Greetings & Salutations: Merry Christmas from the Mayor's Desk Newsletter

Plus: Federal Infrastructure Dollars, Another Lions Championship, Gas Prices, and More

Dec 08, 2021

Rather than assume you know much of anything about me, I thought for this first email I would just tell you a little about myself. (These weekly newsletters will become more informative and specific as time goes on, I promise.)

My name is Andrew Beckner, and I’ve been married to the former Rachelle Bott since 2003. We have two teenage daughters; Belle (16) and Lilly (15), who are students at Daniel High School. We’ve lived in Central for close to three years, and share our home with two dogs: Whittaker, a nine-year old border collie; and Pip, a two-year old border collie/rat terrier mix.

I was born and grew up in southern West Virginia, and met Rachelle while I was in college at West Virginia University. I graduated from WVU with a degree in news editorial journalism and a minor in political science. We moved to the Upstate in 2015, and have lived in Pickens County ever since. I serve as the executive director of public relations at Anderson University, and Rachelle is the project coordinator for Tigers United University Consortium and the Brooks Sports Science Institute, both based at Clemson University. She’s also an adjunct professor/lecturer at both Clemson and AU.

We’re members of NewSpring Church’s Clemson campus, and in our spare time we enjoy just about anything having to do with the outdoors (fishing, hiking, traveling, etc.)

Let’s connect

Used to be if you wanted to reach out to someone you had three options. You could call someone’s house, send them a written letter, or turn up on their front porch. (If I’m being honest, I preferred it that way. How about you?)

That being said, if you’d like to reach out—to say hello, ask a question, offer an idea, or see what I’m up to—you have several options:

Prefer email? You can reach me at abeckner@cityofcentral.org

Is Facebook your thing? No problem. My page is located at facebook.com/MayorAndrewBeckner

Maybe you like things short and simple. If so, find me on Twitter at twitter.com/andrewjbeckner

How about professional networking? I’m on LinkedIn, too, and and my profile is linkedin.com/in/andrewbeckner

Speaking of connecting, keep the following in mind:

If you have an email address I previously shared, that’s fine. But if you’re reaching out about city business, please use the email listed above. Speaking of previous contact information…
You may have my phone number saved in your contacts, too. Again, no big deal. That being said, I’ll have a new phone number in the coming weeks, which is how you should reach out if you want to talk about town affairs. I’ll provide my new number in a future email.
If you used to read my old newsletter, you probably know I’m not a huge Facebook fan. That’s why I’m very rarely logged into my personal account. But I do keep a very close eye on my new mayor’s page, the link to which is listed above, and it’s where I’ll post any information and where I’ll check Facebook messages. Please give that page a follow!

Federal infrastructure dollars — what’s in it for us?

On Nov. 6, Congress passed a bill that will invest $550 billion for infrastructure improvements across the country. Based on preliminary assessments of its impact on South Carolina, here are some of the highlights, by the numbers:

$4.6 billion
Estimated federal dollars for South Carolina highway projects

$510 million
Estimated federal dollars for South Carolina public water infrastructure improvements

$366 million
Estimated federal dollars for South Carolina public transportation improvement projects (over a five-year period)

$274 million
Estimated federal dollars for South Carolina bridge replacement and repairs (over a five-year period)

$100 million
Estimated federal dollars for improvements to South Carolina’s broadband network

$70 million
Estimated federal dollars for South Carolina electric vehicle charging station projects

Stay tuned for specifics on how these dollars will impact Central.

A book I’m reading

Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Rebuild American Prosperity
“(Strong Towns) is a book of forward-thinking ideas that breaks with modern wisdom to present a new vision of urban development in the United States. Presenting the foundational ideas of the Strong Towns movement he co-founded, Charles Marohn explains why cities of all sizes continue to struggle to meet their basic needs, and reveals the new paradigm that can solve this longstanding problem.” (excerpt from the book description)

News & Notes

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know by now that our very own Daniel High School Lions have completed back-to-back undefeated, state championship seasons. The streak now stands at a remarkable 24 consecutive wins! The towns of Central and Clemson will formally recognize the team during a special ceremony in January, so keep an eye out for an announcement for the date, time, and location.
Speaking of football, who would you choose to replace Brent Venables as Clemson’s new defensive coordinator? Keep it in house, or look elsewhere? The State newspaper has some ideas.
Will pain at the pump subside in time for Christmas travel? The statewide average has dropped about five cents in the last week, and now hovers close to $3 a gallon here in South Carolina.

What’s happening—and when

Wednesday, December 8
Town Council meeting — 6 p.m. — Town Hall

FYI, there isn’t really an agenda for this meeting. Its purpose is to gather current and incoming elected officials for a presentation by Jeff Shacker, the field services manager for the Municipal Association of South Carolina.

Saturday, December 11
Central Christmas Market — 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. — the Central Caboose

The lighting ceremony and downtown parade was just the beginning. Our Main Street team has another great event planned, so be sure to come out and enjoy the festivities.

Saturday, December 18
National Wreaths Across America Day — 12 p.m. — Mount Zion Cemetery

National Wreaths Across America Day takes place every December. It’s a national effort “to Remember, Honor and Teach is carried out by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, as well as at more than 2,500 additional locations in all 50 U.S. states, at sea and abroad.” There are several across our area planned; I’ll be attending the ceremony at Mount Zion.

Question of the Week

I’m always interested in your opinions. You can share them directly by sending me an email, or comment here on The Mayor’s Desk page by clicking the “Leave a Comment” button below.

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