HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommission Meeting October 17, 2006
REGULAR MEETING COMMISSION CHAMBER
OCTOBER 17, 2006
Augusta Richmond County Commission convened at 2:07 p.m., October 17,
2006, the Hon. Deke Copenhaver, Mayor, presiding.
PRESENT: Hons. Holland, Smith, Grantham, Stevenson, Hatney, Williams,
Beard, Cheek and Brigham, members of Augusta Richmond County Commission.
ABSENT: Hon. Bowles, member of Augusta Richmond County Commission.
Also Present: Steve Shepard, Attorney, Fred Russell, Administrator, Lena
Bonner, Clerk of Commission.
Absent: Hon. Bowles, member of Augusta Richmond County Commission.
The invocation was given by Father Michael Lubinsky, Parochial Vicar, Church
of the Most Holy Trinity.
The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America was recited.
PRESENTATION(S)
A. Presentation from the Canal Redevelopment Task Force regarding the Third
Level Canal. (Requested by Commissioner Betty Beard)
Mr. DeVaney: Let me say that this task force worked extremely well together
with the goal of providing a workable revitalization plan for the study area and my thanks
to all involved for their efforts and in particular Dayton Sherrouse for all of his efforts for
providing support for the task force, MACTEC and our consultants who have done an
outstanding job and certainly to Commissioner Betty Beard who I believe attended just
about every meeting and provided much need public support for our efforts. In the spirit
of unity I believe that a great plan has been produced which can have a dramatic result
for the Laney Walker neighborhood and for the remainder of the study area. The impetus
for this study was the remediation work done by the Atlanta Glass Light Company
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surrounding it’s properties near 8 and Walton Way. A vast amount of private money
was spent on this project together with a very large amount of city money. In addition
the proposed judicial building at James Brown Boulevard and Walton Way, the new
library at James Brown Boulevard and Telfair Streets, and the recently opened federal
building at Barrett Plaza and Telfair Street together with the renovated facades on James
Brown Boulevard and Telfair Streets, all represent a huge investment of public and
private funds in the study areathat really demands that our community look at
redevelopment options in a coordinated planning process. This study area really
represents two distinct sections: the Laney Walker neighborhood, which is more
residential and small business, the dividing line of Walton Way and the remaining section
which has always been more commercial and industrial. The neighborhood section has
already experienced a revitalization, with new housing which, is being coordinated by
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ANIC and other nonprofit entities, all of which have been a part of this planning process.
They have done and outstanding job in providing affordable housing that fits in with the
existing style of the neighborhood. There are a number of historic buildings, which need
to be preserved, and there is a wealth of opportunity for new construction and
development with the canal as the focal point. Of course these types of plans are not
without cost. However, no matter what our budget situation may be, the needs of our
community do not diminish. To miss this opportunity will cost us so much more in the
long run. But the cost does not have to be borne solely at the local level and I would like
to share with you some alternative and additional funding sources. A logical beginning
point in the implementation of this plan is the Southern Milling property. We may very
well need to have the city help in acquisition but we must almost explore the Preserve
America grants and other Department of the Interior and historic building funding
sources. The Augusta Canal Authority has already received federal funding together with
a 20% local match to begin construction of the walkways along the canal. Dayton
Sherrouse has already applied, and subject to Commission approval, federal CDBG funds
will be used to renovate the triangle area of James Brown Boulevard and Walton Way,
across from the proposed judicial building into a park. We would encourage the
Commission to use SPLOST funds in association with the construction of the judicial
building to extend the walkways along the canal and the area surrounding the judicial site
and we strongly recommend that you build a parking deck for this building. If you want
to see what surface parking looks like, then go by the civic center and see that vast stretch
of asphalt, which is unused most days. Although a deck would be more expensive, it
would provide greater security for vehicles and the public, it could offer store fronts on
the ground level for development and businesses and the Down Town Development
Authority a part of this task force, could be used to build and fund the construction of the
deck. The Trinity CME Church building must be preserved. The owners, Atlanta Gas
Light Company and the lessees, Miracle Making Ministries, could solicit funds from the
private sector for renovations much like we have done with Union Baptist Church. With
this project we all win. The neighborhood becomes more prosperous with greater pride
in its appearance upkeep from its residents. Activity makes neighborhoods safer. And
we should see the city’s tax digest grow as new construction continues and to support
businesses for the planned public construction comes to fruition. There were many
skeptics when we built Riverwalk, but where would Augusta be today without it. And
today we have a golden opportunity for the city and the private sector to again work
together, to expand upon the funds that have already been spent and will be spent to
revitalize this important part of our city. At this point, I know where’re running short of
time, but if we do have time, uh, I would like to ask Dayton Sherrouse, who is the
executive director of the Augusta Canal Authority to give you any of the details. We will
be glad to answer any questions if we have the time. But let me just say that at the
conclusion of this presentation, we would ask you to consider adopting this plan as the
outline and concept for the redevelopment of the third level of the canal and with that I
will end my comments with my thanks again to the members of the task force and to each
and every one of you for your support of this project.
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Mr. Mayor: Thank you, Charles, and you guys have run out of time but I know
this is a very important presentation so with the will of the body we’ll allow them to
continue along with the rest of the presentation. Mr. Sherrouse.
Mr. Sherrouse: Thank you, Mr. Mayor, I’ll just keep it relatively short as I can.
First of all in the blue packet you have, you have a copy of the plan, looks like this, it’s in
that blue folder you have there. Um and I’m not going to go over the study process, it’s
all there in the report. I encourage you to read it, uh, specifically if you’ll turn to uh, um
page 15, there’s a graphic in there that has the outline of the concept plan for the third
level of the canal and then following that on pages um, 17, are the specific
recommendations and there are seven areas that are being uh, our seven strategies that are
being recommended for this area. If you look at the map, the most prominent feature of
this whole are is the canal. It’s that green spine that connects the neighborhoods together
and it’s the most, as I say the most prominent feature in this particular part of the city.
The first um, recommendation, or first strategy is the whole third level of the canal be
developed as a Heritage Park and really, this is the centerpiece of the plan, uh, that if you
develop as linear park and multi use trail along the canal it really connects all these
neighborhoods in the central business district together uh, with other portions of the city.
As Charles said, we’ve already got funding from the Georgia DOT for $600,000.00 to
start the development of the trail system along there and then, at each end of the third
level of the canal there are two significant buildings. One is the Southern Milling
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building down on 7 Street and then the Augusta Bearing Works up at the 12 and over
time I think both of these need to be redeveloped as mixed used developments and that
could be a variety of things. Uh, and then at the center of the Heritage Park, right across
from the judicial center, there is a proposal called Heritage Square and um, this will be a
new town square that will serve as an organizing feature and connection from the civic
building, that is the new judicial center to the redeveloped residential neighborhoods.
The other strategy is for redevelopment of Dyess Park. It needs some upgrades and
additional facilities there. And then as I’ve said the Heritage Square Development will
include a number of things. Number one the judicial center, um it will also include some
professional and office development that will develop around the new judicial center.
There’ve been various proposals for a James Brown museum, or something along that
nature. There’s vacant property around there and what we’re proposing is the James
Brown Experience Museum or whatever it’s called, that’s the logical place for that.
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Number one, the new judicial center’s there, 9 center is of course James Brown, I mean
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9 Street is James Brown Boulevard, James Brown danced on the loading platform of the
Southern Milling property, uh, years ago when he was growing up so there’s a lot of
connections to this neighborhood and we think that would be a logical place to locate
such a facility. Um, and then all of the cross streets going through there, we think need to
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be landscaped and with the streetscape improvements, 7, 8, 9 10 and 12. And then
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10 Street which no longer crosses the canal and is disconnected we think it needs, we
need to restudy that and put a new connection across the canal so you have continuous
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traffic going down 10 Street all the way from Reynolds over to Walton Way and that’ll
even become more important once the judicial center is there. Another important
component is residential. There’s been a lot of residential activity both rehabilitation and
new construction in this area by ANIC and others over the last few years and we think
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this is a very significant activity that needs to continue. There’s new construction on
vacant lots but also those historic structures that can be rehabilitated we think they need
to be rehabilitated to continue to strengthen the residential fiber of this portion of the city.
And then finally, there’s got to be mixed-use development in two particular areas. One in
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the area of 12 Street and um, uh, down Walker Street and Fenwick Street there’s a lot of
vacant and under utilized properties there so we think that’s a logical place for a lot of
mixed use which could be all the way from Industrial to some residential above the first
floor of commercial and other professional activities. We think uh, with the cleanup of
the canal and this particular portion of the city, the canal can be the tool, the engine that
leads to the redevelopment of this portion of the city and all of you that’s been through
there in the last few years, you certainly know that it needs it. As Charles says, we think
this is a good strategy and we would ask your endorsement of the plan as such so we can
continue to set about implementation of the various recommendations that are in the
report. Thank you.
Mr. Mayor: Thank you, Dayton. Do we have any questions? Commissioner
Cheek.
Mr. Cheek: Thank you Mr. Mayor. Mr. Mayor, thank you for your involvement
and leadership in this, and Dayton and team. This is a marvelous step forward. I think
this could be the next bold step the city takes, just like Riverwalk to enhancing the beauty
and bringing the Garden City, the landscaping of Broad Street and Greene Street over to
Walton Way. I notice in all of the artist’s renderings we have water levels at the top of
the ditch basically. Now knowing the way this thing is constructed and knowing we have
300 or so cubic feet per second allocated for recreational use, um, and knowing that there
is gating there at the Davison School at the bridge. How are we gonna bring the water
up? I for one am concerned about the aesthetics of having a foot of water in the bottom
of the ditch. I would like to see it come up to where we actually have that canal and
stream flowing through, like you see in Graniteville when drive through. Like you see
when you’re driving along Broad Street. Um, I think that’s an important step and is that
incorporated into the plan?
Mr. Sherrouse: We have, we’ve not turned the water loose yet. There’s a
connection from the second level before you get to Davison’s that’ll connect into the
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third level right at uh, at uh 8 Street, right near the old crime lab right there. Until we
haven’t made the final inspection with the contractor yet on all that work and so as soon
as that’s done we’re going to release that water and have it flowing uh, from the second
down into the third level, and those walls are designed to be covered up once that’s done.
So you will have flowing water and you won’t see the, except for a couple really high
walls, you won’t see the concrete walls once that’s done.
Mr. Cheek: So we have gating down near Phinizy Ditch that will retain the
water?
Mr. Sherrouse: Well, we got a new dam structure and a gate at King Street which
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is between 7 and 8 Street uh, that’ll control the water and back it up and then the
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excess water will just flow over the top of it. It was built as a part of the remediation
contract.
Mr. Cheek: Let me say, Mr. Mayor, in closing, and that’s exciting, uh, cause
those are things. Water attracts people. This program, and if we can tie in the lower
portion of the third level and the second level can be re-contoured and created into a
water park if you will, we will effectively revitalize over a mile of canal front and no
telling how much property. The properties that we see on Broad Street for instance are
currently used as car washes and junk, or antiques stores or whatever. They are not really
attractive to major businesses. When we have water flowing through these areas, the
backs of those properties suddenly become very valuable and scenic. So I for one am
fully in support of this that we should fund it and actually search out funding to make it
happen sooner rather than later. This is the next bold step we need to make.
Mr. Mayor: Amen. Commissioner Beard.
Ms. Beard: Mr. Mayor, if I may I’d like to make a motion. Before I do, I’d like
I move that
to thank those who made it possible for us to get to this point, and with that,
we accept the concepts and recommendations prepared by MACTEC Engineering
Consulting Inc. for the third level of the canal and the Laney Walker neighborhood.
Mr. Hatney: Second.
I further recommend that the redevelopment
Ms. Beard: One other thing.
and revitalization be spearheaded by the Augusta Third Level Canal Task Force
with Charles DeVaney, Chair, and the Augusta Canal Authority, Dayton Sherrouse,
Chair. The third level task force will focus on special projects throughout the
strategic area and the Augusta Canal Authority on the development and proper use
of the Canal and it’s immediate surroundings.
Thank you.
Mr. Cheek: Second, second.
Mr. Mayor: Okay. We have a motion and a second. Commissioner Williams.
Mr. Williams: Mr. Mayor, I think that this a great proposal and I guess my
question would be, are we voting to just adopt this concept and follow through with what
we’re doing now and the final plans whatever be done would be brought back to this
body so we will be abreast of what
Mr. Okay.
Mr. Williams: And that’s what I wanna get clear.
Mr. Mayor: You wanna do a third second on that? Commissioner Cheek.
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I just did, and I’m gonna throw this out to the maker of the
Mr. Cheek:
motion is in agreement, that we further proceed with developing costs for each
portion of the project and funding sources within the existing SPLOST funds and
other grant monies that are floating around to begin the work as soon as possible,
that we instruct staff to follow through with that.
Mr. Mayor: Commissioner Beard.
Ms. Beard: Mr. Mayor, this is a project that we expect to take approximately ten
to fifteen years. Within it there will be numerous projects and we’re ready to begin to
move forward.
Mr. Mayor: Okay, we have a motion and a second. Is there any further
discussion?
Mr. Cheek: An amendment to your motion? To begin looking for money and ---
Ms. Beard: Absolutely.
Mr. Mayor: Okay, and, Ms. Beard, so you’re amending your motion to reflect the
inclusion of Mr. Cheek’s statement?
Ms. Beard: Yes sir.
Mr. Mayor: Okay, we have a motion and a second. Any further discussion?
Commissioners will now vote by the usual sign.
Motion carries 9-0.
Mr. Mayor: And I would personally like to thank the entire task force and Mayor
DeVaney, Ms. Beard, Mr. Sherrouse, everybody involved. This is an extremely exciting
project for Augusta so thank ya’ll for all your hard work.
(APPLAUSE)
Mr. Mayor: On to the recognitions.
The Clerk.
RECOGNITION(S)
EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH
B. Mr. Robert Brandon, Augusta Regional Airport, September Employee of the
Month.
The Clerk: We ask that Mr. Robert Brandon from the Augusta Regional Airport
please join the Mayor here at the podium along with the Chairman, Mr. Cedric Johnson,
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the Director, Mr. Buster Boshears, and any other employee from the airport. Mr.
Grantham would you like to come down?
Mr. Grantham: I’d be glad to.
The Clerk: Dear Mayor Copenhaver. The employee recognition committee has
selected Robert Brandon as the September 2006 employee of the month for the city of
Augusta. Mr. Brandon has been an employee with the city for fourteen years. He is
currently an air site maintenance supervisor with the Augusta Regional Airport. Mr.
Brandon was nominated by coworker Julie Owens. Mr. Brandon volunteered to extend a
safety zone around a runway that was in danger of becoming a FAA violation. With the
help of his staff, the work was completed within one week and saved the city
approximately $48,000.00. His ability and knowledge to do these unexpected tasks has
proven to be invaluable. It is this dedication that makes him stand out among his
coworkers. The committee felt that based on this recommendation that Mr. Brandon
dedicated and loyal service to the city of Augusta. We would appreciate you in joining
us in awarding Mr. Robert Brandon, employee of the month for the month for September.
Congratulations.
(APPLAUSE)
Mr. Mayor: 2006 Employee of the Month. On behalf of the city of Augusta, it is
with great pleasure that (Inaudible) Please accept my personal congratulations.
(APPLAUSE)
Mr. Brandon: I appreciate the recognition, not just for myself but my entire staff.
RECOGNITION(S)
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT
C. Congratulation – Information Technology for securing state grant funding for
Downtown Wireless Internet Access.
The Clerk: We would now like to call your attention to Item C on our Agenda.
Congratulations to our Information Technology Department. We’d like Tameka Allen
along with here staff to please join the Mayor here. And as Ms. Allen approaches I’d like
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to read a press release the Mayor released on October 4. Mayor Copenhaver announces
state funding for Downtown Wireless Internet Access. Augusta has been selected as one
of six Georgia communities to receive grant funding to establish broad band networks
throughout the wireless community Georgia program. The $562,500.00 grant will help
fund free wireless internet access for downtown Augusta. This announcement is great
news for Augusta as a development of a wireless internet network to service downtown
Augusta will no doubt stand to further our city center’s economic development efforts,
stated Mayor Copenhaver. Charleston’s wireless initiative is a great example of what this
type of aggressive program can do energize a city. Our IT Department has done a
tremendous job in securing this grant and we are grateful to the Governors office for
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recognizing our city commitment to future growth. The program developed through
Governor Perdue’s office has funded appropriate through the general assembly during the
2006 legislative session. City Administrator Fred Russell states, this is about teamwork
and working together to making downtown Augusta a better place to live, work and play.
(APPLAUSE)
Mr. Mayor: I’m going to hand it over to Tameka right quick cause they deserve
the credit on this one but let me just say we have got the finest IT Department in the state
of Georgia, hands down. They deserve this recognition and with that I’ll turn it over to
Tameka.
Ms. Allen: Thank you. This is truly a great opportunity for the city of Augusta
and a major stepping- stone in bringing wireless technology to our citizens and providing
it, not just looking at the downtown area but, eventually expanding into other areas to
include all our citizens. Um, it was truly, truly, as Mr. Russell stated a team effort and I
would like to at this time recognize some of those team members who played an
important role in putting this whole thing together. To my left is Tim Whisnant who’s
with our network group, Paul LeGasse with our network group, Kevin Luce with our
network group and Russ Burden. That’s our network team who has been instrumental in
actually helping to design the actual proposal that we submitted to the Georgia
Technology Authority. Gary Hewitt was instrumental and invaluable in putting the
whole proposal together and Billy Yates who is with our GIS group who was
instrumental in actually developing the footprints and showing the map demonstration,
which Georgia Technology Authority was truly appreciative and truly impressed with.
This is the team who actually put it together and I thank them as well as some other staff
members who reviewed it and gave their opinions and some ideas to help us get it
through. And also I want to thank the Administration, the Mayor and the Commission
for their continued support for technology. Thank you all.
(APPLAUSE)
Mr. Mayor: Alrighty. On to the Delegations.
DELEGATION(S)
D. Ms. Juanita Benjamin, Care Management Consultants. RE: Crisis in
transportation of frail elderly and disabled persons in Richmond County.
Ms. Benjamin: Good Afternoon.
Mr. Mayor: Good Afternoon. And if you could keep it to five minutes please.
Ms. Benjamin: I will, I promise. I’m here to talk about crisis. I have some
information, in our transportation for elderly, our frail elderly and our disabled citizens.
We have representatives here in support of this from Care Management Consultants and
the Augusta Task Force for transportation. They may stand now. Thank you. What I
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wanted to address to you today is, that there is a crisis in Richmond County for elderly
and disabled persons in need of transportation services. Currently we have 19,929
persons over 65 in Richmond County, 8,879 who are disabled and we have 34,920
persons age 5 and over who are disabled in Richmond County and that’s from the 2000
census so the numbers have increased. Uh, the problems I am addressing are the
problems for this population who cannot ride our Augusta Public Transit or our Para-
transit service. Uh, that’s because of where they live, their inability to get to public
transportation, so what we have for this particular population is what we call community
based transportation services. Currently, Care Management Consultants is the one who
either dispatches services for elderly and disabled to available, reasonable transportation
services and we also have a small transportation service for the, uh, spill over traffic to
make sure they get to their doctor’s appointments, ---pharmacies and different other
things. Uh, what uh happenshere is that because of the high cost of gas this year, the
funds that are usually available for transportation have just been eaten up. And, I have
been informed by the state program that we dispatched and looking at the CDBG funds
that come into Care Management that as of November, those will end and we will find it
very difficult to transport those people. Now, I know you wanna know how many people
are we transporting. Um, for the state program, approximately 776 month trips are made
monthly for this population, and average of 211 of persons are transported to dialysis
centers three times a week. Um, and this is just taking the average from last, um this
year. And, uh, the cost of this service is approximately $10,000.00 a month. Also, in
order to at least continue a small service through Care Management for these people with
high priority especially the dialysis centers we are working with trying to negotiate,
trying to search all the funding sources to see what would be possible. So I come before
this group since we do have a small grant with you, to ask you if it’s possible to
reprogram some funds so we can continue carrying our elderly and disabled persons.
Um, they really, a lot of them will not even be able to leave their homes without this
service. A lot of them are sick, they need to go to the doctor, they don’t have any to take
them, and we try and provide this service. We, are an advocate for the elderly and the
disabled persons here in Richmond County. So I come before you asking you for your
help.
Mr. Mayor: Thank you Ma’am. Commissioner Administrator.
Mr. Russell: Mr. Mayor, while I formerly speak against these kind of uh, requests
because of the funding issues, I think this one um, tears at our hearts in a little bit
different way than what most do, because of the nature of the clients that are served. I’ve
had the opportunity to talk to Mr. DeCamp after I saw this on the Agenda and uh,
Commissioner Beard and I had a brief conversation and we have some funding that we
believe would be available for this. And if you would allow me to meet with Ms.
Benjamin over the next couple days, I believe I can fund, I can reprogram some dollars.
It would come back to you for final approval but I believe we would be able to help her
with her problem. Or you could give me permission to go ahead and do that uh, which
might make it simpler, now that I think about it, then bringing it back in two weeks, so,
I’m not to sure what the, what the issue is. We have identified some funding source.
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Mr. Cheek: So moved.
Ms. Beard: Second.
Mr. Holland: Second.
Mr. Mayor: We have a motion and a second. Is there any further discussion?
Can you read back the motion?
To allow the Administrator to the discretion in providing funding
The Clerk:
for Ms. Benjamin’s request.
Mr. Mayor: We have a motion and a second. Commissioner Brigham.
Mr. Brigham: I’d to give the Administrator, and this is a very touching indeed,
but I’d like to also know what cap is on this funding.
Mr. Russell: It would be $10,000.00.
Mr. Brigham: I just want to make sure, you know, I don’t wanna give you a blank
check.
Mr. Russell: I was gonna balance the rest of the budget with that money, sir, but
$10,000.00---
Mr. Cheek: No objections to the amendment of the motion to request that.
Mr. Mayor: Okay. Commissioners will now vote by the usual sign.
Motion carries 9-0.
Ms. Benjamin: I want to thank you very much for helping the elderly and
disabled. The Augusta Task Force, the transportation will be very willing to work with
you all. We see a vision for transportation. Long term needs to be developed both for
public transit and for community- based services. We are meeting almost every month to
try and see what we can do and we’d like to work with you.
Mr. Mayor: Would you do me a favor? And, I’m working on something with the
Georgia Municipal Association that I think you would find very interesting that might be,
should be coming up in the next legislative session and I would love to get together with
you so if you’ll give my office a call, let’s set up an appointment to talk.
Ms. Benjamin. All right. Thank you.
Mr. Mayor: Thank you Ma’am. Let’s move on to the consent agenda.
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The Clerk: Our consent agenda consists of Items 1-39. Items 1-39. For the
benefit of any objectors to our Planning petition, I will read those petitions and if there
are any objectors, would you please signify your objection by raising your hand.
Item 4. To approve for special exception to establish a church located on
Arcadia Drive, intersects with Lumpkin Road.
Item 5. A special exception to expand a church of property located at 1321
Jackson Road.
Item 7. To approve a special exception to bring in an existing private school
into zoning conformance affecting property located on Laney Walker Boulevard.
Item 8. To approve a petition for a special exception in a heavy industry
zone to manufacture bio-diesel fuel for property located 4207 Mike Padgett
Highway.
Item 9. Is for special exception to establish a sales office in Section II, Phase
II of Elderberry Subdivision affecting property located at 4339 Regans Lane.
Item 10. Is for a request of change of zoning from a P-1 professional to a
zone B-1 neighborhood business affecting property at 3642 Wheeler Road.
Item 11. Is a change of zoning from a zone R-1c residential and a zone R-3b
multiple family residential to a zone R-3B affecting property located on Windsor
Spring Road.
The Clerk: Are there any objectors to those Planning petitions?
Mr. Smith: None noted, Mr. Mayor.
The Clerk: Under our Public Service portion of the agenda for alcohol petitions,
please signify your objections by raising your hand.
Item 12. For a retail package Beer & Wine license to be used at location
2700 Peach Orchard Road.
Item 13. For a retail package Beer & Wine license to be used at 2510
Milledgeville Road.
Item 14. Is for an extention for a purchase of a retail Beer & Wine license
for a location at 4150 Windsor Spring Road.
The Clerk: Are the any objectors to those alcohol petitions?
Mr. Smith: None noted, Mr. Mayor.
Mr. Mayor: Okay. Commissioner Cheek.
Mr. Cheek: Mr. Mayor, if it pleases the body, and I’m not sure if we’re at that
move that we add Items 40, 45 and 47 to the Consent
time yet or not, but I would
Agenda.
Mr. Mayor: Are there any further additions to um, Mr. Shepard?
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Mr. Shepard: I’m into the deletions business so I’ll wait for to call ---
Mr. Williams: What was that we’re gonna add, Mr. Mayor?
Mr. Mayor: 40, 45 and 47.
Mr. Mayor: Any further additions to? (Unintelligible) I’m sorry, that’s not on the
table. Alrighty, any items to be pulled for discussion?
Mr. Smith: Mr. Mayor?
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Smith.
Mr. Smith: Can we add #48 to that?
Mr. Williams: Uh, I got a little problem, with 48 Mr. Mayor. I need to ---
Mr. Mayor: Commissioner Williams.
Mr. Williams: ---a discussion on that move before we ---
Mr. Mayor: Okay. Items to be pulled for discussion. Mr. Shepard.
Mr. Shepard: Uh, thank you Mr. Mayor. Due to the state condemnation law
requiring hearings after six o’clock be handled I would ask that Items 34, 35 and 36 be
removed from the Consent Agenda and placed at the end of the uh, uh, proceedings
today. It would be after we ---
Mr. Mayor. Okay.
Mr. Williams: Mr. Mayor, I didn’t hear the Attorney. I’d like to know ---
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Shepard.
Mr. Shepard: Mr. Williams the uh, amendments to the Special Master
Condemnation law requires that the body consider these items after six o’clock p.m. and I
uh, this is first time we’re going to try this, um, we have used declaration taking in the
past, um, we thought we would um, we would proceed down the special master route this
time on these three as a demonstration type of a procedure. If we run out of time, run out
agenda items, we can hold them over to another session. But if we’re here at six, uh, we
could uh, call those now. That used to be not a problem but we’re moving through the
agenda faster. I realize that, I’m asking right now that they be deleted from the consent
agenda.
Mr. Williams: And those numbers again ---
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Mr. Shepard: Yes sir. Those numbers would be --- and, actually I have a
settlement offer in 34, which I can bring to you in Legal and we could uh, delete it
totally. I ask that 34 be deleted today and that the other two remain on to be called after
six o’clock, if we’re here.
Mr. Mayor: Okay. Commissioner Hatney.
Mr. Hatney: We’re not ---
The Clerk: Dr. Hatney, please ---
Mr. Hatney: Uh, I have no problem with the uh, Attorney’s, to place these on a
later time, but my understanding is that these are --- these properties activities are
meeting today at six, in the same room here so, they’re meeting at six, I’m sure --- 36
have been invited to be in a meeting today at six o’clock. So if they’re gonna meet at six
o’clock I think we ought to forward these to the next meeting all together rather than
confront ourselves, being rational with approving something. We have to come back
(Unintelligible).
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Shepard.
Mr. Shepard: Whenever we consider them under the Special Master Law we’re
gonna have to consider them uh, after six p.m. The idea is that uh, you, you not take the
owners, who are the condemnees, away from a portion of their business day. State
legislature just passed this requirement so if you issue this, continue this to another day
under this same law, we will still have to deal with after six o’clock. At this time I just
asked that they remove this from the Agenda and called at the heel of this document, uh
Agenda.
Mr. Mayor: Okay: Are there any further items to be pulled for discussion?
Commissioner Brigham.
Mr. Brigham: Mr. Mayor I’d like to pull Item #19.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Williams: Mr. Mayor, I need to get some, couple things clarified
on Item 2 and 3, Item number 11 and I got a question on 12 and 13, just a question Mr.
Mayor so I need to, I got not problem with doing it I just need to know a couple about
them.
Mr. Mayor: Commissioner Hatney.
Mr. Hatney: Number 41.
Mr. Mayor: That’s already on the regular agenda.
13
The Clerk: Yes, it’s on the regular agenda.
Mr. Mayor: Commissioner Holland.
Mr. Holland: Item 33. I need some clarification on that one please.
Mr. Mayor: Okay --- Commissioner Cheek:
Mr. Cheek: Just a point of clarification. Mr. Shepard, did I understand you
correctly that the state has said that meeting before six o’clock might pose a hardship to
people who work to attend meetings and hearings?
Mr. Shepard: Yes sir, it has.
Mr. Cheek: Well, imagine that. I kind of wondered wished and hoped that this
body at one day would wake up and hold meetings a little later where people at work
could get off and attend.
Mr. Mayor: Okay, are there any other items to be pulled for discussion? If there
are none I look for a motion to approve.
Mr. Cheek: So moved.
Mr. Williams: Second.
Mr. Mayor: We have a motion and a second. Any further discussion?
Commissioners will now vote by the usual sign.
Motion carries 9-0.
CONSENT AGENDA
PLANNING
1. FINAL PLAT-MANCHESTER, SECTION 1, PHASE 2-S-742-I-II-A request for
concurrence with the Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission to
APPROVE a petition by Southern Partners Inc., on behalf of Nordahl & Co. Inc.,
requesting final plat approval for Manchester, Section 1, Phase 2. This residential
subdivision is located on Dave MacDonald Drive, adjacent to Manchester, Section 1,
Phase 1 and contains 22 lots.
4. Z-06-104-A request for concurrence with the Augusta-Richmond County
Planning Commission to APPROVE with the condition that the petitioner obtain a
resolution from the Augusta Richmond County Commission disclaiming any
interest in the roadways designated at Elliott Drive and Edgewood Drive as shown
on a plat recorded June 5, 1964 and upon petitioner satisfactorily addressing
easement rights of persons relying on such plat; a petition by Leon Barton Jr.
requesting a Special Exception to establish a church per Section 26-1 (a) of the
Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance for Augusta-Richmond County affecting
14
property containing approximately 14.09 acres located approximately 100 feet
southwest of Lumpkin Road and 425 feet northwest of where Arcadia Drive
extended interests Lumpkin Road. (Tax Map 084-0 Parcels 003 & 003-06
DISTRICT 5)
5. Z-06-105-A request for concurrence with the Augusta-Richmond County
Planning Commission to APPROVE with the following conditions 1) that no
stadium lights be erected on said property, @) that a 25 foot landscaped buffer be
placed on the southern side of subject property which borders on Lots 2 and 3 of
Kingston Subdivision fronting on Nassau Drive and #) that First Baptist Church of
Augusta, once development begins of the southern tract, erect a 6 foot solid board
fence along the southern property line which backs up to Lots 2 and 3 in Kingston
Subdivision; a petition by J. Milton Martin, Jr., on behalf of James Robert Owens et
al, requesting a Special Exception to expand a church per Section 26-1 (a) of the
Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance for Augusta-Richmond County affecting
property containing approximately 6 acres and is known under the present
numbering system as 1313 and 1321 Jackson Road. (Tax Map 031 Parcels 018 &
019) DISTRICT 3.
6. Z-06-106-A request for concurrence with the Augusta-Richmond County
Planning Commission to APPROVE a petition by Barry S. Bryant requesting a
Special Exception to establish a public parking area per Section 8-2 (b) of the
Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance for Augusta-Richmond County affecting
property containing approximately .2 acres and is known under the present system
as 2608 Peach Orchard Road that extends to Virginia Avenue and contains two
houses that utilize the address of 2036 Virginia Avenue. (Rear portion of Tax Map
089-4 Parcel 018) DISTRICT 2
7. Z-06-107-A request for concurrence with the Augusta-Richmond County
Planning Commission to APPROVE a petition by Paine College requesting a Special
Exception to bring an existing private school into zoning conformance per Section
26-1 (b) of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance for Augusta-Richmond County
affecting property consisting of approximately 26 land parcels and known overall as
1235 Fifteenth Street and located on the southwest corner of the intersection of
Laney-Walker Boulevard and Fifteenth Street. DISTRICT 1 & 2
8. Z-06-108-A request for concurrence with the Augusta-Richmond County
Planning Commission to APPROVE a petition by H. Lawson Graham, on behalf of
Chuck Pardue, requesting a Special Exception in a HI (Heavy Industry) Zone to
manufacture bio-diesel fuel per Section 24-2 of the Comprehensive Zoning
Ordinance for Augusta-Richmond County affecting property containing
approximately 2.56 acres and is known under the present numbering system as 4207
Mike Padgett Highway. Tax Map 200 Parcel 003-01) DISTRICT 8
9. Z-06-109-A request for concurrence with the Augusta-Richmond County
Planning Commission to APPROVE a petition by Collier Construction Co. Inc.,
requesting a Special II, Phase II of Elderberry Subdivision per Section 8-2 (f) of the
Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance for Augusta-Richmond County affecting
property containing approximately .3 acres and known under the present
numbering system as 4339 Regans Lane. (Tax Map 066-2 part of Parcel 062)
DISTRICT 3
15
10. Z-06-110-A request for concurrence with the Augusta-Richmond County
Planning Commission to APPROVE a petition by Dr. J. Christopher Gibbs, on
behalf of Ralph Buchanan, requesting a change of zoning from Zone B-1
(Neighborhood Business) affecting property containing approximately .88 acres and
is known under the present numbering system as 3642 Wheeler Road. (Tax Map
030 Parcel 070) DISTRICT 3
PUBLIC SERVICES
14. Motion to approve a request from C.H. McTeer for an extension of time to
purchase the retail package Beer & Wine license to be used in connection with
McTeer Oil Co. located at 4150 Windsor Spring Rd. District 6. Super District 10.
(Approved by Public Services Committee October 9, 2006)
15. Motion to approve Resolution to extend limited authority to approve change
orders. (Approved by Public Services Committee October 9, 2006)
16. Motion to approve Federal Aviation Administration Memorandum of
Agreement regarding no-cost navigational aids for the Airport. (Approved by
Public Services Committee October 9, 2006)
17. Motion to approve a professional services contract for engineering services for
the preparation of a site master plan and consulting engineering services for the
design of four (4) additional tennis courts at Fleming Tennis Center to Johnson,
Laschober & Associates in the amount of $19,725.00. (See attached JLA Fee
Proposal) (Approved by Public Services Committee October 9, 2006)
18. Motion to approve RFP #06-129, award of various modular
playsystems/equipment to Hasley Recreation for $103,600 and to Dominca
Recreation Products for $38,600. (Approved by Public Services Committee October
9, 2006)
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
20. Motion to approve a request from Augusta Neighborhood Improvement
Corporation for approval of professional services for the engineering of the Dyess
Park Subdivision for infrastructure, water, sewer, curb, gutter, drainage, alley, new
street and land acquisition. (Approved by Administrative Services Committee
October 9, 2006)
21. Motion to approve staff recommendations on citizen’ comments concerning the
August 1, 2006 reprogramming of funds. (Approved by Administrative Services
Committee October 9, 2006)
22. Motion to approve Reduced Early Retirement of Ms. Brenda Hadden under the
1977 Pension Plan. (Approved by Administrative Services Committee October 9,
2006)
23. Motion to approve the reprogramming of $8,500.00 in FY 2004 HOPWA funds
for a Drop-in Resource Center to be operated by St. Stephens Ministry. (Approved
by Administrative Services Committee October 9, 20060
24. Motion to approve the recommended amendment to Southside Community
Outreach 2005 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Agreement.
(Approved by Administrative Services Committee October 9, 2006)
16
FINANCE
25. Motion to approve the abatement of property taxes for 1929 Walton Way-
Augusta Boxing Club headquarters. (Approved by Finance Committee October 9,
2006)
26. Motion to approve the purchase of one asphalt recycler for the Public Services-
Maintenance Division from Asphalt Zipper, Inc., of Pleasant Grove, Utah, for
$85,450.00 (Lowest Bid for bid 06-165) (Approved by Finance Committee October 9,
2006)
27. Motion to approve Indirect Cost Allocation Study CY 2005 to be done by
KPMG. (Approved by Finance Committee October 9, 2006)
28. Motion to approve a request for funds to support advertising and legal fees for
sheriff’s levies. (Approved by Finance Committee October 9, 2006)
ENGINEERING SERVICES
29. Motion to abandon alley off of Currant Street to JWS Properties investments,
LLC(“JWS”). (Approved by Engineering Services Committee subject to the
Attorney presentation of maps)
30. Motion to approve a proposal from Johnson Laschober and Associates, Inc. for
the engineering design of the Butler Interceptor Upgrade-West at a cost of $295,000.
(Approved by Engineering Services Committee October 9, 2006)
31. Motion to approve a proposal from Stevenson and Palmer Engineering, Inc. for
the engineering design of the Main Interceptor Upgrade Phase 2 at a cost of
$530,789. (Approved by Engineering Services Committee October 9, 2006)
32. Motion to approve Amendment #1 to Zimmerman Evans and Leopold’s
professional services contract for the design of the Rae’s Creek Trunk Sewer
Replacement Phase IV Project in the amount of $68,537. (Approved by Engineering
Services Committee October 9, 2006)
37. Motion to ratify and approve the actions of AUD to repair and replace the Laney
Walker sanitary sewer main between Laney Walker Court and Lover’s Lane
through a change order to the existing Laney Walker Sewer Emergency Repair
Project in the amount of $330,000 for a total budget of $465.500. (Approved by
Engineering Services Committee October 9, 2006)
PETITIONS AND COMMUNICATION
38. Motion to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of Commission held
October 3, 2006 and the Special Called meeting held October 9, 2006.
APPOINTMENTS
39. Motion to approve the appointment of Mr. David (Chip) Barbee due to the
resignation of Mr. James E. Harrison, III to the ARC Personnel Board representing
District 10.
PUBLIC SAFETY
40. Approval of Purchase of Services Grant for juvenile offenders.
PETITIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS
17
45. Resolutions of Condolences for State Representative Pete Warren, former
Richmond County Board of Education President Adna Stein and Mayor Byron
Burt, Louisville, Georgia.
OTHER BUSINESS
47. Motion to approve funds from the Promotion Account for purchase of
proclamation frames. Funds are available.
Motion carries 9-0. [Items 1, 4-10, 14-18, 20-32, 37-39, 40, 45, 47]
Mr. Mayor: Okay, let’s take those pulled items first.
PLANNING
2.FINAL PLAT – WEST WHEELER TOWNHOME, SECTION IV – S-
758 – A request for concurrence with the Augusta-Richmond County
Planning Commission to APPROVE a petition by Southern Partners Inc.
on behalf of ATC Development Corp., requesting final plan approval for
West Wheeler Townhome, Section IV. This residential townhome
subdivision is located on Dorado Drive and contains 29 lots.
3.FINAL PLAT – LONGPOINT PHASE II – 2-728-II – A request for
concurrence with the Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission
to APPROVE a petition by Southern Partners Inc. on behalf of ATC
Development Corp. requesting final plat approval for Longpoint
Townhomes, Phase II. This residential townhome subdivision is located
on Longpoint Drive, adjacent to Longpoint Phase I and contains 24 lots.
The Clerk: Mr. Williams, you wanted Item 2 and 3, final plat approval for the
West Wheeler Townhome, Section IV and the Longpoint Phase II?
Mr. Williams: Yes.
Mr. Mayor: Commissioner Williams.
Mr. Williams: Yes, Mr. Mayor, these final plats have got me a little nervous now,
when we approve these final plats and I wanna make sure that what we’re approving, that
when we approve final plats, that there any entry ways George, any concern of this
government that we need to be concerned with.
Mr. Patty: Well, Okay, we uh, we’re talking about two and three here and not one
---
Mr. Williams: Two and Three.
Mr. Patty: Okay, two and three are existing developments. These are new
sections of those existing developments. Two is uh, is one West Wheeler Parkway
behind Giuseppe’s up off Wheeler Road, a massive area of condominiums and
18
townhouses and apartments and three is a new uh, development like that on a, on a, Old
Waynesboro Road.
Mr. Williams: OK, Mr. Mayor, I got no problem and I think I said pull one as
I make amotion we approve both of those, Mr. Mayor
well George, but uh, . I just
want to make sure ---
Mr. Cheek: Second.
Mr. Mayor: We have a motion to approve both two and three, is there any further
discussion? Commissioners will now vote by the usual sign.
Motion carries 9-0.
The Clerk:
PLANNING
Item 11. Z-06-111-A request for concurrence with the Augusta-Richmond County
Planning Commission to APPROVE with the condition that the petitioner/owner
shall donate that portion of the subject property that lies within the 100 year
floodplain to the Augusta-Richmond County Greenspace program before any
development plan is approved; a petition by Riverbend Custom Homes, on behalf of
Janie Davis requesting a change of zoning from Zone R-1C (One-family Residential)
and Zone R-3B (Multiple-family Residential) to Zone R-3B affecting property
containing approximately 10 acres located on the southeast right-of-way line of
Windsor Spring Road, 450 feet, more or less, northeast of Nordahl Drive. (Tax Map
131 Parcel 026-2) District 6.
Mr. Mayor: Commissioner Williams.
Mr. Williams: Mr. Mayor, some of the questions on this one uh, Windsor Spring
Road caught my attention in this right-of-way line off Windsor Spring Road. George you
know we just had a big development go up in that area, how far is this from that, would
that impact that or is that something we need to ---
Mr. Patty: Is this 11, I’m sorry.
Mr. Williams: It’s 11.
Mr. Patty: Yes, this is um, near Meadowbrook. This goes back to Butler Creek
and they’ve given the back part of it, along Butler Creek to Greenspace Program. It’s
near the old condominiums that have been there forever uh ---
Mr. Cheek: Winston Arms.
Mr. Patty: Winston Arms, right.
19
Mr. Williams: It’s not connection Mr. Mayor to the other property we’re talking
about?
Mr. Patty: No, no it’s Meadowbrook and Rosier.
Mr. Williams: Well and what I’m thinking about it Mr. Mayor, we doing this
subdivision inside there, we know the highway’s being widened, if that’s the
development that’s coming through there I would certainly like to have known what we
I make a motion to approve.
were doing versus it popping up on us.
Mr. Cheek: I second that but I need a couple questions answered.
Mr. Mayor: Okay, we have a motion and a second. Mr. Cheek. Mr. Patty, I’ll bet
he needs you too.
Mr. Cheek: I’m gonna ask this question. I know the 100 year floodplain map uh,
we overlayed in that area and it says one thing but I know driving through the lower
portions of Salem and some of the other subdivision which this is situated in, that we’ve
allowed, Mr. Mayor you took the trip, about seven beaver dams to built across Butler
Creek, and some of these other areas where we’re not in the 100 year floodplain, some of
these of homes the water is only one foot from coming in the door if we have a major rain
fall again. How is this property situated in that floodplain area? How many feet above
does it contour above the 100 flood plain line?
Mr. Patty: Mr. Cheek, I don’t have that information. I can tell you they’ll have to
conform to our flood ordinance and you know the flood day that we have is affected by
things that happened after the day it was collected. The maps aren’t always right and um,
you know the three feet of free board that they’re required to build about the 100 year
flood elevation, the fact they can’t bring dirt into the floodplain, they can’t change
contours within in the floodplain, should offset anything that happens in there now.
Mr. Cheek: I guess my concern, and I’m gonna say this is, what we have on
Rae’s Creek is a problem and we’ve been working to correct it. We have uh, a
significantly larger and higher density of population along Butler Creek in this area than
we do in the Rae’s Creek basin and if we have a major rainfall event without clearing and
recapturing the channel at Butler Creek, we stand to see significant more loss to homes
and families in this particular area and while I understand it’s going to conform to our
requirements I have concerns about the fact that we instruct the pest administrator to get
those beaver dams out and it was never done. That is something we need to address or
these people and everyone else in that area will be flooded the next tropical event that
comes through.
Mr. Mayor: Okay, we have a motion and a second. Is there any further
discussion? Commissioners will now vote by the usual sign.
20
Motion carries 9-0.
Mr. Mayor: Andy, you need to take that canoe trip with me. Not just beaver
dams but water moccasins as well.
Mr. Cheek: Mr. Mayor, I used to take that trip in a tee shirt and a pair of shorts
when I was twelve years old. I used to catch those snakes regularly.
The Clerk: Mr. Williams, can 12 and 13 be taken together or ---
Mr. Williams: Yes, ma’am, I just got a ---
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Williams.
Mr. Williams: I got a question on those. I’m in support but I need to know. You
wanna read ---
PUBLIC SERVICES
12. Motion to approve a request by Muhammad S. Muhammadi for a retail
package Beer & Wine license to be used in connection with ASNA, Inc. located at
2700 Peach Orchard Rd. District 2. Super District 9. (Approved by Public Services
Committee October 9, 2006)
13. Motion to approve a request by Yong P. Hong for a retail package Beer & Wine
license to be used in connection with S.S. Hong enterprises DBA Short Stop located
at 2510 Milledgeville Rd. District 2. Super District 9. (Approved by Public Services
Committee October 9, 2006)
Mr. Williams: My question, Mr. Mayor, you can address it to Rob is, these new
businesses Rob, are these the same businesses that’s a continuation of their license?
Mr. Sherman: The locations are existing, new ownership for both locations.
Mr. Williams: Okay and I was thinking it was new businesses coming in, but it’s
the same business, just a change in owners.
Mr. Sherman: Correct.
: So moved Mr. Mayor for 12 and 13.
Mr. Williams
Mr. Cheek: Second.
Mr. Mayor: We have a motion and a second. Any further discussion?
Commissioners will now vote by the usual sign.
Mr. Hatney abstains.
Motion carries 8-1.
21
The Clerk:
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
19. Motion to approve an amendment to the 2006 HOME Program Contract with
Promise land community Development Corporation (PLCDC) and to allow for
reimbursement of the cost of the purchase of three properties located at 2920 Rasha
Drive, 3708 Andover Court and 2425 Mansion Court. (Approved by Administrative
Services Committee October 9, 2006)
Mr. Mayor: Commissioner Holland this was, you pulled this?
The Clerk: No, Mr. Brigham.
Mr. Mayor: Oh, Mr. Brigham.
Mr. Brigham: Yes sir. I’d like to ask Mr. DeCamp if they got the contract
worked out with the person involved and ---
Mr. DeCamp: Yes we did sir. I have copies here. The representative from
Promise Land is here as well but we did uh, with the assistance of the uh, staff attorney
draft an addition to the previous version of the amendment, uh, incorporating the three
subject properties, is in this contract amendment.
Mr. Brigham: So this contract is going, we’re going to go back and pay for grants
prior to the amendment?
Mr. DeCamp: Well, it’s gonna go back, pay for the purchase, allow for the
reimbursement for the three properties listed which were purchased prior to having both
the um, feasibility and environmental clearances done. They have, all three properties
now, both the feasibility analysis and the environmental clearance have been done to
date.
Mr. Brigham: How much money is this costing us?
Mr. DeCamp: They would seek reimbursement under the contract uh, $29,000.00
per property, per house, that’s correct which is a portion of the total cost of the purchase
of each of those properties.
Mr. Mayor: Commissioner Grantham.
Mr. Grantham: Thank you Mr. Mayor. Is this a one- time reimbursement
program like this or is it something that will happen in the future.
Mr. DeCamp: Well, this is a, um, this is a, under this particular contract we
anticipate this to be a one-time event. They have under the original contract, they can
22
purchase up to, to be reimbursed for up to seven properties. Um, but we anticipate not
having to come back for another amendment to cover the additional four properties that
they intend to purchase. Does that answer your question?
Mr. Grantham: That does. Thank you.
Mr. Mayor: Can we get a motion on this.
So moved.
Mr. Holland:
Mr. Cheek: Second.
Mr. Mayor: We have a motion and a second. Is there any further discussion?
Commissioners will now vote by the usual sign.
Mr. Brigham votes no.
Motion carries 8-1.
Mr. Mayor: Thank you, Paul.
The Clerk:
ENGINEERING SERVICES
33. Motion to approve award of construction contract for the Augusta Utilities
Department “Roadway Improvements for Benson Road” to the lowest responsive
bidder in the amount of $2,339,655.45. (Approved by Engineering Services
Committee October 9, 2006)
Mr. Mayor: Commissioner Holland was this yours?
Mr. Holland: Uh, yes sir Mr. Mayor. I had this pulled because I was looking at
this contract here on this bid amount for over two million dollars and I was very much
concerned about the DBE proposal and whether or not they were complying with the
DBE proposal in reference to this particular contract and I would for someone to give me
the explanation on that please. It’s a large contract.
Mr. Byne: Yes, sir, the project was competitively bid the lowest responsive bid
was Blair Construction. They went through the DBE office and went through that with
4.3% approved DBE participation in the project. Um, in particular is there something that
you want to know about that or ---
Mr. Holland: Ms. Gentry, can you ---
Mr. Mayor: Ms. Gentry.
23
Ms. Gentry: Mr. Mayor and members of the Commission. That is correct, 4.3%
DBE participation, uh, after speaking with Blair Construction Company they indicated
that their sub-contracting will be limited on this particular project and they will be
performing a large portion of it themselves. Since our last committee meeting I am
currently working with our law department in lieu of trying to come up with aspirational
information to go into all of our bid documents so that we will not be faced with this uh,
going forward. However, we’re still working with the law department, you know, in
order to gather that information.
Mr. Holland: Okay, when will we know that?
Ms. Gentry: Um, as soon as we can just together and meet. Her schedule has
been very busy in terms of several projects that she’s currently working on. We do have
a meeting scheduled for next week with myself, and the law department to kind of come
up with our aspirational information as it relates to making sure that we can put that
language in the bid document.
Mr. Holland: Can you make sure that we get a copy of that ---
Ms. Gentry: Absolutely. It would have to come back before the Commission for
approval.
Mr. Holland: Okay, and I want to know exactly the amount, 4.1%, you know my
head is kinda, I got a headache today and I just want to ---
Ms. Gentry: You want to know the dollar amount.
Mr. Holland: Yes.
Ms. Gentry: Hold on a minute, it’s in our backup material.
Mr. Mayor: I’ve got an aspirin in my office if you need one.
Mr. Holland: It won’t do for this headache.
Ms. Gentry: I’m sorry, Commissioner, I have the, your backup document does
not identify the dollar amount, it just indicates 4.3% with the 95.7 going to a local um, a
local company which Blair is considered local.
Mr. Holland: Out of two million.
Ms. Gentry: Yes sir.
Mr. Williams: Mr. Mayor ---
24
Mr. Mayor: Let me get Commissioner Hatney then I’ll get --- Commissioner
Hatney.
Mr. Hatney: Question one would be, as I look at the information here, you said
there was a 4.3% --- when you get to small businesses as 0% and also --- you’re talking
about local businesses they talking about 95.7% but folk, they live in Georgia.
Everything in Georgia is not local (unintelligible).
Mr. Byne: Absolutely, it was just a typo from the original committee item than it
was prepared. I don’t think we caught it until we got into the committee and I don’t think
amended during that time. This project is a road construction project, in addition it’s a
water line, um I don’t believe there’s a sewer line in this one, there’s also a retention
pond construction in this and this is something Blair largely does on their own, they’re
self supporting. The DBE participation in this is probably trucking or hauling, is my
suspicion. Most of the grading work they have their own company that does that and
that’s a large portion of what you’re looking at. In addition you’re looking at twelve-inch
water line installation, the access road is the new utility admin building and they do most
of water line installation themselves. That’s one of the things they are in a utility
contractor. So, I understand the percentages are low but in this case they are largely self-
performing.
Mr. Mayor: Commissioner Williams.
Mr. Williams: Thank you, Mr. Mayor, and because they call themselves self
performing doesn’t excuse the fact that we asked for a percentage of DBE and we can’t
just drop to a full percent because they’re doing it themselves. I think we ought to hire
somebody or find somebody and not take all of the gravy themselves uh, in order to allow
somebody else to be able to come in. Now what we’re saying is because they’re doing it
themselves than that’s the excuse. Well, what about the next business Mr. Mayor, who
decides that they’ll do it all themselves and they don’t want anybody. I think we need to
hold this up, I think we need to wait. I think we need to find a company that can be
diverse and let everybody make some of the taxpayer’s money. Now this ain’t coming
out of uh, my pocket Mr. Mayor, I certainly couldn’t afford it, but it’s coming out of the
tax payers pocket and we need to make sure that all of the taxpayer’s get an opportunity
to work for this government and not the same folk who have been working for 2,000
. So my motion is to deny this Mr. Mayor
years for us until we can get a firm that will
come in and understand that we’re serious about being fair with everybody in Augusta-
Richmond County. If you come here you ought to be able to work here to prosper and
make a decent living like uh, the rest of the world is doing, so that’s my motion Mr.
Mayor.
Mr. Holland: Second, Mr. Mayor.
Mr. Mayor: We have a motion and a second. Is there any further discussion?
Commissioner Brigham.
25
Mr. Brigham: Mr. Mayor I’d like to hear from the Attorney whether or not this is
public working project and whether or not we have to accept the lowest bid.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Shepard.
Mr. Shepard: We’ll have the staff attorney work this issue up for us. I would
suggest the matter be tabled and we bring her in here uh, and we’ll answer those
questions.
I make a motion to table until we hear from the staff attorney.
Mr. Brigham:
Mr. Grantham: Second.
Mr. Mayor: Okay, we have a motion to table. Any further discussion on the
motion to table? Commissioners will now --- Mr. Shepard.
Mr. Shepard: To have her here to table the matter.
Motion carries 9-0.
Mr. Mayor: The matter has been tabled. Madam Clerk, if we could move on the
next agenda item?
The Clerk:
ENGINEERING SERVICES
41. Award a contract to Commonwealth Data Communication, Inc. for Landfill
and Solid Waste Collection billing software in an amount not to exceed $151,530.
(No recommendation from Engineering Services Committee October 9, 2006.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Johnson.
Mr. Johnson: This dates back about a year. Um, when we started talking about
different billing options and different billing solutions for solid waste collections. Um,
looked at putting it on the water bill we looked at leaving it on the tax bill. Ultimately
every one of those provided us some form of challenge. One of the options was to
establish independent billing and that was kind of the direction that the body has set, it’s
comes back to us with a plan to accomplish that goal. This is that plan. While it might
not be the perfect plan, it’s going to approve a series of things that we have. Number
one, it will improve our cash flow. Right now we bill everything in the rear versus
billing in advance or current. So we right about 10 million dollars worth of checks before
we get our first dollar in revenue. But it fixes a whole series of things beyond just
revenue. It gives up customer service management software so we can track the calls that
come in. We know where the problems exist and we can actually use that to correlate
with our contract, to hold our contractors accountable. It’s landfill billing software. It
tracks our sold waist profiles and it keeps us in environmental compliance. So it’s more
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than just one component. We’re talking about solid waster billing but it’s actually a
comprehensive program that let’s us get us in the future with where we want to go as a
department.
Mr. Mayor: Commissioner Williams.
Mr. Williams: Mr. Mayor, I’d like to ask Mark what would software do, what
would this program or this company do different from what we’re doing now to collect
our money. I mean how, and I understand that we’re talking about this committee, we’re
working in the rear, you just stated that you gotta um, uh, be a, after the fact. But, what’s
gonna make people pay by using this versus what we’re using, and, and, if I can get that I
might be supportive, but to spend this kind of money, $151,530 and not be at an
advantage, it’s gonna be hard for me to make that decision so, what would this do versus
what we’re doing now?
Mr. Johnson: In all honesty, nothing. It will not do anything to force people to
pay. It’s a computer software program. If you chose not to pay your tax bill, then we
have the components in place to get you to pay. We end up with your land, there’s a lien
on your property, but there is a system in place. This too would have a very similar
system in place. Mr. Shepard when he drafted our resolution gave us the same powers, to
utilize the same process as the tax collection system. So, while individuals might not pay
their taxes, there’s a percentage who are not going to pay their garbage bill. And, the
same process would apply in an effort to collect that money. So, it would be the same or
very similar process to collect the money but ultimately you will have people who don’t
pay.
Mr. Williams: And, Mr. Mayor, and, and, that’s why I say question mark and I
wanna support it but I don’t wanna spend, uh, I don’t wanna spend this kind of money on
an idea that hasn’t been proven, not gonna benefit us more. And, Mr. Russell, you know
we talked about this in the meeting the other day. I just don’t see how spending this is
gonna get you that revenue up front. We need to find a way, and I told you that in the
meeting, we need to find a way to get you uh, some revenue to work with so you don’t
have to wait until the money comes in. But to buy this, to engage in this uh, contract
don’t show me, and that’s just my personal opinion, one vote, that it’s gonna be a benefit.
And that’s something Mr. Russell can share or you can share Mark I would love to hear
it.
Mr. Russell: If I can, Mr. Mayor, I think, you know the issue ---
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Russell:
Mr. Russell: Thank you. The issue we have in front of us today is the fact that we
are billing through our tax bills, we’re billing through an addition to our urban services
bill basically. This gives us stand as a stand alone system to provide that billing service
an opportunity based on the way the ordinance is written to collect those funds just like
we would any other, bill this to the city. Uh it provides an opportunity for better
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customer service so that we can keep track who we’re billing, how we’re billing them and
when we’re billing them. We could give the people a better opportunity to pay by
scheduling the billing in a better way. And, I think the bottom line is that it gives us a
chance to work within the system that we create to get the funding there. As Mr. Johnson
said there’s always going to be people that aren’t going to pay and you have those people
at your church, they walk by the plate, they don’t put anything in it basically.
Mr. Williams: Exactly. And I’ll tell you, if they do it at the church you know
they’re gonna do it with the garbage.
Mr. Russell: While you have, while you have a higher calling that could help
make them see that we have all the walls of the, the commonwealth in the State of
Georgia that would help us collect those dollars basically. It clears it up from the tax bill,
it puts it up front, it gives him more than just a payment system, but a management
system, or how to manage the stuff that we got, and I would recommend that you pass
this. The investment of $151,000.00 is a lot of money but it’s not a lot of money when
you look at the amount of money that needs to be going to that system and the way that
we need to be working that system.
Mr. Williams: Mr. Mayor, if I can respond. I’m not against I’m just trying to get
those things brought out, and we don’t like to talk about them, but that’s the only way
you’re gonna find out what is actually going on. Mr. Mayor my point is when you bill a
residency and people are renting in residency and the owners who say well, you know I
didn’t stay there, I didn’t you know, I didn’t make that garbage and that’s not my bill.
You got a lot of renters out there that move from month to month Mr. Mayor and if you
don’t have a system put in place that’s gonna be effective we gonna take $151,000.00 and
put it, and say well it didn’t work. I’m just trying to find out how it’s gonna work. I’m
not opposing I’m just trying to ask a hard question so we’ll know what we’re gonna do
because you send it to some of those uh, places that folks been moved six months ago and
the person just got there, I think it needs to be worked out Mr. Mayor.
Mr. Russell: Mr. Mayor, if I can respond to that. We will be billing the owner of
the property, not the renter. We would assume that the owner would transfer that bill uh,
through his rent to the person that is responsible for the garbage so that’s the issue that
you have there.
Mr. Mayor: Commissioner Hatney.
Mr. Hatney: My question is Mr. Johnson, are you suggesting now that you’re not
getting your money. Is that what I’m hearing. You want to change the system cause
you’re not getting your money?
Mr. Johnson: We’re getting our money. We’re just, we getting it in the rear. So -
--
Mr. Hatney: But you’re getting it.
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Mr. Johnson: You’re floating it basically.
Mr. Hatney: But you’re still getting it.
Mr. Johnson: And I’m paying interest expense to get that money. Basically, I’m
borrowing out of your savings account until somebody pays their taxes and then if they
don’t pay their taxes the general fund is effectively liable and that’s how the system
ultimately ended up in a $4M deficit which we wrote a corrective action plan for which
was signed off by the auditors and if we don’t take steps to eliminate that debt, the
general fund could be facing a $4M write off on this day.
Mr. Hatney: Another question.
Mr. Russell: And I could, Commissioner, add to that. If you look at the interest
we’re currently paying from this fund into the other, the $151,000.00 would probably be
recouped based on the payment versus having to pay the interest in the first several
months of the program.
Mr. Hatney: The other question is to administer this, what’s the monthly cost?
You’re talking about $150,000.00, a $151,000.00 to get started for software. What’s it
gonna cost monthly?
Mr. Johnson. Personnel’s on board, it’s additional mailing.
Mr. Hatney: Give me a rough estimate what you think it’s gonna cost. That’s a
lot of money.
Mr. Johnson: I’m estimating, 62,000 customers billed quarterly, a month.
Mr. Hatney: What is, what ---
Mr. Russell: --- $5,000.00 a month.
Mr. Hatney: $25,000.00 a quarter, roughly. It’s 63,000 you’re gonna bill every
quarter? I’m not being funny I’m just asking because --- you said to me you’re only
going to spend $151,000.00, which may not sound like a lot, but then what is it gonna
cost to get this money coming to you every month. On a quarterly basis what is it gonna
cost. If you sending of sixty pieces of mail at twenty cents you multiply that by 50,000
you got a pretty good piece of change your spending every quarter to collect that money.
Mr. Russell: Yes, sir, you’re absolutely right.
Mr. Hatney: It’s not costing any extra money to be collected now cause it’s
already attached to the tax bill, right?
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Mr. Russell: Yes, sir, but if you look at the recoup in the interest that would cover
that cost too. The interest rate would cover that cost.
Mr. Hatney: Yes but you’re still taking your own money. It’s gonna cost a lot to
handle this, that’s all I’m saying and you might as well admit that it’s gonna cost a good
buck to get this done.
Mr. Russell: Yes.
Mr. Hatney: If you didn’t have to pay for the mailing you’d have no problem, but
mailing is expensive.
Mr. Russell: I agree the mailing’s going to be expensive but if you weight that
against the interest costs of having to wait throughout the year to get the dollars, that’s a
wash and you’re still turning a profit on the cost.
Mr. Hatney: I don’t see a difference.
Mr. Mayor: Commissioner Cheek.
Mr. Cheek: Mr. Mayor, just a brief history lesson. The reason we’re here today
is because this Commission, this body sent Mark uh, to go forth and come back with what
he’s brought us today. We approved it. Secondly, this Commission decided it wouldn’t
be in the interest of the city to save the mailing costs by putting the trash collection bill
on the water bill, which would effectively half the cost of the utilities and half the cost of
the solid waste. Uh, what I want to ask today is that we don’t do to staff what we’ve
done so many times. Make a decision in this body and then question them when they
come back with what we’ve asked them to do, and then turn down what they’ve delivered
to us as a better way to do business. We will begin to get revenue in on a quarterly basis,
that way we can begin collecting it sooner if they’re delinquent, we’ll know our liabilities
and our income quarterly rather than at the end of the year. This will enable us to make
collections sooner. This will also, once we set up a per household um, billing system,
enable us to adjust the service in the future to accommodate some of the things we’ve
heard from the folks within the community one, old folks on fixed income. I don’t need
two days a week. Two, the second most frequent call I receive is can you please move it
from our tax bills to where I can split it into four smaller payments or something like that
in order to not take such a big chunk out of my monthly income. Those are the two most
frequent calls I’ve had since this program’s inception. Three, is when we brought you the
menu after the twenty-eight, and far be it for me to remind the body but, the 24-28 hours
of work shops we had to discuss tailoring the program to specific needs is that in the
future we may certainly may want to look at altering the program to, to be more customer
friendly to people who don’t need two days a week or whatever to save them a buck or
two a month. When we have individual billing this enables us to do this. The department
head has brought to us what we asked him to do. Mr. Mayor, I urge passage for this, we
could nickel and dime it to death. The reason we’re $4M in the whole is because this
body refused to act two years ago and raise billing a dollar and half or so a month after
30
not raising it for five years, and that’s why we’re in the hole now. Don’t make the same
mistakes by not taking action and following through with what our department head has
So I move for
brought to us, and a better way to run our solid waste collection.
approval.
Mr. Grantham: Second.
Mr. Mayor: We have a motion and a second. Commissioner Stevenson.
Mr. Stevenson: I have a question. Yes, I ran through some of the material and in
the first I thought it was a good plan but then as I read through it, what’s the life cycle
support for this software. How many years will they support uh, this software that we’re
gonna get.
Mr. Johnson: The software will be under annual maintenance as long as we
continue to pay that, uh, an ongoing maintenance cost, the software will be renewed. In
speaking with this company they do uh, annual updates and they’ll provide other
additional information as needed. They’ve also, we’re also looking at doing this in
different phases so we can move down the road and look at additional features like on-
line billing, so if you want to pay your bill on line, so won’t get anything in the mail.
You can take care of it through other means, so it’s kind of and advancing technology
initiative.
Mr. Stevenson: So the lifecycle support is how many years?
Mr. Johnson: It’s as long as we want to keep renewing it.
Mr. Stevenson: And what’s the cost to renew it?
Mr. Johnson: I believe it’s $4,500.00 per year.
Mr. Stevenson: $4,500.00.
Mr. Johnson: But I can confirm that. I’m sorry it’s $5,950.00 per year.
Mr. Stevenson: And then, um, then for maintenance support, you send a
maintenance team out or a training team, what’s the cost of that? What is the contract
for? I read in the documents, upon its inception the personnel will be trained but after
that initial training, theirs is cost fee if they have to come back out. What’s that fee?
Mr. Johnson: There is, I believe, $125.00 per hour for a, a daily fee that they do
and they’ve also offered to do on-line training through what we call a Webex session
where they actually control the computer and show the staff how to do it and they would
do all that free of charge from their office.
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Mr. Stevenson: Okay, I went to appendix J and it gave me $500.00 a person
when they come out, in appendix J and I was thinking this is starting to get more costly as
I looked at it and uh, so what I’m saying in the long run, it’s gonna, it’s gonna cost more
than the efficiency of getting it.
Mr. Johnson: That’s only if we take advantage of that, or if we decide to use that
additional time.
Mr. Stevenson: That’s at your discretion. The company, I read, is that the
company’s discretion in software upgrades so, to me it starting to get more and more
expensive. As I read through it, it really became to be expensive, cause I looked at the
terms of the contract, they way they had it written and I couldn’t see where it was going
to be an advantage for this city, not at this time. Not when it’s a line item on the tax bill
and so until ---
Mr. Johnson: With all due respect, sir, a lot of that training, on an on-going basis,
will be done by a manager or a supervisor. As we hire in new customer service staff
we’re not going to have people show up to train one or two people. We ourselves will
train that person. Number two, our IT department has a whole training facility dedicated
to training. So in many cases on a lot of our computers support computer training, IT
does it. And they facilitate that training at no cost to us.
Mr. Stevenson: If this is specific to their software, even to --- copies to place on
another computer you can only have, how many computers can you put this on if there
was a total of three or more computers that you could only put it on, three networks.
Mr. Johnson: This is going to be network software. We’ll have a certain number
of licenses for the software and then it can be used in multiple places as long as you don’t
go over the number of licenses that we purchased.
Mr. Stevenson: But I, again as I looked at the figures it’s going to be quite
expensive and it’s not cost effective from what I, you know looking at the figures, so I’m
in opposition to it as well knowing that those dollars aren’t going to really increase.
Mr. Mayor: Okay, Commissioner Hatney.
Mr. Hatney: My statement, Mr. Mayor, is that um, I’m not going to apologize for
not being on board when this body asked for this and I don’t ask that many questions, I
don’t in fact, if you look at the questions I asked, we be going two hours every trip. So
it’s not my question's that I asked that is holding us up. But if I have a question I think I
have a right to ask it without somebody coming back and making statements like what
was just made. I don’t appreciate that.
Mr. Mayor: Commissioner Brigham.
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Mr. Brigham: Mr. Johnson, I’d like to know some of the other features that are
involved in this software other than the billing system. I heard it briefly discussed and I
would like to understand some of the costs that are associated with those features. I
remember you speaking to billing of the trash and the land fill ---
Mr. Johnson: Let’s start just with the landfill system. As we’re moving forward
and building a new building a lot of opportunities are there for us. One of our biggest,
customer service in a landfill is how fast do you get trucks in and out and because that
lowers their cost. This allows us to use RFID technology on the trucks so when they
come in, it automatically weighs them. It automatically evaluates their tare weight and
sends them through. That can actually lower our personnel costs because it’s automated
transactions. So instead of us weighing 350 trucks a day, we’re down to weighing about a
hundred trucks a day because you’re only going to be dealing with the small customers
that come in versus the large commercial customers. Number two, at the landfill right
now we do a manual process to track special waste. We’re required by state law and
DBE to track cradle to grave special waste, whether it’s contaminated soil or whether it’s
asbestos. We have to keep profiles on site, we have to file them away and keep them a
specific number of years. We have what we call waste acceptance criteria. That waste
acceptance criteria tells us by waste profile how often and at what frequency that material
needs to be tested to make sure the environment stays clean. We have no way to other
than through some excel spreadsheets and manual labor to track that. This system will in
fact do that for us. As you keep going it gives us right now our scale system that we have
is about eight years old and it does not allow us to use the pricing matrix that we use. We
have what we call volume based pricing, the more you bring us the cheaper it is. My
staff actually has to, we bill the customers and then the following month we issue them a
credit based on a manual calculation. This will allow us to have real time data and make
those adjustments before. So right now on our larger customers we cannot actually
calculate finance charge for what they don’t pay because our system doesn’t support the
way we do businesses. This one does. So as we keep going there’s, it provides us real
time data. Right now if you asked me, how many tons did you bring in today? I couldn’t
tell you. I can you tomorrow after we close the batch or I can close a batch and start
over, but our system is not business friendly. It works and it’s sustainable. The other
thing that is does, if you go back to special waste, is it tracks um, where we actually put
the commodity in the landfill. It gives us X, Y, Z coordinates. So if you said show me
where that load of contaminated soil was I can tell you in the landfill where it is, plus or
minus five feet. Right now I’ve got a 50x100 grid. So if the state ever came in and said,
hey that was a hot, load dig it up, I’m digging up a whole series of landfills versus just a
small coordinate. Um, the other thing that it does is it gives us added flexibility with
customers both, or residential and our, if we ever instituted the commercial vehicles in
Augusta, must have specific levels of insurance it’ll track that for us. It’ll track when
their license plates expire, it’ll do a whole series of things. We asked for automated
accounts receivable where as an account becomes delinquent it sends out automated
letters. This is a feature that we do manually. Now, again reducing the opportunity for,
for, missed letters, or missed collections, um, um, that’s just landfill.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Brigham, does that answer your question?
33
Mr. Brigham: It’s some of the information I’m looking for. The other part of the
question I guess would be if we just took out the mailing of the garbage to the customers
and we implemented the rest of the management software, what would be the cost of
program.
Mr. Johnson: The cost is the same with the exception of the bill and but the
software itself and if this body is looking for, if they want to continue to use the tax
collection software for the billing process to cut down on the postage, I would still say
get the management software because what it does is it allows us to hold our haulers
accountable. Right now as people call in we put it in an excel spreadsheet and we email
it over. This will actually generate work orders that can allow us to charge our
contractors for failed performance. So, there’s a whole series of things that we can do.
Right now when you call and say hey give me the history on XYZ, customer, I think I’ve
called you three times. I have to look back through whatever date range is through Excel
spreadsheets on a search looking for a specific address. This would give us a
management tool to be able to pull up that account and know every time we’ve ever
spoken to that customer. So, there’s a lot more at stake than just billing. But to answer to
your question on costs you’re, the program cost is the same.
Mr. Mayor: Commissioner Grantham.
Mr. Grantham: Thank you, Mr. Mayor, a couple of comments and then a
question. Mark is it, the way we’re billing now, through the tax bill is if a person elects
not to pay the garbage fee on that tax bill and pays the taxes do they satisfy our tax
commission office to where it relieves you without any clout to go and collect that
remaining bill that based on the garbage collection. So this puts everything in your hands
that you need in order to take action against that property owner to do that and I know
you’re sitting there and looking but once you get your bill you’re not interested whether
they gonna pay the garbage or not so to speak. And so, that man back there is looking for
his money and he’s either having to borrow against that collection or borrow against the
person who’s not paying that garbage fee. So to me this is, this puts all of the control in
his hands to where he not only does the billing but he is in a position then to take any
type of legal action against that particular property owner in order to collect his dollars.
The other thing that I was gonna make comment to was it, uh, based on the enterprise
fund that they’re sent up under this gives a better cash flow based on the quarterly
collections that we have than what we presently do with you collecting it on an annual
basis and then either paying them and what monies they borrowed against that annual
payment, they’re having to pay interest and go back and pay that off. So I see that this is
a very important vehicle for us to work through that enterprise fund that we have set up
and to give them the opportunity and the clout in order to collect their due funds when
they come collectible.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Williamson.
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Mr. Williamson: In response uh, there is a series of uh, items on the tax bill that
get money applied as a paid. If they paid a partial payment it would necessarily
completely ignore the solid waste. It might be partial payment applied to that part of the
bill as well as to maybe the other parts.
Mr. Brigham: Who’s discretion is that?
Mr. Williamson: That’s something that was set up at the time that the garbage
feature was added to the bill and I don’t know what it is but I can find out for you. But
the point is we that don’t care whether it’s garbage collection or not. If they don’t pay it
in its entirety, we gonna go against that property for that garbage fee. It’s just as
important to us as any other part of the bill.
Mr. Brigham: Okay.
Mr. Mayor: Okay, Mr. Cheek.
Mr. Cheek: Mr. Mayor, I just, I’m concerned that, and the reason I bring up
points about the past voting record of this Commission and some of the decisions it’s
made, it’s because it’s important. It’s important not to dissuade Commissioners from
asking questions, I encourage that, that’s one of the reasons why we’ve had so much
work done on this and keeping it open to the public and the Commission. The bottom
line on this is, is, our staff member, our department head has come back with what we
asked him to do. We can either choose today, and I’m sure is asked, Mark would tell us
this is competitively priced, uh, anything that we can buy from a truck to uh, something
to maintain our streets can be either more expensive or less expensive based on how we
use it. This is something the public has been asking for. It improves our operation at our
landfill. We can either vote today to choose to do the same, and have the same behavior
that got us $4M in the red or we can put a tool in the hand of our department head, who
after doing extensive research, has come back to us recommending a product that meets
his needs and the needs that we asked him to fulfill. So again Mr. Mayor, I just urge to
follow through on this, um, because while we might think it’s expensive, and it may be,
I’m sure it’s competitively priced, is it Mark? And, you know, while we’ve had some
good questions up here today, our professional who’s in solid waste collection on a daily
basis has come back to us with a recommendation that we asked him to do. This is very
demeaning to staff when we sit up here, uh, and look down at staff after they’ve done the
research and the work and come back to us to tell him, no, that’s not good enough, go
look again. Well after, on this particular case of solid waste, about ten times, I’m sure
event the strongest department head would be worn out in that respect. I just encourage
all of us, while we may have questions and concerns, that if we don’t think that
something a professional brings to us is good enough, I would sure hope we would do the
research into the subject matter area and come back with a better idea and not just say no,
no, no to everything they bring back to us. So I just urge passage.
Mr. Mayor: Okay, let’s hear from Commissioner Williams and let’s vote this
thing up or down. Commissioner Williams.
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Mr. Williams: Mr. Mayor, I just uh, had a couple questions. We’re talking about
an Enterprise situation with the landfill, is that right? Okay, and if that is an Enterprise
then monies is different monies anyway. Uh, we still borrowing from the general fund to
support the enterprise is what, is that what I’m hearing? Okay, so if we’re borrowing
money from them um, we hadn’t got any monies in yet to basically let them start to focus
on their own uh, we know utilities is doing good, I mean that’s a different area but, when
the money’s being set up like that, and that’s why we went to an enterprise I believe, in
order for them to be self sufficient to stand alone and be able to recoup and do some
things. So this money would come straight from their fund?
Mr. Russell: Yes sir. What you got there ---
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Russell.
Mr. Russell: I’m sorry. The general fund um, is a pool of dollars that they
borrow from until they get their money through the tax bill once a year. So they have to
pay interest for nine months of the year basically towards back the general fund to
borrow that money from the general fund to operate until they get their lump sum tax
payment. These dollars would come out of their money uh, and allow them to begin a
stream of revenue that would begin monthly or quarterly so that they would not have to
borrow money from the general fund. Uh, it would also give them a better control over
who they’re billing and the collections there of. As you know, over the, through the tax
bill we’ve had issues with billing. It’s no fault of the tax commission, no fall of Mark,
it’s just a little bit hard to pull that off if, we’re getting better at that but the separate
billing I think would give us more control over that and it would make it more of and
enterprise function as opposed to just, uh, what it is now. Because it is an enterprise
function if they do lose money the general fund is obligated to that and that’s what we’ve
had to do in the past is pay out of the general fund to cover those loses in the trash
collection fund. That was the transfer you all made earlier this year.
Mr. Williams: Um, Mr. Mayor, on other point. Mr. Williamson, just said that
they will go after uh, any, uh, property owner who hadn’t paid the tax portion of the bill
as if they hadn’t paid the taxes and I think their record indicates that they are 96, 97% uh,
in collecting. And, I mean, and, and that’s a pretty good record. We talked the other day
about doing some additional with some other stuff. I just, I just think that, that’s gonna
be a lot of money to pay uh, to get this started, to get in there, it’s like riding in a
Volkswagen when you wanna ride in a Cadillac, but you can’t afford to ride in a Cadillac,
now you gotta wait. You gotta save some money, you gotta put some things aside, you
gotta do first things first. And uh, right now, here we are, you know, you got a budget
item on this think here, the taxpayers don’t look at Enterprise they look at monies. When
they hear you spending whatever but, I, I, can’t support it today, I just think that we ought
to wait until we can do this and uh, get some answers worked out where all the
Commissioners will be satisfied. That’s all I got Mr. Mayor, I’m ready to vote.
Mr. Mayor: Okay. Mr. Russell, then Mr. Smith wanted to speak to the issues.
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Mr. Russell: Counting the votes there’s no need for me to make a comment.
Mr. Mayor: Okay. Commissioner Smith.
Mr. Smith: Thank you Mr. Mayor. Trash is one of the most sensitive things we
have to deal with and when we’re dropped in these buggies in Goshen and Brown Road
and that area, just in one weekend I had over two-hundred phone calls and every meeting
I go to, is somebody standing in my carport concerned about this and if we can do
anything to help this situation out, and we’ve got a department head and a our
Administrator has spent hours, days and weeks trying to do what we asked him to do I’d
certainly ask this body to consider what they’ve done and brought to us. Thank you.
Mr. Mayor: Okay, if there’s no further discussion? Mr. Shepard.
Mr. Shepard: Mr. Mayor and members of the Commission it currently, as
indicated rely on the --- these charges. Another possibility with the billing software
would be to file collection actions on these accounts and that now, theoretically in the
future we’d have four quarterly billings and I think that, that would um, give some
incentive --- sooner. You pay your trash bill sooner, you borrow less money, um and um,
before you discard the idea this would be a, a, enabling device to defer collection not just
to the uh, bill collector but we could refer it to the courts.
Mr. Mayor: Commissioner Hatney.
Mr. Hatney: Point of personal privilege just for one thought here. I was listening
to Mr. Johnson say that $4M dollars, at least I thought he said, the deficit we have is from
their shop, and we really don’t have a $4m deficit and we gonna come back to it before
December. The Enterprise can get money out of the general fund but the general fund
can’t get money from Enterprise.
Mr. Russell: You’re talking over a period of time that money was accumulated.
It wasn’t all just one year it’s over a period of time.
Mr. Hatney: Thank you.
Mr. Mayor: Okay, Commissioner, if there’s no further discussion?
Commissioner Stevenson.
Mr. Stevenson: I only have one thing, and I think it could be a good system I just
don’t like the way the contract’s written up. When I really got time to go through and
read the contract, and Item 3 of the software support services, it says however if the
customer requests installation assistance than the customer facility then they have to go to
where you are. It says Commonwealth shall provide such assistance on a time and
material basis in addition to reasonable travel and living expenses. So when they come
out they’re charging extra to come. And, that’s $75.00 day or whatever in accordance
37
with the customer, his current --- plus installation fees and expenses shall be in addition
to the annual software support fee. So there are a lot of things in the contract that I found
fault and that would just additional expenses to already costs and that’s my saying. If the
contract could’ve been written better, cause there’s a lot of things in here to me that is
just additional dollars and the lifecycle support for it is only a year after that year, then
it’s a fee and time they have to come out for any maintenance for any break down,
anything, and that’s $500.00 a day in addition to the expenses of them coming, the travel
and all that. So, as I took time to read this I started seeing negatives. It could be a better
agreement.
Mr. Mayor: Okay, I think everybody’s ready to vote on this one. Commissioners
will now vote by the usual sign.
Mr. Cheek: Let the record reflect that’s an industry standard.
Mr. Brigham, Mr. Hatney, Mr. Stevenson, Mr. Williams and Mr. Holland vote No.
Motion fails 4-5.
Mr. Mayor: Okay, Ms. Bonner we have several representatives of down town
organizations here so I would request that we move into 43 and 44 so we can get those
out of the way and let these people ---
The Clerk: Okay.
PETITIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS
43. Report from Downtown Development Authority regarding the discontinuation
of funding for the First Friday event.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. King, if you could please state your name and address for the
record.
Mr. King: My name is Paul King ---
Mr. Mayor: And please keep it to five minutes.
Mr. King: Yes sir, maybe less. I live at 2429 Williams Street in District 1 and
with me today, I’m the chairman of the Downtown Development Authority, with me
today is Dr. Jimmy Carter, he is the secretary of our board. Uh, Dr. Carter lives
downtown. Um, in our September meeting, board member Steven Kendrick talked about
his time in the previous preceding First Friday event and um, he had a lot of discomfort
as the evening wore on. He felt the crowd was making him feel uncomfortable and um,
that raised the issue in our, in that September board meeting to a high level. We had been
reviewing First Friday for time, Margaret who joined us this year, is our new director had
been studying the event, with the events committee. Following that meeting, an issue
being raised to a higher level, Margaret working with the events committee, um, studied
the issue further and the decision was made within that group that we should move
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toward not funding the event any longer with having hopefully three results. One would
be a cost savings, the line item for the budget, for that event is about $5,000.00 although
it had been costing us about $10,000.00 a year with overruns. Also to get merchant
involvement it had been a real struggle to get sponsors and a gigantic struggle to get um,
volunteers for the event, I know, because I myself had volunteered a couple times, to
move barricades and things and that was also very difficult. We also felt like that if the
merchants were more involved in the event, um, that may help with some of the after
hours problems as well. We knew that they would be really concerned, so we wanted to
promote merchant involvement through their funding of the event. And, um, also we had
hoped to use, and we still hope to use the $5,000.00 that we saved on the budget line item
to combine it the money from the Saturday Market and hire a full-time events
coordinator. And, this will allow us to generate more events like Saturday Market,
family friendly events, and you know, maybe some events of course differ from Saturday
Market to appeal to different demographics at different days and different times of the
day. Um, unfortunately in the process of reviewing how to handle the transition, there
was a leak to the media and it was about to go to press and at that time uh, we discussed
what to do. It was myself and Ms. Woodard, and we, I authorized and I take full
responsibility for the issue of a press release, I know that caused a lot of consternation in
the community. I take full responsibility for that and I do apologize for again as I did at
our board meeting earlier this month. However, since that time, there’s been a lot of, just
wonderful developments. Our board was approached by a group of merchants who have
been very successful in raising funds for the event. They asked us, uh, late last week if
the DDA would continue to organize the event using funding that they were providing for
a couple more months, uh, so that merchant have time, so they can handle the event
completely themselves. And, I talked to all of our board members Friday and we agreed
to do that. So as of right now First Friday will continue on that basis and we for a
transition sometime down the road, and it’s not in stone, to that organization to handle it
completely themselves. But right now, we’ve got private funding lined up. And I will
say that this morning there was a group of approximately thirty merchants that met
downtown, uh, their funding that they’ve raised is over $14,000.00, it’s almost triple the
budgeted amount that we had for First Friday and that group voted overwhelmingly, it
was in the 80, 90% range to go ahead with the, to work with the DDA these next two
months for transition and we’ll see how it goes, I think during that time and uh, that’s
kinda my First Friday report.
Mr. Mayor: Thank you. Commissioner Cheek.
Mr. Cheek: So, um, I guess from what I’m hearing is that you were gonna
combine the Saturday Market money with the remainder First Friday money to fund a
full-time position?
Mr. King. Yes, we had a part-time person for Saturday Market. She, her husband
got a job transfer and she has moved to Savannah so we’re hoping to use the money that
we have on hand for Saturday Market, and instead of just going back and hiring another
part-time person, combining it with these additional funds and hiring a person for more of
a full-time position.
39
Mr. Cheek: Are you aware that this Commission mandated that the Saturday
Market become self sufficient with the seed money we gave it two years ago---
Mr. King: Yes, I am and I’m very happy to report that after this year, the
Saturday Market started with approximately $20,000.00 and my understanding, I have
not counted the money personally, is they ended the year with $25,000.00. I personally
was a sponsor of the event and the event was able to bring in a lot of private sponsorship
dollars and those of you who have attended know that it’s a very successful event
bringing approximately 2,000 people into our downtown while it’s running. And, in fact
it’s due to start I think again, is it this Saturday, this Saturday it restarts as a fall market
and then again in November, around Thanksgiving, December pardon me, as a holiday
market.
Mr. Cheek: So, I guess my question is, is was it slated for the same fate as First
Friday, because up until, and I’m really amazed about the change of heart because up
until Thursday at your board meeting, uh, the board was, some board members were
seeking actions to uh, sustain the decision made by the director ---
Mr. King: Uh, No ---
Mr. Cheek: --- to follow through.
Mr. King: No motion was made at our board meeting to change course.
Mr. Cheek: I don’t believe you could get a second but that was still the attempt.
Is that incorrect?
Mr. King: I’m, honestly Andy I’m not exactly sure what you’re saying.
Mr. Cheek: What I’m asking and I’ll put it in smaller words for you ---
Mr. King: Thank you very much.
Mr. Cheek: --- is, is, when the motion was brought forth to the floor, the fact that
it couldn’t sustain a second, is that not true and ---
Mr. King: Andy, Commissioner Cheek honestly I don’t remember I’d have to
refer to the minutes of the meeting and I don’t have them handy.
Mr. Cheek: We are fortunate to have other board members present that may be
able to shed some light on that. My concern Mr. Mayor, and I’m gonna make this very
short and very sweet is that the intention to terminate First Friday, which is one of the
most popular on-going fourteen year plus events in this city that has made the Augusta
um, Broad Street area a destination for a lot of people was recently and would have been
shut down were it not for the leak and the work of the press notice to get this word out.
40
We have an event that has some issues that need to be corrected. We needed to correct
them with more law enforcement a year ago. Uh, but in, in any event it’s still a great
place to come on the First Friday’s, it’s a a regional draw that has some issues just like
any major college football game or any other, St. Patrick’s Day event, or anything else it
needs work. The fact that this board chose to terminate that, in spite of the fact, two
board members of the Main street Group in Augusta that they would continue the events
that Main Street had carried on, this being one of them, at the same funding level and
carried them through only months after disbanding uh, Main Street has chosen to do
away with one of the most popular draws to the area bring serious doubts in my mind as
to the sustainability in transition period these next two months will bring for it’s First
Friday and it’s ability to grow and become an even larger and more important event for
the city of Augusta. Many of the businesses on Broad Street depend on First Friday to
make their money. I suggest an outreach rather than dumping First Friday may have been
to go out and do an outreach the local merchants to attract them into um, participating
rather than terminate the program in the hopes that it would be taken over. So, Mr.
Mayor, I bring deep concerns about continuing to allow DDA to manage this. I for one
am in favor of allowing DDA to fulfill its primary function, which is developing
properties down town. They are working on the pension property for us and I understand
there’s some other things that we could have them do. But to take uh, instead of hiring
and events coordinator, turn this over to the Arts Council, develop with our river, uh our
downtown events coordinator and recreation, perhaps a one-stop shop and uh, some
But to turn this over to the Arts
events coordination like we’ve never seen before.
Council, allow them to run this in the transition, and the Arts Council, as ya’ll
know, has a very successful track record with Arts in the Heart and some of the
other events, and to take the funding that would have gone to DDA to cover this and
fund that to the Arts Council to allow them to continue and expand the First Friday
event and make it better than it is now which I know they’ll do.
Mr. Williams: Is that a motion?
Mr. Cheek: Yes.
Mr. Williams: I second that.
Mr. Mayor: OK. Mr. Williams:
Mr. Williams: Yes, sir, Mr. Mayor, and I’m a little bit disappointed myself as to
think, Augusta being the second largest city in the state and First Friday being our biggest
event that we have in Augusta, really says something. And I thought this would be
growing where we would be continuing the First Friday, where it would be Saturday. I
just hope it don’t ever get over to Sunday morning cause I’m gonna see ya’ll in church
but, it’s bad when we can’t get, and, and, that event, I’m bailing us out Mr. Mayor, Mr.
Brown talked to us about music and entertainment, he said if we don’t do music and
entertainment you wont’ draw people to your city cause music is a common denominator
that people, all people love music, I mean, just different kinds. And, uh, when I heard
about First Friday being closed down, I really couldn’t believe that, cause I’ve been
41
hoping, and I’ll really been, been trying to see how we can enhance that and get it to
grow some. We have some troubles and anything that’s good you gonna have some bad
with it, ain’t nothing perfect. You gonna have some ups and some downs and we have to
work through those things. But, my disappointment is when we as Commissioners were
not informed as to what was gonna happen and how it was gonna happen and even when
it was gonna happen. Commissioner Cheeks is right, I heard it through the media, I heard
it, people called me and asked me about it, I said no, that’s not true, we hadn’t had that
discussion, nobody’s said anything about that. So being, I mean hopefully we ought have
a first, second, third and fourth Friday, something in this city, Mr. Mayor, so people will
be able to come and spend monies and enjoy themselves. I said it before, and you can all
believe it or not, I got a free meal by promoting the Waffle House, there’s nothing to do
after ten o’clock but go to the Waffle House. And I walked in the Waffle House and the
man said, I appreciate the plug you gave me, and he paid for my meal. But there is
nothing else to do in Augusta and we can’t grow in a box. We have got to expose this
city to the world and expose uh, uh, ourselves to the world so, we, if it’s within the
guidelines of the law, in any other city in Georgia we ought to be a part of that. We
ought to be a part of that growth. We’ve been closed down here. We’ve been shut down.
We talked about the event when we had the glass broken out and I said that the Sheriff
ought to have a bus parked on ahead of the street and every time he had to fill it up, fill it
up with those, those people who break the law and go dump ‘em at the jail and come
back and get another load.
Mr. Cheek: Amen.
Mr. Williams: If that’s what it takes. But we don’t have to close down, the
majority of the people in this city, Mr. Mayor, should have to suffer because one or two
don’t wanna do anything. Now, I know that we can’t grow with the same little money
we’ve got. I’m really, really proud of the First Friday events that have been taken place
even though we had some, some rough areas. But we gotta work through those, and I
think the Arts, that’ll be a great unit to take this over and to do this and to let the DDA
continue to do what they do best and that’s the developing and bring properties and, and
do those things.
Mr. Mayor: Okay.
Mr. Williams: But, I think we ought look at what we’re not doing and start to do
those things. People shouldn’t have to leave and go to Atlanta and Charlotte and
Columbia in order to enjoy themselves. We got the same things that every other city got,
we’re just not using them Mr. Mayor.
Mr. Mayor: Okay. And, hang on one second, Mr. Grantham, I know you want to
speak to this issue but I will say that we do have things going on. Last weekend, down
town, we had the CSRA Classic, we had the Greek festival, we had the Hispanic festival,
we had the NAACP in town for their conference so, we are beginning to see people come
in. I would also say that the general consensus of the down town merchants I’ve spoken
to, the DDA, the Arts Council, everybody wants to see First Friday go on, so I would just
42
say that. There is some common ground here and I want to see everybody work together
to work this thing out. Commissioner Grantham.
Mr. Grantham: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I think all these points are well taken and
the point I’d like to make to though is that when I see where the Sheriff’s department has
had to make as many arrests that he has or to do something on that order uh, to maintain
the discipline and the control in downtown, uh, then we do need to step in and take some
kind of action whether we have a curfew of First Friday or whatever. I don’t any of the
major cities in the country such as Atlanta or anywhere else have just an open policy to
roam the streets all night long if you want. So, my point is that we need to support the
safety of this as well as supporting the purpose of why we incorporated First Friday to the
people of this community and the people that like to come to Augusta. Also, the Arts
Council I think is a very good agent and there the ones who can provide the types of
services that are out there, but have we discussed this with them? Has our Administrator
sat down and talked to them about this? Before I take a vote and I’m gonna approve
something as something as far a putting a burden on a department or and agency that
maybe has not come and requested it, then I feel like we owe them that much time and
effort to come and discuss it with us and discuss it with our Administrator. Yes, there are
things in the newspaper and the media that says, oh we’re willing to take it, we want to
do this and do that, but than again, how willing are they gonna be. We have right now
two months of transition period that has been proposed by the DDA and if we can’t get
things worked out within that period of time then we don’t need to have anyone down
there running it. So as far as I’m concerned I think that the proposal made by the DDA is
in order and I think we should discuss this particular proposal with the Arts Council and
. So, I’m gonna put a substitute
anyone else who wants to come and run First Friday
motion out that we ask our Administrator to review this and bring us back some
information at our next meeting so that we can make a decision and go in the proper
direction and not take a knee-jerk decision.
Mr. Smith: Second.
Mr. Mayor: Commissioner Beard, you haven’t spoken to this issue.
Ms. Beard: Mr. Mayor, I’m wondering if we have any merchants here and I’d
like to hear their feelings in reference to the next two months.
Mr. Mayor: Do we have any merchants that would like to speak to this issue?
Please state your name and address for the record.
Ms. Plocha: I’m Lara Plocha, my home address is 830 Fleming Avenue, Augusta,
GA 30904 and for those who may not know me I am the executive director of the
Imperial Theater and my husband and I are getting ready to open up a retail business on
the um, 1100 block of Broad Street. So, events downtown and the furtherance of
downtown and First Friday are very near and dear to our heart. I happen to be a Main
Street Board member as well and sat on and was chair of the committee for promotions
that reviewed First Friday for ten months, and it was our recommendations at the end of
43
that review that review that we include more of downtown and First Friday, turning it
from a public sector, publicly funded event into a private event, and, I’m very pleased to
announce today, and again that we have managed to raise almost three times as much
money that was originally budgeted through public funding, through private funding.
Um, I think that speaks very highly to um, our efforts and I do um, I was at the meeting
this morning, by the merchants and resoundingly with the exception of I think two
individuals, the merchants that were there, and that also included downtown stake holders
including people who live downtown, work downtown and who own businesses
downtown. And resoundingly they said, yes we want to control the fate of First Friday,
we want to be invested in First Friday, we want to see it continue we want to band
together as one common voice and we are pleased to accept the DDA’s offer to help us
through that transition over the next several months. Um, we did appreciate the Greater
Augusta Arts Council’s offer as well, but I think that we have downtown the talent, the
people and the money and the private funding in order to secure the future of First Friday
because every person that was in that room today as a vested interest in seeing it
continue.
Mr. Mayor: Well, and I just want to comment on that and thank you for
everything that you do. But that’s, that’s the good part about this. To me is that the
private sector’s stepped up and offered to take ownership of it. And one thing that I
would, in knowing that, that much more money has been raised is there is an opportunity,
we talk about committing more deputies to this, to bring in private security is part of that
funding as well.
Ms. Plocha: Well, we do currently, um the budget currently, or did call for off
duty Sheriff’s to supplant what the Sheriff’s department is doing. I know that the
Downtown Development Authority has recently appointed a task force to address the
after security, after First Friday security, as most of you are aware, the official First
Friday runs from five to ten. Um, Sheriff Strength said there are very minor problems
during that period of time. It is after ten, going on eleven and on into the night when
most of the security issues occur. Um, we have talked to him as merchants, we have a
couple of our downtown alliance folks who are gonna sit on that force as well because we
want to see cooperation, a spirit of cooperation for the Downtown Advisory Panel, The
Downtown Development Authority, the uh, New Downtown Alliance for lack of a better
name for it work together for the common good of downtown moving it forward and stop
pointing fingers at the past and, and raising up other dead issues, but move forward and
get the private sector involved. You know, I don’t think that we as merchants should
continue to look to the government and say, do this for us. You know, we are, you know
as I said, my husband are getting ready to open up a business in the 1100 block of Broad.
We have committed our own funding for First Friday, from our marketing budget
because it’s an important event to us. And I will continue to challenge the other business
owners downtown that benefit from it to step up to step up to the plate, um ---
Mr. Mayor: Are you saying to stop pointing fingers and start joining hands?
Commissioner Cheek.
44
Mr. Cheek: Uh, Mr. Mayor, Jerry, just allow me to have the floor please. Mr.
Mayor, we’ve got Item 44 which has representatives from our Citizens Advisory Board
and we do have our director of the Arts Council so foot draggin’ and stonewallin’ for the
status quo is not gonna be excused today. We’re gonna talk about this and get it out. As
far as bringing up dead issues, I remind everybody, until this hit the press and we made
an issue of it, First Friday was dead. I am all in favor of, I am all in favor of, it was dead
because as late as last week the chairman of DDA was circulating a petition to concur
with the first, with the DDA committee to shut First Friday down. I understand uh,
actually those, that is from merchants, CoCo wasn’t there this morning, many of the
movers and shakers downtown, the ones that have the most at stake from having late
nights or late evening travel on First Friday’s or weekends for people to eat or come out
to listen to music or whatever, are very concerned about this. Broad Street has been, and
we can search public records, own the margin as far as head count in growth in this event
and other night’s activities downtown. We have an opportunity here and as you will hear
from our Citizens Advisory Board, who’s legitimacy was challenged by the chairman of
DDA at the meeting the other day, who represents us, who listens to uh, situations that do
on downtown, that helps us with ordinances. Ladies and gentlemen, First Friday’s a
Main Street event. Every thing’s else that’s occurred, the Saturday Market’s a Main
Street event. If you look at the publications from, come out of the office down there at
DDA, everything that has been done to bring people downtown primarily has been a
Main Street event which we terminated. We have a opportunity to make a clean
transition to allow DDA to become the development arm it’s supposed to be. To put
event’s coordination in the hands of the professionals who have major success, regional
success, national success, um, here in this city, in a transition. Now the question before
us today, are we going to trust the transition, which is important to develop the
partnership that you’re talking about, to get people involved and to make this a private
event to the group that tried to shut it down or are we gonna put it the hands of the Arts
Council who has a track record of building relationships, teams and successful programs
and allow them to, to, foster the growth through this transition to create a much more
successful First Friday. There’s been a lot of promises made that haven’t come through.
There’s been a lot of single, or two people meetings that have occurred, there’s been a lot
of things that have decisions made that haven’t come before the DDA board. Now we
can contest this, and we can get the records, and we can get the board members and
everything else to sustain these things, uh, but the bottom line is, we have an opportunity
and we’ll hear from our Arts Council, we’ll hear from our Citizens Advisory Board, Mr.
Mayor, either before or after we hear this uh, take this vote. I hope before. That we have
a golden opportunity to put this in the hands of people who can coordinate events which
is not a core function of DDA, uh, go ahead and separate the Main Street type activities
away from them and hopefully the budget associated with that to give it to the Arts
Council or another group in transition to make for a better downtown Augusta. Mr.
Mayor, I’ve set back and watched and walked the streets downtown and all I’ve seen is,
is, not a whole lot in the way of growth. We’ve had volunteers that had struggled to get
the Saturday First Market open. We had to struggle to get First Friday back on the map
after the trouble over a year ago. We’ve had to struggle and it’s been the people
struggling not DDA struggling on behalf of the people. And so I have a question today in
my heart as to their intentions and best interests of the small merchants who are just
45
getting started down there and I trust the Arts Council a whole lot more than I do DDA to
see this through.
Mr. Mayor: Hang on one second then, Commissioner Williams, then I’ll
recognize you, but several months ago back there in the spring we went through a
situation where we brought the DDA in and they showed us all the things they were
working on and basically the Commission thought they were doing a good job, so I
would just put that out there. Commissioner Williams.
Mr. Cheek: Point of clarification, Mr. Mayor. The Commission listened to the
things that they said they would do. Many of the activities they touted, as being their
accomplishments were in fact those of Main Street Augusta, which we have since
terminated. We were also told at that meeting that they were not accountable to us. And
uh, Mr. Mayor, we can pull the meetings on that but those are the things that were said at
that meeting.
Mr. Mayor: Commissioner Williams.
Mr. Williams: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I hadn’t been to any of the meetings
except for probably six or eight months ago um, one morning meeting so I don’t know
any discussion, I’m just going on what I’ve been preaching in this Commission, and this
community about growth. Commissioner Grantham talked about uh, people going in at a
certain time, and you got voters, you got taxpayers who’s an adult, you can’t tell them to
go in, maybe you can tell your children. In fact my children are grown, I can’t tell them
anymore, but you can’t tell grown folks to go home at ten o’clock. There’s night life for
those who like night life and if you don’t have no night life they’re gonna do the night
life in the day time. So, I’m, my whole proposal is that we ought to be trying to promote
good growth in this community. What about those businesses who open late for those
who do go in like I do. I--- my daughter to First Friday’s, the only person I care down
there and I have to say now we go in. But my point Mr. Mayor is that you got other
people who want to continue to grow and continue to do some things, uh, even late night.
Commissioner Brigham, Jerry Brigham criticized about traveling, but let me tell you
about the last time we were in Savannah. Savannah is thriving all night long. They got
people on the street with music every weekend, not just on First Friday but every
weekend. You don’t see police on every corner with their lights flashing. You don’t
people who are walking around with their guns and their holsters and whatever. We went
out to Tybee Island they had a, a, big celebration going on down there, if there was and
officer out there, he had on a swim suit, you know, I don’t understand that why crime is
so much badder here than it is in the rest of the state of Georgia. That’s a myth, because
we wanna frighten folk, we scare people like we ain’t able to conduct ourselves like other
folk. Uh, we mentioned about the Classic and the Greek festival and all the other stuff
that went on. I hadn’t heard about one incident out of all this stuff going on, from Friday
night and, and, everywhere, Laney Walker and that’s in the hood, ya’ll looking at the
hood, so I can talk about the hood, you know what I’m talking about? But I hadn’t heard
anything. But folk want to pretend like there’s nothing to do and we can’t get along, like
everything is so bad, you got problems all over the world. And we are blessed in
46
Augusta. We don’t have some of the problems that some other places have. I heard
about forty something gangs, you got some bad behind teenagers out there that the
parents need to drag in the house and do something to ‘em, but we won’t do that. But we
need to open Augusta up so people can come to Augusta and enjoy themselves and will
live within the guidelines of the law, and if we break the law then we ought to go to jail,
we ought to have someone to arrest those. But, when we can have, and I brought this by
the Commission, and some of those classes talked about, if you get uniformed staff
people who are dressed and with radio communication, you don’t have a police officer
with a gun, decide to have staff security, you can create your own security. You need to
call them to make arrests, but you can create your own security. But we making things so
hard, like it’s so hard to do, that we can’t hardly make it, like ain’t nobody gonna do
right, and we gonna tear down the buildings downtown and all that kind of stuff. The
other point I wanna make Mr. Mayor, and you done put the time on Mr. Cheeks and I’ve
been there, I’ll admit it, I let you go, I didn’t want nothing said to Mr. Cheeks, cause I
wanna have my time. You talk about the merchant’s downtown. I think the merchant’s
is good to come up with money like that. But when private money gets in, you have a
perfect problem with the public when you let private people run it. This is a government
facility, this is city grounds to all of us, we cannot afford to have a private group to come
in and set up First Friday. It’s got to be under some organization that’s gonna be fair
with the whole community. If I’m selling ice cream, I’m not gonna let another ice cream
person come in and sit down the street from me. I’m gonna, even if there’s no, if there’s
nothing wrong I’m gonna find something wrong. And if it ain’t the person gonna seems
like, or get the perception that they saying that there’s something wrong. So we gotta
have a neutral party to operate this thing. I think it’s very commendable for the business
people to bring their money together and do that. And, I, I can’t too much about that, I
think that’s great but we got to have an organization. Now Ms. Durant is here, I want to
hear from her, just like Mr. Grantham said, I wanna hear, are they willing to take it and
can they do anything with it, and for just two months. Now the DDA done had all this
time, and, and, gave it up Mr. Mayor.
Mr. Mayor: Okay, then let’s hear from Ms. Durant and let’s go ahead, I mean
we’ve been argued this point out, we’ve got another agenda item to go to. Ms. Durant
would you like to speak to that issue?
Ms. Durant: Thank you very much. When the Arts Council---
Mr. Mayor: State your name and address for the record.
Ms. Durant: I’m Brenda Durant, 1314 Glenn Avenue, 30904. I’m the director of
the Greater Augusta Arts Council. We did put on Arts in the Heart this year with a,
without an events director but with a steering committee made up of individuals from the
community. When um, we heard our name mentioned at the last Commission meeting I
decided I’d better be ready with an answer today in case our name came up again, so, my
executive committee met last Tuesday, I asked my executive committee if the Arts
Council was willing to take on First Friday if asked if asked at this meeting today and
they voted yes. We voted that we would continue into calendar year 2007, again if
47
needed. Um, what we’d like to do is run it for, and this was last week, we hoped we’d
have the opportunity to run it through November, voted at our board meeting November
th
28, see how it went and have the full board approval to continue.
th
Mr. Mayor: But that vote would be November 28?
Ms. Durant: But right now the steering, the executive committee can um, vote in
lieu of board meetings and they voted right now, yes.
Mr. Cheek: Can we hear from the Downtown Advisory Board as well, Mr.
Mayor?
Mr. Mayor: Are we gonna just go ahead and wrap 44 in to 43?
Mr. Cheek: Yes, sir, might as well it’s all---
Mr. Mayor: Okay. Please state your name and address for the record.
th
Mr. Owens: Brad Owens, 211 8 Street, I’m the uh, I’m on the Downtown
th
Advisory Panel. And, we met October 11 and uh, the Downtown Advisory Panel
adopted this resolution as sent forward to you. The Downtown Advisory Panel
recommends that the Augusta-Richmond County Commission allow the Greater Augusta
Arts Council to continue First Friday festival for the remainder of 2006 and consider
allocating funds for FY 2007, respectfully submitted Brad Owens, board member DAP.
(Inaudible voice)
Mr. Mayor: Madam, you have to be recognized um, if you’d like to come
forward and speak. Name and address for the ---
th
Ms. Seward: I’m Danielle Seward, I am at 418 8 Street, 30901. Um, I have
been a member of Main Street since 1992 and a board member since 1999. I think my
question is legalities of this. Um, Main Street was a 501 C-3 organization so therefore
we can raise funds for the Farmers Market or First Friday and I think where my problem
is, is that Downtown Development Authority has got to either come up with a new
organization, and have by laws, independent board and send in the paper work that makes
it a, you know, a 50 or a non-profit or we go into Brenda’s guise at least for the two
months so that we are covered by the, by the legal aspect of all this.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Shepard.
Mr. Shepard: I would agree with that. I think you need to have some entity of
non-profit in charge.
Mr. Mayor: To accept the funding raised by the merchants?
48
Mr. Shepard: Yes.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. King.
Mr. King: Yes, uh, our board voted unanimously at the last board meeting to
accept the 501 C-3 from Main Street and our board Attorney, Mr. Warlick, who
unfortunately had to be out of town today, assured us that assuming that 501 C-3 would
be no problem what so ever, he both in public session and privately, just a matter of
sending in a letter into Secretary of State.
Mr. Mayor: Commissioner Smith.
Mr. Smith: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I would think that the long term goal would
be for uh, entrepreneurs to try to fund this project on their own government and ought to
continue to do that and I think it’s admirable that they came to the table with that much
money. We’re only talking about two months that we finish the year out and then get
together and decide what the best option is. I strongly support what they’re attempting to
do, and it’s only two months and uh, I think they got it together to do it.
Mr. Mayor: Okay. We have a substitute motion on the floor. Can you, Madam
Clerk, read back that substitute motion?
The Clerk: Substitute motion was to refer this to the Administrator to review the
recommendation of the Downtown Development Authority and bring back a
recommendation at the next Commission meeting.
Mr. Grantham: (Inaudible).
Mr. Mayor: With all groups involved?
Mr. Grantham: That’s correct.
Mr. Cheek: That would be, I mean, how many day’s before the next First Friday,
our next Commission meeting? That would be in limbo until then or status quo ---
Mr. Mayor: Commissioner Hatney.
Mr. Hatney: ---
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Russell:
Mr. Cheek: Can I get a legal read Mr. Mayor on that trans ---
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Cheek. Please --- the chair and wait to be recognized, but you
have been recognized. Go ahead.
49
Mr. Cheek: I’d just like to get a legal read from uh, not hearsay or what was said
behind closed doors about transferring a 501 C-3 uh, from Main Street which is the
licensed group for that 501 to another entity without going through a full uh, audit or
state registration or so forth, transferring that not for profit status to DDA which doesn’t,
hasn’t so far been a not for profit entity like Main Street is.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Shepard.
Mr. Shepard: I would, I would not rule it out, Mr. Cheek, if certain steps were
accomplished. I have not talked to Mr. Warlick about he intended to comply with that.
Um, I would certainly, he had a, he operates in the area of non profits, um, and I would
see if had some ---
Mr. Cheek: You’re using that term lightly, loosely, aren’t you?
Mr. Shepard: Um, I would um, I would appreciate the opportunity to speak to
their counsel because that’s not an issue that I have encountered.
Mr. Mayor: Commissioner Hatney.
Mr. Hatney: I was wondering if uh, Mr. Grantham would admit or allow the
motion to be amended to authorize the Administrator to effect whatever, to come back,
what comes out of the meeting.
Mr. Grantham: Yes, I will.
Mr. Mayor: Okay.
Mr. Williams: I don’t understand the amendment, I mean --- that amendment
again ---
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Williams, please wait to be recognized by the chair. Go ahead.
Mr. Williams: Okay Mr. Mayor.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Williams.
Mr. Williams: Uh, what was the amendment to the substitute motion?
:
The ClerkTo allow the Administrator to effect whatever the recommendation,
give him the discretion apparently to make the decision, if it’s in the best interest of the
city.
Mr. Williams: Uh, Mr. Mayor if that happens, when will be know, when the
Administrator calls everybody and tells them ---
50
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Russell you will notify the Commission in to-to as soon as the
decision was made.
Mr. Russell: What I hear you say is I get to be the Grand Tsar of First Friday, we
move forward with that and I make a recommendation on how to make it happen, is that -
--
Mr. Mayor: Absolutely.
Mr. Russell: --- or not only recommendation but I make it happen. I would
obviously notify you quickly on making that decision, six in council prior to doing that.
Mr. Mayor: Okay.
Mr. Williams: Mr. Mayor.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Williams.
Mr. Williams: I just, I think we need go ahead and do this, but this is really
important to this city that and it’s bad that First Friday is an issue we’re talking about, we
ought to have other things going on that’s equally important as First Friday. But I’m
gonna make this closing statement. My church can’t grow. The reason my church can’t
grow, are people are not moving into this city. People are moving out of this city. I’ve
got to wait until somebody get mad at Dr. Hatney’s church and leave then come to my
church. We’re swapping members around.
Mr. Hatney: (Unintelligible)
Mr. Williams: But we got to give people a reason to come to Augusta and want to
stay in Augusta and want to live here. But if everything is closed down, these are not
kids, these are grown adult people who are trying to strive and make it. Uh,
entertainment have to be able to open up in this city so people will able to come here Mr.
Mayor so, I hope we do whatever’s necessary to get this thing off center and get it right,
that my ---
Mr. Mayor: Well and let me just say, there’s some common ground here, I’ve
said it before, and rather than everybody bringing it to this body to work it out I just, I
would like to request that all the downtown organizations get together and work towards
a common goal and resolution to make a recommendation themselves and help out Mr.
Russell. Mr. Cheek, one more time and let’s vote.
Mr. Cheek: Mr. Mayor, the Citizens Advisory Board that we set up did exactly
that and while it’s not the outcome that some board members here would like to see, they
recommended that we uh, move this over to the Arts Council. Now again, I’m gonna go
back, we started the Economic Summit because the thirty-one agencies for economic
development did not work together. We brought them together under the economic
51
development ombudsman office. We as a leadership body caused the people the people
to start working together because they wouldn’t do it on their own. How many times is it
going to take for us as a body to recognize and correct our problem children when it
comes to the people of these different agencies that are carrying out and not following
through with the needs of this city. I mean, how many slaps is it going to take before we
get out of the status quo and quit foot draggin’? Yeah, it’s only two more months, that is,
is two months that some of these businesses downtown, who if we don’t see this followed
through in a, a, very good manner, will be in trouble. I walked the streets, I’ve seen the
head counts, I’ve seen the marginal nature of some of the head counts on non-First
Friday. We can, they need this event. It’s only two more months but that’s a lifetime to
some people. We got a chance to make it better and the status quo and the foot draggin’,
the people that have come together as businesses can work with the Arts Council just like
they have with Arts in the Heart, many of the other things. That can all still happen, but
it’s not gonna happen in the way it could happen if we continue to allow the devise nature
of, of things that are occurring downtown to continue. And if we do pass this first
substitute motion we’re doing that.
Mr. Mayor: Okay. We have a substitute motion on the floor. If there’s no further
discussion, Commissioners will no vote by the usual sign.
Mr. Cheek and Mr. Williams vote No.
Mr. Stevenson abstains.
Motion carries 6-2-1.
Mr. Mayor: Do you want to go back to 33? Mr. Shepard.
ENGINEERING SERVICES
31. Motion to approve award of construction contract for the Augusta Utilities
Department “Roadway Improvements for Benson Road” to the lowest responsive
bidder in the amount of $2,339,655.45. (Approved by Engineering Services
Committee October 9, 2006)
Yes, sir, I’d ask that we have a motion to resume consideration
Mr. Shepard:
of Item 33 and that um, Ms. Gentry I have to talk to her be given the opportunity to
increase the DBE participation and that contract.
Mr. Mayor: Okay. Can we get a motion to that effect?
Mr. Grantham: So moved.
Ms. Beard: Second.
Mr. Mayor: Alrighty, if we can hear from Ms. Gentry.
Mr. Williams: Ms. Gentry the Mayor’s out but um, I’m gonna try to decide until
he gets back. Have you got some information you can ---
52
I would recommend thatwe delay this um,
Ms. Gentry: Mr. Mayor Pro Tem,
contract
and the reason behind that it will give me ample opportunity to work with this
particular contractor, um, Mr. Byne has come up with some information he thought was
pertinent to this particular project and the sensitivity as well as it relates to the time. In
addition to that it will be give me an opportunity to go back to the contractor, allow them
to know that we would like them to come back to the table with a higher percentage and
we will bring that before the Commission.
Mr. Williams: Uh, can I get a motion to ---
Mr. Grantham: So moved.
Mr. Holland: Second.
Mr. Hatney: Second.
Mr. Williams: We have a motion and a second and, Ms. Gentry, when you talk to
the contractor uh, I think you might want to share with them, necessarily that we not like
but we need to have X amount of local DBE participation if they want to do business
with this county.
Ms. Gentry: Yes, sir.
Mr. Williams: We need to let them know we’re serious about that and we need to
have that percentage that we, we, I mean, this is serious business. But then a motion –
Mr. Williams: Second.
Mr. Williams: All those in favor let there be the normal sign of voting.
Motion carries 9-0.
Mr. William: All right, Mr. Mayor, I took care of one item for you.
Mr. Mayor: You’re one for one with unanimous votes? Maybe you ought to keep
on going! Mr. Shepard.
Mr. Shepard: Mr. Mayor Pro Tem, I been tasking the DBE office. You want to
th
have that back by the next Commission meeting? That’d be the 9. Next meeting, next
th
Commission which would be the 9.
Mr. Brigham: That’s gives them some time to work on it.
Mr. Holland: I couldn’t hear what he said, what did he say?
53
Mr. Shepard: I said that it would be back at the next meeting is what I
understood.
Mr. Hatney: That’s what the motion was.
th
Mr. Shepard: And we had moved the meeting to the 9.
th
Mr. Brigham: To the 9 of November.
Mr. Mayor: Okay, Madam Clerk, the next agenda item.
The Clerk:
ENGINEERING SERVICES
42. Update/status report on the Windsor Spring Road Projects. (Requested by
Commissioner Calvin Stevenson)
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Ladson:
Mr. Ladson: Mr. Mayor, members of the Commission, in reference to the
Windsor Spring Road projects um, which consists of Windsor Spring Road Phase 4 and
Windsor Spring Road Phase 5, let me give you just a brief, um, I guess termination on,
on, each project. Phase 4 consists of improvements, a four lane improvements, would
raise median from Tobacco Road to Wills Foreman Road. Um Phase 5 consists of um, a
four lane roadway from Willis Foreman Road to SR 88. Um, each, each um roadway is
approximately, well, phase is approximately 2.2 miles. Um, the, currently we’re at right
at 65% um, in the design, uh, phase uh, with the plans. The right of way plans are
approximately 85% uh, complete and we’re looking to be finished with the um, um, right
of way plans, um, uh, next year, and possibly start right of way negotiations at the end of
2007. Um, we uh, recently got, um some funds, uh for the uh, right of way acquisition
for Phase 4 which amounts to 17.5M hours. We had not yet received any funds for Phase
5 uh for right of way and that estimate is approximately 14.6M hours. Um, our current
date is scheduled for March 2009 and, that’s right now is for both phases, we’re trying to
both of them together, uh, if we don’t get the Phase 5 then we definitely have to do them
separately. I also have some more detailed that I can hand out for Phase 4 and Phase 5 as
it relates the funding. Also I just want to mention that um, GDOT is actually funding
approximately about 80-85% of um both phases. That concludes my update on Windsor
Spring Road Phase 4 and Phase 5.
Mr. Mayor: Commissioner Stevenson.
Mr. Stevenson: Uh, when you said the right of way is 85% and plans are 85%
complete and then they’d be finished in 2007. What is the right of way? What is that?
Mr. Ladson: Uh, that’s uh, the right of way plans are property that we during the
design stage where we would have to actually take or negotiate to uh, to uh, actually do
54
the construction on the project. Some of it may be temporary construction and some of it
may be permanent, um, easement or um, or permanent right of way.
Mr. Stevenson: 85% of the go ahead to do construction projects?
Mr. Ladson: Where we’re 85% completed with the actual um, uh, with actually
completing the plan, the right of way plans.
Mr. Stevenson: Will it take 100% before you can start actually construction or
can you start construction now?
Mr. Ladson: For GDOT guidelines, yes.
Mr. Stevenson: At 85%. When do you start back trying to get to 100%. What’s
the process then, I need to know, if I ask, so we can toward that 100% so we can to
develop.
Mr. Ladson: Okay. Normally with GDOT guidelines, once you get 100% ---
Mr. Stevenson: No, how do we get to 100% cause we at 85. What’s the slow up?
Mr. Ladson: Um, the slow up is where, it’s not really a slow up, it’s just actually
the designers have to actually complete the plan, the right of way.
Mr. Stevenson: Who’s doing the designing?
Mr. Ladson: Uh, J.J. and G.
Mr. Stevenson: J.J. and G. That’s the engineering firm.
Mr. Stevenson: And the information is in this, phone number or contact number
or something.
Mr. Ladson: No, I can get that for you.
Mr. Stevenson: Could I get that?
Mr. Ladson: Yes, I can get it for you.
Mr. Mayor: Okay. Commissioner Stevenson, you good?
Mr. Stevenson: Yes, thank you, sir.
. Can we get a motion to receive this as information?
Mr. Mayor: Okay
So moved.
Mr. Williams:
55
Mr. Holland: So moved.
Mr. Grantham: Second.
Mr. Mayor: We have a motion and a second. Any further discussion?
Commissioners will now vote by the usual sign.
Ms. Beard and Mr. Hatney out.
Motion carries 7-0.
Mr. Mayor: You all want a five-minute break before we address the budget. Five
minute recess.
The Clerk:
ADMINISTRATIOR
46. Presentation of 2007 Proposed Budget.
Mr. Russell: Mr. Mayor, members of the Commission, you have before you my
recommendations for the 2007 budget. As I mentioned in the initial letter, this is our, it
hasn’t been a bad budget to prepare contrary to what I initially thought. As we looked
several months ago with the dollars we had available and the conservative numbers that
we gave you, uh, over the past several months the future has brightened immensely I
believe. We began to see and increase, or a continued increase in our sales tax
collections, which the local option sales tax has impact upon our general fund budget. In
addition to that our growth continues as we have initial, as we have continued building in
our community. Uh, if you look at our sales tax potentials, with the two shopping centers
that are being worked on, the Riverwatch, the expansion to the current Augusta Mall and
those kinds of things that are having a upbeat effect on our particular situation. Our
interest rates have gone up a little bit and because of the large nature of our fund balance,
uh, we projected initially a small amount from interest but enable to increase that.
Initially we talked of trying to fill a gap of about $7.8M. and to do that based on
assumptions that we would not raise taxes, we would not use the fund balance and we
would cut our way into that. We listened to several presentations by department heads.
I’ve listed to numerous phone calls and presentations by the public where in one breath
they were complaining about high taxes and in another breath they’re asking for
additional services. We had people her in mass to talk about our transit system, to speak
about the increase, the decrease in service that I had proposed attempting to save dollars
by decreasing Saturday service. In addition to that, if you look at my first
recommendations, we talked about decreasing the number of deputy sheriffs by twenty-
five, which is approximately $1M savings that we could have and that has raised our
community as they talk about public safety and talk about the needs for increased law
enforcement if not, and not a reduction in law enforcement. In addition to that we talk
about services all along. We just had a lengthy discussion on First Friday, which is an
Arts Council issue. We’ve got museums, we’ve got opportunities there to bring forth our
56
community, and show case our community and in my initial conversations several
months ago, I cut most of the dollars to those particular organizations because I was
concerned about where our future was leading us. That concern’s still there and I still
think we as a group, you as a Commission need to become very cognizant of a need for a
vision for Augusta. A united vision in which you decide where we’re gonna be, not only
physically but, fiscally, but um, promotionally over the next several years. I believe
that’s one of our short comings is there is not unified vision for where we wanna be and I
think a lot of our conversations revolve around that and I would urge you, as we work
through this budget not only to develop numbers and opportunities but a vision on what
Augusta needs to be in the future. Is it actually going be a large city with the problems
and costs that come with that or are we going to maintain our very, very low tax rate and
reduce our services to maintain that rate. I heard several of you tell me to cut, cut, cut,
and I’ve heard several of you tell me to raise taxes so that we could maintain services and
what this budget does is cut a line between those two options. I have not used any money
from our fund balance in balancing this budget, and let me say that again. I have not used
any money from our fund balance to balance this budget. We have, and I proposed an
increase or decrease in water sewer rates, we’ve talked about that from municipal
government agencies only and that would save us about $188,000.00. Reducing travel
expenses across the budget would save us about $200,000.00. Reduction of outside
agency appropriations, $600,000.00. But by doing that, I have allowed for a continuation
of funding to the Arts Council, a reduced funding amount but a funding amount all the
same. We funded the Lucy Laney Craft Museum at the same level we did last year, we
funded our own museum, the other museum the Richmond City museum at that same
level as last year. We have made some cuts but I think those cuts are appropriate and
prudent, they continue to provide a room for discussion over the next several weeks. I
additionally wanted to cut Saturday service in transit and save a little bit over a million
and a half dollars or so because of the outcry from the public, those public, those
individuals that need that system to go to work, to go to school, to go, to maintain their
lives, I am suggesting that we reestablish that Saturday service and require Mr. Johnson
to cut and manage, weekday service and reduce personnel for a savings of $731M ---
Mr. Grantham: That’s not $731M.
Mr. Russell: $731,000.00, I’m sorry. You talk millions after a while it just sort
of comes out real easy there you know. Just a comma and a couple zeros, that’s all it is, I
mean, you know, it’s also a life thread for a lot of people in our community that have no
other way to get around and I think that’s something we need to be very cognizant of. In
addition to that, I have replaced the twenty-five deputies in the Sheriff’s budget but have
asked him if he is agreed to cut $500,000.00 from his operational budget or half a million
dollars. I’m proposing a $1M decrease in our recreation budget. I’m also proposing the
elimination of the Weed and Seed Program and there’s several people here that are going
to complain about that to you with whatever chance they get and I don’t blame them, I
think I’d complain too. Um, we reduced our operating expenditures over across the
government for $320,000.00. Lapsed salaries because of the positions we haven’t filled
or won’t fill over the next year will put in about $2M and that includes the Sheriff’s
office. As you know the Sheriff is having trouble filling the positions he has. Uh, in all
57
honestly when I recommended he loose those twenty-five positions that particular day he
had fifty vacancies which would have been the $2M in lapsed salaries that we have there,
so I don’t think that’s an unreachable amount over the next year. I have cut $1.634 in
personnel cost, that’s a reduction of about 46 positions, some of which a filled, some of
which are not and we’ll talk at those in some length over the future. My general feeling
there is that we look at mid and upper management positions because that where the cost
is and that’s where the expense is. Tough decisions to make but, on the table and a
recommendation that we make those. Just for an example, we’ve got two deputy
administrators assigned to my office. One of those would be cut in this particular
proposal. We’ve got three assistant directors in public services, one of those would be
cut as part of this proposal and several other fairly high level positions like that because
that’s where the dollar savings are. We added an additional $50,000.00 for the funding of
the EEO office so that’s a plus to the budget that we’ve had to add. That should cover
what the additional amount there or the cost of that over the next year depending on when
you fill that. And because our employees are our most important resource I have initially
suggested a one-year increase of 2% in hopes of saving the dollars I have reduced that to
a recommendation that we give a 2% raise effective July of next year for half a years
benefit and that is about $645,000.00 in the general fund. To do this without going into
the fund balance I’m suggesting a .34M increase in our, um, tax rate. .34M equates to
$11.70 on a $100,000.00 house, that’s less than a dollar a month, and in my mind that
dollar a month goes toward the essential law enforcement and municipal services that we
have. Some other highlights of the budget, um, you know it’s in here, you can look at
those as we go through. We’ll be looking at those over the next several weeks as we
come to um, a final resting place on how we want to do this and how we get it done. Uh,
I have no pride of authorship, what ever changes you want to make, whatever changes we
need to make to make Augusta a better place or things that we need to continue to do and
talk about. There will be several tough decisions you will be making over the next
several weeks as you decide whether or not to increase taxes more and provide a higher
level of service or decrease taxes to no increase and continue to make cuts. High in my
estimation could not do that and feel good about managing our government at this
particular point in time. Because we need to grow, because we need to be a city, because
we to provide a level of services that make our people whole and safe is why I put that
increase of the millage rate in there. A dollar a month for increased public safety, an
increase in municipal services, in my mind is not a bad deal. Particularly when you look
at our millage rate compared to other places. As you noted, and as Cheryl presented a lot
of other places have more cops than we do. They also pay a lot more taxes and we’re
providing that information to you, well not right as you speak, but it was a question you
asked and we’ll be getting back to you with that. Um, other funds are balanced, the fire
fund is balanced, the utilities fund is balanced, they’re all balanced at this particular point
in time. As in the past the discussion will be in the general fund on where we get
whatever additional dollars we need to continue to move forward or to fund other things
you might have an interest in. We will be setting up work shops over the next few weeks
as we’ve done in the past and this where the rubber actually meets the road on where we
actually start making decisions on what you want to fund and what you don’t want to
fund. This is only a recommendation. It’s a budget that can get us through next year, and
where I keep saying is getting us through next year is because there’s lot’s of light at the
58
end of the tunnel. There are a lot of things that are going to be happening over the next
year that will increase our potential and increase of budget opportunities, and increase the
opportunities we have in Augusta to continue to move forward. And I think it’s an
exciting time to be here. Like Commissioner Williams says, with the big city comes
problems and issues and those problems and issues sometimes requires dollars to spend.
But I think this budget lets our community continue to invest in Augusta at a modest rate
of increase that will continue to move us forward into the next years of our future. That’s
pretty much all I have. It would be my recommendation that you accept this as
information, let us schedule the workshops and move forward, we’ll do those by sections
as we’ve have in the past with uh, we’ve already talked to the Sheriff but we need to talk
at several other areas here and uh, to do that and move forward. If you have any
questions I’ll be more than happy, to attempt to respond to them.
: Mr. Mayor I’d like to move that we receive this as information
Mr. Hatney
as the Administrator suggests and establish those continued work sessions.
Mr. Grantham: Second.
Mr. Mayor: Commissioner Cheek.
Mr. Cheek: Uh, Mr. Mayor, thank you uh, um, fund #277 which is DDA, funds
that are proposed for 2007 at $930,000.00, um I guess the question is that is, and if you
don’t have the answer to it today that’s fine, what portion is it, that’s a substantial
increase over 2005 and 6, we were funding both DDA and Main Street out of that fund.
What portion of that total was allocated in 05 and 06, is it 50%, 40% of the total which is
designated for the operation of Main Street and um, there again, what I see since we’ve
decreased that responsibility significantly by doing away with Main Street that might be
an opportunity for us to refund uh, with those dollars, the Arts Council to cover those
events that we recently held Main Street accountable for and perhaps the Craft Museum
and some of the others by taking that portion that went to Main Street and using that to
make up the short falls of those agencies.
Mr. Russell: There’s always that potential obviously, the budget at any point in
time is a moving target and these recommendations were made prior to the recent
developments that occurred in the past couple weeks. As we started putting this together
several months ago, but I would not mind considering that if that’s the will of the body
and I can get you that information.
Mr. Cheek: My concern, Fred, is that, that we’ve seen a net decrease in
responsibilities and a net increase in budget allocations, so I think there definitely needs
to be a balance struck in that area.
Mr. Russell: Okay. No problem.
Mr. Mayor: Commissioner Williams.
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Mr. Williams: Thank you Mr. Mayor. Mr. Russell I appreciate your work and
your effort, um when you talk about raising $1M I think you said ---
Mr. Russell: $.34.M.
Mr. Williams: $.34M.
Mr. Russell: Yes sir.
Mr. Williams: Well, I’ve been saying it for seven years now, be it next year and
we do the say thing and I’m gonna say it again, we keep pinching on the budget. When
people hear tax increase they hear taxes, they don’t hear the point, anything. All they
hear is we raised taxes. Well, I’ve been saying, if you’re gonna raise taxes then let’s raise
taxes so we can do something with those taxes and quit bringing it back every year, of
telling people about what we’re gonna do and they say well you keep raising, and we’re
still the lowest. We’re still one of the lowest. Most people don’t understand that. Plus
the other thing Mr. Mayor is that we need to the people know some of the things that we
are doing to alleviate the burdens of the tax payers by getting, drawing revenue in such as
First Friday. Commissioner Cheek’s how things would change and help us. The wheel’s
already been invented. Other cities are doing things to bring revenue in. We have got to
do those things. We can’t tell the tax payers, well I take that back, Sylvia Cooper gonna
write the story but she can’t tell the tax payer that I voted for anything to increase the
revenue other than taxes since I’ve been here. We have not done one thing to generate
monies to come into this city. And I think that’s what we ought to do as to look around,
see what’s happening across the world and use it in our government to attract monies and
people into this community that we can not just use the tax, and, and, I’m not criticizing
you Mr. Russell. What I’m saying to you is, that needs to be shared with the taxpayers.
Thos things that we can do, will do, have done to draw people to this community, to help
with alleviate the burdens of the tax payer’s uh, uh, to make this a better city. And, and, I
hadn’t heard that, not on your watch, you’re the Administrator, I’ll work with you and I
hadn’t heard from any of those. We keep talking like we gonna do it, we keep talking
about what we’re gonna do and those things have never been brought.
Mr. Russell: I think, I think that I agree with you, with most of what you said.
We haven’t done a good job about telling the good things we have here in Augusta and
I’ll take full blame for that because that’s part of my job and I should do that. One needs
to be very cognizant of the fact that we are making some fairly good moves towards those
kinds of things. Uh, in public private partnerships we’ve got the potential for the
exhibition hall that we’ve been talking about for a while. In addition to that we’ve got
the two new shopping, the shopping center and the addition to the other shopping center
that is happening. Where we haven’t got is that vision, I think there, where there’s at
least six of you to decide that we want to do A, B, C and D to move forward with that.
And maybe my fault has been not recommending those kinds of things or getting those
on the table better. I just recently I received a, a, teletype, a teletype, back to the world
again, a fax from uh, a fax over the computer one of those things, an email, there we go,
just totally dated myself there didn’t I, but the Business Bureau about the 1,400 people
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that are going to be in town next week and the money that they’re gonna spend and those
are good things that we need to tell not only us about but everybody else about too.
Something that I am going to push forward and hope that you will support as we look at
public safety issues across the board, is part of what you’re gonna hear from me at the
first budget presentation is that fact that I believe that cities such as Augusta should have
the opportunity through local legislation approved by the general assembly to go back to
the voters and let them vote on what they want to spend their dollars on. And, one of
those things is I would suggest, and hope that this body would ratify, the request that our
legislators add a half a penny sales tax with public safety. That would give us $16M a
year. That $16M dollars would solve our budget issues, let us grow, provide for public
safety in a way that not only burdens the tax payer, the property owner but burdens those
people who come in our community and visit, play, work and do whatever but help them
help pay for the services they need and move forward with that. That would allow us to
help restructure our income, our property tax, it would probably roll in back just a little,
but it would also give us money for transportation, for some of those needs that would
create opportunities for people to come in. I think as a government and as a city we’ve
been very penny wise and pound foolish over the years. We have tried not to spend
dollars and for those of you that have been in the private sector, sometimes you got to
spend money to make money. And I think we’ve been almost overly conservative with
that and have not been willing to step forward, invested in ourselves and knowing what a
good opportunity we have here and being able to push that forward and create the kind of
environment that makes this a destination city. Unfortunately it’s not a place you just
sort of ride by, it’s a place you got to be coming, and they come here for the Master’s,
will come here for other events and that’s what we need to be making sure that we do,
and we need to have the opportunity to do that and I agree with you fully on that
Commissioner Williams.
Mr. Mayor: Commissioner Stevenson.
Mr. Stevenson: Uh, Mr. Mayor, I have a question uh, trying to get some clarity
and understanding. Fund #224, Weed and Seed Federal Grant, uh, the Weed and Seed, it
was brought to my attention that it helps fund community centers, is that correct? And,
so it doesn’t have any federal grant money pertains to it, 2007.
Mr. Russell: That was a federal grant that we’ve had for several years, it does a
wonderful job, and does a great deal out there. Unfortunately that federal money has
gone away, we absorbed it locally last year, for the balance of the year. It was my
recommendation as we cut through the majority of our programs that, that be one
program that we cut, um, and that’s why there’s no dollars there. Obviously that’s a
tough decision to make, it does provide a valuable service to that community, but I was
weighing that against some of the other opportunities we had I decided that, that service
uh, was not necessary in the grand scheme of things. Good question, could be good call,
bad call who knows, but that’s part of what the discussion needs to be about over the next
several weeks.
Mr. Stevenson: Oh, so --- (Inaudible).
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Mr. Russell: It’s a work in progress. There’s no finality of this today at all. You
have an opportunity to cut, paste and change whatever over the next several weeks.
Mr. Mayor: So, we have a motion and a second to receive it as information and
we’ll have work sessions. Is there any further discussion? Commissioners will now vote
by the usual sign.
Motion carries 9-0.
Mr. Russell: Mr. Mayor.
Mr. Russell: As required by public this will be placed in libraries and in addition
to that we’ll have a copy on line in the very near future. We have copies available for the
press if they want some.
Mr. Mayor: Madam Clerk, I think we actually have one last –--
The Clerk: Item 48, yes sir.
OTHER BUSINESS
48. Approve revised State Aid County Contract Priority List. (Requested by
Commissioner Jimmy Smith)
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Williams, I believe this is one you wanted some clarity on?
Mr. Williams: Yes, sir, Mr. Mayor. I spoke to the Clerk about it, excuse me.
The State Aid funding that we’ve got now, and I’ve spoken to the Clerk about it, and
there’s probably some additional funds. I want to know about the list that those projects
are going to be taken care of. Is that the standard list that we been had all the time or is
that an additional list?
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Ladson.
Mr. Ladson: Um, this list right here is in addition to the list that we already have.
Mr. Williams: In addition to.
Mr. Ladson: In addition to.
Mr. Williams: So this is a different list then? This has been added to the list that
we’ve got, right?
Mr. Ladson: Yes, sir. I mean well, the list is, every year there’s always
something added on there.
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Mr. Williams: I’m still ---
The Clerk: Are these projects on the list there?
Mr. Ladson: These projects are on the list.
The Clerk: They’re on there, but there’s additional funding to do the projects.
Okay, that’s what I wanted to know. I make a motion to
Mr. Williams:
approve,
I just wanted to know what was there an addition to the list that was added, or
was there an additional form was added to the standard of the list, that’s all.
Mr. Brigham: Second.
Mr. Mayor: Okay. We have a motion and a second. Mr. Cheek.
Mr. Cheek: Mr. Mayor, since we have a historic race track out at Diamond Lakes
my question is are we going to, when we put that entrance way in, preserve the layout
and contour of the racetrack or are we gonna slice through it and just put a road in?
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Ladson.
Mr. Cheek: The racetrack runs all the way around the park and this goes across
the racetrack.
Mr. Ladson: Okay, I’d have to take a look at the plans and actually look at.
Mr. Cheek: Cause if there is hopes of restoring that racetrack at some point in the
future for bicycle racing and for public use and I guess my concern is right at that point is
where the maintenance shed, and my understanding where the roadway will go in, is right
in the proximity, there is one of the significant banked curves of the racetrack and it
comes out into a turn into a flat area there and I would hope that we would make that
somewhat of an intersection more so than a cut through.
Mr. Mayor: Okay. We have a motion and a second. Is there any further
discussion? Commissioners will now vote by the usual sign.
Motion carries 9-0.
LEGAL MEETING
A. Pending and Potential Litigation.
B. Real Estate.
c. Personnel.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Shepard.
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Mr. Mayor I would ask for a legal meeting on Real Estate,
Mr. Shepard:
Acquisition and Potential and Pending Litigation and Personnel for Mr. Hatney.
Mr. Mayor: Can we get a motion to that effect?
So moved.
Mr. Cheek:
Mr. Holland: Second.
Mr. Mayor: We have a motion and a second. Commissioners will now vote by
the usual sign.
Motion carries 9-0.
[LEGAL MEETING]
50. Motion to authorize the Mayor to execute the affidavit of compliance with
Georgia’s Open Meeting Act.
A motion that you be authorized to sign the open, the closed
Mr. Shepard:
meeting affidavit indicating that discussion in executive session dealt with real
estate, pending and potential litigation and personnel.
Mr. Cheek: So moved.
Mr. Holland: Second.
Mr. Williams: We have a motion and second. All those in favor let it be known
by the normal signs of voting.
Motion carries 9-0.
Mr. Shepard: Mr. Mayor Pro Tem, we previously deleted Item 34 for the Agenda
and I would ask now that you call Item 35 for purposes of announcing a settlement with
Mr. Magnusen. Could you call that item now?
ENGINEERING SERVICES
35. Motion to authorize condemnation of a portion of Property #018-0-433-00-0
2957 Pointewest Drive which is owned by Henry E. Magnusen, Jr. for 1,009 sq. ft. of
permanent easement area. Public Works Project: Pointe West Subdivision Drainage
Improvement Project. (Approved by Engineering Services Committee October 9,
2006)
Mr. Williams: Do we need to disclose uh, any amount in that Steve or just ---
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Mr. Shepard: Since we’ve agreed upon it and he’s accepted it we can publish the
settlement of the condemnation claims in that case.
Mr. Williams: Can I get a motion?
So moved.
Mr. Brigham:
Mr. Cheek: Second.
Mr. Williams: We have a motion and second.
Mr. Shepard: And that was $3,200.00 and we grassed the gentleman’s yard.
Mr. Williams: All those in favor we have a motion and a second let me know by
the normal sign of voting.
Motion carries 9-0.
Mr. Williams: Next item Mr. Attorney.
ENGINEERING SERVICES
36. Motion to authorize condemnation of a portion of Property #051-0-208-00-0
3926 Barrett Street, which is owned by Alfred and Roberta McKenzie for 3,973 sq.
ft. of permanent drainage, utility and maintenance easement, more or less. Public
Works Project: Belair Hills Subdivision Improvement Project 324-04-203824335.
(Approved by Engineering Services Committee October 9, 2006)
Mr. Shepard: The matter of Roberta and Alfred McKenzie. This is in connection
with the Belair Hills Subdivision um, drainage improvements and this is an agreement
negotiated by counsel and --- and in that case we are going to increase our offer of
compensation the McKenzie’s by $1,500.00 over the previous offer which was $2,582.00
which will result in a new offer of $4,082.00 and addition to that we’re going to replace
his yard where disturbed with St. Augustine grass and we’re going to take down a pine
tree as part of the contractors working in this property and in turn he will grant us the
necessary easements sought ---
So moved.
Mr. Grantham:
Mr. Holland: Second.
Mr. Williams: We’ll put it back like we found it.
Mr. Shepard: Yes sir.
Mr. Williams: All in favor let me know by the normal sign of voting.
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Motion carries 9-0.
Mr. Shepard: And for the record I’ll indicate that both of these matters were
considered as advertised after 6 p.m. and I have nothing further to report.
[MEETING ADJOURNED AT 6:17 P.M.]
Lena 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 the Augusta Richmond County
Commission held on October 17, 2006.
______________________________
Clerk of Commission
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