They say they feel left out of the process.  Residents living near the site of the deadly Sofa Super Store fire say they want answers to why plans are being made for the future of the site without their input.

It all stems from the lack of advance notice for the first meeting of the newly-formed Charleston Firefighter Memorial Commission.  The commission will decide how to use the site of the Sofa Super Store fire to remember the Charleston Nine.  The firefighters lost their lives in June of last year. 

Residents living in the neighborhoods adjacent to the site did not find out about the meeting until after it took place.  They say the city promised to keep them in the loop regarding future plans for the site, now they’re upset because they say that’s not happening.  Jessica Jenkins says, “As a neighborhood and a community, we’re all upset.  We want some say, because it’s our neighborhood, it’s our backyard, but just to know what are you planning to do, is it going to be a training facility? Is it going to be a new fire station? Fine, but let us know, because we live here day in day out.“
Resident Mark McCoy says he’s being left out of the process. “I believe the community really needs a big input in this because we live here 24-7. Whatever is put in here is going to effect us the most.“
 
Charleston Mayor Joe Riley says the failure to provide public notice was a mistake.  He says this is the early stages of the process, and there will be a lot of opportunities for public input.  Riley says he apologizes to residents in the neighborhood and the entire community for the oversight, and says it will not happen again.  Mayor Riley says, “I accept the responsibility, so I accept the responsibility of the meeting not being notified.  It was just one of those things that fell through the cracks.  Each person who might have done it thought someone else was doing it, because it’s an unusual committee, but I accept the responsibility, and it won’t happen again.  The neighborhood will very definitely be a part of this process.  We certainly want to and expect to have input from the adjacent neighborhoods as we do from citizens of the whole community.“  Riley says the Commission discussed possible turning the site into a park or training facility.

The City of Charleston bought the sofa super store site for 1-point-8 million dollars. Mayor Riley says they are still working to form the memorial commission,  which was created a few months ago.  The commission will have more than thirty members, comprised of family members of the fallen nine, firefighters, as well as local, state, and federal political leaders.