HomeMy WebLinkAboutJuly 5, 2005 Augusta-Rihcmond County Commissio
REGULAR MEETING COMMISSION CHAMBER
JULY 5, 2005
Augusta Richmond County Commission convened at 2:00 p.m., Tuesday, July 5, 2005,
the Honorable Willie H. Mays, III, Interim Mayor, presiding.
PRESENT: Hons. Hankerson, Smith, Colclough, Grantham, Williams, Beard, Cheek,
Sims and Boyles, members of Augusta Richmond County Commission.
The Invocation was given by Rev. H. K. McKnight.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
RECOGNITION:
Youth of Augusta, Inc. Georgia Stars Division II State Champions
The Clerk: At this time, the Mayor and the members of the Commission would like to
recognize the Youth of Augusta, Inc. Georgia Stars Division II State Championship. We have to
do our official roll call today as Ms. Tara Miller, who is the assistant sports director for WJBF
Channel 6.
Ms. Miller: Congratulations, Ladies. I was over at one of the games last week
[inaudible]. Future Star WMBA right here. If you’re not aware of these, these ladies going to
Georgia [inaudible] Youth Division [inaudible] Championship. They were really [inaudible] but
they have a whole future HED of them. I was here last time when a couple of them I know were
part of the Lady Rebels went to the State Title so congratulations all of you. We have Coaches
Larry Jacobs. They’re being recognized for [inaudible] Youth of Augusta, Inc. Georgia Stars
Girls Basketball team and winning the 2005 Georgia Amateur Athletic [inaudible], Division II
State Championship. The City of Augusta recognizes [inaudible] your athletic achievements.
[inaudible] Paine Coach Advil. Elizabeth Grisham.
[A round of applause is given.]
Ms. Miller: Tamay Phillips. She’s not here? Okay. Shaniqua Sullivan.
[A round of applause is given.]
Ms. Miller: Shaniqua Martin.
[A round of applause is given.]
Ms. Miller: Anisha Harrington.
[A round of applause is given.]
Ms. Miller: Yvonne Hale.
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[A round of applause is given.]
Ms. Miller: Markayla Webb.
[A round of applause is given.]
Ms. Miller: Shamika Carter.
[A round of applause is given.]
Ms. Miller: Ashley Dyches.
[A round of applause is given.]
Ms. Miller: Thedree Jones.
[A round of applause is given.]
Ms. Miller: Ebony Smith.
[A round of applause is given.]
Ms. Miller: Taquoia Mack.
[A round of applause is given.]
Ms. Miller: And Carrie Kelly Semore.
[A round of applause is given.]
Ms. Miller: Congratulations, ladies.
[A round of applause is given.]
Mr. Mayor: To this fine outstanding group, I just want to say to you that I can’t bounce a
ball twice without it getting out of my hand but to you who’s capable of doing those things, we
just think it’s so great and so wonderful to, to have you here, to represent you for, for the City of
Augusta. Our Interim Mayor who’s a sports fanatic, I say sometime he, who loves the game,
who can’t play now, but he loves the game.
[Laughter]
Mr. Mayor: And I just wanted to say to you congratulations from the entire body of the
City of Augusta and thank you for all you do.
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[A round of applause is given.]
Mr. Mayor: These people [inaudible], ladies. Let me say before you all leave, while we
got them here, Ms. Bonner?
The Clerk: Yes, sir?
Mr. Mayor: Going to be just a little bit unorthodox today. Let’s go to their item and skip
over to the part that’s on the agenda there. Because you all serving as, as great ambassadors for
the City. We wish you a lot of luck. We know you’re going to bring it on back to, but you’re
doing a lot to represent this City, this community. Coaches, you’re doing a great job and we
were able to do a couple of things in Committee before you got here today and the Commission,
those members that were present committed themselves to private donations to help you all today
and as well as promoting our City because you’re going to be wearing that in the representation
of Georgia Stars but you’re our own Augusta Georgia Stars--
[A round of applause is given.]
Mr. Mayor: So we’ve done something a little, a little bit special that we can, can
legitimately and legally do because we don’t want you to go off empty handed because we know
you’re going to bring something back. You’re champions in league and certainly you’re going to
be champions when you return so what I’m going to ask the Clerk to do at this particular time is
to, without any objection from the Commission, and I know you don’t have any, so go HED and
read the particular item that relates to these young ladies, and we’ll be able to let you all go on
your way with a little particular package, and we have some other things that are going to be
taken up. In a meeting this morning, Mr. Boyles first started off and every Commissioner around
the table agreed to, to make sure that they were able to get something to take with them in
addition to what the City is doing from its promotional account. If you could read from that
agenda item, Ms. Bonner?
The Clerk:
21. Consider sponsorship request from Youth of Augusta, Inc., in the amount of $2,000
to help defray costs in connection with the July competition of the Amateur Athletic Union
Girls 11U through 12U Division II National Championships in Nashville, Tennessee funded
from the promotional account and seek additional support from the Board of Education
(approved by the Finance Committee in July 5, 2005 meeting).
Mr. Mayor: You’ve heard the reading of the item, Commissioners. Entertain a motion?
Mr. Boyles: Mr. Chairman, I move, as Finance Chairman, I move for approval.
Mr. Colclough: Second.
Mr. Mayor: A motion and a second. There being no further discussion, all in favor of
the motion will do so by the usual sign. I’m predicting that’s going to be unanimous.
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Motion carries 9-0.
Mr. Mayor: And that’s not contingent on whether the Board of Education does anything
or not. We’ll have ours ready for you as well as those private donations that the Commissioners
kind of put a challenge up to match. So in addition to the plaques, we want you to be able to, to
go. You’re representing the City first-class, and we want you to be able to, to go there as true
stars like you are. Thank you so much.
[A round of applause is given.]
Ms. Speaker: I just come on behalf of the President of the Booster Club that we just
started for this particular organization, and I just want to thank y’all for y’all’s sponsorship and
keep us in y’all’s prayers that we will continue to lead and guide in the way that we teach these
girls every day, training them, and we have to train them that they will go out, and then they can
come back and give back to the community also. Thank y’all, and we will be back again next
year.
[A round of applause is given.]
PROCLAMATION:
Recreation and Parks Month
Augusta Recreation Department
Mr. Tom Beck, Director
The Clerk: In recognition of the Recreation and Parks Month, the Mayor and
Commission would like to recognize our Recreation Department along with the other Recreation
and Parks departments throughout the nation.
Whereas, the Augusta Recreation and Parks Department brings viability to parks and
recreation and quality sports program, and
Whereas, the Augusta Recreation and Parks Department promotes health and wellness
with programs that are fun and active to help citizens stay healthy and physically fit, and
Whereas, parks, recreation activities and leisure experiences provide opportunities for
young people to live grow and develop into contributing members of society, and
Whereas, parks and recreation creates lifelines and continued life experiences for older
members of our community, and
Whereas, parks and recreation generates opportunities for people to come together and
experience a sense of community through fun recreational pursuits, and
Whereas, parks and recreation agencies provide outlets for physical activities,
socialization and stressing reducing experiences, and
Whereas, parks, playgrounds, ball fields, nature trails, open spaces, community and
cultural centers, and historic sites make a community attractive and desirable place to live, work,
play and vivid to contribute to our on-going economy viability, and
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Whereas, parks, greenways and open space provides a welcome respite for our fast-pace,
high-tech lifestyles while protecting and preserving our natural environment, and
Whereas, parks and recreation agencies touch the lives of individuals, families, groups,
and the entire community which positively impact upon the social, economic, health and
environmental quality of our community.
Now, therefore, be it resolved, our Willie H. Mays, III, Interim Mayor of the City of
Augusta do hereby proclaim the month of July, 2005, as Recreation and Parks Month in Augusta,
Georgia, and encourage all citizens to take charge of your health, Augusta, by becoming active,
exercising and getting educated about the benefits of health and fitness for a better quality of life.
In witness whereof, by having unto set my hand and cause the Seal of Augusta, Georgia,
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to be affixed this 5day of July, 2005. Mr. Tom Beck.
Mr. Beck: Mayor Mays and members of the Commission and members of the audience,
take charge of your health, Augusta. July is National Recreation and Parks Month, and we want
to focus in on the good things that we’ve got in the community. We’re not setting up any special
programs for this month. We’re encouraging everyone to participate in those already great
programs that we’ve got going on in this City. You’ll find in your packet information about
some of the events that’ll be going on that you can tie into and actually get some discounts if you
participate. Commissioner Grantham, if you go walking a certain number of times at one of the
walking tracks, you might get a little discount on something, and we’re, we’re encouraging
everyone to get out and just, just do it, as, as one of the national sponsors used to say. Get out
and enjoy your parks, and there’s no two better examples than our captains for our July’s
National Recreation and Parks Month, Take Charge of Augusta campaign, and to my left, is Ms.
Julia Robinson, and Ms. Robinson is an active member of the Sand Hills Senior Program, and to
show you how active she is, she actually was a gold medal winner in our recent Golden
Olympics in the football toss, the clock golf and the Frisbee toss so she’s some athlete. Give her
a hand for that.
[A round of applause is given.]
Mr. Beck: And our other captain is Ms. Kelsey Burns. Kelsey is a fourteen year old that
has participated in just about every athletic event and program that we’ve got. She also score
keeps with us as well, and to show the family atmosphere, her parents are very involved in not
only her programs but also her sister’s programs in football, basketball, cheerleading and they’re,
they’re even involved in the cycling program too so here’s our two captains for our Take Charge
of Augusta Campaign. I want to thank Misty and Joanie from our staff for all the work they’ve
done for this month, and again please get out and encourage, Commissioners, folks in your
district to utilize their facilities and programs, and Augusta, please, take charge of your health
this month. Thank you.
[A round of applause is given.]
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Beck? I need you to come and get your proclamation that, that I believe
you got my doctor to write for you.
Mr. Beck: How did you know?
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Mr. Mayor: I can really tell. Thank you so very much for the job that Rec and Parks
continues to do, and I think it’s so ably fitting that the age group of people that are here that you
have representing this department today, that we take care of everybody, and I’ve had that
experience of working your predecessor for so many years, Mr. Boyles over there, who’s now a
Commissioner, and to yourself and for all of those years that this department continues to do
great things. So keep up the good work. We thank you for the leadership and most of all to the
people that we continue to serve in the community, and we hope that those good things will
continue. I got, I learned a lot from you two guys. We went through some very, very rough
times when we didn’t have all the money that’s available now but I can remember, Don, in those
old days when we putting things together and even when money was tight, that we were able to
still continue to continue to provide the services and continuing to keep facilities open, and Rec
and Parks certainly has grown over that time and hopefully, this community will allow it to
continue to grow but thank you for the great job that you all continue to do. Commissioner
Boyles?
Mr. Boyles: Thank you, Mr. Mays, Mr. Mayor, I just wanted to, I think we’d be a little
bit remiss if we didn’t talk about yesterday and what they did at the River Blast downtown. I
was with them almost all day, up to the conclusion last night, and our fire service, our recreation
service, our Sheriff’s office, it was truly an asset to the City of Augusta what was done down
there yesterday, and I think that it’s a good time for it with July being Recreation and Parks
month. It all ties together, and everything was basically free yesterday, and it was alcohol free,
and I think it was a great day for the City of Augusta yesterday, and I just think we just owe you
a great, great sense of gratitude and thanks for doing what you did.
[A round of applause is given.]
Mr. Mayor: Madame Clerk, if we could go back to the original first item, and also Mr.
Hankerson had asked for a few moments of personal privilege. While that’s being done and it’s
been, [inaudible] grants that and as we move into that at this time.
A. CONGRATULATIONS! Commissioner Bobby Hankerson
, who was the recipient of
Certificate of Recognition from the Georgia Municipal Training Institute at the
University Of Georgia Carl Vinson Institute Of Government at the annual GMA
Conference in Savannah, Ga. June 24-29, 2005 and installed as the President of GMA
Seventh District, which consists of the cities within thirteen counties.
The Clerk: The Mayor and members of the Commission would like to offer their
congratulations to Commissioner Bobby Hankerson who was the recipient of the Certificate of
Recognition from the Georgia Municipal Training Institute at the University of Georgia Carl
Vinson Institute of Government at the annual Georgia Municipal Association Conference in
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Savannah, June 24 through the 29. He was also installed as the President of GMA Seventh
District which consists of cities within thirteen counties. Congratulations, Mr. Hankerson.
[A round of applause is given.]
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Mr. Hankerson: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I just want to give a brief report on GMA. I
was the delegate for voting for the City of Augusta. The convention was held at the convention
center in Savannah, Georgia. This year we had two thousand in attendance from all over the
State of Georgia. Five hundred cities that GMA recognized are members of GMA. Ninety-four
training certificates were given besides mine so ninety-four. Eight hundred elected officials were
in training last week, and I’m happy to, to know that or at least our, nine of us that attended the
conference were in training on Saturday and also in the work, in the work sessions and other
trainings through Tuesday evening so it was a good session. Several of the Commissioners
attended various classes or, I attended the Emergency Management Class along with three other
Commissioners so we kind of spread it around in the various sections, sessions or one
Commissioner cannot get all that is offered by GMA. We would not be getting our dollar’s
worth by having one Commissioner so we was wise enough to spread that around. Also, during
the session, as being a member of the Board of Directors, the Board of Directors recognized our
former Mayor, Bob Young, our Regional Director. I must say that when former Bob Young
came in, I greeted him coming in the building, and he invited me out to lunch, and I declined that
but I afterthought wish I had of went to lunch with, which was greater to go with the HUD
Director or to talk about funds in Augusta or go sit in a class at that time but I thought, you
know, I’d better go and sit in the class so I hope we didn’t lose that meeting with the Regional
Director but he was recognized, and he told the Board of Directors that he was the man that
writes the checks, so I really wanted to have lunch with the man that write the checks but I
thought I would use our tax dollar wisely at that time. Also, I want to use this opportunity to
thank the City of Augusta for investing in its Commissioners and investing also in the training
that we received because we know that in that training, our, a lot of it, you won’t, will not see the
results of it right now but in the future, you will see that it was a great investment. I’d like to
thank my colleagues and all of the citizens across the thirteen counties that are, voted for me to
be the President of the Seventh District. The Seventh District, I’d like to go a little in depth in
that. It covers counties such as Wilkes County, Taliaferro County, Warren County, Hancock
County, Glascock County, Washington, Jefferson, Burke, Jenkins, Columbia, McDuffie where
Sylvia lives [laughter], and Lincoln County. During this, all of those counties that are, are, I will
be representing and I really thank them for the confidence that they put in me to, to serve as their
President. The next twelve months will be a challenging time for me. I’m open for suggestions
to improve what we’ve been doing and that we can do the job better. I will make a collaborative
effort to bring training and meetings for the district to a centralized location to enhance our
attendance. I would like to know from all of you, my colleagues and, and department heads and,
and citizens, what type of training and information that, that we need in our area as we have our
listening sessions throughout these twelve counties. I will articulate your issues and concerns to
the proper staff. We must work together, all of us, to make sure that our problems, our concerns
and policies and our position be known by our local, state and federal officials and also the GMA
Board. I look forward to serve as your President for the next twelve months and thank you and
may God bless you and may God bless Augusta, Georgia. Thank you.
[A round of applause is given.]
Mr. Mayor: Thank you, Mr. President. Congratulations, and I know certainly you’re
going to do a good job, a great job for not only the City of Augusta but representing GMA as
well, and I privately told you you got a chance to break another historical record because a lot of
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times when you’re moving up that GMA ladder, it gets to be a, a jinky ladder sometimes so you,
you, well, you’ll be able to carry on in your position as President. If we could go back to the
original order of the day, our consent agenda, Ms. Bonner, is a little short. Is, is Mr. Brian Green
present? If Brian is, is not here, we’ll, we’ll just hold that spot if he does come in and I can
recognize him at a different time, Madame Clerk. For the benefit of the audience that may or
may not have an agenda, this was a carry- over week of some Committees that just have had the
opportunity to, to meet today so we’re going to try, if we can, normally we, we’ll already have
these familiar items on this agenda but in the essence of time, as many of them as we can move
through, Madame Clerk, we will, and also barring any objections because it would have to take
unanimous consent in order to do them but if there are any Commissioners who wish to add
some Committee items that have been voted on at least in the Committees that have met, if you
wish to transfer them over to consent, the Chair is willing to accept them at that, at this time in
order to, to move some of those if we can possibly do that.
Mr. Colclough: Mr. Mayor?
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Colclough?
Mr. Mayor: Go HED.
The Clerk: Go HED? Okay. Then they can add –
Mr. Mayor: Go HED.
The Clerk: The consent agenda as printed consists of Items 1 through 1B. That’s
Items 1 through 1B.
Mr. Colclough.
Mr. Colclough: Mr. Mayor, the consent of the Public Service Committee, I would like to
add Items 2, 3, 4 and 6 to the consent agenda.
Mr. Mayor: 2, 3, 4 and 6?
Mr. Colclough: Yes, sir.
Mr. Mayor: Any objection to those under Public Services? Under 2, 3, 4 and 6? They
would be so added. The Chair recognizes Commissioner Boyles, then Commissioner Cheek.
Mr. Boyles: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. With concurrence, I’d like to add from the Finance
Committee at our meeting this morning, that we add Items 19, 20, 21 and of course, 21A was
referred to the full Commission. I’d like to add those to the consent agenda also.
Mr. Mayor: Any objections to 19, 20 and 21 being added to the consent agenda? None
being, they are so added.
Mr. Williams: Mr. Mayor? And I was in Finance but I’m a, I’m a little confused about
the, Item 19, Mr. Finance Chairman. Is that going to be sent back to me? What, what?
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The Clerk: The motion. The motion was to defer until the mid-year budget review.
Mr. Boyles: Which will be in August.
The Clerk: August.
Mr. Williams: Okay. I just, I just want to know when it –
Mr. Boyles: And you were, it, I think we talked about it just as you came in or just after
you came in and the recommendations were it go back to August.
Mr. Williams: Okay. I, I got no problem with that. I just want to know where we was. I
didn’t want to give the wrong impression that it was coming out another way but if we was
reviewing again –
Mr. Boyles: No.
Mr. Williams: Okay. I got no problem.
Mr. Boyles: We’re still waiting on the mid-year budget review, and Mr. Crisard is to
have that to us by the first Commission, Committee meeting in August.
Mr. Williams: So, so the numbers, the numbers again were 19, 20 and 21?
Mr. Boyles: Yes.
The Clerk: We’ve already approved 21 but –
Mr. Boyles: Roger. 21 has already been done.
Mr. Mayor: Actually, 19 and 20 at this point.
Mr. Boyles: Correct.
The Clerk: Yes.
Mr. Mayor: No objection to those, so they are so added.
Mr. Hankerson: I’ve got a –
The Mayor: Commissioner Hankerson?
Mr. Hankerson: I’ve got one question on the Public Service, Public Service Chairman.
Mr. Colclough: Yes, sir.
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Mr. Hankerson: On the, on Item 6, I think that may need to be clarified because there
was a change in, in that from what she printed here.
Mr. Colclough: So you’d like to pull it?
Mr. Hankerson: It – right. So we briefly pull it so that we can hear from the airport.
Mr. Colclough: All right.
Mr. Mayor: It’s Item 6?
Mr. Colclough: Item 6.
Mr. Hankerson: Right. I’m still open to add consent?
Mr. Mayor: Yes, sir.
Mr. Hankerson: Okay. For the Administrative Service, we have a, we passed out a
addendum to the Item 1 on the agenda of Administrative Service. I’d like for that, for about, for
the item to be accepted and, and approved at, we can, for consent.
Mr. Colclough: That was Item 8?
Mr. Hankerson: Item 1.
Mr. Colclough: All right.
Mr. Hankerson: And also to Item 5 for consent.
The Clerk: Item 5? Okay. Item 5.
Mr. Hankerson: Right.
The Clerk: Where is –
Mr. Boyles: Which, which agenda were you working from?
The Clerk: Where are you reading from? Where, where you reading from?
Mr. Mayor: Yeah cause I think you got, you got a Committee agenda numbers and the
numbers might be different.
Mr. Hankerson: Oh.
Mr. Mayor: If you probably could refer to them on the Regular Commission Meeting –
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The Clerk: Agenda.
Mr. Mayor: As they come under the Committee, it might be a little easier for everybody.
Mr. Hankerson: Okay. I was looking, I was looking in my, my first book. I was looking
at Old Testament.
[Laughter]
Mr. Hankerson: I’m sorry. Okay. Just let Mr. Williams go HED and let me reorganize
here.
Mr. Mayor: Let me, let me skip back a minute. Let me get y’all back in and on action.
Mr. Cheek is next, then Mr. Williams.
Mr. Cheek: Okay. Mr. Mayor, with the consent of the body, move to add Item 22 from
Engineering Services to the consent agenda.
Mr. Mayor: Any objections on 22? None being, it’s so added. Mr. Williams?
Mr. Williams: Mr. Mayor, Item 14 in Public Safety, I’d like to send that back. Now, I
don’t want, I want to send it back to Committee. We have not had Committee meetings to, to
discuss this. This is a issue we been dealing with for quite some time, when you, and we need to
fast track it but we also need to make sure that we’re within the guidelines as we, we progress
with this but I’d like to have Item 14 sent back to Committee in order to be, to discuss it and be
able to get a, a understanding on that when, if possible.
Mr. Mayor: Actually, it’s a deletion.
Mr. Williams: Yes.
Mr. Mayor: But let’s – okay. We can. Let’s finish out.
The Clerk: Yeah. From the other set?
Mr. Mayor: Yeah.
The Clerk: The other.
Mr. Mayor: On the, are there any other suggested additions?
Mr. Hankerson: Okay. I’m ready now, Mr. Mayor.
Mr. Mayor: We’ve only got one deletion which be 14.
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The Clerk: 15, 16, 17, 18 [inaudible].
Mr. Hankerson: For consent.
The Clerk: Well, you’re talking Public Safety right now.
Mr. Hankerson: Oh, okay.
Mr. Williams: Yes. Let me, let me do that while, while I can. You go HED and offer up
16 –15, 16 and 17. I need some, I need to hold number 18, Madame Clerk, if I can just to get
some clarification on 18. But you send 14 back, take 15, 16 and 17 for consent.
The Clerk: 15, 16, 17?
Mr. Williams: Right. I want to hold. I just need a little discussion on 18 as to what
we’re doing with the No. 4 Fire station there.
Mr. Mayor: Any objections on those three items? None being there, they are so added.
The Clerk: Mr. Mayor?
Mr. Mayor: Yes, ma’am?
The Clerk: The attorney.
Mr. Shepard: Mr. Mayor, at the Item 1 on the addendum agenda, regarding the
reinstatement of the whistle ban on Sunday mornings. I’d ask that be added and approved.
Mr. Mayor: Any objection to that item by the attorney? Anybody need any clarification
on it on the whistle ban in reference to the train? It’s on the addendum sheet to, to add on.
The Clerk: The addendum agenda.
Mr. Mayor: It’s the renewal of the one that’s already in place but if there’s an objection,
we won’t add it. We don’t need to –
Mr. Williams: Yeah. I’d like, I’d like to just hear a little discussion on that, please.
Mr. Mayor: It stays on regular.
The Clerk: Well, it needs to be added. It hasn’t been added. Okay.
Mr. Mayor: Well, I was trying to get the full consent for you and since, since we got a lot
of Committees that, that did not meet. In fact, if you could go through, Madame Clerk, the, the
numbers that you have so we can make sure if the parties that have added items, if you would
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listen for those numbers that, that she call to make sure that we have them over for consent,
that’ll help us to, to go HED and move through some of these items right away.
The Clerk: Okay. At this point, the consent agenda consists of Items 1 through 1B on
the printed agenda, to include Items 2, 3, 4 under Public Service portion of the agenda. Under
Public Safety, Item 14 being referred to the next Committee. Item 15, 16 and 17 will be consent
agenda items, and Item 22 under the Engineering Services portion of the agenda.
Mr. Mayor: Did you do that?
The Clerk: Oh. Finance, or 19 and 20 with Item 21 already been approved. Item 21A
was referred to the Commission with no recommendation.
Mr. Mayor: Okay. Madame Clerk? Before I recognize Commissioner Williams, could
you give me the ones that we did under Administrative Services again?
The Clerk: He didn’t, he, he only added Item 8. He didn’t complete his.
Mr. Hankerson: Okay.
Mr. Mayor: So it’s just, it’s just one?
Mr. Hankerson: No.
The Clerk: He wants to add it back. He didn’t finish.
Mr. Mayor: Oh, okay.
Mr. Hankerson: I’m in the right testament now.
Mr. Mayor: Okay. All right now.
Mr. Hankerson: Okay. I did –
Mr. Mayor: That’s your version?
Mr. Hankerson: Yeah.
The Clerk: Yeah.
Mr. Mayor: Okay.
Mr. Hankerson: And I did mention 8 –
The Clerk: Yes.
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Mr. Hankerson: Item 8 to be added and approved, and also Item 11 for add and approve.
The Clerk: With the revision under Item 2 under the Addendum Agenda, Mr.
Hankerson? That was to revise the item to include the Bethlehem area?
Mr. Hankerson: Right. Correct.
The Clerk: As the third area for the reprogramming of funds?
Mr. Hankerson: That’s, that’s correct. Yes.
The Clerk: To include that language?
Mr. Hankerson: Right. Yes.
Mr. Williams: I’ve got a little problem with that one now. I need to have that on the
agenda meeting to talk about it. Item 11 is in the book but is on this addendum item as well but
that needs to stay so we can discuss it. There’s some deep discussion need to take place with
that.
Mr. Mayor: Okay. Do we have unanimous consent on Item –
The Clerk: 11.
Mr. Mayor: 11 or –
The Clerk: And we need to do 10.
Mr. Mayor: Yeah. So it stays on regular.
The Clerk: Item 10, you going to [inaudible]? Okay. You’re not adding that one then?
Mr. Hankerson: 12. It was 12.
The Clerk: 12? Okay.
Mr. Mayor: 10 is on airport personnel.
Mr. Hankerson: Is that all right?
The Clerk: We pulled that one from further discussion under Public Services so do you
need to pull it out now too?
Mr. Hankerson: Yeah.
Mr. Check: You can pull it out.
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The Clerk: Yeah. Okay.
Mr. Hankerson: That wasn’t 10.
The Clerk: No. Yes, they’re companion items.
Mr. Mayor: It is in the New Testament, right?
The Clerk: Yes. Item 10 and Item –
Mr. Cheek: 6.
The Clerk: 6 are companion items.
Mr. Cheek: They’re the same thing.
Mr. Hankerson: The one that I’m requesting, Item 6, is that $140,000 change order?
Mr. Cheek: No.
Mr. Mayor: No.
The Clerk: No, sir.
Mr. Check: 6 says there are part, two part timers.
Mr. Hankerson: Oh. I don’t have a problem with that one.
The Clerk: The one that you asked –
Mr. Hankerson: [Inaudible] you want it pulled?
Mr. Cheek: No.
Mr. Williams: That’s on the regular agenda, is that right? Item 7?
The Clerk: Yes. The change order wasn’t included in the consent agenda.
Mr. Hankerson: I was, I wanted to question that, wanted some clarification on the –
Mr. Colclough: 7 is on the agenda.
th
Mr. Hankerson: 7. Yeah.
The Clerk: Oh, so you didn’t want 6?
15
Mr. Hankerson: That’s fine. No. [inaudible] You didn’t know.
The Clerk: Okay. Okay.
Mr. Mayor: If we could move, if we could move from numbers just a moment to
wording, I think it’ll help just a little bit and, because I think we were discussing airport
personnel for a moment and I think the chairman [inaudible] is there if there’s something we
need to ask on that question, we can get that from them but its okay to leave on, on, on consent
but they’re here if we need to pull that but I don’t know what else needs to go on.
The Clerk: He was meaning [inaudible] 7 but he pulled 6 but his concern was with Item
7. Okay? Right?
Mr. Hankerson: No. I, no. I was, yeah. My intentions was that 7 is the one that I want
to discuss, right?
The Clerk: Yes. Not 6.
Mr. Hankerson: Right. Not 6. Right.
The Clerk: Okay.
Mr. Hankerson: 10. Are we going to consent 10?
Mr. Mayor: That sounded a little bit like who’s on first. I tell you what, you need to read
them back –
The Clerk: Okay.
Mr. Mayor: The numbers that are on the regular agenda.
The Clerk: Okay.
Mr. Mayor: And not anything that comes off any other agenda, off any other Committee.
Those are the only numbers that we’re going to recognize is off there.
The Clerk: Okay.
Mr. Mayor: You read them. They get them. We’re going to vote on them.
The Clerk: Okay.
Mr. Mayor: And that’s going to be it.
The Clerk: Okay.
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Mr. Mayor: And if there’s anything to that, the Chair will, will entertain anything else
being added by subject matter because it’s confusing me a little bit but, but if you’ll, if you’ll get
them one more time, Ms. Bonner, so we make sure we got all the stuff that’s going on consent
and if not, everything else goes over to regular.
The Clerk: Consent agenda consists of Items 1 through 1B. Items 1 through 1B. Under
the Public Service portion of the agenda, Items 2, 3, 4. Under the, well, let, let me just say this,
Mr. Attorney, Mr. Administrator. Item 6 was requested to be included but Mr. Hankerson asked
that it be pulled because he had a question so that –
Mr. Hankerson: No. That was 7.
The Clerk: No. You asked –
Mr. Hankerson: That was 7 I wanted, I had a question about. Not 6.
The Clerk: I know. We now realize that now that you clarified it. Yeah.
Mr. Mayor: And it’s on two, and it’s on two Committees so it was on Public Services
and on Admin too, on there, Commissioner Hankerson, so that’s, that’s, but it’s the same item.
But the one you need off is, to remain on regular is 7.
The Clerk: 7.
Mr. Mayor: To pull off –
The Clerk: So can we add 6? Yes. Okay. We’re going to add 6 to the consent agenda.
Okay. Under the Administrative Services portion, Item 8 and 12.
Mr. Mayor: And 10.
The Clerk: 10. 10. 6.
Mr. Mayor: 10 and 6 is two companion items.
The Clerk: Okay. Under the Public Safety portion, Item 14 was referred to the next
Committee. Item 15, 16 and 17 consent agenda. Under Finance, Items 19, 20, 21 having already
been approved. Under the Engineering Services agenda, Item 22. Are we good now?
Mr. Mayor: Okay. Any questions on the numbers read? Anything else to be added?
Anything to be deleted? Do we have a motion that, that it be approved?
Mr. Williams: So moved.
Mr. Colclough: Second.
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Mr. Mayor: A motion and a second.
CONSENT AGENDA:
PETITIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS:
1. Motion to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of the Commission held June
21, 2005.
1A. Motion to approve an Amendment to Franchises granted to Georgia Power
Company. (Approved by the Augusta Commission June 21, 2005 – second reading)
PLANNING:
1B. SPA 4 – A request for concurrence with the Augusta-Richmond County Planning
Commission to approve that a Note to be included on Site Plans, changing freeboard
requirement from 2 foot to 3 foot to be consistent with the Flood Damage Prevention
Ordinance. (Approved by the Augusta Commission June 21, 2005 – second reading)
PUBLIC SERVICES:
2. Motion to approve a request by Edna Allen for an on premise consumption Beer &
Wine license to be used in connection with County Line located at 3379 Gordon Hwy.
There will be dance. District 3. Super District 10. (Referred from June 13 Public Services)
3. Motion to approve a request by Vipul Patel for a retail package Beer & Wine license
to be used in connection with Niki and Mahi Enterprises located at 2025 Broad Street.
District 1. Super District 9.
4. Motion to approve a request by Robert L. Turner for an on premise consumption
Liquor, Beer & Wine license to be used in connection with Vittles Restaurant & Lounge
located at 3054 Damascus Rd. There will be dance. District 5. Super District 9.
5. Deleted from the Consent Agenda.
6. Motion to approve a request from Augusta Regional Airport to fill four vacant full
time positions as part time: two (2) airport Custodial positions and two (2) airport Grounds
Maintenance positions.
7. Deleted from the Consent Agenda.
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES:
8. Motion to approve the reprogramming of $8,187 in Community Development Block
Grant (CDBG) funds to Hope House, Inc. (Referred from the June 13 Administrative
Services Committee)
9. Deleted from the Consent Agenda.
10. Motion to approve for the airport to fill four vacant full time positions as part time;
two (2) airport Custodial positions and two (2) airport Grounds Maintenance positions.
11. Motion to authorize the reprogramming of CDBG rehabilitation funds for real
estate activities for the development of mixed-income communities.
12. Approve authorization to administer “Dream Augusta-Homeownership” program
sponsored by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.
13. Deleted from the Consent Agenda.
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PUBLIC SAFETY:
14. Deleted from the Consent Agenda.
15. Motion to approve budget adjustment from fund balance of $353,000.00 for
GEMA/ODP Homeland Defense Grant.
16. Motion to approve a request to move forward on repairs to Aerial Truck #3 in the
amount of $26,232.50.
17. Motion to approve contract for providing helmet shields with NAFECO as low
bidder.
18. Deleted from the Consent Agenda.
FINANCE:
19. Consider a request from the Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History for
funding in the amount of $50,000 for the maintenance of the museum and its programs
during the 2005 – 2006 fiscal year.
20. Update on the SWAP Proposal. (Requested by the Administrator).
21. Consider sponsorship request from Youth of Augusta, Inc. in the amount of $2,000
to help defray costs in connection with the July competition of the Amateur Athletic Union
Girls 11U and 12U Division II National Championships in Nashville, Tennessee.
(Approved by the Commission on July 5, 2005.)
21A. Deleted from the Consent Agenda.
ENGINEERING SERVICES:
22. Motion to approve execution of Georgia Power Company Easement No. 7000
(Flowing Wells Road Fire Station).
23. Deleted from the Consent Agenda.
Mr. Mayor: Any other discussion? None being, all in favor of the motion will do so by
the usual sign.
Motion carries . [Items 1-1B, 2-4, 6, 8, 10-12, 15-17, 19-20, 22]
Mr. Mayor: Took a little time but the results sure turn out right.
Mr. Colclough: Mr. Mayor?
Mr. Mayor: Yes, Mr. Colclough?
Mr. Colclough: Just a point of question, as a point of question, Item 13, 21A and 26 are
basically the same subject. Could they be combined to one?
Mr. Mayor: That’s going to be my intention.
Mr. Colclough: Okay. Good.
Mr. Mayor: I was just trying to, to make sure through the items that were not put on
consent in case we had any guests that might be here for any items that’s here denied an audience
19
and we can go through those first. Those three basically deal with, with us and if we got visitors
for any of those items that, that might still be in here, that we can try and weed through and get,
get to them first.
The Clerk: You want to start with the items that, under Item 5 is the next item?
Mr. Mayor: Yeah.
The Clerk:
5. Motion to approve a Change Order 1 for the Perimeter Fencing Improvement
Project in the amount of $44,287.02.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Boshears?
Mr. Boshears: Mr. Mayor, we have a project going on out at the air, excuse me, out at
the airport now replacing the security fence around the perimeter of the airport. In the initial
design, we left out about 2,300 feet on the southeast side in the vicinity of FAA radar facility.
We left it out for two reasons. One, we were concerned that we would have enough money in
the project based on the grant to do the project with the price of steel going up, and I think if
you’ll remember we came down and asked for a not more than authorization from you all when
we did the bid. And then the second concern was the effects that the added height to the fence
would have on the FAA radar site itself. Because the bids came in at less than what was
estimated, there is sufficient money in the grant to pay for the additional feet and the FAA has
determined that the fence will not have any effect on their, on their radar site and so we are
asking to add that additional footage there into the contract.
Mr. Mayor: Any questions to Mr. Boshears? Mr. Colclough?
Mr. Colclough: Mr. Boshears, who measured the fence the first time and left out the 300
feet of fence?
Mr. Boshears: I’m sorry. What?
Mr. Colclough: Who measured the fence, and who, who was in error of lefting it out?
Mr. Boshears: There, there was no error. We intentionally left it out. That was, that,
because of the FAA concerns and because we weren’t sure we were going to have enough
money, we left out a certain amount and it was for those two reasons to address the FAA’s
concerns until, or until they could address the issue of whether it would effect their site.
Mr. Colclough: Affect their radar?
Mr. Boshears: Umm hmm [yes].
Mr. Colclough: So now we know that it won’t effect.
20
Mr. Boshears: We know it won’t effect it, and we know that we have sufficient money in
the grant to pay for it.
Mr. Colclough: I move for a motion to approve, Mr. Mayor.
Mr. Hankerson: Second.
Mr. Mayor: A motion and a second to approve. Any further discussion? None being, all
in favor of the motion will do so by the usual sign.
Motion carries 9-0.
The Clerk:
7. Motion to approve Change Order 3 to McKnight Construction in the amount of
$140,000 for the Terminal Area Improvements Project.
The Clerk: Also, we’d like to call your attention to Item 7 on the additional information
on our addendum agenda regarding this item. Item 1 on our addendum agenda.
Mr. Mayor: Okay. I believe, I believe that one resembles you too.
Mr. Boshears: Yes, sir.
Mr. Mayor: Okay.
Mr. Boshears: This agenda item deals with the tie-in of the water system in the new
terminal. In the original design, they designed in a system where the water would tie in at two
points. One at the north entrance to the airport at Doug Bernard Parkway, and the other point
down by the hangars. They designed that two tie-in system as I understand it to provide
sufficient water pressure for, to meet the fire department code or the fire department
requirements. Once they got into the design, they encountered or into the construction, they
encountered some difficulties in the tie-in at Doug Barnard and also there was some additional
equipment requirements that were going to, and so the initial estimate we had was somewhere
between $100,000 and $140,000 and so to get the item on the agenda, we used a not more than
$140,000 figure to get it placed before you. Subsequently, the project manager and the engineer
have looked at it and determined that they can do a single tie-in at the hangar area and eliminate
the Doug Barnard tie-in altogether which eliminates the equipment requirements and the
construction requirements to tie-in up at Doug Barnard. What that results in, rather than an
increase in the contract price, is a decrease of just a little less than $13,000. There will be a, in
order to generate the sufficient pressure, we will at some point in the future have to come in and
put a pump on that water line tie-in by the hangar which by the estimates right now bring it back
up to about where we are in the contract price so it should end up being pretty close to being a
wash.
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Mr. Mayor: Okay. I think you wrapped it up right at the right time where you said a
credit of and to go from that to where you are, we certainly want to thank you for bringing that
information to, to us to credit to staff, to the members of the Aviation Commission. I see Ms.
Cain sitting out there. Ms. Paulk. I believe Mr. Johnson was here awhile ago and any other
members of the Commission that might be present and before we get a chance for that one to, to
settle in any way of going backwards, the Chair will entertain a motion that it be approved.
Ms. Sims: So moved.
Mr. Grantham: Second.
Mr. Mayor: A motion and a second. Is there any discussion?
Mr. Williams: Yes, sir.
Mr. Mayor: Go HED, Mr. Williams.
Mr. Williams: I just want to ask a question.
Mr. Mayor: Okay.
Mr. Williams: And I know this is the third change order that McKnight Construction and
in any construction we, we learn, if you hadn’t learned that there’s plenty of change orders when
you get into government work but I’m, I’m concerned about when the change orders come about,
does the percentage of participation that we vote for it to make sure that everybody’s being
treated fair with a DBE person. Does that change, is that be, is that considered, that she’s in,
privileged to that information because when you change order, you don’t just change your order,
you’re changing money and that’s what the whole thing’s about. So I, I need to hear from her. I
see she’s behind you. First thing I’d like to know from her, if, if I can, Mr. Mayor, what’s,
what’s our feeling, what’s our thoughts on this? Because this is the third and it’s not the last. I
mean, that’s, that’s part of business. We, we understand that but when business change, it ought
to change all the way around and not just, it’s just one side so if I can get from –
Mr. Boshears: On this, on this particular change, there, there is no change in the
contractors, the, the people that are doing the work are still, are the same and the monetary, there
is very little change in the monetary value of the project and so it should not have [inaudible],
have any effect on the DBE percentage that will remain up in that 20% that we had, in that 20%
area.
Mr. Williams: Most definitely, if I can, Mr. Mayor? I’m sorry.
Mr. Mayor: Go HED. I’m, Ms. Gentry’s to the mike, and I think she can answer the
question for you.
Mr. Williams: Okay.
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Mr. Mayor: [inaudible]
Ms. Gentry: I had that same question, and I contacted Brenda Brown who is the DBE
coordinator for the airport and raised the same issue that you raised in, and basically what they
told me that it’s not going to change the percentage. However, I still question and she has a call
into LPA which is the manager, the folks who are actually managing the project to identify how
can we change, increase the dollar amount and it not change the overall percentage of the entire
project. I agree with you.
Mr. Williams: Well, I, and Mr. Mayor, I don’t, I don’t propose to know anything about
any of that but I do know when the numbers change, it changes all the way around and if it’s, this
is the third and if there’s three more, or if there’s nine more, eventually the, the dollar amount
has already changed so I will be curious to know what that equates to at the final, at the end and
where, where we was going to be, and I know you can’t do every one, I mean, when I say every
one, you can’t turn a corner with a pipe and then have to have somebody add it in but when it get
to the third, fourth, fifth, we need to start looking at the percentage that we asked for that we
was, we was promised to get greater than what we asked for and, and promise is just what it is, a
promise but I, I’m not going to hold it up, Mr., Mr. Mayor. I want to vote for it. I want to get it,
you know, off center so we can get going but I do think that they ought to be aware that we are
aware of what’s going on and as the changes come, that we, we’re not going to just, you know,
pass that by and not address it.
Mr. Mayor: Well, I think it’s always good to note and to question when there were,
there’s a change order but I do think, and I followed this one a little bit, that I, and that’s why I
said I think it’s to the credit of staff and to the Commission that’s there for looking at what was
there. In fact, I’d, I’d like to get a, a, it’s kind of like sometimes when it, when you, when you
steal the ball on a play and go to the other end of the court and then you got a, you got a four
point turnaround. Well, you can turn one around actually to the tune of the proposed change
orders $140,000 and you get that credit of $12,000 to actually where you got a $152,000 change
around because you eliminated a change order and then you saved the money so this is one
where I think their diligence actually paid off in it but you’re correct in terms of when change
orders happen, that that is Ms. Gentry’s position to make sure that they are checked contractually
but I think when they, when they drop and there is a, a savings of that much, that they have
actually done some very serious due diligence to a point that we can be proud of to the fact that
that’s a six figures of money that would have gone in to that project to a point now that that’s
what’s actually being saved because they were on top of the case and questioned it very closely.
Commissioner Cheek?
Mr. Cheek: Just a, a couple of quick questions. When are we anticipating having to add
a pressure booster pump to the system?
Mr. Boshears: I think we’ll have a better idea in about two months exactly when that’ll
come in.
Mr. Cheek: Any projections though as far as, I know you can do square or total capacity
of the piping and the, the pressure needs and the volume flow for a fire and I mean that all should
23
be part of the current engineering plan. I guess, Mr. Mayor, my concern is while I’m all in favor
of saving money, when you have two lines, you have a redundant backup in the system if one
line should rupture for some reason, you still have water to the facility. Two, if we’re going to
need a pump in a year or so, that’s going to be additional maintenance and upkeep costs passed
on when we could in fact use line pressure from our existing utilities department water lines.
You know, what I’m, what I want to know is the cost benefit in the savings today going to offset
that by the pump not being needed in several years and are we in fact going to save some money
in the long run versus saving some money today and pay more in the long run?
Mr. Boshears: I don’t think I can answer your question about the future but as far as the
installation of, the installation of the pump itself, it should, there should not be any additional
cost or very little additional cost over the savings that we’re realizing in this change order now.
Mr. Cheek: Then there’s no problem –
Mr. Boshears: In what, what, what’s been explained to me is as far as maintaining that
pressure required by the fire department, you do it in one of two ways, either a two tie-in system
as was originally designed or a single tie-in where you augment that with a pump.
Mr. Cheek: Well and that’s, that’s, I guess, exactly my point with the two tie-in system
although there’s a benefit from one line being run. You use the electricity of the utilities
department to generate line pressure instead of having to pay utilities and maintenance costs on a
pump and that’s where in the long term, I just want to make sure we’re, that the cost benefit over
the long term doesn’t exceed the cost of installation of two lines and that’s my question so.
Mr. Mayor: Anything to add to that, Mr. Utilities Director? Because it kind of crosses
two different Committees. I understand where the Chairman’s coming from on it but if you want
to go on and get it clear, let’s just leave out any doubt about it. I think you all, when that popped
up, there was some serious discussion in reference to how that was to be done. If you could clear
that and probably then that’ll, would have took care of where we were going with it in there.
Mr. Boshears: I think I can address the question that Commissioner Cheek is after. In
the meeting the other day, as we pointed out, the static pressure at the airport varies from about
140 psi to 110 psi. That’s a very good static pressure. The difficulty is that the fire code
requirements are that at the end of the fire suppression system, there still be 125 psi remaining.
In order to achieve that, you’re going to have to have a booster pump. And the question, as I
understood it, was that there’s already a price in there for a booster pump and with the one line
that what the engineers are looking at right now is will that pump need to be upgraded,
Commissioner Cheek, or can it serve it with the existing impaler and horsepower and that’s
where they don’t know if they’ll save the full $13,000 or if they’ll have to come back and spend
the $13,000 to get an upgraded horsepower and pump booster. That, that’s the main question.
Mr. Cheek: Just a follow up question. Would we need--running two lines any pumps at
all would we still be able to maintain the volume to pressure a show?
24
Mr. Boshears: They were still going to have to have a pump no matter what because to
have 125 psi lift when you’re forcing fire flow of the quantity required through the pipes in the
system, it’s going to require a booster pump even with 140 psi at the entrance, you still wouldn’t
have 125 psi lift at the end of the system.
Mr. Cheek: All right. No further questions. Urge approval.
Mr. Mayor: Just wanted to make sure you were clear on that, Mr. Chairman, but good
question though from both you Commissioners.
Mr. Cheek: Yes, sir.
Mr. Mayor: All in favor of the motion will do so by the usual sign.
Motion carries 9-0.
The Clerk: Proceed with the agenda?
Mr. Mayor: Yes, ma’am.
The Clerk: Okay.
9. Update on the audit of the Housing & Economic Development Department.
(Referred from the June 21, 2005 Commission meeting)
Mr. Mayor: Madame Clerk? Did we have, before we go to that item, let me, let me just
say this and we, since this was not in the Committee, do we have any other, any other guests or
visitors here? Because this one probably might be the longest item we got on today and I’d like
to if we got –
The Clerk: Any delegations?
Mr. Mayor: Yeah. Any, any delegations. Any zoning, anything else that’s left over, I’d
rather move to that, move to the, and pardon me for backing you up but I think the audit part of it
is going to take some time but since it’s not been under Committee. Commissioner?
Mr. Williams: What about this two additions that we left off, oversight, can we just
cover those now?
The Clerk: Yes. You can –
Mr. Williams: One company by the attorney and one that you have from HOPWA, the
HOPWA contract. We need to let the, those people go.
Mr. Mayor: Well, the attorney’s going to be here.
25
Mr. Williams: I mean, well, I –
Mr. Mayor: I, I wasn’t too much worried about him but I wanted to make sure in terms
of, of other citizens rechecking because we got as, you don’t have Committees and you got these
mixed like we got them and having to separate it as we go along, I just want to make sure we
don’t end up with a, with a citizen sitting at the end of the day who, two to three hours and then
that person hadn’t been recognized and that’s an item we can go HED and clear out of the way.
That person won’t have to be here, and that’s all I wanted to double-check and make sure.
Mr. Williams: On the HOPWA, I thought maybe somebody was –
Mr. Mayor: Okay.
Mr. Williams: - here waiting to [inaudible] on that.
Mr. Mayor: No but good observance though. I just wanted to make sure we didn’t, we
didn’t miss anybody. Madame Clerk? The, if we, if we could, Madame Clerk, at this particular
time, I know a bunch of folk are interested in this one. This one might take care of a, of a lot of
the guests that we got that are in the audience today. We’ve got, and that’s Item 25. And that’s
under the, under the Attorney’s –
The Clerk: Do you want me to read the caption?
Mr. Mayor: - petition but it’s not necessarily, I don’t think, it’s not a, not a legal item per
se but it’s on the Attorney’s petition but I think in terms of going HED and to, to move with
some possibility hopefully of accepting nominations in, in District 9.
The Clerk: Read the caption?
Mr. Mayor: Yes, ma’am.
The Clerk:
25. Appointment of Interim District 9 Commissioner. (Requested by Commissioner Don
Grantham)
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Sheppard?
Mr. Sheppard: Mr. Mayor, thank you. This is just a part of the process to, which follows
upon the resignation of Mayor Young. Of course, Your Honor has been appointed as Mayor,
and since you have been appointed as Mayor, that created a vacancy in the Number 9 seat. Of
course, Number 9 being an odd seat, it’s up in the regular rotation this year, it’s less than twelve
months on your term, on your former term. Mind us, you’d be leaving at the end of the year
from that term and you’ve left earlier than expected so. I want to claim that this is, the attorney’s
sole ownership of this item. It is just to move the process forward and to ensure that this
Commission is full, at full strength at its appropriate time, so it shows that this is, the request by
26
Commissioner Grantham. I want to take sole ownership of that item. It does not belong to Mr.
Grantham. He was interested in the special mayoral election which I had put on in that
combined memo. I just wanted to make that noted for the record.
Mr. Grantham: Mr. Mayor, I want to clarify myself if I can.
Mr. Mayor: Go HED.
Mr. Grantham: Thank you. Mr. Mayor, the only discussion that we had and I appreciate
Mr. Sheppard alluding to that that we were discussing the, the mayoral election as to the cost
savings that we would have if we held the election at a later time and not have runoffs that we
had all kind of anticipated from time to time but under, under no circumstances did, did I intend
or include in my conversation with Mr. Sheppard anything regarding District 9 as to the
appointment of that position. Once I found out about it and I had been out of town, I made a call
and asked that that be referred back to Mr. Sheppard so that he was clarifying what would take
place in the event of an appointment of District 9 but I did not include, or did I request any
appointment of District 9. I don’t think that’s in the best interest of not only myself but of this
entire Commission so I wanted to make that clear today.
Mr. Mayor: Okay. I might be able to, to move this a bit along. Once thing I think that
will happen and that’s very obvious is that we have the item that, that’s here and it’s, the main
thing is on the agenda. The, the seat hopefully will be, will be filled by this Commission if not
today, then some day and I think it’s enough of us here that we’ll be able to make the decision
without anybody from any other governmental body having to do it. I think that’s, that’s the
main point of interest and I think it’s probably best that we, we try and move HED with the order
today. It’s, it’s a lot that’s happened in this community and on this Commission within the last
six weeks and I think it’s in, in everybody’s best interest to, to move as, as best we can and at
this time, the Chair is going to just simply open the floor for nominations to, to the District 9
seat, and Madame Clerk, in case we, we do have a person that’s elected today, do we have a, we,
I know you usually on the mark and get a judge on standby. I appreciate that a few weeks ago
myself but I, if, if you got one that’s, that’s on standby there, that’s an order in case a, a selection
is made. It will, it will take a coalition of people from both Districts 9 and 10 to select a person
to represent District 9 that is highly obvious and in a democratic process, that’s the way that it,
that it should be and so I’m going to just simply at this point open the floor for nominations. I
guess since I left that end of the, the table down there, I’ll, I’ll look left first. Mr. Hankerson has
his hand up. I’ll recognize him for the purpose of nomination. I’m going to come on a back
round now, swing around to this end of the table as well.
Mr. Hankerson: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. We have a lot of good candidates that have
requested for the position. I guess we all know that all, everybody can’t nominate everybody but
it may get around to that. So I sort of took sequence as I was asked and my first nomination will
be I’d like to nominate our, one of our former Commissioners, Freddy Handy.
Mr. Mayor: Okay. The name of Mr. Handy has been placed in nomination, Madame
Clerk, and as the usual process goes, we will vote on whatever candidates that are nominated in
27
the order that they are nominated. It will require a yes vote of six for any person to be elected
and to make that point clear. Commissioner Colclough?
Mr. Colclough: Mr. Mayor, I’d like to put Mr. Bernard Harper’s name up for the
selection of District Seat 9.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Bernard Harper. Any other nominations to the left? As I move to the
right, either one of the ladies first because I done, I’ve had to deal with you men all day and it’s
been a long day already and let’s shorten it, so I’m going to recognize Commissioner Beard first,
then Ms. Sims after her. Okay, Ms. Beard?
Ms. Beard: Mr. Mayor, I’d like to nominate Mr. Hannah, Charlie Hannah and I, I’m
going to do this because I’ve watched him in the Chronicle and all of the newspapers. I believe
he writes for the Courier and his thoughts have been along my thoughts, and as I have spoken
with him, and this has been lately, he said you know, I’m coming up with some proposals for
some of the blighted areas in the city. He said I’d like, you know, you to review them and I
noticed at my seat, he gave me copies and one is Regency Mall’s Surrounding Area,
Redevelopment Proposal 2006, it says. Here we go, and it says message, I have listened for
nearly ten years about what to do with Regency Mall and the adjacent areas. Still the talk
continues as the building and infrastructure deteriorates. Many ideas have come forward but
only one received acceptance by the majority of City Commissioners. Yet it was soundly
defeated by the community. Additionally, I have listened at the local Commissioners state on
many occasions that the sports arena was the only plan brought forth and I agreed with him.
However, the community decided that the only option was not the best option. So where do we
go from here and how do we begin? We begin with the development of the Regency Mall Plus
Advisory Council and the Regency Mall Plus Surrounding Redevelopment proposal. A proposal
designed to redevelop the Regency Mall into a, a mixed use, live, work, play, shopping, office
and service community that will spur South Augusta’s private investments. If the local
government is serious about redeveloping –
Mr. Mayor: Ms. Beard. Ms. Beard, if I might? We, and I love Charlie and I love all
these candidates but I, I didn’t give anybody any time to do anything other than just to nominate
at this point. I don’t want to cut you off but I’d like to get the nominations in of those names and
at that point, because I didn’t allow any discussion. Right now, we just need to get the
nominations out and I think he’s got some great ideas in there too. I had an opportunity to read
through that the other day.
Ms. Beard: Oh, did you?
Mr. Mayor: Yes, ma’am, and he’s got some very good ideas that’s in there.
Ms. Beard: Some exceptional ideas and that’s what I really think. I think we need new
blood and for that reason, that’s why he’s my nominee at this time. Thank you.
Mr. Mayor: You’re making him a good campaign manager.
28
[Laughter]
Mr. Mayor: Are there any other nominations on this end of the table? Mr. Williams?
Mr. Williams: Mr. Mayor, I want to nominate Dr. Hatney, John R. Hatney for District 9
for the district seat.
Mr. Mayor: Are there any other nominations to the right? Through on the left? Madame
Clerk, would you read the names of those that have been nominated.
The Clerk: Yes, sir, Mr. Mayor. Mr. Hankerson nominated Mr. Freddy Handy. Mr.
Colclough, Mr. Bernard Harper. Ms. Beard, Mr. Charlie Hannah. Commissioner Williams, Dr.
J. R. Hatney.
The Mayor: Do you have anybody in that batch whose name doesn’t start with an H?
[Laughter]
The Clerk: No, sir.
Mr. Hankerson: Just wanted to ask for the record. There was just H’s popping up, and
H’s popping up.
The Clerk: No, sir.
Mr. Mayor: I know we raise a lot of H down here sometimes so I just –
Mr. Hankerson: The H’s just kept coming so I, I didn’t know –
Mr. Mayor: Whether there were any other letters you had down in there?
The Clerk: No, sir.
Mr. Mayor: But we will proceed with the, with the voting on the, on the candidates at
this time and in the order that they were nominated. Madame Clerk, would you so?
The Clerk: Mr. Handy.
(Vote for Mr. Handy)
Mr. Boyles, Mr. Smith, Ms. Sims, Mr. Grantham and Mr. Hankerson vote Yes.
Mr. Colclough votes No.
Ms. Beard, Mr. Cheek and Mr. Williams abstain.
Motion fails 5-1-3.
The Clerk: Next nominee, Mr. Bernard Harper.
29
(Vote for Mr. Harper)
Mr. Smith and Mr. Colclough vote Yes.
Mr. Grantham votes No.
Mr. Boyles, Ms. Beard, Ms. Sims, Mr. Cheek, Mr. Williams and Mr. Hankerson abstain.
Motion fails 2-1-6/
The Clerk: Next nominee, Mr. Charlie Hannah.
(Vote for Mr. Hannah)
Ms. Beard and Mr. Hankerson vote Yes.
Mr. Smith and Mr. Colclough vote No.
Mr. Boyles, Ms. Sims, Mr. Grantham, Mr. Cheek and Mr. Williams abstain.
Motion fails 2-2-5.
The Clerk: The next nominee is Dr. Hatney.
(Vote for Dr. Hatney)
Ms. Beard, Mr. Cheek, Mr. Williams and Mr. Hankerson vote Yes.
Mr. Smith and Mr. Colclough vote No.
Ms. Sims, Mr. Boyles and Mr. Grantham abstain.
Motion fails 4-2-3.
Mr. Mayor: Madame Clerk and to members of the Commission, no one has been
nominated at this point. This is not a precedent that has been set because I can remember when
my good friend, Commissioner Moses Todd resigned to run for Mayor. We went through a
similar process that actually lasted several weeks and voted on the selection at that time of Mr.
Richard Colclough who currently serves honorably with us here today. So with there being no,
no selection at this point rather than to delay the agenda items that we have, we, and there’s,
other than the fact that Commissioners could continue to nominate, one of the things that I am
going to suggest as a point of information and those suggested groups that I believe each of you
by now has gotten a letter from me that suggests that this Commission work in groups of three,
three and hopefully four when a person is selected in nine and groups that do not constitute, and I
say this particularly for my good friends in the media as a great first amendment advocate that
none of them constitute any forum of any Committee or Sub-Committee but in a group
particularly for communications purposes, that this Commission and the Mayor can exchange
ideas from time to time and if they’re not anything to, so that there are no surprises by any of us
from the Mayor’s office or the Commissioner’s office and when there’s nothing to talk about,
then we can talk about each other’s families and the relationship that we have for each other and
our care of the City or just continue to wish Bobby Cox and the Braves a lot of luck this summer
as we move along, and so I welcome you to give me those lists in terms of whether you prefer
lunch, whether you prefer breakfast, and that is something that will be provided initially by the
Mayor and never by the taxpayers of this community and after you are fed probably once or
twice, it will go to dutch after then so it still will not be an expense of this City but I do think that
communication is a very key factor in terms of the way that we have to, to work together and this
will allow us hopefully to make a selection at some point very soon. I would stress this, that and
everybody, and I think everybody who, who has been nominated, one thing about it, none of
30
them are strangers to this Commission or coming out of District 9. They all have worked with
the former Commissioner there being myself. They all have been supporters of mine and in the
initial campaign in which we were running to consolidate this government, having worked with
Commissioner Handy as a member of this, this body and also Dr. Hatney, Charlie Hannah
who’s, who’s now a grown man beginning to get on, Bernard Harper, one of the first people I
worked with over in District 4 and so I think there’s an opportunity to still do that. There would,
or if this Commission decides to nominate other people, there are plenty of people that live in
half of this City and the talent is enormous that that can be done and that the selection can be
made. I’m going to ask Madame Clerk after the, [inaudible] Commissioner [inaudible], I’m
going to recognize you, Commissioner Hankerson, but after we have any discussion at this time
in the interim, if we could move to one simple item and that is on the possibility of moving the
meeting date for the next meeting inasmuch as no Commissioner has been selected to fill District
9, if there will not be a quorum for the next Commission meeting and this will allow your office,
it will allow staff and others to prepare for a different agenda date which would move one week
later in the month and hopefully that will get us back on the unanimous voting that we were on a
few minutes ago, and we can move with that but I recognize Commissioner Hankerson on that
end. Do I have any Commissioners that, that may have some item of discussion right about now
while we have a free period but I think we need to go HED after that and move with the next
order of the day which will be setting the meeting.
Mr. Hankerson: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. You know, since we didn’t make a motion to
close the nominations and, and I do accept that privilege to meet in the groups of threes as you
asked to go forward but I just like to, at this time to make sure that I, you know, the candidates
that did contact me or that at least that everybody had a fair shake so we leave here knowing
exactly everybody have a level playing field and I, I just wanted to make one other nomination
and that’s in the name of Venus Cain. To make a nomination there and then I think we kinda, be
clear to move forward.
Mr. Mayor: We didn’t, we didn’t close it, and I don’t have a problem with accepting it. I
moved up and down for a person to do it but inasmuch as you had another nomination on the
floor and you couldn’t nominate two folks at, at one time.
Mr. Cheek: [inaudible] person again?
Mr. Mayor: No. That’s a different person but if the Chair, what I think the most peaceful
thing to do is to, is to, you make that nomination and it’s not closed, we can, we can add that one
and then we’ll vote up or down.
Mr. Hankerson: Right.
Mr. Mayor: And, and that, that might solve that problem and, and it may not but it was
not closed but I didn’t hear any others at that time and that’s why I was moving HED cause what
I didn’t want to happen was to keep nominating and nominating and nominating.
31
Mr. Williams: Mr. Mayor? If I will, I’ll go HED and make a nomination now that we
close this so we won’t keep up and down and up and down and up and down. If I get a second of
that –
Mr. Grantham: Second.
Mr. Mayor: Okay. Madame Clerk?
.
The Clerk: Yes, sir? MrHankerson has nominated Ms. Venus Cain.
(Vote for Ms. Cain)
Ms. Beard, Mr. Cheek, Mr. Williams and Mr. Hankerson vote Yes.
Mr. Boyles, Ms. Sims, Ms. Beard, Mr. Smith and Mr. Grantham abstain.
Motion fails 4-0-5.
Mr. Mayor: Thank you. And all good candidates. All right. I can add one more to the
list that’s worked for me. All, all five of them now so Madame Clerk, if we could go HED and
move on the item for the changing of the meeting date?
The Clerk:
PETITIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS:
24A. Discuss the possible rescheduling of the July 19, 2005 Commission meeting.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Grantham, sir?
Mr. Grantham: Mr. Mayor, what is the recommended change date that you’d like to, to
have? One week from that date? Will that give time to have everyone back in place?
Mr. Mayor: That’s what we proposed. I believe we were looking at the calendar one
day, Ms. Bonner?
th
Mr. Grantham: With regard to 26? Is that correct?
Mr. Mayor: Yeah.
Mr. Grantham: Well, [inaudible] in order, I’ll make the motion that we change the
th
date to the 26 of July.
Mr. Cheek: Second.
Mr. Mayor: A motion and a second. Is there any discussion?
Mr. Boyles: Mr. Mayor, one question. Does that interfere with any of our Committee
schedules? I’m not sure. I know we meet this coming Monday.
32
th
The Clerk: We meet for Committees on the 25 for the first meeting in August
Commission.
Mr. Boyles: For the first meeting in August? So it doesn’t affect –
th
The Clerk: Committee meetings on the 25 will be for the first Commission meeting in
August.
Mr. Boyles: Oh. Okay. That’s fine. Thank you.
Mr. Mayor: Okay. And if we, and if we have to do any adjustments in Committee
schedules, it gives us enough time and a quorum will actually be present and in the City at that
time if we have to do anything with, with a further adjustment, Mr. Boyles, but I just didn’t want
to let the regular one get to a point where we were to meet and then not be able to do it.
Mr. Boyles: Does anyone, does anyone know of a conflict of that date that they may now
have? Would be good to just peruse the area. See what we got.
Mr. Mayor: Ms. Sims?
th
Ms. Sims: I’m only one person but I will not be here on the 26.
Mr. Mayor: Well, one thing that we, that we can do and we, we can, we can take the vote
on it as a motion and a second in order to do it but we also, I think the main thing is that we
cancel the one –
Mr. Boyles: Right.
th
Mr. Mayor: - that’s on the 19 and if there’s an adjustment that we have to make, that
can, can be done in one of two ways. Either in terms of, of my setting a meeting and at the same
time a quorum of this Commission that can set a different date to do the meeting on and that
gives us adequate time to be able to, to get that done but the important thing is that we cancel the
th
one for the 19. Because six members won’t be able to meet.
Mr. Boyles: Right.
Mr. Mayor: Not legally anyway.
Mr. Boyles: All right.
Mr. Mayor: All in favor of the motion will do so by the usual sign.
Motion carries 9-0.
The Clerk: Mr. Grantham made the motion that we –
33
Mr. Boyles: Yeah.
The Clerk: Who seconded? Mr. Williams?
Mr. Boyles: Andy.
The Clerk: Andy? Andy. Okay.
Mr. Boyles: Didn’t you second [inaudible]?
The Clerk: Yeah. Okay. It’s unanimous.
Mr. Mayor: If you have those small items in there, Ms. Bonner, on the additions?
The Clerk: On the agenda we have?
Mr. Mayor: We have, yeah.
The Clerk:
ADDENDUM AGENDA:
ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA:
1.Approve authorizations to file a notice to reinstate the railroad quiet zone on Sixth
Street on Sundays by filing a notice with the Federal Railroad Administration. (Requested
by the Attorney)
2. Approve award of FY ’05 HOPWA Contracts.
Mr. Mayor: Any objections to that and any of the addendum items?
Mr. Cheek: Guess not.
Mr. Boyles: Is it appropriate to add [inaudible], add and approve?
Mr. Mayor: Only if we get unanimous consent.
Mr. Boyles: Okay.
Mr. Mayor: Because we, we got to –
Mr. Boyles: I thought that was part of, I thought you had those.
Mr. Mayor: We, we may not add or approve.
Mr. Boyles: I thought you had unanimous consent. I apologize.
34
Mr. Mayor: I heard a voice.
Mr. Williams: And I think that was good for the quiet zone, is that right? Is that what
we’re hearing, not the other part of that? You [inaudible] regular agenda, is that right?
The Clerk: The item we’re approving is not on the regular agenda, Mr. Williams. It’s on
the Addendum Agenda regarding the quiet zone for the Sixth Street on Sunday.
Mr. Williams: Okay. And that’s one item though, right? That one item?
The Clerk: And awarding the fiscal year ’05 HOPWA contracts.
Mr. Williams: Right. I got no problem with that, Mr. Mayor. I couldn’t find mine, Ms.
Bonner. That’s why I was looking for it.
The Clerk: [inaudible]
Mr. Williams: Okay.
Mr. Mayor: There’s no objection to either one, am I correct?
Mr. Boyles: No.
Mr. Mayor: Okay. Is there a motion to add and approve?
Ms. Sims: So move.
The Clerk: Needs a second.
Mr. Grantham: Second.
Mr. Mayor: Yes, sir. Motion and a second to add and to approve. Has unanimous
consent. All in favor of the motion will do by the usual sign. Any oppose the same?
Motion carries 9-0.
Mr. Mayor: Did we have an item or two that’s in there, I believe one was down in Public
Safety, I think on 18? Maybe Ms. Bonner, you, you keep a lot better –
The Clerk: Yes, sir.
PUBLIC SAFETY:
18. Motion to approve contract for renovations to Fire Station #4 with Contract
Management, Inc. as low bidder.
35
Mr. Mayor: Okay. Chief? and I think Commissioner Williams, Chairman of Public
Safety, had pulled that one.
Mr. Williams: Yes, sir, Mr. Mayor. Well, I, the reason I asked for it, I’m in support. I
just need to know what we’re, exactly what we was doing. The backup talked about some
cement work, some apron work and there’s a library, a old building that still adjacent to this fire
station and I didn’t know exactly what we were, where was that, Mr. Willis? Can you, can you
tell me, now #4, Steve was trying to give me the age of it this morning but old as he is, he
couldn’t remember. He told me fifteen years or something like that but I do remember when
they was newly renovated because the building faced the opposite way from it’s original building
but I can’t understand the apron and, and the other thing that’s supposed to be done dissipated.
What, what’s going on, Bubba, can you share?
Mr. Willis: Well, over the years, talking with Chief Rogers, this station was renovated
back before consolidation and all. Chief Rogers has been on about thirty-something years and he
said it was before his time.
Mr. Williams: No, no, no, no. [Inaudible] over that, now. I know, it wasn’t before Chief
Rogers’ time.
Mr. Willis: Well, I don’t know when it was renovated.
Mr. Williams: I understand. Okay. I just don’t want it –
Mr. Willis: But it’s been quite some time.
Mr. Williams: Yeah.
Mr. Willis: The, around the station and all, the driveway and the back yard and all, the
concrete, the compaction in that yard was not done very good. It was always a low lying area,
didn’t drain very well, with the new equipment and all that has broken these pieces of concrete
up. In addition to that, on the inside of the building in the engine room, the tile floor that was
originally put in has started breaking. It’s a hazard to our firefighters when they really get a call
and have to cross these broken areas of tile at night and all this well too.
Mr. Williams: Okay. And I, I guess that lead to my, to my next question, Bubba, is that
if, if this is a bad area and this fire station may be fifteen, I don’t know, even if it’s twenty years
old, Mike Rogers’ been there thirty something years, I was, I was just told –
Mr. Willis: [Inaudible] 1974.
Mr. Williams: Okay. Well, this [inaudible] is somewhat fairly new renovated, I guess,
compared to our other stuff. Are we going to need to do something else to the building itself?
Are we going to spend this money on renovating the, the apron and, and the tile and the cement,
then come back and say well, you know what, the building need demolished. I’m just, I’m just
asking a question because when it came up, I had those concerns as to what, for we going to do
36
with the, the money we going to spend on the outer, outer exterior parking area and the tile
versus what the building is going to need itself.
Mr. Willis: The rest of the structure is pretty, is sound.
Mr. Williams: Okay.
Mr. Willis: It’s in good, good aesthetic condition and all is well too for the community
and all, it’ll last us quite a long time still. Other than regular maintenance that we would have
with any station that we have, I don’t foresee anything at this time. I can’t say that we couldn’t
have some problems maybe with air conditioning or something like that.
Mr. Williams: Yeah. I’m talking about the structure itself though.
Mr. Willis: The structure itself is sound, looks good and all too, and it’s a good location
for the station at this time.
Mr. Williams: Okay. Well, I’ve got no problem, Mr. Mayor, and if I need to, I can go by
there’s a plaque on the, on the wall that would give you all the date and information you need as
to the age of the building. I know quite well some history on that myself but I just, I just wanted
to ask, cause if we going to spend that kind of money around the apron, I don’t want to turn
around and spend that and then another year we say well, you know, the building needs this and
now we got to go back and do some more, spend some more money in that same area. I think we
ought to spend it one time, and one time only so.
Mr. Willis: I understand and, and too, we’re thinking of the safety of the firefighters in
the community that does come and visit the station. Those are some hazards that we wanted to
address before we have any, any problems in, in the station with injury.
Mr. Williams: Okay. I’m going to make a motion we approve, Mr. Mayor.
Ms. Sims: I second.
Mr. Mayor: A motion and a second. Is there any further discussion on that item? All in
favor of the motion will do so by the usual sign.
Mr. Boyles out.
Motion carries 8-0.
Mr. Willis: Thank you.
Mr. Mayor: Is that over there? It 23 now?
The Clerk: That, that concludes the Public Safety portion, yes, sir.
Mr. Mayor: Okay.
37
The Clerk: Item 23 on the Engineering?
Mr. Mayor: Yes, ma’am.
The Clerk:
ENGINEERING SERVICES:
23. Motion to approve Contract Item Agreement for water and sewer facilities to be
constructed in the GDOT Davis Road Widening Project, and approve the concept of
transferring the required construction funds from the Phase IV SPLOST Windsor Spring
Road Project.
Mr. D. Cheek: Want me to do a narrative on it or –
Mr. Cheek: No. I’m just waiting to be recognized from the –
Mr. Speaker: Oh.
Mr. Cheek: - from the Chair.
Mr. Mayor: Go HED, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Cheek: Thank you, sir. Question on this is we already have Wrightsboro Road with
funds transferred from it. Wanted to know where we’re at with the spin down and the allocations
for engineering work to be done on Windsor Spring Road, how long this will delay any
anticipated engineering work necessary on Windsor Spring Road and get a commitment from
this Commission on these two projects. If we, we borrow money and which we have from
Wrightsboro Road and now from Windsor Spring Road, that that will be the first priority in
SPLOST Public Works to make sure they are refunded at the levels necessary to do the work.
Mr. D. Cheek: If I may? Just to make sure that clarification is that the funds that we’re
going to be pulling for are the funds that were specifically allocated for the Utilities Department,
water and sewer relocation which was $1.25 million per each phase and this is a little confusing.
I want to make sure that I’m clear on that too is that it is Phase IV SPLOST but it’s Phase V
Windsor Spring Road. It just so happens that those two numbers are real close. Phase IV is
from Tobacco Road to Willis Foreman Road, and Phase V Willis Foreman, I mean Phase V
Windsor Spring is from Willis Foreman to the City of Hephzibah. What we’re, what we’re
asking to do is take a portion of that $1.25 million that was set aside for water and sewer actual
construction that that project has now been placed in a longer term, to move that to this
construction project which is a similar project in a GDOT project so the design of those projects
are actually administered by the Public Works Department and they’re not asking to be adjusted
in one way or another.
Mr. Cheek: The main question is on the Windsor Spring Road Project that we are going
to Phase IV, is that going to cause a shortfall in any of the other design aspects or construction
38
aspects funded from those, on the other Windsor Spring projects? I’ve got three sections of
Windsor Spring Road that, two of them are behind, the third one has been deferred as you said,
and we’re short on funding and I guess my concern is that we don’t have Wrightsboro Road and
then two other phases of Windsor Spring Road short of funding or Davis Road.
Mr. D. Cheek: Not, I can only speak of course to the water and sewer portions of those
projects, and those will not be short. What we will have to do is supplement them at a future
date when those projects get a more realistic filet date, and that’s strictly water and sewer only.
Mr. Cheek: Phase IV Windsor Spring Road is, should be an ’06 project, shouldn’t it?
Mr. D. Cheek: That one is still funded completely by, well, it’s not going to be
completely funded by SPLOST funds. We’re going probably have to do some supplementing of
that as well, just for the water and sewer predominantly water on that project.
Mr. Cheek:
The thing that concerns me, Mr. Mayor, is that with this, while I have no
problem supporting Davis Road, we are now into the shell game of Wrightsboro Road and these
other games of moving funding around and it would be really easy without a commitment from
this Board to make sure that these are refunded at the necessary levels to do the work when the
monies become available should we pass the SPLOST. I don’t want, because all of these
projects are very important. Windsor Spring Road is critical to that area, as well as Davis Road
and Wrightsboro Road and I just want to make sure that there’s a commitment from this Board to
refund these projects should we take any money and any be necessary in the future to do the
I’m going to move for approval with that stipulation.
work. I’m going,
Ms. Sims: I agree.
Mr. Colclough: I’ll second.
Mr. Mayor: There’s a motion and a second. The Chair recognizes Commissioner
Williams, and I think obviously you know I got some concern about it.
Mr. Williams: Like Commissioner Cheek was saying, I’m, I’m really concerned about
when we got to moving monies and we done done several things, several times we’ve done such
a thing. Commissioner Cheek is asking that we, that we prioritize say when the SPLOST come
that this will be, if we move this money as needed to go back on Windsor Spring Road, that it
automatically go to the top of the list. Well, I don’t think you can do that, Andy, and the reason I
say that it appears that you can’t bind another set of Commissioners anyway but we got a new,
we got a election coming up pretty soon. We don’t know what the outcome that’s going to be
but once that’s approved, I think the, the cat’s going to be out the cage and you ain’t going to be
able to get it back to where it needs to be. I asked a question about how much money that the
utilities is really dealing with, how much money can, can we, can we physically put our hands on
and use. We borrow money from projects. We done borrowed money from other projects.
South Augusta is growing leaps and bound. They can say what they want to. That’s the only
place we got left to grow. We can’t go to the river. We can’t go west and we certainly can’t go
east. But we, we are taking money from those projects, going out and doing, doing other
39
projects that we, we feel like have been pressured up or being requested upon us but we, this, this
has certainly been on the table. I, I don’t have a dog in the hunt. I’m not a super district
Commissioner. I’m just a Commissioner and I think that you ought to address the issue that you
believe is right or wrong and I just, I just don’t agree with moving these funds to, to get this
project going or to, to not trying to find the money for the other project. We talk about
Wrightsboro Road. When the monies come, when they, when time come to put this back or to,
to vote on the SPLOST, we don’t know what we going to get. We see what happened with the
last referendum we had out and how, how the community come, came out against the thing that
we proposed. We don’t know whether the SPLOST will even pass so I’m, I’m very worried.
I’m like you, I’m very concerned that we move this money, get it out there and say we going to
put it at the head of the list, it never gets back where it, you know, where we, where we promise,
where we said it was going to do because six vote determine what goes in and what goes comes
out and I, I, I’m not, I can’t support it. I just, I just think that we’re making a serious mistake.
Some things we got to have but we need to do first things first. The money’s been out there. We
ought to try to find the matching funds and do what we need to do so that’s, that’s my two cent,
Mr. Mayor. I wanted to –
Mr. Mayor: Let me, Mr. Grantham, then I’ll recognize you, Mr. Cheek.
Mr. Cheek: Okay.
Mr. Grantham: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. The meeting that several of us attended at Mr.
Lanacall office about two weeks ago was in reference to the construction projects that we have
not only pertaining to the Davis Road and Windsor Springs Road but also the Wrightsboro Road
and what was going to take place with St. Sebastian and of course, saying that they’re going to
be able to fund all these projects for us would be something that’d be totally out of order. That’s
not certainly the case but Mr. Lanacall did say that he would help and work in any way that he
could to see that, see that we were able to get some of these projects funded. He was very
concerned about the Davis Road project inasmuch as the spaghetti loop that I call it is going out
where Bobby Jones, I520 and I-20 is and is going to encompass a lot of work for Davis Road and
those surrounding roads to where that is one of the main entrance gateways for the City of
Augusta. I, I don’t have a serious problem with how we handle these funds. I think we need to
concentrate these funds in areas that is important to the, to the entire district is to how it is
needed and the work that needs to be done. There’s a lot on the plate as Commissioner Williams
said, there’s a lot to be done. We don’t have enough money to do them all. We would like to
have been able to say that SPLOST was going to cover the shortfalls that we have but I don’t
know that we can ever predict that as well. I, I just feel like that we, that we going to need to bite
the bullet in the areas that we’re talking about, and I know we don’t like to change funds but if
we’ve got a certain portion of that particular project of Windsor Springs Road that’s going on
and going to be completed and is funded, then we’re, we’re extending ourselves into the future
for funds of either Phase V, I guess SPLOST V, that we would be looking borrowing some of
that money that would go towards Davis Road. I’m in hopes that we could assist the State
because they’re putting a lot of money in that Davis Road project, and that spaghetti loop that we
call. So I, I think we need to work toward assisting the State in any way that we can to make
sure that those projects do get completed and that we don’t haphazardly just have certain
amounts of dollars spent out there on individual projects.
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Mr. Mayor: Mr. Cheek, and you, and you may answer what I’m fixing to ask because I
sure hope you do.
Mr. Cheek: What of the –
Mr. Mayor: I mean that, Mr. Cheek. Hold on a minute, Mr. Chairman, because I was in
that same meeting with the Commissioner –
Mr. Cheek: Yeah.
Mr. Mayor: - and I, I think Commissioner Grantham knows, knows my, my feelings
about –
Mr. Cheek: Right.
Mr. Mayor: - that particular item and I got, Mr. Cheek may be able to clear something,
I’m hoping.
Mr. D. Cheek: The, the point I wanted to, to make sure that you were aware of is that
Davis Road was actually a SPLOST funded water and sewer project in Phase IV. There was a
line item for Davis Road. We had $354,000 in that line item. Of that $354,000, we have spent
approximately $77,000 on the design of the water and sewer assets that we’re going to include in
the GDOT project. That left a balance of about $270,000 plus or minus. This is a SPLOST IV
line item, and there’s a category as I’m sure you’re all aware of the water and sewer relocation so
we wanted to see if it was possible to move money within that same group of projects that are
strictly for water and sewer only. They’re not affecting the roadway. They’re not affecting the
design or any of those things at all and if not, if, if we can’t do that, if we want to keep the $1.25
million that we had in Phase V Windsor Spring Road, it would fit in that category and then we
would have to supplement it with renewal and extension or something to that effect. The
Utilities Department and the City of Augusta necessarily doesn’t have a choice in this matter as
far as being able to pay our portion with the GDOT project. This is also included with this
agenda item is that memorandum of understanding that says we will include your assets in our
project but you have to agree to pay for whatever they cost. We will come back to you sometime
nd
in August or September, whenever GDOT lets their project which is scheduled now for July 22
letting. We will come back to you with the actual dollar amount that, that the City of Augusta
owes which right now is estimated to be a little over a million dollars and that’s, that was the
whole gist. I don’t know if I answered anything that you may had a question about.
Mr. Mayor: It, it answered, it answered part of it but let me, let me tell you my, my real
honest fear, and it’s probably as much perception as it is about numbers and I really don’t think
the City of Augusta right now is in a, in a position to play perception games. Every project that’s
out there is very important right now and particularly considering water and sewer, and on the
major ones that are out there. Now let me just say something in lay terms that I’ve found, find a
little bit strange and we tease y’all about it sometimes in Utilities because I often say that’s,
that’s the only place that’s got any real money that’s over there in it. Well, if that be the case, I
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have a slight bit of a problem if we are moving high priority item monies to other projects from
other high priority projects. My feeling is I would have rather seen you all take better time, and I
don’t have a vote in this. I, I do have a, a, I won’t say a dog in this hunt but it’s, it’s some folks
in this hunt and, and I had Windsor Spring Road on as a project even when I didn’t have folks
who voted for me on Windsor Spring Road. Now it’s a different position and to a point that even
more so emphasizes my point. Now the last meeting we had out at, at Jenkins Memorial, that
was a concern to a point that the funds stay parallel with each other. One being that water and
sewer and road construction not end up being a separate times to a point of where you do the
road and then you come back and you tear up a brand new road after you do it. Second thing is
that homes that are being built in South Richmond County over in District 8, District 6 what I
call Augusta’s Five Points where you got five districts that run together that are still on septic
tanks and being built for six figures of money to a point are going to need every bit of water and
sewer you got. I think what you should be doing, quite frankly, and I don’t, I don’t see a
problem in wanting to deal with the Davis Road Project. What I think Davis Road’s money
needs to come from though is from lower project priority items, move the money from those
items that are not near the top. I can’t see Windsor Spring and Davis Road, two priority items,
competing against each other for the same type of funds because it’s too delicate right now to
play that game and think we’re going to get outside help to do it. Now if you all have got the
money, I would have rather seen it, and I don’t have a vote so they can take place today, it can
take place another day but we moved, as been mentioned, Wrightsboro Road. I, I sleep funny
thinking about the fact that and I’ve seen some, some Belair residents today, I’ve seen some of
the upper parts of Wrightsboro Road a new subdivision. I’m thinking about Augusta Mall. I’m
thinking about Bobby Jones Ford, the large business up through there. I’m thinking about the
fact where we going to get that money back now and we moved it for a good reason because
again we were catching some federal money. Now we’re going to move some to catch some
State money but you cannot play this game of hopscotch with funds to a point that when you
change people who may come to the Commission change priorities and then how do you get
those monies back. I think they need to come from those that at the bottom level it may not be as
a high a priority if you can. That’s it. That’s just a suggestion because I think when you send a
message out there, it may be where they don’t, they don’t cross. It may be where you already
have the monies to do both and I think if those monies are coming in different years, then I think
that’s safe reprogramming to where one money is coming seven years down and its guaranteed.
Then you move the money that you got because that project is not going to occur until years later
but if you don’t have a source to deal with the money and you hoping on a maybe, and you have
not passed sales tax, it will sound good on one point that you’re moving to protect the state
project but it does not sound good to those folk on a two lane road in South Richmond to a point
that their’s is at the number one priority list on public works aside and that you’re moving that
utility money to another project on another side of town which is equally as important. I just
think if you all have got a deep treasure over there, that you need to go to the pot that’s not on a
competitive basis with another priority item. I would much rather have seen it go back and then
bring us something back different to look at so that we can go HED and do Davis Road without
going into a high priority item on the other side. That perception, I just talked about the real, but
the perception then that goes is that just as we got ready to change our road, then they took our
money again and I, I think y’all had better be very careful about that. I may be out of this joint
but somebody’s going to be here and I think when you move it like that, there needs to be a
concern that they move simultaneously. If you get the money to do then the roadwork and then
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you move the utility part of it out of there, then it doesn’t make a lot of sense to a point from a
general public’s image to say well, they just created this new parkway. It looks beautiful but
they back in it again. Those are the kind of things I think that get us in trouble from a public
perception to go back, re-dig the hole that you just dug and to pay money to go HED and do it so
I, I just think that y’all need to bring us something back. Y’all may vote on it today and to go
HED and do it but I, I just would share some word of caution that I think there needs to be a
different option to take the money from and to do it. Now if we’re out of options, there’s no
other money y’all got out in water works, then I got a real problem because y’all been bringing
me a lot of reclassifications, a whole lot of salary changing, a whole lot of promotions, a whole
lot of everything because y’all go the money to do it. Now maybe y’all need to go into that pot,
get some of that money and bring it over here and change it and do the road work so that we can
adequately do Davis Road and then we adequately do Windsor Spring and then take your low
priority items, and you hate to say low and high but I think when you rank things and put them
up there for years, it’s wrong in any area to snatch it down and then do something that’s different
with that, and so you know, y’all, I, I won’t, I won’t have a, I won’t have a vote in that matter but
it’s just a suggestion that I made like I said on that sales tax wagon, I, I did load it up before. I’m
not going to load it up with a suggestion and won’t have a vote this year when we talk about it
but one of those priorities along with the other two that I had, they were Windsor Spring Road,
simple to remember and simple to repeat, Windsor Spring Road, the public library system and
public transit which we get ninety percent of our money back and no other item for anything gets
ninety percent of its money back. Commissioner Cheek, and then Commissioner Smith.
Mr. Cheek: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I just, just for the benefit of the body. I have the
largest store in South Richmond County on a two-lane road on a project that is two years behind
for whatever reason, Windsor Spring Road III. Windsor Spring Road IV serves about six
thousand homes and the largest park in the city, a place where we’ve had national athletic events.
Windsor Spring Road IV. It’s, when I first ran for election, it was in ’04, then in ’05, then in ’06,
God help us, I hope it’s an ’07 at least. The bottom line on all of this is is it’s really nice to
worry about, and Davis Road is not a gateway, okay? If that’s a gateway, then, then Silverdale
Road in my neighborhood is a gateway. That’s a secondary road leading to another county. I
support it but major commercial arteries in the center of this city, Wrightsboro Road, need to be
fully funded. Windsor Spring Road which is a death trap in the afternoons and in the mornings
going to and from the Fort which is where a lot of the people that live in that area work along
with school buses which there are thousands of children in that area, need to be funded, and it is
the intent of the maker of this motion that these items be moved as a priority for refunding, not
shuffle around with any hokey pokey about priorities all over the city. I’ve supported priorities
across this city in District 7, 8, 1, 2, 3, 4, every district in this city. These are projects that are
necessary for the health and economic growth in South Richmond County, as well as life safety
issues, promotion of living standards for people who work at Fort Gordon, and I can go on and
on and on but my concern is, and, and this is, I guess, where I sense a little bit of, I get a bit of
frustration myself is we’ll push Davis Road but I’d sure like to see the same enthusiasm pushing
Windsor Spring Road forward when it comes to additional funding and everything, and I’d hate
to think that we’re the only city in the state who assumes that the state government is going to
pay for all of our roads. The match is always where the problems come, and Augusta’s always
coming up short on the match to consider it, to complete a lot of these projects so the bottom line
on this, when we consider SPLOST V, which I think is a very sound decision based on the votes
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of the public, that we weighed it in the infrastructure which would include these projects, as well
as some utility money for utility relocation but we include these projects as the top priorities. I
don’t want any, I mean, I heard about many priorities across this city. These roads service
thousands of people every day. There’s probably hundreds of wrecks on them every year, fender
benders and other things. Davis Road is very important but so are Wrightsboro Road which
could be a very heavy business corridor eventually and Windsor Spring Road which is, serves
the economic engine of the Tobacco Road corridor down at the lakes, as well as all the housing
projects out there so I just, the maker of the motion intends that these two projects be considered
first for refunding any monies that have been taken from them, and short of that, I will not
support it.
Mr. Smith: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I understand Mr. Cheek’s situation because he’s got
to find the money to get it done, and I, I realize that and I respect that but like has already been
said, Windsor Spring with Diamond Lakes on it, that park and all of the other things that’s there,
they are now in construction of another school right along in there, and it is unbelievable the
traffic that is on that two lane road already and there’s no way I can support taking any money
away from that, that project.
Mr. D. Cheek: Could I offer a suggestion? This is –
Mr. Mayor: If it’s one different than the one you got, it might be accepted.
Mr. D. Cheek: I’m, I’m –
Mr. Mayor: But I, but I can tell you where this one you got’s really going. I ain’t even
got to vote.
Mr. D. Cheek: Well, in the danger in having a two part agenda item, you, you don’t want
one part that needs to go forward to suffer as a result of the other –
Mr. Mayor: I got you.
Mr. D. Cheek: So if it pleases the body, if we could consider the memorandum of
understanding which is basically saying you’ve got to pave the way if you want to include water
and sewer in our project, then you’ve got to sign this memorandum of understanding. Our other
intent was to see if it was possible. That apparently doesn’t seem to be the case. If we could just
come back to a, to the next Engineering Services Committee with those funding type questions
and just basically take that off of this agenda item or do as Mr. Cheek suggested and, and even
there’s an alternate that’s included with the agenda item that we can fund it from renewal and
extension, that’s Fund 507.
Mr. Mayor: I, let me just say this and I’m going to recognize these Commissioners but I
don’t have a vote in it but I do have a suggestion in it and I like your latter one better of kicking
it back and coming back because right now, memorandums of understanding are not great words
to use in this country right about now. I think so when you, when you attach that to something
automatically that, that, that’s not a good bell ringer to do and I think before it gets to be a
44
memorandum of misunderstanding, you need to bring us something back a little bit better, a
better source, one that does not have to make Commissioners pit each other in a district form
against each other, get citizens riled up to a point of where they feel as though somebody in the
mix is going to get shortchanged in November just because we’re making a decision, bring it
back so that we can then do it intelligently, we can have some, some credit to both projects that
are there and to come back with a different source of numbers on where they’re coming from.
That’s my suggestion to you because I think you may have an, the reason why I recognized you,
I thought you was fixing to go down to your alternative funding source of where you were going
to deal with the money from somewhere else but since you didn’t go there, I’m going to
recognize Commissioner Boyles and then Commissioner Williams, and I’m hoping that
something’s going to send this back and hear from this on some other day.
Mr. Boyles: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Is there a motion on the floor?
Mr. Mayor: Yeah.
Mr. Boyles: Is there? Can I make a substitute motion that we just simply send this
back to Committee to find another source of funding?
Mr. Colclough: Second.
Mr. Mayor: There’s a motion and a second to send back for another source of funding.
I’m going to recognize Commissioner Williams first on the discussion, then we need to try and
wrap up if we can.
Mr. Williams: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I was listening to Commissioner Smith, and I
agree. I can’t support it either. I said earlier that I asked a question and I didn’t, you got so
much on my plate today for discussion. I’m wanting to know how much money we have in
Utilities to deal with anyway. I think we need to know that. We need to look at that, that figure.
When we look at where, where the growth is and where the building is being done at and what,
what’s going on, the priorities ought to be set by this, this body as to what Utilities is doing and I
don’t want to get into naming side of town and, and what area but if you look at where all the
work is being done at, and I know we’re doing some, the new water plant, Max, and that kind of
thing but if you look at where all of the road construction has been done, it, it’s not where all the
building is being done at. The growth is, is in South Augusta, and we know that so I think we
need to, as this body, I think we need to prioritize some things and give some instruction to that
Department whether it be Mr. Max or, or Mr. Cheeks there as to where we feel like they, they
need to be focusing their attention and their, their energies on. What all the proposal you
mentioned, Mr. Mayor, that been brought to us about how much money and what department
they can work in and who they can help, I ask for the amount to be brought, made available so
we can look at it ourself to see what, what we’re doing there but if we move this money with the
intention of replacing it with the SPLOST or whatever, I think we’re going to be making a
serious mistake. We need to go HED and, and understand that you can’t do everything but we
ought to be doing those things that we can and those things that’s going to be beneficial to bring
either additional revenue, additional business, additional homeowner in this community rather
than going out doing places that we, we may feel like it’s going, going to make a difference.
45
We, we ought, we ought to be looking at the, the numbers and see what’s going on. I, I’m glad
I’m not out there at Fort Gordon and we been, we were pleading with the, with the governor and
the president and everybody else to keep Fort Gordon here, not, not to close it down. Now folks
out there are fighting with traffic every day getting in and out, just little old Tobacco Road,
Windsor Spring Road, and, and we’re not doing anything and we even raised money. The
money we raised, Max, I see you hand up, let me, let me finish preaching, you, you know how
that goes but you, we raised money to try and help with the initiative to keep Fort Gordon going
and, and to do that, looking at taking over their service and all that kind of stuff but we still are
not doing the thing that I think we need to do and address those issues that’s going to be
beneficial to, to that side of town which y’all are the only way we got to go so I can’t support it, I
mean, and I hope it goes back to the substitute motion that Mr. Boyles made but I, I just, I just
feel like we’re making a serious mistake if we don’t.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Hicks? If, if we could do this?
Mr. Hicks: Yes, sir?
Mr. Mayor: I think you and I both been around long enough sometime we smell a count
like a blood hound. Let’s, let’s not prolong it any. I think that Davis Road, because maybe it’s
been identified as Davis Road and where you got a narrowing of the, of the roadway and that it
might be small. It is important and, and because of the surrounding work that’s being done there
and the impact of everything that we’ve got going in that area, it’s a part that does have to be
done and, and I’m, and I really think it should be taken care of. What I just hope that you all
would do, just kindly bring us back a different optional way of doing it that does not knock
another high priority item, and I think that will really clear us out on it because that does not
need to be walked away from. State’s got money over in there, I understand that clearly, and,
and we, and we realize that too and I think that both of them ought to be done. We can’t walk
away from that one. It needs to get done but we just don’t need to do it out the [inaudible] y’all
bringing it to us today. That creates too much havoc of two different sides of town pitted where
they don’t need to be and I’m, I’m going to hear you but we need to wrap this right on up now.
Mr. Hicks: If, if I might speak to the alternative which is on the agenda item, and I
thought that’s what Doug had mentioned a minute ago but let me just say it very plainly. Instead
of voting the whole item down, just accept the alternate, alternative method of funding. We in
the Utilities Department don’t get involved as much as y’all do in perceptions in various sections
of town because we just built the Brown Road tank out there, largest one of it’s type in the state.
We built the plant out on Tobacco Road. We’ve built twenty inch water lines to serve that whole
area. We’ve brought area into that area I guess in the year, what was it Commissioner Cheek?
2000? That we had a picture when we finally brought water to Tobacco Road with a twenty inch
line from so we didn’t have the same perception that y’all do and I apologize for that in that
we’ve got the money in renewal and extension and we’ve got the money in the SPLOST to do
these with so there was no, no problem with us. We weren’t robbing one to pay the other. It was
just using the money now but if the Commission would feel better about it and it’s very, very,
very obvious that they would, just if, I know there’s a motion and a substitute motion but if there
could be one to just approve this with the funding coming from renewal and extension which is
46
what it says under the alternative, that would clear it. We’d have the money. You could do it
and then Windsor Spring Road would not at all be affected by source funds.
Mr. Mayor: Mr., Mr. Cheek. Let me say this. I, I been with you when the drought, and I
been with you when we put Noah’s Ark’s plant out there and I supported you all the way
through. You done a great job but for us to sit here and debate this for the last thirty minutes and
now to be presented with an alternative that makes a little sense near the end of this, I’m a little
peeved with that. To the point that I think that if you, if, if realizing what this was causing in
here today in a televised event, if y’all didn’t catch perception by now, then you, you need to
catch it two weeks from now because this did not need to be a south and west shootout to a point
of doing that and I think that’s what we pay the professional ranks to do, to bring it, that could
have been sensed in the first two minutes of it. I don’t have a vote. I got a, I got a, I got a
meeting to preside over with a substitute motion that’s out here right now to deal with, and I
think if that alternative, it sounds good at the end of the day but getting again to what I was
talking about about imaging, that could have been changed when this item first started. This did
not have to sit here so I’m not going to play a chastising role. All of us are grown. I’m going on
with the order of the day. The substitute motion is to send it back and maybe when y’all get it
back the next time, it may not be the perception of 200,000 people but if it’ll be a perception
enough that we are not going to go through the process of debating each other up here when
there are less argumentative alternatives that we can deal with in this community and on this
body to deal with and as long as I’m presiding, that’s how they’re going to be. Madame Clerk,
substitute motion is now on the floor. If anybody needs it read, we can. All in favor of that
motion will do so to send it back by Mr. Boyles and bring that one back and I think you’d get a
unanimous vote. Mr. Director. All in favor will do so by the usual sign.
The Clerk: Mr. Grantham?
Mr. Mayor: Any opposed?
Mr. Grantham: We sent it back to Committee though, didn’t we?
Mr. Mayor: Okay. See y’all in two weeks and we’ll get you another 9-0 vote.
Mr. Hicks: If I might, sir? May I apologize? We had no intention of starting any, any –
Mr. Mayor: No problem. But I wanted to get that record started straight today.
Mr. Hicks: Yes.
Mr. Mayor: This first meeting is one I’ve been talking about and I said the first order of
business was the fact that we had to pass the SPLOST and the first, and the first place it needs to
start is in this building and the image that we set and we were not going to get off today to a
point as though we were going to be in the middle of Commissioners and of communities.
That’s not going to happen that way. Now we got two weeks. We can bring that one back but
we’re going to give you one. It’s going to last about nine seconds and we’re going to get you
47
nine votes but when you take me through this type of dialogue, apology is accepted but to a point
you going to wait two weeks to get what you need to get done.
Mr. Hicks: All right, sir. Very good. Thank you.
Mr. Mayor: Yes, sir.
(Vote on substitute motion)
Mr. Hankerson out.
Motion carries 8-0.
Mr. Mayor: We down to a date, Madame Clerk?
The Clerk: No, sir. We’re down to Item 24.
Mr. Mayor: We did it, didn’t we?
The Clerk: Sir?
Mr. Mayor: We did it, didn’t we?
The Clerk: We did the date already. 24A has already been taken care of.
Mr. Mayor: Okay.
The Clerk: We’re at Item 24.
Mr. Mayor: Let’s, let’s, I think it, the date, well, we –
th
The Clerk: Oh, you mean the 26?
Mr. Mayor: We got 24, okay. I see what you’re talking about. 24F, 24A. I’m sorry. I
looked through my regular eyes on that one, okay?
The Clerk: Which one –
Mr. Mayor: I just was trying to find a way to get y’all to beat the help out the building
today.
The Clerk: Okay.
Mr. Mayor: I’m still working on that and I, and I, and I don’t like dealing with what we
just dealt with. That could have been different. Let’s, let’s go. That’s history now.
Mr. Williams: That’s right. He’s right.
48
The Clerk: Item 24?
Mr. Mayor: 24.
The Clerk: Yes, sir.
OTHER BUSINESS:
24. Discuss ARC Law Department. (Requested by Mayor Pro Tem Marion Williams)
The Clerk: Commissioner Williams.
Mr. Williams: Is that resembling me, Mr. Mayor?
Mr. Mayor: That’s you. It was in [inaudible] field too, or what I call field three.
Mr. Williams: I ask for this to be placed on the agenda. Several things have been very
interesting and very inquisitive to me and I need to know about our Law Department as to we
have some interns, not interns, what’s, what’s the, what’s the name, proper name for our –
The Clerk: Staff attorneys.
Mr. Williams. Staff attorneys. Our staff attorneys who have been performing some,
some things, and some things they don’t, and I asked a question about when a staff attorney,
when the attorney’s not here, the staff attorney sits in and we paid him at one rate and then we
pay the attorney when he’s in that same chair another rate. I asked the Finance for some records
as to what we paid our attorney up and to this point. It came to some $352,300 from, up until
th
June 28. Then I asked for some of the copies of the billing that we, we receive and, and I was
very, very surprised to see some of the things that we’re being billed for on this and, and I know
we had a Sub-Committee, Mr. Boyles, I think, was the Sub-Committee chairman to, to talk about
our Law Department as to, as to where we are. I’m very concerned about the money we are
paying for meetings and other things that the attorney who’s well within his rights to bill us for
but I think that’s stuff that the staff attorney need to be doing. That’s something that we need to
talk about as a body, and as a whole. I got a stack and I didn’t have a chance, I didn’t have a
chance to go through all of them but this is just, just some of them here and, and I’m really
surprised at, at what we was being billed for. Billing for land acquisitions and, and different
things that the attorney himself handled that we’ve got staff attorneys that ought to be able to
handle this stuff and I’m surprised that we have not got a handle on this as of yet. The subject
came up last Commission meeting about whether the attorney was a department head or not.
That’s something I think need to be, need to be clarified, need to be brought up with our law
department. If he is a department head, then we need to set a salary for the department head. I
don’t think a department head can, can bill us on meetings and what he or she does at any other
meeting and then we, we turn around and pay those invoice or without, without an okay. So I’m,
I’m, I’ve been practicing law without a license with him and I learned a lot and this, this is just
some of the law that I, the law that I learned from him that’s being exposed today as to the, some
of the things that we’re being prepared for so Mr., Mr. Mayor, I just, I need to know when are we
going to get a report back about our law department, what, what constitute the department head
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and are we going to get our staff attorney to, to intervene and designate what goes on or what
we’re being billed for or are we just going to continue to have an open door policy when it
comes to bills and, and reports brought back to, to this body.
Mr. Mayor: Let me, let me recognize two people. You mentioned or made a [inaudible]
in reference to the, the chairman of that particular Committee and if, if the Committee may have
something at this particular time, we can hear from the chairperson, also want to hear from the
attorney, and then I think we need to determine a, a path forward, whether it’s to the Committee
that it falls under, whether it be the Sub-Committee or either the standing Committee in terms of
whether you’re dealing with personnel and then so direct that and let it go there and then let
those concerns fall to that particular Committee or that particular Sub-Committee. Now, I don’t
know whether y’all may be, Mr. Boyles, at any point on this, this change per se, I’m just going to
kind of let, let, recognize you first and then Mr. Shepard and then probably I think what we need
to do is receive some motion that if those concerns need to go to a particular place, be it your
Committee or be it Admin or whether we need to do some in a particular workshop setting that
may require longer periods of time than just a meeting and I recognize y’all in, in that order.
Mr. Boyles: Mr. Mayor, if I may? Since I was, am the Chairman of that Sub-Committee,
that particular Sub-Committee, the last two meetings were cancelled because of a lack of
quorum. The last one was cancelled, the people from Atlanta that we were bringing in I think to
talk about bond counsel and some other things, Ms. Bonner was able to catch them enroute and
turn them back around so if, I will telephone the members of the Committee to see what’s an
appropriate time for them to meet again because I scheduled two meetings, three meetings that
have been cancelled because the members could not be there so it’s, it’s not something that’s
been forgotten. It’s something that’s still on the agenda so if you’re ready for that, I know the
Chairman of Administrative Services has been wanting to do that but I just need to have a
commitment from the members of the Committee that they’re going to attend the meetings.
Okay? Before we start bringing in people from outside, our law firm in Atlanta, bond counsel or
whoever else was coming, financial advisors, were on, enroute, Ms. Bonner, am I not correct?
The Clerk: Yes.
Mr. Boyles: Enroute from, from Atlanta and we had to turn them around and send them
back.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Shepard and then back to, to Mr. Williams. I’m, I’m sorry. Ms. Beard
and then Commissioner Williams.
Mr. Shepard: Mr. Mayor, I, the Commissioner is right. We were scheduling a, I think a
morning maybe two and a half hour meeting on this topic about probably a month ago if memory
serves. We were ready to come forward and address the organization of the Law Department,
the county attorney, some other specialty counsel we’ve hired with the express approval of this
body, and I’ve always been of the opinion that’s the way to address this. I didn’t know exactly
what Mr. Williams wanted to discuss today. He put it on the agenda with no questions and we
really haven’t had a chance to talk about any of that but I think the, I think the appropriate place
to do it is in the Committee that this body has adopted and empowered and you know, I’m kind
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of like, is it, I won’t use an airline analogy, but I’m, I’ll be ready and have the appropriate other
attorneys that need to be there as well. Probably there’s not as much interest in bond counseling,
bond counsel work since the two GO’s failed but there may well be, you know, some SPLOST
funds or something like that in the, in the future and you know, I invite that dialog, Mr. Mayor,
and I, I think that would be the place to have that dialogue.
Mr. Mayor: Okay. Commissioner Beard, then Commissioner Williams?
Ms. Beard: I believe our attorney’s contract and the bond issue situation came up about
the same time and the, a committee was formed. I kind of think maybe the Committee is kind of
off the point by inviting the people from Atlanta because that really addresses only one aspect of
what we were looking at and that was the bond situation. I think with the beginning of
consolidation, it was thought that this body would look at a law department here and we do seem
to have as we progress through the different things that we do, conflicts of interest that could be
alleviated if we really looked into whether it would be more beneficial to us to have what we
have now and actually look at a bond department. In other words, compare the two and see what
would be best for us at this time. So I think that’s something the Committee could do without, I
don’t think those persons from Atlanta would be the ones to deal with that situation. It would be
something we would have to deal with along with our administrator.
Mr. Boyles: Well, Ms. Beard, when, respectfully when Chairman Hankerson gave us the
charge, I read the charge back and you asked that they be included. Very respectfully.
Ms. Beard: I, I don’t remember that but I do remember that they came here and they said
we were given a bad deal in reference to the bonds and that was determined and if I said that, I
must have made a mistake and I apologize, but that isn’t where we should be and eventually we
would need to look at that because I don’t feel that the person who works as our attorney should
also be our bond counsel and what is it? Broker or what do you call it? Financial – what, what
is it do you – would you tell me what I’m trying to say?
Mr. Shepard: I’m with you, Ms. Beard. Our, our function is issuer’s counsel in that, in
the bonds or a local counsel. I do not function as bond counsel. I function underneath their
authority. There is a, a appointment still outstanding from this Commission known as financial
consultant which is held by Mr. Widener, Mark Widen. That’s, that’s been an appointment
which has been standing since before I was appointed in January of 2004 to be the county
attorney, and I think those are the, all of those components it was requested that we be there and
there was no quorum that day so if, if you want to, I think the way to deal with it, is we can
devote a substantial time to that and I have, I have billed at the rates I’ve said I would bill and
haven’t, haven’t increased them. That’s, I’m, I’m ready to, to proceed whenever the Committee
wants to schedule their hearing. Just give me a little notice.
Ms. Beard: Well, I’m going to say that I have checked with some governments with law
departments and things aren’t nearly as expensive as they are with the way we do things here,
and that’s why I, I do think we should look at it.
Mr. Shepard: I don’t oppose a look at it. If I did, it wouldn’t be any good.
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Ms. Beard: And you understand what I’m saying. I’m saying I think we’re looking at
two different things. We could look at the one bond aspect that’s a part of your contract and the
entire Law Department, and I think for many years we have not been getting the very best deal
for the City, and, and I think it’s time for some changes.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Williams, then Commissioner Hankerson.
Mr. Williams: I think what Ms., Ms. Beard’s reference to and I don’t know how long it’s
been, it’s been four or five months if, if the Clerk needs to, can probably pull those minutes that
we, we sent the Sub-Committee out and hadn’t had no meeting. Now I can understand with the
conflict of all the different stuff going on that, that we may have not been able to meet and I
understand the attorney has some, some sickness in his family and the, and the Chairman was
very understanding about that, and, and we all do. But it’s been, it’s been a long time that we
supposed to been talking about the Law Department along with the issue with the, with the bond
and about the, the way we do our counsel here but what, what brought it to my attention this time
or what really had me to check when, when the item came up that the, that the attorney was a, a
department head and, and I still disagree with that. I even talked to HR and they, they explained
some things to me that, that said they was over the Law Department. Well, yeah, I been over
some departments too but that didn’t make me a, a department head. If, if that’s the case, then
we need to set a salary and then I had the records pulled of how much money we paid. We done
paid almost $400,000 since the first of the year and, and we just, we just half way through the
year now. That, that’s just on legal work that we’re talking about that he bills us for, from phone
calls, phone conversations, and everything, and, and he’s not the only one. I mean, I’m, this ain’t
no knock on Steve. The, the previous attorney did the same thing but we can’t sit here and
continue to do the same thing and then expect to have different results. We talking about money,
we talking about saving money but I, I got, I got a list of stuff here where he verified claims,
where he made conversation to, to different department heads, and everything that, that has
happened. I talked with the Administrator personally first of last week, and we talked about
trying to get a, a venue here to do some, some, bring some money back into the government, and
I told him, I said the Administrator needs to handle this. We can’t have the attorney in on
everything because it’s costing this government, and we can’t sit here and to get invoices like
this to be turned into this government over $500,000 in half of the year’s time and then still not
look at it and make some changes so if, if, I guess my point is, if we, if, if we going to sit here
and address this, we need to get some things clarified. First of all, if you’re a department head,
how can you decide what’s going to go on the agenda and what’s going to be billed for and what,
what you going, what we going to pay you for and what we’re not going to pay you for. That,
that’s unfair and nobody can do that so we need to determine I guess, need to look at the
situation to see whether or not we going to have a Law Department, we going to keep a hybrid
situation and be in control. We ought to have staff people be able to handle staff type stuff. The
attorney is handling everything, and every meeting, every conversation, everything that’s been
taking place in this government and he has a part in it, we are billed for it and that’s, that’s, I got
to look, Steve, that’s not right. If that’s not right, then let me know because that’s what I’m
under the impression of.
Mr. Shepard: Well –
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Mr. Mayor: Go HED, Mr. Shepard, because I’m going to, I’m going to recognize then
Commissioner Hankerson, and I’ve got a suggestion if there’s not going to be a motion because
this one is not going to get settled today, and I’m going to try not to be around for the settlement
if it’s going to be settled today. I think there’s some things that do need to go back into Mr.
Boyles’ Committee. I think what needs to happen also is an agenda be set for that Committee
with some of the concerns that are passed around, and also it reinforces the fact that we may not
have to talk about Bobby Cox and the Braves in our, in our meetings around that we’ll have on
those breakdowns. They give us an opportunity to deal with some of these things, then at the top
of the forefront, discuss them and then plan for an agenda and then move with it. Commissioner,
I mean, I’m sorry. Go HED, Steve, and then Mr. Hankerson and then let’s try and get a motion
on the floor that gives us a plan forward out of here and then leads to something that we can talk
about on this particular issue.
Mr. Shepard: Well, if, if their thoughts, if they have questions that you want to be, be
raised, if there’s, from what you put on today, I had no way of discerning that this was about
billing, Mr. Williams, but you know, you’re a public officer, I’m a public officer, and we can
discuss that in an appropriate fashion in that matter and I’m, I’m mindful of what you just said,
Mr., Mr. Mayor to get us moving and I think that would be the appropriate thing. We were
prepared once, we can be prepared again for it.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Hankerson?
Mr. Hankerson: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. What, what I’m hearing, part of what I’m
hearing today is what I expected to hear in the Administrative Service Committee meeting that
hadn’t take, has, has not taken place yet. What I suggest since I appointed the Committee are
that if the Clerk would place it on the next agenda that we have an update from that Committee
in our next Commission meeting, and that way we can bring out some of these things that, the
questions and everything that is here because it, it seems though that what we’re discussing now
some most of, most of it is things that I expected to come back to the Administrative Service
Committee from the Sub-Committee so if you place that on the agenda?
The Clerk: For the next Commission or Committee meeting?
Mr. Hankerson: Next, for the next, I’m sorry, Committee meeting.
thth
The Clerk: The July 11 Committee meeting or the 25?
th
Mr. Hankerson: We have one on the 25?
thth
The Clerk: Yes, sir. We have one on the 11 and one on the 25.
thth
Mr. Hankerson: On the 25, that we get a update on the 25 and we decide what we
going to do from there.
The Clerk: [inaudible]
53
Mr. Mayor: Mr., Mr. Chairman, if I could make one suggestion, and I think, I think
that’s great but I, I do think if they have not met by then, if something causes that Committee to
not meet and I think there’s adequate time to do that, so that we will not have a meeting to
discuss having a meeting, if that’s not been done by the time that Committee meeting comes up,
I think probably it needs to either be discussed there or pull it off to a point that that Sub-
Committee can, can has out some of those things and bring it into a full Committee, you know,
to discuss because there may be some time frame that people may not be in place even with the
th
25 date coming, and that’s, that’s just, just an observance.
Mr. Hankerson: Right.
Mr. Mayor: But I, but I think that gets us, it gets that ox out the ditch to start moving it.
Mr. Hankerson: And that’s why, that’s why, Mr. Mayor, I said a update. Update would
be whether they have a meeting or not. I just want to know because it’s been out there a long
time.
Mr. Mayor: Yeah.
Mr. Hankerson: And if you give me an update, if it’s just we didn’t get together or we
got something or whatever but we need to know where we are at this time because a lot of
questions have been asked about the Committee and we keep on, you know, bringing up parts of
it so we need to just go HED and I hope, I hope the Committee would go HED and meet and,
and when the Chairman can give an update of, of where they are at this time so it may be
necessary that’s, if that doesn’t work, then we have to do something else.
Mr. Williams: Point of clarification, Mr. Mayor?
Mr. Mayor: Go HED because I was going to ask him to make it in the form of a motion
because I think that gets us a pathway start but go HED.
Mr. Williams: Well, even before we get to that point, if the Clerk can, can reiterate the
members of that Sub-Committee and the, the Chairman and the Assistant Chairman if there is
such because if, if there’s a four member group, three member group or whatever it is, Mr.
Boyles said you know, we haven’t been able to get a quorum or get people together, we need, I
need to know who, who they are and we need to try to set something down and go HED and get
a, get a meeting so if you don’t have the information now –
Mr. Boyles: I’ve got it, Mr. Williams.
Mr. Williams: Okay. Ms. Clerk?
The Clerk: Mr. Boyles was appointed Chairman, Commissioner Mays, Mr. Williams,
Ms. Sims and Mr. Grantham.
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Mr. Boyles: Ms. Beard was also on there.
The Clerk: Ms. Beard. And Ms. Beard’s on the Committee.
Mr. Williams: Is, is there a assistant to Mr. Boyles or somebody –
The Clerk: No, sir. He was appointed Chairman.
Mr. Williams: He was appointed Chairman?
The Clerk: Yes, sir.
Mr. Williams: Okay. I just needed to know who was there so.
Mr. Boyles: Would it be possible with every, with all the five that was just named that
we could meet at 2:30 Thursday afternoon in a work session? Does that give legal notice?
Mr. Shepard: 24 hours notice.
Mr. Grantham: Fine with me.
Mr. Boyles: Is that enough legal notice?
The Clerk: Yes, sir.
Mr. Shepard: Yes.
The Clerk: Thursday at 2:30.
Mr. Boyles: 2:30 Thursday.
Mr. Hankerson: I sure appreciate that.
Mr. Mayor: I’ll sit in for that person in Nine until y’all get one.
Mr. Hankerson: I appreciate that.
Mr. Mayor: Would you make that in the form of a motion on yours, Mr. – even though I
know you can add it to the Committee. If you could make that in the form of a motion -
Mr. Hankerson: So moved.
Mr. Williams: Second.
Mr. Mayor: - let’s get it on for the action to clear that out. Motion and a second. All in
favor of the motion will do so by the usual sign. Any opposed, the same, and the item will be
55
that it will be forwarded on to that Committee. At the same time, Mr. Boyles’ Committee will
meet in terms of putting this on for this Thursday.
Motion carries 9-0.
Mr. Boyles: And we’ll use the same agenda we had last time, Ms. Bonner. As Ms.
Beard would prefer we not bring the folks from Atlanta, we’ll scratch that but we’ll use the
same agenda that we had prepared last time.
Ms. Beard: Yes.
The Clerk: Okay.
Mr. Mayor: We have two items?
The Clerk: Yes.
Mr. Mayor: Election date and, and what else?
The Clerk: And Item 9. We have Item 9 and Item 26 left.
Mr. Boyles: Let’s see. I’m short this one.
The Clerk: Huh?
Mr. Boyles: Let’s see. I’m short this one.
Mr. Mayor: 26 is first, and then 9.
The Clerk: Okay.
Mr. Mayor: That’s new math.
The Clerk: Okay. The companion items on Item 26 –
Mr. Mayor: I’m stopping you. I missed you. I’m sorry, Commissioner.
Ms. Sims: No, no. I said I was going to address 26.
Mr. Mayor: Okay.
The Clerk:
13. Discuss the selection of a Mayoral Election Date. (Backup information under Item
26) (Referred from the June 21, 2005 Commission Meeting)
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21A. Discuss the selection of a Mayoral Election Date. (Backup information under Item
26) (Referred from the June 21, 2005 Commission Meeting)
26. Calling of Special Mayoral Election. (Requested by the Attorney)
Mr. Boyles: Thank you, sir.
Mr. Mayor: Commissioner Sims?
Ms. Sims: I’d like to make a motion that we go with November for the election. I
think that gives time for everybody to get their name out, everybody that’s running,
everybody that has to collect money, funding for their races, and I believe it would be a
greater voter turnout which I know everybody’s interested in and it would save us money.
I guess number one I’d like to say it would save us money.
Mr. Cheek: Second. Sorry.
Ms. Sims: That’s okay.
Mr. Mayor: That’s a motion and a bunch of seconds. Any discussions?
Mr. Hankerson: Yes, sir. I’d, I, I hear what –
Mr. Mayor: Commissioner Grantham, and then Commissioner Hankerson.
Mr. Grantham: You know, I think after careful consideration, everyone looked at this
and the tight squeeze that we’re on for financial money is that had we gone with the September
dates and the November dates, we’d be looking at possibly four elections at about $85,000 a
piece so this would at least narrow us down. If we can request the Governor to change the
September senatorial election through our electoral department and get that done and I think, Mr.
Mays, you had some comment about this several weeks ago, of doing just that so –
Mr. Mayor: I had another job a few ago too.
Mr. Grantham: I know it. You [inaudible], but, but along those lines, you know, I feel
like we could save ourselves at least $150,000 and I, I concur that we go on a unanimous
decision in doing that with the Governor.
Mr. Mayor: Is that to, and I don’t think we’d have to do a reversal of any vote but we
got, just to bring it, in case Steve on what we were notified this morning, in the regular meeting
that we have in terms of the, the Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem, Attorney and Mr. Russell, Ms., Ms.
Bailey came in to notify us that at this point, it was the State’s intention to have the, this
senatorial race in September. I think that still is partly due to the fact that we had not made a
decision on this race and I think that was one of the reasons why on the, on the other issue at that
time and again that’s history, was to petition the Governor to at least consider what we are now
talking about to deal with November. That might even still be a possibility because even though
that was announced, he had to statutorily move on what was, was there but I think at this point, if
57
we are going to move and to do that, that that’s a good motion that’s there. There’s nothing, I
don’t think we passed that line of demarcation with the state. It is at least a request from a, a
major county in Georgia to be able to save money and to deal with that turnout so I, I think we
can, can still even get that done because I think the weight then was on Augusta to make a
decision. I think we are making that decision today and that at least opens that door again so that
people will catch a breather between an election that’s just past with less than twenty percent
turnout to a point of having everything that we do in November and that will help in terms of
dealing with that turnout with issues and, and as Commissioner Sims has said, in terms of the
saving of monies that we might have. Commissioner Hankerson, do, you got your hand up, and
then Commissioner Cheek.
Mr. Hankerson: I pass.
Mr. Mayor: He passes to Commissioner Cheek.
Mr. Cheek: Mr. Mayor, I just wish when this was brought to the floor two weeks ago
that we could have thought through for about thirty seconds and already had the request on the
Governor’s desk and had this handled by now. It, it’s not high math. It’s only a few figures over
three or four but we had the opportunity to put this on the Governor’s desk two weeks ago, and
we hummed and hawed around, when it, the dollar figure of savings is close to $180,000 or so
and allowing people to wait and have the election in November but it wasn’t the will of this
body. I’m just refreshed to see that after two weeks, we’ve had time to, to think about the, the
impact (1) on the candidates, (2) on the voters, and (3) on the pocketbook of this city, and I hope
this passes today.
Mr. Grantham: Some of us are just a little slow, Andy.
Mr. Cheek: No comment.
Mr. Mayor: Let me, let me, let me say this. I think, I think a, I think a nine-nothing vote
now sends a better signal –
Mr. ??: Amen.
Mr. Mayor: - than probably maybe even a one vote margin would have sent three weeks
ago.
Mr. ??: I agree.
Mr. Mayor: It’s history, much better history today and I’m going to be proud to carry
that vote and I hope it’s, I hope it will be nine-nothing and I think we probably can get the state
to oblige if we send that in a united fashion and it comes unanimously across the board in terms
of what we do. All in favor of that motion will do so by the usual sign.
Mr. Cheek: Thank you, thank you, thank you. Bless your heart.
58
Motion carries 9-0.
Mr. Mayor: I do not have a vote anymore, Ms. Bonner, but that one that I did cast a few
weeks ago, y’all know my sentiments on that, and I, and I think that moves us with it. Nothing,
nothing wrong with having a pencil attitude and where we can all change our minds in terms of,
of what we deal with, and I think we were faced with something that day, well a lot of other
pressure that was on us to deal with things and that’s water over that dam, now we pass over that
and move on to something else and I appreciate the vote. Commissioner Cheek?
Mr. Cheek: Mr. Mayor, not to go on but I did ask for a point of personal privilege after
we do Item 6, I believe? One minute.
Mr. Williams: Item what?
Mr. Cheek: I guess it’s the, I guess that’s the next on the [inaudible].
Mr. ??: Or 9?
Mr. Mayor: Item 6 or item –
The Clerk: Item 6 is already on there.
Mr. Cheek: Okay. So 9. I think it’s number 9.
Mr. Mayor: 9?
Mr. Cheek: I just didn’t want to disrupt the order but I didn’t want to be left out.
Mr. Mayor: You better – the, the Commissioner from District 2 says he might want yield
to you to get your minute in –
Mr. Cheek: Okay.
Mr. Mayor: - right now because that 9, I have purposely saved it until, that is the last
item, isn’t it, Ms., Ms. Bonner?
The Clerk: Yes, sir.
Mr. Mayor: Okay. All right. I do want to see somebody in the building catching the
elevator along with me.
Mr. Cheek: Okay.
Mr. Mayor: Even though I, I won’t be able to get on it and leave if I don’t do nothing but
go down to the car and come back, there’ll be a great change not being here after 7:00, 8:00,
9:00.
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Mr. Cheek: Well, I’ll, I’ll take my minute now.
Mr. Mayor: You take yours and then we’re going to move to that other one but I hope we
can get some concise discussion on that one as well.
Mr. Cheek: Mr. Mayor, I placed in, in everybody’s pile a brochure I got at the Snow Cap
Drive-In over in North Augusta. It’s called Hammonds Ferry, North Augusta’s Riverfront. The
caption under the picture’s take me to the river. Ladies and gentlemen, they’ve already cleared
two hundred acres across there and they’re moving on. The City of North Augusta initiated this
development and it is a marvelous Charleston-style development. I, I say this and I bring this to
you to show you that we can sit on our laurels with our pension property and the property
th
between 5 Street and the South Marina and talk about what may come one day. Ladies and
gentlemen, if North Augusta can do this, and I urge you to look this over and drive over there,
they already have a concrete bike path through the cleared area that people are already using.
Ladies and gentlemen, I brought this to say North Augusta’s doing this. Why can’t we? Why
aren’t we and when will we? We have the riverfront, they have public, private partnerships
involved, we have the land. If we think that this second largest city which is based on land area
only, that’s really something to thump our chest about, we’re about to be the smallest city that
has Augusta on it in this area. Drive over there. Any neighborhood, they’re five minutes from
the greenbelt, some of the nicest parks and everything else. We ought to at least to be able to try
to keep up with them instead of worried about the laurels of the past. They’re to be applauded
for this effort because it’s really going to make Augusta look good when you can look across the
river and see all that development when we have all of our overgrown banks and underdeveloped
areas and I just hope that we will at some point come to a place where we can get together and
do something like this over here.
Mr. Mayor: Thank you, sir. A minute well worth taken, Mr. Chairman, and maybe that
moves to Item No. 1 at breakfast and lunch that we talk about, and I think those partnerships
have to be developed. We got a lot to offer. It’s how we define and sell ourselves. How we
want to be defined, and I think it’s, it first has to be done within this family grouping of where
we want to go and how we want to do it and I think there are opportunities that are there that can,
that can really grow tremendously, and to, to add to what not only is there on the river front but
to a renaissance of downtown. When I look at, and I hate to call him young because he’s, he’s
getting old but when I look at young people like Brad and others that have made the investment
very quietly but have complemented those who weathered the storm downtown and to be able to
do other things that are there, the growth that’s on the south side, we are, we should no longer be
the south’s best kept secret and it’s about time we, we’ve got all the resources to do a lot of
things but the partnerships have to be developed but I think the best partnership that has to be
developed is the working group that’s here and regardless of, and I say that from a, from an
institution, regardless of, of who ends up being here or in any of these Commission seats, it, it
doesn’t matter. I think the attitude has to change, it has to be set and I think we’ve got something
to offer and I think well, before we get ready to go back out the next time, I think we have the
opportunity to set in motion some things that will have some folk knocking on our doors to see
how they can be a part of what that growth is going to be so that was a good minute well spent,
and thank you so much for it.
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The Clerk:
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES:
9. Update on the audit of the Housing & Economic Development Department.
(Referred from the June 21, 2005 Commission meeting)
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Mayor Pro Tem?
Mr. Williams: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I asked for this item to, to be brought before us to
discuss some things. We’ve got a report back last, I think last Commission meeting, from
internal auditor which was in my mind the same report that we got from HUD except with a
different heading on it. I didn’t see the particulars or the thing that was pointed out good, bad or
indifferent so I asked the administrator about, about it and he, I think he got with the auditor and
he sent them back in and I asked him why did he send them back in? He said he wasn’t satisfied
with the numbers. Well, I don’t think you need to be satisfied with the numbers. I think the
numbers will speak for themselves. I think the numbers will either be right, wrong or, or
whatever but to send them back and I asked the question who was paying the auditor to go back
in the second time. We had gave them thirty days. It ended up being ninety days. We asked for
it and it was brought to us but it, it wasn’t specific. It wasn’t any finding of any kind and so
they, they went back in and we got a, an additional information now from, from what we had and
I, I’d just like to hear from the auditors as to what they found, what they didn’t find, or you
know, that’s, that was what I was expecting when the auditors came to tell us where, where was
the loop hole, where was the money, where, where we’re short funded, what was paid, what
wasn’t paid. I mean, I got a, I, I really didn’t understand it. I mean, it’s not the auditor I didn’t
understand. I didn’t the process that was supposed to be taking place as far as being brought
back to us but wasn’t given to us and, and I’m, I’ve got two, two issues, I think, I want, I need to
address. The first is their finding as to what they found, and where are we now, I guess.
Mr. Mayor: Let me, let me interrupt one minute. In reference to what we are getting
ready to discuss, the Chair only ask that one particular thing be done be it from Commissioners
asking questions, be it from administrative staff or from Mr. Cosnahan that if we are entering an
area that deals with a discussion of particular personnel, give the chair a hands-up warning
because that will not be discussed or if it is in an area of an investigative nature to deal with it,
then do me the courtesy of letting me know that too because I think you all know how I am. I
believe that if you deal with a war plan, you don’t telegraph punches and so if it’s information,
however critical, that I believe this Mayor Pro Tem does need to be discussed the questions
asked but I only ask that you respect that process to a point where everybody’s concerned and,
and as well as Mr. Cosnahan and, and Mr. Administrator on where we may need to go with it,
and it may be all information is in there but I ask you to do that so that we do not have to, to
cross any line that’s out here that we do not need to deal with in a public setting that does involve
the legal elements of personnel or anything that’s in an investigative category.
Mr. Williams: Well, Mr. Mayor, I certainly don’t want to do that. I don’t want to cross
any lines. We did ask for this audit to, to be performed and brought back to us within thirty days
as I mentioned before. It took some eighty something days to, to, and we asked for it and we
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finally got a report but the report didn’t, didn’t outline anything of any, any substance to it. It
was just a report. In fact, when I compared them, to me it was the same identical report that we
got from HUD from their findings when, when they came in. Now I’ve got a different report that
I’m, I guess my two issues is, one is that if, if we didn’t find this the first time, how we find it the
second time, what did we do the first time that we, and that we, that we, what’d we do the second
time that we didn’t do the first time because the report we, we can’t, that was given back to me
was, and its in your back up, if you’ll look at the one in your back up, is, is the basic report that
came down from HUD and, and the only different I saw was the, the heading on the, on the copy
of, of the report from Mr. Cosnahan’s office versus the, the HUD office. So I guess I’m asking
the auditor not to name any names but what was found? What, what, was anything wrong? If, if
the report that I get didn’t tell me anything. It just, it just report. I mean, I, I guess I need it
explained. I thought if something would be highlighted, something would be pointed out, we
have used this firm many, many other times, and I was thinking surely that way they would give
us the report as it was, not to bend it, lean it, do anything but just give us the report and I, I need
to hear something now. We need to go into legal, to take him in legal to talk about it, then
maybe we need to do that but I’m, I still need a report as to what was found, then I can share
what I need to share. I, I don’t know no other way to put it, Mr. Mayor, just for them to give it to
me plain.
Mr. Mayor: Well, if you’ll hold and let him answer that question –
Mr. Williams: Okay.
Mr. Mayor: - and then that will be the best way to move with, with that dialogue and,
and to, if it’s a statement to make prior to in order to, to deal with that, then I think we need to
proceed in that order. He’s trying to get something in there, Mr. Russell?
Mr. Russell: I think so. I’m not sure yet. Yeah. I am, sir. As you know, the former
Mayor, and the Commission had asked Mr. Cosnahan’s firm to do a compliance audit of, of
HED in reference to the letters that we have received from HUD. They did that and that report is
in your minute book today. As we looked at that and as we continue to look at that, with the
leaving of our director and our finance person, we found, I, they found some issues as far as
policy goes and procedures as far as the day to day operations that I was not comfortable with as
far as the following of those procedures or their availability of those procedures or the existence
of those procedures as far as looking at their financials. As you all know my background is one
that looks at, at money very closely in these particular areas, and I had some initial concerns that
we needed to make sure and make sure we hadn’t trespassed on any kind of law or regulation or
rule, and that was part of the reason why I asked them to go back and take a look at that.
They’ve done so and at this point we feel like we’re, and in a situation where we’re correcting
the lack of policies more so than anything else. What we have done at this particular point in
time is met regularly with Mr. Persaud and have developing some recommendations for their
financials and how to do that. As you know or might not know, they basically have had their
own set of books and their own set of operations set up. They write their own checks. They
have people over there approving checks and writing through their financial officer over there.
Both Mr. Persaud and myself have a problem with that issue and feel like that should be run
through our finance department here and will be making recommendations to do that in the near
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future. In addition to that, we had Mr., had Mr. Cosnahan look at those procedures that were
there, the people that were working, and he’s got the follow up information there. I, I did ask
him to go back. That was my call after looking at the initial information provided and that was,
if that’s overstepping any bounds, I, I’m the one that did that out of a, my cautious nature that we
ended up with all the information that we could to make the decisions we need to make.
Mr. Mayor: I, I think that, I think that, that clears the point of how they got into the
second portion –
Mr. Russell: Yes, sir.
Mr. Mayor: - of where they were going. The Chair however is going to allow the
Commissioner as long as we stay within the bounds that we are talking about in reference to the
investigative and legal personnel to, I believe you may have a question that you may wish to ask
the auditor and, and I say that from the standpoint of the purity of being able to ask an auditor on
an independent fashion some question that may even involve what we may be doing procedurally
as long as it is not within the personnel side of it, so if you wish to go HED and to ask direct to
Mr. Cosnahan, then that, that floor is yours in order to ask him those questions at this time.
Mr. Williams: Mr. Mayor, and I certainly appreciate that, but let me tell you. I, I claim
to be an attorney sometime with Jim Wall and Steve but I’m not an attorney. I don’t know what
to ask the auditor. We asked the auditor to give a report, and I heard Mr., Mr. Russell give a
report but I, I need to hear from the auditor as to what he found. As a Commissioner, I asked
that a report to be brought back so we can determine whether or not it was good, bad, indifferent.
Now what I heard Mr. Russell say that some things, some procedures was not in place and, and
you know, and [inaudible] procedures, I understand. It say that they was writing checks and
cashing checks. Well, if you got a government, or entity that’s writing checks over in a
department that come through this government, that this body have to approve, that’s, I mean, I
got enough lawyer in me to know that that’s a violation, that I want to hear from the, from the
internal auditor as to what they found, what was wrong, what, what monies is not there, what
monies is supposed to be there, what money, if everything is there. I mean, I, I can’t sit here and
question him as an attorney, as a tax attorney and an accountant. I need to hear from them
because that’s what this government agreed to pay them for was a report back and I haven’t
heard that and, and I don’t have any questions. Now, I may have some later but I need to know
from him what he found, what was wrong, what, if everything is fine, if, if, I may not have no, if
everything he says is, is legitimate, then we, we can shorten this meeting like you want to do,
Mr. Mays, and get out of here before the, before the last janitor get out of here so I need to hear
from them and I, I heard from Mr. Russell. I need to hear from the man we paid. Mr. Russell
get paid every, every two weeks but we need to hear from the man who, who we sent in there
over ninety days ago to bring back an audit who been in there twice already and I haven’t heard
anything from.
Mr. Mayor: Hold on, hold on a minute, Mr. Russell. The reason why I gave you the
floor to go HED and to ask him was simply for a statement that he can go HED and give
whatever he needs. I held up because during the time when the Administrator was speaking, I
knew that you wanted to have direct contact with the auditor. That was the purpose of giving
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you the floor with the auditor. It’s in there. If you don’t have any questions of him, then I’m
prepared, and I think we’re prepared to hear Mr. Cosnahan at this time. Now if it’s something
that’s in his report or statements that he has, what I would ask is that if you need to stop him, you
know, to a point of where something in there with a question at that time, let us do that but then
the floor is yours back again.
Mr. Williams: Okay.
Mr. Mayor: But I’m going to hold you to let him start and if you would go HED, Mr.
Cosnahan, and, and move from that manner, and Fred, I need you to hold for a little bit and, and
let them two either get their part into a discussion, move from it but it’s, it’s yours at this time.
Mr. Cosnahan: Thank you, Mr. Mayor and Commissioners. If you would, if you would
be patient enough with me to let me go through the entire matter that we’re talking about, I think
we’ll answer most of the questions and that will probably I think satisfy Commissioner
Williams’ concerns. Initially, we were engaged by you to go in and do what we call a complaint
audit. That is, when you go into see what’s taking place and the real reason is, is, was presented
to us is to determine why HUD limited your money and stopped your money from going out
basically to the CHDOs. We met with Mr. Smith as you can see in the report. I’m not going to
go through these word for word because you’ve read those, all this, I’m sure but the first item
that we came across was their findings and their comments. We found in that and then in
following up that, that some of those that goes back to 2003 had not even been responded to or,
or approved as far as HUD was concerned. We suggested here that that has to be done. You
can’t not respond to HUD when they come in and give you findings and concerns, you have to
respond to them. The second item in here has to do with the program match. That was one of
the big issues and that was part of the reason that the money was cut off and the money was
stopped. In talking with and looking over at the HED office, the employees over there were not
aware that they had anything to do with the matching money. They said that’s a city
responsibility. To respond to that, we responded that they should have everything in their files
over there to do it with any particular program. They ought not to have to send people from here
to there to see about where all the support is. HUD needs things at their fingertips and they
should be there. The third item had to do with one of the CHDOs that HUD really criticized.
We met with that CHDO with the director, with the chairman of the board and with several of
the board members. They, you know, gave us a copy of their audit report. Their audit report
was a disclaimer of opinion. It was also a going concern opinion which is not a good clean
opinion as, as hopefully y’all would recognize. We did not get the impression that that board
was very much concerned about that. It was a answer that we got was well, the answer’s to get
an audit until we got an audit. Our recommendation there is that the HED office is required and
it should be going out to these CHDOs and monitoring those CHDOs to see that their keeping
their records, not only from the money standpoint but also from the criteria for low-income, for
housing allowances, all this type of thing. It was a complete deal. There’s a lot in this report
here that you have to look at and, and realize what’s in there. The fourth item, there’s a lot of
talk and this is what I think a lot of you Commissioners maybe got calls about, and that was that
$500,000 neighborhood initiative grant. They were lead to believe according to our interviews
with them that they were each going to get $50,000 to do those themselves. Well, it, actually
they were not going to get that. The grant did not call for that and as you can see, we had a
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schedule attached to that that shows where that money went according to the HED office. The
recommendation there is that HED should be communicating a lot more with the CHDOs on the
regular meetings and so, and so forth. The last item in there, Item 5, mentions that we were
informed that the HED office were telling the CHDOs they did not want to have infield houses.
An infield house, you probably know, is where you have one house that you fix up in sort of a
whole row of houses, and the CHDOs were telling us that the HED office were telling them we
don’t want you doing this so that was part of the concern there. We, the general comment, we
met with the representatives from CHDO, they talked to us about their concerns, their
suggestions and so forth. We asked them to give us a written summary, a written memo about
our discussions with them. We did not receive the first response back. Subsequent information
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as you will see, the HED got another letter form HUD and the response was due June the 20 or
th
June the 19. The Interim Director is working on, on these things. Now rolling right on along,
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after we got this done, and if you’ll see, our basic work was completed on May the 11. When
we got the report pulled together, we met with the Administrator, expressed our concerns to him
about what was going on in that department. A little later, we met with [inaudible] and the
chairman of the committee and explained to them, and their basic understanding and that we
suggested was that we hold off on this until the Interim Director has time to get in there and
make changes and make things effective. So that’s the reason for the delay in this. Now where
we stand right now is after we went back in, which is a completely separate audit from this, we
went back in and did what we call an operational audit, and here’s what we’re doing now. We’re
interviewing the employees. At this point, we’ve interviewed thirteen of the seventeen full-time
employees there. We’re missing four. We had three on vacation, we had one out on sick leave.
We’ll still continue to finish up those. Now the purpose of the interviews was to talk to them
about their position, their duties, their responsibilities. We’re trying to find out if they knew what
they were supposed to be doing. The other thing we’re talking, we talked to them about is
potential fraud. We asked them if they knew of anything going wrong. They, they’d been told
things were going wrong or anything like that so that’s what we talked to with the employees.
The other thing that we’ve started working on is contracts. HED has issued numerous contracts
over the last several years. We’re looking at those to see if they, they were properly prepared
RFPs, to see how the awarding process took place and see the execution of those. We’ve also
looked at petty cash to see whether they had controls over that. That’s a small amount of money
they handle over there as far as cash is concerned but we already looked at that, and there is
some, a little bit of shortage on petty cash. We were looking at travel expenses to see if they got
adequate documentation for their trips and their reimbursements and so forth. We are assisting
with bringing the financial records current. The records are not current. When the financial
officer, I believe he’s called, left, they were already in arrears and there’s been nobody in place
since then to bring those up to date. For an example, the bank accounts have not been reconciled
since February. The other thing that we’d like to do along with this is to interview some
contractors and some consultants. We would like to see for instance for them to confirm to us
that they did get all these payments and that they do understand the, the agreement so we’re into
the process of wrapping this up right now and then when we would be able to give you specific
things. We’ve already met with the Interim Director and with the Administrator, the office itself
is not functioning very well. The morale is extremely low, and the employees there need to be
instructed and they need to be informed as to what their duties are and what their responsibilities
are.
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Mr. Williams: Mr. Cosnahan, and I appreciate all you have said but I, I guess I’m, you
know, we had an audit, we had the Administrative Service Chairman went through all that you
went through with HUD when they came to town with his, his committee and talked with the
CHDOs and all the information you just brought to us but I’m, I’m more concerned about the
dollars that’s, that’s, you mentioned the grant that the Mayor applied for, Mr. Russell, earlier
from $500,000. Was, was, was there funds paid out to, to different, and I don’t want to call any
names and then get, get into a legal situation here, Mr. Mayor, I’m trying to, I’m trying to talk
around that, you know. I’m, I’m just as direct as I can be so I’m going to try to just, just ask that
question in that manner. Is there money that was paid out to, to entities for services per month?
Was there, was there contract that was paid out that, that wasn’t approved? You, you asked
about the CHDOs and, and how they done the, the stuff within their office and even the petty
cash but there’s some, some things that happened and I, and I can show you some of those
documents here, well, maybe not here, but in a, in a private setting about monies and, that’s been
approved that hadn’t been approved by, by this body, and I’m thinking your office would have
been the first one to show that kind of point up to, to anything that, if, if you got any of that in, in
your –
Mr. Cosnahan: Yes, sir. That’s part of we’re working on. As a matter of fact, one of the
first things that we, we requested when we went back in was we, we called the Administrator’s
office and asked him to get to, to have someone check the minutes to be sure and we gave him a
list of all the contracts, the dates and the contractor and asked them to check the minutes, give us
the minute dates so that we could confirm that. Yes, sir.
Mr. Williams: Okay. So you hadn’t confirmed that was money paid, paid –
Mr. Cosnahan: No, sir. We, we have not received that information yet but [inaudible]
Mr. Williams: You, you hadn’t confirmed that no monies have been paid out to, to
private entities for contract-type work to be done on, on any projects?
Mr. Cosnahan: We haven’t determined anyone in particular yet but that’s what we’re
doing now is we’re looking into those contracts. I can tell you that we do have one that was a
small contract that was executed by one of the employees that they did.
Mr. Williams: And, and you say small. Can you give us a dollar figure?
Mr. Cosnahan: Three thousand.
Mr. Williams: Three thousand. Okay. So that, that hadn’t been, that hadn’t been a
contract with a, a particular entity or particular person for six thousand dollars a month for
services that was rendered?
Mr. Cosnahan: No. This was a, this was a one shot.
Mr. Williams: Okay. I’m, I’m, I –
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Mr. Cosnahan: We’re working on it.
Mr. Williams: I heard that one but I’m asking you about another one now. You hadn’t,
in, in all your research and all your inquiring and your investigation and all your auditing, you
have not come up with where anybody’s been paid for projects at the rate of six thousand dollars
per, per month?
Mr. Cosnahan: We, we have not got into that detail yet. We’re getting the contracts in
hand so that we can look at them and then we’ll compare the payments with those but yes, that’s
what we’re doing. We’re trying to determine the total amount paid so that we can compare that
to the contracts.
Mr. Williams: Okay. Have, have you found any contract that wasn’t approved by this,
this Commission at all? You haven’t found any of those?
Mr. Cosnahan: We are, we’re looking now. We’ve got a number of contracts that had –
Mr. Williams: But, but you hadn’t find any. That’s what I guess my question is.
Mr. Cosnahan: Well, I don’t have any documentation yet to say that we do but we’re not
done yet. I’m not saying we won’t. We’re, we’re looking right now. For instance in some of
the billings that, that came through some of the consultants, the description on the billing says
services rendered which were not included in the original contract.
Mr. Williams: Okay but I –
Mr. Cosnahan: We’re looking now to see if the contract was amended to include those
original or are they additional charges.
Mr. Williams: And, and Mr. Auditor, I think you can understand my frustration because
it, this is not the, it’s not like we asked you to go in there last week and we, we ask you now to
come up and report. I mean, this is a, a on-going situation and probably four months old now
when you look at the, from the time when we started out. It’s supposed to been back I think the
beginning of March, if I’m not mistaken, it’s supposed to be back to us but here it is now, the
fifth of June, of July, and I’m asking these questions and you’re telling me you still investigating
so –
Mr. Cosnahan: Yes, sir.
Mr. Williams: - I’m, I’m a little bit confused. I mean, I’m, I’m trying to, I’m trying to
work with you but I ain’t got much to work with. Would you -
Mr. Cosnahan: What you’re not doing, Commissioner Williams, is you’re not
differentiating between the compliance audit and this operating audit. That’s two different
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things. With the compliance audit, we finished that up May the 11. It was done.
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Mr. Williams: And the compliance audit will tell you what? Now, help, help me out
with the auditor then –
Mr. Cosnahan: Okay.
Mr. Williams: - because I, I just told you I’m not an attorney.
Mr. Cosnahan: Okay.
Mr. Williams: So help me out.
Mr. Cosnahan: All right. The compliance audit that we were asked to do was to go in
and find out about the concerns and the findings of HUD and what needs to be done to correct
them.
Mr. Williams: Okay.
Mr. Cosnahan: That basically is what’s in this audit right here and it shows you where
the major concerns were and it tells you what needs to be done to correct them. We were not
hired to go in and, and make those changes. We were hired to come in with a recommendation
as to what needs to be done to take care of that.
Mr. Williams: And I, I say I understand that.
Mr. Cosnahan: And that did not include any work as far as any operational audit was
concerned, looking at dollars, looking at invoices or looking at contracts. That came up after we
had went in and we saw that the filing system was not adequate at all there as far as being able to
locate things. When we asked for a contract, we were told in one instance, for instance, that
that’s in someone’s office and we don’t know where it’s at.
Mr. Williams: Now, now shouldn’t in this, in the right side of the Mayor’s seat, I, I had
the opportunity to, to sit with the previous Mayor and when, when he asked for this audit to be
done, he shared with me that we, we’ll do an audit in order to find out everything about it. Now
if he said a certain type audit that didn’t get done, or if the minutes reflect that a second type
audit didn’t get done, I can’t hold you, I can’t hold you, you accountable, I mean –
Mr. Cosnahan: Sure.
Mr. Williams: But, Mr. Cosnahan –
Mr. Cosnahan: Well, when he called me, Commissioner Williams, he asked me –
Mr. Williams: But what, what, what the paperwork say? Now we don’t want, we don’t
want no call –
Mr. Cosnahan: Yeah. I –
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Mr. Williams: - we don’t want no call.
Mr. Cosnahan: I understand.
Mr. Williams: We, I want to go, I want to go with what the, the minutes say. I want to
go with what, what came out of this office.
Mr. Cosnahan: Sure.
Mr. Williams: Because that’s, that’s the only thing that counts. Phone conversation ain’t
worth two cents. I mean, we, they, they have them all the time. Everybody have them but I want
to, I want to know what came out of this office that sent to your office that, where, with a
signature from somebody to, to be done and I’m, we waiting all this time because we’ve been
having problems. I see some of the CHDOs in here right now who had problems with the, with
the head office trying to figure out what to do and what, what the HUD wanted, what the auditor
said and, and all that other stuff. That, Reverend Hankerson handled that months back. I mean,
we had meetings after meeting. Not only here but all, all over this, this county look like. He, he
handled that part. Commissioner Mays was a commissioner then who, who commended him on
the way he, he really got down with the brass tacks with that. So we asked your department from
what the Mayor shared with me, from what I thought the minute reflected back to go in there and
to find out where was the money, where, what was going wrong. Not just with, with personnel
and not just with, with the federal finding because HUD had already did their own assessment to,
to bring to the table the same thing that you brought but when you went in there, I’m waiting on,
on some, some figures, some numbers to come back to say well all the money’s in place, all the
money’s not in place. We, we got a personal that handles the, the supervision as far as the
employees over there when, when the morale is low and things ain’t working and folks don’t
show up, Mr. Russell can handle, handle that part. I, I don’t, I don’t think you, you have to
worry about that but I, I just don’t hear the finding that I’ve got here in my hand versus what,
what I been shown and what, what I have here on documents, where a project had been approved
and been, been worked on from drawing up plans to everything else and you have not had the,
the liberty to, to share that. If somebody didn’t share with in that office with you over there, then
maybe that, that’s a problem but they, there are some things that were done took place that
hadn’t been approved by this Commission. That, that what gets me. It, it got to be approved by
this Commission. You ain’t got to like this Commission but it got to be approved by the
Commission. Not the Mayor, not the Mayor Pro Tem nor the, the Administrator but the
Commission needs approval.
Mr. Cosnahan: You’re absolutely right, Commissioner, and that’s one of the things that’s
mentioned in the report that you have in your hand is that there needs to be policies and
procedures prepared by HED, sent over here to the Commission and have you approve it while
we can.
Mr. Williams: Okay but if, but if that did happen, that’s what I’m asking you. If it didn’t
happen, we, we know the [inaudible] made of him. We, we don’t, we, we understand that but if
that didn’t happen, that ought to be in your report as to what did or did not happen and where the
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money went, what project was approved, what project was disapproved, that, that’s what I want
to hear from you. Those, those things that you found in your, in your audit. Not, not, not putting
no procedure in place. When you mention or when you refer to us, if we don’t do nothing with
them, you done done your job.
Mr. Cosnahan: Sure.
Mr. Williams: You referred them to this, this body. It’s not for you to go over there and
put them in place so I’m, I’m still not getting the answers I need, Mr. Mayor, and I, I don’t know
whether to call names or mention some other stuff or not because I don’t want to get into a legal
situation that, that’s the there but I’m very disappointed as the amount of money that we spent, as
the, as the, spending six thousand dollars a, a month for services to be, to be rendered that we
had not approved for, for drawings to be done on, on projects to be, to be brought forth that we,
that we didn’t approve, and, and it’s, it’s amazing how we can find little stuff but we, we, I
mean, anything as big as that, and, and I, maybe if I call a name, that somebody might be able to
identify with it but I don’t want to, I don’t want to call the wrong name.
Mr. Mayor: Thank you for that. Let me, let me – hold just one minute. What, what I
would like to see us do if we could, you have information that obviously has been given in
confidence but still belongs to this government. What I would like to see you do and I don’t
have a problem with sitting in on that meeting with you, what I think we need to do, Mr. Russell,
if there’s information that needs to be fully shared, what I would suggest, Mr. Cosnahan, is that
we deal with the information, let’s, let’s compare some notes and then let’s, let’s come back
public as to where that information takes us or if there’s an explanation for the information that
the Commissioner has, and I think that still, it keeps the privacy per se of what has been
disclosed but at the same time, if it’s something that needs to be looked at further and pass in the
investigation, it does not compromise that in any way and then he’s not left in a situation where
he’s by himself any information that he discloses and at the same time, at some point, it all has to
come full circle and to be within that report, it’s either, it’s either information that can be used or
it’s information that cannot be used but I think we get to some arrival point of where the
information takes us, it may be something that you’re working on that may get deeper than
where even he has at that point and I think that, Commissioner Williams, will probably help you
to get and help all of us to get deeper into where we are going with it because I think you, you’ve
got one thing with audit, but if you got audit/investigation as I said to you all this morning in, in
the meeting that we had, is that depending upon the path that we are headed, then I think if
there’s information, let us use the information to get to the bottom, [inaudible] where we going,
chips fall where they may, no stones unturned, but then not broadcasting to a point with the fact
that we’re coming and revealing that, what that, that particular war plan. I think –
Mr. Williams: How do you figure, Mr. Mayor?
Mr. Mayor: - that will get you –
Mr. Williams: And maybe that will help here because we’re talking about an audit. I
mean, we –
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Mr. Mayor: Let, let, no, no. I think what you need to do, you can give him figures but
still if you all are not sitting down, we are not sitting down, and let’s sit and go over what you
have got, detail by detail, and then come back to make that, you can still even disagree but what
I’m saying is to a point if he’s over here, you over there and y’all talking about numbers to a
point that’s in there, that’s not going to resolve your problem. I think when y’all get through
with the exchange, you’re going to still be just with as much of a gap in there as you are right
now because he’s going to have to give generalities of where those numbers are and where they
fall.
Mr. Williams: Well, I, and I understand that, Mr. Mayor. What I’m saying here that if, if
an auditor, and now I’m not an auditor, but if an auditor had these figures and then if that don’t
spark his attention as to where to look or what to look for, and, and I can give him the project, I
can’t give him no names, but I can give him the project and the amount. I got at least four here
for, for over $350,000 in, right in front of me right now, and –
Mr. Mayor: That’s to the tune of $350,000, and there’s a violation that’s in there, it’s
deeper than somebody’s hand getting slapped and I think if that constitutes that, then obviously, I
want something to be done a little bit deeper than where that might go in a conversation and I, I
just think to a point now that we’re getting to where it’s, it’s teetering on your duty to deal with it
investigatively and legally to at least have the discussion. That’s all I’m saying with you. It
doesn’t prohibit you from doing one thing. It means bringing it in and sitting down. That’s why
the briefing meeting the other day, in dealing with the auditor to where that time was provided,
part of that could have and needed to have been discussed at that point too. That’s all I’m saying
to you.
Mr. Hankerson: Mr. Mayor?
Mr. Mayor: It’s not to hold any of it up. Mr. Chairman?
Mr. Hankerson: Yes. I just, I just want to say a couple of words about this as being
administrative service chairman and, and a committee that we, we’ve worked so hard in trying to
iron out the problems that was in the HED department. We had numerous of workshops and
brought people to try to iron out the problems and at one time, it seemed though every time we
got one problem straightened out, come back in about a month, there was still some other issues.
I’ve made it a point myself to talk to every CHDOs, I called every CHDO and talked to, to the
director of those CHDO personally myself, and if they’re here, they know that I have done that,
asked them whether there are any problems now, was no existing problems now but what
disturbs me is that in this investigation of the auditor, I’m more concerned about the findings that
we have to respond back to HUD. Now we had a deadline to respond to HUD and that’s what
we were looking forward to responding to those findings but what I’m hearing today is that there
are some other issues that are more serious than the ones that we have according to what I’m
hearing. I haven’t as a Chairman of the Administrative Service haven’t seen not one written
document, and no one have come and told me about anything else that was going on, and I think
we getting into a situation here now if we have individuals or I don’t know how Ms., Ms.,
Commissioner Williams got his information but then that means that some information was held
from this Committee that some wrongdoings were going on so I think some other folk going to
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be in some serious trouble when we find out that I was trying to, the Committee was trying to
straighten out things and, and they had information knowing that that were wrongdoings going
on, if, if there are any. I think that there’s somebody else is going to be in some trouble with
that, and then not only that, that if HUD now finds out that there are some other things that they
didn’t even see, I don’t know what’s going to happen. I think it’s going to be very serious
because I’m hearing some things that I, I’m told in the dark of I don’t know anything about it and
you know, with the, with the investigation of the procedure that, that has been brought that
concealed information that is going to be shared with the auditor and the administrator, I assume,
but this Committee does not know anything about anything else. I’m only concerned trying to
try to save the four million dollars that we receive here every year by responding to the things
that was in the report that T received for us to present the report of, of what we were going to do
to correct those findings back to HUD. I’d like to know how we going to correct the findings.
Now we have some more and it seems as though we’re going to have to even ask for another
extension and say HUD, we found something else that you need to look at. Now what are we
going to do here? And, and I think that if there is somebody in the department that have
information that would help us iron out our problems, then they should direct them to the proper
sources that we can do this in a Committee meeting because here we are discussing this in the
full, full Commission and, and I, I thought that we were, would come back in Committee and
decide, you know, what we were going to do with the findings and, and further the audited
report. I even called, you know, as I looked at some of the things and asked for some response,
and where individuals said well, we haven’t received, we don’t, I don’t know what you’re talking
about. We haven’t received anything, findings from HUD, and I said, I asked him no, you
haven’t? No. I said well, you will get them in thirty minutes. I hung up the phone, called HED.
I said I want them over there. Fax them there so they will have these findings so, so we could
address the findings so I’m, I’m very concerned of where we going now with this and you know,
and bringing out more things that it seems like to me that may or get us in further trouble in, in
Atlanta. I know one thing that, that the former Mayor said, which is now the Regional Director
of HUD, and he said I need y’all to straighten it out before I leave, and we didn’t straighten it out
so I don’t know now what we do but whatever we do here, I hope that you know we look at what
we’re doing and not cause further problems with, with HUD and our fundings. I’m very
concerned about that. Thank you.
Mr. Mayor: Well, I’m going to recognize Commissioner Williams back in response but
I, I will say that in reference to helping him to straighten out some of it, I kind of tried to help
straighten out some of it by some of the things that the, the Clerk alerted me to prior to the
change in the office of Mayor Pro Tem, and in reference to what I found was a glaring
procedural problem as to whether or not it may have been any wrongdoing, and I think you can
have a situation where procedures can be terrible. Don’t have to be illegal but they can be
terrible in terms of procedure and the most glaring one that I found was in, in reference to
information coming straight from that office directly to the Mayor’s office, and I basically have
made it clear, and I think the, the Clerk after years of checking that information, I made it clear
to the attorney that for the interim period that I’m in there, that particular department, whatever
y’all set up in the interim, I will not be signing anything that comes from that office directly to
that office. It’s going to have to flow through the proper channels, both through legal and
through the administrator cycle, and I think the Clerk can catch it but there was information that
was coming directly to the Mayor and you got to be very careful when you got a stack of
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documents sitting before you with a stick ‘em sign on it, and you’re entrusting that that work has
been done but those were things that were coming in and I was able to alert the former Mayor to
a point some of it we had to go back and ratify. Nothing was really wrong per se but the
procedure was terrible. It led to a procedure that you could have had wrong doing if you, if you
chose to do it. We caught it and probably it was in a gap period on one of those days that I had
to sign, and I’m very funny about that. I got a department right now that wants my signature on
a stamper and that’s not going to happen either. If I’m going to sign it and be wrong, I’m going
to know I’m going to be wrong with it but it won’t go on a rubber stamp to get signed with it to a
point, you know, I’m going to, if I’m going to get caught to do something, I’m going to do it
myself. I don’t need nobody stamping and do it, but recognizing Commissioner Williams and
Commissioner Cheek but I think that’s just one example of how you can have a bad procedure
but to a point the information can be right and I think to a point that was an area that was being
for lack of a better term, abused to a point of where it was coming to this office down here, and it
was basically saying that, that things that happen in the Commission meeting, that had never
taken place in a Commission meeting so I mean I, I can own up to that point of knowing that that
was a problem and was in there even prior to the, to, to the audit side of it being done and that
was information I credit the Clerk with being alert enough to find out and to look and knowing
that I wasn’t going to sign it just because it needed to be signed but Commissioner Williams?
Mr. Williams: I just wanted to respond to Commissioner Hankerson and, and my
information came when somebody approached me on the street and brought me some documents
to show me of what’s fixing to take place, and I asked the question well, you know, we, we never
approved this. Well, the response was well, we heard that you don’t want to just talk about
issues, you want to see some action, and I said well, action is good but it’s got to go through the
proper channel but I was given layout, plans and everything else and find out we paying six
thousand dollars a month to a, for a service to do plans that this Commission never voted on.
Now, and, and I would have really expected an auditor to, to show that up, to turn that up, and,
and if they don’t find nothing else. If they couldn’t find the office, they should have found that.
So that, that was my issue and that’s how I got to, to get this information because they were
willingly to give this to me as if they, they was really proud but if it hadn’t been through the
process, and like Mr., Mr. Mayor said a few minutes ago, that if you get signed off in the
Mayor’s office, it ain’t been signed off in this body, then it still no good, and the people in HUD
office ought to have enough sense to know that if it wasn’t signed off by the Commission, it ain’t
no good. We had to bring through Committee, we had to send stuff back because it always had
to get signed off by six votes in this room but evidently that hadn’t happened. We didn’t, we,
I’ve got four projects and again I don’t want to give you the name of the project but I got four
projects with a total over $350,000, maybe $375,000 that we done spent out that I expected the
internal auditor to be assured right of the bat and that hadn’t, that hadn’t took place, and wrong is
still wrong in my book, and, and I can’t see nothing but wrong in that so that’s, but that, that’s
how I got my information and, and that’s why I’m so adamant about what I’m, what I’m
bringing to this body today.
Mr. Cheek: Mr. Mayor, I’m just going to follow along with that. I, I think the
Administrator’s got some corrective actions that will help us move forward on this to address
some of the problems but from a historical perspective, about three and a half to four years ago,
Commissioner Kuhlke and I were appointed by this Commission to go over and do basically an
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in-house assessment of the conditions at Housing & Neighborhood Development at the time.
We developed, I think it was about a ten point list of go-do’s for the department and many of
these issues that are coming up today, and this is I believe under Randy Oliver’s helm when he
was skipper then, are still unaddressed and I guess my question is based on the audit, are we
seeing, is this institutional mediocrity to keep things the way they’ve always been? Is this just
lack of training? I guess, if you would, point out in, in your compliance audit, I guess, you
would look at the compliance with policies and procedures and if we have none, I guess there’s
really no guidance for people but you know, what’s the sense that you feel? Is it, is it dedication
to the status quo? Or is it just people are walking in circles and not really sure which way to go?
I mean, what, what’s the sense that you think?
Mr. Cosnahan: I think, Commissioner Cheek, I think you’re zeroing in on what we’re
saying. The department as a whole is in disarray. There’s one department over there that’s
functioning, that’s functioning in accordance with the policies. All of the others, it’s almost
individually employee process. In the interviews, and as I’ve said, we’ve interviewed thirteen or
seventeen. Some of them don’t really know answers to questions that we asked them about what
they, what their job is.
Mr. Cheek: And they’ve been there probably a long time, too, I bet?
Mr. Cosnahan: Yes, sir.
Mr. Cheek: Okay.
Mr. Cosnahan: I think that, that the Interim Director’s got to be dedicated to more time
over there because that’s part of what is causing some of the trouble, I think, as far as not being,
having somebody on site but it’s a, it’s a long way to go, I can assure you of that and, and he’s
got his, his work cut out. We have met with him, keeping him informed on what we are working
on pretty much a day to day basis and, you know, I think he’s just got to get dedicated. Very
briefly, if I can revert back to some of the comments that, that Mr. Hankerson and Mr., and
Commissioner Williams were saying. An audit is generally assumed by the, by the public that
it’s to go in and find the crook. That’s not really the purpose of an audit. It’s going to be make
pass to look at things. As y’all know, I, I do a good bit of fraud work in this area and my
partner’s also a fraud examiner, a certified fraud examiner, so we do a lot of this type of work as
far as zeroing in on certain specific things. Nothing makes things better than for somebody to
tell us something. He can zero in. Right now, what we’re doing is we’ve got every contract that
we’ve got that we can list. Mr. Mayor, you hit one of the nails right on the head, and the reason
that we asked for the minutes of all of these approvals, we saw a letter that the former Mayor
signed that was increasing one of the, one of the contracts, but as, as you said, and as
Commissioner Williams said, we want to get back to the minutes to see that this body approved
it, and, and that’s the, and that’s the approach we’re taking. Y’all are on target. It’s, it’s just that
we’ve had two different engagements and that’s what has been, I, I think the misunderstanding.
Mr. Hankerson: Mr. Mayor?
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Chairman.
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Mr. Hankerson: Yes, sir. I’d like to make, make a recommendation and put it in
the form of a motion to, because we hearing various issues that really need to be discussed,
these new issues, and also the one’s that the Administrator and the auditor and myself had
knowledge of and some suggestions that we was going to bring back to the Administrative
Service Committee so, I, I move that we set a date after most Commissioners will be, well,
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I’ll be out of town the week of the 14 until after that, but probably around the end of July
when we return back from the NACO conference that we would set a meeting at that time
and, and we would discuss all of these issues and bring out these concerns that we have
here today and hope once and for all that we will follow through with some of the past
recommendations for the ATD department that I heard that I don’t have no knowledge, I
wasn’t here when Randy Oliver was here, but I heard Commissioner mention some things
but I know that we, we talked about some things that we really need to change so the HED
department, I’d like to announce that it’s under construction, and we will come back and
decide, you know, what the new project is going to look like in that, in the meeting and that
will be a meeting that other, that everybody will be welcome to come to, kind of work shop
type meeting to iron out all these things and by that time, maybe you’ll have your report
finished and ready and Commissioner Williams would also have the opportunity at that
time to address those concerns and make sure that we cover all bases this time that the
Department will be set up properly. I’d like to put that in the form of a motion.
Mr. Grantham: Second.
Mr. Mayor: Motion and a second. Is there discussion? Commissioner Williams?
Mr. Williams: I, I can agree with that. I’m just hoping that, that we will stop all new
projects, all new ventures, all new everything because there, there are some, there, there are some
problems right now, and, and if we don’t get a handle on them, it’s going to get even worse now.
Some folks been paid already, some folks demanding money to be paid for services they done
done, and, and I, I can’t understand for the life of me how we can allow somebody to write a
check or any department this, this government for services that we didn’t approve. Now if, if
somebody wrote a contract and, and it got through, that’s one thing. They ain’t got no contract,
they ought not be getting paid. And then I think the person this investigation need to continue so
we can bring forth those people who have been misusing the department as to continue to try and
appease some people in, in and to, to be favorable to some people. Now I heard Mr. Cosnahan
say that the department was in disarray. Well, I kind of disagree with that. We had what we was
told one of the best in the country. Mr. Smith, one of the best in the country, that came in here,
and the same staff that’s over there now was under him so if he didn’t do anything else, and I
ain’t saying he did it, but if he didn’t do anything else, he should have at least trained those
employees that he had. Now there were some employees there before he got there. They was
already trained. They, they came up through the ranks but him being the person that we was told
he was when he, when he came in but when you got a finance person in that department to leave
and a director of that department to leave, and then we, we get relaxed as not checking into
everything that deals with money, then we asking for trouble so I, I just want to make that
comment. I, I think when we get back, that’ll be great to have that Committee to go HED and
address those issues but I think there’s a serious problem over there that we need to look at and
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stop all, all, stop right in our tracks, right here. Nothing else goes no, nowhere until we, until we
get a handle on one thing at a time.
Mr. Hankerson: Mr., Mr. Mayor?
Mr. Mayor: Go HED.
Mr. Hankerson: If I add, add to that, I don’t, I think that the, the Administrative Service
Committee could make those recommendations of and along with the, you know, listen to the
Administrator at that time in the next meeting that we have. I don’t want to stop everything. I
think that’s a, that’s a strong statement, to stop everything because we may stop something that
need to go forward so let’s look at it and I know I can sense how my colleague feel but as the
Administrator Services Chairman, I, I think that I will allow the Committee members to have
some input on that and if we look at some things in the next meeting that we have to decide
whether we’re going to, what programs that we’re going to discontinue or stop at this time until
we get everything straight. If, if we can just do that.
Mr. Williams: Mr. Mayor? Clarification and point of clarification. What about the, the
fees and the money that we owe our, that people trying to collect on now, that we, we feel like
it’s not legal, it’s now lawful. Are we, we not going to stop that? I mean, how, how, I just want
to know are we still going, I mean, if, if we’re not stopping and folks has done done work for this
government that wasn’t approved by this government, they at least ought to be held up even if
we have to pay them later through the attorney’s office but we ought not go HED and give them
another check now.
Mr. Hankerson: Well, my, my response to that, and I, I’m going to say that because I,
I’m going to say this because I keep hearing all this, all this stuff coming up and as Chairman of
Administrative Service, I don’t know nothing about that. I don’t, I hear things but if nobody
talks to me or gives me the information, I can’t just act on that so when we have the meeting, we
can act on that if someone is giving fees illegally then it need to come out. I don’t know and I
was appointed Chair of this, this Committee and, and I tried to do the best I can and with
receiving the information properly and act upon it, but I’m not acting upon just hearing things
just thrown at me today or so I ask that we just finish this discussion in our Administrative
Service Committee meeting that we all have knowledge of it. We can’t just, I just can’t act on
things with one person having knowledge of it. My Commissioner today are, are Commissioner
Beard, we, we talked about a issue and it sound like we were blowing up at each other but I was
saying I don’t have the information. I don’t know. Once I got the information and find out,
everything went smooth. I can’t act on things that I don’t have information and I will not.
That’s why I’ve said that if you had agenda item, addendum, you need to call me before this
meeting because I’m not going to accept no agenda, no additions to the agenda that I don’t have
knowledge of to, to approve so. I, I think that we need to do this and if you got something that
you want to share with me, that respect is due to any, any chairman of a committee. I asked the
CHDOs. My last conversation with them when I hung up the phone, if anything that I need to
know, please call me. Call me. My number is 790-9199, and I got a cell number that the Clerk
will give you and my email number is bhanker2, bhanker2 bellsouth.net, @bellsouth.net so that’s
the way, and if you want to get in touch with me, please do that. Augusta Chronicle already
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done told you how to get in touch with me so we won’t be no problem going, going to Augusta
Chronicle website but I need to know. I can’t act on things that I do not know and I think that
this Committee is due that respect that so if you have information, please share it with me.
Thank you.
Mr. Mayor: Let me, let me, let me say this before we carry the motion. I think I can end
it a little bit today on a happy medium. In our conversations this morning, one thing I think
that’s good about the fact that when you have the, the Committee meeting is the fact that it’s a
thing called four letter word, and it’s not foul, it’s, it’s time and it’s like paint sometimes. It can
hide a multitude of faults so you got some time and in the time period that’s in there and I think
Mr. Russell and I are very much on the same page of where we’re going. Pug’s office does a
thorough job in terms of what’s there. There will not be massive signings on anything unless
they’re things that have come through the Committee and through the Commission that are there
legitimate and have been signed off and I learned this a long time ago when I came in the
courthouse, if you got the signing responsibility, always make sure you’re the last one to sign.
Let everybody else sign it before it gets to you and you deal with it that way so I think by the
time we get around to hearing this again, and dealing with it, we will have had time adequately to
do it hopefully and to get that on and also at the same time, Mr. Cosnahan will continue to be
working. I will not be in the way of where you all are dealing with that. I’ll depend upon Mr.
Russell to get that information to me. It’s enough that will be in that office that I’ll already have
to do and so I think, I think we’ve got a safeguard in place to deal with what’s coming through
and in a process so that the department does not stop doing for the needs of people because it’s
still got to be there but at the same time, the process can go on in terms of what you all are trying
to look through, what you’re trying to find and most of all to get it straightened up. There’s a
motion and a second that’s on the floor. There being no further discussion, all in favor of the
motion will do so by the usual sign. Any opposed, the same.
Ms. Sims out.
Motion carries 8-0.
Mr. Mayor: I tell you all them green lights look pretty good up there today. If that can
get us through where we are on the, on our total regular agenda, Madame Clerk?
The Clerk: Yes, sir. It’s down to your legal meeting
27. LEGAL MEETING:
A. Pending and potential litigation.
B. Real Estate.
C. Personnel.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Shepard? How you doing?
Mr. Shepard: I’m, I’m here as you predicted.
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Mr. Mayor: [Inaudible] and I just got through talking about time. But he’s here. Did he
have a, a possible prediction on adjournment? I’m a single man, you know, so you, you give me,
give me a time now.
Mr. Shepard: Rather than predict it by the clock hour, if you’ll just give us thirty minutes
tonight to present some matters that need to be presented, they would concern pending and
potential litigation, real estate and personnel.
Mr. Mayor: Do I hear a motion?
Mr. Cheek: So move.
Mr. Mayor: First for, to deal with the so stated items?
Mr. Cheek: So move.
Mr. Mayor: There’s a motion.
Mr. Beard: Second.
The Clerk: A motion and a second.
Mr. Mayor: A motion and a second. Under discussion, Chair recognizes Commissioner
Williams.
Mr. Williams: Yes, sir. I still got an issue with this, with the attorney placing on the
agenda the Item 29 and, 29, 30, and 31. Real estate, personnel and potential litigation. Now, we,
we understand we going in the, in the session for that but I, I don’t, I don’t understand them, him
putting this on. I addressed this issue last time. This is not a normal fashion that we use. You
have to get unanimous consent to come out to add some on. With this, he don’t need it. I don’t,
I don’t think that, that taking the, the liberty from the Commission to say yea or nay. Now if he
wants to be a Commissioner, he needs to ask Ms. Sims can he run for that seat again and come
on back up here but I don’t think that’s legal. I, I still disagree with this. This has happened the
last time. This is the third time it happened. Hadn’t been having normal procedure. I, the first
time, I wasn’t here. The second time, I questioned it and I’m questioning it this time as to put
that on because if, if we, if this body feel that something need to be addressed, we can address it
or we can, have the right to deny addressing it and, and I, and I differ from that, Mr. Mayor, and
I want, I want to abort that again.
Mr. Mayor: I think your, I think your objection is so noted and also deserves at a point in
time for discussion. I have had a conversation with the attorney first in reference to some
changes that I hope you all will be amenable to, that I think can take us to some legal briefings
on a different day to clear out the legal backlog that will not take us into late hour legal meetings,
that can be brought about at that time, and at the same time, this can be an agenda item that deals
with the procedure in reference to dealing with the agenda, so we going to have again, I think
Bobby Cox and the Braves, hold on, will still fall to the low item on the totem pole of what we
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discuss in those meetings that is a part of the conversation piece that I want to adopt and talk
about. Agendas can come into play in dealing with that and you are so correct in terms of doing
it but let’s talk about it and if there is a change that we do not want, there’s an opportunity to
place it on the agenda and to deal with it, and to either vote it up or down in terms of where our
pleasure or displeasure’s with it.
Mr. Williams: Mr. Mayor, I agree and, and I’m not going to prolong it but I’m just, I
want to make a statement. That, that either prohibit or, or not prohibit or rights as Commission
to, to put unanimous, put out unanimous consent back on a particular item. With this format, the,
the attorney’s using and he’s said because he’s a department head, I still got issues with that but
because of that, I think it’s wrong, I think it’s not the, the proper format to do it. That, that’s one
of our, whether it be on that end or this end, that’s one of our choices. He cannot legislate that to
us to come back and we have nothing to say about it. Now, that, that’s wrong. That’s all that is.
That’s just wrong.
Mr. Mayor: Well, then what we need to do is we need to have that just as I sit in here and
watch these other items added on by different Commissioners, it’s on here, and I add them on
myself, that can be an item placeholder to discuss this format of that agenda in order to deal with
it but what I suggest first that we do is that we communicate this piece on some things that are
dealing with the legal items. It’s my goal that other than a catastrophic situation or if this city
gets to a point where an item needs to be discussed in, in legal, I’d like to see doing this interim
period quite frankly that we possibly eliminate the need to deal with legal items period. And
there’s a formula to do that as a way to keep it legal, the attorney can still consult with us with a
summary of what he deals with in legal that’s there, they are to be voted on at that particular time
when you come to a meeting, and barring emergency, there will not have to be an executive
session or legal in order to do it, and eliminate the need to have to do it altogether, and I, I
welcome the point of talking about it, and as I told him, it wasn’t going to surprise him hitting
him in the back with it. No, I think Steve will be the first to say I told him this is something I
want to talk to Commissioners about doing because legal isn’t the only thing that keeps us here
in periods of time but it’s, it can be a part of it and one of the things that bothers me, while we on
that subject, is the fact that many times, we made legal decisions late into the night when folk are
tired, they’re ready to leave, and that sometimes will just say yea or nay on something because
you’re heading out the door. That’s not good business. Do it when our minds are fresher.
That’s why I’d like to see a point of it being moved to a better time and on a different day. Get it
out of this whole format altogether and unless there’s an emergency, then we don’t deal with a
executive session or a legal at all. We wrap up everything we’re going to do in these meetings
and there’s a way it can be done if everybody will cooperate in that process. All in favor of the
motion to go into legal for the stated items will do so by the usual sign. Any opposed, the same.
Ms. Sims out.
Motion carries 8-0.
[LEGAL MEETING]
Mr. Mayor: Ladies and Gentlemen, we are reconvening and the Chair will entertain a
motion to execute the affidavit.
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28. Motion to approve authorization for the Mayor to execute affidavit of compliance
with the Georgia’s Open Meeting Act.
Mr. Shepard: Yes, sir, I’d ask for a motion for the affidavit requiring the presiding
officer that the discussions were within the Open Meetings Law exceptions and they covered real
estate and pending and potential litigation.
Mr. Colclough: So move.
Mr. Grantham: Second.
Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Motion and a second. Any discussion? If not, all in favor of the
motion will do so by the usual sign. Any opposed the same.
Mr. Cheek and Ms. Sims out.
Motion carries 7-0.
Mr. Shepard: I would ask that there be added and approved a motion to associate
Nicholson and Revell as attorneys in the Lon Morrey case in the matter because of a
potential conflict of present counsel James Wall.
And I’ll say for the record that I have
already been deposed in that case and am a party so that’s why I couldn’t take it.
Mr. Grantham: So move.
Mr. Colclough: Second.
Mr. Mayor: Motion and second. Any discussion? All in favor of the motion will do so
by the usual sign. Those opposed the same.
Mr. Cheek and Ms. Sims out.
Motion carries 7-0.
Mr. Shepard: I’d ask for a motion to add and approve the purchase of the property
of Fannie Jefferson in a not to exceed amount of $17,500.
Mr. Colclough: So move.
Mr. Boyles: Second.
Mr. Mayor: Motion and a second. Any discussion? If not, all in favor will do so by the
usual sign. Any opposed the same.
Mr. Cheek and Ms. Sims out.
Motion carries 7-0.
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Mr. Shepard: The last item, Mr. Mayor, members of the Commission, I’d ask that
the body approve condemnations against the property of Samuel Hickson and the property
of Sarah Coleman which are within the areas designated for properties to be acquired for
the new Judicial Center.
Mr. Boyles: So move.
Ms. Beard: Second.
Mr. Mayor: Motion and a second. Any discussion? All in favor of the motion will do
so by the usual sign.
Mr. Cheek and Ms. Sims out.
Motion carries 7-0.
Mr. Mayor: The Chair will entertain a motion to adjourn.
[MEETING ADJOURNED]
Lena J. Bonner
Clerk of Commission
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 July 5,
2005.
____________________________________
Clerk of Commission
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