St. James Place
is proud to have been in the community since 1989. Brenda and Garey Gorey thank their business neighbors and the community for all of there support over the past 22 years! Here are a few of our mouth-watering options to get your taste buds dancing! • Buffalo Wings • Chili Cheese Fries • An Array of Salads • Grilled Reubens • St. James Melt • Philly Cheese Steak • All American Burgers • Burger Specials (Tex-Mex, San Angelo, Bleu) • Prime Rib • Baby Back Ribs • Steaks • Seafood A WID OF BEE E RANGE R AND PRODU WINE CTS TO CH OOSE FROM!
216 - A St. James Avenue• Goose Creek, SC • 843-793-1155
• Fettuccine • Chicken Sici • Tacoburrito • DESSERTS
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4 By the Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 City Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-7 Goose Creek Game Changers . . . . . . . . . .8 Dennis Harmon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 What makes Goose Creek great? . . . . . .11 Comprehensive Community . . . . . . . . . . . .
Happy Birthday City of Goose Creek!
50 never looked so good!
We
Goose Creek
Where community matters.
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CITY OF GOOSE CREEK
A comprehensive community ...
BY FRANK JOHNSON
The Gazette
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he idea of Goose Creek becoming a thriving, comprehensive city was unimaginable a half-century ago – and there were many doubters as recently as the early 1980s. Yet the evolution of Goose Creek has indeed taken place. And while the journey is still ongoing, there is little doubt that the city has made believers out of a region and a state. Goose Creek Mayor Michael Heitzler has presided over the evolution of the city – an evolution that has taken place physically and emotionally. “Goose Creek has developed as a state of mind more dynamically than any other way,” Heitzler said. “The idea that we would even exist as a dynamic, pulsing residential and commercial zone was unthinkable … for many years. “We still pride ourselves in being a delightful and safe bedroom community for Charleston …
but we envision ourselves as being a much more complete and comprehensive municipality, where people work, recreate and reside.” As it celebrates its first half-century, the completion of Goose Creek continues. No one knows what the future will bring – but continued growth seems certain. “There is a large hinterland that is ready to explode west, north and east of us,” Heitzler said. “Carnes Crossroads conceivably could become the busiest crossroads in the state.” Carnes Crossroads is one of five commercial centers that Heitzler sees as crucial components of future growth. As it enters its second half-century, Goose Creek can look back at its first 50 years with pride – while casting an ever-optimistic eye to a future filled with promise. “We are a safe, dynamic, diverse community,” the mayor said. “We already have 42 different ethnic groups. I’m very proud of that.”
File Photo
In addition to housing the city’s police and government offices, Goose Creek’s municipal center is a year-round host to a wide array of community events. Above, over 2,400 people attended 2009’s “Fabulous Fourth in the Creek” event.
LOOK to the future Goose Creek! GC04-546560
Dr. Karen King, O.D. 216F St. James Ave., Goose Creek 843-718-2020
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Clearview Auto Glass
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Repair and Replacement Specialists
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Congratulations to the City of Goose Creek on 50 Years of Great Service! Clearview Auto Glass is proud to be servicing the city of Goose Creek and surrounding communities for the past 25 Years!
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103 Commerce Place Goose Creek, SC 29445
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843.569.3300
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Locally Owned and Operated by Danny and Jan Moore
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Goose Creek By the Numbers! since Goose 50 Years Creek was
35 Years Mayor Heitzler has been the Mayor of Goose Creek
incorporated
405 Friends of the City of Goose Creek Facebook Page
330 City Employees
36,065
13 Parks Operated by the Goose Creek Recreation Department
500 residents when the city became incorporated in 1961 15 cents bought an RC Cola at Gowder’s General Store near the Mount Holly Railroad Station in 1961
30 Consecutive Years Without a Property Tax Increase 787,000,091 Gallons of water used in 2010
31 cents bought a gallon of gasoline in 1961
18 Members of Goose Creek City Council since 1980
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6 Treadmills at the Community Center F
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Rounds of Golf played at Crowfield Golf and Country Club in 2010
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Goose Creek… Congratulations on 50 successful years!
Holly Hill
Main Office 801 Gilway Ave. (803) 496-5011
Member FDIC
Summerville
Main Street Office 415 North Main St. (843) 873-3310
Summerville
Boonehill Office 1400 Boonehill Rd. (843) 875-2100
Summerville Sangaree Office 1710 N. Main St. (843) 875-2584
Harleyville
Office 143 West Main St. (843) 462-7661
Eutawville
Office 12181 Old Number Six Hwy (803) 492-7727
Ridgeville
Office 173 Church St. (843) 871-9553
Goose Creek
Office 106 Thomason Blvd. (843) 553-0344
SJ07-546655
www.fnbsc.com
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CITY OF GOOSE CREEK
1980 Goose Creek becomes the largest city in Berkeley County and long-time police chief Harvey Becker begins his tenure in Goose Creek as a patrol officer.
1971 Under the direction of Mayor Malvin Mann, Goose Creek officially refers to itself as the “City of Goose Creek.”
1985 Most of Crowfield subdivision is annexed to the city.
1974 James Richards becomes the fourth mayor of Goose Creek. 1978 The voters elect Mayor Michael Heitzler and all of his running mates. The new mayor begins his first four-year term. 1978 Goose Creek City Council employs long-serving Dennis Harmon as city administrator.
The Gazette’s front page tells the story of the Crowfield annexation in 1985 (left), and the groundbreaking at the municipal center in 1997 (below).
1994 Goose Creek joins with neighboring agencies to form the Lake Moultrie Regional Water Authority.
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THANK YOU to the City of Goose Creek for 50 years of service! And to the residents of Goose Creek, THANK
1999 The city and its Economic Development Authority conducts a three-day planning session that envisions a “downtown” in the tax increment finance district.
YOU, for using your #1 Voted
2000 Goose Creek City Council dedicates the Marguerite H. Brown Municipal Center.
Local Heating & Air company!!
2010 The city’s population approaches 40,000.
2011 GOOSE CREEK CITY COUNCIL
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The original minutes of the first Goose Creek Town Council meeting.
50 Years
1961 Three weeks after voters elected Waring Hilton Bunch as the first mayor of Goose Creek, the mayor gavels the first Goose Crek Town Council meeting to order.
1974 Goose Creek City Council dedicates City Hall at the corner of Farm Road and St. James Avenue.
CITY OF GOOSE CREEK
Photo Provided
Goose Creek Mayor Michael Heitzler (center) is pictured above with the 2011 Goose Creek City Council. Council members are (l-r) Jerry Tekac, Sal Gandolfo, Mark Phillips, Marguerite H. Brown, John McCants and Mayor Pro Tem Kimo Esarey.
109 Farm Road •| Goose Creek, SC 29445 Phone: 843-863-0967 Fax: 843-863-0117
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CITY OF GOOSE CREEK
Goose Creek’s Game Changers The Gazette
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oose Creek Mayor Michael Heitzler and City Administrator Dennis Harmon recently shared their thoughts on the crucial events – the game changers – in the city’s first
50 years.
• Strategic Planning Goose Creek City Council decided in the early 1980s to make a strategic plan. What followed was 30 years of controlled growth and progress that would forever change the city. “We were determined we were going to make choices and not leave the city’s destiny up to chance,” Heitzler said. “We were probably one of the first cities to get into that.” “The first strategic planning workshop we conducted was in 1981,” Harmon recalled. “In the past, city council had not come together to look at issues and look at long range goals and objectives. It started us thinking long term instead of thinking in the
current day.” A major part of the city’s plan was redevelopment; for an in depth look at Goose Creek’s ongoing downtown redevelopment, see page 1A of today’s newspaper.
• Zoning Ordinance
A zoning ordinance adopted by city council in 1978 comprehensively addressed Goose Creek’s appearance standards and building regulations. Again, a seemingly simple decision by the city’s leaders helped set the stage for the decades ahead. “It was a policy statement that indicated we were going to be a restricted city, and we were going to be careful about how we grew,” Heitzler said.
• Annexation of Crowfield
The residential area that was formerly owned by Westvaco Development Corporation was annexed into the city in the mid 1980s. “We knew that we had the destiny of a dynamic place after Crowfield joined us,” said Heitzler, who called city council’s aggressive stance concerning the area a bold step for Goose Creek.
“We annexed it in sections,” Harmon said. “Crowfield had a very positive impact on this city in that it was a totally planned development. “It was fairly upscale, but it also addressed a lot of different housing needs. It gave the city unprecedented growth opportunities. We were able to grow as Crowfield grew.”
• Regional Water
Goose Creek’s ability to join the Regional Water Authority in the mid 1990s ended the city’s reliance on Charleston Water Works for its water needs. The change was crucial for city residents. “You can’t control your own destiny unless you have the (basics covered),” Heitzler said. “We were paying double water rates.” “From 1980 to 1990, we had 13 rate increases,” Harmon said. “One of those years it even increased twice in one year,” Heitzler added. There have been no rate increases since the change was made in October of 1994. Heitzler said the water situation was slowing the city’s development.
The change “guaranteed us a reliable supply of water,” Harmon said.
• Tax Increment District
The city’s creation of a Tax Increment District in 1997 included around 1,000 acres of every commercial piece of property in the city – including the Crowfield Corporate Center. “That TID has been enormously successful,” Harmon said. “It built the municipal center, built the community center, it’s doing downtown redevelopment … and will do more before it ends next year.” Money obtained from the TID has addressed “infrastructure needs, water lines, public facilities, and downtown redevelopment,” Harmon added. In addition to the five “game changers” above, a host of other events have been important, including the city’s annexation of the Naval Weapons Station in the early 1980s; the assumption by the city of the Goose Creek Recreation District two years ago; and the emergence of area companies and corporations.
50th Anniversary:
Celebrating Our Future We honor the conscientiousness and constancy of the City of Goose Creek’s citizens and residents. I know that their outstanding improvement over the years could not have been achieved without community interest, vigilance and leadership. It required a dedicated sense of responsibility and a spirit of cooperation on the part of our supervisor and employees as we continue to celebrate our future.
Congratulations to the City of Goose Creek on 50 great years of service. Helping you meet your insurance needs is part of my commitment to you. Thank you for allowing my team to be there for you these past 36 years. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.® CALL ME TODAY
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FRANK JOHNSON
Thank you! Council Member John B. McCants GC04-554772
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Harmon: It started with the basics BY FRANK JOHNSON The Gazette
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“I think that we have put all of the elements in place – and we have done a lot of planning and a lot of goal setting, and a lot of other things to put us on the doorstep of doing greater things,” he said. Harmon had spent two years as Manning’s town administrator before accepting the same position in Goose Creek. “When I came here I did not expect to stay 33 years, or to end my career here,” he said. “I gave myself five years in Goose Creek.” It was during those early years when something changed. “I had not realized the potential that Goose Creek had,” Harmon recalled. “Being involved in a lot of the processes and achievements, and disappointments, I think it captured me. Even though I’ve had offers over the years to go different Photo Provided places, I very quickly developed a City Administrator Dennis Harmon has played a crucial role in the development of commitment to Goose Creek.” Goose Creek.
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hen 26-year-old Dennis Harmon arrived in Goose Creek from Manning in 1978, the young city administrator did not think he was making his final career move. Over three decades later, Harmon realizes he’s right where he belongs. Harmon has been an integral part of Goose Creek’s evolution. Like the mayor, he has held his position for literally the majority of the city’s existing years. According to Harmon, the city has grown from struggling to take care of its citizens’ essential services. “When I arrived here, we were dealing with infrastructure issues – water, sewer, roads – and before you can be great, you’ve got to address the basics,” Harmon said.
“Once we got past the infrastructure issues, we got into systems … the city’s ability to respond to the public. “There was a total lack of systems – financial, personnel, policies and procedures. We had to put those systems in place. “Then the third element, once we got infrastructure and systems in place, we moved on to a different era in the city, and that’s addressing cultural needs.” Those cultural, or “luxury needs,” include such niceties as the city’s popular hiker biker trail. “We are addressing different issues now than we’ve ever addressed in the past,” Harmon said. “That’s not to say we don’t still have to nurture and maintain infrastructure and systems, but it allows us to reach out to those other areas.” Looking ahead, Harmon said he believes the city is poised for a bright, exciting future.
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WE ARE PROUD TO HAVE OVER 40 YEARS EXPERIENCE COVERING THE GOOSE CREEK COMMUNITY!
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217 ST JAMES AVENUE • SUITE A-5 • ST. JAMES PLAZA • GOOSE CREEK
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CITY OF GOOSE CREEK
History key to keeping city unique Frank Johnson/Gazette
Goose Creek Mayor Michael Heitzler (left) and the city’s public information officer Jesica Johnson display several of Goose Creek’s historical booklets, many of which are on sale at the municipal center.
of A Touch hiaCongratulations to Philadelp City of GC for
Celebrating 50 Years BI01-545965
To the Town of Goose Creek, I send you best wishes for the future.
AUDITOR JANET BROWN-JUROSKO
Best Wishes for the Future We send our best wishes to the town of Goose Creek, in celebration of your 50 Year Anniversary, congratulations! The Town of Bonneau Mayor Rembert E. Wrenn And Town Council BI01-552147
Econo Lodge is proud to be in the City of Goose Creek! Congratulations on 50 years of great service! 401 Goose Creek Blvd. • Goose Creek, SC 29445 Phone: (843)797-8200 • Fax: (843)797-6639 E-mail: Gmsc131@comcast.net • www.choicehotels.com/hotel/sc131
the
50 Years of Service!
If you have not tried this Philly, you are missing out! Philly Cheese Steak is Goose Creek's Hidden Gem!
843-797-2012
134 St. James Ave • Goose Creek MON-SAT 9A.M.-9P.M. • CLOSED SUNDAY
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Congratulations to the City of Goose Creek on 50 Years!
Kidd Chiropractic Center Dr. Debbie Kidd
797-3290 105 Greenland Dr. Goose Creek Crowfield Executive Park GC04-553815
We are proud to serve such an outstanding community.
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Goose Creek has come a long way in 50 years. While continued growth is a safe bet, Goose Creek Mayor Michael Heitzler does not want that growth to come at the expense of the city’s unique heritage. “I want to prevent Goose Creek from being a boilerplate suburbia, and from being a boilerplate commercial center,” Heitzler said. “I want it to have a distinct personality and theme, wrapped around the only thing that makes it unique, which is its 330-year history. “I hope we can be more successful in branding us.” Heitzler is doing his part: The mayor’s annual historical lecture series has been a hit with residents; he has written several books on Goose Creek’s history, including a 50th Anniversary booklet that is for sale now at the municipal center; and his passion for the city’s history has been the push behind the historical markers
that can be seen throughout the city’s borders. The mayor said Goose Creek’s proximity to Charleston is a challenge when it comes to forming the city’s own identity – yet he sees inspiration in a city located thousands of miles away, on the West coast of the United States of America. “There is a little place called Salinas (in California, below San Francisco),” Heitzler said. “Salinas has not been gobbled up by San Francisco … even though San Francisco has a dynamic sense of place as does Charleston. Well, Salinas also has a dynamic sense of place and I want that same sense of place for (Goose Creek). “There is no community in North America ALICIA BORMANN that has a more dynamOWNER ic story to tell … but 431 SAINT JAMES AVE-K we disappeared for so long and have nothing GOOSE CREEK, SC 29445 tangible for people to 843-553-3612 hold. Consignment Made Easy: “I hope we can have Shopping Made Fun! the Goose Creek story written in plays, songs New2youcharleston@att.net and dramas.” WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/NEW2YOUCHARLESTON
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The Gazette
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BY FRANK JOHNSON
Member SIPC
CONGRATULATIONS GOOSE CREEK on your
50th Anniversary! from the Town of Jamestown
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What makes Goose Creek great? CITY COUNCIL MEMBER MARGUERITE BROWN
PETE PATEL
When they were asked where they live, people used to say, “I live north of Charleston.” Now, people say with pride, “I live in Goose Creek.” I think that is important. We have grown into a respected city … into something we can all be proud of.
RESIDENT SINCE 2001 Goose Creek is a nice, quiet, small community. The city officials really work hard to make it happen every day … I love this community, and being part of it.
TREMAYNE WILLIAMS
RESIDENT SINCE 1989 It’s peaceful here, and a nice place to live. Goose Creek has good schools. And I like the girls.
CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JOHN MCCANTS RESIDENT SINCE 1973
Over the last 50 years a lot of changes have happened that have been a betterment for the citizens and the city. It’s been a blessing to be in this area and see those changes.
RESIDENT SINCE 2010
I like the atmosphere of Goose Creek. I like the people. I lived in Columbia for 10 years before coming here, and it’s like this is another state. I like it much better here.
CHRISTMAS
RESIDENT SINCE 2001
I love the recreation program, from the gym to the sports activities. For my family of four, we have participated in football, T-ball, baseball, swim lessons, gym activities, and aerobic and zumba classes. It’s been a great experience for us!
RESIDENT SINCE 1998
RESIDENT SINCE 1969
SHARIEF TRAYLOR
KATHY
BECKY FORD
REP. JOE DANING
Goose Creek has the warmth and hospitality of a small town but with all the services and conveniences of a city. This is a great town and wonderful place to raise a family and enjoy a quality of life not offered in many other cities.
RESIDENT SINCE 1967
I especially love the running trails, and as a family we enjoy that it is convenient to so many places in the region. Within 20 minutes I can be at work or we can be at the boat landing.
KIM JOHNSON
RESIDENT SINCE 1997 I have enjoyed all of the years that I have resided in Goose Creek … it is the nicest city in the Lowcountry as far as I am concerned. The neighborhood where we live is one of the older ones but it is located close to all the amenities and restaurants. We raised two children in this same neighborhood. They are now grown and my son still lives in Goose Creek. We all graduated from Goose Creek High School, the best school around in my opinion.
~ The best American style restaurant & pub in the Goose Creek area! ~ A great dining experience for the entire family! ~ 12 different craft, micro, and imported beer on tap. • Take Out • Delivery • Family Dining any purchase of $20 or more • Outdoor Seating TUESDAY NIGHTS • Serving Lunch 2 meals for $12.99 and Dinner SATURDAY NIGHTS • $5.99 Lunch Specials 2 Entree and a Dessert for $19.99 • Kids Eat Free on Monday!
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