Spartanburg City News

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Outgoing City Manager, Ed Memmott reflects on 21 years in Spartanburg (part two) Sep 26, 2018

Show notes

As you might imagine, in his 21 years serving in Spartanburg City Government, outgoing City Manager Ed Memmott has seen our city go through some drastic changes. Coming to the the City in 1997 to serve as Community Development Director, Memmott then served as Assistant City Manager for five years before becoming City Manager in 2009 and has overseen one of the most important development periods in Spartanburg's history. The list of projects speaks for itself. During his tenure, Ed Memmott led City efforts on the Advance America headquarters building, One Morgan Square, QS/1, Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, the University of South Carolina Upstate - College of Business and Economics, Spartanburg Community College Downtown Campus, South Church Street Plaza, CC Woodson Community Center, AC Hotel, Montgomery Building, Aug. W. Smith, and the Northside Initiative. Beyond the impressive list of accomplishments that have shaped the present and future of our city, Memmott's true strength as City Manager was always the importance he placed on improving the lives of the people who call this place home. His emphasis on the absolute necessity of genuine, people-centered community development has been a constant, and the team he has built around those efforts is an impressive and lasting testament to his leadership and vision. Now, as Memmott prepares to retire from his role here at the City, we've invited former City Communications Manager Will Rothschild to join us to help in the daunting task of trying to encapsulate a career that spans one of the most important periods in our city's story so far.

Outgoing Outgoing City Manager, Ed Memmott reflects on 21 years in Spartanburg (part one) Sep 20, 2018

Show notes

As you might imagine, in his 21 years serving in Spartanburg City Government, outgoing City Manager Ed Memmott has seen our city go through some drastic changes. Coming to the the City in 1997 to serve as Community Development Director, Memmott then served as Assistant City Manager for five years before becoming City Manager in 2009 and has overseen one of the most important development periods in Spartanburg's history. The list of projects speaks for itself. During his tenure, Ed Memmott led City efforts on the Advance America headquarters building, One Morgan Square, QS/1, Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, the University of South Carolina Upstate - College of Business and Economics, Spartanburg Community College Downtown Campus, South Church Street Plaza, CC Woodson Community Center, AC Hotel, Montgomery Building, Aug. W. Smith, and the Northside Initiative. Beyond the impressive list of accomplishments that have shaped the present and future of our city, Memmott's true strength as City Manager was always the importance he placed on improving the lives of the people who call this place home. His emphasis on the absolute necessity of genuine, people-centered community development has been a constant, and the team he has built around those efforts is an impressive and lasting testament to his leadership and vision. Now, as he prepares to retire from his role here at the City, we've invited former City Communications Manager Will Rothschild to join us to help in the daunting task of trying to encapsulate a career that spans one of the most important periods in our city's story so far. Listen below for part one of our conversation.

Getting to know the new HUB-BUB Artists-in-Residence Sep 12, 2018

Show notes

If you've spent any significant amount of time in Downtown Spartanburg in the last decade, there's a pretty good chance that you've encountered work created by one of the 33 artists brought to Spartanburg through HUB-BUB's celebrated Artists-in-Residence program. Over the years, the program's artists have created lasting impacts that are both physical (like Sparkle City Mini Putt) and cultural. Now, through a merger last year with Chapman Cultural Center, the former HUB-BUB Artists-in-Residence program is back, and the retooled 11-month residency recently welcomed two new artists to live and work in Spartanburg, Marisa Adesman and Ambrin Ling. Adesman was born and raised on Long Island, New York. She recently graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a Masters of Fine Arts in Painting. Through her artistic practice, she examines the impact of femininity and modern culture in order to open up a conversation on gender politics with a strong emphasis on awakening the female self-hood. Ling received her bachelor's degree from Carleton College in Minnesota and a Masters of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. As a practitioner in the visual language of stains and traces, Ling uses painting, drawing, sculpture, and installation to explore ideas of absence, home, and belonging. Her work draws from her personal experiences moving across environments and as a mixed-race woman, as well as from her larger social, anthropological, and art historical research. Today on the podcast, we're talking with the two new AiRs and with Chapman Cultural Center Creative Placemaking and HUB-BUB Director, Eric Kocher about their first impressions of Spartanburg and about some of what we can expect to see from them over the coming year. Listen below for more.

Discussing the future T.K. Gregg Community Center Sep 06, 2018

Show notes

At their last meeting, Spartanburg City Council unanimously approved a funding plan for the future T.K. Gregg Community Center to be built on the former site of Oakview Apartments on our city's Northside. The new center will feature an indoor aquatics center with two pools—one for competitive and exercise lap swimming and one for water therapy and swimming lessons—as well as an indoor gymnasium, fitness center, walking track, and community rooms. In all, the project is expected to cost around $16.6 million. The City hopes to earn New Markets Tax Credits for the project, which along with other outside funding sources as well as funding banked away for the project in previous years, would bring the City's outstanding portion down to $9.1-$9.4 million. The financing plan includes issuing bonds covered by future City Hospitality Tax revenue. No tax increase is planned to cover the project. Construction is expected to start later this year. Today on the podcast, we're talking with with Assistant City Manager, Chris Story and Community Services Director, Mitch Kennedy about new T.K. Gregg Community Center and the impact the facility will have on the Northside and Spartanburg as a whole. Listen below for more.

Getting to know new Spartanburg Philharmonic Music Director, Stefan Sanders Aug 29, 2018

Show notes

It's an arts institution with a storied 90-year history in our community, and for the first time since 2005, there will be a music director at the helm of Spartanburg Philharmonic as they enter a new season. After a two-year search process that brought three guest conductors to Spartanburg, Stefan Sanders was named Music Director in March. Sanders comes to Spartanburg after five seasons as resident conductor of the Buffalo (New York) Philharmonic Orchestra. He also serves as Music Director for the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra in North Carolina and Music Director for the Round Rock Symphony in Central Texas. He recently concluded a one year appointment as Principal Conductor for the Hot Springs Music Festival in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Today on the podcast, we're talking with Sanders about the new position, his new home in Spartanburg, and about his passions as a musician, conductor, and lifelong fan of music. Listen below for more!

A City Podcast back-to-school special Aug 16, 2018

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The summer heat is still here but summer for our city's children is about to come to an end as school begins next week, so today on the podcast, we're doing something a bit different. We packed up the recording equipment and set up shop at the Downtown Memorial Airport Park, which opened this spring, looking to get some thoughts from our local children on what they're looking forward too this upcoming school year. What did we learn? Listen to find out.

Spartanburg Little Theatre season to kickoff with 'The Little Mermaid,' September 7-23 Aug 09, 2018

Show notes

Their performances routinely sell out the theater at their Chapman Cultural Center homebase, and when it comes to community theater companies, Spartanburg Little Theatre is in a class by itself in the upstate. And taking a look at the performances scheduled in their upcoming 2018-2019 season, it's pretty easy to see why. Today on the podcast, we're talking with Spartanburg Little Theatre Executive Artistic Director, Jay Coffman about the local theater scene and the organization's place in our city's creative community.

City launches EMERGE business accelerator for African Americans Jul 31, 2018

Show notes

One of the City's primary stated goals is to address our community's longtime racial and class disparities, and while the strategies we use are as varied and complex as the problems themselves, one important approach is to help strengthen our local minority business community. What's our newest tool to tackle that problem? The EMERGE Business Accelerator for African Americans, a program designed to identify, prepare, empower and sustain African American entrepreneurs who desire to locate a business in the City of Spartanburg. EMERGE will guide participants through all stages of opening and expanding a business so they will be lender ready to up and running. A 10-week business training and development program, EMERGE will support entrepreneurs in identifying a business venture, business plan development, financial education, accounting, and securing financing. Classes will be held weekly beginning in September and will be taught by business experts and experienced entrepreneurs who share advice, guidance, and lessons learned. Two phases, start-up and growth, will be offered during the program year with approximately 10-15 business owners in each cohort. Today on the podcast, we're talking with Minority Business Development Coordinator, Natasha Pitts about the EMERGE program and about her work here at the City. Listen below for more.

A Spartanburg County Courthouse history tour Jul 26, 2018

Show notes

As Spartanburg gets ready to construct the seventh courthouse in our 229-year history, we're sitting down with Spartanburg County Public Library Assistant Director of Local History, Brad Steinecke to talk about the previous six. What did each say about the community it served? How can looking back at these foundational civic structures, perhaps the most public of all public buildings, inform us about where we ought to be going? Listen below to hear us ruminate on those questions and for the deepest dive on local civic history you're likely to find anywhere.

A deep, nerdy dive into the City's Hospitality Tax Jul 18, 2018

Show notes

When we here in local government are looking for an indicator of how the economy in Spartanburg is doing, one of the first metrics we turn to is Hospitality Tax. The two percent tax paid on prepared food and beverages is an excellent barometer for consumer spending in our city and the growth seen in H-Tax revenue over the past several years has corresponded well with what is anecdotally pretty clear to anyone paying attention; our city's business community is strong and growing. Beyond what it can tell us about the local economy though, H-Tax is an important portion of the City's revenue each year, and unlike most other sources of local government revenue, the H-Tax must be spent in a fairly proscribed manner. Today on the podcast, we're diving in deep to give you the lowdown on how the City uses these funds and how that next meal you have at a local restaurant helps pay for amenities and events enjoyed by thousands of visitors and locals every year. Listen below for more.

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