Bell’s Bits – Happy New Year! I hope everyone is still sticking with their new year’s resolutions. Thank you for making 2019’s Christmas Inn Our Town a success and thank you to the folks on Inn Circle, Main Street, and all over the City who took the time to decorate their home. We have become one of the premiere Christmas destinations in the Upstate.
In case you missed it, last month Greenville County Schools revealed the future Fountain Inn High School mascot and colors. They will be called the Fountain Inn Fury with a phoenix as the school symbol. The official colors will be navy, maroon, and gray. The colors pay homage to the former Fountain Inn High School, as well as, the former Bryson High School.
Just by signing up for Fountain Inn Natural Gas e-bills, you will be entered into a weekly raffle for a $25 Amazon gift card. Go to www.fountaininngas.org for more information.
Fountain Inn Planning Commission meetings are set for the first Monday of each month at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall. Council meetings are set for the second Thursday of every month at the same time and place. The 2020 holiday and recycling schedule is posted at www.fountaininn.org/our-trash-collection.html
Calling all Elvis fans: Rick Alviti will be back just in time for Valentine’s Day with his Tribute to Elvis called, “That’s the Way it Was” on Saturday, February 15 at 7:30 p.m. at the Younts Center for Performing Arts.
Beginning with January’s Council meeting, we are now posting the audio to all City Council meetings on our City website. The minutes found online are merely a summary of the actions taken. They do not provide a word-for-word recap of Council’s discussions. By posting the full audio, citizens can get a full picture of not only what Councilmembers said, but also how they said it. There are many times where the discussion on an issue provides greater clarity into why Councilmembers voted the way they did rather than just the vote count. In the future, we hope to be able to live-stream the Council meetings, but this is a good first step in improving transparency for our citizens.
Emanuel Sullivan Sports Complex is nearing completion and I believe this will be something our community can really be proud of. Baseball and softball practice will begin on March 2 and our Opening Day/Ribbon Cutting Ceremony is slated for April 4.
On January 11, City Council held their annual Council Retreat where they set goals & priorities for the upcoming year. The highest priorities City Council identified were focusing on economic development efforts; identifying funding and financing options for implementing facility and equipment upgrades; making Fountain Inn a destination; and evaluating insurance, fringe benefits, and compensation levels for City employees.
Shawn Bell is the City Administrator of Fountain Inn. For more information, go to www.fountaininn.org, call 864-862-4421, or email shawn.bell@fountaininn.org.
