Editor&squo;s note: Landrum Mayor Bob Briggs&squo; submitted the following list of accomplishments for the City of Landrum over the past several years. In the election Tuesday, all incumbents retained their seats, including the mayor and council members Jan Horton, Billy Inman and Don Smith. Also on council are Joyce Whiteside and Randy Wohnig.

Landrum City Council says it appreciates the support of the voters in this year&squo;s election. The mayor and council members say they look forward to continuing to serve the Landrum community for the next four years.

Following is a list of accomplishments Landrum City Council has achieved over the past 12 years.

&ull; Developed a master plan for Landrum&squo;s future. The city needed a vision of what we wanted to look like in the future and a goal to work towards. With public input and support we developed the plan that set us on our journey. The downtown business district was revitalized by installing streetlights and burying overhead utility lines to beautify our downtown district. Much of the installation of the hardware and placing of the wires were done by council members and involved citizens in order to save some money. We widened and installed curbing and drainage to North Trade Avenue. We created a linear landscaped park by the railroad tracks. East Rutherford Street was enhanced with trees and landscaping. The Architectural Review Board was created to insure that we keep our small town look and feel and to preserve our historical heritage.

&ull; Improvements were made to Brookwood Park. New playground equipment was installed and a walking trail, with fitness stations, was created by improving an overgrown and unused portion of the Brookwood Park property. This was done after a public survey told us that this was important to you.

&ull; Marketed Landrum as a destination for shops, restaurants and tourism and assisted our chamber of commerce as they collaborated with the Polk County Chamber of Commerce. By combining the two chambers of commerce businesses receive more exposure and access to publications in the Landrum and Polk County region. We also partnered with Tryon, Columbus and Saluda to market our region through a series of commercials ‐ you may remember &dquo;The String of Pearls.&dquo;

&ull; The Landrum Area Business Association (LABA) was formed after the two chambers merged. We work closely with LABA to gather input and assist them in providing a healthy business climate and to promote our local community events such as the popular Halloween Stroll and the Christmas Parade and Stroll. Business license fees are kept to a minimum.

&ull; Implemented two Community Block Grants. These grants have improved individual homes in the South Church Street and North Randolph Street areas improving the Quality of Life for those citizens who participated in the process.

&ull; Created a permanent and part-time position to attend to the maintenance issues in Landrum. This has resulted in regular maintenance being performed in the city in a timely and professional manner.

&ull; Our fire department is funded by the city and the county. We have assisted the Landrum Fire Department to help them provide excellent fire protection and public safety while lowering our ISO rating which means lower insurance rates on your home for you the citizen.

&ull; The Landrum Police Department continues to provide excellent public safety while maintaining a conservative budget. We continue to employ dedicated professionals by offering satisfactory pay and benefit packages. The Landrum Police Department is in the final phases of securing their accreditation with the state.

&ull; Maintained a low tax rate while improving the services that the city offers. At the same time we remain financially sound as evidenced by our positive independent annual audits. We developed a comprehensive plan for land use. We know that changes will come. We have to plan to shape this change in ways that benefit all of us.

&ull; Updated and codified our city ordinances and regulations. This helps us operate more efficiently as a government and ensures up to date information for you. These documents are available to you on our website to save you time in answering questions that you may have.

&ull; Updated and modernized our IT Systems to be more efficient. By utilizing the latest computers and software we ensure accuracy and efficiency in our database, which is important to you because when you need information it needs to be accurate and up to date.

&ull; The transfer of Landrum&squo;s Water Department to Spartanburg Water and Landrum Sewer Department to Spartanburg Sanitary Sewer District were two issues that were brought to separate votes by the public in order improve and update the facilities and keep the rates you pay low while continuing to provide great service.

&ull; Highway 14, our main entrance to Landrum, was widened and beautified. First impressions are important. We improved traffic flow and beautified our gateway to Landrum. In the process, few trees were removed in order to retain the rural beauty of our community.

&ull; Sewer service was provided to residents in the North Randolph Street area and Sara Drive, a secondary dirt road that was frequently used but in disrepair, was improved by paving it and we assisted Habitat for Humanity by securing grant money to provide water and sewer for their development on North Shamrock.

&ull; Improved Highway 14 west by installing a sidewalk and creating Durham Park on property that was donated by the Durham family, as a part of our gateway to the west. By addressing these issues we addressed some safety issues on Highway 14, corrected water run-off problems and created a sidewalk that enabled citizens that live on the west side of town the opportunity to walk to town.