‘Christmas and politics should not be mixed’: Hardeeville leaders nix this year’s parade
An ongoing dispute between the Hardeeville City Council and the Greater Hardeeville Chamber of Commerce has led to the cancellation of the city’s annual Christmas parade, which had been planned for Saturday.
At Thursday’s council meeting, the members unanimously voted to not fund this year’s Christmas parade, citing poor planning by the Chamber of Commerce and complaints that council members couldn’t go because they never received an invitation and now have other plans for Saturday.
In the past, the chamber-organized parade coincided with the city-organized Christmas tree lighting.
This year, the city’s Parks and Recreation Department moved the Christmas tree lighting from Saturday to Dec. 2, Mayor Harry Williams told The Island Packet on Monday.
Williams said the parks director contacted the chamber several times in the past six months, asking if it would like to plan the parade for the same night as the tree lighting.
“We didn’t hear anything from the chamber,” he said. “They didn’t want to cooperate. They didn’t ever respond to our inquiries about the parade. They just stopped communicating. “
The mayor and council found out about the parade after reading the newspaper last Wednesday, a day before the council meeting.
“We were shocked,” he said. “We didn’t even think they were going to run the parade.”
‘Totally unacceptable’
The parade would cost the town $2,000 for overtime pay and miscellaneous expenses such as fuel, according to leaders of the police, fire, and public works departments. In Bluffton, the town’s Christmas Tree Lighting and parade, held Saturday, “is the Town’s gift to the community,” town spokesperson Debbie Szpanka said, and is paid for only by the town. The City of Beaufort is primary organizer of its Christmas parade, but civic sponsors help run it.
During the Hardeeville council’s discussion last week, Mayor Williams acknowledged, “I always hate to punish the innocent, and the innocent are people who do look forward to this parade. ... To me, $2,000 is not the issue. I am conflicted because $2,000 is a small amount to make our citizens happy, but the unprofessional way that this has been handled by the Greater Hardeeville Chamber of Commerce is totally unacceptable.”
Councilman David Spisso proposed giving the chamber the opportunity to pay for the parade.
Williams said Hardeeville could pay for the parade upfront and then bill the chamber, but he said the city would never see the money.
Councilwoman Carolyn Kassel agreed. She said the chamber is listed on the delinquent property bill roster as owing $1,600.
“My heart breaks that the city is not going to have this parade, but this should not fall on the responsibility of this council,” she said. “I am just adamantly opposed to the city spending one nickel because of poor planning and not having invited any of us, and most of us have plans that night and cannot attend.”
‘It’s a shame’
Ava Comer, executive director of Greater Hardeeville Chamber of Commerce, confirmed this year’s Christmas parade is canceled.
“It’s just a shame it happened this way, and it’s a shame the chamber wasn’t treated with more dignity, especially when we did what we were supposed to do,” Comer said.
She said the chamber followed the procedure in place to have a parade, and that it was the same procedure it has followed for the last dozen parades it has been involved in.
As part of that process, the chamber had already obtained a necessary permit from the S.C. Department of Transportation, and the police chief agreed that the department would block the roads for the parade.
Since the council’s vote, the chief was told to revoke the permit, Comer said.
Comer also said the Chamber of Commerce is not delinquent on taxes.
She said a delinquent tax notice was mistakenly placed in the chamber’s name, but the notice referred to a building owned by the City of Hardeeville. She said she’s attempted to have the issue resolved but has not been successful.
“People are very upset,” Comer said. “A lot of people in old Hardeeville, downtown Hardeeville feel like they’re being pushed aside, and their traditions are being pushed aside, because of politicians that weren’t raised here. It’s a very bad situation. Christmas and politics should not be mixed.”
Matthew Clark, a longtime Hardeeville business owner and former president of the Chamber of Commerce, said the council canceling the parade is a disservice to citizens.
He said the parade is a longstanding tradition since the mid-1900s and has always been “a fairly nice, successful big parade” that drew people from all over the Lowcountry.
“It’s not about political showmanship,” Clark said. “It’s not about proving a point. It’s about families and children coming out to the parade. I’m really just ashamed. I’m embarrassed and I feel pretty certain (the decision is) politically motivated.”
Santa’s still coming to town
In place of the parade, Mayor Williams said the city is in the process of planning a new event where Santa would ride around all of Hardeeville on a fire truck, with the police department throwing candy to onlookers before going to the fire station for about an hour to visit with children.
Times are not final for the event, he said, but Dec. 23 is the tentative date.
“Next year,” Williams said, “we’ll reevaluate how we’re going to do it.”
