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Public Hearing on City's Fiscal Year 2015-2016 Budget
City Council Chamber
Next Tuesday November 9
1911 Boundary Street
7:00 PM
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When I was working to free Soviet Jews and others from the former USSR, I worked with an intelligence operative who said I was "never on time" because I was often a few minutes late,. One day I arrived at our designated meeting place five minutes early. He looked at his watch and said "you are still not on time, you are early."

This week's newsletter is a early because 
I will be out of town on Thursday when it normally is posted.  


Please take a minute to forward this newsletter to  family, friends and colleagues you think might be interested in subscribing to the newsletter.
To do they should simply send me an email to [email protected] asking to be placed on the permission based list.



Billy Keyserling

Events in and around Beaufort



Billy K Photo
While An Historic Market Closes, there is a New Market for Old Beaufort
and 
Thank you James W. Pruitt
for creating a window into the past and an example for the future

As a child growing up in Beaufort, we had a very strong sense of community with landmarks noted by the places to which we walked,  rode our bicycles and  just hung out.

 

One of my daily stops on the way home from baseball practice was Pruitt's Store on Ribaut Road.  My friends and I would visit with Mr Pruitt, buy a TopCola and something sweet to snack on. Some bought a small pack of peanuts to put in their sodas.

 

 Mr Pruitt's Store on Ribaut was closed and bull dozed to make room for the parking lot at the Law Enforcement Center when the County Government Complex was built.

 

Mr. Pruitt moved on to another store, owned by his family, on Greene Street where he operated until this week when he closed the doors in retirement.  (See the following story about James W. Pruitt and his service to our community.)

 

Corner stores/markets like Schein's on the corner of Bladen and Prince, Koth's on the Corner of Bladen and North, Martins on Duke, Peterson's on Ribaut Road and Pruitt's, among others, were part of what in many ways shaped the hometown character Beaufort continues to celebrate. And let's' not forget Schoenberg's bakery on Prince Street where I worked one summer sneaking doughnut holes between customers I served from the counter.

 

Some question form based zoning principles as provided for in the Civic Master Plan.  While many (correctly) associate form base as a tool for "green field" (on raw land) development, the same principles apply to historic preservation and redevelopment.  The difference is that in Beaufort we already have the form and the base. We understand and cherish what we have and we want to protect it while making room for new opportunities that "fit" on land that is vacant, replace buildings that have been bull dozed. save -- when possible --  abandoned structures that are about to fall to the ground.

 

Yes, I am indulging in romanticizing my past and I love it. 

 

At the same time, I firmly believe that we can learn from the past as it can bring  meaningful direction to the future. 

 

By all accounts the demographics of this generation point to a more urban way of life with friendly, closely knit walkable neighborhoods, smaller yards, more use of public parks, and bicycles now complemented by golf carts and scooters.  New houses built downtown sell immediately and more restoration is going on today than any time I can remember. There is huge opportunity for making our hometown even better. 

 

There is a new market for an old Beaufort and we must seize the opportunity to rebuild out city to be more environmentally, culturally and fiscally sustainable.

 

Mayor's Institute on City Design

 

I am honored to have been selected as one of  eight mayors to participate in the Mayor's Institute on City Design which is a leadership initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the American Architectural Foundation and the United States Conference of Mayors with support from United Technologies. Since 1986, the Mayors' Institute (started by Mayor Joe Riley of Charleston) has helped transform communities through design by preparing mayors to be the chief urban designers of their cities.

 

MICD achieves its mission by organizing sessions where mayors engage leading design experts to find solutions to the most critical urban design challenges facing their cities. Sessions are organized around case-study problems. Each mayor presents a problem from his or her city and receives feedback and possible new ideas/approaches from other mayors and design experts.

 

Every year, the partner organizations plan and manage Institute sessions held throughout the country. Each two and one-half day session is limited to less than twenty participants, half mayors and half a resource team, consisting of outstanding city design and development professionals. Mayors present a range of challenges, including waterfront redevelopment, downtown revitalization, transportation planning, and the design of new public buildings such as libraries and arts centers. Following each presentation, mayors and the resource team identify important issues, offer suggestions, and discuss potential solutions. The interchange sparks lively debate, opens new perspectives, and generates creative ideas.

 

The following proposition is what I will be presenting to the eight Mayors and eight independent Design Professionals. 

 

"The City is interested in expanding the perception of downtown as a way that is complementary to the existing three block downtown footprint. The commercial corridors along Boundary, Bladen, Charles and Carteret Streets have struggled to flourish like Bay Street.  A 2012 economic study by the city's finance office demonstrated that while the historic core generated approximately $16,710 per acre (net of operating expenses), the other commercial corridors yielded only $2,888 per acre. With an expanded downtown, the city envisions a core that better serves local neighborhoods, with greater business variety and a diversity of residents.

 

In addition to strengthening the commercial corridors, the City also considers parking as a downtown expansion strategy. A three acre surface parking lot at the Downtown Marina is identified as a key development parcel. The current proposal would convert the waterfront site from parking to parkland and active recreation and build a parking facility further inland to serve the downtown core. . . . With the existing urban fabric and "fragile" nature of downtown, the design of the parking garage is critical to its success."


 
I hope to bring home fresh ideas and strategies about how we can make the entire core of downtown Beaufort, bordered by Bay to Boundary Streets and Carteret to Bladen Streets as vibrant as the three blocks of Bay Street who most think is "our downtown."

 

I am exciting to be able to pose these challenges/opportunities to seven other Mayors and design experts. I am also interested in helping them address what they consider critical design challenges facing their cities. I believe we will learn from each other. 

 

 

   

 

 

Pruitt's Corner Grocery: 

A Neighborhood Landmark

 


 

 

 

By Mary Ellen Thompson, Photo by Susan DeLoach, extracted from Beaufort Lifestyle Magazine and found on "Eat, Sleet, Play Beaufort"

 

"In 1920, Harry and Rebecca Smith opened a grocery store on the corner of Greene and Church Streets in downtown Beaufort. They probably never thought about whether or not that store would still be open ninety-three years later. But through some coincidences, a lot of hard work, and determination, Pruitt's Grocery is still operating from that very storefront. And not only is it still in operation, it is still in the family, owned and operated by James W. Pruitt. James Pruitt is the son of John and Bessie Pruitt; Bessie was Harry and Rebecca Smith's niece, and she was raised by them. The Pruitt family consisted of 4 boys: James, and his now deceased brothers Ed, Lamon, and Dallas. In a series of transitions, the Smiths moved away, the Pruitts took over, and James remembers working in that store when he was in school.

 

It seems the grocery business had seeped into James' blood; when he graduated from Beaufort High School in 1953, he bought his own grocery store. "When I finished high school, I wanted something to do so I bought the store on Ribaut Road," he explains. That store was Bess' Cash and Carry, and he changed the name to "James W. Pruitt." Ed had taken over the Greene Street store in 1951 and ran it until he died in 1980 when it closed. In 1986, Beaufort County bought the land where James' store was on Ribaut Road, so he moved over to the Greene Street location since his mother had left the building to him.

 

Back in the day, Pruitt's store sold mostly meats and groceries, and candy; not much in the way of vegetables. It isn't much different now he says, "People come here from the Island, Burton and Port Royal for the meat." And sure enough, in the course of an hour almost two dozen people wandered in for candy, drinks, cookies and the meat. "Do you have my favorite cookies today?" "Can I have a 50 cent red drink?" One woman drove over from Lady's Island, she explained "I come here because it's the best lunch meat in Beaufort County!" A gentleman walked in and asked, "Can I have $2.50 of bacon? I need it to flavor my greens." It's all about old-fashioned service. You don't help yourself to the items, they are behind the counters. Mr. Pruitt gets them for you, wraps them and hands them to you,.

 

Mr. Pruitt is a self-effacing Southern gentleman; his smile could light up a room but he's just very matter of fact when it comes to talking about himself. He never married and when questioned about whether or not he's been the most eligible bachelor in town with all the ladies vying for his attention, he blushed and laughed, just a little, just enough to admit it without having to say so. A handsome man, he is sure to have been the object of much attraction. Good looks aside, he is also very affable and has a delightful sense of humor.

 

Pruitt's Grocery is a small and cozy window into the past. School kids wander in and hop up on the old Kelvinator ice cream cooler while they chat and decide what they want; neighbors come in looking for a bit of conversation. The shelves are stocked with canned goods, cleaning supplies, sodas, fruit drinks, cookies and candies of all sorts. Look into one of the cases and you will find an assortment of earrings, pencil erasers, men's' boxer shorts, tubes of rubber cement, spools of thread and spools of ribbon, crayons and a pearl necklace set.

 

Another old fashioned case showcases an assortment of cures for ailments: Sweet Oil, Castor Oil, Mineral Oil, Hydrogen Peroxide, Magnesium Citrate, Aspirin, Epsom Salts, Petroleum Jelly and Vaseline are on shelves next to a 1981 Farmer's Almanac, a stack of old books and old Readers Digests, and a few packages of Lady Lace Hair Nets. When asked how long those hair nets had been in that case, he replied "I sold some of those just the other day; I could probably get some more. Ladies don't seem to wear them like they used to, they used to sleep with them on."

 

Hair nets are not the only way the times have changed. James Pruitt remembers Beaufort as a child, when his family didn't have a car and they walked wherever they went. "You could go downtown and pay your water bill, your light bill, your power bill then, but no more - they all have offices out on the highway." He remembers when there were nine wholesalers who supplied food to the stores in Beaufort; now, he says, there aren't too many. How does he feel about the big grocery stores and chain stores that come in and change everything for small business owners? "Well, it's just one of those things," he replies pragmatically. Penny candy now sells for 2 pennies and candy bars have gotten quite more expensive than they used to be. There is a collection of old bottles on the top shelf and Mr. Pruitt remembers when Coke came in gallon glass bottles; "I'd sure like to have one of those gallon bottles in my collection. I think they quit making them because if they fell over, the tops would break." He does, however, have the entire set of 1964 Dr. Pepper calendars taped up to the wall.

 

The store is open six days a week from about 2:30 in the afternoon to 8:00 at night. He says he used to open around 9 a.m., then maybe 10:30, and it just got later because that's when his customers came. "People started coming here when it got dark, summer or winter it's the same, I guess they just want to get everything done they can during the day. At my store on Ribaut Road, I opened before dinner and often was there until 3 or 4 in the morning!"

 

Six days a week ties him down, and when asked if he ever traveled his response was "No, I just stay in the store." If he had to do it all over again, would he chose this? He says, "I probably would."

 

What does he do in his precious little free time? "A lady at church saw me out the other day and said it was the first time she ever saw me anywhere but church or the store." He has been a faithful parishioner at the Parish Church of St. Helena all of is life. He doesn't like to read all that much, but he does like to watch football on television - what team does he favor? "No matter what team, my friends like football so I watch it with them. They like to watch tennis, so I watch that, too."

 

Those friends are John and Betty Barton; Mr. Pruitt has lived with them since he had a heart operation in 1999. When asked if he ever cooks for himself he responded that no, Betty cooks for him. Does she buy her groceries in his store? "No," he laughed and said "Well, a lot of that stuff I wouldn't have here anyhow."

 

Has he ever thought of retiring? "I thought about it one time and changed my mind. I thought I'd get pretty tired of sitting around and doing nothing!" Which is a really good thing for downtown Beaufort because men like James Pruitt, and the establishments like his - which are too few and far between, really are the soul of a community.

 

Just go in, sit on the ice cream chest or perch on a stool, have a chat, buy some lunch meat, and you see for yourself.

 

Written by Mary Ellen Thompson for Beaufort Lifestyle Magazine

Photos by Susan DeLoach

 

Published bi-monthly, Beaufort Lifestyle is a classy, sophisticated publication about the wonderful people, places and events of Beaufort, Port Royal and the Sea Islands. Grab your free copy at any one of 200 area locations or check it out online at http://www.beaufortlifestyle.com

 

 

Mr Pruitt Closes: A video from The Gazette/Packet

http://www.islandpacket.com/2015/05/28/3769620/customers-reminisce-as-pruitts.html
  

 

 


Thank you Eagle Scout Candidate, Jacob Denton and your fellow scouts from Troop 1712. Your Storm Drain Marking Program is a huge contribution to the City of Beaufort. 
We appreciate your leadership!





This costs you and me a lot of money.  This year, the City  will spend $750,000 of your hard earned tax dollars maintaining roads, sidewalks and storm drainage that belongs to,  but is not maintained by the State of S.C.





These young men are saving your money some by posting notices on each of our storm drains encouraging people not to throw or dump materials into them: Such materials clog the drainage and oils, plastic and other pollutants that make it through the system pollute our precious Beaufort River.


 
You can help them by making sure your yard debris does not get into the system.  And perhaps by joining us when the Scouts and hopefully others join together to install more of these signs throughout the entire city.

Thanks Scouts for your service to our City.  One could not find a better hometown which is what it is because of the community spirit and engagement displayed by you and others. 




 


 

'CBS Sunday Morning' features Riley, Sweetgrass weavers, and 

Frank Lloyd Wright's Auldbrass

 

http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/TheBattery/archives/2015/06/29/cbs-sunday-morning-features-riley-sweetgrass-weavers-and-frank-lloyd-wrights-auldbrass

Extracted from Charleston City Paper

 

 




The Finale: Events for Beaufort Youth Leaders at the Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park followed by cookout at my home. Thanks for participating. We are looking forward to a new class when school starts in the Fall.


 

 

Incredible Aerial Photos 

Make London Look Like A Perfect Miniature City

 

The Huffington Post   |  By  Carly Ledbetter 

 

Follow the link to see MORE!

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/26/aerial-photos-london-vincent-laforet_n_7441740.html?ncid=newsltushpmg00000003

 

 




The Parking Task Force will make its recommendations to City Council 
on Thursday June 11th at City Hall

A difference between Providence and Beaufort is that the revenue from Parking in Beaufort is not a budget balancer because it is all invested in parking management improvements in the greater downtown areas of the City.

Extracted from the Providence Journal


 

 

Friends of Fort Fremont
Annual Meeting

June 9, 2015 10:00 A.M.

St. Helena Library

 

You are cordially invited to attend the Friends of Fort Fremont Annual Members Meeting at the St. Helena Library at 10 AM on Tuesday, June 9, 2015.

This is no ordinary meeting.  It is an event that happens only once a year.  Amazing things have happened this past year--Thanks to you for your interest and support!  FFF would not be where it is today without membership support.  Even more amazing things are in the planning stages!  By this time next year, we hope that we will be meeting in the new Interpretive Center. Come to see the progress of noted modeler Dennis Cannady's diorama of Fort Fremont.  Over 37 buildings will be on display. Refreshments will be served, and a few surprises are in store---and it's all free!

Featured speaker: Rob Wells, Vice President of Tourism at the Chamber of Commerce.

The public is welcome.

 

 

 

 

 



Award-winning documentary

 'Bag It' 

comes to Beaufort

 

Concerned local citizens are hosting a FREE to the public two screenings of the award-winning environmental documentary Bag It with discussion after screening in celebration of World Oceans Day.

 

Bag It follows "Everyman" Jeb Berrier as he tries to make sense of our dependence on plastic bags. Although his quest starts out small, Jeb soon learns that the problem extends past landfills to oceans, rivers and ultimately human health.

 

The average American uses about 500 plastic bags each year, for about twelve minutes each. This single-use mentality has led to the formation of a floating island of plastic debris in the Pacific Ocean more than twice the size of Texas.

 

The film explores these issues and identifies how our daily reliance on plastic threatens not only waterways and marine life, but human health, too.

 

Screening Date: Sat., June 6th                     Screening Date: Monday, June 8th

Screening Time: 9:30AM                              Screening Time: 7PM

Location: Beaufort Plaza Cinema                Location: TCL auditorium, Beaufort 

Admission: FREE to public                               Admission: FREE to public

 

 Questions: contact Denise Parsick (843) 263-8866 [email protected] or Bonnie Wright [email protected]

 






Meet Members of Your County Council

Though Beaufort County Council is organized by single member districts, much like the School Board, State Legislature and the Congress, ALL members represent Beaufort County. This event  presents an opportunity to meet Council members from south of The Broad River to ask questions and/or make recommendations.  I am sure their ears are open and they would like to know your thoughts.

SAVE THE TIME & DATE

 

WHO: CYNTHIA BENSCH, RICK CAPORALE, STEVE FOBES, TABOR VAUX

 

WHAT: COMMUNITY FORUM: QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, DIALOGUE


WHEN: 6:30-9:00 PM, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 2015

 

WHERE: THE BLUFFTON LIBRARY

 

WHY: BECAUSE WE WANT TO GIVE THE COMMUNITY A CHANCE TO ASK QUESTIONS AND SOUND OFF

ABOUT RECENT EVENTS AND TOPICS OF CONCERN - PEPPER HALL, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT,

RURAL AND CRITICAL LANDS SPENDING, THE NEXT CAPITAL SALES TAX REFERENDUM

AND WHATEVER ELSE WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT.

 

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE. THANKS.

 

 

 

 

HELP ACT-SO GOLD MEDALIST STUDENTS PAY FOR THEIR TRIP TO THE NATIONAL COMPETITION

TO COMPETE FOR SCHOLARSHIPS!

Donate on line to this worthy cause for out children

 http://www.gofundme.com/tzy95w

  

 JOIN THE ST. HELENA/LADY'S ISLAND NAACP BRANCH OF 

"ACT - SO"

FISH FRY/YARD SALE / SATURDAY, 6 JUNE 2015

10:00 AM - UNTIL

LOCATION: Near 'The Green' on St. Helena

(Near the corner of Sea Island Pkwy & MLK)

 

MENU:

FRIED FISH

RICE, GREEN BEANS, COLESLAW

BREAD

 

DINNER COST: $8 (FISH W/ 1 SIDE) OR $10 (FISH W/ 2 SIDES)

SOFT DRINK OR WATER $1



Let us Hear from You if You are Interested
Reorganized Beaufort City Redevelopment Commission



2015-2016 30th Anniversary Season of
The Beaufort Symphony Orchestra
Click to website for performances

http://www.beaufortorchestra.org/schedule.html