HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-15-2001 Regular Meeting
REGULAR MEETING COMMISSION CHAMBERS
May 15, 2001
Augusta Richmond County Commission convened at 2:12 p.m., Tuesday, May
15, 2001, the Honorable Bob Young, Mayor, presiding.
PRESENT: Hons. Colclough, J. Brigham, Kuhlke, H. Brigham, Shepard,
Beard, Cheek, Williams and Bridges, members of Augusta Richmond County
Commission.
ABSENT: Hon. Mays, member of Augusta Richmond County Commission.
Also Present: George Kolb, Administrator; Jim Wall, Attorney; and Lena
Bonner, Clerk of Commission.
The Invocation was given by the Rev. Dr. Jones.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
PRESENTATIONS:
PROCLAMATIONS
Dr. David Jones
Pastor Trinity On the Hill Methodist Church
Mr. Shepard: He is a die-hard Georgia Tech fan and he is known to have used on
occasion, ladies and gentlemen, on more than one occasion, the opening that the great
Larry Munson uses when he introduces every Georgia, University of Georgia football
game, which is “get the picture.” So I’m hoping that some of these remarks that I’m
going to share with you today about David will help you get the picture. We United
Methodists know that our system of appointment pastors comes from John Wesley,
rotates United Methodist ministers throughout the North Georgia Conference over their
careers, and this is happening to David. Trinity on the Hill United Methodist Church and
the Augusta community as a whole has been richly blessed by the ministry of David
Jones since he was called to the Trinity pulpit in 1993, June 1993, David. And it’s now
not yet official, but everybody knows it’s an open secret, that you will be called to a
pastorate outside of our community, and I wanted to take this opportunity on this record
to wish him well as he continues his ministry in another location and that he publicly be
thanked for his ministry here in Augusta. David excels, ladies and gentlemen, as a wise
counselor, a preacher, teacher, writer and Biblical scholar. He is a devoted husband and
father. He was even chosen, on a light note, ladies and gentlemen, to represent the year
1951 in the catalog of pictures which The Augusta Chronicle published at the end of the
last century. I don’t know how he attained that distinction, but he did. David,
congratulations on that. David Jones is one of the most well-read individuals that I have
ever known in my life, and he uses his readings to further his preaching in that he uses a
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vast array of traditional and contemporary sources to illustrate Biblical truths in societal,
community, family and individual contexts. And permit me just a moment to share with
you just a few of the highlights of his ministry, and I should say stewardship, at Trinity
on the Hill since 1993. He’s continued his TV ministry, which has been a long hallmark
of Trinity. He’s established and was instrumental in helping to establish new worship
services which we call contemporary services. He’s expanded its youth ministry. He’s
built new facilities on its campus and opened them. He’s developed new ministries to the
bereaved, new ministries of healing. Particularly I think about a ministry to Mexico,
David. And also revitalized old ministries such as Habitat for Humanity where we built
homes in this community. David, we honor you today for all you have contributed to the
life of this community. Most of all, we honor and recognize you as a disciple of Jesus
Christ.
[A round of applause is given.]
Augusta-Richmond County Public Works Department
RE: National Public Works Week Celebration
Theme: "Working In the Public Interest”
Clerk: Mr. Mayor, members of the Commission, the Public Works Director, Ms.
Theresa Smith, along with the following staffers from the Public Works Department, will
receive the proclamation on behalf of the Public Works Department in observance of
Public Works Week: Ms. Dwella Pope, Ms. Carolyn Davis, Mr. Robert Clemens, Ms.
Linda Crawford, Ms. Gloria Coats, Mr. Chris Hollis, Ms. Julie Livingston, Mr. Avis
Brown, and Mr. Ed Gillis. Would you please join the Mayor at the podium with Ms.
Smith?
In recognition of the National Public Works Week,
WHEREAS, Public Works service is provided in our
community, are an integral part of our citizens’ everyday
lives, and
WHEREAS, the support of an understanding and informed
citizenry is vital to the efficient operation of Public Works
systems and programs, such as water, sewer, streets,
highway, traffic control, solid waste collection, right-of-
way, and public buildings, and
WHEREAS, either directly or indirectly public employees
touch the lives of every citizen of Augusta via the services
they provide, and’
WHEREAS, everyone is encouraged to take part in this
opportunity provided to build a bridge between government
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and its citizens and to allow public servants an opportunity
to educate their neighbors, and
WHEREAS, we should celebrate and recognize the
invaluable service that the many public servants provide;
NOW THEREFORE I, Bob Young, Mayor of Augusta, do
hereby declare the week of May 20 - 26 as National Public
Works Week in Augusta, Georgia, in recognition of the
contribution which the Public Works officials make every
day to the safety, health, comfort and quality of life for all
its citizens in Augusta, Georgia.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have unto set my hand and
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cause the seal of Augusta, Georgia to be affixed this 15
day of May, 2001.
Mr. Mayor: On behalf of the City Commission, I ask you to accept this on behalf
of all the employees in our Public Works Department. We certainly appreciate the work
you do each and every day to make the lives of our citizens better. We look forward to
having a good week and [inaudible].
[A round of applause is given.]
Mr. Mayor: Madame Clerk?
Clerk: Item 44:
44. Motion to approve proceeding with the design and construction of a
combined community center/library facility at Diamond Lakes Regional
Park. (No recommendation from Public Services Committee May 7, 2001)
Mr. Cheek: Mr. Mayor?
Mr. Mayor: Yes, Mr. Cheek?
Mr. Cheek: I’d like to have this item removed from the agenda today.
Mr. Mayor: You’d like to remove this item from the agenda?
Mr. Cheek: Yes.
Mr. Mayor: Is there any objection to removing this item from the agenda today?
None heard, so we will delete Item 44 and we will take that up at another day. Those of
you who are here today for Item 44, we’re not going to take it up today, so you’re free to
leave. You’re certainly invited to stay for the rest of our meeting today. But let me also
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say that I apologize for the inefficiency of the air conditioning system. We’re going
through an upgrade of the chiller system in this building, and we’re still working to refine
it and get it just right throughout the building. If you want to take your coat off or
whatever to be comfortable, please do so. Thank you. Madame Clerk? Let’s do the
resolutions and the delegations.
Clerk:
RESOLUTIONS:
A. Motion to approve Resolution of Support of funding for Savannah River
Site. (Requested by Mayor Young)
Mr. Mayor: Is there a motion to approve?
Mr. J. Brigham: I so move.
Mr. Shepard: Second.
Mr. Mayor: Any objection? None heard.
Motion carries 9-0.
Mr. Mayor: Next item?
Clerk:
B. Motion to approve Resolution of support for the Regional Economic
Advancement and Development Initiative (READI program) from the
Georgia Department of Industry, Trade & Tourism.
Clerk: Mr. Mayor, there was a representative here today, Mr. Jenkins, David
Jenkins. He is here on behalf of Tourism & Trade. He’d like to address this.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Jenkins, did you want to speak to this resolution?
Mr. Jenkins: Yes, sir.
Mr. Mayor: Give us your name and address for the record, please.
Mr. Jenkins: David Jenkins. 1054 [inaudible] Road, Augusta.
Mr. Mayor: If you could speak into the microphone, too. There you go.
Mr. Jenkins: The READI program is a venture of the Georgia statewide
economic developers to make sure that communities across the state are prepared for
economic growth. Augusta Richmond County is at the height of this preparation. We’re
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very proud to be working with you. One of the components is a resolution just to make
sure that each government across the state is supporting their local economic developers.
That’s what this motion is for, in support of that. I’ve got additional information if you’d
like me to leave that as well for you.
Mr. Kuhlke: I so move.
Mr. Shepard: Second.
Mr. Mayor: Thank you. Motion and second. Is there any further discussion?
Any objections? None noted. Thank you very much.
Motion carries 9-0.
Clerk: Under Delegations, Mr. Bernard Smith.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Bernard Smith. Mr. Smith. We’ll move on to the next one and
come back to him if he appears.
ADDENDUM AGENDA:
Deletions from the agenda:
Delegation Items D and E
Clerk: Mr. Mayor, as part of our addendum agenda: Item D has been
requested to be deleted, as well as Item E.
Mr. Mayor: Is there any objection to deleting Items D and E? No objections are
noted, Madame Clerk.
Additions to the agenda:
1. Ratify appointment of Katherine D. Allen by the Legislative Delegation to the
Augusta Richmond County Tree Commission.
F. Downtown Development Authority
Mr. Sanford Loyd, Chairman
RE: City Center Master Plan and the introduction of New Executive
Director of DDA/Main Street
Clerk: Item F, Downtown Development Authority, Mr. Sanford Loyd,
Chairman, in reference to the City Center Master Plan and the introduction of the
New Executive Director of Downtown Development Authority and Main Street.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Loyd?
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Mr. Loyd: Good afternoon. Mr. Mayor, members of the Commission, thank you
for the opportunity to speak today. I come, the Downtown Development Authority, on
behalf of Downtown Development Authority and Main Street Augusta. Downtown
Development Authority and Main Street Augusta are two separate and distinct
organizations that pursue the common goal of economic and physical revitalization and
development of downtown Augusta. These two organizations share an executive director
and office space at 111 Tenth Street. Since March 2, 2001 we have been without an
executive director. Effective today, we have a new director and would like to introduce
him to the Augusta Richmond County Commissioners at this time. Our new director is
Mr. Chris Naylor. Mr. Naylor has an extensive background in public relations and
marketing and experience in forming needed coalitions to achieve common goals. At this
time, I would also like to say that Downtown Development Authority and Main Street
Augusta represent a public/private partnership that is vital to the revitalization and
economic development of Augusta Richmond County, and on March 1 of this year, the
Downtown Development Authority hosted a breakfast meeting to review with other
downtown organizations the City Center Master Plan update done by LDR International
on behalf of Augusta Richmond County and Augusta Tomorrow, Inc. At that meeting,
Downtown Development Authority voiced its support for the concept of the plan and
asked for comments and input from the other organizations present. The following
organizations have resolved to support the concept of the plan and work together for
economic and physical revitalization and development of downtown Augusta; those
organizations being Augusta Canal Authority, Augusta Metropolitan Convention &
Visitors Bureau, Augusta Museum of History, Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce,
Historic Augusta, Augusta Richmond County Coliseum, Augusta Arts Council, Main
Street Augusta, Augusta Technical College, Paine College, Augusta Tomorrow, Inc.,
Augusta Richmond County Planning Commission, and Dr. William Bloodworth, Jr. of
Augusta State. These organizations further recommend that the Augusta 2000 City
Center Master Plan be adopted by the Augusta Richmond County Commission as a guide
for revitalization and economic development for the City Center. At this time, I present
Mr. Chris Naylor and would ask the Commission to respond or take action on the last
recommendation. Again, Mr. Chris Naylor, our new Executive Director, who I hope will
have many more conversations with the Commission as he works diligently to revitalize
Augusta and I think he’ll do a wonderful job. Again, thank you for your time and
attention.
Mr. Mayor: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Loyd.
Mr. Kuhlke: Mr. Mayor?
Mr. Mayor: Yes, Mr. Kuhlke?
Mr. Kuhlke: I’d like to move that this Commission adopt the
recommendation of the Downtown Development Authority in embracing the 2000
Master Plan that was developed by Augusta Tomorrow and also has been now
adopted by all the organizations mentioned.
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Mr. Mayor: Is there a second to that motion?
Mr. Shepard: Second.
Mr. Mayor: Discussion? We’ll go ahead and record a vote on this one. All in
favor of the motion, please vote aye.
Motion carries 9-0.
Clerk: Mr. Mayor, for the record, Commissioner Mays will not be in attendance
at today’s meeting. He’s out of town.
Mr. Mayor: Thank you. Next item?
Clerk:
G. Mr. George Beasley
1130 Turpin Street
RE: HND Housing Rehab Program
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Beasley, for the record, if you’ll just give us your name and
address.
Mr. Beasley: George Beasley. 1130 Turpin Street.
Mr. Mayor: All right. If you’ll speak into the microphone, please. Go ahead.
Mr. Beasley: My complaint is about the neighborhood association, I guess Mr.
Keven Mack. I don’t know whether he’s here or not today. But I had some work done in
my home and it was never completed. And when I went to a board meeting and they
ordered him to proceed, but he didn’t. And that’s why I’m here today, to see when I can
get my work completed.
Mr. Mayor: Have you met with our staff?
Mr. Beasley: Yes, I have.
Mr. Mayor: Yes, George?
Mr. Kolb: Mr. Mayor, members of the Commission, Keven Mack unfortunately
could not be with us. However, the inspector for this project, John Kemp, I think is in the
office of HND and I would ask him to respond to this gentlemen.
Mr. Mayor: I just spoke with Mr. Brigham during Mr. Beasley’s presentation and
I wonder if it might be more appropriate if we sent this to committee as opposed to
dealing with this on the floor here today. Yes, Mr. Beard?
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Mr. Beard: Mr. Mayor, if I’m correct, I think Mr. Beasley has been before our
committee once, and this is what we instructed him -- that was supposed to happen at that
time, that he was supposed to get with Mr. Mack and come to some determination on
this.
Mr. Kuhlke: Mr. Mayor?
Mr. Mayor: Yes?
Mr. Kuhlke: I think John is prepared to respond.
Mr. Mayor: Let’s hear from the staff then.
Mr. Kemp: Gentlemen, Mr. Beasley did in fact come in front of the Commission.
I have a handout here that outlines what went on with Mr. Beasley’s house. Mr.
Beasley’s house was originally looked at in 1998, at which time we determined that it
was uneconomically feasible to do any rehabilitation work on his house. He was sent a
letter at that time notifying him of that fact. Last year in 2000, World Changers, the
youth organization out of the Southern Baptist Convention, came down to Augusta last
year again also and worked on Mr. Beasley’s house to fix the roof. Because of the
advanced deterioration of the house, the kids were not able to finish it during the week
that they were there. Normally what they do is they have another crew that will come
back then and complete the project, but they were not going to be able to make it for
about six weeks and it was starting to rain. So we contracted, we hired a contractor to go
out there and complete the roof and repair all the ceiling damage that went on out there. I
just want to reiterate we never had a contract to do any rehabilitation work on Mr.
Beasley’s house. We have never done any rehabilitation work on Mr. Beasley’s house.
We have had our inspectors go back out there and reevaluate the house. The house --
right now our initial estimate is $37,000 which exceeds the funding cap, even with the
addition that you put in there, and that’s without even looking at lead paint. And that’s
where we’re at right now.
Mr. Mayor: What is the most that we can spend on a rehab?
Mr. Kemp: The most we can spend on a rehab now, Mr. Mayor, is $30,000 if it’s
a regular rehab and there’s no lead paint involved; $40,000 if it is. We’re at $37,000 on
Mr. Beasley’s house and we haven’t tested for lead paint.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Williams?
Mr. Williams: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Mr. Beasley lives in my District and he
had called and talked with me several times and also he been before this Commission
before. I would like to ask the inspector a question. You might be able to help me out a
little bit. If, when y’all looked at Mr. Beasley’s home in the beginning and you weren’t
able to do anything for him; is that what you are saying?
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Mr. Kemp: That’s correct, sir.
Mr. Williams: Did you not send the World Outreach or World Changes ministry
to his home, did your office not send those people to Mr. Beasley?
Mr. Kemp: We contacted World Changers to see if they would be willing to do
Mr. Beasley’s house, and they did. Mr. Beasley signed an agreement with World
Changers, not with us.
Mr. Williams: The question was, did you send the World Changing group, the
kids that come through, to Mr. Beasley from your office or did he contact those people?
That’s what I want to know.
Mr. Kemp: We contacted the neighborhood association, Turpin Hill
Neighborhood Association. It was available to everybody in the neighborhood. Mr.
Beasley is one of the gentlemen that signed up for it.
Mr. Williams: You did send these people to Mr. Beasley’s home; is that correct?
Mr. Kemp: I’m listening to your question here. That was available to everybody,
Mr. Commissioner. We did not send them there like we would a contractor or something.
Mr. Mayor: Let’s not be arguing back and forth.
Mr. Williams: Okay. Mr. Mayor, I’m trying to get an answer to my question.
Mr. Mayor: I understand that, Mr. Williams, but also the rules of the Commission
do not allow a Commissioner to interrogate a member of staff.
Mr. Williams: I have not got an answer to the question, Mr. Mayor. If you don’t
want me to ask this question, I won’t do it. But I need to know because there’s not just
one, there’s several homes that had problems with the World Changing group and they
were referred to by somebody. Now if they was referred to by HND, then they enter into
the picture by referring them. And from the last conversation that I remember, Mr. Mack
was instructed to get with Mr. Beasley and to find out just what he could do for whatever
money was available.
Mr. Mayor: Let’s ask Mr. Beasley. How did World Changers come to come to
your house? How did you find out they were coming to work on your house?
Mr. Beasley: Through Mr. Mack’s office.
Mr. Mayor: Okay. Well, I think that answers the question.
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Mr. Williams: That’s what I wanted to know. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So the
involvement came in, World Changers through HND, and Mr. Mack was instructed by
this body to get with Mr. Beasley and see how much they could do for what they had to
do with, and my question to Mr. Beasley, have anyone from that department come to
your home and talked with you about what they could do?
Mr. Beasley: Someone just go there yesterday.
Mr. Williams: Someone came yesterday. And what was said, Mr. Beasley?
What did they tell you?
Mr. Beasley: Just wrote the house up again from the way it was from the
beginning, and see the World Changers, they done more damage to my house than was
there.
Mr. Williams: Mr. Beasley, I understand. The Mayor and I together, on another
occasion when we went by another home, they had some young kids trying to do some
good, but without the professional help end up doing some more harm at another
residence, that HND had to go to that home and straighten it out as well. My thing is if
it’s right, it’s right. And if it’s wrong, it’s wrong.
Mr. Mayor: Let me ask Commissioner Williams. Commissioner Williams, what
would you want this Commission to do today?
Mr. Williams: Mr. Mayor, if I remember correctly, I think that we had instructed
HND to go to Mr. Beasley’s home and to see what they could do as far as dollar amount,
what repairs could they make. Rather than leave this home in the [inaudible] that it has
been for probably a year now. For them to go out, and I just heard from Mr. Beasley that
somebody just came out yesterday?
Mr. Beasley: Yes. Yesterday.
Mr. Williams: Well, I suggest that HND ought to have the inspector or Mr. Mack
himself or somebody go out to the home to find out what can they do. There are some
funds available I believe and maybe we can’t do everything, but if he’s got some repair
that we can do, since we open up this can of worms, we ought to close it up.
Mr. Mayor: Well, since the inspectors were out there yesterday and did a workup
on it, could they bring that report to the committee meeting on Monday so we can
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continue to pursue this? Tuesday, I’m sorry, going to meet Tuesday. Tuesday the 29
will be the next committee meeting.
Mr. Williams: Yes, sir, that’s fine with me. That’s fine with me, Mr. Mayor.
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Mr. Mayor: And HND can bring the report, the results of the write-up that they
did yesterday and Mr. Beasley can attend that meeting, and let’s see if we can bring some
finality to this at that meeting. Mr. Chairman, is that --
Mr. H. Brigham: I move.
Mr. Kuhlke: Second.
Mr. Mayor: Motion and second. Any further discussion? All in favor please
vote aye.
Motion carries 9-0.
Clerk:
I. Hyde and Aragon Park Improvement Committee Inc.
Mr. Charles N. Utley, President
Re: Inert Landfill
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Utley? Good afternoon. If you’ll give us your name and address
again for the record, please.
Mr. Utley: Charles Utley. 3417 Sutton Place, Augusta 30906. Thank this
Commission and the Mayor for allowing us to come before you this afternoon. It’s been
a while since we had to appear before you. But our community is looking at something
that can end up being detrimental to our area. We live in a flood-prone area, as all of you
are quite aware of. All of you are quite aware that we’re working on one end with the
[inaudible] and the Goldberg junkyard, but at the same time, we have been stabbed with a
new intrusion of a landfill with inert coming from all over and anywhere they want to
bring it, piling up on the Carolina Road and the Gordon Highway. So as we clean up one
end, we begin to junk it up on another end. And the community is just darn right tired of
it. Because everywhere we look, we have to fight somebody just to live in a community.
With the water as high as it gets in that area, why approve an inert landfill? There is one
across the road and it’s approximately almost six or seven stories high. And we have the
same thing on the other side of the road and we’re talking about building up and making
our community look nice. How can we do it? But I understand that it’s in an industrial
area. I understand that. But I understand also that we have women, children and we have
older adults living in this area and you have dump trucks, approximately 15 of them,
coming in by the way of Dan Bowles Road, Willow Street, to make it to this landfill.
And when you get there, they are dumping and we have a high rate of already respiratory
and circulatory diseases that are out there. So we have unknowns coming in and being
done. One in particular we called EPD because it had covering on it. Well, we’ve
learned with covering, plastic in particular, means contamination. And we are not for
sure, we won’t go on record for saying it, but we are just curious why do that to a
community that’s fighting to get free from pollution? And we are asking whatever,
Corps of Engineers may have stamped approval, EPD may have stamped approval, but
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the residents have not stamped approval, and we want it stopped by whatever means
necessary, if we have to go from here, then we must move because things like this, our
community, make it seem like there is a division between where things go and where
things should not go. But we realize by the railroad track are those that are in poverty,
we realize that they are poor, realize that they are white as well. Why do this to another
native or American or better than yet, right here one of our citizens? And we are asking
today that this board goes on some type of record to reverse this decision to have this
water backing up on these [inaudible]. They are next door. It’s not down the street.
They’re actually next door. So we want to know that little buffer that they have out there,
it’s not going to provide it. I have the [inaudible] that I used to use as a child to get out
the neighborhood. Nothing has changed. Why do we want to dump, now dirt, to pile up
what little runoff we had? So I’m asking that somehow that we can do something today,
that we can say we’re going on record to stop things like this, not only in Hyde Park, but
wherever there are people living, trying to make a life for themselves, stop rubber
stamping dumps on people who can’t fight for themselves or you think they can’t fight
for themselves? Because we are here today to let you know that though it may be
approved, we’re going to do our best to unapproved it, and we’re asking for your support,
to go on your record, as a voice and opinion, as voice and opinion for the residents of
Hyde Park, Aragon Park, Virginia subdivision and any other intruding neighborhood that
such a company would do. Thank you.
Mr. Mayor: Thank you, Rev. Utley. Rob or George, can you tell us some
information about this landfill?
Mr. Patty: As Mr. Utley said, this property is zoned heavy industrial and an inert
landfill is a permitted use in industrial zoning. Inert materials are dirt basically and
concrete, tree stumps and that sort of thing. Inert landfills can’t even take construction
wastes in most cases, so this is truly inert, inoffensive material. We approve the plan
based on the zoning, the soil erosion plan that showed that soil erosion would be taken
care of and all of the county’s rules and regulations were met, and they proceeded to
implement that plan. I don’t -- it shows the final grade that they’ll bring it to, and when
they get to that grade they’ll restore the property and they’ll go somewhere else. But
between now and then, I don’t know what you can possibly do to stop this operation.
Mr. Mayor: Does this landfill require any kind of a permit or anything from
EPD?
Mr. Patty: It’s a self-permitting process with the state. EPD. They maintain
certain records and at any time the state can come in and review those records and
determine whether they’re in compliance with the state.
Mr. Mayor: Has there been any indication this does not comply with state rules,
George?
Mr. Patty: Mr. Utley has suggested there are materials going in there that
shouldn’t, and I would encourage him to ask the state to look into that.
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Mr. Mayor: Mr. Wall, is there anything that this Commission can do to stop or
undo what’s been done there?
Mr. Wall: Not that I’m aware of. If it complies with the zoning law and if it’s
met the EPD guidelines, I’m uncertain of anything we can do in that regard.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Williams, you had your hand up?
Mr. Williams: Yes, Mr. Mayor. This is another problem in my District that I
stand to address again. That very spot that Rev. Utley just spoke about, we was told one
afternoon that the Georgia Natural Gas was doing some cleanup work on Bay Street that
was contamination that they carried out to the very spot and covered it up with plastic,
and children was running all of it playing, as children would do. But nobody seemed to
care about the inner city and the left part of the city. I understand this government didn’t
deliberately do anything to do that, but these people have got a very unique situation.
You don’t live there. You don’t have to deal with it. You don’t have to see it. But I
think it’s time for them to start standing and speak out against stuff such as this, and I’m
in 100% support of whatever we can do to change that if we can.
Mr. Mayor: All right. Do you have a specific recommendation, Commissioner?
Mr. Williams: No, sir, Mr. Mayor. If I had, I would have brought it to you, sir.
Mr. Mayor: Thank you. Mr. Beard and then Mr. Cheek.
Mr. Beard:
Mr. Mayor, I understand the ramifications of all of this, and I’m
going to make a motion here, because I think that sometimes we say we can’t do
something, but I think if we look hard enough and try hard enough, we can come up with
solutions. And the thing I’ve been thinking about here, since I’ve heard what Mr. Utley
said and I don’t think any of the Commissioners were aware of what was really going on
out there. I think it should be turned back to the, referred back to the Engineering
Services Committee. And if they have even come up with a subcommittee to look into
this and study this, I think those people out there deserve some help, and I think that it is
incumbent upon this Commission to look into it and see whatever could be done to assist
those, because I know as a citizen here in Augusta, life-long citizen, I know what they’ve
So that is my motion to have the Engineering Services look
gone through out there.
into this and do whatever is necessary to alleviate some of that situation out there.
Mr. Mayor: Thank you, Mr. Beard. Do we have a second to that?
Mr. H. Brigham: Second.
Mr. Mayor: Okay. Mr. Cheek and then Mr. Colclough.
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Mr. Cheek: Mr. Mayor, I have a 50+ acre borrow pit out off of Karleen Road that
the state so-called monitors. They visit maybe twice a year, send us about three letters,
and nothing gets done. The soil contamination, if this is indeed from the canal rehab
program, could have levels exceeding EPA standards, which if put into an inert landfill,
then that makes that a hazardous waste landfill which is in violation of the law. But the
state does not sample and monitor these things as they should. They’ll visit us, and we
all saw what we went through with Goldberg and their enforcement of the problem there.
And we had someone walk away from it. It’s time for this Commission, this city to start
defending its citizens from these people, and certainly when we’ve got a six-story -- and
it’s not joke -- a six-story high hill made out of ground up concrete and so forth on
Gordon Highway, and then we’re going to build another one on the other side of the road,
how are we going to attract people when this is a major artery in this city? Things like
that need to be considered. That’s why we need continuous review of our zoning. When
it goes idle like that property did for a period of time, we need to revert it back to some
non-intrusive zoning until such time as it will be used and then zone it as it is used, not
allow these 30-year-old zoning parcels to stand, because that is a trap for every
neighborhood. And I wholeheartedly support this and hope this government will start
standing up for its people.
Mr. Mayor: Thank you. Mr. Colclough and then Mr. Wall.
Mr. Colclough: Mr. Mayor, the citizens of that area probably has monitored that
landfill more closely than anyone else has. Mr. Utley says that some of the trucks are
coming in there with covers on them and most inert landfills would have an open-top
cover when they dump. I think if they’re trying to put some earth in there that may have
been contaminated, I think that is a reason for this Commission to step forward. If we get
this mound of stuff packed in on Gordon Highway and then later we’re going to find out
when the rain starts soaking through it, this stuff is now seeping out in the community,
we’re going to have a worse mess than we have now. So I also support that we do
something to stop this landfill.
Mr. Mayor: Thank you. Mr. Wall?
Mr. Wall: I was going to comment that Sean Hargis is the environmental
compliance officer who works through Rob Sherman’s office. My suggestion is that we,
you mentioned Public Works, but I think she is the appropriate one to investigate, do
whatever sample testing is necessary, and to monitor the situation to ensure that it’s
compliant with the regulations. Now that doesn’t deal with inert landfill, but it does deal
with if there are illegal substances being deposited there, I mean there are severe
penalties that are involved in that, and that’s something that we should obviously look
into and investigate and report to the appropriate people and take the appropriate action.
Mr. Mayor: Well, I think it would be appropriate for her to investigate it and then
work with this committee or subcommittee out of Engineering Services, do it in-house.
Mr. Bridges and then Mr. Cheek.
15
Mr. Bridges: Mr. Mayor, that was what I was going to suggest, if George would
get with these appropriate people, have that soil tested before it comes to Engineering
Services Committee at the next meeting so we can move on from there. I’d appreciate it.
Mr. Mayor: All right. Thank you. Mr. Cheek?
Mr. Cheek: Mr. Mayor, I’m not sure if we can sample enough. Some of these
things, the contaminants in the canal area are very stable toxins that will last hundreds of
years. But the point I’m trying to make and I tried to make earlier, Sean Hargis has
worked very hard with me on the problem I have in my District, and it’s the state that is
not following up on its own rules and regulations, and this is where this city needs to
stand up and send a message to the state, whether it’s individual inspectors or the
department or whatever, and tell them look, we expect more out of you people. Because
these same contaminants, if they get mobile in the ground water, do cause birth defects
and other things if it’s the same material.
Mr. Mayor: Thank you. We have a motion on the floor that would send this item
to Engineering Services for follow-up. All in favor of that motion, please vote aye.
Motion carries 9-0.
Mr. Utley: Mr. Mayor, we do have some residents who would like to be
recognized by raising of hands on that issue.
Mr. Mayor: If y’all would like to give us a show of hands, we can get a head
count.
Mr. Utley: Some are out in the hallway. Residents of Hyde Park and other areas.
Mr. Mayor: Even though we’ve disposed of your item, we’d certainly welcome
you to stay for the rest of the meeting today, too. That meeting, Madame Clerk, is on the
th
29; is that correct?
Clerk: Yes.
th
Mr. Mayor: That meeting is on the 29. Thank you. Madame Clerk, if we
would, let’s move along to item --
Clerk: It’s at 3 o’clock.
Mr. Mayor: 3 o’clock.
th
Clerk: 3 o’clock on the 29.
Mr. Mayor: Let’s move to item 41. I think we’ve got a bunch of people here for
that.
16
Clerk:
41. Motion to authorize Public Works and Engineering Department to award
contract to the low bidder in each of the sections bid for the Solid Waste
Collection contract. (No action vote taken in the Commission’s May 1
meeting)
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Kolb, do you have a report for us? I think we asked for some
specific information at the last meeting.
Mr. Kolb: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Mr. Mayor, members of the Commission,
today you received reports from us concerning the solid waste collection financial plan.
At your last Commission meeting, you directed the staff to come back to you with a
finance plan that would first of all fund the requested proposed solid waste plan
[inaudible] for consideration and also determine how you would finance the program for
the first nine months of any given tax years. It is our proposal that we assess -- let me
back up. We met. The staff met as a committee and we determined that the appropriate
way to finance the program would be to -- can you hear me?
Mr. Mayor: I’m trying to adjust it but there are more knobs down here than there
are people in this room.
Mr. Kolb: Is this any better?
Mr. Mayor: Yes.
Mr. Kolb: Okay. The committee got together and determined that the most
appropriate way to finance this program would be through a special assessment and the
creation of new solid waste management districts, and to continue to receive funding
from the urban services district as their portion of the cost of the program. We then
determined how many units were in each of the new districts, as well as in the old urban
services district, and distributed costs equitably across the entire assessed area. And we
have determined that approximately a third should be apportioned to the urban services
district since they receive about a third of the service, and the other two-thirds the solid
waste management district. We have a resolution in the financial package that would
create those special services district and also assess the cost on a four-year basis
beginning in 2002, and on a pro rated basis in 2001. Based on that finance plan, which
we consider to be equitable to all of the recipients of the service, we would recommend
that you award the bids and adopt the resolution. I have staff here if there are questions
regarding the plan, and I can answer questions also.
Mr. Beard: Mr. Mayor.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Beard. Then Mr. Kuhlke.
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Mr. Beard: I move for approval.
Mr. Williams: Second.
Mr. Mayor: We have a motion and second to approve. Would you like to
discuss? Okay, Mr. Kuhlke, you’re next.
Mr. Kuhlke: I’d like to ask George. Your memo that you sent out indicated there
would be internal financing if we went ahead and implemented the plan. Could you
expand just a little bit on that item?
Mr. Kolb: Yes, sir. As a part of general government each year we pretty much
run out of money before we collect our taxes in the latter part of the fiscal year, and we
borrow from reserves that we have set aside to help us get through these shortages in cash
flow. So it’s a cash flow problem that we believe that we can finance as we do other
services of the municipality.
Mr. Kuhlke: You say reserves. You’re talking about the fund balance?
Mr. Kolb: That is current. That is correct.
Mr. Kuhlke: As we go forward, we would always been one year in arrears?
Mr. Kolb: You will be approximately nine to twelve months behind always on
the collection of those fees. But you are anyway.
Mr. Kuhlke: But the fund balance, do you know what that figure is right now? I
think we tried to create that we wouldn’t go below a certain fund balance at any time.
Mr. Kolb: That is correct.
Mr. Kuhlke: And if we look, would we be going into the tune of $6 million a year
in arrears?
Mr. Kolb: I don’t believe that that would be the case. We would not go in arrears
at all because we’d start out with a balanced budget. It’s a cash flow issue, which we use
our reserves to help us get through the cash flow until the funds that have been
appropriated for revenues have been collected. Mrs. Williams, could you help me out
here, if I’m correct on that?
Ms. Williams: The cost associated with this was approximately $459,000 per
month based on the hauler costs, and looking at these about 10 months, 10 to 11 months
behind, it’s going to be about $4.9 million before your revenue collections start coming
in. The reserves that are available are capable of handling that until such time as these
revenues come in.
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Mr. Kuhlke: I guess the question I’m trying to get to, Ms. Williams, is did this
Commission establish a bottom fund balance that we wouldn’t go below at any time?
Ms. Williams: Not so much as a hard dollar figure, as the rule of thumb was two
to three months’ worth of operating reserve. 60 to90 days. This would not impact that.
Mr. Kuhlke: Wouldn’t impact it?
Ms. Williams: No, sir.
Mr. Kuhlke: Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Shepard?
Mr. Shepard: Let me follow up that question. What I’m trying to understand,
Ms. Williams, is how the fund balance would be affected over the year. It doesn’t stay
constant. The figure I recall in my mind, we had about a $26 million, $27 million fund
balance.
Ms. Williams: That’s pretty close.
Mr. Shepard: Which equates to about 90 days of operating expenses?
Ms. Williams: About 70.
Mr. Shepard: But that balance goes up and down.
Ms. Williams: It does.
Mr. Shepard: Based on this $459,000 charge in each particular month, how much
do you think that would drop below that average amount? I mean could you show us like
month-to-month?
Ms. Williams: We did not do it each individual month. We did it on a quarterly
basis. But it did not impact that substantially.
Mr. Shepard: Well, on a quarterly basis, a quarter is three months so at some
point, would it not, if you were one quarter behind, wouldn’t that be $1.2 million out of
fund balance?
Ms. Williams: Yes.
Mr. Shepard: At that time?
Ms. Williams: Yes, sir. It would not drop you below your established operating
reserves.
19
Mr. Shepard: So the fund balance currently is higher than the established -- let’s
get our terms straight. The fund balance is currently higher than the established operating
reserve, am I correct?
Ms. Williams: Yes, sir. We will have -- the auditors’ report is almost completed,
and they will have the finalized figures for you probably within the two to three weeks.
Mr. Shepard: So if this adversely affects our fund balance -- you don’t think it
will, but what if it does because of slow collections from other sources like sales tax or
something? What do we do then?
Ms. Williams: Well, if your sales tax revenues drop, then you’re going to have to
be impacted on your budget side because you have balanced your budget using sales tax
funds.
Mr. Shepard: Sure. I mean it’s part of the component that lowers the property
tax.
Ms. Williams: Right. If those drop substantially, then you would have some
subsequent problems other than the cash flow and it’s addressed here.
Mr. Shepard: Well, do you think that before the next Finance Committee
meeting, and for my comfort zone thinking, you could give us an illustration of how this,
if we pass this today, how that’s going to impact our fund balance?
Ms. Williams: Yes, sir. We could do that.
Mr. Shepard: So it’s your opinion on this record today that it would not impair
the funding of this government --
Ms. Williams: It would not have a negative impact.
Mr. Shepard: -- and we could loan our money to send the fund balance to this
service fund --
Ms. Williams: Yes, sir.
Mr. Shepard: -- and provide this service for $16.25 a month per unit?
Ms. Williams: Yes, sir.
Mr. Shepard: Okay.
Mr. Mayor: And they’ve factored in here, Mr. Shepard, the cost of loaning that
money, too, for any of the lost interest. Mr. Bridges.
20
Mr. Bridges: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. George, as I understand your resolution,
this is going to cost $195 a year per household that receives this service; is that correct?
Mr. Kolb: That is correct.
Mr. Bridges: Just to let my fellow Commissioners know where I’m at on this
issue, I had a public meeting in which we tried to get a read for three of my voting
Districts as to where the public was in regards to this proposal. And I know I went to one
of Mr. Brigham’s, Jerry Brigham’s and Mr. Shepard’s meetings as well. The dollars we
put up there that we told the people we had been quoted by, I think it was CSRA Waste,
was approximately $175 a year. And it puts me in the position -- I sent out ballots as well
through Ms. Bonner’s office in the water bills to ask the people in these voting Districts
that we polled, my three precincts that I polled, I guess, whether they were for or against
this proposal, but we quoted them the price that we had been bidding on by CSRA Waste
and the other bidders. We took the low bid. And they overwhelmingly, two to one,
support the proposal at that price. So the problem I have with the proposal that’s on the
floor is not so much the financing, it’s the cost, the increase in cost that this would be as
opposed to the bid package that we received earlier and have placed on hold. So George,
I guess the question I’ve got is, is it possible to today accept the original low bid and yet
still use the same funding mechanism that you’re proposing?
Mr. Kolb: Yes, it is possible. However, it would throw the whole plan out of
balance in terms of equity, that there would be a greater proportion of the cost on some
Districts and lesser portion of the cost on others. By the way, let me add, when you sent
out your survey, you sent it out based on the bid or based on the estimated cost of the
actual collection. We have also included in the cost, as the Mayor said, administrative
expenses that are necessary in order to finance the plan.
Mr. Mayor: Are the tipping fees of $1.7 million including in the bids? They’re
not included?
Mr. Kolb: The tipping fees are not included in the bid.
Mr. Mayor: All right.
Mr. Kolb: They are included in the assessment.
Mr. Mayor: I understand that. So if we just awarded it on those bids, we’d have
to absorb the tipping fees, then?
Mr. Kolb: That’s correct.
Mr. Bridges: And the tipping fees, how much increase does that give per year per
bill? Do we know that?
21
Mr. Kolb: I don’t know offhand the [inaudible].
Mr. Goins: That’s -- $3.90 is tipping fees and in costs.
Mr. Bridges: That’s $3 per unit?
Mr. Goins: $3.90 per unit.
Mr. Bridges: Per unit per year?
Mr. Goins: Yes. Per month.
Mr. Bridges: Per month?
Mr. Goins: Yes, sir.
Mr. Bridges: I’m going to have to back up here. I want to make sure I get this
right. So Drew, when we have those meetings, we quoted those people $175. So
basically what you’re telling me is the tipping fee is the $20 difference?
Mr. Goins: No, sir. The number that was quoted in the public meetings included
the tipping fees and added-in costs for the landfill use. The $3.90. The information that
was provided at the public meeting was the haul cost plus tipping fees.
Mr. Bridges: So we do have all -- we are comparing costs against costs here
then? The $175 original bid against the $195 we are comparing all components?
Mr. Goins: The only element that was not in the cost that was shown at the public
meeting was the carrying cost for the financing that was explained earlier.
Mr. Bridges: Do we know how much that is per year? I’m trying to get to the
position where I can vote for this. But the problem I have is I’ve quoted somebody a
price and now here I am changing it $20 increase, and I have a problem voting for that.
Mr. Goins: I believe that the price per unit equaled 45 cents per unit. It was
about 45 cents per unit. That was carrying cost and then the assumption of bad debts by
non-collection of taxes and that kind of thing.
Mr. Bridges: Okay. But George, also here, if I’m moving from $175 just a 45
cent difference up to $195, I mean earlier we were quoted for the suburban district $175.
We are moving to $195. It has the appearance of subsidizing another district. I mean
that’s the first thing that comes to mind to me. Is that what we’re doing here?
Mr. Kolb: The $16.25 per unit that brings equity to it is an average of all of these
sections’ cost. All of these sections are different. Some are paying more than the $16.25,
some are paying less than that. So when you average it, it comes out to $16.25. So yes,
22
there is some subsidy to bring the higher costs down, and some of the lower costs are
coming up.
Mr. Bridges: Jim, are y’all coming up with any numbers there?
Mr. Mayor: Let’s move along.
Mr. Bridges: I’d like to be heard on this again, Mr. Mayor.
Mr. Mayor: Yes, sir, that would be fine. Mr. Henry Brigham and then Mr.
Williams. And then Mr. Shepard.
Mr. H. Brigham: We’re having a public meeting tonight, so now would I be safe,
or would we be safe to say $195 or we go back to this $175? I need something to kind of
let them know about it. We’re going to meet at 7 o’clock, if the Mayor lets us out in
time. I certainly hope some of you will be there at [inaudible] to explain this.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Chairman, we hope to have a figure for you shortly, as soon as
the Commission makes a decision.
Mr. H. Brigham: All right.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Williams and then Mr. Shepard.
Mr. Williams: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Mr. Mayor, if you was to take a survey or
ask how many people here today are in support of this garbage pickup, I think you’d find
overwhelmingly that most of these people here are for that. We talking about three
services a week. I hear we talking about 45 cents difference on how much more it’s
going to cost us. We are getting a lot more for the dollar that we are spending. This
service is very much needed in these areas to help us clean up the city of Augusta.
People are tired of waiting on garbage men to come seven days a week in their areas. We
as Commissioners, we have got a responsibility to the people. The people are here to
represent themselves, but let this body know that they are in favor of this garbage pickup.
We’ve got the low bid. The Administrator has shown us a way to do it. We are never
going to be able to please everybody. We have not been pleased in our District in a long
time. And I don’t see why we are haggling about trying to please everybody in other
Districts now. We have got the bidder. We have got the contract. We have got a way to
fund it. And I’m going to call for the question, Mr. Mayor, that we go and vote on this.
Mr. Mayor: Thank you, Mr. Williams. I had already recognized Commissioner
Shepard to have the floor, and we need to answer Mr. Bridges’ question, and then we’ll
be glad to move ahead with the vote. Mr. Shepard.
Mr. Shepard: Mr. Mayor, my question is does the motion comprehend that we
would award the contract by districts to the previous low bidder in that district?
23
Heretofore, and the reason I ask heretofore is we had low bidders by Districts and we had
a matrix, so how are we going to award the contract based on a level fee, George?
Mr. Mayor: George, can you answer that?
Mr. Kolb: I’m sorry.
Mr. Shepard: George, you were talking. My question is last time we had what I
called a matrix with Districts and low bidders. Drew, maybe you can answer this. We
had low bidders by Districts. The motion, I think was to award it to a low bid in each
District. Now with a levelized or uniform charge, $16.25 a month, $195 a year, are we
still going to award those contracts by District to the former low bidders? How is there --
Mr. Goins: Yes. Yes.
Mr. Shepard: And so the --
Mr. Kolb: The financing plan that you have before you now is just to raise the
revenue to meet the costs of the contracts that you’re about to award. That was the
question that was asked that was last time.
Mr. Shepard: And then if we, if we need to tweak this for whatever reason, I
mean, if we don’t have enough money, if our cash flow, if we have problems with the
general fund, how revisable is this? I mean if we’re awarding these contracts for a year,
if we have a problem that we haven’t foreseen, how would we fix it? How quickly? If
we had some unanticipated problem? I mean I know we don’t have any unanticipated
problems down here, do we?
Mr. Mayor: But wouldn’t it be a case of, Mr. Shepard, that you actually have two
different sides to this? You have the contract side and what we’re paying the contractors
to pick it up, and then on the other side is what we’re determining today how much we’re
going to charge the citizens for that service. There is a relationship between the two, but
the two are actually independent of each other.
Mr. Shepard: Well, you’ve got to have the revenue to pay for the contracts.
Mr. Mayor: Right.
Mr. Shepard: So we could change the pricing as needed; is that correct?
Mr. Wall: The resolution, rather, can be $195, $196, whatever.
Mr. Shepard: That could be done at any given meeting? It would necessarily a
lag time, a long lag time where we create the financial problem.
24
Mr. Wall: Well, I mean, you’re setting the rate for this year. And understand that
it takes some lag time insofar as getting in the bill, and that’s the July 15 date that’s a part
of the resolution. So before July 15, you could probably change that, but we don’t -- I
mean we have contemplated, tried to plan for, those types of events, delaying collections
and things of that nature, and built that administrative cost in there so that you would not
have to come back in a year and change the rate. Because we understand the fall-out
from doing that, and we didn’t want to do that. So the $195 will generate enough
revenue to pay for the costs, pay for the tipping fees, etc.
Mr. Shepard: But if we had to back, then we would look at this maybe annually
then; is that probably the interval?
Mr. Wall: Yes. Yes.
Mr. Shepard: So there wouldn’t be that much damage done in 12 months that we
couldn’t recover from.
Mr. Mayor: Right.
Mr. Shepard: Thank you.
Mr. Mayor: Did we get an answer to Mr. Bridges’ question? And then the
question has been called.
Mr. Cheek: Mr. Mayor, I’ve been waving down here for --
Mr. Mayor: I’m sorry, Andy, I didn’t see your hand up.
Mr. Cheek: I know.
Mr. Mayor: I’m sorry.
Mr. Cheek: I’d really like to have a moment.
Mr. Mayor: I’ll give you that moment. Let’s see. Did we get the answer for Mr.
Bridges?
Mr. Kolb: Again, it goes back to the administrative expense. We allowed two
percent for uncollectibles and the cost of borrowing money. So that, we calculated, is
coming out to about the $2 difference.
Mr. Bridges: Okay. So we’re still -- there’s a $20 difference in what we told the
people and what we’re moving it to, to make it equitable. In other words, the public
meetings. To make it equitable. And $2 is through bad debt.
Mr. Kolb: That’s correct.
25
Mr. Bridges: I support this program, and I appreciate the work that George and
his staff and Jim have done in regards to trying to make this as equitable as possible
across the board. The problem I have with it is we’ve gone out there to the public and we
quoted them a particular price, and now we’re coming back and we’re giving them a
different price. And I can remember some of the people standing up in the meeting that I
held and say it doesn’t matter what they give you here today, it’s going to go up. And I
hate to go back and say yeah, you’re right. That type of thing. So Mr. Mayor, I make a
substitute motion that we accept the low bid as previously given to this Commission,
which I’m getting back to the $175.00 a year low bid that we got previously, and that we
fund it in the same manner as proposed.
Mr. Mayor: That would be to accept the low bid in each one of the Districts?
Mr. Bridges: That’s right.
Mr. Mayor: Is there a second to that motion?
Mr. Cheek: I’m going to have to second that, Mr. Mayor.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Cheek you wanted to say something.
Mr. Cheek: Yes, sir, Mr. Mayor. First off, I am, as Commissioner Bridges, I
have talked to my people, and when I gave them the $14.50 price per month per unit, I
told them that was the price and that I would come back and hold these meetings if the
price differed. I’ve got several of my neighborhood presidents here. I’m uncomfortable
with changing that. I had five meetings starting in last December throughout the
community, and unless I am able to go back and tell these folks, I cannot support
changing the price on them, because that already takes the trust away from them, that
they have, should have in us. But my questions are, should we pass this today, who is
responsible for the implementation for this for the city, who is responsible for the
implementation schedule, and what about the communities that have voiced concern to be
added to trash collection such as Pine Heights, Kings Grant, and Hyde Point/Clark
Estates?
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Kolb and I discussed earlier this week about changing the
Districts to add people who want to come in, and that’s something we wanted to address
after we got through the contracts, rather than muddy the water now. But that is
something in that we definitely do want to make those modifications to bring those folks
in that want to come in. And George is going to set a procedure up to do that.
Mr. Cheek: We need a structure plan, too, Mr. Mayor.
Mr. Mayor: Can you respond to the rest of that?
Mr. Kolb: Regarding the implementation and adding new services areas?
26
Mr. Mayor: Yes.
Mr. Cheek: Implementation plan and schedule. How we are going to publicize it.
Mr. Mayor: Who is going to task the thing.
Mr. Kolb: The Department of Public Works will be responsible for overseeing,
administering the contract, negotiating the contract, implementing and monitoring. And
we will a couple of times a year potentially, we’ll have to figure out what that schedule
will be, but we will consider new Districts each year. And we also understand that there
are some Districts that are interested in becoming a part of this right away, and when we
bring back the contract we will also bring back the contract change order for you to
include them.
Mr. Cheek: Thank you, sir.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Wall?
Mr. Wall: Let me address Mr. Cheek’s and Mr. Bridges’ concerns. If you go
down to sections 1 through 9, whereas the $174 -- the $175 may have been right let’s say
in section 9 where it was $14.50 per month charge, you have section 2 which is $17.13
per month. That annual charge, not counting any administrative expenses, any cost
money, etc., is $205.56. So if you go $175 across the board, you’re subsidizing that
District by $30 a month out of revenues that we don’t know where they’re going to come
from, because the total loss of revenue that would be generated by the motion that’s on
the floor is $721,000. That’s how much we would be short. Now what we tried to do
was take the urban services district, that’s part of the ad valorem millage rate, take the
area outside the urban services district, create a district that is a composite of sections 1,
2, 3 and 4 insofar as a contract is concerned and set a level fee, a fee across the board that
applies to your District, Mr. Colclough’s District, Mr. Jerry Brigham’s District, whoever,
and come up with an amount that would generate enough revenue to pay the expense.
That’s the reason, for instance in your District, it may have gone from $175 to $195,
whereas whoever has section 2, it went from $205 down to $195. So the $195 is an effort
so that everybody that lives in this solid waste management district, which is outside the
city limits, pays the same thing. And the $175 resolution is not going to pay for the
service in Districts 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, in those Districts.
Mr. Bridges: By Districts, Jim --
Mr. Wall: Not sections, contract sections.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Wall, when Mr. Bridges made his motion, I asked him if that
meant specifically the low bid in each District and he said it did, so that’s not $175 in
each one of those Districts.
27
Mr. Wall: That is correct.
Mr. Mayor: Some are higher and some are lower.
Mr. Wall: In each section.
Mr. Bridges: It was on the proposal that we had two weeks ago.
Mr. Mayor: So there wouldn’t be any subsidy at all.
Mr. Wall: Right.
Mr. Mayor: People in different Districts would pay different rates.
Mr. Wall: But if you create nine separate tax districts, you have created an
administrative nightmare for the tax commissioner’s office and I think Public Works,
which will have to administer it. Because then you are going to have different rates
within each different collection district and to come up with an amount of revenue that
will pay the cost of the contracts, the tipping fees, and the administrative costs is going to
be, I think -- there will be a lot more gamble in coming up with a right number on that
than the approach that we used. So what we tried to do is carve out everything in the old
county and set one rate that’s applicable across the board.
Mr. Bridges: It’s a fine time to leave me, Lucille, but I mean this proposal has
been before us since October and you know, this is the first I can recall of hearing of the
administrative nightmare of awarding the bid process that we’ve had. But Jim, the
predicament that I’m in is I’ve quoted a man price to sell him a car, and now he’s coming
back to me and I can’t increase it, you know, $20. It’s like Andy says, it’s a trust factor.
We quoted them a price that was based on bids given by bidders through our staff and
here we are we’re moving them up $20. That’s just extremely difficult to support at this
point.
Mr. Mayor: There’s one other way to look at it, too. Our contracts are for two
years?
Mr. Wall: Correct.
Mr. Mayor: For two years, so they’re locked into these prices for at least two
years. Now if you’re out there with an independent hauler, he can raise his rates next
month and there’s not a thing you can do about it.
Mr. Cheek: But the difference, Mr. Mayor, the difference on this whole thing is
we are working to build trust within the community. We gave them our word. Today
what we’re being asked to do is to step back in faith and make a vote for this and
believing that more people want this and will understand why we did what we did, by
raising the rates on them. But what it’s going to be is a self-fulfilling prophecy that you
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are coming out here to set the hooks in us and then you’re going to raise the rates on us
over and over again. And unless I can go back and have my town hall meetings, I cannot
support it.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Beard.
Mr. Beard: Mr. Mayor, I think we are going hollering wolf again, and I keep this
figure $20 coming up. It is $20. But we’re not talking about really $20. We are talking
about additional less than $2 on what was originally brought to us, and I don’t know
about the two people who spoke, but when they spoke to my District, there was more of a
range depending on what you wanted. That is the way it was explained to us and I just
don’t understand. You know, we were asked to come back here and the administrator
asked the staff to look at the possibility of how we were going to finance it. And I
thought that was the main objective of this inquiry. And now we’re going back -- I just
don’t think that the people who overwhelmingly voted for this, and they did, why we
would have to hold it up for another month and come back with figures, having the staff
go through this all over again, not knowing what we can come up with, creating a
problem that we may not be able to deal with. I think that our citizens would understand.
Now if we were talking about $50 or $25 or even $10 I would really be concerned about
that. But I don’t think that the way that the people have come into this and asked for this
service, I don’t think they’re going to be concerned about $1.25 more onto what we told
them. This is to me unrealistic thinking, because in dealing with this government or any
big entity, it is very hard to come with a precise price down to the penny. And I think
this is what we’re asking for at this time. I think it’s either for us to just tell the citizens
that they can’t have it and we won’t have it out there in the suburban area and we just
move on, because I think this is taking too much time. Because each time we have found
loopholes in this to say that we can’t do it.
Mr. Mayor: Thank you, Mr. Beard. Mr. Kuhlke and then Mr. Williams.
Mr. Kuhlke: Okay. Mr. Mayor, the problem I have with the substitute motion
and having heard the conversation is the $720,000 some odd shortfall, and so I can’t
support the substitute motion without knowing how you are going to make up that
shortfall.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Williams.
Mr. Williams: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. We been talking about this thing for quite
some time. We been beating in the head enough to try to kill it and every way we can
from 25 cents to $2 to $25. But in my mind, we are getting -- the citizens of Richmond
County was promised when we merged this city and county together a lot of different
things, and garbage pickup was one of them. The people have come out today to prove
that overwhelmingly they want this garbage pickup. We’re not behind closed doors
quoting them prices or adding prices to them. The media is here. They know exactly
what we are doing. This thing has been looked at probably as much as any project we
ever had looked at. My thing, Mr. Mayor, is that the people need this service and able to
29
clean up this city that is really going south on us if we don’t go ahead and approve this
proposal today. I tend to think that enough people are here today, we sent out surveys,
we are still serving the people cheaper than what they was paying their private haulers.
There are some private haulers that may be affected. There are small, small haulers and I
feel bad about that, but there are a lot of haulers that’s going to be considered, that’s
going to be hired or going to be contracted to do plenty of work for us, and I think we just
beating our own horse to death. We need to go ahead and pass this today and go on and
get this in process where we can start to clean up our city. We’ve got people in our
District that’s elderly people that can’t move stuff. We are talking about a two-day
pickup plus [inaudible] waste on Wednesday, and that’s anything we set up. We have not
ever had that in this city. The outer city that was annexed to or consolidated to with this
inner city part been waiting on this for years, not just months, but for years. And Mr.
Mayor, I say we need to go ahead and call the question and go ahead and vote, and if you
don’t mind, I’d like to see a show of hands of the people here that support this pickup.
Mr. Mayor: All right. Mr. Jerry Brigham. Jerry, you have the floor.
Mr. J. Brigham: Mr. Mayor, my motion was to call the question.
Mr. Mayor: All right, the question has been called on the substitute motion. It’s
time to vote. And that is to approve the cost as bid in each one of the separate districts.
Mr. Wall: To include the funding at $175?
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Bridges, clarify.
Mr. Bridges: It’s the proposal that was before us two weeks ago. That’s my
motion, to approve that.
Mr. Cheek: Section’s price, would be what it was on the original bid.
Mr. Bridges: That’s right.
Mr. Wall: I’m sorry.
Mr. Bridges: It’s not across the board $175. It’s a bid, the low bids proposal that
we had before us two weeks ago or four weeks ago. It’s that same proposal that was
placed in our agenda book that we put off on hold to come back with the method of
funding.
Mr. Wall: And I agree that that awards the contract, but I still don’t understand
how we are going to raise the revenue. Are we going to create nine separate tax districts?
Mr. Bridges: What were you going to do before? I mean when the proposal came
before us, what were you going to do before?
30
Mr. Wall: At that time, there was consideration to create the nine separate tax
districts, but I told you at the time that that didn’t, there was a misunderstanding
concerning the urban services district. What we have done is come up with two tax
districts. You’ve got your urban services district, then you’ve got your solid waste
management district, which is everything outside the old city limits that receive garbage
pickup. And that is an average price to take care of all the different sections of this bid
that’s in your agenda book, but it comes up with an average price so the people in your
Commission District would pay the same amount as someone in Mr. Cheek’s or Mr.
Beard’s or Mr. Williams’ Commission District. They would pay the same amount. If
you take that $175, and I’ve done the annualized cost on these, Section 1 of this bid is
$182.40. Section 2 is $205.56. Section 3 is $201.24. Section 4 is $198.84. Section 5 --
Mr. Bridges: Jim, I quoted people a price. That’s what I gave them. That’s what
I’m --
Mr. Mayor: The question has been called and we’re in the process of voting. Mr.
Wall, I think you’re trying to clarify. The figures are in your backup material. You can
see them in there. It’s the same item that was in the backup material two weeks go. The
question has been called. We’re now voting on the substitute motion and the debate is
over.
(Vote on substitute motion)
Mr. Beard, Mr. H. Brigham, Mr. Williams, Mr. Kuhlke, Mr. Shepard and Mr. Colclough
vote No.
Motion fails 3-6.
Mr. Mayor: That takes us back to the original motion, which was the agenda item
as presented by the Administrator today. Is there any further discussion on the original
motion? None heard. We’ll go ahead and vote then. All in favor of the original motion,
please vote aye.
(Vote on original motion)
Mr. Bridges and Mr. Cheek vote No.
Motion carries 7-2.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Colclough, you said we had a number of people here with
respect to Item 31?
Mr. Colclough: Yes.
Mr. Mayor: Let’s go ahead and take that up next, Madame Clerk, and then
following that, we’ll take Item 49. We have a number of people here for that item, too.
Go ahead and get Mr. Patty on standby. Is George back there? His item is next. George,
we’re going to move ahead to 31 because we have a number of people here for that.
Clerk:
31
31.
Z-01-29 – Request from the Augusta-Richmond County Planning
Commission to deny a petition from Lonnie Dozier, requesting a Special
Exception to establish a family personal care home per Section 26-1(h) of the
Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance for Augusta-Richmond County affecting
property located on the southwest right-of-way line of London Boulevard,
391 feet, more or less, northwest of the southwest corner of the intersection of
Madrid Drive and Lisbon Road. (2419 Lisbon Road) DISTRICT 4
Mr. Mayor: Is the petitioner here today?
Mr. Patty: Mr. Mayor, he did not appear at our meeting, and I suspect he may
have thrown in the towels. This is a typical request for a personal care home, a 1400
square foot house, 1-1/2 bathrooms, three bedrooms, substantial neighborhood objection
to it. The Planning Commission denied it.
Mr. Mayor: Are there any objectors here today? Can we see a show of hands,
and we’ll put the hand count in the record.
(8 objectors noted)
Mr. Kuhlke: I move we sustain the action of the Planning Commission.
Mr. Bridges: Second it.
Mr. Mayor: We have a motion and second to sustain the action of the Planning
Commission. That would deny the petition. Is there any discussion? All in favor of that
motion, please vote aye.
Mr. Cheek and Mr. H. Brigham out.
Motion carries 7-0.
Mr. Mayor: If we would skip over, please, to item 49. We have a number of
people here for this item.
Clerk: 49?
Mr. Mayor: Yes, ma’am. 49.
Clerk:
49. Discuss amending the ordinance to provide for extension of funding to the
Augusta-Richmond County Museum. (Requested by Commissioner Bill
Kuhlke)
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Kuhlke.
32
Mr. Kuhlke:
Mr. Mayor, Commissioner Williams and I are on a committee
looking at some potential funding for both museums here in Augusta. The CVB has
I’d like to
funds set aside to fund for one more year the Augusta Museum of History, and
make a motion that we approve or amend the existing ordinance to fund the
Augusta Museum of History for one more year.
Mr. Mayor: Do you want to specify a total amount for that?
Mr. Kuhlke: $300,000.
Mr. Mayor: Is there a second to that motion?
Mr. Shepard: Second it for discussion.
Mr. Mayor: All right, we have a second. Discussion? Mr. Williams.
Mr. Williams: Yes, sir, I’d like to make a substitute motion.
Mr. Mayor: Okay.
Mr. Williams: I’d like to make a substitute motion, Mr. Mayor. This was my
committee, as the subcommittee chairman, that I talked with the Finance Chairman about
making a report back to him, and I just received the information. But I’d like to make a
substitute motion that we give the Augusta Museum $120,000, give the Sports Council
$100,000 and give Laney Museum $80,000 for a five-year agreement with a stipulation
that we would look at each entity to see how they’re doing and how they’re coming as far
as grants and whatever other sources they may have. We’ve got people all over this city
that comes for all these events, but we have been supporting, we have been assisting in
some areas for quite a long time. I been advocating for the Laney Museum to try to get
some funds for them. They don’t have a paid staff. They have a volunteer type situation.
And when you got a volunteer type of situation, that’s exactly what you get. Sometime
the volunteers may come in, sometime may not. They don’t have a source of funding
other than what we been trying to help them with and the other little small sources, you
know, from local and different areas around the CSRA, as well as the Augusta Museum.
All of these entities need help. All of these entities need the funds. We only have a set
amount. We been waiting to try to see was there X amount of dollars somewhere else.
We thought maybe the Coliseum Authority, there was some money there, but the staff
attorney reported back to me, Mr. Mayor, that there wasn’t any money, we only have the
$300,000 to deal with. I know that it’s hard do separate, but we need to be fair about this.
We need to look out for all the citizens of Augusta Richmond County. We need to look
at every entity we can. Since there is a limited amount of funds, we need to spread those
funds or distribute those funds as equally as we possibly can.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Beard? Let me ask this. Do we get a second to the motion?
33
Mr. Beard: I’ll second it for discussion.
Mr. Mayor: Thank you. Mr. Beard, go ahead.
Mr. Beard: Mr. Mayor, I’m in support of this motion, well, both motions really to
give them the $300,000 to the entities that have been talked about. One thing I need to
clear up. In the substitute motion, and I need this question, are we talking about for five
years or is this just available for this year? I need to --
Mr. Mayor: The motion was for five years, Mr. Beard.
Mr. Beard: I know the motion was for five years, but is this money just available
for this year or is this something that we’re going to have every year, Mr. Williams?
Mr. Wall: Well, you’re going to have some amount of money every year. The
hotel-motel tax is levied on an annual basis and what you’re doing -- the other monies are
allocated on a percentage basis and this $300,000 was an amount that was designated out
of the left-over money and then any additional money goes to the CVB.
Mr. Beard: So we don’t know the fixed amount each year. If they going to pay
$300,000 for each year for the next five years. That’s my problem. We don’t know that
fixed amount. It may be less or it may be more but that’s the only thing I have with the
substitute motion is that for the period of time that we’re going to deal with this, because
we may or may not have that type. I do think that that’s why we sent it to the committee
and hopefully that they would have agreed on coming back and bringing back to this
body something substantial that we could vote on. It makes it kind of difficult because
you have two motions coming, and everybody is in support of giving something to all
three of these entities that we’re talking about, but it’s a matter of how much is going to
be given to them. But with the substitute motion, I can live with that, but I’m not sure of
the five years that’s involved here. You’re talking about something that’s kind of
intangible.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Bridges.
Mr. Bridges: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Jim, first thing, can we bind another
Commission for five years like that? Okay.
Mr. Wall: Particularly in light of the contract that we have with the CVB, I think
that if you try to take this $300,000 and allocate it over a five-year period, absent an
agreement with the CVB, I think they’re going to come in and challenge it. Their
position is that their contract that the county entered into with them makes them the
exclusive one insofar as handling the promotion of tourism, etc., which is the authorized
purpose for which this tax is being administered.
Mr. Bridges: So basically whatever we do here today, they could do something
differently.
34
Mr. Wall: They could challenge it.
Mr. Bridges: Yes.
Mr. Wall: Now previously we out for a three-year period, but that was with the
consent of the CVB. And I think the CVB has consented to $300,000 being allocated for
this year, if I understand what has happened. But for five years, I think that they would
challenge it.
Mr. Bridges: I’d like to ask the maker of the motion. $300,000 that he’s talking
about, we’ve already given $125,000; is that correct?
Mr. Mayor: Yes. Mr. Williams says yes.
Mr. Williams: Yes.
Mr. Bridges: So really we’re talking about $300,000 for the year, not an
additional $300,000. Mr. Mayor, I support history and anything that would draw tourists
into our city to spend money. I really -- when we originally proposed to the museum
committee the idea of being strictly private funding, I believe, if I’m not correct, we were
80% or 90% public funding of the museum. Somewhere in that range, which was a big
range to be funding a museum at. They’ve gone out, they’ve done a yeoman’s task of
getting private funds to fund the museum and we’re talking about a museum that’s
looking at $600,000+ budget, half of which now is privately funded. I think they’ve done
a fantastic job bringing it up from a 90% public/10% private really to a 50% private
funding, and they’ve just -- sometimes you just reach critical mass, might be the term.
You just -- you’ve run out of funds. And I think they’ve reach that point. I served on the
subcommittee with Mr. Williams. We thought maybe there might be some other sources
of fundings out there. We could find none. I know that if we do not fund the museum,
we’re looking at not a scale back in funding, we’re probably looking at actually shutting
the doors on an attraction to this city. And that would be I think a grave mistake for us to
do in regards to economic development for our city, for our area, and particularly for the
downtown region. Mr. Mayor, I do support Mr. Kuhlke’s motion for this year. I think
we’re going to have to look at in the budget, though, a way of funding in the budget the
museum, and I think it’s going to behoove other museums in the city and other
attractions, other similar attractions, to work with the Augusta Museum in regards to
talent, professionals, promotion, that type of thing. But I think next year we’re going to
have to look at funding the museum out of the budget, out of the general fund, in some
manner. I do hope that next year we can move to the original that we have the motel-hotel
for; that was to generate overnights stays, and those attractions that do generate overnight
stays, and use the entire funding for that. I think it will have a great impact on our
community when we can use that funding for the original stated purpose. I hope that our
goal would be to do that next year, but at this point and at this critical juncture for the
museum, I see no way of doing anything but funding it as we have in the past, at the tune
35
of $300,000. And I think we need to do that this year and find funding for the museums
and move on with the original purpose of the motel-hotel tax.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Williams.
Mr. Williams: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I, too, like to commend the Augusta
Museum for the 50% private funding that they went out and able to achieve or to get
brought in, and I certainly support them as well. But we talking about hotel and motel
taxes. When you talk about motel-hotel taxes, you’re talking about people from all over.
The Laney Museum is a very small museum and will always be small as long as they’ve
got to get a handout. We three years ago gave the Augusta Museum $300,000 for that
year, then $200,000 the next year, and this year we’re supposed to give them a final
$100,000 and we as an elected body was supposed to not fund that any more. I’m not
trying to take anything away or not support that museum. I think that’s a very vital part
of this city, but I also think that the Laney Museum is just as vital and would never be
able to stand as long as we are getting crumbs off the table. The $80,000 I propose is
more than fair. I’m talking about giving $120,000. Now I understand what you say
about the five years. Maybe I need to change my motion from the five years. But I think
we need to support this museum. When you talking about overnight stays, you got
people that come from all over these United States to Augusta, Georgia, not just for the
Masters, but for other times of year. There are a lot of tourism, there are a lot of things
that go on in this part of this community as well. And if we talking about hotel and motel
tax monies that should go to be distributed, I think we are being less than fair not to share
this money with all of the entities. Now we was not give them anything after this year.
But now we going change that to go back to give them $300,000? I think that we are
very unfair, I think we are very selfish even to think like that. I’m opposing. If I need to
change my motion, Mr. Mayor, from the five years to a year’s term or a two-year term,
now I got no problem with changing it, if the seconded would agree with that. But if we
want to do it for a two-year term, I got no problem, but I think we ought to be -- it’s more
than fair to give the Augusta Museum $120,000, give the Sports Council $100,000, and
give Laney $80,000. I think we ought to have some caveat in there where we could be
able to see what they are doing, not just Laney, but all of the entities and how they
bringing funds in, what kind of grants program have they got, what are they doing. And I
just think that’s more than fair. And I think as a board of Commissioners that we ought
be elated to share in that respect.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Shepard?
Mr. Shepard: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Mr. Mayor, the Finance Committee asked
me to appoint a committee to study the event funding, and we really don’t have a
recommendation out of that event funding committee. What we had hoped that that
committee would do would be reconcile the interests of these very good groups, all of
them, and try to put it in some package to bring back before -- it didn’t have to come back
to Finance Committee, it could have come directly to this body. What disappoints me is
we don’t have that and we have gone through week after week and we haven’t heard back
from that committee. And I think the job of that committee apparently is not finished
36
because now we’re talking about having to go into the general fund for this and the
general fund for that. I still think the important thing to charge that subcommittee with is
coming up -- if it has come back before budget time or some time -- to come back with a
funding recommendation that this body can debate. Now what we have today is one
that’s put in the substitute motion with absolutely no backup, plus we have another
member of the Commission with a funding proposal for the Museum of History. And
apparently there is some support for that. But I think we have got to address this funding
question in a deliberate and orderly fashion, and I’m disappointed that we don’t have
subcommittee recommendation, but since we don’t have a subcommittee
recommendation I think the original motion is the best thing we can do at this time, given
the position papers that I’ve been given up here today. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
Mr. Mayor: All right. Thank you. Mr. Jerry Brigham.
Mr. J. Brigham: Mr. Mayor, this isn’t the first time we’ve visited the funding of
sales tax. There has been a committee that was already established. It has already made
the decision. We did this several years ago. All we are doing is replanting ground that
has already been plowed. The only thing we did do wrong, and we made a mistake, in
reaching our funding level, and that was that we expected the Augusta Museum of
History to be able to operate with zero public funds. That was a mistake on our part. We
need to admit to it. We cannot expect them to operate without public funds. We have
committed numerous dollars from one local option SPLOST monies to build this
museum. We do not, at this point, need to close this museum for a lack of funding. I’m
going to support the original motion. I think we need to go back and revisit the split. We
need to come up with some different criteria. We tried the first time to come to a criteria
that was fair to all, but obviously we have not met that yet.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Kuhlke.
Mr. Kuhlke: Mr. Mayor, I think I see Mr. Barry White and Tammy from the
Sports Council here. And my motion, and I’ve talked with Scott Loehr about this, my
motion is to continue this for this year, and the committee that Commissioner Williams
and I work on, we’ve got to come up with something, but I would like to hear from them,
because the Sports Council’s affected, the CVB’s affected, but I think both support us
funding the Augusta Museum of History for this year. But obviously we’ve got to do
something next year. But this would get us through the budget cycle, it would give the
committee time to sit down and see if we can find other avenues of funding for the
museum and other organizations within the community, but I’d like to ask Mr. White and
maybe Tammy to say whatever they want to say.
Mr. Beard: Ms. Betts is here also. Mrs. Betts from Laney-Walker is here also.
Mr. Mayor: Barry, you want to respond to Commissioner Kuhlke? Give us your
name and address for the record.
37
Mr. White: Thank you, Mr. Kuhlke. Barry White, Executive Director of the
Augusta Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau at 1450 Greene Street. The Convention
and Visitors Bureau board supports amending the ordinance for the remainder of this year
to supply $300,000 to the museum. With that, I think it will buy some time, allow some
time to develop a plan to better allocate some of these funds and to find appropriate
funding for the museum. At the same time, if that is done, the museum is not hurt this
year. The Sports Council is not hurt this year. The Lucy Laney Museum is not hurt this
year. And the CVB is not hurt this year. So that’s one reason we support that
amendment for the remainder of the year.
Mr. Mayor: All right. Tammy, give us your name and address for the record,
please.
Ms. Stout: Tammy Stout, Executive Director of Greater Augusta Sports Council,
1450 Greene Street, Augusta, 30901. The Sports Council is in agreement with the
original motion as well, to the point that we do study the issue further. I think there has
been perhaps healthier discussion the past several months than there has been the past
couple of years, that’s for sure. However, it does not address the long term issue of
support for the agencies that should be receiving funds from the hotel tax. This issue in
many communities is addressed by their tourism authorities. In this community, the
closest thing we have to that knowledgeable party is the Convention and Visitors Bureau,
and we have worked closely with them on the issue from the beginning which is almost
four years ago now. We’re in support of the motion if within say the next 60 to 90 days
there is a committee assigned to look at the long-term issue for the Sports Council. We
feel strongly there are appropriate sources for all entities receiving funding. We do
believe that perhaps the community programs and the museums should be supported by
the entities they’ve been supported by for years, and we strongly do feel that the Sports
Council should receive our share of funding from the hotel tax source. People fly in to
this community from all over the country for sporting events and competitions.
However, it is very critical once they arrive that they do have a facility like the museum
to visit when they get here. So as Barry White mentioned, it really doesn’t do anything to
hurt our budget during this calendar year. Therefore we’d like to support that motion.
However, with the Commission recognizing that it’s just for this year. We need to come
to a long-term solution.
Mr. Mayor: Ms. Betts. Give us your name and address for the record, please.
Ms. Betts: Christine Miller Betts, Executive Director for the Lucy Craft Laney
Museum, 1116 Phillips Street, Augusta, Georgia. Mr. Mayor, members of the
Commission, I come to you again. I feel like I’m a record, because I’ve talked to you
several times about this particular situation. We have the Lucy Craft Laney Museum and
that museum, of course, promotes the lady Lucy Craft Laney, a black educator who came
to this community and made so many contributions. In doing so, we have developed a
museum in her home. Her home is the Lucy Craft Laney Museum. And we service
many, many people. I agree with the people who talked about the sports and I agree
about the other museum. People come here for that same purpose. But when people
38
come here, they visit museums, not only do they visit the Morris Museum, the Augusta
Museum, they look for the Lucy Craft Laney Museum. And there are people coming
from all over the CSRA and I just want to know a few that’s been with us the last couple
of months. We’ve had people from South Carolina, Aiken, Savannah, we have many
groups coming in by bus from Atlanta, Georgia, North Carolina, Charlotte, and many
other areas. Because they are interested in the culture of this city. And we are a part, a
small part of the culture of the city of Augusta. Now I knew the issue was going to come
up today in regards to the budget. And I hear over and over again that the Augusta
Museum will have to close. Well, I want to tell you how much money we have left in our
budget. We have $3,022 in our budget for the rest of the year. I have been paid two
times this year. We have two people on staff that are paid, and one person on staff that is
paid by the CSRA. That is our janitor. We have tremendous potential and a lot of ability
to develop this into one of the finest museums in the CSRA, but we need your support,
and we cannot do it without funding. And one of the things that has happened with us is
that we started this museum. We are doing all these programs, and we have become a
part of the Laney-Walker District that is known. And the people in the area take great
pride in that particular entity. And if we are not funded in such a way that we can get
staff like the Augusta Museum -- we have never had a staff. And what we are asking is
just enough funding to get a proper staffing. And once we get the staffing that we need,
we will be able to do the job that they have done. And I agree with everyone that has
spoken so far, that they have done a monumental job. And to do that, you have to have
money. So in order for us to do that kind of job, we must have funding and we must have
it now. Thank you.
Mr. Mayor: Thank you very much. All right, we’re going to move ahead with
the vote on the substitute motion which is on the floor.
Mr. Williams: Mr. Mayor.
Mr. Mayor: Yes, Mr. Williams.
Mr. Williams: I’d like to address something if I can, please.
Mr. Mayor: Well, Mr. Williams, under the rules of the Commission, you have
time for discussion and rebuttal. You’ve already been recognized twice on this issue.
Unless there is something to add to the conversation that hasn’t been said.
Mr. Williams: Mr. Mayor, I want to add something to the conversation. I need to
address two issues about this piece. One is to our Finance Chairman. I am the
subcommittee chairman for these funds. We’ve met on our finance meeting at Richmond
Academy on last week and I explained to our Finance Chairman that I had just received
the information from our staff attorney about whatever funds we had. And for whatever
reason, my cohort, Commissioner Kuhlke put this on the agenda. So we have not had
time to make a recommendation. I want to first of all clear that up with what we’re
saying. We came to this same body and voted to extend some funds through June, I
believe it is --
39
Mr. Mayor: May.
Mr. Williams: -- May. Extend some funds for the other museum. All I’m saying
is, Mr. Mayor, that we need to look at both sides of this coin. We need to look at this
museum, at both museums as if they are a part of this city and not the outside of the city,
that they are in this loop as well, and as Commissioners we need to support -- we don’t
have but a limited amount of money, but we need to support those entities the best we can
and this is the best way to do it.
Mr. Mayor: I think Mr. Osbon had your hand up. You wanted to address the
Commission?
Mr. Osbon: Yes.
Mr. Mayor: Give us your name and address for the record, please.
Mr. Osbon: My name is Julian Osbon. I’m the volunteer president of the
Augusta Museum of History. I live at 1117 Kirk Place. I think it’s wonderful that we
have a lot of history in Augusta. That’s one of our most unique resources and without
going and being redundant, I’m not going to talk about a lot of the things that Mr.
Bridges and others have talked about, as far as what has gone on in Augusta. However,
we have a resource in Augusta that’s very, very unique. Most progressive cities in this
state fund their history museums at a much greater level than what is done is Augusta.
There are communities that will fund them from the general fund up to a million dollars.
Some do half a million. It was a few years ago that the history museum in Augusta was
being funded at $500,000. It was cut back to $400,000. And then at that time, as was
pointed out, the city was paying 80% to 90% of the total funding. Currently, the funding
provided by the city is less than 50% of what is the cost of operating the museum. We’ve
got a volunteer staff and a professional staff that has done a wonderful job to develop a
very fiduciary approach towards maintaining this resource. We recently approached the
private sector and we’ve got commitments for almost $1.8 million right now to do some
additional work in the museum. About half or a good portion of that money will go into
an endowment. One of the things that we’re doing is creating an endowment so that the
funding of this organization can be done through sources other than public funding, but
we have to build the endowment up to a point where it really is large enough to do that.
It’s not large enough to do that yet. The museum has been very successful. We’ve
received regional awards for a lot of things that we do. I’m very supportive of these other
efforts. The Laney Museum I’ve been through. It’s a wonderful place. It deserves
funding. But to put at risk something that has been successful for a lot of years for
something that is working to be more successful, this doesn’t make sense. I think they
both should be funded. I do agree with one thing that’s been said. The funding for all of
this, of these museums, should not be done through the hospitality tax. They should be
done through the general fund. I would hope that the Commission would think about
some gradual process where perhaps next year $100,000 out of the regular budget for the
Augusta Museum of History, maybe the second year $200,000 and the third year
$300,000. The bottom line is this: the museum will not exist without a minimum of
40
$300,000 from this city. It just cannot do it without cutting back staff and eventually
closing. So there is a big risk there. I appreciate your challenge and the problems you
have in funding the various organizations. Again, the Lucy Laney Museum needs to be
funded. But don’t close one that has been open since the 1930’s for something that is
trying to build staff. I think the money has to come from other areas than what you’re
looking at right now. Thank you very much.
Mr. Mayor: Thank you, Mr. Osbon. All right, we’ll move ahead with the vote on
the substitute motion.
Mr. Beard: I need a clarification of the motion.
Mr. Mayor: Yes, Mr. Beard. Clarification of the substitute motion, and that was
to fund the Museum of History at $120,000, the Sports Council at $100,000, and the
Laney Museum at $80,000 for the next five years.
Mr. Beard: Okay. So the attorney there --
Ms. Clerk: [inaudible] drop it.
Mr. Mayor: You can’t drop it. You can’t amend a motion but you can’t just drop
it.
Mr. Williams: Mr. Mayor, I thought I asked to, if it was all right with the man
that seconded the motion, Mr. Beard I think it was, to change that.
Mr. Mayor: Well, that’s not the procedure. You can offer an amendment to the
motion and take that out if you want to, then it’s up to the body to approve whether or not
the amendment stands.
Mr. Beard: I’m not through with what I was asking, Mr. Mayor. I was also going
to ask in reference to that, cause I haven’t asked anything yet, but I wanted to speak to the
Attorney, the parliamentarian rather, if the Sports Council is agreeing to give up theirs to
the Augusta Museum, how can we -- how do we deal with that and also the five years?
Mr. Wall: Well, if I understood the Sports Council, they’re not contesting the
$300,000. The five years, I think, is the problem. I would urge you to limit it to this one
year, look at the funding options for future years, and deal with that at a later date,
through the committee or whatever form. The other thing that I would ask the maker of
the motion to do is to change the numbers, because you’ve already given $125,000 to the
Augusta Museum, so that $120,000 needs to be $125,000 and somehow you need to
adjust the other two numbers, because it was $100,000 originally, $25,000 for the month
of May. We’ve already paid them $125,000. So I would ask that you amend your
motion to account for that $125,000 to the Augusta Museum and then do it only for one
year.
41
Mr. Mayor: Is there an amendment to that motion somebody would like to offer?
Mr. Williams?
Mr. Williams: Yes, sir, Mr. Mayor, I’d like to amend that motion to what Mr.
Wall said, that $125,000 we’ve already give them, Mr. Wall; is that right?
Mr. Wall: Correct.
Mr. Williams: And we need to amend that to --
Mr. Mayor: So how much for the Sports Council and how much for the other?
You’ve got to get $5,000 somewhere.
Mr. Williams: We’ve got to get $5,000 somewhere?
Mr. Mayor: Yes.
Mr. Williams: In other words, we gave them $125,000 already.
Mr. Mayor: So you’ve got to take $5,000 from either the Sports Council or
Laney.
Mr. Williams: I would take even $5,000 from the Laney Museum and give them
$75,000.
Mr. Mayor: All right. Did you want to change the term of that?
Mr. Williams: Term for one year.
Mr. Mayor: One year. Okay, we have an amendment to the motion that’s been
offered, to change the Augusta Museum to $125,000 the Laney Museum to $75,000, to
change the term to one year. Is there any objection to amending the motion to reflect
that? No objection is heard. So the motion stands as amended. We’ll call the question
on the substitution.
Mr. Shepard: I’d like to ask one point of clarification.
Mr. Mayor: Yes, sir.
Mr. Shepard: Under the amended motion, then, if we are just divvying up
$100,000, we’ve already given the Augusta History Museum $125,000; they get no
further funding under this?
Mr. Mayor: That’s correct.
42
Mr. Shepard: The amended motion, as I understand it, the substitute motion gives
the Augusta History Museum zero for the rest of the year; is that the numbers?
Mr. Mayor: That’s correct. They will have already gotten their appropriation.
Mr. Shepard: Thank you.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Cheek, you had a question about the procedure here?
Mr. Cheek: Just a comment, Mr. Mayor. I haven’t commented as of yet. I’ve
listened to the debate. We have so much history, as Mr. Osbon said. This is a sign of
things to come. We haven’t grown our economy. Those we’ve trusted, whether it’s the
politicians or whoever, the economy is not expanding and so the impact this is going to
have on operating museums and libraries and everything else in the future is going to
become more and more difficult. That’s why we have to try to seek out efficiencies.
This today is a situation of where we are going to end up crippling the Augusta Museum,
but I have a great deal of empathy for the Laney Museum and certainly if we can get
through this year, this committee ought to be able to or a committee work out additional
funding resources to resolve this for the future. There is no plan that should not be
revisited occasionally, whether it’s funding for the library or funding for the museum or
whatever. You always have to adjust plans to make them work better. And you can’t
leave it on the shelf forever. But I just cannot see us crippling the Augusta Museum for
the remainder of this year and I think we need to work on resolving that and funding
Laney to give them the chance to grow.
Mr. Mayor: The question has been called on the substitute motion. All in favor,
please vote aye.
(Vote on substitute motion)
Mr. Shepard, Mr. Bridges, Mr. J. Brigham, Mr. Cheek and Mr. Kuhlke vote No.
Motion fails 4-5.
Mr. Mayor: That takes us to the original motion, Mr. Kuhlke’s motion, for a
$300,000 total appropriation for the Museum of History this year. All in favor of that
motion, please vote aye.
Mr. Beard: This is not including the $125,000? This is just inclusive of the
$300,000; right?
Mr. Mayor: Yes, sir. $300,000 for the Museum of History. For this year only.
(Vote on original motion)
Mr. Beard and Mr. Williams vote No.
Mr. H. Brigham abstains.
Motion carries 6-2-1.
43
Mr. Mayor: Thank you, Madame Clerk. The Chair will declare a five minute
recess and then we’ll come back and take up the consent agenda.
(Recess)
Mr. Mayor: The meeting comes back to order. I was on the telephone with the
Secretary of State. As a matter of information, Richmond County had offered to work
with the Secretary of State as one of the pilot cities in the elections this fall in electronic
voting, and she informed us today that she wanted to do that in Augusta and how well we
operate our elections here, but funding simply is not going to allow it, along with the fact
that there is a shortage of these machines. It would take over 500 machines to do
Augusta Richmond County and there simply weren’t that many machines that would be
available to do that this fall. So we’re not going to be able to do that.
Mr. Colclough: So Mr. Mayor --
Mr. Mayor: [inaudible]
Mr. Colclough: Are they going to do Macon?
Mr. Mayor: [inaudible]. Mr. Kolb has informed me that he needs to take Mrs.
Kolb to the airport to catch her flight, and has asked if we could move ahead to item 32
before he has to leave.
Clerk: We have a request from a citizen if we could bring forward item 42.
Mr. Mayor: Let’s take 32 and then we’ll go to 42.
Clerk:
32. Consider proposal from Bennett & Associates regarding national search for
Finance Director. (No recommendation from Finance Committee May 7,
2001)
Mr. Kolb: Mr. Mayor, members of the Commission, at the Finance Committee,
your last Finance Committee, we brought forward this proposal and they requested that
we come back with you a recommendation with a proposed procedure on dealing with the
current recruitment of a Finance Director. Currently, we are advertising ourselves. We
have advertised in national newspapers, locally, everywhere we would normally do in our
normal process of hiring. It has not proven successful to date. Therefore, we are
recommending the following: (1) That we abort the current process in that we send
letters to those applicants that have submitted resumes, applications to us for this
position, advising them number one that we are closing this position and number two that
they are invited to apply to the Bennett & Associates, who would be the recruiter for the
position. We would also send back the resumes that they sent to us and they would not
have the trouble or would go the trouble of having to do another resume. They could
44
send the one they sent us directly to Mr. Bennett and we would provide all the
information. (2) We would recommend that you would approve awarding the contract or
the recruitment of the Finance Director to Bennett & Associates.
Mr. Beard: I move for approval.
Mr. Cheek: Second.
Mr. Mayor: Discussion? Mr. Shepard.
Mr. Shepard: I’d make a substitute motion that we postpone this to the first
meeting in June. And I’d like to discuss it.
Mr. Mayor: Is there a second?
Mr. J. Brigham: Second.
Mr. Mayor: Discussion on the substitute motion? Mr. Shepard?
Mr. Shepard: Mr. Mayor, I respect the Administrator’s idea here that we’re not
getting where we want to get in the process, but what bothers me is that we only have two
weeks left to run in the process which when it closes, I think to abort the process is
essentially fraught with some legal difficulties which our counsel, both our staff counsel
and our legal counsel, expressed in the last time. I think we could potentially find a
candidate that comes in in the process in the next week and save the expense of the
services of a recruiter. The recruiter is going to cost a fee of $25,000 and his estimated
expenses, as I recall from the discussion at the meeting at Richmond Academy, were
$10,000. So I think if we would just simply see if this process does not -- I can
understand from Mr. Kolb that it has not yielded a qualified person, but I’m saying that
we’re going to assume in the next two weeks that it’s not going to yield a qualified
person. And if we let the process run, we may have a qualified person and save the
money, so I would hope that we, once we find the process doesn’t work, we re-entertain
Mr. Kolb’s recommendation.
Mr. Mayor: Any further discussion? Mr. Beard.
Mr. Beard: I kind of disagree with my colleague here. My good friend. I think
we need to proceed with this process. I understand that the Finance Department is very
short of staff down there. I think it’s necessary if we’re going to move forward to get
someone down there so that they can pull this department together, and how can the
process, if we continue this process, when there are no more applicants being received
and this has been out there for the last two or three months, just kind of hanging out
there? I don’t see that. I think we need to move. I do not agree with what we were told
the last time about the conflict that it was going to cause. I don’t think we are going into
any legal ramifications because it’s been out there too long, and I assume that most
people who applied, they have either moved on or forgotten about it. And I think if we
45
do the recommendation that has come from the Administrator of notifying those people, I
think it would be understandable, and I don’t see any legal threat from what we are doing,
and I do think we need to move on.
Mr. Mayor: Thank you, Mr. Beard. Mr. Bridges and then Mr. Williams.
Mr. Bridges: I guess, Jim, is there any -- with what George has proposed here, is
there any legal -- do we have any legal concerns here? I know Vanessa raised a concern.
Does this answer her concern?
Mr. Wall: I think this answers her concern. This is designed to give them the
opportunity to apply. I would like to correct one thing as far as the comments that were
made at the Finance Committee. I think the intent was, the statement was that there was
a lack of a sufficient pool of qualified applicants. We’re not saying that any individual
who may have applied may not be qualified. We’re saying that there is an insufficient
pool of applicants and so this is designed to give us a greater pool of applicants and give
you an opportunity to select from it.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Williams.
Mr. Williams: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. To my esteemed colleague, Mr. Shepard,
who is a fine attorney, but I was waiting to hear from Mr. Wall, who kind of straightened
it out for me and I certainly appreciate that, we have said when this Administrator came
on that we was going support him and his recommendation. As the Administrator, as the
chief executive officer in this government, he has made a proposal to us and I think that
we, if we going support his recommendation, if we going follow his leadership, then we
need to do that. Finance is a very, very important -- in fact, the most important part of
this government except human life, and we been needing someone in that position for
quite some time. And I think what has happened in the past, we have been just -- and I’m
going to step on my own toes, Mr. Mays says it resembles him a lot of time, but I said we
ought to just find a body or find somebody, and that’s what we been doing, is finding a
body. We talking about doing a search to get a qualified person to go in there, and we
need to go ahead and do this, and I’m in support 100% of the Administrator’s report.
Mr. Mayor: Thank you. We have a motion on the floor. Mr. Shepard, you
wanted to speak to the motion again?
Mr. Shepard: The only -- yes, sir. The notice was brought to the Finance
Committee, the middle of the meeting, which Commissioner Brigham furnished us,
which said that the application period was going to run through May 31. I just don’t see
why the rush to maybe unnecessarily spend money. I mean if the process completes itself
and it stands the way it does, I fully support the Administrator’s recommendation, but I
just think we’re just jumping the gun a little bit and spending unnecessarily perhaps. We
may get a fine qualified candidate without paying a fee to anybody. Now if you want to
just willy-nilly spend the fee to Mr. Bennett or to anybody, that’s fine, but I’m not going
to vote for it, and I think it’s just like saying the price you quoted somebody, well, we
46
told the public and applicants that applications will be open through May 31, and that’s
the process we began, that’s the process that our Personnel Director followed, and I just
think we ought to follow it. The Administrator is here to make recommendations. He
makes recommendations. We’re here to vote and make decisions. So I don’t see a
conflict with that.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Jerry Brigham.
Mr. J. Brigham: Mr. Mayor, I’m in full support with Commissioner Shepard. I
st
believe we’ve told the public we’re going to go to the 31 of May and I don’t think it’s
appropriate on our part to change that. As far as supporting Mr. Kolb, I’m willing to
support Mr. Kolb, but unlike some other Commissioners up here, we had another
Administrator that didn’t, who when they disagreed with him, they didn’t support him.
Mr. Kolb is our chief operational officer. Our mayor is our chief executive officer. And
I’m willing to support our chief operational officer in the day-to-day operations of this
st
government. But I also believe that when we say we’re going to go to the 31 of May,
st
we need to go to the 31 of May and see what we’ve got available. Our job is to save the
taxpayers some money. That is the one job that we all have and that we all most agree
upon that we have to do.
Mr. Mayor: Thank you. Mr. Henry Brigham.
Mr. H. Brigham: Mr. Mayor, when is our budget process -- is it June or July?
Mr. Kolb: I’m sorry, Mr. Brigham?
Mr. H. Brigham: Budget process, when do we get into the next budget process?
Mr. Kolb: Well, I’m beginning the process of compiling the capital budget
immediately, and the operating budget will be very soon, sometime in June or July, yes.
We’ve got a lot of work to do. I would like to have someone on board to learn the system
and understand some of the issues before we start making some really tough decisions.
Mr. H. Brigham: Mr. Mayor, I think that answers the question I needed to ask. If
our Administrator is saying to us that he’s going to get into the financing and get things
going, but he needs help, and if we deny him that help, then how are we going to get
things going? I would certainly hope that our Commissioners would reexamine their
hearts and support the motion.
Mr. Mayor: Thank you, Mr. Henry. We have a motion on the floor from Mr.
Shepard that would postpone this to the first meeting in June. Is there any further
discussion on the substitute motion?
Mr. Kuhlke: Mr. Mayor.
Mr. Mayor: Yes, Mr. Kuhlke.
47
Mr. Kuhlke: Can I ask George, is that going to inconvenience you terribly for
two more weeks?
Mr. Kolb: I am willing to yield to the Commission’s decision on this. However,
the longer that we wait, it’s going to extend the process of trying to bring someone on
board as quickly as possible, and that’s our goal. To get someone on board as quickly as
we possibly can. And if -- I’ve had conversations with Mr. Bennett. The first time on his
calendar he can get here to really do the investigation is in June, the first of June, so
we’re already waiting two weeks. And he won’t be able to do anything unless, until the
Commission has had a chance to approve this particular contract.
Mr. Kuhlke: I’m wondering, Mr. Mayor, I’m just wondering if there would be a
way we could accommodate the Administrator at a minimum cost that he may be able to
engage Mr. Bennett with us having the option to cancel that agreement within two weeks.
Mr. Mayor: Well, I don’t know if there is a way to answer that, Mr. Kuhlke. It’s
a good question. Mr. Bridges?
Mr. Bridges: If Ms. Williams has got an idea, how much have we paid for Al
Slavens since he’s been hired with us? Do you have a ballpark on that?
Ms. Williams: I don’t know. I’d have to check.
Mr. Bridges: No, I just --
Ms. Williams: [inaudible]
Mr. Bridges: Mr. Mayor, I think we’ve paid as much to have special expertise in
regards to accounting as we could -- I think if the Administrator recommends this, he
knows he’s up against the wall on the budget, budget time table. I think we should
support him in it and go ahead and get somebody in here and get moving. We’ve spent
enough money with a temporary head in that department. I think we need to move on
with it.
Mr. Mayor: All right. Mr. Wall, you have some information for us?
Mr. Wall: In response to Mr. Kuhlke’s question, in reviewing the contract, the
$25,000 fee is payable in four installments. The first $7,500 at the beginning of the
service, the second $7,500 in 45 days, and then the agreement further provides that in the
event that the agreement becomes unnecessary for Bennett & Associates to perform due
to supervening circumstances beyond the control of either party -- I think we want to get
that language clarified -- Bennett shall be discharged from completing the service and the
City should owe nothing beyond the payments made. But I think there is some room in
that language there that perhaps we could negotiate where all we would owe is the $7,500
in the event it is canceled during that initial 45 day period.
48
Mr. Mayor: So probably you’d owe any expenses, too. Any advertising he might
have placed and whatnot, too, would be on top of that.
Mr. Wall: Yes.
Mr. Mayor: Any further discussion? All right. We’ll move along with the vote
on the substitute motion, and that is to postpone this item to our first meeting in June. All
in favor of that motion, please vote aye.
(Vote on substitute motion)
Mr. Beard, Mr. Bridges, Mr. H. Brigham, Mr. Williams, Mr. Cheek and Mr. Colclough
vote No.
Motion fails 3-6.
Mr. Mayor: That takes us back to the original motion. Any further discussion on
that? All in favor of the original motion then to engage Bennett & Associates to conduct
a national search for our Finance Director, please vote aye.
(Vote on original motion)
Mr. Shepard, Mr. Kuhlke and Mr. J. Brigham vote No.
Motion carries 6-3.
Mr. Mayor: We had a citizen here, I think, for item 42.
Clerk: Yes, sir.
Mr. Mayor: We wanted to go ahead and take up.
Clerk:
42. Motion to approve concrete deck work at Jones Pool for $23,151.65 to
Augusta Wall & Concrete. (No recommendation from Public Services
Committee May 7, 2001)
Mr. Williams: Mr. Mayor.
Mr. Mayor: All right. Just a minute, Mr. Williams. Who is the staff person on
this item? Tom? Just wanted to make sure you’re here. All right. Go ahead, Mr.
Williams.
Mr. Williams:
Yes, sir. This is -- Jones Pool is in my District and something
that is very much needed. But after reviewing this item, it had not went out for bid. Even
though it’s my District and something that’s very much needed, I’m wholeheartedly
opposed to awarding a bid of $23,100 to any vendor by anybody that we have not bid this
out to, and I wanted to hold this and maybe get our Finance Department or Purchasing
49
Agent time to bid this out. I think Tom did a fantastic job in what he was intending to do,
some work to the pool before it opens up. But in my mind, we’ve got a bid process here,
Mr. Mayor, that anything over $10,000 should be bidded. We may not be able to do this
concrete work at this time, but there are other work that I think Mr. Beck would agree
that we can do. I’m not against the project by no means, but since it has not been out for
bid, we want to make sure that if someone else brought a project I would be
wholeheartedly against it and I’m sure they’re not going to support one in my backyard
So they need to pull this. They need to hold this or
that had been sent out for bid.
whatever they need to do, Mr. Mayor, to ensure that we, you know, have an
opportunity to have somebody to bid on it.
Mr. Mayor: Tell you what. Let me just see right now, is there unanimous consent
to pull it at the request of Commissioner Williams? Is there any objection to pulling this
item? No objection heard, Mr. Williams, so we can pull this item them.
Mr. Williams: Okay. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
Mr. Lowrey: [inaudible]
Mr. Mayor: Yes, sir. Please come up and give us your name and address for the
record.
Mr. Lowrey: I’m Robert Lowrey. [inaudible] Street. Turpin Hill.
Mr. Mayor: Speak into the microphone, please, Mr. Lowrey.
Mr. Lowrey: [inaudible] neighborhood association. We’re going to meet
tomorrow afternoon with Mr. Beck to look at this pool to see what we really need at this
pool. So we would request you pull everything until we meet tomorrow, then we would
let him know exactly what the citizens -- you know, we talked about this the last time we
was here. So let us meet tomorrow, Mr. Beck, and we’ll talk about what needs to be
done. Thank you.
Mr. Mayor: All right, sir. Okay. Let’s go back to our consent agenda, then,
Madame Clerk, and we’ll work our way through that.
Clerk: The consent agenda consists of items 1 through 29, with the deletion
of those items earlier. Items 1 through 29. I will read the planning petitions, as well
as the alcohol petitions. If there are any objectors to any of the petitions, would you
please signify your objection by raising your hand?
1. Z-01-18 – Request from the Augusta-Richmond County Planning
Commission to approve a petition from Reverend Jacob C. Trowell, on
behalf of Gethsemane Baptist Church, requesting a Special Exception to
expand an existing church and bring its vehicle parking into conformance
per Section 26-1(a) of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance for Augusta-
50
Richmond County affecting property located on the northeast right-of-way
line of Wrightsboro Road, 310 feet, more or less, west of a point where the
centerline of Linden Street intersects the northeast right-of-way line of
Wrightsboro Road. (10 tax parcels used in conjunction with 1485
Wrightsboro Road) DISTRICT 5
2.
Z-01-30 – Request from the Augusta-Richmond County Planning
Commission to approve a petition from Pamela P. Vaughner requesting a
Special Exception for the purpose of establishing a family personal care
home per Section 26-1(h) of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance for
Augusta-Richmond County affecting property located on the south right-of-
way line of Conniston Drive, 359 feet, more or less, west of the southwest
corner of the intersection of Weslow Drive and Conniston Drive. (2844
Conniston Drive) DISTRICT 4
3. Z-01-31 - Request from the Augusta-Richmond County Planning
Commission to approve a petition from Wesley Lowe, on behalf of Kun Lee
Yong, requesting a change of zoning from B1, (Neighborhood Business) to
Zone B2 (General Business) affecting property located at the southeast
corner of the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Fifteenth
Avenue. (2158 & 2160 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.) DISTRICT 2
21. Motion to approve a request by Henry E. Colley for a retail package beer
license to be used in connection with Sprint Food Stores, Inc. #15 located at
3444 Mike Padgett Hwy. District 2. Super District 9. (Approved by Public
Services Committee May 7, 2001)
22.
Motion to approve a request by Raiz A. Fazalbhoy for a retail beer & wine
license to be used in connection with Tip Top Foodmart located at 2447
Wrightsboro Road. District 3. Super District 10. (Approved by Public
Services Committee May 7, 2001)
23. Motion to approve a one-year probation period for Thriftee Food Store
located at 232 Sand Bar Ferry Road for the following violation: furnishing
alcohol to minor. District 1. Super District 9. (Approved by Public Services
Committee May 7, 2001)
24.
Motion to approve a one-year probation period for Paul’s Supermarket
located at #2 Greene St. for the following violation: furnishing alcohol to
minor. District 1. Super District 9. (Approved by Public Services Committee
May 7, 2001)
25.
Motion to approve revocation of gameroom/business license of D & M’s Gift
located21. Motion to approve a request by Henry E. Colley for a retail
package beer license to be used in connection with Sprint Food Stores, Inc.
#15 located at 3444 Mike Padgett Hwy. District 2. Super District 9.
(Approved by Public Services Committee May 7, 2001)
26. Motion to approve revocation of gameroom/business license of AJ’s
Gameroom located at 2601-C Deans Bridge Road for the following violation:
commercial gambling. District 5. Super District 9. (Approved by Public
Services Committee May 7, 2001) at 2566 Lumpkin Rd. for the following
violation: commercial gambling. District 8. Super District 10. (Approved by
Public Services Committee May 7, 2001)
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Clerk: Are there any objections to those petitions?
Consent agenda:
PLANNING:
1. Z-01-18 – Request from the Augusta-Richmond County Planning
Commission to approve a petition from Reverend Jacob C. Trowell, on
behalf of Gethsemane Baptist Church, requesting a Special Exception to
expand an existing church and bring its vehicle parking into conformance
per Section 26-1(a) of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance for Augusta-
Richmond County affecting property located on the northeast right-of-way
line of Wrightsboro Road, 310 feet, more or less, west of a point where the
centerline of Linden Street intersects the northeast right-of-way line of
Wrightsboro Road. (10 tax parcels used in conjunction with 1485
Wrightsboro Road) DISTRICT 5
2.
Z-01-30 – Request from the Augusta-Richmond County Planning
Commission to approve a petition from Pamela P. Vaughner requesting a
Special Exception for the purpose of establishing a family personal care
home per Section 26-1(h) of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance for
Augusta-Richmond County affecting property located on the south right-of-
way line of Conniston Drive, 359 feet, more or less, west of the southwest
corner of the intersection of Weslow Drive and Conniston Drive. (2844
Conniston Drive) DISTRICT 4
3. Deleted from consent agenda.
4.
Request from the Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission to
approve a petition from Southern Partners, Inc., on behalf of Nordahl & Co.,
Inc., requesting Final Plat Approval of Cambridge, Section III-A. This
section is an extension of Warwick Place, east of Manchester Drive, adjacent
to Cambridge, Section I and contains 16 lots.
FINANCE:
5. Motion to approve the acquisition of Two (2) 4x4 Backhoes for Utilities
Department – Construction Division from Southern Power Equipment
Company of Augusta, Georgia (bid offer 01-057). (Approved by Finance
Committee May 7, 2001)
6.
Motion to approve the acquisition of One (1) Small Hydraulic Excavator for
Utilities Department – Construction Division from Burch Lowe Equipment
Company of Augusta, Georgia for $66,680.00 (lowest bid offer on Bid 01-
067). (Approved by Finance Committee May 7, 2001)
7.
Motion to approve the acquisition of One (1) Vibratory Trench Compactor
for Utilities Department – Construction Division from United Rentals
Equipment Company of Augusta, Georgia for $23,482.00 (lowest bid offer on
Bid 1-069). (Approved by Finance Committee May 7, 2001)
8.
Motion to approve the acquisition of One (1) Integrated Tool Carrier for
Utilities Department – Construction Division from Southern Power
52
Equipment Company of Augusta, Georgia for $65,568.00 (lowest bid offer on
Bid 01-070). (Approved by Finance Committee May 7, 2001)
9.
Motion to approve the acquisition of One (1) 64,000 GVW Dump Truck for
Utilities Department – Construction Division from Mays International
Trucks of Augusta, Georgia (lowest bid offer on Bid 01-077). (Approved by
Finance Committee May 7, 2001)
10.
Motion to approve the acquisition of Two (2) 33,000 GVW Dump Trucks for
Utilities Department – Construction Division from Mays International
Trucks of Augusta, Georgia (lowest bid offer on Bid 01-078). (Approved by
Finance Committee May 7, 2001)
11.
Motion to approve the acquisition of One (1) Trailer Mounted Flusher for
Utilities Department – Construction Division from Adams Equipment
Company of White Plains, Georgia for $30,798.00 (lowest bid offer on Bid
01-079). (Approved by Finance Committee May 7, 2001)
12.
Motion to approve the acquisition of One (1) Trailer Mounted 6 Inch Pump
with accessories for Utilities Department – Construction Division from
Godwin Pump Company of Charleston, South Carolina for $21,869.00
(lowest bid offer on Bid 01-080). (Approved by Finance Committee May 7,
2001)
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES:
13. Motion to approve reclassification of Accounting Clerk I to Administrative
Assistant II in Finance Department. (Approved by Administrative Services
Committee May 7, 2001)
PUBLIC SAFETY:
14. Motion to approve adding three new members to the Local Emergency
Planning Committee (LEPC) to fill vacant positions on the committee. Mr.
Ralph Herndon, citizen member, Mr. John Tebeau, Environmental Health
representative and the addition of a 9-1-1 Communications position with Ms.
Catherine Walker, Assistant Director of 9-1-1. (Approved by Public Safety
Committee May 7, 2001)
15.
Motion to approve the Records Retention Policy for the 9-1-1
Communications Center. (Approved by Public Safety Committee May 7,
2001)
16. Motion to approve the submission of a Juvenile Accountability Incentive
Block Grant (JAIBG) application for Richmond County Juvenile Court and
The Children and Youth Coordinating Council (CVCC). (Approved by
Public Safety Committee May 7, 2001)
17. Motion to approve subcontracts (RFP #01-062) with Augusta Youth Center
(to provide a Day Reporting Center), Evolve Personal Development
Company (to provide in-home counseling) and Augusta Richmond County
through a Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grant (JAIBG) for ARC
Juvenile Court. (Approved by Public Safety Committee May 7, 2001)
PUBLIC SERVICES:
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18. Motion to approve boat ramp repairs at New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam
Park. (Approved by Public Services Committee May 7, 2001)
19.
Motion to approve Atlanta Gas Light 10-year contract. (Approved by Public
Services Committee May 7, 2001)
20. Motion to approve the bid for four (4) transit vehicles submitted by National
Bus Sales & Leasing, Inc., the single bidder, for $718,956.00. (Approved by
Public Services Committee May 7, 2001)
21. Motion to approve a request by Henry E. Colley for a retail package beer
license to be used in connection with Sprint Food Stores, Inc. #15 located at
3444 Mike Padgett Hwy. District 2. Super District 9. (Approved by Public
Services Committee May 7, 2001)
22.
Motion to approve a request by Raiz A. Fazalbhoy for a retail beer & wine
license to be used in connection with Tip Top Foodmart located at 2447
Wrightsboro Road. District 3. Super District 10. (Approved by Public
Services Committee May 7, 2001)
23. Motion to approve a one-year probation period for Thriftee Food Store
located at 232 Sand Bar Ferry Road for the following violation: furnishing
alcohol to minor. District 1. Super District 9. (Approved by Public Services
Committee May 7, 2001)
24.
Motion to approve a one-year probation period for Paul’s Supermarket
located at #2 Greene St. for the following violation: furnishing alcohol to
minor. District 1. Super District 9. (Approved by Public Services Committee
May 7, 2001)
25.
Motion to approve revocation of gameroom/business license of D & M’s Gift
located at 2566 Lumpkin Rd. for the following violation: commercial
gambling. District 8. Super District 10. (Approved by Public Services
Committee May 7, 2001)
26. Motion to approve revocation of gameroom/business license of AJ’s
Gameroom located at 2601-C Deans Bridge Road for the following violation:
commercial gambling. District 5. Super District 9. (Approved by Public
Services Committee May 7, 2001)
27. Motion to approve a request by Geraldine Jones for a massage therapist
license to be used in connection with Geraldine Jones Massage located at
3318-A Milledgeville Road. District 5. Super District 9. (Approved by Public
Services Committee May 7, 2001)
APPOINTMENTS:
28. Motion to approve the appointment of Mr. Abron L. Roberson, to the
Historic Preservation Commission representing District 4.
PETITIONS & COMMUNICATIONS:
29. Motion to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of the Commission
held May 1, 2001.
Addendum Item 1. Ratify appointment of Katherine D. Allen by the Legislative
Delegation to the Augusta Richmond County Tree Commission.
54
SERVICES:
ENGINEERING
35.
Motion to authorize condemnation against Alvin Mays and Helen M. Mays
(Tax Map 83, Parcel 10, Project Parcel 16 and Tax Map 83, Parcel 132,
Project Parcel 14).
36.
Motion to approve and award the purchase and installation of a multi-unit
th
play system for Oglethorpe Park Playground, Riverwalk Gardens at 6
Street riverside of the levee.
37.
Motion to approve Right-of-Way Encroachment Permit for Qwest Virtual
Private Network along 22,955 feet of City streets at a fee of $5,000 per mile.
(Deferred from Engineering Services Committee April 25, 2001)
38. Motion to approve condemnation of necessary right-of-way for sanitary
sewer line for the International Boulevard Sanitary Sewer Extension Project
at Doug Barnard Parkway.
39.
Motion to approve Change Order #4 in the amount of -$203,229.98 to Blair
Construction, Inc. for deletion of the bore and jack underneath Interstate 20
and Skinner Mill Road. (Funded Acct. # 508043420/5425210).
40.
Motion to approve Pipeline Crossing Agreement with CSX Transportation,
Inc. for 18" raw water conversion project.
PUBLIC SERVICES:
43. Motion to approve compromise and settlement of condemnation case against
Jack D. Mason, Civil Action File No. 2000-RCCV-775, for $510,000.00. (No
recommendation
from Public Services Committee May 7, 2001)
45. Motion to approve a request by Koichiro Maeda for an on premise
beer
consumption liquor, & wine license to be used in connection with
Miyabi Kyoto Japanese Steakhouse located at 1315 Augusta West Parkway.
There will be Sunday sales. District 3. Super District 10. (No
recommendation from Public Services Committee May 7, 2001)
46.
Motion to approve W.R. Toole Engineers, Inc. for Engineering Services
of
related to the repair the boat ramp at New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam
Park in the amount of $5,800.00.
PETITIONS & COMMUNICATIONS:
47.
Motion to approve pass-through grant award from the Georgia Department
of Community Affairs to the FORE! Augusta Program in the amount of
$250,000.00.
APPOINTMENT:
50. Motion to approve the appointment of Dr. Lloyd B. Schnuck, Jr., to the
James Brice White Foundation due to the resignation of Dr. Earl A. Loomis.
Mr. Mayor: Gentlemen, if we could add, if we could get unanimous consent to
add to the consent agenda and approve it at that time, would be number 1 on the
addendum agenda that you have in front of you, which is ratifying an appointment from
the Legislative Delegation.
55
Addition to the agenda:
1. Ratify appointment of Katherine D. Allen by the Legislative Delegation to the
Augusta Richmond County Tree Commission.
. Mayor: If we could include that in the motion to approve the consent
Mr
agenda to add that, that would be nice. Thank you.
Mr. J. Brigham: Mr. Mayor, can we add items 35, 36, 37, 38 and 39 and 40?
Mr. Mayor: The Chair certainly has no objection. Let me defer to the
Chairman of Engineering Services.
Mr. Bridges: I have no problem with adding those as recommended by staff or
as printed, Mr. Chairman.
Clerk: Is that 35, 36, 37, 38, and 39?
Mr. Bridges: And 40.
Clerk: Okay.
Mr. J. Brigham: And item 44. I mean 43.
Mr. Mayor: Is there any objection to adding 35 through 40 to the consent agenda?
Mr. Kuhlke: And 43.
Mr. Colclough: Mr. Mayor.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Colclough.
Mr. Colclough: What about just add 45, too?
Mr. Mayor: Add 45. Is there any objection to adding 45 to the consent agenda?
Mr. Wall?
Mr. Wall: I just have a request. In looking over the Engineering Services
referring to item 40, which is the pipeline crossing agreement, you will recall that there
was discussion about Norfolk Southern, a motion to condemn again Norfolk Southern.
That should, as I recall, have been included in this list. And I would request that you add
that to the agenda and approve the condemnation. For those who were not present in the
Engineering Services, there are two crossing agreements that we need. This particular
one, the CSX, is in connection with the 18” water line that is coming up Berckman Road,
to come from the pumping plant up Berckman Road. Norfolk Southern is on Doug
Barnard Parkway, as I recall, [inaudible] Doug Barnard Parkway. But they’re where we
56
are paying $3,800 to CSX, Norfolk Southern is requesting roughly $19,000 and we’re
asking your authority to condemn it.
Mr. Beard: It’s on there.
Mr. Wall: I’m sorry. I didn’t see it. Excuse me.
Mr. Mayor: Is there any objection to adding item 46 to the consent agenda?
Mr. Cheek: Mr. Mayor, did we get 43 added to the consent agenda, too?
Mr. Mayor: Okay, is there any objection to adding 43 to the consent agenda?
Mr. Colclough: 45. 46, then. You added both of them.
Mr. Mayor: No, I’m just going down the list, Mr. Colclough, to see if we can
move this along.
Clerk: Are you going to add 43?
Mr. Mayor: Is there any objection to adding 43 to the consent agenda? None
heard. So we’ll add 43 and then 45. And there was no objection to 46. Is there any
objection to adding 47 to the consent agenda? And item 50, any objection to adding no.
50 the consent agenda?
Mr. Kuhlke: 48.
Mr. Mayor: What was that, Mr. Kuhlke?
Mr. Kuhlke: [inaudible]
Mr. Mayor: Well, I was going to give Mr. Brigham a chance to discuss his item.
Mr. Beard: I have objection to 48.
Mr. Mayor: 48? Okay. We’ll hold that out.
Mr. Kolb: Mr. Mayor, item 33, you need to come back to anyway with the
budget. We do have a financial plan for that, equity [inaudible] also.
Mr. Mayor: All right. This would be to approve it. Approve it without
discussion. Mr. Beard, do y’all want to have some discussion on that, no. 33?
Mr. Beard: I don’t.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Williams?
57
Mr. Kuhlke: I do.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Kuhlke, you do? Okay. So we won’t add 33. Ms. Bonner, did
you get all those?
Clerk: Yes, sir.
Mr. Mayor: Okay. Do we have a motion to approve the consent agenda with all
the additional items?
Mr. Shepard: I so move.
Mr. Cheek: Second.
Mr. Mayor: Okay, are there any items you’d like to pull out for separate
discussion?
Clerk: We’ve pulled 3.
Mr. Mayor: We’ve pulled item no. 3. Are there any other items? Give everyone
a moment here.
Clerk: That’s item 1 through 29, adding 35 through 40, 43, 45, 46, 47, 50 and no.
1 on the addendum agenda, and that’s excluding 3 under Planning.
Mr. J. Brigham: Can item 30 be added?
Clerk: Sir?
Mr. J. Brigham: Can item 30 be added?
Clerk: 30? You want to add 30? Okay. I don’t know if there are any objectors.
We didn’t call that one.
Mr. Mayor: Do you want to pull any other items?
Mr. Cheek: How about item 2? I just want to ask Commissioner Colclough about
item 2.
Mr. Mayor: Item 2. Did you want to pull that, Mr. Colclough?
Mr. Williams: You’ve got 3 pulled, don’t you, Mr. Mayor? You’ve got 3 pulled,
don’t you?
Mr. Mayor: Item no. 3 is pulled, right.
58
Mr. Colclough: No objection.
Mr. Mayor: Item no. 2 is okay?
Mr. Colclough: Okay.
Mr. Mayor: Okay. So the only item we’ve pulled this is no. 3, and we’ll move
ahead with the vote then. All in favor of the consent agenda, please vote aye.
Mr. Shepard abstains.
Motion carries 8-1. [Item 24]
Motion carries 9-0. [Items 1, 2, 4-23, 25-29, 35-40, 43, 45-47, 50, Addendum Item 1]
. Shepard: Mr. Mayor, can I make a notation for the record?
Mr
Mr. Mayor: Yes, Mr. Shepard.
Mr. Shepard: In reference to item 24 on the consent agenda. Show my vote as
abstaining, and the reason is that I’ve done some work for Mr. and Mrs. Park who are
the owners of Paul’s Supermarket.
Mr. Mayor: Thank you. Next is item 3.
Clerk:
3. Z-01-31 - Request from the Augusta-Richmond County Planning
Commission to approve a petition from Wesley Lowe, on behalf of Kun Lee
Yong, requesting a change of zoning from B1 (Neighborhood Business) to
Zone B2 (General Business) affecting property located at the southeast
corner of the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Fifteenth
Avenue. (2158 & 2160 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.) DISTRICT 2
Mr. Mayor: Is the petitioner here today? The petitioner is not here? Okay, Mr.
Patty, you want to --
Mr. Patty: Yes, sir. This property is currently zoned B-1. It’s surrounded by
properties that are zoned B-2 that entertain B-2 uses at the present time, so the request is
consistent with the use, the surrounding use and the surrounding zoning. The gentleman
wants to operate a used car business on the property. He’s well aware of the flood plane
implications of property. He can’t build anything. We’ve talked to him about that. He’s
okay with that. I believe Rev. Fryer had some questions about what could be done. He’d
asked me if this would allow liquor to be sold from the property, and I informed him that
it would. B-2 zoning, while it’s not the intent of the petitioner to begin that type of
business, the rezoning would allow it.
59
Mr. Mayor: Are there any objectors here? Could we get a show of hands for the
record?
(7 objectors noted)
Mr. Mayor: Okay. Thank you. Rev. Fryer, you want to speak for the objectors?
Mr. Fryer: Yes, sir.
Mr. Mayor: All right.
Mr. Fryer: Thank you, Mr. Mayor and Commissioners.
Mr. Mayor: Give us your name and address for the record, please.
Mr. Fryer: Thank you. Larry Fryer. 1115 Sixth Avenue. President of Turpin
Hill Neighborhood Association. The Turpin Hill Neighborhood Association met
Thursday, and one of the issues was this particular site. Our concern was not that we
were in objection to anything being done, but our objection was if there were going to be
liquor sold at this site, and we stood in objection of that particular thing happening there.
And we understood, Mr. Patty, that would not be the case, but if that is the case then I
would like for the Turpin Hill Neighborhood Association to go on record that we are in
objection if that is going to be done.
Mr. Mayor: Could it be rezoned with a stipulation that alcohol would be
prohibited?
Mr. Patty: I hate to speak for the gentleman, but I believe that he would accept
the stipulation that the only B-2 use of the property would be a car lot. I don’t think he
would [inaudible], stipulate the specific use. I think he would be okay with that. Like I
say, I’d hate to speak for him. Everything he said at our meeting would indicate that he
would be all right with it.
Mr. Fryer: We want it to stay like it is, that we would not support it, and certainly
if there is a liquor license even more so.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Jerry Brigham and then Mr. Colclough.
Mr. J. Brigham: Mr. Mayor, if there was an alcohol license to be granted,
wouldn’t they have to apply for an alcohol license and come before this Commission?
Mr. Mayor: Yes, sir.
Mr. J. Brigham: That’s my understanding of the process and regulations.
George, I’d like to have some kind of leg I can stand on in denying this petition, because
it is surrounded by B-2 zoning and it’s already zoned B-1, I want to feel like I’m not
60
doing an adverse condemnation here. You got to give me a better reason than we don’t
want the zoning to change.
Mr. Patty: I’m not suggesting you not. Frankly, recommending approval based
on the surrounding zoning and land use.
Mr. J. Brigham: That’s what I thought. I’m going to make a motion that we
approve.
Mr. Mayor: Is there a second to that motion?
Mr. Bridges: I’ll second the motion.
Mr. Mayor: All right. Mr. Colclough.
Mr. Colclough: Question, Mr. Mayor. If a person applied for a rezoning or a
license, if they want to get this license, why don’t they show up? Why would we want to
approve something when the person who applied for it don’t show up for it? If it’s that
important to apply and get these licenses or get a zoning, it’s just important for them to
come to these meetings. We’re sitting approving something, the person who applied for
it don’t even take the initiative to show up for his own meeting.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Bridges and then Mr. Williams.
Mr. Bridges: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Mr. Mayor, I don’t think anybody up here,
I think everybody pretty well knows my position on alcohol establishments in residential
neighborhoods and schools and that type of thing. But I’m like Mr. Brigham here, we
have faced this situation before, Reverend, where somebody was asking for a rezoning to
something similar to this and our advice given at that time was to go ahead and approve
it, they have to come to us for an alcohol license. We turned down the license when they
came back and we were upheld. So you know I feel comfortable going ahead and
allowing this man to use the property for what he wants to use it for, which is his
business, brings income to the city, but if he should try and bring it back for an alcohol
license, we’ll address it at that time as we’ve done in the past. And I wouldn’t have any
trouble, given the right reasons and being with our ordinance to support you in that
regard.
Mr. Mayor: Commissioner Williams?
Mr. Williams: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. This is in my District. This is between
th
two schools at the point of 15 and Martin Luther King there. I’ve got no problem in
giving this man this zoning with the stipulation we talk about that if he change from that
business, the car lot, to revert back to whatever it is now. He’s not here. I understand
George said he didn’t want to speak for him, but somebody got to speak for him since
he’s not present. But if he wants to have it zoned, a change, he have to accept this
stipulation, and I think we as Commission can give him that stipulation that it revert back
61
once he leaves that, once he change that business, revert back to the zoning as it was.
Because a lot of time you talking about between two school, a lot of time we go and do
something for a period of time, then we change that or sell that particular piece of
property and it’s already zoned for that. So we really need to be mindful. We got enough
of those type establishments in there. If he’s going to run a car lot, I got no problem, but
if we can do the stipulations, and Mr. Wall, you may have to help me out with that. If it’s
feasible enough to do a stipulation, I’ve got no problem in passing it. But if we can’t,
then I cannot.
Mr. Wall: What I would suggest is since the property owner is not here, I think
we’ve heard from the neighborhood and know their concerns. If we could postpone it to
the next Commission meeting and have him here, be sure he consents to that stipulation.
That would be our recommendation.
Mr. Kuhlke: I make a substitute motion.
Mr. Williams: I second that.
Mr. Mayor: Motion has been seconded. Rev. Fryer, you started to say
something?
Mr. Fryer: Yes. If it’s going to be on the agenda the next time, could y’all put it
on the top of the list?
Mr. Mayor: Well, we wanted to have the pastors in here as long as we could
today.
Mr. Fryer: Thank you.
Mr. Mayor: If you’ll see the Chair at the next meeting, we’ll move you up.
Mr. Fryer: Thank you.
Mr. Mayor: We’ll take care of that. Thank you. We have a motion to postpone
this to the next meeting. All in favor of that motion, please vote aye.
(Vote on substitute motion)
Motion carries 9-0.
Mr. Mayor: That takes us to item 30.
Clerk:
PLANNING:
30. Z-01-28 - Request from the Augusta-Richmond County Planning
Commission to deny a petition from Mark A. LaVigne, on behalf of Broad
62
Oaks Land & Investments, Inc., requesting a Special Exception for a family
personal care home per Section 26-1(h) of the Comprehensive Zoning
Ordinance for Augusta-Richmond County affecting property point located
on the northeast right-of-way line of Amarillo Circle, 1,200 feet, more or less,
southeast of a point where the center line of San Marcos Drive intersects with
the northeast right of way line of Amarillo Circle. (7031D Amarillo Circle)
DISTRICT 8
Mr. Mayor: Is the petitioner here? Are there any objectors here?
Mr. Bridges: I move for agreement with the staff. Go with the
recommendation from the committee.
Mr. Shepard: Second.
Mr. Mayor: Motion and a second. Any discussion? All in favor, please vote aye.
Motion carries 9-0.
Clerk:
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES:
33. Motion to approve a recommendation from HND Director regarding the
availability of use of prior years or current year reprogrammed CDBG funds
to fund the needed renovations associates with Jones Pool ($50,000), W.T.
Johnson Community Center ($60,000), Doughty Park ($100,000) and the
proposed Apple Valley Community Center. (No recommendation from
Administrative Services Committee)
Mr. Kolb: Mr. Mayor and members of the Commission.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Kolb.
Mr. Kolb: At your last committee meeting, you asked for us to come back with a
specific recommendation coming out of the current CDBG budget in terms of how to pay
for this project. [inaudible] is here from HND, but generally speaking, we are going to
take money out of housing development funds, is that correct, and reappropriate those
funds.
Mr. Speaker: Yes. That would be correct. I did an analysis for Keven regarding
this, and at that analysis, there was some ’97 housing development money that had
originally been set aside for revitalization strategy that hasn’t been used to date, and so
the recommendation was to take money from that ’97 housing development fund, and
that was the amount of those ’97 -- was $364,640. We’re going to be using it for these
park projects.
63
Mr. Kolb: And we would recommend that. Our process is it has to go back to the
Citizens Advisory Committee and it has to be open for public comment for 30 days. At
the end of that, both of those events, we will bring back to the Commission a budget
amendment that would amend the CDBG budget and go forward with the project if this is
approved.
Mr. Mayor: Commissioner Williams, do you have questions?
Mr. Williams: No, sir. Mr. Mayor. I just want to comment on the Administrator
and thank him for working with HND and trying to get this to this point. I’m going to
vote for approval on it.
Mr. Beard: I move for approval.
Mr. Bridges: Second.
Mr. Mayor: We have a motion and a second to approve this. Is there any
discussion? Mr. Williams, let me add, too, my congratulations and thanks to the staff for
working through this. I know this was a difficult issue to deal with while we went
through the SPLOST, and I’m glad we were able to bring some resolution and get these
issues taken care of sooner rather than later. All in favor of the motion to approve, please
vote aye.
Motion carries 9-0.
Mr. Mayor: That takes us to item 34. This is Mr. Bridges’ Engineering Services
Committee, so I’m going to turn the gavel over to Mr. Bridges to finish his work from the
other day.
ENGINEERING SERVICES:
34.Consider claim for damages from Ms. Corrine Bailey regarding ditch and
sewer problems at 2352 Henry Circle.
Mr. Bridges: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. This is an item that we did not put in the
consent agenda because we had someone here who wanted to discuss it. We did hear it at
the Engineering Services Committee, although we did not have a quorum for the vote.
So if is someone is here to speak on behalf of Ms. Corrine Bailey regarding the problem,
yes, sir, if you could come before us and state your name and address and you’re free to
speak as you choose.
Mr. Howard: My name is Larry Howard. I’m representing Ms. Corrine Bailey,
which is my mother-in-law. And she’s 86 years old. That’s the reason why she can’t be
here today. The reason I’m here --
Mr. Bridges: You might want to speak into the mike so they can hear you down
at the other end, Mr. Howard.
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Mr. Howard: The reason I’m here is to represent my mother-in-law, which is Ms.
Bailey. She’s 86 years old and she has a home at 2353 Henry Circle, which is over, right
at Ruby Drive and Wheeless Road. And we’ve had several problems in the few months
past. We had a big flood that came up. I’ll say a flood. It catches -- it’s in a bottom like.
The hill goes down. We catch all the water from the hillside and all the neighbors’ trash.
And I have pictures in my pocket which I’d like to pass around to all the Commissioners
here. We have a very environmental thing out here in this District and it’s a health
hazard. It’s really a bad environmental place with my mother-in-law’s house right there
on the corner. She catches everything that come off that hillside. Well, she had just had
a new air conditioner put in her house. And on this particular day, which I think it was
March 5, we had a really heavy rain. And we didn’t notice at the time -- well, at the time
the sewage from the road was stopped up, which we had to clean out, and I called Roads
and Bridges, I mean Augusta Water Works. They came out and unstopped the sewer
line, which all this rain water washing off the hill, the front of the house, the back of the
house. The ditch was stopped up, which I had been -- I had called the county about
having them come out and unstop the ditch. It took them two months to unstop this ditch.
And Mr. Harry Hartley came out and he said that he would correct the problem. This
ditch was completely stopped up and this particular day it rained so hard that sewer -- my
cleanout pipe where the sewer -- the road, too was stopped up. All this combined, the
cleanout pipe is on the front, the ditch is in the back of the house, all the water come
around, such bad flood that day, come in and flooded underneath the house. And Mr.
Brian Richards of Water Works, he came out and pumped out over 7,000 gallons of water
underneath this house. We was out there for three hours that particular night. And his
indication says that there is no sign of debris or anything or the grass laying over, which
you can see in the pictures I’ve got, the walkway of the house, which was just a week
ago, the slight rain we had, catching all that water off of that hill, you can see where the
water run through the yard do heavy. We just had a big flood and it ruined the air
conditioner insulation around the pipes. We got damages. We just had the house
exterminated. And we got to pay for all that out of our pocket. And I’m asking the
Commission to see if you can’t give this lady some help. It wasn’t here fault.
Mr. Mayor: These pictures, were they taken by Risk Management or by you?
Mr. Bridges: That’s ours, Mr. Mayor, our staff.
Mr. Mayor: Okay.
Mr. Howard: I have mine that I’ve taken last Monday here and I wrote on the
back of some of them that you can see the ditch really needed a big cleanout pipe in it.
We’ve been begging for it for the last 12 years, which we don’t have. And it really does
need to have that because of kids cutting through the yard, going through the housing
development. You can’t stop them. There’s no way you can stop them. And they jump
the creek, fall in the creek, trash and everything coming from all over the hillside. I mean
it’s just a mess. But Mr. Brian Richards, he did put a cleanout in the front of the road
after the fact, which [inaudible], but we had to have the cleanout because if we didn’t,
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we’d have had the waste coming in the house. My mother-in-law rents the house out, the
lady that lives in it, she had the Health Department come out, and the Health Department
said they would request her to leave the house because of the odor underneath the house
from the sewer odor and the rain water. And it’s done [inaudible] damages and I wanted
to bring it up and see if the committee wouldn’t help this lady out, cause it wasn’t her
fault.
Mr. Bridges: Do we have somebody that can speak to this? Brian or somebody
from Risk Management? They can give their findings on this matter.
Mr. Richards: Mr. Mayor, Commissioners, I’m Brian Richards from the Utilities
Department, Superintendent of Construction and Maintenance Division. From what I
understand, Darlene with the Risk Management Department denied the claim on the
evidence that was compiled. I would like to add a few things if I could. This actually
happened on March 16. The Utilities Department received a complaint about sewer
backing up. A crew arrived at 6:30. The call came in at 6:20. After they got the main
line, which was the sanitary sewer -- we’ve got two [inaudible] we’re talking about here.
A sanitary sewer and [inaudible]. After the sanitary sewer line was opened, they notified
me that there was a substantial amount of water underneath the property at this address. I
was working on another problem at that time. I went over to this address and met with
Mr. Howard and looked underneath the house, and there was a substantial amount of
water underneath the home. I looked further to see where possibly this water could have
come from. It was clear it did not come from the sewer line. The manhole never
overflowed, there was no way that sewer could have gotten underneath the house. I
looked at the back ditch which he had indicated that had overflowed and allowed it to
flow into his yard and go into the access hole in the back of his house which is some 13”
above ground level. I pointed out to Mr. Howard at that time that I did not see where any
indications of the grass being laid over or debris laying in the yard or anything that would
make me feel as though that the ditch had overflowed to the degree of getting up 13”
going underneath the home. So I pretty much told him at that time that I didn’t see that
was an issue. Mr. Howard talked with me about getting in touch with the insurance
company. I said you might have a claim with them. I don’t know what type of insurance
you’ve got. But there is water underneath your house, there is water damage there, I
don’t know if it came from the plumbing underneath the house or where it came from. I
do know it did not come from the sanitary sewer line. I do know that it did not overflow
from the ditch and get up underneath the home. Mr. Howard pointed out the fact that I
installed a cleanout plug in front of that house. I did that as a precautionary measure
because of his concerns that sewer backs up quite frequently, even though we’ve only
had one complaint all year that was on the county side of the problem. But I do want to
point out, if you could look at those pictures, there is the cleanout plug that Mr. Howard
had installed himself in front of the house, and I mentioned to him at that time that by the
location of where this cleanout plug is at and it not having a sealed lid on it, and any
rainwater that comes off the house or any rainwater that filters down to his house to
subsequently go into this cleanout plug, which will cause a sanitary sewer blockage
because it would eventually get into the sanitary sewer line. So we definitely have a
concern and [inaudible] open lines to allow rainwater to get into the sanitary sewer. But
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from my investigation, from Mr. Hartley’s investigation from Public Works, from
Darlene with Risk Management Department, we all found that there was no claim for any
damage done due to the County’s responsibility.
Mr. Bridges: Mr. Wall?
Mr. Wall: Darlene could not be here. I did meet with her and go over it with her
today and you have her recommendation where the claim was denied. We stand by that
recommendation based upon the investigation which Darlene performed, as well as the
information that was furnished by Mr. Hartley and Mr. Richards. We do not believe that
this is a County problem. Recommend that you deny the claim.
Mr. Bridges: Mr. Beard?
Mr. Beard: I’d just like to ask Mr. Howard, what do you want from this
Commission?
Mr. Howard: What we would like to have from this is [inaudible]. Where this
water came into this house, we have got tremendous insulation damage around the pipes
and we just had the house exterminated from where we had it before. We did get the
water off the highway. And you know, you don’t have a water leak from underneath
your house. I don’t have no water leaks there. I check it all the time. The exterminators
come in there all the time. You don’t have 7,000 gallons of water if it hadn’t of come
from the road. I mean you’d be blind in one eye. Anybody knows that it come from the
road. I mean if you see the pictures I got there, how shallow the ditch is. And we do
need a big pipe there. The main thing, that water flowing, keep that trash and keep
environmental out of there. This is the first time, sir, this has ever happened. This is the
first time. And the only reason I think it really happened this time is because the ditch
was blocked of where the neighbors had -- caught leaves coming down through there, had
a fence across it, and this is the only bad time we’ve had this really bad rain. And it did.
It went under the house and it just flooded the whole neighborhood, the whole underneath
the house. She had just had the house exterminated and had the new air conditioning put
in and it went in there and just [inaudible]. Like he said, 13” going there, just level
underneath the house and it got the pipes. Which we did have some sewer come in there
[inaudible], water from the street and around behind the house, go up underneath the
house. The odor was under the house. I’ve done everything. I’ve laid lime under there.
I’ve bought stuff and sprayed under there. It’s still there. And the only thing I know to
do is spend another $2,500-2,600 and let the exterminator go under there and just spray it.
Mr. Bridges: Mr. Williams?
Mr. Williams: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I need to ask a couple of questions.
First of all, you are in my District and I talked with you, sir, about this and after all that
rain and all that stuff we had, was there any other residence that had a problem or any
other significant signs around you or somewhere else? I know from this picture there is a
neighbor adjacent I think to the right in this picture.
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Mr. Howard: Well, no way it could have been because there was a square box
fence across there and the neighbors next door had -- you can see in the pictures that I
have -- the pipe was in the ground and it was just barricaded with limbs and leaves and
all. No one else had any flood damage. It backed up on my end.
Mr. Williams: I’m not talking about from the storm water, from the sewer. I’m
talking about just from as much rain that you said that we got that day. And I know
sometimes we do. I’m just trying to figure out is there anybody else that had a similar
problem with as much water fell that day next to you that should -- because I think our
Utilities person said they didn’t see any signs, and that’s what I’m trying to find out. You
know. How can they determine whether or not it was. He said there wasn’t any trash,
wasn’t any way of showing them that water --
Mr. Howard: The trash was on my end. I had all the trash. There was no way it
could have got through there. Everything was stopped up on my end.
Mr. Bridges: Any further questions? Any comments? Mr. Wall.
Mr. Wall: Well, the only comment I would make is he had said he hadn’t had the
problem before, but the photographs on page five as well as [inaudible]’s report says that
there was rotten wood underneath the floor right there above the cutout, so there had been
water damage before and there were moisture problems that were very evident from the
inspection.
Mr. Bridges: Mr. Shepard.
Mr. Shepard: Either of you can speak to this. Is the damage from storm water or
sewer water? Or do we know?
Mr. Howard: No. Most of your damage is really from the storm water, from the
ditch. But what I was saying about the smell, the water from the front of the house where
the cleanout was, it was mixed in with the storm water and which did get up underneath
the house. And there was 7,000 gallons of water underneath the house.
Mr. Shepard: And the relief requested by you is $2,600 to re-exterminate under
the house; is that it?
Mr. Howard: Yes, sir. And that’s re-wrapping the pipes.
Mr. Bridges: Mr. Colclough. I’m sorry, Mr. Shepard.
Mr. Shepard: That’s included in the price?
Mr. Howard: Yes, sir. Whole thing.
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Mr. Bridges: Mr. Colclough.
Mr. Colclough: Sir, you said that storm water mixed with sewer ran into the
house?
Mr. Howard: Yes, sir, it mixed with the rainwater from the front because we had
a cleanout. I had a cleanout in front of the house. If I hadn’t -- we’ve had several,
several -- they’ve got a block on the top [inaudible] Henry Circle, which it stops up
several times. Which I’ve called 7 or 8 times last year but he said he only got a record of
2 or 3 times. But from now on, every time I call them, I make my own record.
Mr. Colclough: I’m trying to figure out if the storm water went into your cleanout
and then overflowed.
Mr. Howard: What I’m saying, it was overflowing in the front of my yard. The
ditch is in the back of the yard.
Mr. Colclough: I see that.
Mr. Howard: All this combined together, the sewer water with the flood water
come into the house.
Mr. Colclough: So you’re saying the sewer water from the street came into your
house?
Mr. Howard: The backup, because the sewer from the street was stopped up.
That’s what I’m saying.
Mr. Colclough: Mr. Richards, did y’all clean out the sewer in the street?
Mr. Richards: Yes, sir. Let me address that. We had, the main line was blocked
in the front. The indication that there would have been sewer would have been coming
out of the cleanout plug at his front yard, the one that he installed. There was a minor
amount of sewer that had backed up at that point. The sewer was not backed up to the
point of overflowing the manhole. It was just backed up. We was there within 10 or 15
minutes to have it relieved. There is no way that the sanitary sewer overflowed and got
into rainwater and washed up underneath the house.
Mr. Colclough: So you find no feces in the street or in his yard or anything?
Mr. Richards: No, sir. None whatsoever. The manhole never did overflow in the
street.
Mr. Colclough: So there no feces nowhere around?
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Mr. Richards: The only place there was some evidence of sewer backing up was
out of his cleanout plug where there was some tissue paper or something laying around
there. There was no evidence in the street or no other place.
Mr. Bridges: Mr. Cheek.
Mr. Cheek: A couple of questions here. When were these pictures taken?
Mr. Howard: Those were taken a week ago today. I just went by -- this was
probably five or six weeks after that. I mean the day that those pictures were taken out,
just the day before that the County came and cleaned out, which I should have went
ahead, I didn’t realize the ditch was stopped up that day until I got down and got to
walking down it.
Mr. Cheek: I just noticed on the photo of the side yard -- it’s not numbered -- but
the dog -- apparently the dog has got him a little cubbyhole dug out under the foundation
there. Does that go over under the house?
Mr. Howard: No. I’m just -- the reason I’m taking the picture there is because
the debris and the water coming down from around both sides of the house. As you can
see on the walkway of the house there, you can tell where a lot of water comes off the
street, that bottom, and that was just a slight rain. And this particular day, March -- I
mean it really came down. It came down hard and flooded everything.
Mr. Cheek: I just -- sir, I’ve lived on Piedmont Street during 1990 and I had
water like you’re describing in my house, and for weeks and months afterward there was
evidence along the trees and fence lines of suspended debris and different things, and
there’s just no evidence of that here to show that you had particular damage.
Mr. Howard: Look at the water at the front of the house. You can see where just
the slight rain that I took that.
Mr. Cheek: The grass isn’t cut and it’s not raked. It’s very difficult to tell.
Mr. Howard: When they came out to take the pictures, the lady with Risk
Management, you couldn’t tell because it was after the fact, a couple or three weeks after
that.
Mr. Bridges: Do I have a motion? Further discussion then?
Mr. Cheek: Do we have any information on the amount of rainfall that fell that
day?
Mr. Howard: No, sir, I don’t. I don’t have any information.
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Mr. Cheek: I know that that’s available in the archives of the newspaper and the
National Weather Service.
Mr. Bridges: The Chair will entertain a motion if anybody’s got one.
Mr. Shepard: Mr. Chairman, I’ll make a motion that we sustain the action
of Risk Management having not any further information than what we have.
Mr. Cheek: Second.
Mr. Bridges: Motion has been made and seconded. Further discussion of the
item? If not, all those in favor of the motion, signify by voting.
Mr. Williams abstains.
Motion carries 8-1.
Mr. Bridges: I turn the gavel back to you, Mr. Mayor.
Mr. Mayor: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That takes us to item no. 48.
Clerk:
OTHER BUSINESS:
48. Discuss scheduling a joint meeting with the Augusta-Richmond County
Legislative Delegation, Richmond County Board of Education and the
Augusta Commission to discuss reapportionment. (Requested by
Commissioner J. Brigham)
Mr. Mayor: Commissioner Brigham?
Mr. J. Brigham:I make a motion
Mr. Mayor, it explains what I want to do.
that we ask for a joint meeting of the Board of Education and the Delegation to be
proactive in discussing reapportionment.
Mr. Kuhlke: Second.
Mr. Mayor: Motion and second. Discussion? Yes, Mr. Cheek.
Mr. Cheek: This is something that is determined by our state officials. I have
heard before that this was intended to be done this year before the election; is that true?
Mr. J. Brigham: Mr. Cheek, I’m not in no way trying to say let’s do it before. All
I’m trying to say is let’s be proactive and participate with the Delegation on drawing
lines.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Beard?
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Mr. Beard: Mr. Mayor, we’ve had this before and I think that there is not need, as
I see it, to get into this again. And to me, we just need to wait a while and see how things
develop. There’s going to be a session this summer and if there is a need to get with the
School Board, because I think we can do it at a later date. I think it’s a little premature at
this time and this is why I’m not supporting this at this time.
Mr. Mayor: Anything else want to say anything? Mr. Kuhlke.
Mr. Kuhlke: Mr. Mayor, I disagree with Commissioner Beard. I don’t think it’s
premature to go ahead and begin discussions. I think that there is an interest in the
Commission Districts and the School Districts for being consistent. We know that we
need to go through the Legislative Delegation and talk to them, but we also know that
through home rule we, I think, have the ability here to look at Districts ourselves and
present them to the Delegation. And I don’t think it’s too soon to begin. All the
information I think is available to us, and I’m going to support Mr. Brigham’s motion.
Mr. Mayor: All right. Further discussion? All in favor of the motion, please vote
aye.Madame Clerk, since the Chair can vote to create a tie, I will vote aye on that. For
whatever purpose that serves
Mr. Beard, Mr. H. Brigham, Mr. Williams, Mr. Cheek and Mr. Colclough vote No.
.
The Mayor votes Yes.
Motion fails 5-5.
Mr. Mayor: That takes us to item 51, Mr. Wall.
51. LEGAL MEETING
??
Discuss litigation matters.
??
Discuss real estate matter.
Mr. Wall: Request a legal meeting to discuss the items that are listed, litigation
matters and real estate matter.
Mr. Mayor: And I have a real state matter, too, Mr. Wall.
Mr. Shepard: I so move.
Mr. Mayor: Is there a second?
Mr. Cheek: Second.
Mr. Mayor: All in favor of the motion, please vote aye.
Mr. H. Brigham not voting.
Motion carries 8-0.
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[LEGAL MEETING]
Mr. Mayor: All right, we will come back to order, and we will entertain a motion
to authorize the Chair to sign the affidavit.
52. Motion to approve authorization for the Mayor to execute affidavit of
compliance with Georgia's Open Meetings Act.
Mr. Cheek: I so move.
Mr. Bridges: Second.
Mr. Mayor: Any objection? None heard.
Mr. H. Brigham and Mr. Kuhlke out.
Motion carries 7-0.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Wall, do we have something to add and approve?
Mr. Wall: I’d ask that we add to the agenda an agreement that would
settle a claim for drainage damage and ask you to approve this agreement for
Mr. Trex Bowles.
Mr. Shepard: I so move.
Mr. Mayor: We have a motion to add and approve. Is there a second?
Mr. Cheek: Second.
Mr. Mayor: Discussion? Any objection? So ordered.
Mr. H. Brigham and Mr. Kuhlke out.
Motion carries 7-0.
Mr. Mayor: Any other business to come before the Commission? We are
adjourned without objection.
[MEETING ADJOURNED]
Lena J. Bonner
Clerk of Commission
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CERTIFICATION:
I, Lena J. Bonner, Clerk of Commission, hereby certify that the above is a true and
correct copy of the minutes of the Regular Meeting of Augusta Richmond County
Commission held on May 15, 2001.
Clerk of Commission