STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS
I am asked
many questions regarding the state of the City. I wanted to take this
opportunity to address the citizens of Liberty directly to let them know
how the City is running. The City does not spend money lightly. We go
after every grant we may possibly be entitled to and we exhaust all
avenues to bring revenue into the City. In February of 2008, we
traded in the fire chief’s 2005 Tahoe for a 2008 Ford pickup at NO
COST
to the city. This pickup will be more useful in the activities of the
fire dept. Brush Trucks 7 & 8 are 1984 trucks and are almost worn out.
They are on loan from the S. C. Forestry Commission. Brush 7 has been
out of service since January with a bad front suspension.
It is not
cost effective to make the needed repairs on this truck and it will be
returned to the Forestry Commission. To replace Brush 7, the City
purchased a water skid tank from the Rural Fire District for $6,995 and
we converted our 2003 F-250 into a brush truck. We purchased a 2008 Ford
pickup to replace this F-250 at the state bid price of $25,553 on a 3
year payment. The Liberty Area Fire District has purchased a new F-450
flat bed truck to replace Brush 8 and they have ordered a new water skid
tank for this truck. Brush 8 will remain with the city but will not be
responding to fires, it will be given to the water department to be used
in washing out sewers with the Jet machine.
Some
repairs will be needed on this truck for safe operation. The City also
purchased a 1974 Ford Tele-Squirt from the City of Easley at a bargain
price of $15,000 with the agreement that we will respond it to Easley if
the need ever arises. We had to make some repairs to the water way
system at a cost of $7,406. One quote was over $27,000 but we were able
to make the repairs from another vendor for the more reasonable price.
The truck is now ready to be tested by an independent testing company.
We were awarded a $29,886 grant (no matching money) to equip this truck
with 1,075 feet of 5” supply hose, all adapters, valves and wrenches and
5 air packs that are NFPA compliant.
We were
awarded a $46,345 FEMA grant thru Homeland Security to replace 31 sets
of turnout gear. the city’s 5% match was $2,318. This new gear is NFPA
compliant and includes the “Drag Rescue Device” to rescue a firefighter.
FEMA paid $44,027 and all emergency agencies are required to start using
800 Mhz radios to be able to communicate with each other. We have just
placed an order for 2 walkie-talkies and 2 mobile radios. These are
through a grant that Belton Fire Department was awarded. The radios cost
$15,493 but the city’s match is only $3,098. We have received a lot of
equipment this year through grants, all the above grants total $91,724
but the city’s cost was only $5,416. The city has done an outstanding
job in applying for grants to save the city money.
The city
also needs to extend the bays at the fire department by two bays. We are
required by the Liberty Area Fire District and the ISO (Insurance
Services Office) to keep all the equipment housed from the weather
conditions. We now have a ladder truck, a brush truck, a service truck
and our quick response vehicle
sitting out in the weather. We also have a fire engine housed in the
city shed. The sun deteriorates the hoses, paint and all rubber and
fiberglass items on the trucks. In the winter months the water is
freezing in the pumps and hoses thus making that piece of equipment out
of service. We are in the process of obtaining a grant to pay for this
extension which is badly needed.
The Police
Department received three radar units valued at over $5000.00 for
participating in the Law Enforcement Network. Southern Windows donated
$2000.00 for bullet proof vest. The Juvenile Detention Center received
over $36,000.00 for housing juveniles from Pickens, Anderson, and Oconee
counties. The Police Department received $65,000.00 from the Pickens
Co. School District for two school resource officers. The City of
Pickens pays the City of Liberty $25,000.00 a year for Police
Dispatching on the weekends and at night. The Police Department
adventure camp for kids received $4,314.00 donations from the community
businesses.
The Police
department received an $891.00 donation from Fred’s Store which was used
to the buy bullet proof vests. The Police Department has six full time
and two reserve Police Officers who patrol the community 24 hour a day,
a full time Detective who follows up on all reports of criminal
activity, five Dispatch/Detention Officers who do all radio/telephone
duties and also supervise all juveniles who are incarcerated in the
Juvenile Jail and a Records/Court Clerk who keeps up with all the paper
work, tickets, training records, and accident/incident reports, etc.
The
recreation dept. has undergone a major facelift since 2003. Most all of
the projects and renovations were made possible with the aid of either a
state PARD grant fund or county funded allocations. These will include
the following:
State PARD
grant for the development of the City Park and paved walking trail —
$45,000.000
County
approved project funding for fencing at the City Park--$5700.00
County
approved project funding for maintenance building/press box at the
little league field complex--$19,800.00
County
approved project funding for commercial grade cooling fans and intakes
for the city gym--$4450.00
County
approved project funding for reworking and refinishing the floors at the
city gym--$7,450.00
County
approved project funding for new heavy duty glass backboards with rollup
style crank designed for various age groups--$6500.00
County
approved project funding for new lighting upgrade improvement, 33% more
energy efficient, at the city gym--$6000.00
County
approved project funding for the purchase of new code compliant aluminum
bleachers for the City Park and Morris field. One 24 ft. section and
three 15 ft. sections--$3985.00
County
approved project funding for the purchase of three Bison heavy duty
outdoor basketball goal kits--$4,600.00
County
approved project funding needs for the purchase of Toro/Laser 360
mowers, one 4ft. deck and one 5ft. deck--$14,500.00 @ state contract
price.
County
approved project funding for the sod at the City Park playing field
(King Field), includes irrigation--$20,580.00
County
approved project funding for the purchase of materials to rework
restrooms at the Little League concession stand located between Morris
and Iselin ball fields--$1,985.77
County
approved project funding for the purchase and installation of new field
lighting at the City Park playing field (King Field) $42,500.00
County
approved project funding for a new aluminum awning at the entrance to
the City Gym--$1950.00
County
approved project funding for the purchase of three new batting cages (14
x 70). One placed at Iselin field, one at Morris field, and the other
that is currently stored at the maintenance building will be placed at
Woodside Park, pending the relocation of the tractor shed--$4,500.00
County
approved project funding for the construction of the restroom/concession
building at the City Park location at King Field.--$25,000.00.
ounty
approved project funding for the irrigation of all three of the baseball
fields, Woodside, Morris, and Iselin--$17,000.00
County
funded discretionary assistance checks for ’03-07, five checks for a
total of $31,400.00 for an average of $6,280.00.
This
special assistance can be used for maintenance repairs, equipment,
office supplies, etc. The total all county funded money that the City
of Liberty received for projects that were approved by the Pickens
County Recreation Advisory Board and the State PARD Grant is a
staggering $231,497.77 for five years. This parlays into an average of
$46,299.55 per year that has been awarded off our five year capital
improvement plan. This total does not include the $31,400.00 from the
county discretionary fund for five years. As you can see, the County
funded allocations save the City of Liberty a lot of money and provide a
great source of revenue to enhance our recreation facilities in our
community.
County
funded projects that are currently approved and currently in progress is
the installation of two 15 ton air condition units to cool the city gym.
This project will cost approximately $38,000.000 and should be completed
by the end of August of 2008. Other projects that are currently under
review for approval are for the re-working of our existing lighting for
all three of our baseball fields, new restroom facility, code compliant,
for Woodside Park, a new ball park to be located off Woodside Circle
just above the Iselin/Morris ball parks, a new reworked lighting system
for the tennis/basketball court on Mills Ave. These are just a few of
the projects that we will be working on for the upcoming years for
improvement of the Liberty Recreation Dept.
Another
area of revenue generation is our concession and special events which
set an all time record of $42,000.00 for the 2008 fiscal year. Also,
youth sports registrations continue to climb. We now offer eleven youth
sports for a variety that the kids of our community can choose from.
We now average $38,000.00 to $42,000.00 in revenue from our sports
registrations. If you mix in the fees from our park gazebo and Rosewood
Center rentals, $2,500.00-$5,000.00 per year, football camp, $2,300.00,
you can see how it is possible to keep pushing for improvements and
updates for our Recreation facilities.
One very
important item that most people in the community overlook is the fact
that we have established a great relationship in hosting tournaments
with organizations such as USSSA baseball, Dixie Youth Baseball, Dixie
Girls Softball, and the Tri-County Palmetto Association with football.
These tournaments bring in a lot of people from out of town and while
the fans are here supporting their respective teams during tournament
play, they will be looking for somewhere to eat lunch, get gas, pick up
snacks or just mingle around the community until time for their team’s
next game.
This
generates extra revenue for all the local merchants of Liberty. A lot of
these people may have never visited Liberty before and this is a chance
for them to get a good look at our small town, which is another reason
why we need to keep our existing facilities in good shape and also keep
looking to renovate. We would like to thank our business community for
their generous support for the outdoor basketball goals and our kids
summer camp. We are also in the process of securing more grant funds
for additional outdoor children’s landscape structures (playground
equipment, toys, etc.).
As for the
water department, we received a CDBG grant for approximately $900,000
and one for $200,000 to replace most of our 6” water lines around the
city. The project is truly a blessing for us since the old water lines
have been in use over 80 years. I want to thank councilman Rick Clark
for all of his hard work and dedication in helping the city to obtain
this grant.
During
this fiscal year we will complete the Pedestrian Park located at S.
Front Street and Commerce Street, signage for the Freedom Park and
landscaping of the Rosewood Center and the gymnasium. I want to thank
city council for sharing our vision for Liberty and putting that vision
in motion. I also want to thank the citizens who put their time and
vision to work on the plans from the Mayor’s Institute for Art and
Design. Please join me in continuing to pray for our country and for
our city.
Blessings,
Brian C.
Deese, Mayor
