Strategic Plan FY2013-2015

cityofrockhill.com/transparency

3

INTRODUCTION

QUALITY

6 SERVICES

16 PLACES

23 COMMUNITY

TABLE OF CONTENTS

MAYOR

A. Douglas Echols

CITY COUNCIL

John A. Black III Mayor Pro Tempore Susie B. Hinton Kathy S. Pender James C. Reno, Jr. Osbey Roddey Kevin Sutton

David B. Vehaun

CITY MANAGER

LEADERSHIP

cityofrockhill.com/transparency 3

Introduction

Rock Hill is a community where vision meets action. Our vision, led by Mayor and City Council, is informed by engaging citizens, the business community, and our many community partners. Our actions, carried out by City employees across various departments, engaged residents, and com‐munity and business partners all play a pivotal role in moving us from vi‐sion to reality. Success requires proper planning and appropriate action. By aligning re‐sources with predetermined initiatives that are tied to a broader vision, the Strategic Plan assists us with using our limited resources deliberately and purposefully to accomplish meaningful goals that contribute to the overall quality of life in our community. The Strategic Plan is intended to serve as a road map which guides us from visions of having a safe, eco‐nomically healthy community, for example, to the reality of having a com‐munity with low crime rates and good paying jobs. DEVELOPING THE PLAN The Strategic Plan is updated every three years. Although the appropriate term length for a strategic plan is debatable, we have found three years to be short enough to acknowledge that we live in an ever‐changing world that requires occasional recalibration of goals and tasks but long enough to acknowledge that most goals require more than one year to be accom‐plished. Each update to our Strategic Plan begins with the administration of a citi‐zens’ survey conducted by an independent third party in which Rock Hill residents are randomly selected to provide satisfaction ratings regarding the City’s delivery of a variety of services. Keeping with the City’s strength‐ened commitment to community engagement, in October 2011— for the first time in our strategic planning history— we held third party, independ‐ently led strategic planning focus group sessions compromised of randomly selected residents. Survey data, focus group feedback, and progress on the previous Strategic Plan’s goals were discussed with Mayor and City Council during the January 2012 strategic planning retreat. After several months of collaboration among the Mayor, City Council, and city staff, the Fiscal Year 2013 through 2015 Strategic Plan was finalized. This Strategic Plan will guide the City from July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2015. THE PLAN After reviewing the ideas and feedback provided during the strategic plan‐ning process, a clear recurring theme emerged: Rock Hill strives to be a city known for quality. A city known for providing quality services, having qual‐ity places, and being a quality community. The FY2013‐2015 Strategic Plan has three focus areas: quality services, quality places, and quality commu‐nity.

Since its 2006 construction, Manchester Meadows has captured the interest of park and soccer enthusiasts locally, regionally, and nationally. In summer 2012, Manches‐ter Meadows will host the 2012 US Youth Soccer National Championships.

In addition to Manchester Meadows, our velodrome, tennis complex, future BMX track, and many baseball fields, continue to reinforce our success as a leader in sports tourism. To learn more about our facilities visit: www.rockhillrocks.com.

To Reality:

Manchester Meadows Master Plan:

After our success in the areas of tennis and softball/baseball, the City sought to expand our sports facilities. Manchester Meadows was designed to be a first‐rate facility that could serve the needs of local residents and serve as a site for soccer tournaments.

From Vision:

4 cityofrockhill.com/transparency

We commit to provide quality services. We seek to offer quality places.

We strive to be a quality community. Quality Services: This focus area includes some of the most funda‐mental responsibilities we have as being the local provider for services such as fire, police, water, sewer, electricity, public works, economic development, customer service, and parks, recreation, and tourism. Quality Places: This focus area involves ensuring that the City offers quality development and places for businesses and community life to flourish. This includes having a vibrant downtown and managing transformative development projects within our community, such as Riverwalk and the Bleachery. Quality Community: This focus area addresses several quality of life initiatives such as supporting neighborhoods within our City, fostering a diverse and inclusive community, building public trust, and encour‐aging public engagement.

SERVICES PLACES COMMUNITY Public Safety Old Town/Downtown Quality of Life Economic Development Business Parks Neighborhoods Public Works Cherry Road Civic Engagement Utilities Galleria Area Public Information Customer Service Saluda Street Planning & Development Parks, Recreation, Tourism Transformative Projects:

Riverwalk Downtown East Bleachery

Accomplishing the goals within these three focus areas will require hard work and addressing numerous activities in a variety of areas. Our Strategic Plan activities are predicated on three simple, yet fundamental stages of accom‐plishing a goal: planning, acting, and evaluating. Our formula for success is to plan properly, act appropriately, and evaluate continuously.

Our award‐winning Strategic Plan has enhanced our organi‐zation’s transparency and ac‐countability.


ARE WE THERE YET? When using a road map, it is important to be able to recognize when you have arrived at your desired destination; the same can be said for strategic planning. One of the most distinctive features of our Strategic Plan is its inclusion of performance targets. Our Strategic Plan goes beyond aspiring for robust economic development and safe neighborhoods; Rock Hill’s Strategic Plan clearly states how success will be defined. Whether the goal is to add 500 new jobs in three years or to reduce violent crime in our downtown area by two percent annually, the standards by which the City will be judged are explicitly stated in the Strategic Plan. Because our performance targets are set with appropriate rigor, perfection is not expected; how‐ever, ensuring appropriate progress towards accomplish‐ing our vision and communicating that progress to our stakeholders is important – as it supports our commitment to transparency and accountability. JOIN US ON OUR JOURNEY We encourage you to follow our progress as we address the tasks and goals included in the FY2013‐2015 Strategic Plan. Each year the City pub‐lishes mid‐year and year‐end progress reports that quantify our progress at meeting the performance targets included in the Strategic Plan. Using both quantifiable data and narrative information, these reports provide mean‐ingful information on both successes and challenges. To complement the semi‐annual progress reports, the City has a Performance Dashboard which provides monthly progress updates on many of the goals included in the Strategic Plan. Progress reports and the Performance Dashboard are available on the City’s website – cityofrockhill.com/transparency.

A unique feature of Rock Hill’s Strategic Plan is the inclusion of defined performance targets which provides us with the op‐portunity to measure our pro‐gress on accomplishing our goals and ultimately our vision.

Our progress reports and perform‐ance dashboard provide official updates on the City’s progress at addressing the performance targets outlined in the Strategic Plan.

Plan properly – Planning activities relate to our ability to plan for the future. Planning activities often precede any action and may involve re‐searching best practices, meeting with partners or conducting master planning for infrastructure improvements. While these activities may seem trivial, they are important because they prepare the foundation for future success.

Act appropriately – Action activities relate to our ability to meet desired achievement and service levels and often involve implementing ele‐ments from the planning phase. Examples of action activities are meet‐ing police response time goals or revising incentives to enhance business recruitment efforts. Action activities are important because they have tremendous impact on whether we will have successful outcomes.

Evaluate continuously – Evaluation activities relate to the effectiveness of both our planning and our actions. Are we seeing a reduction in crime? Do citizens feel safe after dark? Have our marketing efforts successfully recruited new businesses? Evaluation measures are important because they tell us whether our planning and actions are producing the desired outcomes.


Award‐winning Quality Services

Our services have received numerous awards and recognitions throughout the years. A few of these include:

The Electric Division received the RP3 Platinum Award from the American Public Power Association for being a reliable public power provider (2009/2010, 2011/2012).

The Rock Hill Police Department was named a Flagship Agency by The Commission on Ac‐creditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) for continually demonstrating excel‐lence in commitment to the CALEA accredita‐tion process (2009).

The Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department was named Agency of the Year (population over 50,000) by the South Carolina Recreation & Parks Association (2010).


Many of our most fundamental responsibilities to our community are included in the Quality Services focus area. A few of these responsibili‐ties include police, fire, public works, electric, water, sewer, and cus‐tomer service. Goals

1. Provide high quality public safety and judicial services 2. Provide high quality public works and stormwater services 3. Provide high quality parks, recreation, and tourism services 4. Provide high quality electric, water, and sewer services 5. Ensure exceptional customer service and proactive communication

through accessible, responsive, and knowledgeable employees 6. Provide high quality economic development services Efficient and Effective Services Rock Hill is committed to using our financial and personnel resources in a manner that allows us to deliver services in an efficient manner. Our strategic plan includes several measures that monitor our staffing levels and compare them to other jurisdictions. Additionally, there are several measures that evaluate our ability to accomplish outcome goals such as reduction in crime and the creation of jobs. Affordable Services Ensuring that we provide affordable services is very much a part of providing quality services. Each year the City conducts a rate compari‐son survey in which we compare our rates to other communities in our county, region, and state. The rate comparison findings are shared with Mayor and City Council during the budget development process each year. To access the rate comparisons, visit our transparency web‐site: cityofrockhill.com/transparency and select Cost of Public Services.

Quality Services

Engaging Our Community: Citizen Survey Responses

& Focus Group Feedback

♦♦♦

Quality of Police Services percent rated excellent/good

♦♦♦

Quality of Fire Services percent rated excellent/good

♦♦♦

“The guys who pick up our trash do a pretty good job where I live, and if they miss your trash, you can even call them and they’ll even come back around.”

‐focus group participant

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2003 2005 2008 2011

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2003 2005 2008 2011


Quality Services

Tasks (in bold) and Performance Target Plan Act Evaluate Target

GOAL: PROVIDE HIGH QUALITY PUBLIC SAFETY & JUDICIAL SERVICES

POLICE SERVICES Evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of police services as it relates to reducing crime and increasing the commu‐nity’s perception of safety

Explore methods to improve response times

By 6/30/2013

Explore methods to increase visibility in neighborhoods/patrol zones By 1/1/2014

Respond to Priority One calls 70% within 5 minutes

Reduce citywide property crime per 1,000 residents from three year trend 2% per year

Maintain or reduce citywide violent crime per 1,000 residents from three year trend

Maintain or re‐duce citywide vio‐lent crime

Continue to increase the percentage of residents who feel very or some‐what safe from violent crimes by three percentage points

68%

Continue to increase the percentage of residents who feel very or some‐what safe from property crimes by three percentage points

63%

Enhance the communication and delivery of police community outreach programs which will provide citizens the oppor‐tunity to interact with police employees and learn about current police initiatives and performance Hold Open House

Biennially Inform the community about crime reduction and crime prevention activi‐ties

Create deliverable by 6/30/2013

Attend community and neighborhood meetings and events 75 per year

Community events and neighborhood meetings provide valuable opportunities for public safety employees and residents to interact.

Police Open House event

“I think the police should come out to the communities...not just patrolling, but actually just talking to people.”



Quality Services

Tasks (in bold) and Performance Target Plan Act Evaluate Target Implement practices and strategies that contribute positively to the delivery of police services

Address space demands at the Law Center Begin construction by 1/1/2013

Evaluate progress of Police workforce diversity/minority recruitment By 6/30 each year

FIRE SERVICES

Evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of fire services and the community’s satisfaction with fire services

Respond to top priority fire suppression calls 90% within 5 minutes

Respond to top priority medical emergency calls 90% within 5 minutes

Percent of fires contained to the room of origin 62%

Maintain percentage of residents rating fire prevention and education as excellent or good

77%

Maintain the percentage of residents rating fire services as excellent or good

95%

Provide community outreach programs which will provide citizens the opportunity to interact with fire employees and increase fire safety awareness in the community Provide fire safety education programs to elementary school students Reach 4,000 stu‐

dents per year Develop a fire safety program/initiative that targets adults By 6/30/2013

Attend community events and neighborhood meetings 4 per year

Implement practices and strategies that contribute positively to the delivery of fire services

Increase the number of personnel with paramedic certifications 2 per year

Fire personnel maintaining required federal and state certifications in special operations

100%

JUDICIAL SERVICES

Efficiently manage the Solicitor’s Office caseload

Dispose of jury trials efficiently 50% within 120 days

Efficiently manage Municipal Court’s caseload

Number of cases disposed of, and under conditional disposition, exceed the number of cases filed

Disposed/Conditional exceed cases filed

Evaluate progress of Fire workforce diversity/minority recruitment By 6/30 each year


Quality Services


GOAL: PROVIDE HIGH QUALITY PUBLIC WORKS AND STORMWATER SERVICES PUBLIC WORKS

Evaluate current services/programs and communicate program features to customers

Develop initiatives to increase participation level in YardCart Program By 10/1/2012

Evaluate YardCart program participation level By 9/1 each year

Create an interactive map for the City’s website that displays street clean‐ing sweeping routes and schedules

By 1/1/2014

Create an interactive application that allows citizens to check road ratings and learn about various road paving solutions

By 6/1/2014

Evaluate the efficiency of service delivery and explore opportunities for maximizing economies of scale

Remain below median cost for operating and maintenance expenditures for refuse collections per ton of refuse collected

25% below

Explore opportunities to appeal to additional commercial customers By 1/1/2014

Evaluate sidewalk and street infrastructure and address concerns in a methodical manner

Annually conduct an inventory and conditions assessment of City side‐walks/streets

By 6/30 each year

Replace damaged sidewalk annually At least 2,500 feet annually

Upgrade intersection ramps to comply with ADA requirements 30 ramps per year

Upgrade street signage to comply with state/federal street signage regu‐lation changes

600 signs per year

From July 2009 through July 2012, the Public Works Department replaced over 11,700 feet of damaged sidewalk using existing financial and personnel resources.

“Some of the roads around here—they’ve come a long way in 35 years, but some of

them could still come a long way.” ‐focus group participant

Citizen Survey: Rating of Street Repair

0 20 40 60 80 100

2003

2005

2008

2011

Percent excellent or good


Quality Services


Evaluate current funding and explore alternative funding for providing public services Increase organizational knowledge regarding road funding in South Caro‐lina

By 1/1/2013

Finish C‐Fund report By 1/1/2013

Develop strategies for dealing with state roads, stormwater, and side‐walks in neighborhoods

By 7/1/2014

Increase resurfacing/street paving funding in the City’s General Fund $50,000 increase each fiscal year

Seek changes in how C‐funds are allocated By 1/1/2014

Seek legislation change that would allow local governments the flexibility to address citizen complaints regarding state roads without local govern‐ments being required to assume future responsibility for the road

By 7/1/2014

Address the stormwater master plan Develop a phased implementation action plan to address the stormwater master plan

By 6/30/2013

GOAL: PROVIDE HIGH QUALITY PARKS, RECREATION, AND TOURISM SERVICES

Evaluate park operations, enhancements, and efficiencies

Provide cross‐training to parks personnel for maintenance and operation duties

By 7/1/2013

Provide cross‐training to recreation personnel for recreation program‐ming duties

By 7/1/2013

Provide web‐based facility rental to customers By 11/1/2014

Provide web‐based program registration to customers for all PRT pro‐grams

By 11/1/2014

Examine the most appropriate uses of existing parks, recreation, and tourism infrastructure and resources to meet cur‐rent demand levels Provide Public Parks and Recreation Commission and the City’s Office of Management & Budget with a report detailing usage levels and usage trends at all recreation centers and neighborhood parks

By 7/1/2013

Based on data from usage report, provide recommendations for repurpos‐ing facilities as appropriate

By 1/1/2014

Conduct a community dog park focus group and make recommendations to the Public Parks and Recreation Commission

By 1/1/2013

Evaluate program offerings using cost‐to‐serve methodology and com‐plete annual assessments for determining future program directions

By 6/1 annually

Continue services and activities that enhance our sports tourism efforts

Meet with the Rock Hill Sports Marketing Alliance regularly Quarterly

Identify potential Sports Commission members and hold a first meeting By 6/1/2013

Work with local, state, and national organizations to host quality sports tourism events at Manchester Meadows, Rock Hill Tennis Center, Cherry Park/Hargett Park/Terry Complex and Giordana Velodrome

Host 4 regional, state, or national events


Quality Services


Evaluate sports tourism’s economic impact

Evaluate sports tourism’s financial impact annually (calendar year) $ financial impact

Evaluate the number of hotel nights created as a result of sports tourism activities

Number of hotel nights

Build awareness and enhance the City’s nature based tourism efforts

Host tourism events at Glencairn Garden At least 4 events annually

GOAL: PROVIDE HIGH QUALITY ELECTRIC, WATER, AND SEWER SERVICES

Evaluate electric operations to ensure operational efficiency and customer service are maximized

Identify high traffic areas that require adjustments to traffic signal syn‐chronization

By 6/1/2014

Begin tracking system average interruption duration index (SAIDI), cus‐tomer average interruption duration index (CAIDI), and average system availability index (ASAI) to develop benchmarks for improving overall sys‐tem operation

By 6/1/2013

Implement Outage Management System By 1/1/2013

Identify the five worst power outage areas inside the City limits and de‐velop plans to improve reliability through operational and capital im‐provements

By 6/1/2015

Sports Tourism Economic Impact

$0

$5,000,000

$10,000,000

$15,000,000

$20,000,000$25,000,000

$30,000,000

$35,000,000

$40,000,000

$45,000,000

2009 2010 2011

By Year

Cumulative

Giordana Velodrome—Rock Hill’s newest sports facility


Quality Services


Evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of water operations

Comply with EPA and DHEC drinking water standards 100%

Remain above the American Water Works Association (AWWA) median for the amount of water delivered per employee

Above median

Evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of wastewater operations

Comply with EPA and DHEC wastewater treatment standards 100%

Remain above the median for the amount of wastewater processed per employee

Above median

Address the electric system’s maintenance and expansion needs

Complete electric capital projects according to the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) schedule

90% of CIP pro‐jects completed during scheduled fiscal year

Evaluate trim cycle per substation/circuit Attain industry standard cycle

Examine how rate structure/electrical system could be leveraged to at‐tract new customers and industries

By 6/30/2014

Address the water system’s maintenance and expansion needs

Complete water capital projects according to the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) schedule


Complete wholesale contract negotiations By 1/1/2013

Address the wastewater system’s maintenance and expansion needs

Complete wastewater capital projects according to the Capital Improve‐ment Plan (CIP) schedule


GOAL: ENSURE EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE AND PROACTIVE COMMUNICATION THROUGH ACCESSI‐BLE, RESPONSIVE, AND KNOWLEDGEABLE EMPLOYEES

Implement strategies that inform customers about specific public projects and initiatives, such as service interruptions, road work, utilities work, and zoning changes

Develop door knockers that front‐line employees can use to notify cus‐tomers of planned service interruptions

By 1/1/2013

Develop a communication checklist to assist with informing affected par‐ties

By 1/1/2013


Quality Services

Tasks (in bold) and Performance Target Plan Act Evaluate Target Evaluate and implement features/practices that will enhance customer service accessibility

Monitor the Call Center’s average call wait time Average call time 3 minutes or less

Ensure Call Center operates efficiently; monitor the average calls per day per full time agent

90 calls per day per full time agent

Expand and encourage the use of online service requests module via City website for customers and employees

10% increase in online service re‐quest activity per fiscal year

Establish process to provide customized electronic notifications via email, text, and phone based on customer selection

By 1/1/2015

Expand customer access to online services by equipping City facilities with technology points, such as kiosks or open computer terminals

At least 2 new technology points

Explore creation of mobile smart phone application for customers to sub‐mit service requests

By 1/1/2014

Provide comprehensive employee training and education regarding the importance of customer service and customer‐focused communication in our organizational culture Provide customer service training to new employees 100% of new hires

Develop and implement employee training on the Good Neighbor Values campaign

By 1/1/2013

75%

71%

71%

71%

77%

63%

68%

64%

73%

66%

74%

72%

87%

84%

81%

84%

0% 50% 100%

Knowledge

Responsiveness

Courtesy

Overallimpression

2003 2005 2008 2011

Percent “excellent” or “good”

Citizen Survey: City Employees

Customer Service Spotlight:

While the City of Rock Hil

l has a Call Center

staffed by four custo

mer service agents

who handle over 120

,000 calls each year,

Rock Hill firmly believes

that providing high

quality customer service i

s the job of every

city employee. The City provid

es customer

service training through

out the year.


Quality Services


GOAL: PROVIDE HIGH QUALITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SERVICES

Market Rock Hill as a preferred location for business growth Complete a redesign of the www.RockHillUSA.com website that will pro‐vide prospects a fully interactive experience in evaluating locations

By 1/1/2014

Hold marketing events for area brokers 2 events/3 meetings per year

Promote a business‐friendly environment that supports business growth and recruitment

Prepare a competitiveness analysis each year By 6/30 each fiscal year

Host meetings with developers and small business owners to solicit advice on how the City can support their efforts

2 meetings each year

Re‐recruit existing businesses by meeting with local business 2 meetings per month

Meet with the owners of Antrim regularly to discuss business recruitment Meet quarterly

Support the creation of full time jobs in the City’s business parks 500 new jobs in 3 years

Solicit and support new business investments in the City $50 million in new investment

Support RHEDC as a key economic development leadership and investment organization

Provide staff support to the RHEDC board and all RHEDC Committees 40 meetings per year

Create an economic development investment fund as a joint effort of the City and RHEDC

By 1/1/2013

Support and manage RHEDC investments 2 investment pro‐jects by 6/30/2015

Develop strategies to improve Rock Hill’s position in Columbia and the Charlotte region

Strengthen relationship with the SC Department of Commerce 2 staff visits to Co‐lumbia/2 events in Rock Hill per year

Encourage local leaders to seek positions with state‐wide organizations that influence economic development

3 local leaders repre‐sented on state‐wide organizations by 6/30/2015

Facilitate the City’s membership in New Carolina by identifying local lead‐ership to participate in planning activities with New Carolina

Representation on 2 cluster task force groups by 6/30/2015

Explore possible relationships with South Carolina’s research universities to support economic development efforts in Rock Hill

Contact economic development official at each of the 3 re‐search universities by 1/1/14

Participate in Charlotte Regional Partnership activities Attend 6 meetings per year; host 1 meeting in Rock Hill


Award‐winning Quality Places

Our quality places, and the events that take place at these venues, have received numerous awards and recognitions throughout the years. A few of these include:

Our vibrant downtown sets the stage for the annual ChristmasVille event– which turns downtown Rock Hill into a charming, picturesque holiday village and outdoor art festival. ChristmasVille was named South Carolina Event of the Year by the South Carolina Festival and Events Association (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011).

Glencairn Garden was named Attraction of the Year by the Olde English District Commission (2010).

The Cotton Factory was named the Best Commercial/Retail/Non‐residential Historic Rehabilita‐tion Project by the National Housing and Rehabilitation Association (2009).


An important part of fostering our community’s success is to ensure that we have quality areas, business parks, and overall development to offer residents, visitors, and potential businesses. Currently the City and many of its community and business partners are undertaking transformative development projects within our community, such as Riverwalk, Downtown East, and the Bleachery. Goals

1. Create a vibrant Old Town 2. Provide support for major development projects throughout the

community 3. Contribute to the success of the community’s business parks Transformative Vision and Projects Thanks to visionary civic, business, political, and administrative lead‐ers, a variety of exciting projects are unfolding in our community. Old Town—The City continues to promote and market the Old Town area as a key component to the City’s continued success. Old Town serves as host to many of the City’s cultural and so‐cial events. Riverwalk— Riverwalk is a multi‐phased, mixed‐use development that will boast an unparalleled collection of amenities, including the 3‐mile Piedmont Medical Center Trail, that is part of the greater Carolina Thread Trail system, and the Giordana Velodrome at the Rock Hill Out‐door Center. To learn more about Riverwalk, visit www.riverwalkcarolinas.com.

Quality Places



♦♦♦

Support Center City/Old Town Redevelopment Efforts

percent strongly/somewhat support

♦♦♦ “I think if you develop Old Town, I think it’s something that the entire community can enjoy, and it might be something that can bring the entire community to‐

gether” ‐focus group participant

♦♦♦

“If they can turn the Bleachery into part of downtown and expand, then the more you make a center city or an epicenter in the community or kind of like the place where everybody can come together and

–I think once you create that, that’ll help... if you’ve got one central commu‐

nity, a center place…” ‐focus group participant

♦♦♦

“Riverwalk, that appeals to a lot of na‐

ture people, people who like to go hiking, canoeing and kayaking —it’s diverse.”


Old Town Amphitheater crowd at the Charlie Daniels concert.

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Quality Places


GOAL: CREATE A VIBRANT OLD TOWN

Promote Old Town as a vibrant business area in Rock Hill through effective marketing, meeting with the business com‐munity, and implementing the Old Town Jobs Strategy Provide City Management recommendations on establishing special pro‐grams/facilities for business growth such as incubators, innovation center, etc.

By 7/1/2014

Expand the www.RockHillBleachery.com website as the key business/jobs marketing platform for all of Old Town

By 6/30/2013

Create a marketing/branding plan for Old Town as a place for business By 1/1/2014

Develop/implement strategies for small businesses to own real estate efforts in Old Town

By 1/1/2014

Support the Rock Hill School District in its interest in relocating adminis‐trative offices to Old Town

Respond to 100% of RHSD inquiries re‐garding relocating

Meet with downtown small business owners both individually and collec‐tively to gather specific needs and list partners that can assist them with expansion

Meet with at least 15 business owners each fiscal year

Produce a development plan for the Lowenstein Building By 7/1/2013

Organize meetings with the Old Town Leadership Group and facilitate economic development initiatives within group to support Old Town and other key business initiatives

Attend 100% of meetings

Recommend/implement policies and incentives as part of the Old Town Jobs Strategy

By 6/30/2013

Number of new and existing Old Town businesses receiving incentives # receiving incen‐tives

Attract new housing to Old town

Create a redevelopment strategy for Textile Corridor neighborhoods By 6/30/2014

Attract and support residential construction in Old Town 40 new residential units by 6/30/2015

Engage the community in Old Town planning and design activities

Conduct focus groups of downtown residents, businesses, and other com‐munity stakeholders to discuss their perceptions, vision, and thoughts of Downtown

2 focus groups

Create a special citizen task force to: identify spaces and structure/uses that detract from the visual and functional aspects of Old Town, identify improvements to the physical environment o downtown that may im‐prove safety, and identify and recommend opportunities to create special places in downtown to exhibit art, provide gathering places, etc.

By 6/30/2015

Evaluate crime and the perception of safety in the Downtown area

Maintain/reduce Downtown violent crime per capita from three year trend

Maintain/reduce crime per capita

Maintain the percentage of citizens who feel safe in the downtown area during the day

87%

Increase the percentage of citizens who feel safe in the downtown area after dark by three percentage points over the next three years

54%


Quality Places

OnlyinOldtown.com is the official guide to all things happening in the Old Town area.

Tasks (in bold) and Performance Target Plan Act Evaluate Target Organize, manage, market, and support Old Town events

Work with Rock Hill School District and Winthrop University to host down‐town events targeted at attracting high school and college students

3 events

Monitor OnlyinOldtown.com website traffic Number of visits per fiscal year

Build marketing partnerships with Comporium, the Arts Council, and oth‐ers to support Old Town businesses and events

By 7/1/2014

Design and construct infrastructure projects to enhance Old Town’s vibrancy and economic growth

Make recommendations regarding the next phase of Old Town Amphi‐theater improvements

By 1/1/2015

Ensure that the Old Town Market is operational By 1/1/2013

Make progress on railroad sidetrack extension project Complete phase 1 by 6/30/2014 Phase 2 ready for construction by 6/30/15

Solicit developer(s) to partner with the City and other Old Town stake‐holders to plan for and attract new investment to Old Town

Issue RFQ by 1/1/2013

Report results of the Streetcar Master Plan and identify next steps By 1/1/2013


Quality Places

Tasks (in bold) and Performance Target Plan Act Evaluate Target Complete White Street improvements

Phase 1 by 1/1/2014 Phase 2 by 1/1/2015

Complete Downtown East Park and streetscapes By 1/1/2015

Complete Oakland Avenue streetscapes By 1/1/2015

Complete the Woolworth Walkway By 1/1/2015

Complete environmental assessment and cleanup projects in Old Town

Complete the Arcade Mill Voluntary Cleanup Contract By 1/1/2013

Complete the Annex Voluntary Cleanup Contract By 1/1/2015

Implement action steps identified in the College Town Action Plan

Initiate a targeted pro‐active code enforcement program in neighbor‐hoods surrounding Winthrop University’s campus

By 1/1/2013

Begin implementation of College Town Area Bike/Pedestrian Plan By 1/1/2013

Work with Winthrop to develop marketing materials to attract college oriented restaurants and businesses to available or planned space

By 1/1/2014

GOAL: PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR MAJOR DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY

Continue to encourage development of the Bleachery site

Complete all cleanup related projects at the Bleachery site By 7/1/2014

Develop a conceptual infrastructure plan for the Bleachery site By 1/1/2013

Support the Riverwalk development

Complete The Greens, public open space, at the Rock Hill Outdoor Center By 8/1/2013

Complete construction of BMX Supercross facility By 10/31/2012

Complete construction of the canoe/kayak launch at the Rock Hill Out‐door Center

By 7/1/2013

Complete design phase and begin layout of mountain bike trails at the Rock Hill Outdoor Center

By 10/31/2012

Work with York County, the Carolina Thread Trail, and Norfolk Southern Railroad to develop plans for connecting the Rock Hill Outdoor Center Trail with the River Park Trail

By 7/1/2014

Support private development in the Galleria/Manchester area

Build missing segments of the pedestrian system to serve the Galleria area $25,000 in improve‐ments per year

Support SC DOT’s efforts in completing the Exit 79 southbound ramp im‐provements, completion of streetscape, and pedestrian improvements

City design goals met

Regularly discuss development opportunities with owners/developers Twice per year


Quality Places

Tasks (in bold) and Performance Target Plan Act Evaluate Target Support private development on Saluda Street and at South Gate

Regularly discuss status of the South Gate project with developer Once per quarter

Support private development along Cherry Road Corridor

Complete three subarea plans for Cherry Road By 1/1/2014

Provide support to complete all infrastructure improvements related to the Ross Store project

Manage state grants for infrastructure projects 100% grant com‐pliance

Complete the relocation of Paddock Parkway By 6/30/2015

GOAL: CONTRIBUTE TO THE SUCCESS OF THE COMMUNITY’S BUSINESS PARKS

Support, assist, and encourage development in publicly and privately owned business parks

Solicit and support development in business parks over the next three years

$200 million in investment

Encourage the development of spec buildings over the next three years at least 1 new spec building

Seek to pre‐grade sites at Waterford and/or TechPark for new business investment

At least 1 pre‐graded site

Develop a working group to identify and plan a new publicly‐owned busi‐ness park site

By 7/1/2013

Support the development of infrastructure to serve Riverwalk Business Park

Respond to oppor‐tunities presented by developer

Communicate frequently with owners of private business parks 6 contacts per month

The Antrim Business Park and the future Riverwalk Business Park are just two of the many business parks located in Rock Hill. To learn more about the various business parks in our community visit http://www.rockhillusa.com.


Award‐winning Quality Community

Our community’s quality of life has received numerous awards and recognitions throughout the years. A few of these include:

Rock Hill was named one of the 100 Best Communities for Young People by the America’s Promise Alliance (2006, 2008, 2010, 2011).

Rock Hill was featured as the Best Place to Raise Kids in South Carolina by Businessweek Magazine (2009, 2010).

Rock Hill was designated a Playful City USA Community by KaBOOM (2010, 2012).


There are many initiatives that the City undertakes and supports in efforts to enhance the quality of life within our community. These ini‐tiatives are wide ranging including: supporting our many neighbor‐hoods, providing comprehensive planning that ensures housing and transportation needs are met, fostering a diverse and inclusive com‐munity, building public trust, and encouraging public engagement. Goals

1. Strengthen neighborhoods through partnerships that promote community, identity, and livability

2. Evaluate and implement the City’s comprehensive planning and zoning initiatives to ensure quality development throughout the community

3. Provide for a coordinated transportation system that supports the City’s growth goals

4. Offer a variety of opportunities to engage citizens and build public trust

5. Cultivate partnerships that encourage a wide range of cultural, rec‐reational, and educational opportunities for all ages

6. Develop and implement strategies to reinforce a sense of commu‐nity and strengthen civic pride among the citizens of Rock Hill

Comprehensive Planning In November 2010, the City of Rock Hill adopted the Vision 2020 Com‐prehensive Plan following an extensive 30‐month public planning proc‐ess. The Comprehensive Plan serves as a guide to community decision making regarding growth and development, public facility investments, and regulation of land uses. Its intent is to ensure that in the future, Rock Hill develops and grows in ways that enhance the community's economic vitality and overall quality of life for residents, stakeholders, and visitors. Several of the Comprehensive Plan’s phased recom‐mended action steps are included in the Strategic Plan.

Quality Community



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Overall Quality of Life in Rock Hill percent rated excellent/good

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Sense of Community in Rock Hill percent rated excellent/good

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“You know, it’s just a local, clean com‐munity. Part of the reason my wife and I moved down here three years ago was because we really like the place, we like the people. It’s just a nice, fun commu‐nity. We’re going to live the rest of our lives here, and hopefully, it’ll be a long one. This is where we wanted to be.”


Community meetings ‐ Comprehensive Plan development

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Quality Community


GOAL: STRENGTHEN NEIGHBORHOODS THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS THAT PROMOTE COMMUNITY, IDENTITY, AND LIVABILITY

Examine the strengths and weaknesses of the local housing market and its impact on neighborhoods and new develop‐ment Track the number of foreclosures in the community By 12/31 annually

Refer qualifying homeowners to the South Carolina Homeownership and Employment Lending Program’s anti‐foreclosure program

Refer 10 home‐owners

Examine and support affordable housing opportunities within the community

Explore funding sources for possible expansion into rental housing for seniors

By 7/1/2013

Engage neighborhoods to promote community building

Increase the number of neighborhood associations and/or reengage inac‐tive neighborhood associations

Add 2 new asso‐ciations/reengage inactive associa‐tions annually

Encourage neighborhood participation in National Night Out Add 2 new neighborhoods to the event annually

Implement practices that contribute to neighborhoods throughout the City being well maintained

Code Enforcement — average number of calendar days from case initia‐tion to voluntary compliance

At or below me‐dian days (ICMA)

Code Enforcement — rate of voluntary compliance At or above me‐dian rate (ICMA)

Review demolition practices By 7/1/2013

Examine rental housing standards By 7/1/2014

Expand PACE (Pro‐active Code Enforcement) project to neighborhoods outside the Urban Core area

1 PACE project outside Urban Core each fiscal year

Continue to work with targeted neighborhoods within the City

Weed & Seed Neighborhoods

Secure funding to continue the Weed & Seed initiative By 8/1/2012

Add two new contiguous neighborhoods (the Triangle and the Saluda Cor‐ridor) to the Weed & Seed Initiative

By 1/1/2013


Quality Community

Weed & Seed Neighborhood Clean‐up Event The Weed and Seed program reflects a comprehensive approach to community revitalization through the use of coordinated crime reduction activities combined with a mix of social, economic, and housing improvement programs in targeted neighbor‐hoods. Rock Hill Police Department assists with “weeding” out crime in the neighborhoods and a host of other departments led by Housing and Neighborhood Services assist with “seeding” positive initiatives into the neighborhoods. The community

plays a pivotal role by partnering with the City to assist with both weeding and seeding activities.

Tasks (in bold) and Performance Target Plan Act Evaluate Target Facilitate the establishment of a new Weed & Seed Board By 3/1/2013

Meet with Weed & Seed neighborhoods regularly 11 times per fiscal year

Paint homes within the Weed & Seed neighborhoods through Rolling in Rock Hill

5 homes per fiscal year

Perform PACE (Pro‐active Code Enforcement) project in Weed & Seed neighborhoods

1 PACE project per fiscal year

Saluda Corridor Neighborhood Association

Provide meeting space for the association and attend monthly meetings to provide support as needed

10 meetings per fiscal year

Neighborhood Inspections will direct focus on Saluda Street one week per month

12 times per fiscal year

Hagins‐Fewell Neighborhood

Construct/redevelop homes in Hagins–Fewell 1 home per fiscal year

Improve the Harden/Finley Road/Sidney Street entrance into the new development located in the Hagins‐Fewell neighborhood

By 6/30/2013

Continue Old Town neighborhood enhancement initiatives

Provide owner occupied rehabilitations within Old Town neighborhoods 25 per year

Continue the Old Town Pride Project with random inspections of urban core rental and owner occupied properties

10% of rental 800 owner homes each year


Quality Community


GOAL: EVALUATE AND IMPLEMENT THE CITY’S COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING AND ZONING INITIATIVES TO EN‐SURE QUALITY DEVELOPMENT THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY

Examine current development policies and practices

Evaluate the long term impact of code amendments made in response to economic conditions

By 7/1/2013

Provide City Council with policies to assist with meeting housing needs and fulfilling goals for new housing development

By 7/1/2014

Implement Comprehensive Plan growth policies as they affect the three major goals of infill, neighborhood design, and connectivity Implement development regulation changes and incentives By 7/1/2014

Adopt redevelopment plan and mixed use center plans identified in the Comprehensive Plan

By 1/1/2014

Propose an updated annexation policy to City Council By 3/30/2013

GOAL: PROVIDE FOR A COORDINATED TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM THAT SUPPORTS THE CITY’S GROWTH GOALS

Ensure there are opportunities for alternative transportation modes within our community

Analyze existing transit programs to determine if there are indicators sup‐porting expansion

By 7/1/2014

Evaluate participation/ridership level in transit programs Maintain or increase ridership

Coordinate land use and transportation planning and continue collaboration through RFATS and other regional efforts

Complete the Catawba River Crossing Study By 7/1/2012

Complete the RFATS Long Range Plan Update By 7/1/2013


Quality Community


GOAL: OFFER A VARIETY OF OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE CITIZENS AND BUILD PUBLIC TRUST

Expand and promote opportunities to educate citizens about city services and operations

Use the utility connection process as an opportunity to welcome newcom‐ers

Develop a compre‐hensive welcome packet

Continue to host Operations Center Open House Biennially

Promote and encourage civic engagement Explore ways to engage residents who commute to North Carolina for employment

By 4/1/2013

Promote and grow Open City Hall as a venue for citizen involvement One active topic per quarter; increase participation by 20% annually

Explore and implement new uses of social media to provide opportunities to educate, engage, and interact with the public

Implement 2 new uses of social media

Explore various mediums for which to advertise boards and commissions’ vacancies in an effort to increase participation

By 1/1/2013

Monitor the average vacancy age for boards and commissions’ openings Average vacancy age

Boards and commissions are a very important part of the legis‐lative process in the City of Rock Hill. Volunteers serve to re‐view detailed information regarding the topic of their authority and make recommendations to City Council.


Quality Community

Public Information Spotlight: Whether it’s our Twitter account

(@RockHillSCCity), Open City Hall on‐line forum, RH19 TV Channel, live streaming City Council meetings, or our many printed pub‐lications, it is our goal to provide convenient user‐friendly opportunities for our commu‐

nity to be engaged and informed.

Tasks (in bold) and Performance Target Plan Act Evaluate Target Develop a follow‐up initiative for graduates of Inside Rock Hill By 1/1/2013

Enhance current communication methods to more effectively provide information to a diverse audience

Create a variety of audio/video production formats suitable for assorted messages, audiences, and venues

Create 3 new se‐ries by 6/30/2015

Identify and implement website access portals targeted to specific citizen audiences, such as portals for newcomers and students

By 7/1/2013

Utilize printed publications, such as brochures, flyers and advertisements, as a source to communicate city information

6 newsletters an‐nually

Seek opportunities to enhance public trust by sharing information in an accessible, convenient manner

Identify website enhancements to better highlight accessibility of infor‐mation including dashboards, financial records, and public meeting infor‐mation

Implement en‐hancements by 6/30/2013


Quality Community


GOAL: GOAL: OFFER A VARIETY OF OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE CITIZENS AND BUILD PUBLIC TRUST (continued)

Develop a campaign to promote live streaming of Council and Planning Commission meetings

By 7/1/2013

Identify alternate locations to hold public meetings relative to the meet‐ing’s topic, appropriate audience, and geographic location

At least 1 public meeting in alter‐nate location each fiscal year

Work to build a comprehensive list of community organizations and civic groups in order to facilitate communication and build community advo‐cates

By 4/1/2014

Identify appropriate community venues to serve as distribution points for information regarding city services and initiatives

By 7/1/2014

GOAL: CULTIVATE PARTNERSHIPS THAT ENCOURAGE A WIDE RANGE OF CULTURAL, RECREATIONAL, AND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL AGES

Examine opportunities to work with community partners to expand leisure opportunities

Continue to work with City Council appointed advisory commissions, advi‐sory committees, Rock Hill School District 3, and other citizen groups to identify the next potential major regional park site

By 6/30/2015

Conduct an inventory and evaluation of arts and culture program offer‐ings across the community and recommend new partnerships or pro‐grams to the Public Parks and Recreation Commission

Recommend 1 new program/partnership each fiscal year

Work with community partners to develop social opportunities for all residents inclusive of special populations, teenag‐ers and seniors Offer alternative sport opportunities to the teen population 1 sport opportu‐

nity each fiscal year

Offer adventure‐based programs targeted to the teen population 1 program each fiscal year

Engage Rock Hill School District to assist with hosting joint pep rallies for the three high schools

1 pep rally each fiscal year

Host concerts at the Old Town Amphitheater targeted to the teen popula‐tion

1 concert each fiscal year

Design cycling programs that provide access for special populations at the Rock Hill Outdoor Center

By 7/1/2013

Work with community partners to increase Rock Hill’s attractiveness to retirees

Work with Winthrop University to identify strategies that will assist in increasing Rock Hill’s attractiveness to retirees

By 6/30/2015

Continue to provide, support, and promote health and wellness initiatives

Provide leadership and support to implement goal of the ACHIEVE Com‐munity Action Plan

Implement 3 goals by 1/1/2014

Seek funding opportunities aimed at improving community health by con‐tinuing to facilitate partnerships and leverage resources

Identify & pursue 1 new funding source


Quality Community

Tasks (in bold) and Performance Target Plan Act Evaluate Target GOAL: CULTIVATE PARTNERSHIPS THAT ENCOURAGE A WIDE RANGE OF CULTURAL, RECREATIONAL, AND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL AGES (continued)

Offer a variety of exercise classes for youth and adults at all recreation centers

Number of classes offered each fiscal year

Complete the I‐77 crossing of the Galleria Greenway as part of the Trails and Greenway Master Plan

By 1/1/2014

Increase the number of marked family‐friendly bike routes 1 per fiscal year

Develop a community awareness and outreach program for the Giordana Velodrome

By 7/1/2013

GOAL: DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT STRATEGIES TO REINFORCE A SENSE OF COMMUNITY AND STRENGTHEN CIVIC PRIDE AMONG THE CITIZENS OF ROCK HILL Implement programs and strategies that enhance the sense of place and promote Rock Hill’s civic pride

Implement the Good Neighbor Values campaign By 1/1/2013

Work to foster social, racial, and cultural acceptance and promote community inclusiveness by identifying, planning, and participating in events that promote diversity and inclusiveness Partner with the Youth Council to host events that promote diversity and inclusiveness

2 events per fiscal year

Partner with the MLK Committee to host events that promote diversity and inclusiveness


Partner with the Committee on Human Relations to host events that pro‐mote diversity and inclusiveness


Partner with the No Room for Racism to host events that promote diver‐sity and inclusiveness


The City’s many boards and commissions are very active and host numerous

events that promote diversity, inclusive‐ness, and unity.


REMEMBER TO JOIN US ON OUR JOURNEY

Follow our progress as we address the tasks and goals included in this Strategic Plan. Each year the City publishes mid‐year and year‐end progress reports that quantify our progress at meeting the per‐formance targets included in the Strategic Plan. Using both quantifiable data and narrative informa‐tion, these reports provide meaningful information on both successes and challenges. To complement the semi‐annual progress reports, the City has a Performance Dashboard which provides monthly pro‐

gress updates on many of the goals included in the Strategic Plan.

Progress reports and the Performance Dashboard are available on the City’s transparency webpage: cityofrockhill.com/transparency

We commit to provide quality services.

We strive to be a quality community.

City of Rock Hill 155 Johnston St. PO Box 11706

Rock Hill, SC 29731 www.cityofrockhill.com

We seek to offer quality places.

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Strategic Plan FY2013-2015

Documents