As one of Augusta’s most successful businessmen, Joe Edge is busy and doesn’t have time to play the role of a victim, and the people who form the elite among the historic preservation movement in our city have a far too important mission to be acting like bullies for no logical reason.
Yet, some members of the local media decided this would be a fun way to poke the competition in the eye, and another TV outlet might have thought that piling on Edge would stop the whispers about one of their reporters and a certain political figure.
Stop the presses!
The news headlines breathlessly reported that Edge had run afoul of the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) for letting one of Augusta’s most important historic jewels go to rot; even the once-respected journalist Joe Hotchkiss jumped into the mosh pit, abandoning objectivity by musing that Edge had somehow broken the law, and ended up punching his own self squarely in the mouth.
Way back in October, I asked Joe Edge to let me set the record straight for him and he declined and said, “No one reads that paper anyway.”
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However, it seems that some members of the HPC weren’t satisfied with their 15 minutes of fame and decided to press the matter further, acting as if prompt action isn’t taken, the old First Baptist Church is in danger of complete collapse.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Joe finally gave me the go-ahead to research the matter independently and have The Augusta Press publish my results.
Since, technically, I have operated as a freelance journalist from the beginning of TAP, my work is about as independent as it gets.
I knew that the article I researched and wrote about the war over the Old First Baptist Church would tee off some people that I have known for decades; and my attitude is the same as always, get over it by Christmas time. I hate wasting cards.
Speaking of Christmas cards, in my opinion, that old church is a building that is perfect location to grace the cover of mass mailed Christmas cards, but that is about it; it is a structure with a not-so-celebratory past. There is literally no parking near it should it be used as a concert venue, and the architecture is interesting, but it is not a stunning example of, really, anything.
If I had the resources to save any endangered building in Augusta, I would choose the Dennings House just a few blocks away, before the Old First Baptist.
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In fact, if I could, I would buy First Baptist, demolish it, resell the stained glass and recycle the brick and use it for paid parking on peak traffic nights if the vacant lot didn’t sell for millions of dollars immediately. Then, I could use the proceeds to rehab five other buildings more worthy of attention.
Yes, I know the building sits on the site known as the birthplace of the Southern Baptist Convention. It is the place where, in 1845, the Baptist church fractured in two over slavery and the Southerners split from the Baptist Triennial Convention and used the new organization to further the “cause” of slavery. If you do not believe me, look it up.
There are other buildings I would save first.
Last year, I was a bit mystified as to why the HPC came upon the commission’s radar. That was when I first learned of the problems between Joe Edge and the HPC surrounding the old sanctuary, but, early on, Joe, aware of my ties to people in the preservation movement, didn’t feel it was right to get me involved in the matter, so he didn’t say anything more about it.
I was a little puzzled as to why the HPC would be the first quasi-governmental agency called before the commission as a part of what becoming more and more a trend by members of the commission to inquire about organizations that get funding from the government or can affect public business. Since commissioners appoint people to the boards of these groups, they are wanting to know more about how the authorities, board, commissions etc. operate, before they wake up to more stories in the newspaper about $1,000 bar tabs charged to the taxpayers with city-issued credit cards.
I figured that Commissioner Wayne Guilfoyle, whom I haven’t spoken to about the matter, decided to begin with an agency that would be a relatively easy place to start, before really ruffling feathers by calling the members of the Land Bank Authority to explain how their organization works. That is what I would do.
It is still not clear if the Joe Edge matter put the HPC higher on the commission’s radar, but this kerfuffle is proof that even some of the best run quasi-governmental authorities can become infiltrated with people who have an ax to grind and that is exactly what happened here.
This type of activity is precisely the thing that makes potential outside investors think twice about rehabbing a historic building.
The singular piece of evidence that was the smoking gun was a complaint against Edge from Historic Augusta Inc. to the HPC, signed by the executive director Erick Montgomery.
I have known Erick Montgomery for at least 25 years, since I was in college, and I have a ton of respect for him and the work he and his agency do; however, I was a bit crestfallen to find that letter, which serves as the only complaint against Edge’s stewardship of the building, with Montgomery’s signature.
Montgomery said he didn’t remember signing it, but if he did, it would have been at the direction of his board. Well, local attorney George Bush, the man Edge said threatened him to give the old building up or else, was on that board. It is evident to me that Bush used Montgomery to sharpen his ax.
What really riles me is not that the letter was sent, but why is this the only example of such a letter that I can find? Why wasn’t a similar letter sent in reference to Judge Carl Brown’s stewardship of his Dennings House property when that building was still salvageable? Why wasn’t a similar letter sent to the HPC before Goodale House collapsed? How complaints about the owners of “shell” buildings on Broad Street who refuse to repair or sell their properties out of pure greed? Where is the letter demanding the Richmond County School Board either sell the historic Davidson High School building or bring it up to code?
I always look at the bright side, and while it might not have been fair to single out Joe Edge and cause him heartburn, but, at least, it has started a worthwhile conversation. There are a slew of historic buildings all over town that will be gone in a decade if action isn’t taken now.
Perhaps that is what the HPC wanted all along; if that is the case, getting me all riled up did the trick.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
