New Honea Path Mayor Hit the Ground Running

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

It’s been less than two months since he won Honea Path’s special election for mayor, but Dr. Jimmy Smith has hit the ground running.

It's no surprise given that Smith has spent his entire life in the town, serving as both family physician and fire chief for decades.

Among the first projects is returning the town hall offices back to the original historic downtown location.

“We’re making good progress on that,” said Smith. “We actually had an engineering firm come in and do a structural evaluation of the old building to identify any hazards such as mold and asbestos and things like that. And we're going to put in for a grant, it's called a stabilization grant through the state.”

As cleanup of the old structure is under way, the process of emptying the building has also begun.

“My goal is to have all the renovation done within the coming year or get all the grants off within the coming year and actually get the work done and moved in by the second year,” said Smith.

The building will house city offices, including the mayor, town clerk, council chambers, as well as adding a drive-in window for payments of such things as water bills.

An electric lift will serve to provide access for those with accessibility issues.

“I think it'll be a great thing,” said Smith. “It will put a lot of foot traffic back downtown, and once we fix our own building up, we can request that people start fixing their buildings around it.”

After the move, the current town hall will provide expanded space for the magistrate and for his hearings and the courtroom.

Smith also discussed new businesses opening or preparing to open in Honea Path, as well as housing starts, other growth and upcoming events in this interview with the Anderson Observer.