Funderburk won’t run for another term as Fort Mill mayor

Two-term Mayor Danny Funderburk won’t seek a third.

Funderburk, 58, said it’s time for someone else to lead the town, and he’s confident someone will do it well.

“It’s been productive and I’ve enjoyed it,” said Funderburk, who will serve through the end of the year. “But I’ve always stated that, in my opinion, these elective positions aren’t meant to be held for life.”

Funderburk, director of business development for Rinehart Realty Corp., a job he took more than a year ago, began serving Fort Mill 14 years ago on the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals. He then served one term on the Fort Mill Town Council before two as mayor. A lifelong Fort Mill resident, Funderburk took over as mayor eight years ago by defeating longtime Mayor Charlie Powers in the general election.

The next mayor will be just the third in Fort Mill since 1983.

Funderburk took over at a time of national economic decline, which impacted Fort Mill, too. In recent years, the town surged toward record numbers of building permits and other markers of growth.

“It’s been an exciting and productive eight years,” he said, considering town accomplishments his past two terms. “Specifically, we’d likely include the guiding of the Clear Springs and Kanawha annexations in 2008 adding close to 5,500 acres to our incorporated town limits and essentially doubling the size of the town’s footprint.”

Some town accomplishments garner little public attention, but are important to residents, like making sure a growing town has adequate water and sewer capacity, Funderburk said. He said he believes those needs can be met for 30 years or more based on work by the council over the past decade.

“We’ve expanded treatment capacity at our existing wastewater treatment plant,” he said. “We’ve solidified agreements with regional partners, including Rock Hill, Tega Cay and York County, to minimize the cost of providing utility services and avoid any unnecessary duplication of services.”

“We take a lot of pride in the development of the spirit of volunteerism and participation we’ve worked hard to create,” Funderburk said.

“It’s resulted in great citizen involvement to help us create tremendous projects like the South Carolina Strawberry Festival, the Fort Mill Hall of Fame, the Fort Mill History Museum, the Fort Mill Economic Council and others.”

Funderburk said he doesn’t have immediate plans for his coming free time, but has unspecified projects he would like to put more time into.

The next mayor will face the same task Funderburk leaves facing – community growth. Funderburk cautions against either extreme, letting growth run rampant or restricting it entirely. Finding that medium will continue the perception Funderburk said he and others helped create in recent years, of Fort Mill as a top place to live, work and play.

“We’re comfortable that in the face of all the growth we’ve had, we’ve maintained our sense of community and held on to our appreciation of the history of Fort Mill, of the people, places and events that have combined to make this such a special place,” he said.

This story was originally published July 31, 2015 at 5:22 PM with the headline "Funderburk won’t run for another term as Fort Mill mayor."