Editor's note: We asked representatives of our three cities to share an overview of accomplishments from 2024. Taft Matney, City Councilman from Mauldin, Aaron Rupe, City Council member from Simpsonville and Mayor GP McLeer of Fountain Inn. We continue to provide an opportunity for these communities to stay in touch with their constituents through the Sentinel Newspaper. Bob Gecy Publisher

Mauldin

Taft Matney - Rounding out 2024

As we held our final council meeting of the year, it was filled with highlights of Mauldin’s achievements and laid groundwork for ongoing projects and community development.

The evening began with recognitions and presentations. A standout moment was the celebration of Mauldin High School swimmer Oliver Stull. Oliver won the South Carolina 5A state championship in the 500 freestyle and placed second in the 200 freestyle.  He has signed to swim at West Virginia University, a testament to his dedication and talent.

The Mauldin Police Explorers were also recognized for their exceptional performance at a recent competition in Lawrenceville, GA, hosted by the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office. Competing against eight other posts, the Explorers earned several top-three finishes in categories such as Domestic Violence, Physical Agility, and Traffic Stops, ultimately securing first place overall. Their accomplishments reflect their commitment to excellence and the strength of the Mauldin Police Department’s training programs.

Outgoing Mauldin Chamber of Commerce Board Chair Ozzy Custodio presented the Chamber’s final report of the year. He expressed gratitude for the strong partnership between the Chamber and the City, underscoring the collaborative spirit that drives Mauldin’s success.

City Administrator Seth Duncan provided an update on the Council’s 2025 meeting schedule. Committee meetings will continue on the first Monday of each month, and full Council meetings will take place on the third Monday.

(Taft’s Personal Note: I can’t emphasize enough that our meetings are open to the public, and we want to see people there and actively engaged with what we’re doing.)

The Council turned its attention to key legislative items under unfinished business. Two ordinances were passed unanimously on their second readings.

The first committed $4 million from Hospitality and Accommodations Tax revenue to the BridgeWay Station stadium project. This significant investment underscores the City’s focus on enhancing tourism and creating a dynamic space for community and regional engagement. It’s important to highlight that under state law Hospitality and Accommodations Tax revenue can only be used for projects that encourage tourism. It cannot be used for other purposes. It’s also important to note that property taxes are not being used to pay for the city’s participation in the stadium project. Those are the funds we use to fund the city’s daily operations that include public safety and public works.

The second ordinance approved the sale of property along East Butler Road to SCDOT for road improvements as part of the Butler Road Improvement Project. This initiative, including temporary construction easements, will address infrastructure needs and support long-term growth.

One of the biggest items we addressed was the approval of a $750,000 allocation for final debris removal from Hurricane Helene. This funding, from the General Fund’s Unassigned Fund Balance, builds on previous efforts to address storm damage and ensures Mauldin’s recovery continues efficiently. We expect the final storm cleanup to be completed by late January.

The meeting concluded with reflections on the year’s successes and expressions of gratitude. The Council’s unanimous support for initiatives and projects throughout the evening demonstrated their shared commitment to advancing Mauldin’s priorities and celebrating the successes of Mauldin residents. As we move into 2025, the City remains focused on fostering growth, supporting residents, and enhancing the quality of life for all who call Mauldin home.

-- Taft Matney serves in Seat 1 on Mauldin city Council. He can be reached at tmatney@mauldincitysc.com.●

Fountain Inn

Mayor GP McCleer

Each January in this column, I like to take a minute to look back at the previous year and pull out a few highlights. Here is this year’s highlight reel:

New Comprehensive Plan and Parks Master Plan Approved

Our new city Comprehensive Plan was adopted in early 2024, followed quickly by our first-ever Parks Master Plan. Between these two documents, we now have a clear path on how our community can continue to shine in the years to come.

Our Economy Grows

Over $550 million of investment, and over 600 jobs, were announced in our area in 2024. That includes a large expansion by ZF Gray Court focused on e-mobility, the opening of Tesla’s first South Carolina facility, and the announcement of Amazon’s fulfillment center.

We also continued to cut ribbons on new small businesses in the heart of our town, including businesses such as Fountain Foods Market, The Groom Bar, and The Mill at Fountain Inn.

Infrastructure Investments Continue

Our $12 million sewer rehab project has been underway for a couple of years now, with great progress being made in repairing and/or relining every foot of public sewer in the city. Alongside this work, we have continued to make investments in our natural gas infrastructure, including improvements on our northern end to ensure stronger pressure.

We’re in the process of adding over 100 parking spots within a block of our Main Street as well, including the 53 new spots added just this year (see my November column for more details).

Our new signal at I-385 and Highway 418 (Exit 23 - Southbound) is awaiting its control cabinet, at which point the most requested traffic improvement in town will be complete (it could very well be operational by the time you read this, fingers crossed!).

Parks and Facilities Improvements

Public feedback in our Comprehensive Plan overwhelmingly called for the Swamp Rabbit Trail to be expanded in Fountain Inn. We’re making good on that request - with a mix of grant funding from the Greenville-Pickens Area Transportation Study (GPATS) and the city, and all necessary right of way acquired, the Swamp Rabbit Trail will finally connect Simpsonville and Fountain Inn in the very near future. You’ll see Heritage Park and FIHS connected, which then connects to our existing trail section from FIHS to Mt. Zion Baptist Church.

We also selected a design firm to move forward with our new municipal complex, inclusive of new fire and police headquarters. This project will take awhile to come to fruition, but the early steps are already taking place.

Additionally, full funding was secured in 2024 for Fire Station #3, at Jones Mill Road and Scuffletown Road. Final designs are underway and we should see that project start in 2025. This will reduce response times in that area drastically. We also fully funded the purchase of two new fire engines - which have a lead time of nearly 4 years to build.

Lastly, our South Main Street Revitalization Project, which will beautify Main Street from Jones to 418 (to match what you already see from Hellams to Jones), has been bid out and bids came back exactly where we wanted them to be. Funding is already in place and work will begin in 2025. We’ll have a lot more on that front in the coming months, including public meetings to detail the construction timelines, plans on helping our businesses who may be impacted by construction, and more.●

Simpsonville

Aaron Rupe - Councilman Ward 2

Hello Simpsonville!  I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year and was able to spend it with friends and family. 

I wanted to give you kind of a year in a review as well as some other things to look for over the next year.

Last year the City had a lot going on.  If you have been down Curtis Street, you will see a new City Hall, Police Station, Fire Station, Summary Court, and a new and much improved park as well. This was something that was passed before I was elected to Council.  A third of it was paid for by grant money, 100% of the Summary Court was paid for by the county, and no one’s taxes or millage went up as a result.  In fact, no taxes or millage has gone up in this city for as long as I can remember.   I will continue to make sure your taxes, nor millage won’t go up.  We had an increase that County Council imposed on us last year, but you can be assured that I will fight for this not to happen here in the city.  

Some other things that Council discussed in 2024, was addressing the issue with storm water and water run offs in some of our neighborhoods.  Many of our neighbors have homes that flood when we get heavy rain.  Many has come and spoke to Council and have shared photos of their property after a hard rain.  A few of these homes have over 6’ of water on their property causing much damage.  This has been an issue with some these homes for over 30 years, and should’ve been addressed much sooner than now.  So, Council approved a storm water study so we can assess which culverts to address and the costs involved.  City staff will investigate what kinds of money through grants we can apply for to help with these costs, but something has to be done for these unfortunate neighbors.  There were several culverts that we knew we had to address, and after the hurricane, these culverts were damaged even more. So, it looks like FEMA may be reimbursing the city for this cost now.  We know we have to address a few more, and we have already had engineers look at these areas. 

We have not only upgraded the park that is behind the new City Hall, but we have upgraded another park as well.  After public comments and meeting with constituents, I made a suggestion to find a pump track/bike track for one of our parks.  We were able to find a pump track for half price and have placed it in Alder Park.  The best news on this, it did not come out of our budget to pay for it.  These monies came out of our Hospitality Tax money, which we can only use to put back in our parks or very specific other means.  We cannot use these monies for buildings, capital purchases or improvements, or streets.  A few of our parks are in very bad shape, so what better way to use these monies than to upgrade some of these parks.  

We all know that traffic seems to be the major issue with residents. We have again as a council been cognizant of this and have voted down another developer that petitioned to Council this past year.  I will continue to be very cognizant over this next year. 

Council did discuss last year having impact fees on future developments to help incur costs these developments impact our city streets, water run offs, and among other things.  I and 2 other Council members voted to approve these impact fees, but the motion was voted down by a vote of 4-3.  We did as a Council vote 7-0 to require all future developments to conduct a 100-Year flood requirement to replace what was in place a 25-Year flood requirement.  This will help tremendously with future water run off issues. 

The one big thing to look out for this next year is our street revitalization plan.  This has been on the waiting log at SCDOT for more than a year now, and we are at their discretion when this project starts.  Please be patient once the project starts.  There will be some growing pains, but SCDOT engineers assured Council that this plan will work and will allow College St and Curtis St to flow much more effectively when crossing over Main St.  

It has been a pleasure working for all of you these past 3 years and I will continue to do so this next year.  Together we improved capital improvements by not raising taxes or your millage and have kept developers in check. We have plans to help with our 2 major issues, traffic and storm water issues. 

I hope I have lived up to my promise of being transparent and always available for a call or a meeting.  If you have any questions on anything, please reach out to me!

Regards,
Aaron Rupe