City Council is going to start holding workshops every fourth Monday during City Council meetings. The purpose of the workshop is for Council and the public to have an in-depth learning experience about a particular issue facing the City. The workshop will last about 30 minutes. This week's workshop is about Stormwater Utility.

Now…you may think to yourself…that doesn't sound very interesting and well…hey, it may not be. BUT, if you want to understand more about what's going on in your community learning about stormwater utility is important because it is something that MUST be addressed and it is expensive and it's even more expensive if we're not proactive. Here's a good example I received:

Why is a Stormwater Utility important?

Currently, there is no stable funding stream for Stormwater Management in the City of Spartanburg. The City spends nearly $700,000 per year on maintenance and repairs. However, projects like the replacement of culverts are not within this budget and can be extraordinarily expensive. An example of this is the Garner Road culvert replacement in 2007, which cost upwards of $1 million. Our Stormwater infrastructure in the City is aging, with some culverts approaching 100 years old. Replacing a culvert that has failed can sometimes cost 50% more than if it was simply maintained or replaced in a timely fashion.

See? That IS important! Many thanks to City Staff for offering and Council for supporting these educational workshops. We need them.

City Council meetings are the 2nd & 4th Monday of every month at 5:30pm in Council Chambers at City Hall.

:) t