On January 26, 2024, the Aiken Standard published statements from City Manager Stuart Bedenbaugh on the Smith Hazel Park project, among these an assertion that “the city has held several public meetings to discuss upgrades and tree removal, including a Sept. 11 public hearing.”
This statement is not accurate. As detailed in “What Public Hearing?” there there is no evidence of any public hearings on the Smith Hazel Park plans, nor have there been public discussions of the City’s plan to remove 68 trees.
Here, it must be stated; this issue is first and foremost about proper processes in governance. The trees are the collateral damage from the City not following proper process to provide public input in a public hearing on the Smith Hazel Park project.
Regarding September 11
The City Council held three meetings on September 11, 2023: a work session (to which the public is allowed to attend as spectator, but not permitted to speak), an executive session meeting (which the public is not allowed to attend), and the regular City Council meeting. The agenda for this meeting did not list a public hearing on the Smith Hazel Park project, nor were public notices issued before the meeting, which would have been required by law, were such a public hearing to be held.
During the work session, the City Council did indeed discuss both interior and exterior renovations, but information on tree removal was unclear. The exterior work was presented in the following two documents, one of which listed the DBH measurements of the trees slated for removal.
After the work session
During the non-agenda comment portion of the regular City Council meeting, a citizen asked about the number of trees to be removed and advised that clarification was needed. This would have been the ideal moment for City Council to divulge this information, but that did not happen.
“I would just like to comment on the agenda item that was included in the work session regarding the Smith Hazel renovation. It has a map and it has a page… referring to trees being cut down. But it really doesn’t give a lot of information. The information it gives us is confusing. There are something like 500 inches worth of trees, I’m not sure how that’s measured and what it means And 230 inches to be removed, which sounds like, to the uninformed person, that half of the trees in that area are going to be to be cut down. So I think that, rather than just let it sit at that, we ought to get clarification and get a map that shows what trees are being affected, and why. Because, as you know, we’ve had some not great situations with trees, And I think it’s important that we change the way we look at those things, and we change the way, we approach things, reducing the number of trees that get cut down in our activities.”
Bill McGee also spoke at this meeting. Referring to earlier mention in the meeting that some trees would have to be removed at Smith Hazel, Mr. McGhee stated that they (the SCA, or Schofield Community Association) have requested the City to come to the next SCA meeting on September 21, 2023 to discuss with the community the plans and exterior of Smith Hazel. He said he hoped the tree issue would be included in the presentation.
Since the September 11 meeting
The City Manager and City Horticulturist have repeatedly been asked about the number, the locations, and the value of the trees to be removed. The City repeatedly failed to provide information, even during a December 22 “walk through” at the park requested by Mr. McGhee, during which the City again failed to provide those numbers, locations and other details. It was only on January 12, 2024 that the City finally divulged, via an email to Schofield Community Assocation President, Bill McGhee, that 68 trees would be removed.
The January 26 Aiken Standard article
The first sentence in a Friday, January 26 article stated that, “The city of Aiken doesn’t intend to pause plans to make long-awaited upgrades to the Smith-Hazel Recreation Center, despite a community group and city board asking for a brief stoppage to have more public input on the project.”
A Phone Conversation with the City Manager
On January 30, Mr. Bedenbaugh was contacted by phone to discuss the Smith Hazel project (exterior only) and the public request for a pause and a public hearing on the project. During the course of this discussion, Mr. Bedenbaugh was asked to provide evidence for his assertions made to the Aiken Standard that, (1) that a public hearing had ever been held on the project and (2) that the tree removal had ever been part of any public discussion.
The City Manager’s Emails
Mr. Bedenbaugh responded with two emails on January 31, 2024:
Email #1 email contained the tallies of votes taken from comment cards in a December 8, 2022 meeting on the Smith Hazel Park project. This was not a public hearing, nor was there information or discussion on the trees.
Email #2 contained 7 files of meeting minutes from the Senior Commission and the Recreation Commission (see these filed below). None of these files contain evidence that a public hearing was held, nor that public discussion on tree removal ever took place.
REFERENCES:
Five screenshots from Email 1
A screenshot of Email 2 sent by City Administrator Stuart Bedenbaugh and dated 1/31/2024.
A list of the 7 files contained in Mr. Bedenbaugh’s email. There is no evidence of a public hearing in these meeting, nor discussion of trees.
November 21, 2022 From the Recreation Commission meeting minutes: Mrs. Campbell then asked Mrs. Lester to provide the Commissioners with an update on the Permanent Improvement Project (PIP) Grant that Smith-Hazel Center had been awarded. The grant was received in July from the Department of Aging. It’s senior-directed and totaled $350,000. She added that we have $906,000 approved by City Council for that project as well. The project will include ADA upgrades, converting the kitchen to a catering kitchen, narrowing the hallway, adding a designated Senior Activity Room, HVAC upgrades, and adding a fitness or aerobics room. As part of the grant, the facility will have to offer six hours of programming for seniors each day. Mrs. Lester stated that in addition to the funding she already spoke of, she has requestion one million dollars for upgrades at Smith-Hazel, to include additional park upgrades and furniture inside. The PIP project is estimated as a five to six month project, to start in March of 2023. Mrs. Lester asked everyone to keep in mind that these upgrades do not include the gym.. Chairperson Haslup asked how soon the City would be starting on phase one of the outdoor projects. Mrs. Lester responded that once they receive feedback on the two options and submit it, the engineers would come back with a final plan for approval. From that point, it would probably be three to four months until the start of construction. Chairperson Haslup asked how the City was going to get input. Mrs. Campbell informed the Commissioners that they were the first to look at it, but that we were also going to seek input from the Senior groups that meet at Smith-Hazel and the Lessie B. Price Aiken Senior and Youth Center, a community input meeting at Smith-Hazel, to include the Schofield Neighborhood Association and other groups that frequent the facility. The goal is to complete all input meetings by December 9 and return to Mrs. Lester. Commissioner Pettigrew had a question about the community demand for pickleballat Smith-Hazel. There was some discussion, and Mrs. Lester reiterated that this is why we are seeking community feedback on the renderings so they can tell us what they want. Commissioner Pettigrew asked to be informed of the date/time of the community input meeting at Smith-Hazel and Mrs. Campbell confirmed that she would extend an invitation to the Commissioners via email when it was scheduled, but welcomed them to provide feedback in the interim if they didn’t have anything specific today.
January 24, 2023 From the Senior Commission meeting minutes: Old business continued with a project update by Ms. Gaines on the Smith-Hazel Recreation Center outdoor renovations. Ms. Gaines gave the overview of the project and inform the commission that we had public input meeting to get feedback on what the community would like to see. Ms. Gaines went through Phase 1 and Options A and B and explained the difference.
May 16, 2023 From the Senior Commission meeting minutes: Smith Hazel project update. No update given at this time. The start and completion dates for the construction project are being finalized.
July 18, 2023 From the Recreation Commission meeting minutes: “Smith Hazel project update. No update given at this time. The start and completion dates for the construction project are being finalized.”
August 15, 2023 From the Recreation Commission meeting minutes: Continuing under old business, Director Campbell delivered updates on the projects at Smith-Hazel Recreation Center. Smith-Hazel renovation is slated to begin work on Phase 1 in winter of 2023. Commissioner Cummings raised a question about the dead spots in the gym floor at Smith-Hazel. Director Campbell provided an explanation on the scope of the work that will be performed at Smith-Hazel with the Phase 1 renovation. Director Campbell then explained that the gym floor is scheduled to be re-surfaced this year, and that during that project the City will have the contractor offer an estimate on what work will need to be done to repair the dead spots in the gym floor. Vice Chairperson Comshaw asked for an update on how the removal of the slide at the Smith-Hazel Pool went this Summer. Director Campbell explained that the only closures of the pool were those related to inclement weather and that the slide was not brought up as an issue.
September 19, 2023 From the Senior Commission meeting minutes: Smith-Hazel Project Update: Mary Lawton explained the interior and exterior work that will be done at Smith-Hazel Recreation Center and an explanation of funding. The interior and exterior remodeling details included ADA bathrooms in the lobby and gym, a fitness room, senior room, two outdoor basketball courts, tennis courts, shelter, and a new playground.
October 17, 2023 From the Recreation Commission meeting minutes: Continuing under old business, Mr. Holley delivered updates on the projects at Smith-HazelRecreation Center, stating that Smith-Hazel would be fully closed during renovations. Mr. Holley then explained that staff and programs for Smith-Hazel will be relocated to other facilities during the renovations.
