This Week in Landrum……..
This Week in Landrum
From the City Administrator’s Office • Tuesday, September 8, 2026
A Note from the Administrator
This week’s letter comes one day later than usual because of the Labor Day holiday. City Hall was closed yesterday, and this week’s Council work session and Business Meeting are tonight, Tuesday, September 8. Before jumping into the substance below, a word about the holiday itself. Labor Day is one of the older federal holidays on the calendar, and it exists to recognize the contribution of American workers to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of the country. In a place like Landrum, that is not an abstraction. It is the people who keep the water flowing and the sewer working, the officers who keep the streets safe, the firefighters and rescue crews who show up when everything is on fire, the public-works team that keeps the parks and rights-of-way in shape, the clerks who make sure the record is accurate and the meetings are noticed properly, and the administrative staff who answer the phone when a resident calls City Hall. Small-city government is not run by algorithms. It is run by people. This week, one day late but with real intention, thank you to every one of them.
On the recruitment for the permanent City Administrator, an update. As noted last week, Caitlin Cothran (formerly Caitlin Martin, and herself a former Landrum City Administrator) is working alongside me and with Council on this search. Council will discuss the candidate pool and next steps in executive session at tonight’s meeting. The current goal remains to bring finalists to Landrum for in-person interviews by the end of September or, at the latest, early October. This is not a decision to be rushed. It is also not one to be delayed unnecessarily. We are moving as deliberately and as steadily as the process allows, because the person who takes on this role will shape the day-to-day life of the workforce we just took a moment to thank.
The full agendas and packets for tonight’s Council work session and Business Meeting have been posted on the City’s website consistent with our one-week-in-advance publication standard. Please review the materials in advance if you are planning to attend or comment. Public comment remains one of the most direct ways for residents to influence what Council considers, and tonight’s agendas include items on which the community’s voice matters.
On a personal note, as I continue to wind down my time as Interim City Administrator, my on-site hours in Landrum are down to approximately twenty-four per week. Deputy City Administrator April Williams is fully leading day-to-day operations, and the transition remains on the schedule we set at the start. I remain reachable to Council, staff, and residents whenever needed.
A Note from the Deputy City Administrator
Sometimes in life and in work, we finish a task but don’t quite hit the target we want. That very thing happened last week with the agenda publication. We had the agenda published on the website and sent out to everyone by the end of the day, one week before the deadline. However, it was very late that evening and we didn’t get the links posted on Facebook until the next morning. I want to take full accountability for that. It is important to celebrate that our goal was achieved but note that there is still room for improvement.
This is a common theme here at City Hall. There are days when we often celebrate many small victories and sometimes large ones. These victories come in subtle things such as a citizen coming by to thank us for a job well done or meeting a deadline or large things such as a new officer graduating from the academy or a staff member getting a new certification. However, there are days that we see things that need to be adjusted and we feel that we are taking two steps backwards. These days are exceptionally hard for us because we all want to exceed and be the best stewards of the city. We want to find the most efficient way to conduct business. We want to effect the changes that will make us the best we can for YOU, the people of Landrum, but we are human and we sometime fall a little bit off the mark. However, we promise that we will keep working and keep looking for ways to get back better and stronger. And as always, we welcome your input. Come by this week for our coffee with the city or stop by city hall to visit us. We would love to hear from y’all!
What Happened This Week
• Labor Day observed Monday, September 7. City Hall was closed; essential public safety services remained in operation. Thank you to the residents and businesses who observed the holiday with patience and to the staff who kept the on-call functions running.
• Finalized and posted the full agendas and packets for tonight’s Council work session and Business Meeting, consistent with our one-week-in-advance publication standard. Materials are on the City’s website.
• Continued work on the permanent City Administrator search, including preparation for tonight’s executive-session discussion with Council on candidate pool and next steps.
• Follow-up from last week’s MASC on-site visit, integrating the finance and internal-controls practices they walked through with our new CFO into ongoing FY 2025-2026 close-out and pre-audit preparation.
• Continued cross-jurisdictional coordination with Spartanburg County, including on Cardinal Point RV Park and other projects near the City’s border.
• Continued Frohlich Property conservation easement work toward closing.
• Continued planning and zoning inventory and assessment with the City Attorney.
• Continued on-boarding of our new IT provider, Acumen, and continued rollout of the International Property Maintenance Code enforcement program.
What We’re Working on Now
• Tonight’s Council work session and Business Meeting, including the executive-session discussion of the City Administrator search.
• Candidate outreach, screening, and interview logistics for the permanent City Administrator, with a goal of in-person finalist interviews in Landrum by end of September or early October at the latest.
• Finalizing FY 2025-2026 close-out and internal materials for the October independent third-party audit.
• Drafting balanced growth-management options with the City Attorney for future Council consideration.
• Planning the quarterly public long-term planning work sessions Council intends to establish; dates and format to follow.
• Planning and zoning inventory and assessment, with recommendations expected to flow to Council in the months ahead.
• Implementation planning for the new municipal court system, which must be in place by December 31, 2026.
• Next steps from the Classification and Compensation Study following budget adoption.
• Frohlich Property easement finalization.
• Coordination with School District One on site plans for the new school.
• Engagement with the South Carolina Main Street Program.
• Maintenance and improvement discussions with Spartanburg County Parks and Recreation District.
• Standing by to assist the Northside (Simmons St.) Park property owners as they clear title through the probate courts.
Looking Ahead
• Tonight, Tuesday, September 8: Council work session and Business Meeting. Full agendas and packets on the City’s website.
• End of September / early October: in-person interviews with City Administrator finalists anticipated in Landrum.
• October: engagement with our third-party independent auditors begins for the FY 2025-2026 audit.
• Continued follow-up engagement on the Saluda Grade Trail. More information at saludagradetrail.org.
• Patriot Day 9/11 Ceremony at the Landrum Depot at 6:00pm.
• Hogback Mountain Day, this Saturday, September 12, 2026 from 10:00am-4:00pm.
• Landrum High School Homecoming Parade, Thursday, September 17, 2026 at 4:00pm.
• Every Saturday 8:00am–12:00pm: Landrum Farmers Market.
• Landrum Rail & History Museum opens every Saturday from 10:00am-2:00pm through October 31, 2026.
• Coffee with the City: September 24, 2026 Third Space Coffee & Bakery
• Continued follow-up engagement on the Saluda Grade Trail. More information at saludagradetrail.org.
Questions or concerns? Reach us at 864.457.3000 or requests@cityoflandrumsc.com. We always want to hear from you.
Respectfully,
J.J. Sauve, Interim City Administrator
April Williams, Deputy City Administrator
Tricia Taber, Communications Director