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By JOHN SWEENEY
Published: June 13, 2011

First reading of Florence’s 2011-12 budget passed by a 4-3 margin Monday as council members disagreed on how to proceed with one-time fund balance expenditures.

Council members Steve Powers, Ed Robinson and Teresa Myers Ervin voted against first reading after city manager David Williams presented them with suggestions on how to spend between $379,000 and $514,000 on expenditures from the fund balance.

The council members disagreed with Mayor Stephen J. Wukela’s proposal to separate the one-time expenditures from the budget and vote on those items separately at a later date but get first reading of the budget in as the June 30 deadline approaches.

The council must have first reading complete by that date to have a budget in place at the start of the new fiscal year July 1.

Powers, who led the opposition to holding first reading, said council should vote on the budget as a whole rather than separate the fund balance expenditures for projects like funding for the Florence Family YMCA, city animal shelter/control, the replacement of playground equipment in Timrod Park and Community Block Development Grants (CBDG).

Robinson, who requested that funds be considered for community development projects, said the decision of Wukela and council members Octavia Williams-Blake, Glynn Willis and Buddy Brand to separate funding items in question from the budget hurt children, especially minorities, by addressing issues affecting them.

“These programs for these kids are just Band-aids,” Robinson said of other items suggested for the expenditures. “It’s just really not doing what it takes to take care of the kids that we have responsibility for.”

Ervin said given the importance of CDBG funding, the issue should be addressed with the rest of the budget.

Further debate on the budget and the on- time expenditures will take place at second reading and adoption of the budget, which scheduled to take place at the beginning of next week.

During his presentation, Williams continued to advocate maintaining a fund balance of at least 30 percent, an issue discussed at budget work sessions in May.

Williams said the fund balance would benefit the city in the event of natural disasters, impress creditors and should represent roughly 30 percent of the previous year’s budgeted general fund expenditures.

In doing so, Williams said, the city would ensure emergency funds are available to be used in the case of a natural disaster or financial crisis.

By JOHN SWEENEY
Published: June 10, 2011

A “game changer” — that’s what one investor called the possible development of a $5.6 million boutique hotel in the city’s historic downtown.

According to a letter obtained by the Morning News on Friday from Florence Mayor Stephen J. Wukela to Florence County Council Chairman K.G. “Rusty” Smith Jr. and County Administrator Richard Starks, the city is proposing an incentive package to bring a 53-bed hotel and restaurant with a 180 seating capacity to the old Cosmos building at 126 W. Evans St.

The letter said the venture would bring an estimated 100 jobs to the area and “provide a powerful catalyst for further investment” to downtown Florence.

“This is a risky venture, but we think the time is right and, again, this is something that can really change the game,” attorney Ben Zeigler, one of the project’s principal investors, said.

Zeigler, along with architect Randy Key as well as the Pearce Land Co. LLC have partnered with Raines Development Group, which is a Florence-based holding company specializing in development, operation and management of Marriott-branded select service hotels, and local restaurateur Tim Norwood have negotiated with Florence city officials for six weeks on the hotel deal.

The deal outlined in Wukela’s letter asks Florence County to create a multi-county business park that would allow the county to offer “special source revenue tax credits” to the hotel project for seven years.

The letter said the total net taxes produced by the proposed deal would generate $87,000 with almost $20,000 of that going to the county based on 2010 millage levels.

“The city believes that this project is of critical strategic importance to the city’s downtown redevelopment efforts,” Wukela’s letter said.

According to an official with the city of Florence close to the deal, the city and county councils do not plan on tackling additional facets of the arrangement until the start of the new fiscal year in July.

The hotel project would include moving the popular Florence restaurant Victor’s — of which Norwood is a majority owner — from its present location at 1247 S. Irby St. to the ground floor of the West Evans Street hotel.

With frontage on Evans and close proximity to the Florence City-County Complex, Francis Marion’s Performing Arts Center and the new Florence Museum of Art, Science and History, the building is in a prime location.

“It’s got a lot of aspects we thought leant itself to being an ideal location for a downtown hotel,” Zeigler said.

Zeigler, Keats and Pearce Co. recently completed another revitalization project downtown at the old Florence Memorial Library, which is now home to Turner, Padget, Graham & Laney PA law firm.

Following the success of that project — which Zeigler said was one of the largest private investments into the downtown area in more than 40 years — the group sought out another venture.

“What we were looking for was a real game changer of a project,” he said.

Florence isn’t the first South Carolina city to use a hotel and restaurant as a catalyst for revitalization of a historic downtown.

Both Columbia and Greenville’s highly successful revitalization projects involved the development of similar projects — the Weston in Columbia and the Hyatt in Greenville, respectively — to jump-start further development.

That “explosive growth” is what Zeigler said the group hopes to see in Florence.

“The type of active that a hotel brings is second to none in terms of bringing in and stimulating activity,” he said.

By GAVIN JACKSON
Published: June 09, 2011

Almost a year to the day Florence Mayor Stephen J. Wukela, Florence City Councilman Ed Robinson and other Florence officials broke ground for Levy Park improvements, they celebrated the project’s completion with an official ribbon cutting Thursday.

The ceremony was not only for the for the new 3,600-square-foot youth center, but also three newly constructed basketball courts, two new tennis courts and a new picnic shelter at the park off East Pine Street in Florence.

“We have gotten a victory,” Florence School District 1 Trustee Pat Gibson-Hye Moore said during the event. “We have a brand new Levy Park and it’s to be celebrated.”

Dozens of children from the city’s summer playground camp for youth were playing pool, air hockey or other games in the activity area, working on computers in a classroom or watching a movie in another classroom area.

The center will be open Mondays and Wednesdays until 7:30 p.m. and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. for teen programs and activities.

“This is a means of giving them positive instruction,” Robinson said. “This is something that’s absolutely necessary.”

In addition for giving children in the neighborhood a safe place to go, Robinson said, he sees the new construction and renovation of the park as a boost to the neighborhood.

“A new facility will … change the perception of the community, because the perception of the community is bad,” he said.

The design, construction and renovation of the park and its improvements by Gilbert Construction and Collins/Almers Architecture cost $713,000. Funding came from $378,000 in Section 108 funds, $290,000 in general funds and $45,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds.

Renovations to the existing community center will begin next week and will include interior and building updates for the senior adult program.

By JOHN SWEENEY
Published: May 26, 2011

Florence City Council is closing in on first reading of its budget for the 2011-2012 fiscal year.

City Manager David Williams presented council with additional budgetary information during a budget work session Thursday at the city’s news fire station 5.

The meeting was a continuation of council’s May 17 workshop where Williams, who will retire Sept. 30, outlined what will be his final budget as city manager.

Williams brought council up to speed on several issues Thursday, including the city’s unreserved and undesignated fund balance as well as recommending the establishment of a fund balance policy to ensure the city will have funds available in case of an emergency.

Williams said the fund would benefit the city in the event of natural disasters, impress creditors and should represent 32.4 percent of the previous year’s budgeted general fund expenditures.

Williams also briefed council on one time expenditures and requests that had not been calculated into the budget that that council needs to consider before final reading.

Possible expenditures total $379,000 and include items such as new playground equipment at Timrod and Maple parks as well as a leisure services activity bus and contribution to the city’s finance and human resources management systems software overhaul.

That project, a portion of which is included in the 2011-2012 budget, will update the city’s computer network and is expected to cost $600,000 over the next two years.

Williams said an ordinance to adopt the budget is prepared but will be adjusted after council holds first reading and before final reading and adoption.

Mayor Stephen J. Wukela said council may hold another budget work session before first reading, which will occur sometime in the first two weeks of June.

The next scheduled council meeting is June 13 at 6 p.m., and council members hope to have first reading then at the latest.

The budget must be adopted by June 30. The new fiscal year begins July 1.

By JOHN D. RUSSELL
Published: May 26, 2011

Florence city and fire officials put their hands on a fire hose today, but it wasn’t to extinguish a fire.

It was to officially open the newly built Florence City Fire Department Station 5 in south Florence on Redbud Lane.

City and fire officials held a long hose and, on the count of three, uncoupled it for a twist on the typical ribbon cutting.

Florence Mayor Stephen J. Wukela was in attendance and said the station couldn’t have come at a better time in what he described as a perennial need.

The last time the city built a new station was 30 years ago.

“Over the last 10 years we’ve seen a 23 percent growth in the city,” Wukela said. “I’m immensely pleased with what this means to the citizens in terms of protection of property and families.”

The station will cover parts of the southern region and spans a little more than 7,300 square feet. It also has a state-of-the-art training room that can hold 40 people and will allow the department to host local and state training classes.

There are four bedrooms, as opposed to large bunk rooms, that will allow more privacy for the four-person crew working in shifts around the clock.

Florence Fire Chief Randall Osterman said the new station also serves as a morale booster for the department.

“It’s something that they’ve worked on for many, many years that has come to fruition,” Osterman said. “Today they get to stand in front of it and say we actually have a fire station 5. We’re very proud and excited about that.”

By SCNow Staff
Published: May 23, 2011

FLORENCE, S.C. —
The Florence Fire Department will dedicate the City of Florence’s newest fire station at 10 a.m. Thursday. The fire station is located in south Florence at 296 E. Redbud Lane off South Irby Street near South Florence High School.

Florence Fire Station #5 houses a new fire engine with crew and has been manned for about three weeks. The station is a multipurpose facility that has crew quarters, kitchen and dining area, as well as a day room. There is also a separate training/conference room, which has already been used for fire department training as well as by Florence City Council and City Department Directors.

The ceremony will include statements by Florence Mayor Stephen J. Wukela and Fire Chief Randall Osterman. There will be a ceremonial uncoupling of hose to open the station.

by Tonya Brown

Click Here To View Video.

Since 2009, the City of Florence has demolished 71 homes and cleaned-up 179 overgrown lots.

Mayor Stephen Wukela says he made it one of his top priorities when he took office.

“I went door to door on streets like Marion Street, Ingram Street and Dixie Street throughout Florence and people told me consistently that one of the problems they were very much concerned about were abandoned houses that were not habitable, that had trees growing through them, that were dangerous to their community.”

Mayor Wukela says he started enforcing existing ordinances against property owners who didn’t clean up their abandoned lots or homes. He sent out notices to the landowners advising them that he would demolish their houses if they didn’t take care of the problem.

Some of them obliged. Others didn’t.

“Making the communities safe and getting these lots cleared and these houses down, that’s integral to the quality of life to everybody in the city,” said Wukela.

There is still a ways to go, the mayor says, because there are more than 2500 abandoned homes in Florence.

“We’ve just started to scratch the surface,” said Wukela.

Residents in Northwest Florence have been taking walks in a field off of Clements Street since June of 2010. That’s when city leaders demolished an abandoned church that rested here for three decades. They say crews started building the church in 1978, but never finished it.

Many residents say its an eye-soar and danger to the community.

“Trees growing up around. You know, some of them, the doors are hanging off of them. Windows all broke. So it was bad for the neighborhood,” said Benjamin Burton.

Burton says the demolition of all the vacant homes in his neighborhood alone has created a better atmosphere, one where people feel free to sit out on the porch, take long walks and call this community home.

Mayor Wukela plans to introduce a stronger ordinance this summer targeting property owners with abandoned homes.