddle House, Starbucks and other businesses.
The fast-food chain, Cookout is currently looking at a location of the Tractor Supply parking lot, to which Senn said they were doing some engineering work and hopefully we would hear more in the coming months.
Residents shopping local is key when it comes to attracting new businesses, Sommer emphasized.
“Citizens have to vote with their dollar,” Sommer said. “The national brands take that information and if they see that the sales figures are strong with the current brands there, that means that they want to locate there.”
SCDOT Road Projects
Senn provided and update from Jeremy Knight, SCDOT engineer saying that more road work would be done in Newberry and across the state.
“I’m excited to see so many road improvements in Newberry County,” Senn quoted Knight.
Reported from Knight were:
* The Boundary Street Bridge project is slated to be complete in December 2023.
* New stoplights will be placed at Highway 219 and I-26 by late spring.
* Repavings coming up this year across Newberry County will include: S.C. Highway 56 (Chappells), Pender Ridge Road, Walker Road, Indian Creek Road, Jalapa Road, Main Street (Newberry).
Building Activity
Senn provided updates from the city’s Planning and Development Department, provided by Wayne Redfern to include that Home2Suites anticipates to start back with their construction in the next few months.
“That will be a big deal to have a new hotel in Newberry,” he said.
Also at the interstate, Love’s Truck Stop has upcoming additions and renovations planned, he said.
Newberry Landing, the subdivision off of Smith Road in Newberry has secured permits with builder, DR Horton to begin work on 19 new homes for the area.
Utility Updates
City Manager Matt DeWitt provided utility updates on behalf of the city to include the Main Street water line replacement. In the coming weeks, work will begin, DeWitt said with the winning bid belonging to Tom Brigman Contractors.
Should customers have any complaints or concerns during the project timeframe, DeWitt encouraged them to reach out to the city so that their needs may be addressed.
“We’re excited about the water line replacement and the repaving of Main Street,” he said. “We’re going to have a much more enhanced entranceway into our downtown and that’s exciting.”
The city’s utilities department has also been upgrading the water tank on College Street with maintenance that he said needed to be pursued. This includes sandblasting and repainting the tank’s exterior as well as the interior. Additional valves have been installed, helping with the filling and emptying of the tank. Cables and antennas will also be redone on the tank, making it more visually appealing, DeWitt said.
Parks, Recreation and Tourism
DeWitt touched on three updates within the city’s Parks, Recreation and Tourism department. Phase one renovations on Wells Japanese Gardens are complete which included renovations to the pond as well as plantings. Phase two will soon begin that includes walkways, fencing, entryways and signage to the park.
“We’re excited about a major renovation to the Japanese gardens getting completed in this fiscal year,” he said.
Another project the department is pursuing with Land and Water Conservation Funding are renovations to Wise Street Park. Most of the demolition has already taken place to make way for the new improvements. Last year, DeWitt said enhancements were made to the shelter and trail system.
As a facility update, DeWitt said the Newberry Arts Center would be moving in the coming months/years to the former location of The Newberry Observer on Main Street.
“The city has already started doing demolition on the old printing press and has started to remove that from the back of the building,” he said.
Michael Kohn Architecture will be presenting the city with a plan on interior renovations to get it ready for the arts center, DeWitt said.
Senn said that one of the things coming up was the Capital Project Sales Tax and that the city would be submitting a proposal for new features at the Newberry Recreation Complex.
Because of the park’s success in the community, Senn said they’d like to potentially look into expanding Gully Washer Splash Park, a paved walking trail, a miracle field for children and adults with disabilities and special needs and a skateboard park.
Police
Senn said Police Chief Kevin Goodman was headed towards the finish line of his first year on the job as chief and that he had done an outstanding job.
Goodman said it had been a great first year and described his department as resilient.
At the time of his promotion, Goodman said the relationships between law enforcement and the community were under scrutiny and his focus was for them to close the gap starting with Newberry.
“We adopted a model called ‘Relationship Based Policing,’ he said, which focuses on building relationships with the community, rather than just partnerships.” “Working in collaboration with the community and creating an atmosphere of trust between the police and the community that we serve.”
Goodman said the department did things such as joining up with Serve and Connect Greg’s Groceries, handed out boxes of food throughout the community to people in need. The department worked with DSS during the holiday season to adopt both adults and children. They also joined in with Newberry Middle School to distribute food to those in need.
Senn told Goodman that he was very approachable as was his staff and he appreciated the work they did within the community.
The Newberry Police Department is currently looking for additional officers and Goodman said he was looking locally as he knew there was a lot of talent right here in Newberry.
“I’d like to focus on trying to get some of those people to come in to help serve and protect the community they love and grew up in,” Goodman said. “That will help us continue to build those relationships with the community.”
Fire
Community Risk Reduction is a constant goal for the Newberry Fire Department, Chief Keith Minick said.
“If we can prevent it, we don’t have to fight it,” he said.
For the past few years, the department has been awarded the Fire Safe Community Award, and with that award, Minick said there were things they were required to do staff-wise to make sure people have the “Core 4.”
These include:
* Having the right alarm in the right location – having working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, even bed shaker alarms for those hard of hearing.
* Having a fire drill or plan in place and preparing those with your household as well as guests.
* Fire sprinklers save lives
* See a problem, take action. Whether it’s blocked exits, drop cords in the home, etc.
Minick said the department was always looking for people to serve whether it was in a junior or volunteer capacity.
“We do have some openings and we’re looking forward to hiring some people,” he said. “If we can keep them at home and serving the community that they’re working in, that’s a big plus.”
Newberry College
Lori Ann Summers along with Whitney Mitchell provided updates on the ongoing projects taking place at Newberry College. At the corner of College and Evans Street, Summers said construction had begun on the new nursing and health science center. The groundbreaking is slated for February 21, she said.
A groundbreaking for Phase Two of the college’s stadium project is scheduled for March 12 which includes adding 800 seats to the East Side of the stadium. The section will have two levels to include game day suites as well as athletic administrative offices. The project is hoped to be completed in May 2023. Following that phase, Phase Three will kick off which is a complete renovation of the stadium, Summers said.
On the site of the former tennis courts, a groundbreaking will take place on April 29 for a new residence hall. As enrollment continues to stream upward, Mitchell said they needed more beds for students. This new residence hall will have 104 beds and will be apartment style. Each apartment will have six beds and each suite will have two study rooms.
“We plan to be able to occupy that for our students in the fall of 2023,” she said.
Affordable Connectivity Program
Mayor Pro-Tem, Lemont Glasgow touched on the Affordable Connectivity Program, a $14.2 billion program that supports low-income households, struggling to afford monthly internet service.
“Internet service is vital to have in your home today,” Glasgow said.
The program provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for eligible households and a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer or tablet from participating providers if they contribute more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase price.
A household is eligible if a member of the household meets at least one of the criteria below:
* Has an income that is at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines; or
* Participates in certain assistance programs, such as SNAP, Medicaid, Federal Public Housing Assistance, SSI, WIC, or Lifeline;
* Is approved to receive benefits under the free and reduced-price school lunch program or the school breakfast program, including through the USDA Community Eligibility Provision in the 2019-2020, 2020-2021, or 2021-2022 school year;
* Received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year; or
* Meets the eligibility criteria for a participating provider’s existing low-income program.
In conclusion, Senn thanked Jimmie Coggins with WKDK Radio for putting the update on air and for the guests that spoke on the various topics.
“Let’s have a great 2022,” he said.
