Ware Shoals committees keeping tabs on projects in progress
WARE SHOALS — In a town teeming with potential, Ware Shoals town council members gave updates on developments they’re tracking down at three committee meetings Monday.
Councilman Kent Boles said in a properties and public works committee meeting he’s preparing the former fire department building at 39 E. Main St. to be the new home of the Public Works Department. He’s pressure-washed the building but will be grinding some of the cement and moving other items out of there before the public works crews move in.
At a previous meeting, council discussed options for Katherine Hall, with some council members expressing interest in tearing the historic building down and building a new community center on the site. One of the Greenwood County Capital Projects Sales Tax items approved in the 2016 election involved spending more than $3.3 million to renovate the building.
While Ware Shoals’ council hasn’t decided to do anything else with the building, council member Micheal Powell said Monday he received an update from CPST Coordinator Josh Skinner. If tax income levels stay strong, Powell said the Katherine Hall restoration project would likely receive its funding between July and October 2024.
Council member Bryan Ross said he looked into whether the town could cash in on a bounty. The Clemson Extension Campus issued a bounty on Bradford pear trees, offering a replacement tree to anyone who photographs themselves removing a Bradford pear from their property.
“They’re invasive, and the trunks can’t support them and it’s breaking them up,” he said.
The town can’t take advantage of Clemson’s offer, but Ross said he’s looking into having the Bradford pear trees in Pines Park trimmed and cut back.
In the youth and communities committee, Ross said the town’s back-to-school safety night event was rescheduled because of possible rain. It will now be Aug. 24 in the town square, featuring local law enforcement and firefighters with their equipment, face painting, and free hot dogs and drinks.
Council member Valerie Jackson said she’s getting estimates on asbestos removal and other work needed in the bay area of the town hall building in order to turn it into a youth center for the town. In the meantime, Ross said council is trying to create a subcommittee for the town’s amphitheater to plan and manage events there.
Ross fielded the idea of a new annual event hosted at the amphitheater — a weekend beach music festival in the spring. He said the town could sell tickets for an event that runs through a Friday and Saturday, featuring four bands and hopefully attracting visitors from surrounding areas. The committee made no decisions on the matter, but Ross said he’d continue to explore the idea.
In a police committee meeting, Chief Bryan Louis said the town’s call volume and tickets are up from last year. Police have fielded 3,455 calls to date this year, while last year saw 2,862 in the same span. The police department has written nearly 600 traffic tickets to date in 2021, while 270 had been written by August 2020.
Louis said in part the higher tickets and call volume could be because more people are out and about than were at this time last year, because of COVID-19-related shutdowns. The department has also issued 686 warning tickets this year as opposed to 319 by the same date in 2020, which Louis said is because two new officers are getting accustomed and trained in doing traffic stops, so they’re handing out more warnings than tickets.
Originally Published by Index-Journal on:Aug 10, 2021
By DAMIAN DOMINGUEZ ddominguez@indexjournal.com
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