The May 23 Greenville City Council meeting was tense as members of the public and council discussed Unity Park Honor Tower, planned to be the centerpiece of the park when it’s built.
Passed: Ordinance to fund Unity Park Honor Tower
Council voted 5-2 in favor of appropriating $5.5 million from local accommodations tax ($3.5 million), hospitality tax ($1 million) and Unity Park phase 1 construction savings ($1 million), with the remainder of the money coming from private donations. While a number of community members were upset the project would be dipping into public funds, another group saw the potential of the tower and felt it was part of what was promised to the community.
The metal or wood tower was originally slated to be built with private funds, but donors have committed only $2 million for the project, largely because fundraising stopped in 2019. The plans over the years, however, have changed, including the height of the building and the cost. It was originally envisioned as a $10 million tower but was cut down to $5 million in 2019. The cost went back up to $11 million, and now the increased cost of building materials raised questions as to whether the city can stay on budget.
“While the original intent was to fund the tower with private funds, we are now looking at public money to pay for much of the tower,” community member Nikki Grumbine said. “This tower is a want, not a need, and this town has many pressing needs in this community.”
Stacey Mills, chairman of the REEM Committee, senior pastor of Mountain View Baptist Church and a member of the Unity Park’s citizen advisory committee, said the park is a wonderful opportunity to bring people together.
“We have the opportunity to have a park that brings people together,” Mills said. “It’s a slap in the face to a community that has been promised these types of amenities.” He was joined with a number of members of his church who stood with him during his comments.
The debate on the council was just as heated, with Mayor Knox White recalling the days when Liberty Bridge was constructed and people who opposed it.
“Boy, does it make a statement,” White said. “It’s why Furman has the bell tower. It’s why the Washington Monument is there.”
Council member Russell Stall suggested postponing a vote on the tower until an alternate source of private funding was available. The motion failed.
Council member Dorothy Dowe motioned to change the language in the ordinance so the council would have to vote on any more spending for the tower. That motion also failed.
“The way the ordinance is written, there are no guardrails in place to keep the costs from growing,” Dowe said.
City manager John McDonough said his office would provide regular updates on the project, including budget updates.
“We must listen to the public as a council,” said Stall. He quoted a poll by GVLToday showing only 27% of respondents proposed building the tower with the $11 million plan currently in place.
“We have had more money spent on other things — nobody said anything,” Councilwoman Lillian Brock-Flemming said. “It’s been talked about a long time.”
Passed: Land donated for Montessori school
The city approved on its first reading giving nearly an acre of land in the Nicholtown Community to Wheatley Montessori School LLP to build a new school. Wheatley serves 17 students of toddler and pre-school aged, but they plan on increasing that to 100 when the new facility on Greenacre Road is built.
Passed: FY23 budget closer to passage
The city council also passed on first reading the city operating budget, which would run from fiscal period July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023. The $237 million budget doesn’t affect the millage rate, which will stay at 84.1 mills, but solid waste fees will go up $1 per month along with a 3.5% increase in the base sewer fee.
