The number is clearly documented in the photos, below, taken between May 31 and June 25.. Each tree has its own designated number from 1-10. Different street perspectives are offered to help orient the location of the stumps/chipped remains of the trees along the street. Click on photos for full-size views.
UPDATE: Article updated 6/25/23 to correct information on the two saplings and to update the identifications of the felled trees.
On Monday, June 19, 2023, a gathering of twenty or so people met at the Aiken County Farmers Market. A number of the attendees arrived in City of Aiken vehicles, their presence drawing special notice due to the recent destruction of eight-ish trees in the historic Williamsburg Street parkway. The nature of the meeting is unknown.
When the city manager was asked afterward, via email, “Who were the attendees at Monday’s meeting? What was the purpose of the meeting? What discussions to place? What decisions? How can citizens be given, at the very least, have opportunity to hear what is being discussed?” he responded, “I cannot speak to the Monday afternoon meeting as I was not in attendance.”
In the absence of information from the City on this taxpayer-funded project, a citizen can turn to one of the two sets of Permit Plans for the Williamsburg Streetscape, both dated October 19, 2022, then mine for hints. Perhaps the answer lies in the “General Notes” section of the Permit Plans.
Also this week, a semi-truck stacked with temporary fencing was spotted inside the Jackson property. The gate to the property has finally been closed. This, in the wake of weeks of citizen requests and also the discovery of a deceased homeless man inside one of the buildings, his death serving as a reminder of the absence of housing for Aiken’s burgeoning homeless population and the dearth of safe, affordable housing for poor people in Aiken, many of whom are but one doctor bill, one sick child, one car repair away from homelessness. A sturdy new lock and chain have been affixed to secure this attractive nuisance.
Two portable lighted signs were also brought to Williamsburg Street — one at the intersection of Park Avenue, the other at the intersection with Richland Avenue — giving notice of the June 25, 2023 road closure. The signs haven’t been programmed to display the entire message on the panel, so travelers need to stop long enough to read the message, which displays one word at a time, providing a twist of comic relief to anyone old enough to remember the old Burma Shave signs.
According to the phasing notes, below, the Farmers Market will be open during construction, which answers the concerns by some that the timing of this project at the height of the summer growing season could negatively affect business for farmers and growers.
According to the demolition notes, below, the contractor was to install tree protection around existing trees.
Conflicting information regarding the chain of events leading to the destruction of the trees in the parkway — as well as the exact number of trees officially designated for destruction — makes it difficult to determine which trees were intended to be “existing trees” in this next, upcoming phase of demolition.
Timeline of Explanations on the May 30 Tree Demolitions as Offered by the City Manager over the past two weeks:
June 12, 2023, in City Council meeting: “On May 30 Work began on the Farmers Market project…. Eight trees were removed, which was distressing to many residents and non residents, and I share that distress along with some indignation towards the situation. This should not have happened.”
June 12, 2023, in City Council meeting: “It is not the contractor. They followed the plans…. The plans that the city gave them should not have been given to them. It was a set of plans that should not have been given to the contractor.”
June 21, via email: “One extra tree was cut, a post oak. It is my understanding that this decision was made based on the tree’s proximity to buried utilities.”
June 24, via email: “There is only one plan. The plan was wrong because it should not have removed several of the trees.”
As of Friday afternoon, June 23, there were two wee, newly planted saplings in the parkway, each one surrounded by protective fencing. The timing of the plantings, in advance of hot drought season, rather than during the recommended autumn-winter timeframe for planting trees — and in a construction zone, no less — is curious. Perhaps this is a partial attempt to comply with the “three new trees planted for every grand tree cut” rule to which Mayor Osbon referred in the June 12th meeting.
In addition to the three post oaks that were left uncut, there are two wee saplings that were planted some time back, their planting unrelated to the current chain of events. Both saplings are listed in Aiken’s tree inventory. One is a type of locust, which was planted by Robert McCartney of Woodlanders. The other is identified on the Aiken tree inventory as a Deodora cedar This brings the official number of trees in the parkway to five: three mature trees and two tiny saplings.
The math leading up to this point is dizzying. First, we learned that the wrong plan had been given to the contractor, causing eight trees to be removed. Then we learned there was only one set of plans, which suggested there were no wrong plans. Then we learned there were two sets of plans, after all — both dated October 19, 2022 — but the tree protection plan was the same in both, which left one wondering if the contractor should have received any plans at all. We learned that only one extra tree was cut. Then we learned, once again, that there was only one plan. But that plan, we were told, was wrong and shouldn’t have removed several trees.
Once again: How many trees were destroyed?
Curiously, if you go to the Williamsburg Street parkway today and count, you’ll find that a total of ten trees, not eight, were destroyed. There are six stumps visible from the northbound lane, one stump visible in the southbound lane, two chipped stumps visible in the southbound lane, and one chipped stump at the Richland Avenue end of the park. Among the felled trees were five large post oaks, one mature Eastern red cedar, one rare pine tree from Florida, (planted by Robert McCartney of Woodlanders as part of Aiken’s arboretum), two maples, and one other tree that is difficult to identify in photos.
We can reconcile the math and the semantics later. For now, the attention is better spent focusing on the events that brought us to this place, which feels a lot like the place we were at last year at this same time, when the City, in concert with the Aiken Municipal Development Commission, was poised to demolish nearly half of the downtown’s core block and, with it, several historic buildings and numerous thriving businesses.
Certainly, the ingredients to the story are unchanged: same cast of characters; same plot; same concerns among the public over compliance with municipal law, same closed-door meetings; same refusal to include Aiken citizens in important discussions about the future of our historic and beloved places; same excesses, extravagances, and wastes of taxpayer dollars; same brand of “revitalization” that seeks to demolish and destroy what makes Aiken, Aiken; same helter-skelter, redesign-as-you-go approach to fixing bad planning; same vision to rebuild Aiken to look like a thousand other towns on the map.
Peel back the slightly transparent white tape to get a clear view of who created this latest demolition project.
