By Lolita Huckaby
BEAUFORT
You gotta hand it to the downtown Beaufort merchants. Most of them are wearing smiles worthy of a beauty queen despite the bad hand city and state officials have dealt them by starting a multi-million dollar digging project right at the beginning of the busiest holiday shopping season.
When city officials announced less than a month ago that the long-anticipated downtown area stormwater drainage renovation had to be completed by the end of 2026 or federal funds could be jeopardized, the announcement included plans to close the central Charles and Bay Street intersection for several weeks.
While initially there was much “weeping and wailing” by retailers who saw the potential of their primary shopping season going up in smoke, the merchants quickly adopted a “can do” attitude to make lemonade out of the lemons.
The city officials extended the free parking opportunities in the downtown marina parking lot, a tradition for the past several years although it traditionally ran from Thanksgiving to the new year.
A number of merchants urged the officials to consider making all parking spaces downtown free, but city officials declined to honor that request, noting that past parking studies included free parking did not lead to more shoppers.
The nonprofit Freedman Art District organization stepped in and quickly organized a special pop-up “Mistletoe Market” for downtown merchants to be held Thursday, Dec. 11 through Saturday, Dec. 13 in the Tabby Place on Port Republic Street, the weekend after Night on the Town activities and the Christmas parade which will be rerouted down Craven Street instead of Bay.
The business community has, indeed, stepped up and just as an observation, it looks like locals are responding by hazarding the new Bay Street detour signs and beginning their Christmas shopping in downtown shops early.
The restaurants located in the area appear relatively quiet, but … despite the decorations and marketing, it’s not CHRISTMAS yet so hopefully that will pick up this week as relatives come home for Thanksgiving.
In the meantime, it’s expected merchants will continue to wear those big smiles and try to explain to visitors why the downtown area is being plowed just in time for Santa.
PTAC reminded they have no authority over tree removal
BEAUFORT — One citizens’ group that’s not wearing smiles right now is the city’s Park and Tree Advisory Committee.
Since the Gulf Stream Construction company contractors cut down a live oak at the foot of Charles Street two weeks ago, in anticipation of the stormwater drainage work, citizens have asked “why” and “how come the PTAC didn’t do something about this?”
Members of the five-member citizens panel, which is charged with protection of the city’s trees as well as parks, are asking those same questions.
It turns out the city capital improvements coordinator did tell them, at their October meeting, with a promise that the tree would be replaced, or “mitigated,” somewhere else.
And, as City Manager Scott Marshall reminded them during a special meeting last week, they’re an ADVISORY board even though the board is a requirement for the U.S. Tree City designation which Beaufort has held for the past 33 years.
Plus the removal of trees, in fact all aspects of this public utility project are exempt from the routine city regulatory procedures, which would have included removal permits, according to the city manager.
No answers yet on how many trees will be removed, or damaged as the project bulldozers move north to King Street. There is at least one sycamore at the corner of Charles and North slated for removal, according to information provided by email to the committee.
In the meantime, PTAC members are expected to be on hand for the Dec. 5 city celebration of the state’s Arbor Day, where one tree will be planted, in honor of all those cut down this past year.
They, like the downtown merchants, will probably be wearing smiles, trying to make the best of the situation.
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.
