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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Spartanburg City Council Meeting: August 25, 2025

City Council Meetings — Monday, August 25, 2025

BodySpartanburg, South Carolina

SessionCity Council Meetings

DateMonday, August 25, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 2:10:49

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

3:48

Let's bring the uh city of spider city council meeting to order.

3:54

We will stand for a moment of silence, then we led by the pledge of allegiance.

4:18

Mayor Pro Tim, do you mind leading us in the question?

4:22

I pledge allegiance to the fire of the United States of America.

4:53

Second.

4:54

All in favor.

4:57

Any that opposed, eyes have it.

5:00

Also, item four approval of the agenda for the August 25th, 2025 City Council meeting.

5:05

So moved.

5:06

Second.

5:07

All in favor.

5:08

Aye.

5:09

Any that opposed?

5:11

Ayes have it.

5:12

Item five.

5:13

We have public comment.

5:15

We have a packed house tonight, so we have quite a few public comments.

5:20

The way this work, ladies and gentlemen, you have two minutes.

5:23

Once you come up, I'm gonna call you by name.

5:26

Come up and give us your address, please.

5:29

And your two minutes will start after that.

5:32

We do have quite a large crowd tonight.

5:35

Please be mindful of the applause and all that.

5:38

Everyone has great points to make, but we still try to keep everything civil here.

5:44

So let's just respect one another's and their opinions.

5:47

All right.

5:48

Thank you.

5:49

Kobe Keene.

5:52

I'm sorry.

5:56

All right.

5:57

Hi, good evening.

5:58

I am Colby King, 657 Maple Street over in Congress Heights.

6:03

I'm a resident of the city, an educator, a parent, and a founding board member of Siren.

6:07

My friends and I and Siren are asking you to pass a hate crimes ordinance.

6:11

Forty-eight states have a hate crimes law, but not South Carolina.

6:15

Still 21 municipalities across South Carolina have passed one, including two cities and two counties in South Carolina that have passed an ordinance in just the past couple of months.

6:29

As an educator in the community, I appreciated seeing civic commitment to mending and strengthening this community.

6:34

My wife and I moved to Spartanburg six months later, in part because of what that resolution said about this community.

6:40

We saw Spartanburg as a diverse and dynamic community with leaders who were willing to speak about how that diversity strengthens the community.

6:48

It has been five years since the healing resolution.

6:51

Leaders don't seem to be speaking about these issues in the same way.

6:54

Many things have changed in those five years, but one thing that has not is our need for leaders who will work to protect the people of Spartanburg and strengthen our community.

7:02

Please put consideration of an ordinance on an upcoming council meeting agenda.

7:07

You've got 21 models to work from, 22 if you look at the language siren provided.

7:12

Passing a Hay Crumbs ordinance would follow through on the promises you made in passing the healing resolution.

7:17

It would protect people, express values that make Spartanburg strong, and would follow through on our promises.

7:23

Thank you.

7:24

Thank you.

7:27

Roy McBee Smith Jr.

7:32

Good evening.

7:33

Roy Smith, Roy Matthew Smith Jr., uh 203 Westminster Drive.

7:40

Uh in Commerce Heights.

7:42

Um I come to talk to you about the uh the clock uh in Morgan Square design.

7:48

Um I think that it can be a compromise in this solution and and would appease most everybody.

7:56

Um I think to tear down the clock would be a disservice to the 20,000 people who uh paid to have the clock and their name on there, myself and probably another city council member may have their name on the clock too.

8:11

Um I um I provided a handout uh that has four pages of pictures.

8:17

Uh one of them shows the original, you know, Morgan Square, uh way back when there was no trees or any, you know, parking or just buggies and and horses.

8:29

Um then I uh the same picture the same page has uh current picture of the an area of where the photo the top clock tower is now, along with the pad uh traffic patterns.

8:43

Um I show that because you can see around the clock there's a significant amount of landscaping that could be altered to allow for the three parking spaces that they require for their landscaping for their redesign of Morgan Square.

8:59

I think if you took rid of it, got rid of the landscaping, you would have ample room for that diagonal parking.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Historic Preservation█████████████████████████████████████████████46%

Economic Development█████████████████17%

Community Engagement█████████9%

Procedural████████8%

Engineering And Infrastructure███████7%

Affordable Housing████4%

Hate Crimes Ordinance███3%

Public Engagement██2%

Public Safety██2%

Summary of Proceedings

Spartanburg City Council Meeting – August 25, 2025

The Spartanburg City Council met on August 25, 2025, at 9:26 PM ET to address a full agenda including public comments on a hate crimes ordinance and the Daniel Morgan clock tower, approve board appointments, a property purchase, and a major development agreement, and discuss the future of the clock tower. The meeting drew a large crowd and featured extensive debate on the clock tower's relocation.

Consent Calendar

Approval of the August 25, 2025 agenda (moved, seconded, unanimous).

Public Comments & Testimony

Colby King (657 Maple Street, educator, parent, Siren founding board member) urged the council to pass a hate crimes ordinance, noting that 48 states have such laws and 21 South Carolina municipalities have passed one, including two in the past two months. He referenced the 2020 Healing Resolution and said passing an ordinance would follow through on its promises.
Roy McBee Smith Jr. (203 Westminster Drive) spoke in favor of preserving the clock tower in Morgan Square, proposing removal of landscaping to accommodate diagonal parking and retaining the tower. He emphasized the 20,000 donors, including himself and possibly a council member.
Stanley Turner Case (190 Westminster) supported keeping the clock tower, citing family history and the tower's historical significance.
Tony Tanner (128 Clemson Street) urged passage of a hate crimes ordinance, citing the city's past proclamations and recent incidents, including a 2023 incident at Circle K and a 2024 State Pride event. He called for a Roy C. Henderson Hate Crimes Ordinance.
George Loudon (176 Connecticut Avenue) supported retaining the clock tower, proposing relocation within the Morgan Square design based on his measurements.
Francis Loud (first-grade teacher) supported keeping the clock, recalling children's penny donations.
Tony Eubanks (124 Gardensley Lane) opposed moving the clock, presenting measurements showing only 987 square feet of space gained at the cost of 19 parking spaces, 25 spaces used by Marriott, 2,340 square feet of green space, and 30 mature trees. He noted a petition of 2,400+ signatures.
Paul Abbott (11 North Bennington Drive, Republican candidate for County Council District 3) reported that most constituents he spoke to opposed moving the clock.
Bill Tillison (longtime resident, 73 years) offered historical perspective, recalling failed plans like the pedestrian mall, and argued the clock tower is a lasting legacy.
James Jones (336 Marion Avenue) strongly opposed moving the clock, calling it "theft" and accusing the council of prioritizing developers over residents.
Kimberly (presented petition) reported 2,422 confirmed supporters for keeping the clock tower at its current location, and urged compromise, noting a letter from state senators.

Discussion Items

Boards and Commissions Appointments: City Clerk Christy Lindsay presented two appointments: Guy Harris to the Board of Zoning Appeals and Three Win to the Public Safety Board. Approved unanimously.
Resolution 7: Purchase of 488 Mock Street (Tax Map 7-12-13-043.00): Community Development Director Martin Livingston requested approval to purchase the lot for future development as part of the Midtown Heights small area plan. Council approved unanimously.
Resolution 8: Development Agreement with Taft and Gibbs LLC for Beaumont Mill Redevelopment: City Manager Chris Story presented a $70 million investment for 247 market-rate apartments, 28 workforce units (80% AMI), and a trail connection. The development will generate property tax revenue: year 1 ~$100K, year 5 ~$500K, year 10 ~$1.1M, year 15 ~$1.8M. Council discussed traffic concerns and neighbor engagement; a traffic study was conducted. Approved unanimously.
Discussion of Clock Tower Options: City Manager Story delivered a detailed presentation on the history of the town clock, from its 1881 installation in the Opera House to its current location. He argued the South Carolina Heritage Act does not apply, as the clock tower is not a Revolutionary War monument. He recommended moving the clock to the new city-county government building, making the bell and clockworks publicly accessible, and squaring off Main Street for optimal development. Council members expressed varied views: Councilwoman Sally Branch supported the move with indoor displays; Councilwoman Jamie Louden-Jones supported moving for economic growth; Mayor Pro Tem Tim Brown opposed moving without a 24/7 accessible location and disliked the new design; Councilman Fulmer favored moving to a new prominent site; Councilman Foreman emphasized the need for a clear future location. No vote was taken; the item was taken as information, with direction to staff to bring back options in future meetings.

Key Outcomes

Unanimous approval of the August 25, 2025 agenda.
Unanimous approval of board appointments: Guy Harris (Zoning Appeals) and Three Win (Public Safety Board).
Unanimous approval of resolution to purchase 488 Mock Street.
Unanimous approval of development agreement with Taft and Gibbs LLC for the Beaumont Mill redevelopment.
Clock tower relocation discussion deferred; council will provide further direction in the coming weeks, with a focus on identifying a suitable new location if moved.

Meeting Transcript

Let's bring the uh city of spider city council meeting to order. We will stand for a moment of silence, then we led by the pledge of allegiance. Mayor Pro Tim, do you mind leading us in the question? I pledge allegiance to the fire of the United States of America. Second. All in favor. Any that opposed, eyes have it. Also, item four approval of the agenda for the August 25th, 2025 City Council meeting. So moved. Second. All in favor. Aye. Any that opposed? Ayes have it. Item five. We have public comment. We have a packed house tonight, so we have quite a few public comments. The way this work, ladies and gentlemen, you have two minutes. Once you come up, I'm gonna call you by name. Come up and give us your address, please. And your two minutes will start after that. We do have quite a large crowd tonight. Please be mindful of the applause and all that. Everyone has great points to make, but we still try to keep everything civil here. So let's just respect one another's and their opinions. All right. Thank you. Kobe Keene. I'm sorry. All right. Hi, good evening. I am Colby King, 657 Maple Street over in Congress Heights. I'm a resident of the city, an educator, a parent, and a founding board member of Siren. My friends and I and Siren are asking you to pass a hate crimes ordinance. Forty-eight states have a hate crimes law, but not South Carolina. Still 21 municipalities across South Carolina have passed one, including two cities and two counties in South Carolina that have passed an ordinance in just the past couple of months. As an educator in the community, I appreciated seeing civic commitment to mending and strengthening this community. My wife and I moved to Spartanburg six months later, in part because of what that resolution said about this community. We saw Spartanburg as a diverse and dynamic community with leaders who were willing to speak about how that diversity strengthens the community. It has been five years since the healing resolution. Leaders don't seem to be speaking about these issues in the same way. Many things have changed in those five years, but one thing that has not is our need for leaders who will work to protect the people of Spartanburg and strengthen our community. Please put consideration of an ordinance on an upcoming council meeting agenda. You've got 21 models to work from, 22 if you look at the language siren provided. Passing a Hay Crumbs ordinance would follow through on the promises you made in passing the healing resolution. It would protect people, express values that make Spartanburg strong, and would follow through on our promises. Thank you. Thank you. Roy McBee Smith Jr. Good evening.

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