Debate over Greer Sports & Events Center: easements, utilities and calls for more minority contracting oversight

Greer

City Council on March 24 took several procedural steps to support ongoing construction at the Sports and Events Center while fielding a public accusation that minority contractors were being excluded from work on the project.

Public forum: Jesse Peter Marsh, a Greer resident, used the public-forum portion of the agenda to say the Sports and Events Center bid process had a stated 20% local/minority participation goal but that, in his view, minority-owned businesses had not received meaningful portions of the work. Marsh said he had spoken with Harper Construction and other contractors and asserted that many local minority firms had been left out; he asked the mayor and city manager to explain what the city is doing to ensure equitable contracting. "I'm not calling a person a thief, but I said there's a fly in the milk," Marsh said, adding he had asked the news media to look into city allocations.

Easements and utilities: Council received first readings for several ordinances authorizing conveyance of utility easements related to the Sports & Events Center. Staff (identified in the minutes as Mr. Google Howard) explained a small sanitary-sewer easement to CPWA to provide manhole access, a Duke Energy easement for power (discussion focused on undergrounding vs. overhead pole relocation) and a water easement that will require two 8-inch taps to meet domestic and fire-flow demand. Council asked about the cost and schedule impacts of burying lines under Highway 14 and were told burial would likely increase cost and could delay the project; staff said Duke Energy would provide the transformer and that net pole count would be "net zero" after relocations.

Signage debate: A central portion of the meeting was an extended, detailed discussion of the monument sign planned for the Sports & Events Center. Staff said the current signage allowance in the project GMP is $350,000 for interior and monument signage; a digital readerboard comparable to a referenced municipal installation was roughly estimated to add $150,000$200,000. Supporters said a digital sign would allow the city to advertise tournaments and events and help residents who do not follow social media; opponents warned of ongoing maintenance, staff time demands, aesthetic concerns and the possibility of creating expectations for a community readerboard. Staff cautioned that allowing a digital sign on the Highway 14 corridor would require a Unified Development Ordinance amendment and would permit others on that corridor to seek similar signage.

Procurement & minority participation: When council asked whether Harper Construction or other prime contractors had minority subcontractors, procurement supervisor Kim McCarow said the department did not specifically request minority certification for the detention center roofing procurement and would have to check on certification status for other contracts. The city did not take public action on contract-award allegations during the meeting; the mayor responded to Marsh in the public forum that he did not personally have any of the project money in his pocket and encouraged follow-up.

What comes next: Staff said they will return with conceptual signage designs and refined pricing for both monument and digital options and will provide further detail on utility easements and expected costs. Council voted on multiple first-reading ordinances to receive the easement items and moved the procurement award and other items forward.