Greenville council approves rezoning for Brethren Retirement expansion, OKs major infrastructure spending

Greenville City Council on May 6 adopted an ordinance rezoning multiple parcels on Oakwood and Chestnut streets to special use, clearing the way for an expansion of the Brethren Retirement Community on its Oakwood Village campus.

Cara Alred, chief operating officer at Brethren Retirement Community, told council the organization has been part of Greenville “for over 123 years” and serves “over 400 elders and 300 dedicated staff members.” Holly Hill, vice president and chief marketing officer, described recent phases of Oakwood Village development and said five recently built independent-living homes sold in 50 days as demand has remained strong.

Council accepted planning-and-zoning’s favorable recommendation and then amended the meeting agenda to add the ordinance. A roll-call vote adopting the rezoning ordinance was recorded in favor by the council majority (Rogers, White, Wilman, Brown, Huie Godwin and Norris). The ordinance rezoned 229, 239, 245 and 249 Oakwood Street and 614 and 644 Chestnut Street from urban residential to special use to mirror zoning across the Brethren campus.

Council also approved several budget and contract items tied to ongoing capital work. Members suspended rules to enact a supplemental ordinance that included a land-purchase appropriation related to a planned fire training facility and a police-vehicle purchase funded by outside sources. The council voted to award a contract to rehabilitate concrete water-storage tanks at the city water plant; the cost cited during the meeting was approximately $567,000 and staff said the expenditure was included in the budget and partly handled through a previous supplemental appropriation.

Law director Ryan Raymond told council that Family Health Services has submitted an annexation petition and is expected to complete annexation steps within roughly six months. Separately, council approved a property trade and a 30-year lease with the Dark County Fire Chiefs Association to enable construction and operation of a fire training facility; the lease requires the association to maintain liability insurance naming the city as additional insured.

On several items — including the water-tank contract and the property trade/lease — council members confirmed funding was budgeted or provided by outside partners (for example, the Dart County Fire Chiefs Association indicated it would deliver funds for the land purchase). Council also ratified a collective-bargaining agreement for the street-maintenance association and authorized disposal of a 2008 transit bus via GovDeals.

During the meeting staff reported that CenterPoint Energy will cap unused services at the main as required by the Public Utilities Commission, and that water-tower construction bids came in, with one bidder about $1 million below the engineer’s estimate.

The ordinance and spending votes completed the council’s agenda items for the night. Council scheduled a committee-of-the-whole budget review for May 20 at 7 p.m. to examine first-quarter budget details.

What’s next: The rezoning is now adopted; Brethren Retirement Community may proceed with the expansion steps described to council, and the water-tank rehabilitation and fire-training arrangements will move into procurement/contract phases as detailed by staff.