Aiken Equestrian Alliance

I founded the Aiken Equestrian Alliance in 2022 by asking these questions:

Are you concerned about the changes, massive land clearing and development going on in Aiken County?

Do you have unanswered questions about the City's demolition and development projects?

We are forming a group that believes in preserving our equestrian history and protecting our future in Aiken County.

We believe in sensible measured growth
We believe in progress through preservation
We believe in protecting the land and the environment
We believe in transparency in government
We believe that Aiken is a unique place that deserves protection
We believe our horses are, and always have been, one of the most important things that make Aiken special.

Please Join Us!

And, about 200 people did join us, and about 1.1K on our page and 2.8K in our FB Group.

These are some of our meeting notes and agendas.

---------- Forwarded message ---------

From: Lisa <lasusuk@gmail.com>

Date: Sun, Jan 15, 2023 at 12:42 PM

Subject: Aiken Equestrian Alliance Meeting with Joel Duke, Aiken Co Planning

To: Gmail Membership List

Aiken Equestrian Alliance members met with Mr. Joel Duke on 1/11 at the County Government Building on University Parkway. 31 members attended the meeting which ran from 6:35-8:00pm.

I spoke briefly, reading our Mission Statement, describing our Action Committees and presenting some rough estimates of what the actual economic impact of the horse industry on Aiken County may be.

The (corrected) figures that I presented were:

Approximate Estimate of Spending of Horse Show participants annually $ 37,406,250*

*This figure represents spending on food, lodging and supplies

Approximate Sales of Equestrian Real Estate annually $ 36,640,000

Approximate Direct Spending of Horse Owners in Aiken Co $100,000,000

Totaling $174,046,250

Compare this quick, rough, obviously incomplete total of $174,046,250 with the total of $50,000,000 annual direct spending that appears in the County’s 2014-2024 Master Plan and two things become clear. First, the County does not have current/accurate data on the importance of the horse industry to Aiken, and second, a study to find the correct, current, accurate data is urgently needed.

Mr. Duke gave a presentation pertaining to population growth in SC, the CSRA and in Aiken County. He also outlined the procedure for adopting the new Aiken County Master Plan for 2024-2034. He mentioned expansion at Fort Gordon and at SRS, as well a “high demand” for housing.

“Planning is preparing for the community's growth, establishing a vision of the future and creating policy to implement that vision”.

Mr. Duke then answered questions from our membership. Some of the questions and suggestions made were:

Has the County considered having an advisory committee made up of horseman and women representing the diverse equestrian community?
What is the County’s plan for waste disposal?
Does the County consider that many horse people and others love Aiken because of its small-town charm?
Will the County explore the actual economic impact of the horse industry? Will a study be done?
What about traffic? Traffic is a concern for all drivers, but it is worse for those towing horse trailers. Will the County consider better signage and education for all drivers regarding how to drive safely around horse trailers? Will the County consider the dangers of turning lanes without turn arrows, especially at intersections such as Pine Log and Banks Mill Road where there are many horse trailers turning?
What can be done regarding zoning regulations and enforcement in the County?

The meeting was positive and friendly, and we appreciated Mr. Duke’s kind attempt to understand what seems to be a very different point of view than what he is accustomed to. We seem to agree that the upcoming County Master Plan should be more inclusive of community feedback. Mr. Duke said he will be meeting with other “special interest” groups, as well as being willing to have more discussions with us in the future.

After thinking about it for a couple of days, I realize, more than ever, that the communication gap between us and our decision makers is almost insurmountable. Mr. Duke asked me pointedly, “What is it about the rapid growth and many new high-density housing projects that concerns you?” If I’d been better prepared and had answered him coherently, I’m sure he would have then kindly tried to ease my concerns by telling me how planning was about “preparing for future growth”. Unfortunately, I was not prepared to answer that question. It is not the right question! What is it about the growth that concerns us, or how will our infrastructure catch up, are questions that assume rapid population growth is desirable and inevitable.

The right questions are:

What things make Aiken County special and unique and how do we protect those things?

Why do we need more growth? What type of growth do we want?

What do the current citizens of Aiken County want and need?

In my opinion, these are the questions that our City and County Planners should be trying to answer every day in every decision and every plan that they make.

Having very little information about the horse industry in Aiken County is not a good place to start.

Lisa

Aiken Equestrian Alliance Agenda

9/28/23 - 6:30-7:30 - Aiken Public Library Meeting Room

· Welcome, Sign in, Hand outs

· Bumper Stickers & Hats

· Renee San Marco Power Lines Update

· Valerie Wrobel Short Term Rentals

· Year in Review and What’s Next for AEA (time permitting)

Don Moniak, Laura Bagwell, Form FB Group and page, Form committees, Roster, Email lists, Meeting at Maria’s, Volunteering at CDE and all of the events, Bruce’s Field, The Aiken Horse Show, other local shows, Hats, Logos, Bumper stickers, Registered name, Meeting with City, Public Safety, Assistant City Manager, City Manager, Equine Committee, Chamber of Commerce Director, Tourism Director, Large Animal Safety Team, Form FB Messenger groups, Meeting at and supporting the Track Kitchen, Meeting with Alex Weiss, Meeting with Larry Byers, Traffic safety initiative presentation to city and two open meeting, Equestrian Bill Fundraiser, Stickers, Water bill insert, Best of the West surveys, USPC Foxhunting Exchange welcome baskets, Donations from Aiken Saddlery and the City and County, Meeting with Stable View, Business card exchange, Meeting with board of realtors, Meeting with USCA Dr. Porca, Meeting with MA Horse council representatives, City Council, County Council, Meeting with Joel Duke at the County building, Power line meeting, Meeting with County Councilman Andrew Sliders at Highfields, BBQ potluck dinner, Economic Impact Study research & exploration, Presentation, Mayoral Election, Aiken Equestrian Alliance Advisory Board, Motto: Aiken is Horse Country!

· What’s next for us?

· Candidates for City and County Council

James Hankinson - County Council District 8, election on 10/17, early voting begins 10/2-10/14

DeMarcus Sullivan -City Council District 1, election on 11/7, early voting begins 10/23-11/4

Don’t forget to vote for Mayor! Election on 11/7, early voting begins 10/23-11/4

From: Lisa Smith <lasusuk@gmail.com>

Date: Tue, Nov 28, 2023 at 12:35 PM

Subject: Aiken Equestrian Alliance Meeting 11/30 6:30 Library

To: Aiken Standard Mathew Christian <mchristian@aikenstandard.com>, Anne Torreyson <abtstable@aol.com>, Chad Ingram Aiken Equine Committee <chad_ingram66@yahoo.com>, David and Gail King <gailbaldingking@gmail.com>, John Davis <jrdavis194@aol.com>, Susan Trotter Aiken Equine Committee <bluedogfarm@aol.com>

We will be meeting on Thursday 11/30 at 6:30 at the Aiken County Public library. We will be discussing three topics: 1. Our volunteer coordinator, Margaret Wakefield, has organized two guest speakers. Our own, Ginger Klinesorge, now the professional volunteer coordinator at Stable View, and Kathryn Butt a dressage judge will be getting us going, kicking off our 2024 volunteering season. Volunteering is a main focus of our Alliance, and in 2023 we organized volunteers that gave hundreds of hours in support of Aiken’s organizers and events, AND Margaret is bringing cookies 🍪 Please get involved, if we all give just a little it can make a big difference😊 If you haven’t volunteered before, or it’s been a while this is the place to get started. 2. Our own Heather Steinbeck will speak briefly about the effort for further restoration of the Whitney Barns. The AEA hopes to get further involved with this wonderful project in 2024. 3. Stuart Prettel, who is about to announce his candidacy for Aiken County Sherrif, may stop in to meet us.