Thursday, Nov. 05, 2009

Georgetown council looks to the future

With a new mayor and a city councilwoman to be seated in January, existing Georgetown City Council members are hoping to put a difficult year behind them and get to work bringing more jobs to Georgetown.

Attorney and Democrat Jack Scoville, currently a councilman, will slide into his new role as mayor, and floral and ice cream store owner Jeanette Ard will fill Scoville's spot on the council, according to the unofficial results Tuesday.

Incumbents Paige Sawyer and Brendon Barber were re-elected. Election results are expected to be certified today.

"I certainly can work with all of them with no problem," said Councilwoman Peggy Wayne. "I foresee us going forward. I think Jeanette will be a big asset and I've worked with Jack for four years. I think it's fresh new leadership and new ideas."

The city has faced a tough year, making headlines for ousting its former administrator, a lawsuit filed against current Mayor Lynn Wood Wilson accusing him of illegally taking a vote for a company he is affiliated with and the indefinite idling of the ArcelorMittal steel mill, one of the city's largest employers. The mill shut down June 10 due to a lack of orders, has left more than 200 employees temporarily out of work and has cost the city about $500,000 in lost sewer and water revenue.

Wayne said the city has been stagnant for a long time and efforts to bring business to Georgetown stalled because of a lack of group unity. With a new administrator, Chris Eldridge, Wayne said things have started to turn around.

"I've talked with different companies to try to attract new business," she said. "I think it takes more than one person to let these corporations know we want them here and we can work with them."

The city already was making strides in that direction before Tuesday's election.

Instead of developers and business owners having to come back three or four times for permits, all the permits such as electrical and plumbing are issued at once. The city is also doing a comprehensive rate study to see if there is a way to create one bill for water, sewer and electric, Eldridge said.

Eldridge said he also tries to work with businesses to work out payment plans on the city's utility bills if they are struggling financially. The city also spent about $20,000 in a partnership with the Georgetown Business Association to get community input and work with Clemson University in a design plan to revitalize the historic district.

Barber is approaching his new term with cautious optimism.

"I am looking at this new term with excitement as being progressive," Barber said. "We've got to get this thing together. As one member you can't accomplish anything, unless you have a collective body to help you out. Hopefully this is a new beginning."

Councilman Rudolph Bradley was also toting team spirit.

"First of all, whoever voters wanted me to work with, I will work with," Bradley. "We have a lot of issues trying to stabilizing business, doing what we need to help them stay here. We need to forge a relationship with county. We have to improve relationship with county. As far as port, don't know how we can convince the feds that we need the money to dredge and make the port viable again."

Sawyer won another term on the council during Tuesday's election.

"I'm looking at it optimistically," he said. "I think it will be building a team. You are going to have to get into the groove and see where we are going. We've just been stagnant for so many years. A city has got to grow to stay alive."

Sawyer hopes to get the council to agree to having two meetings a month instead of one. One meeting will act as a workshop and the other as a regular council session. The workshop would allow the council to get the paperwork and relevant information with enough time to review and make an informed decision. The actual voting would happen at a later meeting.

The city is also looking at the possibility of waiving business license fees, Sawyer said. The move would provide an incentive for business to locate within the city. The city's staff is currently looking at a financial impact analysis.