Here’s a quick recap from last night’s meeting in case you were’t able to attend.  Also, the MP3 will be up later today, and it’s only 30 minutes long, so you may want to check it out!

Mayor Curtis issued a proclamation recognizing and honoring Daniel Madriaga.

Daniel Madriaga is the owner of Black Belt Attitude ATA Karate School.  He has 3 schools in Greenville County with 2 of them being in Simpsonville (one on NE Main Street and the other in Five Forks).  On June 29, 2016, Daniel Madriaga will be elevated to the rank of Master in the ATA Karate.  His is currently a 6th degree black belt.  He has been studying karate since he was 10 years old and became a black belt at the age of 12.  He began teaching Taekwondo at the age of 15 years old.  In 2004, he was teaching in the Miami FL area.  In 2011, he decided to open his own karate school and began looking at different places to move and open a school.  He considered GA and NC and found SC to be the best fit and opened his first school in Simpsonville, SC.  The school will celebrate 5 years on June 24-25, 2016.  Under Daniel Madriaga’s leadership, his schools are teaching Simpsonville citizens life skills such as discipline, self respect, self-defense, honesty and self esteem development.  He has saidthat “The classes are not just about kicks and punches.  It also teaches students how they should behave everywhere and helping them do better.”

Daniel Madriaga will become the 3rd karate Master in Greenville County and the 1st in Simpsonville.  This is a high honor for him, his schools and the City of Simpsonville.  His schools will have a Belt Promotion Ceremony on July 23, 2016, and the students and parents will be recognizing him for reaching such a high goal.

The Leadership Simpsonville Class of 2016 was again present at our meeting to give some additional information about their upcoming projects. Check them out on Facebook here for additional info.  Council voted unanimously to approve these projects.

Council voted unanimously to charge City Administrator David Dyrhaug with developing a strategic action plan for ongoing community and economic development.  Read more here.

Council voted 4 (Gooch, Hulehan, Cummings, Curtis)-3 (Graham, Braswell, Lockaby) to approve on 1st reading Ordinance 2016-03, which is the ordinance commonly referred to as “Council Rules.”  We’ve been working on this since the first of the year.  The next vote will take place at the August business meeting.

The Sewer Loan was moved to an upcoming meeting because it requires more analysis per City Administrator.

Council voted unanimously to appoint Mr. Jay Crawford as Public Works Director.  Mr. Crawford has been serving as Interim Director since January, and he’s been doing a great job.  We are lucky he’s willing to take on this role permanently.

Council voted unanimously to approve the appointment of Ms. Christine Furino as City Treasurer for the remainder for the current term of office (ending December 31st, 2017).  Ms. Furino recently accepted the job as Finance Director. Ms. Furino has been with the City of Simpsonville since late 2013 as the City’s Senior Accountant Supervisor.  We are grateful she is willing to serve in this additional role.