Another member of the Historic Preservation Commission, Jimmy Anderson, has resigned in the wake of the controversy regarding the fate of the old First Baptist Church.
Augusta Commissioner Catherine Smith-Rice confirmed that Anderson had resigned, but said it was not clear if the resignation was to show solidarity with former Chair Tara Conway, who resigned last week, or if Anderson had other reasons.
Conway was Smith-Rice’s appointee from 2022, and Smith-Rice says that she has a replacement in mind, but did not name the person.
In related news, attorney for The Augusta Press, David Hudson, sent a letter to the new chair of the HPC, Leon Maben and city attorney Sam Meller, advising them that the HPC has been in violation of the Open Meeting Act on at least two occasions, June 27, 2024 and Aug. 22, 2024.
According to Hudson’s letter, the commission went into executive session on those dates to discuss the First Baptist property without publicly stating the reason for such action and did not file the required signed and notarized affidavit listing the reason(s), as required by law.
MORE: Fate of historic church remains undetermined
The Open Meetings Act mandates that members of an authority or commission may only go behind closed doors to discuss pending litigation, pending real estate transactions or personnel issues.
Minutes from the June 27 meeting show that Meller attempted to warn commissioners that there was no “pending litigation” regarding the Old First Baptist Church building, but commissioners decided unanimously to go behind closed doors anyway.
In his letter, Hudson demanded the HPC issue an apology to Edge and confirm that the commission will follow the law in the future.
At issue is the Old First Baptist Church, located at 802 Greene St., was purchased by a group of owners in 2020, and one of those owners is Joe Edge, publisher of The Augusta Press. Currently, the building is under consideration to be demolished if the parties cannot reach an agreement or the Augusta Commission does not change the ordinance, taking away the HPC’s power to threaten demolition.
Augusta commissioners say they thought only the commission could order a demolition and were unaware that the local ordinance gives the HPC that power.
Edge contends that he was targeted by former Chair Tara Conway and former board member for Historic Augusta, Inc. George Bush because Edge refused to donate the building to Historic Augusta for it to be used by the Jesse Newman School of Arts as their headquarters and performance venue.
“Bush told me that if I didn’t give up the building that he would make my life miserable, and he has certainly tried,” Edge said.
MORE: Owners file demolition application for old First Baptist Church
According to Edge, Conway has a history of not paying her personal rent, and his company once had to file eviction proceedings against her in the past; he further contends that Conway conspired with Bush to force Edge to give up the building with law-fare, that is, weaponizing an ordinance and/or the court system to achieve, corruptly, a desired effect.
Augusta Commissioner Wayne Guilfoyle says that the HPC has been on the commission’s radar prior to the controversy with Edge for acting heavy-handed towards landowners who own property within their jurisdiction.
“We have actually received several complaints and emails, so this really did not come about because of Joe Edge,” Guilfoyle said. Smith-Rice added that she had received complaints about the heavy-handedness before the First Baptist matter came to light and that she was shocked to learn that her own appointee, Conway, could have been the ringleader in this case.
At the Feb. 4 meeting of the Augusta Commission, Board Member Dave Barbee disputed that the HPC acted in an unprofessional manner against anyone and said it does its best to assist property owners.
“We approve around 90% of the COA’s (certificate of appropriateness) sent to us. The HPC’s only concern is the preservation of the historic treasures in Olde Town, Downtown and Summerville. To say the we are stepping out of bounds or targeting someone, that couldn’t be further from the truth,” Barbee told the commissioners. adding “All we are concerned with is the building.”
MORE: Board cites owner of historic Baptist church for upkeep issues
A study of two recent meetings show that Barbee is correct in that most petitions are rubber stamped by the commission. There is no record to show that the HPC has ever compelled an owner to demolish a building as that is normally under the purview of Code Enforcement. Even that department rarely takes an owner to court, with the last such lawsuit filed in 2023 against the owners of the Catholic Social Services building, located at 2108 Broad St., after the building burned down and left debris falling into the street.
Smith-Rice says she agrees with Guilfoyle and Commissioner Al Mason that the HPC has brought attention to themselves and says the Augusta Commission should continue to study the ordinance that empowers the body and make any necessary changes.
“More people need to come forward if they have been treated with disrespect by the HPC,” Smith-Rice said.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
