By Lolita Huckaby
BEAUFORT
It’s been hot and the oppressive summer heat has probably contributed to keeping political activity to a minimum. That and the political primaries being behind us.
But Beaufort City Council, at its last meeting for a month, had its lively moments.
Three of the council’s most vocal critics, Amanda Patel, Graham Trask and Felice LaMarca were on hand to lambaste the elected officials on a variety of topics but primarily, their lack of “transparency.”
Patel, who has been an active online critic of City Council activities, continued her criticism of the manner in which the city – from the police department to the elected leaders – handled the distribution of public documents earlier last year involving a missing girl.
LaMarca continued her criticism of the city’s business dealings with the Beaufort County Economic Development Corporation, in executive session. She even asked to be allowed into the sessions if she made a pledge not to repeat what she heard.
Both Patel and LaMarca noted the secrecy issues continue as the council continues to hold closed-door discussions on the subjects.
Trask came right out and called the councilmembers “cowards.”
His comments came after accusing them of “bowing down” to, among others, Dominion Energy and their never-ending mutilation of trees in the name of maintenance.
On the topic of trees (seems there’s always a way to bring tree protection into a column when you live in a recognized “tree city”), several residents were on hand to voice their concern about the latest butchery of Dominion’s contractor.
The topic was even on the council’s agenda, but since Dominion declined to send a representative to the meeting, City Manager Scott Marshall explained he had to be the “messenger” giving a detailed corporate slide show of why tree canopies have to be trimmed to protect against service outages.
Marshall said cities have little leverage to oppose the tree cutting policies, a point those present objected.
If you think you’re powerless, you’re powerless, was the response Trask offered. He encouraged the elected officials to follow the lead of Martin Luther King Jr. and continue to fight for what is right.
Council members did agree it was time for the utility company to at least remove the secondary power poles that were installed when high transmission lines were run through the city in 2006.
The city manager said he would communicate those concerns.
One other tree-related matter: the council bid farewell, after six years, to Public Works Director Nate Farrow, who is moving out of state.
After years of making sure public spaces were looking nice, hanging Christmas decorations on street lights, picking up debris after storms, responding to dead animals in the road, and patching holes in broken sidewalks, Farrow said he would remember his time with the city fondly.
City tries to balance economic growth, traffic concerns
BEAUFORT — City Council, at their meeting last week, tried desperately to walk the tight-wire between economic growth and citizens’ concerns about development “creep.”
The subject was a rezoning request for the former Beaufort Gazette building on Salem Road, a one-story brick facility that has remained empty since the newspaper gang moved to Hilton Head Island in 2011.
The request was made by owners of Tidewater Windows and Doors who hope to operate a business out of the old office space and printing press.
Because those business plans require a zoning change, the matter came before the City Council, giving the public a chance to comment.
Comment they did, opposing the increase of more commercial space adjacent to a rapidly growing residential district whose traffic numbers are multiplying almost daily with the construction of new apartments at Garden Oaks and new homes at Salem Bay, Salem Point and Battery Point neighborhoods.
Their concerns about the future of traffic on their single, two-lane road were acerbated by knowledge that a senior citizen apartment complex adjacent to the Gazette location is somewhere in the city government permitting process.
But, in an effort to keep the business owner from moving his proposed operation out of the city limits, the council suggested creating a special exception zone which would allow the window/door distribution center to operate … but not the multitude of commercial and retail uses allowed under the proposed Downtown Mixed-Use zone.
City planning staff said they will work to create a new zone within the next three months and get it past the planning board. The business owner said he’d see.
Port Royal has speed bumps
PORT ROYAL — The town of Port Royal has a new splash pad. It also has new speed bumps.
In addition to the 28 speed bumps installed last year down Paris Avenue and throughout the “village” part of town, it was recently announced the coming of nine addition speed bumps to be installed in the Shell Point area.
The addition of the “traffic calming” devices is the result of at least five years of neighborhood pressure on the S.C. Department of Transportation, which owns those roads.
The town also paid for the bumps, to the tune of approximately $3,000 each.
The thing is, Beaufort city residents have been asking for speed bumps in their neighborhood in their neighborhoods for years, especially as traffic counts on “back roads” through residential areas have continued to increase.
But the city’s response always has been they’re not allowed on state-owned roads, which are most of the roads within the city limits.
Hmmmm???
Lolita Huckaby Watson is a community volunteer and newspaper columnist. In her former role as a reporter with The Beaufort Gazette, The Savannah Morning News, Bluffton Today and Beaufort Today, she prided herself in trying to stay neutral and unbiased. As a columnist, these are her opinions. The Rowland, N.C. native’s goal is to be factual but opinionated, based on her own observations. Feel free to contact her at bftbay@gmail.com.