Winning Entries

Population Category: 1-1,000
Town of Jefferson

When the mayor and Town Council realized Jefferson's citizens had no public building to use for parties, receptions and business meetings, the Council established a citizen committee to spearhead the restoration of a building to be used as a community center.

The chosen structure was a vacant historic building built in 1936. The Community Center Committee analyzed the extent of repairs needed, received estimates and began soliciting donations from local businesses. They planned a hot dog and hamburger sale and a raffle to help raise money for the project. The committee met regularly and reported monthly to the Town Council.

To promote the community center project, the Committee built a float for the Jefferson Christmas Parade. The float conveyed two main messages: the community center was a project for all of Jefferson's citizens and that the mayor and Council supported the project. Town Council members, the mayor and first lady of Jefferson, and children from diverse backgrounds rode on the float during the parade. The float won a trophy in the Christmas parade and went on to win a Judge's Choice Award in the Pageland parade.

After finding a photo of the building as it looked in 1936, the committee decided to restore the building as closely as possible to its original look. Many volunteers helped restore the building. The Town clerk will handle the rental of the building.

The community center's grand opening was held on Jan. 2, 2000, in conjunction with the Town's new millennium celebration. With the support of the Town's citizens and businesses, the renovations cost $10,000 less than the original estimate of $45,000.
Contact: Mayor Tom Stafford, 843.658.7600

Population Category: 1,001-5,000
Town of Lyman

The Lyman Town Council wanted residents to have better fire protection, but they knew the tax base was not sufficient to operate a fire department that could keep up with the region's tremendous growth rate. The Council asked the Zoar Fire District annex the Town to provide fire protection to the Town. The Zoar Fire Service Area Board of Commissioners met with Lyman Town Council to discuss the possible consolidation of fire service. Both wanted to provide the best services at a reasonable cost.

The consolidation idea was unique because Lyman is a municipality and the Zoar Fire District is a taxing authority in an unincorporated area of the county, but the two areas share a border. The Council and the Board found the best way to handle the consolidation was to merge the two departments into one large district to be called the Tyger River Fire Service Area. The Council dissolved the Town Fire Department by ordinance and passed an ordinance placing the Zoar Fire District as the primary service provider for all corporate limits.

Prior to the merger, the Town operated an all-volunteer fire department with about 15 volunteers and had a Class 6 ISO rating. The Zoar Fire District had paid fire personnel and a large volunteer program. Zoar had a Class 4 ISO rating along with updated equipment and a more advanced training program.

The main goal of the merger was enhanced fire protection. Other goals included improving training for full-time and volunteer firefighters and reducing response times. Since the merger took place, all the goals have been met or exceeded. The Town's fire protection grew from two to five fire engines plus an aerial truck, from 15 to 40 volunteers, and from no paid firefighters to seven who man the stations 24 hours every day. The response time has improved from 12-14 minutes to 2-4 minutes.

Forty-seven fire hydrants were installed in the Town and fire district. This helped bring Lyman's ISO rating down to a Class 3, which exceeded the original goal of obtaining a Class 4. The lower ISO rating is saving the average homeowner $50-90 per year in homeowner insurance premiums. Also, it has attracted residents and businesses to the area, which has helped the Town triple its size.

Future plans include a new fire station for the Town. Lyman is leasing the station to the Fire District for $1.00 a year, but the station is inadequate for the level of service the fire district provides. When the new station is completed, the old station will house Town service vehicles.
Contact: Lynda Hurteau, 864.439.3453

Population Category: 5,001-10,000
City of Lancaster

Lancaster's downtown revitalization program concentrated on four main projects: the former City Hall building, the current City Hall building, a downtown streetscape program and Parr Place development.

The former City Hall was located in the Springs family house, which was built in 1828. The City purchased the home in 1957 and slightly modified it to accommodate a city hall. When a new city hall was constructed in 1999, the City Council entered into a long-term, no-cost lease with the Lancaster County Council of the Arts to use the Springs House for its headquarters and exhibit hall. The Springs Foundation also is sub-leasing office space there. With their assistance, the house has received substantial renovations and is now a showplace for Lancaster.

The new City Hall is downtown and has allowed the City to consolidate the operations of the administrative staff, the Finance Department and the Building Officials Department into one building. This consolidation allows citizens and business people to complete business with the City in a single stop.

The new council chambers were designed to accommodate community groups in an effort to attract citizens to the downtown area. The large room has excellent acoustics and movable seating, allowing it to host various events ranging from a regular council meeting to a Council of the Arts concert.

A large parking area was renovated between the former City Hall and the new building. A portion is used for employee parking, but the rest is available for customers of the downtown stores.

The Streetscape Project included the complete makeover of three blocks in the central business district. The first phase focused on improving the utility systems, such as the stormwater system and the water distribution system. Telephone and power lines were relocated underground, as well.

The second phase involved stripping and resurfacing Main Street. This phase also included new street lights, sidewalks, and street furniture that were landscaped and decorated with brick pavers and planted areas. More attractive streetlights were added.

Since the Streetscape Project began, several new businesses have opened downtown and merchants have reported increased sales. Future plans call for continuing the enhancements over the entire central business district.

The Parr Place is located downtown on Main Street. The Parr Theater and the adjacent Lancaster Bakery building had been demolished leaving a gap in Main Street. The City teamed with a well-known developer to fill the gap with commercial spaces and apartments designed for elderly residents. The location will allow the residents close proximity to the County Council for the Aging, federal/state/local government offices, and nearby shopping at Eckerd and Harris Teeter, as well as the specialty shops in the central business district.
Contact: Steve Willis, 803.286.8414

Population Category: 10,001-20,000
City of Easley

Easley's mayor threw the first ball in July 1999 to officially open Phase I of the City's new Recreation Complex, which consists of three baseball fields, a picnic pavilion, a playground, nature trails, paved walking trails and a general-purpose facility housing restrooms, concessions, press boxes, community room and offices.

Having determined a need for more recreation facilities, the mayor appointed an 18-member Recreation Advisory Committee to plan for the needed expansion. The Committee suggested the City needed additional baseball and football fields, a soccer program, walking trails, a gymnasium and playgrounds. The City Council agreed to purchase a 64-acre site and selected an engineering firm to prepare preliminary plans based on the Committee's study.

With a projected cost of $6.3 million, the Council decided to develop the park in two phases. To avoid exhausting the Council's bond capacity, the City held a referendum in November 1996 on the bond issue. An overwhelming 69 percent of voters was in favor of the referendum, which called for an 8-mil tax increase. The City received financial assistance from the community and other agencies such as the National Guard, who saved the City about $100,000 by grading the site.

Phase II will be constructed with the proceeds of a new 1-cent hospitality tax, projected to raise about $316,000 per year.

Prior to the development of the park, the Recreation Department employed eight people. With the new development, the department has added six employees.

The City has already reaped some benefits from the new facility by hosting the Little League Regional Tournament on the new baseball fields. Easley hopes to attract additional tournaments to help foster tourism and provide a boost to local restaurants, motels and businesses.
Contact: Charles Helsel, 864.855.7900

Economic Development
City of Greenville

More than a decade ago, Greenville's Main Street area was prospering with increased development, but the West End area was in disrepair and crime-ridden. The City envisioned revitalizing the West End in the 1987 Redevelopment Plan and the 1988 Revitalization Strategies for the West End. The 1987 plan created the West End Tax Increment Financing District for infrastructure improvements, including landscaping, street furniture and lighting. The 1988 plan was a collaboration between an urban planning consultant, the West End Association and the City to identify potential improvements.

In 1992, the City created the West End Historic Overlay District with mandatory design guidelines. The following year, the City received a National Register of Historic Places designation for the West End. A resident donated three buildings to the City to be redeveloped into a public farmer's market, and the plans expanded to include restaurants, shops, arts and crafts vendors and office space. In 1999, the original farmer's market concept proved ineffective, causing the City to abandon the concept and lease the space to an antique dealer.

Overall, the City invested more than $4 million and acted as developer, project manager, leasing manager and property manager for the facility. Currently, a private firm handles leasing and property management. When it undertook the project, the City hoped to provide opportunities for new business redevelopment, to stabilize the market value of private property in the area, to encourage preservation of the City's historic resources and to stimulate redevelopment in the West End. As a result, the West End attracted 30 new businesses and development projects that cost more than $18.8 million in 1998.

The redeveloped market, which won the National Preservation Award, is the economic anchor for the West End and a role model for historic preservation. It is 100 percent occupied.
Contact: Candace Sommer, 864.467.4470

Public Safety
Town of Hilton Head Island

A few years ago, the Town conducted a survey on the survival rate of cardiac arrest victims. The study showed that cardiac arrest patients have the highest chance of survival - 67 percent - when there is immediate intervention by CPR, defibrillation, and advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) combined with drug therapy. The chance of survival decreased by 5.5 percent for each minute that passed without the interventions. As a result of the study, the Town examined its role in improving residents" and visitors" chances for surviving a sudden and cardiac arrest.

The Town increased the number of paramedics from 26 to 42. Each fire station is equipped with an ACLS ambulance and staffed with at least one firefighter paramedic and emergency medical technician. The Town bought Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) for each front-line fire apparatus and pursued putting AEDs in the hands of non-medical people. The Town entered into an agreement with a vendor to allow any local private or public agency to buy AEDs at the same price as the Town, and the Town began actively recruiting and training groups to use the AEDs. Also, the Town worked to get AEDs covered by the Good Samaritan Act to ensure non-medical people can be trained to use an AED without fear of litigation afterward.

Five security groups in Hilton Head Island's private, gated communities and two off-island groups have joined the Town's AED program. The Town placed AEDs in the local recreation center, the Share Group, and the Boy's and Girl's Club, using a grant from the Hilton Head Island Foundation. Other nearby fire departments have begun participating in the AED program.
Contact: Thomas Fieldstead, 843.341.4710

Public Service
City of Aiken

In its desire to foster a more caring and united community, the City of Aiken established South Carolina's first "Community of Character" using the "Character First" program. A steering committee coordinated the community-wide, grassroots effort to involve all segments of the community: business, industry, faith, media, civic associations, social and health organizations. Aiken set several goals for its "Community of Character":

• Develop character in individual citizens for successful lives
• Strengthen families, including relationships between parents and children, creating loving homes with secure and well-behaved children
• Increase productivity, reduce accidents and lower absenteeism in business.
• Reduce crime and poverty.
• Strengthen the community and improve the quality of life.

The "Character First" program focuses on developing 12 character traits, one for every month: sincerity, respect, self-control, responsibility, attentiveness, loyalty, courage, citizenship, truthfulness, patience, compassion and forgiveness. To reach every member of the community, the character trait of the month is placed in the daily newspaper, on the City's Web site, in the Chamber News brochure, on television, in church bulletins, on billboards, and heard on local radio stations. The character trait is also printed on the City's water bills. Aiken community women's organizations purchased banners listing the character traits, and the banners hang from the street lights downtown.

Many Aiken schools are involved with character education, and East Aiken Elementary School developed a character initiative using the "Character First" program. The school offers many character-related activities, including a monthly Character Assembly for the entire student body to introduce that month's character trait. Each trait is identified with an animal, such as a porcupine. The physical education teacher dresses in the costume to help the children remember the character trait and what it means. The principal boasts fewer disciplinary actions toward students and improved communication between teachers and students as a result of the program.

The City has embraced the program and provides monthly character training for employees and citizens. Character-related questions are asked during job interviews. Employees have designed desk tent cards and pocket-sized character cards as reminders of the importance of character. The City Council offers its support by honoring citizens and employees for demonstrating good character traits. To evaluate the program, the City formed an evaluation and assessment committee that will develop a survey instrument to see if the City's goals were met.

More than 20 cities have requested more information on the program, and Aiken representatives have spoken nationally and locally about the program. Governor Jim Hodges declared Aiken the "Capital for a Day" mentioning the Character First program in his proclamation.
Contact: 803.642.7654

Public Works
City of Sumter

When the City of Sumter recognized a need for more space to consolidate and expand its public services departments, the City purchased an old steel mill, three blocks from Main Street. The purchase of 20 acres of land and more than 260,000 square feet of building space will allow the public services departments to consolidate and provide room for future growth. Formerly an eyesore, the abandoned mill is becoming a productive part of the City by falling in line with the City's downtown revitalization efforts.

The $1.5 million purchase price was financed through issuing a general obligation bond. However, the cost will be offset by the sale or lease of the existing Public Works and City Shop facilities. Also, the National Guard will lease the former Construction Department facilities for $85,500 per year.

The administrative and engineering offices will be moved to the new facility, which will free up much-needed office space in City Hall. The Material Recovery Facility, currently located outside, will be under cover at the new complex and can expand as needed for a growing recycling program. The new facility is large enough to house all City equipment to protect it from the weather, which will increase their life expectancies. A Central Store is housed in the complex to increase the City's purchasing efficiency. The consolidating of departments in the new facility will reduce costs by sharing equipment, manpower and resources.
Contact: Talmadge Tobias, Jr., 803.436.2577

 

Other Entries

City of Anderson
Anderson sought to provide better services for its citizens by partnering with other agencies. The City Fire Department's Fire/Rescue Team partnered with the Aviation Division of the Sheriff's Office to form the Anderson City Technical Rescue Team to handle specialized rescue situations. The Fire/Rescue Team was trained on confined space rescue, and the Aviation Division owned helicopters and practiced air rescue. As the only such team in the state, they have been called to assist in rescues outside Anderson, such as in Horry County and Wilmington, N.C., following Hurricane Floyd.

The City partnered with Allied Waste to help alleviate the problem of dilapidated houses in the City. The City has been successful with a voluntary program seeking permission from the property owners to demolish the structures and haul the debris at no cost to the owner. Two years ago, new environmental regulations concerning lead-based paint caused the City's tipping fees for depositing the debris in the Construction and Demolition landfill to soar near $6,000 per structure. The Allied Waste subsidiary Container Company of Carolina donated space in their landfill for the demolition debris, which eliminated the cost of tipping fees.
Contact: Linda P. McConnell, 864.231.2230

 City of Cayce
Cayce's Department of Public Safety understands citizens" need to be involved in crime prevention strategies, so the department began Teen Watch. Teen Watch allows the teens from the City's two middle schools to meet to recognize problems in the schools. The teens offer possible solutions to the problems, and officers assist the teens in using all available resources to turn their ideas into reality. The Teen Watch students also have been involved in civic activities, from collecting food for needy families to designing a float for the Cayce-West Columbia Christmas Parade. When the students noticed the school library needed updating, they developed a fund-raiser to help buy new books. The students set up a charity basketball game between local law enforcement officers and the boys" high school varsity team. The fund-raiser brought in about $500, which exceeded the goal.

The Teen Watch group hopes to implement a Teen Court and improve the schools" appearances by planting flowers and building picnic tables.
Contact: Dean Rucker, 803.739.0684

 Town of Chesterfield
The Town began an effort to use recreation to transform their community. Chesterfield had only one park, so a recreation commission studied Chesterfield's recreation needs and set goals. In an effort to meet the goals, the Town purchased a nearby park and began restoring it, including adding a new asphalt walking trail and an entrance plaza. An old school gymnasium was purchased in conjunction with the Greater Chesterfield Chamber of Commerce and turned into a community center.

The existing park also received a facelift, including a new sign, improved lighting and dozens of new trees. A part-time director was hired to oversee the recreation commission's programs, a position that has grown into full-time and includes a groundskeeper and additional part-time help in the summer. Chesterfield has "recreated" itself through recreation.
Contact: Mayor John Douglas, 843.623.2131

 City of Clinton
Clinton was struggling with not having enough volunteer, or part-time firefighters, even though it relies heavily on part-time firefighters. With stringent training and compliance requirements, it was becoming impossible to recruit and train volunteers willing to commit their time. Police officers agreed to cross train, and now more than 13 public service officers are certified as part-time firefighters. Public service officers were offered a 5 percent pay incentive to be cross trained.
Contact: 864.833.7505

City of Darlington
Statistics show crime rises in a community when youth are unsupervised, such as before parents get home from work and during the summer. So the Darlington Police Department decided to become responsible for the pool to provide a place for the City's youth to socialize under supervision. The City pool needed considerable work to be brought back to healthy levels, and the Police Department worked on the pool and asked for volunteers to continue maintenance.

Since the pool reopened under the Police Department's control, juvenile crime has decreased from 136 Department of Juvenile Justice referrals in 1997-98 to 113 in 1998-99. Police officers volunteer at the pool as lifeguards, which gives officers the chance to mentor the youth and help them make good decisions to stay on the right path. The community has a fresh way of looking at police: as a partner of youth.
Contact: Police Chief J.A. Cox, Jr., 843.398.4026

City of Georgetown
Georgetown officials noticed a significant number of residents were experiencing housing problems, such as overcrowding or paying more than 30 percent of annual household income for housing. The City partnered with Habitat for Humanity and Georgetown County to develop the county's old detention center site as low-income housing. A CDBG grant helped fund infrastructure improvements. The new development will include 16 homes, three of which were completed in September 1999 with the help of local churches. The old detention center is being transformed into a community center to provide meeting space for community activities, homeowner association groups and crime watch programs. The Keep Georgetown Beautiful organization will plant a "Carolina Fence Garden" to separate the community center and the new homes.
Contact: Elizabeth K. Krauss, 843.546.2000 ext. 205

City of Goose Creek
The original development of Goose Creek was driven by its location near Charleston, an intersection of two major highways, and a nearby military bases. The City began to spread out, and the new businesses had no design guidelines. To improve the City's appearance, the City Council passed an architectural design review ordinance and appointed an Architectural Review Board of citizens to review building permit applications monthly.

The City Council created the Goose Creek Redevelopment plan to create a focal point for the City and to combat the financial impact of the closing of a nearby military base. The plan specified public improvements and created a tax increment finance district to fund the projects. The first project was a new municipal center to house City Hall, the Police Station and Municipal Court. This became the focal point of the community and a guide to downtown redevelopment. The City is working with an urban planning firm to create a master plan for downtown. Contact: 843.797.6220 ext.113

Town of Hampton
The Town conducted an assessment of their Town Hall and found several areas needing improvement. The Town set goals for a new facility to accommodate the improvement areas. The Town relocated the public works department to a new site and removed the waterworks cistern, water tower and an abandoned fire station to allow renovations and additions to the Town Hall. The new Municipal Complex, including the Town Administration and Police departments, was completed in November 1999. About 5,000 square feet of new space was added to the Town Hall while keeping the historic street fa-ade intact. The Municipal Complex and the Public Works facility were completed without a tax increase by using saved funds and a 10-year bond issue.
Contact: Ernie Glynn, 803.943.2951

City of Hartsville
Hartsville's City Council established Operation CLEAN (Citizens Leading Efforts to enhance All Neighborhoods) to deal with dilapidated buildings and overgrown lots. Citizens worked with the City to identify the problem properties and create guidelines for the program. Once the properties were identified, they were rated according to criteria such as utility hazards and crime activity. The City notifies the property owner, who is asked to clean up their property. If the property owner does not comply, the City begins legal action to ensure the necessary work is done. The City uses a multi-disciplinary approach by involving the Police, Fire, Building and Planning departments. In the first four months of the program, 50 percent of the overgrown lots were cleaned, 50 percent of the salvageable structures have been repaired or properly boarded, and 20 percent of the hazardous structures were demolished or under repair. This ongoing project has increased neighborhood pride and given citizens a chance to change their community for the better.
Contact: Joe Heard, 843.383.3009

City of Mauldin
Mauldin faced many problems associated with rapid growth, including old dispatch equipment, poor radio performance and separate dispatch centers for City departments. Mauldin formed a technology committee made up of City personnel to identify the needs of each department, and a new communication system was decided upon and purchased. The separate dispatch centers were combined in Mauldin's new City Hall building.

Because Mauldin had a new City Hall, the technology committee had to overcome several obstacles with the new communications system, such as where to locate the antenna without marring the facade. The antenna eventually was located on a nearby Bell Atlantic Tower with radio antennas in the building's attic. Another obstacle was transitioning to the new equipment and location without interrupting service. Through proper planning, the dispatch was seamlessly turned over to the new center. With the improved technology, communications and the response times have improved.
Contact: 864.288.4910

Town of Mount Pleasant
Mount Pleasant wanted to take the lead in child safety, so the Town developed two new programs. A recent U.S. Department of Justice national study on kidnapping prompted the Mount Pleasant Police Department to begin the voluntary Child Alert program. The program provides immediate notification to the parents if a child is absent from school, allowing a search to begin in the first crucial hours if necessary. If a child who is participating in the program is reported absent, a PTA volunteer calls the parents to verify the child's whereabouts.

The Mount Pleasant Fire Department personnel volunteer as a LAFS (Life And Fire Safety) troop to travel teaching fire and life safety to children using music, clowns, magic and puppets. The troop makes learning about safety fun and not intimidating, unlike a speech by an officer wearing a badge. MPFD has more than half of the LAFS clowns and puppeteers in the state and has a waiting list for speaking engagements of more than eight months. They cover many topics ranging from seat belts to fire exits.
Contact: R. Mac Burdette, 843.884.8517

City of Mullins
The City's 30-acre Gapway Recreation Complex had fallen into disrepair, so the City Council spearheaded the revitalization of the park. Officials began fund-raising for the project and seeking volunteers to help make repairs. Many local businesses donated funds, and the Marion County Transportation Committee agreed to pave an area near the tennis courts for free. The Recreation Department received a PRT grant to help with new fencing. Then the Council invited residents out to "make Mullins a better place to live." With the help of more than 100 volunteers, an eight-hour workfest of painting, building and repairing transformed the complex into a cleaner, safer place for community recreation. The Gapway Center has four baseball fields, one football field, eight tennis courts and a community center.
Contact: Mayor J. Wayne George, 843.464.9583

City of Myrtle Beach
City leaders realized rapid development was eliminating a valuable natural resource: trees. The City Council identified five goals to help "green the City," all of which have been met. The Council began by implementing a tree protection ordinance. To increase public awareness, the City distributed copies to all city business license holders, created public service announcements and offered a seminar on the value of trees. The City provided dedicated funds to plant additional trees and initiated an annual Arbor Day observance. Myrtle Beach has been recognized since 1996 as a Tree City USA. The planning department has received grants to help with the greening effort. The parks division established the Trees for Tomorrow program, giving individuals and organizations an opportunity to help "green" while honoring friends and loved ones.
Contact: Diane Moskow-McKenzie, 843.918.1069

City of North Augusta
The Washington Homes property, built in the 1950"s, was declared unsafe by the City in 1996. The owner demolished all the buildings, and the area was a blight in the City's redevelopment plan. A local developer purchased the land in 1998 but wanted to exchange wetland property that was steep and wet for flatter, drier land that was adjacent to the property but owned by the City. The City agreed to the swap, and the developer agreed to build the subdivision in a manner to help implement some of the City's comprehensive plan objectives. The new subdivision adheres to many Smart Growth Principles, such as redeveloping an existing site inside the City. It also helped protect the wetlands and provided many high-quality, moderately priced single-family homes.
Contact: Skip Grkovic, 803.441.4225

City of Orangeburg
Stevenson Auditorium, built in 1927, was still in use but had fallen into disrepair. In an effort to redevelop Orangeburg's historic downtown area, the City established the Downtown Orangeburg Revitalization Association and completed a downtown revitalization plan that included the auditorium. The City worked with the Stevenson Auditorium committee to raise more than $200,000 toward the project. The major renovations include new lighting, a state-of-the-art sound system, new seating and carpeting and new signage. They also renovated the bathrooms and dressing rooms and replaced the heating and cooling systems. The auditorium is now in use more than 200 days a year.
Contact: John H. Yow, 803.533.6000

Town of Pendleton
Pendleton officials realized that the typical modes of communication - newspapers, radio and television - were not adequate for communicating community news to residents. To open lines of communication, the Town mails a monthly newsletter to all residents that includes ordinance information and a community calendar. Two local radio stations gave the community a monthly slot to discuss critical issues. The mayor holds "Coffee with the Mayor" one morning a month at a local restaurant to give residents a chance to express their concerns. The mayor also presents an annual report to the people highlighting the year's progress and goals for the next year. The report is inserted in the monthly newsletter for residents unable to attend the presentation.

Other communication tools include an employee newsletter, an alliance of churches, a "Mayor's Eyes and Ears" committee, a suggestion box, Pendleton 2007 meetings, "Neighbors In Deed" volunteer meetings, newcomers orientation tourist information center, Web site, meetings with the County Council and annual Town events.
Contact: Teri Bork, 864.646.9022

Town of Port Royal
The Town began its Neighborhood College project by conducting an interest survey. Questions were placed at the bottom of water bills, and the returned answers indicated overwhelming interest in the project. The College provides information on the Town and its services, as well as information on Port Royal's interaction with other government agencies and its own governmental process.

The College transfers pride, ownership and knowledge to the citizens about committee/board service and in the workings of the Town. Students seek out residents to fill vacancies on the Town's boards and committees and serve as volunteers.
Contact: John Perry, 843.986.2205

Town of Ridgeland
Interstate 95 had brought a slow death to the once-thriving Town of Ridgeland in the early 1990s leaving many Main Street buildings empty. In 1995, a new business community opened nearby and was quickly followed by gas stations, fast-food restaurants and a motel. This gave the Town a place to start its redevelopment.

The Town commissioned a study on how to reverse the downward trend, which identified several areas of concern and suggested promoting a traditional downtown identity to capture a tourist market. The Council created a revitalization plan and worked to keep the costs low. The plan included underground utilities, new drainage, new sidewalks, new streetlights, new traffic lights, landscaping and a mini-park with a clock tower. The Town enacted accommodations and hospitality taxes and received funds from the Jasper County Transportation Committee to help fund the revitalization plan. The redevelopment was a success: At least 13 new business have opened there, and a new mini-mall has been completely leased.
Contact: 843.726.7500

City of Rock Hill
After adopting a community-policing philosophy in 1994, Rock Hill realized the philosophy had to extend to community-oriented government as well. The City created the Neighborhood Empowerment Office to help develop neighborhood organizations that could better access City services, identify community resources and explore partnerships to enhance the quality of life. Neighborhood Empowerment coordinators began attending neighborhood watch groups to help citizens understand how to access City Hall, which also gave the coordinators a chance to learn about problems the neighborhoods faced and their perceptions of the City. With this partnership, problems have been identified and solutions have been suggested and implemented by the City. The Neighborhood Empowerment Office offers many other services, including neighborhood matching grants, leadership training, forums, Council of Neighborhoods, Neighborhood Ambassadors, weekly mailings and a resource manual.
Contact: Melanie R. Brandon, 803.325.2528

Town of Santee
In December 1998, the Town Council adopted an ordinance to fully implement a local accommodations and hospitality tax to expand Santee's tourism industry. The goal was simple: to attract more tourists to Santee. The tax will fund several projects: development of a tourism Web site and a marketing campaign; implementation of a landscape plan to beautify Santee and attract tourist traffic to the Town; create tourist attractions, specifically a central festival area with a recreational area and garden areas, in addition to the golf courses and camping facilities; and provide new tourism infrastructure, such as sidewalks.

The Town is using the Roving Administrator Program of the Lower Savannah Council of Governments to provide staff to oversee the various tourism projects.
Contact: 803.854.2152

City of Spartanburg
Spartanburg developed a new idea to encourage private developers to revitalize vacant commercial properties in the City: the Business Corridor Redevelopment Incentive Program. The program allows property owners to recapture 20 percent of their investment using the Multi-County Industrial Park (MCIP) designation, which allows for a fee-in-lieu of property taxes. The fee collected equals the amount that would have been paid in property taxes. Payment as a fee allows the City to rebate a portion of the fee.

There are strict eligibility and fee payment requirements. The baseline tax revenues will continue to be received by all taxing entities, but 30 percent of the tax "increment" increase will be credited back to the property owner for 15 years or until the total equals 20 percent of the redevelopment costs. The response has been positive: Four key developments have used the program and several other developers have expressed interest.
Contact: Mandy S. Merck, 864.596.2020