Aiken City Manager John Klimm urged City Council on Monday to develop a more targeted plan for downtown development, pointing in particular to a revitalization program through the state's Municipal Association.
The program, known as the Main Streets South Carolina initiative, aims to help cities generate greater economic activity and sustain such development.
"There are tools out there we aren't using," Klimm said, adding Aiken has "great potential," but more can be accomplished in the years ahead.
Communities must apply to the Municipal Association to participate in the Main Streets program, which fosters downtown promotion and advertising, as well as business retention and recruitment.
Klimm explained that participation in the program would only be part of these development efforts, as other opportunities also exist.
Council has additionally explored the possibility of hiring a staff person to specifically examine the City's economic reinvestment fund - additional dollars that became available in the City's budget after the passage of the hospitality tax earlier this year.
Klimm also pointed to the need for greater investment on the City's Northside, which he believed "lacked a real economic development strategy" at the moment.
Council also unanimously authorized City staff to seek bids to curb storm water drainage issues near 1935 Whiskey Road - property that's being developed by restaurant chains Starbucks and Chipotle.
According to City staff, $50,000 is already available through the City's economic reinvestment fund to cover costs related to the project, which includes finding a proper detention mechanism for drainage. City Utilities Director George Grinton indicated during the meeting that nearby property owners have agreed "in concept" to contribute funds related to the project, but no formal agreement has been reached.
In other business, members of Council voiced support for approving a specific plan and price range by the end of September to address ongoing infrastructure issues in the Gem Lakes subdivision. Council and City staff have repeatedly met over the past several years with the neighborhood's developers, Kisner and Gaul LLC, and the neighborhood's residents to come to an agreement on how to move forward with repeated roads issues. A recently released report, drafted by Atlanta-based Willmer Engineering, indicated the flow of construction trucks coming through the subdivision has resulted in the "cracking and weakening of the pavement," which has allowed water to infiltrate underneath and create road "failures."
Michael Ulmer is a North Augusta native and the opinions page editor for the Aiken Standard.
