Town of Siler City
SILER CITY — With an election looming eight days in the future, Siler City Mayor John Grimes took time Monday to share about the accomplishments of his town and staff and look forward to the next phase.
Grimes gave the annual “State of the Town” address Monday night at Siler City Town Hall to a crowd of about 40 people where he addressed new hires, individual projects and the “well-financed” state of the town.
“We continue to be energized about the good things going on in our town, the progress we are making on many fronts, and the momentum we are gathering as we work together to make Siler City a better place to live and work,” he said. Grimes paused, and repeated, “Siler City is a good place to live and work.”
Grimes is up for re-election next week against challengers Albert Reddick and Jackie Adams. When introduced Monday night, Grimes received a short standing ovation from almost all of the small assembled crowd.
First on the agenda was listing out seven new leadership hires, four of whom were promotions from within and three were outside hires. New Town Manager Roy Lynch, who officially began the job on September 4 after serving as Finance Manager, was top of the list, followed by Police Chief Mike Wagner, who started his tenure on June 3 after moving from Albemarle County, Virginia.
In addition, Tina Stroupe has been named the town’s Finance Director, succeeding Lynch. Stroupe will direct and supervise the financial operation and reporting of all municipal funds, audit, cash management, debt management and utility rate structure; she previously worked in the accounting departments of the City of Sanford and the Town of Holly Spring.
Grimes called the hires “valuable public servants who work to see that our mission and vision statements are realized.” Lynch, who oversees all town staff, said that despite all the shifting and changes, everything has been positive, that fresh eyes can provide “new insight” to a long-serving staff.
“You get complacent in certain things, so it’s good to have an outside perspective,” Lynch said. “It’s also important to have the insight as to how and what the history of the town has been. If you understand operations and how the town functions, it’s easier as well to be able to at certain times move into positions.”
During his address, Grimes also discussed Mountaire, improvements to the town’s fire department, the Chatham-Siler City Advanced Manufacturing Site, housing, parks and recreation and grants. He also spoke specifically about improvements to the Park Shopping Center parking lot, a project he called “a cause of great concern to me personally.”
“It was an eyesore, and sorely perplexing to the merchants and their customers who had to navigate an impossible and ugly environment which was not conducive to good business,” Grimes said. “It was a work in progress, spanning over two years, but with much dialogue and personal involvement by the tenants and the owner, we were able to prevail and we now have a very attractive Park Shopping Center parking lot.”
He began to wrap up his address by reflecting on the town’s finances. He called Siler City a “well-run” and “well-financed” town, saying his “busy board” had “accomplished much.”
Lynch echoed Grimes’ sentiments about the town’s financial position, saying available funds “have grown over the last few years.”
“We’ve been able to grow as far as the grant monies are concerned, especially where water and sewer infrastructure is concerned,” Lynch said. “Certainly that gives the availability for the industrial park here in town. We’re looking forward to what the future holds.”
Grimes concluded by applauding the work of Siler City town staff.
“We have a hardworking, productive and devoted staff and we applaud them,” he said. “And our new folks in place bring experience and knowledge to their new posts. This is a good place to live and work.”
Lynch said he hoped attendees walked away with “a better understanding of what the stability of the town is,” along with the work done by the town’s elected officials and staff.
Reporter Zachary Horner can be reached at zhorner@chathamnr.com or on Twitter at @ZachHornerCNR.