By Kelly Cornelius

I attended the June 26th, 2023 City Council meeting to put my questions and concerns regarding the Williamsburg Street tree massacre, or “mistake” as the City has termed it, on the record. I wondered: Just whose project is it?

Below is the transcript from that meeting.

Transcript

Kelly Cornelius: My name is Kelly Cornelius. I came down this evening with concerns about the Williamsburg Street tree massacre as well. I was able to find a report on the AMDC’s website that is still up, and it’s called the Williamsburg final draft report, and that was done by a company named Origin Landscape Architecture. I looked them up. They were dissolved, like the AMDC, but they were dissolved earlier on February 3, 2022. I also read the award letter that was posted on the Facebook page of the Aiken Chronicles, and it was dated February 15, 2023, and it awarded $1.4 million to Quality Plus services, and it referenced a December 15, 2022 due date for the proposal. Now if you recall what was going on. December 15, 2022 the AMDC was down to a party of two because on December 14, I believe, is when Mr. Jameson put in his resignation.

The AMDC did not have a quorum when the proposal due date came about, so my question is, who awarded Quality Plus Services this project? Because we didn’t have an AMDC, and you all would not have your first meeting as the AMDC until March 13, 2023. When was the streetscape project transferred, and who was it transferred to? Because I’ve seen on the most recent Aiken corporation agenda there were two agenda items regarding the project. One was an update… there was just two things on there. So are they in control of it now? Are you in control of it now? Who is in control of the project. ?  

[silence] 

Kelly Cornelius: Anybody? …….Bueller? 

Stuart Bedenbaugh: We’ve always been

Rick Osborn:  Kelly…. [then, spoken under breath to Bedenbaugh, “I’m going to answer this”) We’re in control of it 

Kelly Cornelius: So it’s the City?

Stuart Bedenbaugh: And has been from the start. It’s been a CBDG project. It has never been an AMDC project, the project you reference. What, um… So anyway… it is….

Kelly Cornelius: On the sign it says AMDC out there, but now there’s a piece of tape over it. 

Stuart Bedenbaugh: Yes, I think that was related to the Jackson Petroleum property at Williamsburg, on the southeastern corner of that  — that was the AMDC component. The Parkway project that you referenced earlier has always been a CDBG project. The public hearing I referenced several minutes ago that was March 26, 2021 was held under the auspices of the Community Development Block Grant program,  so I wanna make that clear. It was not an AMDC project. That is just not correct.

Kelly Cornelius: So that report found on their website is not associated with this project at all?

Stuart Bedenbaugh: I don’t have the report in front of me, and I can’t answer that. I just don’t know. I mean, if you had reached out to me ahead of time I could have that answer. I will look and report that in the next issues an updates memo. 

Kelly Cornelius: I agree with what Ms. Lance said, I think it should be stopped until everybody is clear on this. 

Later, $100,000K worth of invoices were found from Cranston Engineering with checks attached for the Williamsburg Streetscape Improvements paid for by the Aiken Municipal Development Commission on their financials binder page.

Exhibit A:

Photo of first bill for $32K

Photo of last bill found on the AMDC Financials Binder

Notice that the Bid Phase (highlighted) in the contract amount column, below, is the only one not paid for. That bid process seems to have started after the AMDC was left without a quorum, as evidenced by the email below obtained in a recent FOIA request.

A review of a recent article in the Aiken Chronicles revealed this piece of the puzzle, which is a March 9th, 2023 invoice from Cranston for the same project showing the Bid Phase paid. While the invoice is addressed to the AMDC, it is now paid by the City of Aiken. The invoice also has the same project number as the AMDC paid bills.

Follow-up

Unable to find the March 26th, 2021 minutes referenced by City Manager Bedenbaugh, I emailed him on July 17th, 2023 asking him to provide a copy of them as well as requesting an explanation on the AMDC funding of the design portion of this project. So far no response has been received on my inquiry.

There is reference, however, in a 5/09/2022 City Council agenda CBDG Committee update to the loan being released for the Williamsburg St project, which stated “work is already in progress with consultants.”

So if this is strictly a City project why did the AMDC sign the checks for the design portion? Recall failed the Project Pascalis was funded by the City’s “Parkway” Bond but it was still an AMDC project.

To Review

Here is what we already knew before finding the cancelled AMDC checks:

a) A plan for the Williamsburg St Redevelopment Project was and is on the now dissolved AMDC’s website. This plan can be viewed here.

b) The sign at the scene of the tree massacres on Williamsburg St had an AMDC logo on it which later was taped over.

The City has since officially put the Williamsburg Streetscape project on pause, and, in this interview, Mr. Bedenbaugh was unwilling to point fingers as he took one one for the “team.”

In the wake of the past year’s losses, which include $9.6M for downtown properties encompassing a historic hotel that continues to rot, the loss of Public Trust and now the loss of some of our Tree City’s beloved parkway trees, it seems someone on this team should be held accountable. Why are citizens still having to ask the hard questions while officials refuse to do so?

___________________

Additional links

• Invoices /checks can found on the AMDC financial binder webpage
• The $1.4M Award letter to Quality Plus Services
• The signed contract for the tree massacre: