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Council outlines plans, opportunities

 

LANDRUM— At the Landrum City Council meeting on Tuesday, March 12, the council discusses funding opportunities for Brookwood and Simmons Parks and adding public restrooms downtown, as well as funding for the police department. 

City Administrator Rich Caplan told the council the estimate for the fencing around Brookwood Park, bordering Rutherford St. and Bomar Ave. is $15,000, and additional playground equipment would be roughly another $30,000. The council also has plans to install a public restroom downtown, to be located in between the Hare and the Hound restaurant and the train tracks. Neither of the two latter projects have a firm estimate at the time of the meeting. 

“We’ve looked at some prices for various things [regarding playground equipment]. We could spend $5,000, we could spend $25,000. It’s just a problem since we have an estimate of $15,000 [for the fencing],” Caplan told the council.  

The public restroom would be a 14 foot by 20 foot building, with no estimate of the price of equipping it with plumbing or power. 

“We did order a new picnic table for Simmons St. park and we’re getting an estimate to resurface the basketball court,” Caplan added. 

Caplan implored the council to apply for a grant from the South Carolina State legislature for the projects, the deadline of which being the day after the meeting. Funds from the grant would have to be spent within the fiscal year. 

Council Member Warren Ashmore also informed the council of another source of funds, offered by wireless provider T-Mobile, that awards quarterly grants to towns of less than 50,000 residents. Its application deadline is the end of March. Ashmore proposed the council ask for $60,000 from the state legislature grant for a much needed fully outfitted police car for the city, and that the city pursue $50,000 from the state legislature to fund park improvements. 

The motion to pursue both grants was passed unanimously.