Spartanburg city manager, city attorney get raises, employees get day off for Juneteenth
Spartanburg City Council held its final meeting in the council chambers on West Broad Street Monday afternoon.
The old City Hall, located at 145 W. Broad St., will be demolished to make room for the City-County joint office complex. City staff has moved into interim offices at 187 W. Broad St.
Former city staff and council members attended the last meeting, including former mayor James Talley, city manager Ed Memmott, who retired in 2018, former Spartanburg police chief and councilman W.C. Bain, who retired in 1995 and former city council members Robert Reeder, Lynda Blanchard and Lib Fleming.
Talley, who served as mayor from 1993-2001, thanked the current City Council on behalf of the past members in the audience.
“It’s a joy to see the transformation of the city, to see the city moving forward, and the progress that’s being made,” Talley said. “To see this building go, it’s going to be bittersweet. We know what’s coming is going to be just a little bit better because this one was just a little bit better than the last one and the next one will be better than this one.”
Council members and current staff also reminisced about their memories in the building.
“There are so many good people who flood my mind when I think about all the many years spent in this building. Ed (Memmott), Roy Lane before him, Mark Scott, Evelyn Tice, countless other folks that were kind and patient with me and the rest of the team,” said City Manager Chris Story.
The municipal court is moving to the new county courthouse (180 Magnolia St.) and will begin full operations by next week.
The central fire station response base will move to the new station at 450 Wofford St. in the last week of February.
The police department has moved to 206 N. Forest St., off E. St. John St.
In the next few weeks, construction fencing will go up around City Hall, excluding the fire department and large parking lot to the left of the building.
Hazardous materials used in the construction of the current City Hall must be removed before demolition begins this spring.
Spartanburg City Hall has 63 years of history
City Hall’s send-off included a presentation on the history of the building by Phillip Stone, archivist at Wofford College and chairman of the city's Planning Commission.
“This building is one of the last remaining examples of mid-century architecture in our community,” Stone said of the building, which opened in 1961.
Some fun facts from the presentation included:
The circumstances surrounding the construction of the new City-County building are similar to those of the current City Hall.The previous City Hall, slated for replacement in the '50s, was also located on the same site, requiring staff members to find interim office space.The 1961 City Hall was also built during a downtown construction boom, opening alongside a new public library and a recently built county courthouse. The new city-county building will be under construction at the same time as the minor league ballpark complex and the planetarium near the Headquarters Library.
The lobby originally featured multi-colored tile. It has since been painted white.
There is a record of a Masonic cornerstone time capsule buried at City Hall on April 29, 1961.
More historical information will be shared by Stone and Brad Steinecke, assistant director of local history at the Spartanburg County Public Library, in an upcoming episode of the city podcast.
Spartanburg city manager, the city attorney receive pay raises
In other council business, raises were unanimously approved for City Manager Chris Story and City Attorney Bob Coler.
Story received $176,384 starting in the 2021-22 fiscal year, and Coler received $135,383. Their salaries were increased to $200,000 and $166,293, respectively.
City employees get the day off for Juneteenth
Juneteenth was approved as a paid holiday for city employees during Monday's meeting.
The unanimous vote brought the number of paid holidays for city employees up to 12, the same number given to county employees.
“When I came on council, it was discussed. Meghan (Smith) brought it up again, and I’m pleased we have this resolution in front of us because it is deserving for the citizens and everyone concerned with what has gone on in the past,” said Councilwoman Janie Salley, the new mayor pro tem.
Samantha Swann covers city news, development and culture in Spartanburg. She is a University of South Carolina Upstate and Greenville Technical College alumna. Contact her at sswann@shj.com or on Instagram at @sam_on_spartanburg.
This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Spartanburg City Council gives pay raises, day off for Juneteenth
