►
Description
City of Aiken City Manager John Klimm drops in to look back at his first year as Aiken's city manager.
A
Welcome
to
aiken
this
week,
I'm
Emery
Langston
over
the
course
of
the
past
12
to
18
months.
We
have
experienced
a
number
of
leadership
changes
specifically
with
some
very
important
positions
in
our
city.
John
Clem
became
our
new
city
manager
in
april
of
2015
and
we're
very
pleased
to
have
John
on
today,
thanks
for
taking
a
few
minutes
out
of
your
schedule
to
be
with
us.
Well.
A
Know,
you're,
you're,
relatively
new
label,
I
think
it's
kind
of
fading
fast,
but
John.
You
took
the
oath
of
office
on
April
27th,
yes,
2015
and
you
started
out
of
the
gate
ready
to
go
and
you
have
been
going
a
very
fast
pace
ever
since
so
when
you
in
looking
back
over
that
time,
what
stands
out
to
you
the
most
well.
B
B
And
so
I
can't
say
enough
for
a
Kim
abney
and
our
staff
and
other
city
staff
as
well,
who
worked
day
and
night
to
totally
revamp
the
the
budget
and
I
hope
that
citizens
will
take
the
time
to
go
on
to
our
website,
because
the
the
entire
budget
is
is
there,
and
one
of
our
concerns
is
the
issue
of
transit
transparency.
We
want
people
to
know
how
we're
spending
their
tired
tax
dollars,
and
so
that's
probably
one
of
the
biggest
complaints
about
the
the
former
format,
was
that
it
was
difficult
to.
B
It
was
a
complex
format
that
you'd
be
jumping
all
around
trying
to
find
an
answer
to
a
question,
and
so
we
undertook
that
process
as
well.
We
also
wanted
to
spend
a
month
or
two
at
the
beginning
of
my
tenure
kind
of
observing
and
in
reviewing
the
organizational
structure
of
the
city
and
we've
made
some
recommended
changes
there
as
well,
and
so
there
I
think
that
the
the
original
period
of
time
where
city
was
going
to
have
an
interim
manager
went
longer
than
that
had
planned
and
so
I
think.
B
A
Have
indeed
you
have-
and
you
mentioned,
the
transparency
and
I
know
that
that
has
always
been.
That
was
one
of
the
first
things
you
know
we
heard
about
our
new
city
manager
was
that
that
was
very
important.
I
know
with
your
leadership
style.
Communication
is
very
important.
Building
relationships
and
building
partnerships
and
I
know
that
one
of
the
things
that
you
have
been
working
on
over
these
past
months
is
a
relationship
with
our
school
district.
And
can
you
talk
a
little
bit
about
the
partnership
with
our
new
suit
school
superintendent,
dr.
B
Interestingly
enough
for
both
of
us,
we
came
on
the
scene
about
the
same
time,
and
so
we
were
kind
of
the
new
kids
in
the
black
and
quickly
established
a,
I
think,
a
very
effective
or
working
relationship.
The
truth
is
is
that
we
can't
do
what
we
need
to
do
in
terms
of
building
and
improving
this
community
if
we
don't
have
a
quality
system
of
public
education
and
at
the
same
time,
what
happens
in
the
community
impacts
our
school
system
as
well.
B
So
it's
been
a
delight
to
work
closely
with
with
sean
offered
and
very
specifically
on
some
projects.
They
have
a
maintenance
facility
that
for
many
years,
is
located
a
budding,
a
useless
park
in
the
downtown
area
and
we're
in
the
process
of
building
a
new
community
center,
and
we
never
really
had
enough
land
to
do
what
we
wanted
to
do
and
I
think.
B
Several
years
ago,
Glen
Parker
and
others
reached
out
to
the
School
Committee
the
school
board
at
the
time,
to
find
out
whether
there
was
any
interested
in
the
possibility
of
selling
land
so
that
we
got
a
choir
more
space
and
at
the
time
there
wasn't.
You
know
Sean
off,
had
made
the
time
to
to
come
out
to
the
the
neighborhood
and
I
think
he
truly
understood
the
impact
that
his
maintenance
facility
was
having.
And
what
really
is
a
residential
area
and
I
give
him
so
much
credit
because
he
was
just
starting
himself
and
there
was.
B
B
We
sat
down
with
sean
and
said:
is
there
any
possibility
that,
instead
of
leasing
the
land
that
you
might
consider
selling
it
to
the
cities,
so
that
that
would
take
us
from
out
from
underneath
the
the
auspices
of
the
state
authority
that
was
giving
us
such
a
hard
time?
I
am
once
again
he
totally
understood
where
we
were
coming
from
and
spearheaded
an
effort
before
the
the
school
board
to
help
us
there.
B
A
B
Make
a
big
difference.
You
mentioned
the
issue
of
communications
and
I
can't
thank
our
IT
department
enough
for
under
the
leadership
of
Angela
Hales
for
totally
revamping
the
website
the
the
city's
a
website,
and
it
really
is
dramatically
improved
and
they
worked
long
and
hard
on
that
and
we
have
utilized
I
think
our
Channel
TV
channel
much
more
effectively
and
I
give
an
awful
lot
of
credit
to
to
both
you
and
John
McMichaels
spent
a
lot
of
time
of
your
own
time.
B
A
B
And
the
other
thing
that
we're
doing
is
we're
televising
many
more
committee
meetings.
In
the
past
we
were
only
televising
the
council
meetings,
but
now
we
have
our
regulatory
boards
on
TV
and
I.
Think
that
makes
a
difference
for
those
that
want
to
watch
the
the
the
old
days
where
a
hundred
or
200
people
would
come
to
these
meetings
a
long
sense
past
people
just
don't
have
that
type
of
time
and
their
busy
lives
to
come
out
to
meetings.
B
B
One
of
the
the
items
that
we're
excited
about
this
year,
the
over
the
coming
year
is
the
fact
that
we're
going
to
be
conducting
a
citizen
survey
professionally
conducted
we're
going
to
work
in
partnership
with
USC
Aiken
and
we're
going
to
be
asking
a
whole
series
of
questions
to
our
residents.
It'll
be
a
random
sample,
so
it'll
be
professionally
conducted
and
we'll
we'll
be
asking
our
citizens
what
they
like
and
dislike
about
city
government.
What
they'd
like
to
see
change
what
they'd
like
to
see
eliminated,
what
their
frustrations
are,
what
they
really
like
about?
B
What
we
do
I'm
a
true
believer
that
we
should
do
that
regularly.
They
are
the
ones
that
are
footing
the
bill,
they're,
the
ones
that
are
paying
taxes
they're
the
ones
that
allow
us
to
do
what
we
do,
and
we
should
take
time
I
think
from
time
to
time
to
ask
them
how
we're
doing
and
what
they
would
suggest
for
changes
and
improvements,
and,
and
so
over
the
next
year,
we'll
be
working
with
us
akin
in
conducting
that
citizen
survey.
Well.
B
A
B
A
B
Also
doing
operational
audits
on
all
of
our
departments.
We
can't
do
them
all
at
once,
because
it's
costly
and
it's
time-consuming,
but
but
we're
of
the
belief
that
we
always
need
to
try
to
improve
every
one
of
our
operations
and
there's
always
room
for
improvement.
And
what
I've
learned
over
the
years
in
terms
of
city
management.
Is
that
a
new
look
and
outside
look
an
independent
look
at
our
operations
usually
allows
an
opportunity
for
us
to
see
how
others
might
be
doing
what
we
do
and
then
some
instances
doing
it
better.
B
And
so
we
have
operational
artists
presently
taking
place
for
our
Department
of
Public,
Safety
and
also
public
services.
We're
looking
at
the
whole
issue
of
solid
waste
and
trash
that
operation
as
well.
So
over
the
next
year,
we'll
be
looking
in
the
areas
of
Finance
and
human
resources
to
see
if
there
can
be
efficiencies
or
improvements
in
service
and
the
lake.
And
so
we've
tried
to
implement
a
policy
in
a
practice
that
every
one
of
our
operations
needs
to
improve
on
a
continuous
basis.
Sir.
A
Sir,
that's
you
have
been
very
pissy
he's
very
busy.
Well,
I
know.
One
task
coming
in
when
you
took
over
was
our
capital
project
sales
tax
and
that's
quite
an
extensive
project
list
of
projects
and
for
a
very
long
time
some
of
those
projects
haven't
moved
off
center
and
I
believe
that
Eustace
park
was
one.
B
B
But
you
know
people
have
set
their
priorities
in
terms
of
where
they
want
this
money
to
be
spent
and
we
have
a
responsibility
to
get
the
job
done,
and
so
one
of
the
things
that
I
think
we're
lacking
was
the
staff
capacity
to
get
the
job
done
and
we've
significantly
improved
that
so
I
think
the
next
year
or
two
going
to
be
real.
Exciting,
because
we're
going
to
see
the
Northside
Park
completed,
we're
going
to
perry
park,
restaurant
facilities
completed,
will
see
the
Eustace
park
community
and
Senior
Center
completed
and
that
I.
B
B
In
that
that
the
same
vein,
I
was
rather
surprised
that
some
of
our
infrastructure
has
has
not
been
paid
attention
to.
For
example,
we
don't
have
a
ongoing
roads,
maintenance
program
which
really
surprised
me
that
for
the
90
so
miles
of
roads
that
are
under
the
city's
jurisdiction,
that
there
wasn't
an
ongoing
program
to
maintain
those
roads,
and
so
what
we
would
do
is
from
time
to
time.
We
would
take
some
capital
project
sales
tax
money
and
we
would
totally
rebuild
a
row.
B
That's
not
the
way
our
operations
are
supposed
to
be
running.
We
were
supposed
to
have
a
road
maintenance
program.
There
were
a
variety
of
techniques
and
methodologies
that
you
can
use
on
roads
to
extend
the
life
of
the
road.
Probably
the
worst
thing
you
can
do
is
just
let
it
sit
there
for
20
years,
because
then
you
have
to
rebuild
resurface.
The
the
entire
road
and
so
but
but
the
one
thing
that
always
has
been
lacking
is
a
commitment
of
funding,
and
so
that's
why
I
came
to
the
council
and
in
much
to
their
credit.
B
The
leadership
of
the
council
was
very
clear
when
I
started
that
this
is
an
area
along
with
infrastructure
that
they
wanted.
They
knew
that
there's
been
a
void.
They
knew
that
we
haven't
been
comprehensively
addressing
these
issues,
like
other
cities
have,
and
so,
but
we
needed
a
funding
source
and
those
were
difficult
choices
that
this
community
is
made
in
controversial
choices
that
they've
made.
But
the
truth
is
on
the
road
maintenance
side.
With
the
implementation
of
the
road
maintenance
fee,
the
twenty
dollar
fee
per
vehicle
a
year.
B
And
now
we
have
a
funding
source
and
are
moving
ahead
on
several
alternatives
to
the
whiskey
road
corridor
that
our
engineers
tell
us
could
improve
the
situation
by
up
to
thirty
percent
and
so
you're
talking
about
real
improvement
over
a
period
of
time.
But
we
just
never
had
the
wherewithal
people
keep
contacting
the
same.
They
want
to
see
bike
paths,
they
want
to
see
sidewalks
in
neighborhoods,
where
they're
on
sidewalks.
There
are
areas
in
this
community
where
people
are
asking
for
utilities
to
be
under
grounded,
and
there
are
those
types
of
things.
B
There
is
a
lot
of
discussion
about
our
parkways.
Why
there
aren't
walkways
through
some
of
them,
so
that
more
people
could
can
benefit
from
our
the
beauty
of
our
downtown
area
and
the
common
denominator
in
all
of
those
is
that
there
hasn't
been
a
funding
source
to
address
those
and
I
give
the
City
Council
an
extraordinary
amount
of
credit.
They
listen
to
the
concerns.
They
educated
themselves
in
terms
of
the
extent
of
the
problem,
and
they
took
to
some
tough
votes
to
get
the
job
done
in.
A
B
A
B
B
B
B
A
A
B
We
have
some
projects
that
are
ongoing
that
need
to
to
work
their
way
through
and
come
to
closure
the
renovation
of
the
Aiken
mall.
We
know
that
the
property
known
as
the
Aiken
model
has
changed
hands
and
we're
actually
delighted
that
the
development
team
that
has
acquired
the
entirety
of
the
property
included,
including
dylan's,
is
one
of
with
a
significantly
impressive
background
and
credentials
in
terms
of
their
other
projects.
B
You
know
we
competed
and
we
applied
for
membership
in
the
main
streets
program
and
they
only
choose
the
Municipal
Association
of
South
Carolina
only
chooses
to
communities
a
year,
and
we
were
delighted
to
find
out
that
Aiken
was
one
of
those
two
communities.
We've
been
to
a
series
of
workshops
and
seminars,
we're
often
running
with
some
downtown
projects
and
I
see
some
really
good
things
happening
over
the
next
year
or
two
in
the
downtown
area
as
well.
B
And
so
the
other
thing
too
is
is
that
my
chief
responsibility
as
a
city
manager
is
to
build
the
best
management
team
possible
and
we've
had
some
retirement
so
and
and
what
have
you
and
and
we're
seeing
some
new
faces
and
that's
very
exciting
that
we're
building
our
capacity
as
managers
to
do
our
job
better.
Very.
A
B
I
can
tell
you
that
my
wife,
Delores
and
I
have
fallen
in
love
with
with
this
community,
and
it
is
such
an
unlikely
situation
for
us.
We
both
were
born
and
raised
on
Cape
Cod
Massachusetts,
never
further
than
a
tenth
of
a
mile
from
the
ocean.
So
if
you
asked
me
a
year
and
a
half
ago,
what
the
chances
are,
the
Dolores
and
I
would
be
living
inland
not
on
the
coast.
I
would
say
that
the
chance
was
nil,
and
yet
we
have
in
kind
of
an
injury
interesting
at
least
two
asked
way.
B
We've
found
this
community
and
fallen
in
love
with
it.
It's
really
really
a
special
place,
and
sometimes
I
wonder
for
those
that
have
been
here
for
any
likely
period
of
time,
whether
they'd
forgotten.
How
special
it
is.
It's
a
wonderful
size,
the
vitality
and
the
dynamic.
The
people
of
this
community
are
just
incredible
volunteers.
You
look
at
our
committees
and
their
commissions
without
them.
We'd
really
really
be
indifferent,
difficult
circumstance,
but
I
look
at
then.
The
hundreds
of
hours
that
are
volunteers
contribute
each
and
every
year
to
this
community
our
churches,
recreational
opportunities.
A
We
are
delighted
that
you're
here
making
such
a
difference
and
working
so
very
hard
and
again
I
can't
stress
enough.
The
fast
pace
that
you
have
been
working
and
the
projects
that
you
have
tackled
over
these
the
past
year
and
we're
very
much
looking
forward
to
another
year
of
fast-paced
growth
and
success.
So
very
much
appreciate
you
taking
a
few
minutes
out
of
your
schedule
to
talk
to
us
today
and
being
with
us.
My.