The City of Aiken is clearly at a crossroads regarding downtown development, and the public continues to pay the price.
First, the current city administration, which seems determined to undermine the grace and charm which define the city, appeared in disarray at the last Council meeting on March 27th. It might have been laughable had it not been so sad in light of the seriousness of the issues.
Witness Mayor Osbon, who frequently insists on the need for civility, be decidedly uncivil, telling one resident who came forward with comments, “I don’t want to listen to them.”
At another juncture, after surpassing the time limit with the Parker’s Kitchen representative by his own acknowledgement, he began loudly repeating, “You’re over the three minute limit” to another resident speaking.
There was the issue of Councilmember Price abruptly calling for an executive session without the required procedural motion being made. There was Mr. Bedenbaugh unable to answer basic questions about the square footage and setbacks of the proposed Hampton Inn without a resulting gruffness on his part.
Yet the community is expected to accept decisions made by this Council and Mayor without a word. It is a travesty and an insult to the work of the original city planners as well as the administrations of Mayors Weeks and Cavanaugh who worked so hard to preserve Aiken’s uniqueness and welcomed public input and involvement.
Secondly, it is difficult to understand the rush to allow Savannah River Plant (SRP) to turn the downtown area into a modern-day mill town. How does this vision support what attracts visitors to Aiken? Tours of historic towns rarely, if ever, include new lumbering monolithic buildings and parking garages that are clearly out of step. SRP did not create Aiken, although it certainly has a significant place in its history.
It has its 60,000 square foot building going up at USCA, which makes perfect sense, unlike 45,000 additional square feet downtown. The current proposal ignores the contributions of townspeople to downtown and the enormous impact of the equestrian community, and is squarely at odds with the community’s wishes.
Meanwhile the Hotel Aiken, which could be central to revitalization, stands untended and forgotten. This will be the legacy of this administration if they persist. Remember in November.
Missy Durban
Aiken, SC
April 13, 2023
I was in attendance at that meeting and it was a complete embarrassment to see how inept the city council has become. They need to all consider stepping aside because they have clearly reached a low level of public service but rather than that it appears they will continue to disregard their mission and cater only to easy money and the greed that it has brought to Aiken.
Great letter Ms. Durban! This city council has destroyed Public Trust and put civility on life support. What will be the next victim of their actions? Hopefully their own political careers as Aiken deserves much better.