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Simpsonville resident presses council for details on Old City Hall sale
Summary
A longtime Simpsonville resident told the council the Old City Hall on Main Street was sold without an open-market offer and said he and investors would have bid $1,500,000; city staff told him sale details will be withheld because the deal was made in an executive session.
Joseph Lewis, a Simpsonville resident of 30 years, used his allotted public-comment time to urge the City Council to disclose details of the sale of the Old City Hall building on Main Street. Lewis said he contacted the mayor about the property roughly two years ago and was told the city had decided to sell the building to the developer who bought the adjacent former main building.
Lewis said he and a group of investors "were interested in making an offer of $1,500,000" had the property been put on the open market. He told the council he asked both the mayor and the city administrator why the building was not offered publicly and said staff told him they could not give details until after the sale closed. Lewis reported that the administrator said the sale was handled in an executive session and that the city would not disclose the sale price until after closing; he cited a planned closing date of 01/17/2025.
The concern Lewis articulated was transparency and fairness for residents. "It would seem that public service that serve the best interest of the community would want to be more open about the property that is owned by the community," he said, asking the council why the information could not be disclosed without a formal Freedom of Information request.
The transcript records Lewis's questions and his request for greater openness but does not record a substantive response from council or staff on the record. The meeting proceeded to other agenda items after the public-comment period.
