HomeMy WebLinkAboutRegular Commission Meeting July 17, 2018
REGULAR MEETING COMMISSION CHAMBER
JULY 17, 2018
Augusta Richmond County Commission convened at 2:00 p.m., July 17, 2018, the Hon.
Hardie Davis, Jr., Mayor, presiding.
PRESENT: Hons. Jefferson, Guilfoyle, Sias, Frantom, M. Williams, Fennoy, D. Williams,
Hasan and Smith, members of the Augusta Richmond County Commission.
ABSENT: Hon. Davis, Mayor Pro Tem.
Mr. Mayor: Good afternoon, everybody. All right, we can do better than that, good
afternoon, everybody. We are here to do the people’s business and we will do that. We have a
full agenda but we do have things that are coming off. I want to direct everybody’s attention to
the information that’s been put before your seat. These are revisions to the Commission Agenda
and I want to again take action and make sure that we recognize we’re deleting from the agenda
item three of the delegations and then there’s an addition to the agenda. The addition to the agenda
may or may not require us to pop our head into Executive Session but hopefully we can respond
if there are questions and not have to do that. I’m excited today, it doesn’t happen often but my
wife, Augusta’s first lady, is here in the audience, Ms. Davis, would you raise your hand, Augusta’s
first lady, raise your hand (APPLAUSE) we’re excited to have you here with us today, appreciate
it. All right, so I’ll entertain, is there any objections to the deletions from the agenda and the
addition, any objections?
Mr. M. Williams: Point of Order, Mr. Mayor.
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Mr. Mayor: All right, the Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 9.
Mr. M. Williams: The addition to the agenda which belongs to this body now, does it not
have to go on this agenda and be discussed versus deleting it off by request?
Mr. Mayor: Well so it doesn’t belong to the body yet. I’m trying to give you an opportunity
to say that it’s okay to add it so then it belongs to the body. That’s all I’m asking for and then
you’ll debate it and ask questions. I’m not asking you to vote on it right now other than to just,
are we okay with the deletions and the additions to the agenda, that’s all I’m asking for.
Mr. M. Williams: I understand, Mr. Mayor. I’m just a little confused about how the process
works. I thought I had those rules down pretty good but evidently I don’t and I’ll lean to my legal
advisor who gets paid very well to share with me what I need to know about this particular item
that’s been brought before this body at least four maybe five items at least anyway, different
wording but same agenda.
Mr. Mayor: What item are you referring to, sir?
Mr. M. Williams: It’s the addition Item number 24 and 23.
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Mr. Mayor: No, sir, the addition to the agenda is simply this one item and that is a request
to approve funding for repairs to a gate. That’s a new item. Items that are for deletion from the
agenda you have two delegations and then you’ve got Item 23 and 24. These are items that are
being requested to delete from the agenda, that’s all ---
Mr. M. Williams: Okay ---
Mr. Mayor: --- that’s all.
Mr. M. Williams: --- so I didn’t frame my question quite right but the deletion of this item
belongs to this agenda I thought because it is printed it is ---
Mr. Mayor: It is.
Mr. M. Williams: --- it has been given out, it has been sent to our homes, we have discussed
we have, so now it’s going to be deleted and that’s my question to you, Mr. Mayor, is that the
process or is there a different process?
Mr. Mayor: That is the process and so I could wait until we say we’re going to address the
consent agenda or the regular agenda but what I’m asking as I have consistently done for four
years is if we had these items and say I want to delete these from the agenda, I want to add
something, I typically try to do that before we take on any other business. All right, is there, are
you objecting to what I’m asking?
Mr. M. Williams: I’m objecting to the deletion of this Item 24 and 23. That’s what I’m
objecting to.
Mr. Mayor: All right, okay all right, items Delegation Item D, Delegation Item H and the
addition to the agenda there’s no objection, is that correct?
Mr. M. Williams: There’s no objection.
DELEGATIONS
D. Presentation from Mr. John Arscott on a proposed project on Azalea and Magnolia
Drives.
H. Mr. Al Gray regarding “Augusta’s Wheel of Missed Fortunes.”
(It was the consensus of the Commission that these items be deleted from the agenda)
Mr. Mayor: Okay all right thank you, very well. All right, the Chair recognizes Madam
Clerk.
The Deputy Clerk: Yes sir under the invocation portion of our agenda we’d like to ask the
Reverend Roger A. Schwartz, pastor of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, to give the invocation
and after which would you please remain standing for our Pledge of Allegiance.
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The invocation was given by Reverend Roger A. Schwartz, Pastor – Our Redeemer
Lutheran Church.
The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America was recited.
The Deputy Clerk: Reverend Schwartz, we have a recognition for you as our Chaplain of
the Day and I’ll read that. Office of Mayor Hardie Davis, Jr. By these present be it known that
Reverend Roger A. Schwartz, Pastor – Our Redeemer Lutheran Church is Chaplain of the Day his
spiritual guidance and civic leadership serves as an example for all citizens of Augusta.
(APPLAUSE)
Reverend Schwartz: Thank you.
Mr. Mayor: Again, Reverend Schwartz, thank you for your service in this community not
only your spiritual guidance but your civic leadership and that matters to your parishioners but
also to this greater community, thank you. Would you join me in thanking him once again for
being with us today? (APPLAUSE)
The Clerk: Okay next thing, Mr. Mayor, we have our Years of Service awards and if we
could call Dr. Gwendolyn Conner up to present those please, Mr. Mayor?
Dr. Conner: Good afternoon Mayor Davis, Commissioner, special guests, Directors and
citizens of Augusta, Georgia my name is Dr. Gwendolyn Connor I’m the Human Resources
Director for Augusta, Georgia. Today it gives me great pleasure to recognize our June Years of
Service recipients. For the Month of June we have 29 employees celebrating 5 to 20 years of
service with Augusta, Georgia, however with us today we have three of those employees who we
will be calling forward. So as we call your name if you will and please don’t mind join us here at
the front. First, we would like to recognize Ms. Kathy Miller who will be celebrating 25 Years of
Service here with Augusta. (APPLAUSE) Also with the Utilities Department we will be
recognizing Mr. Michael Oates who is celebrating 35 Years of Service. (APPLAUSE) And last
but certainly not least we would like to recognize Mr. Jeffery Carter with the Fire Department who
is also celebrating 35 Years of Service. (APPLAUSE) Please join me again in congratulating
these individuals. (APPLAUSE)
RECOGNITIONS
June 2018 Employee of the Month.
B. June 2018 Employee of the Month
The Clerk: Our next item we would like to recognize our June 2018 Employee of the
Month, Mr. James T. Pratt, with the Central Services Division. (APPLAUSE) Mr. Pratt? And I
will read the accolade for Mr. Pratt. Mayor Davis, the Employee Recognition Committee has
selected James T. Pratt as Augusta, Georgia’s Employee of the Month for June 2018. Please accept
this letter as nomination of Tim Pratt of Central Services Division as Employee of the Month for
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outstanding service to the Public Defender Building. On Sunday June 17, Father’s Day he gave
up his Sunday morning church with his daughter to come make sure our building was safe, one of
the pieces of marble which surrounds the windows on the back of the building was dangling by
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only the caulk around it, the adhesive failed and the marble which is four feet long and weights a
substantial amount was hanging over the sidewalk on the back of the building creating and obvious
danger. Tim left church, called me to find out the details, went down to wherever the bucket truck
is kept, brought the truck over and took the marble down safely. He then stored it away until the
building could be repaired. I have included a picture of what he came to fix all I was expecting
was some safety tape to make sure people stayed away until someone could get here on Monday.
With employees like this Augusta Richmond County should be very proud of the people who work
here. Based on this nomination James T. Pratt’s outstanding contribution to Central Services and
service to Augusta, Georgia the Employee Recognition Committee would appreciate you joining
us in recognizing James T. Pratt as the June 2018 Employee of the Month, congratulations.
(APPLAUSE)
Ms. Douse: Good afternoon, I’m sure many of you know Mr. Pratt and his HVAC team
especially as Augusta approaches extreme temperatures such as we do on a regular basis but Tim
and his team Tim particularly as the supervisor he does an excellent job in providing what the
Central Services Division likes to, well the Central Services Department excuse me likes to refer
to as Red Carpet Service. So this is definitely no surprise so, Tim, we appreciate you availing
yourself to the City of Augusta especially on Father’s Day. (APPLAUSE)
Mr. Pratt: I’d just like to say thank you to the ones who put me in for this award and for
all the people I work with. Anyone of the guys that work with us could be getting this award
because they all go above and beyond the call of duty. And once again I just thank you for this
award. (APPLAUSE)
The Clerk:
RECOGNITIONS
COA Summer Interns
A. Recognition of the City of Augusta Summer Interns.
Ms. Brigham: Good afternoon to the Mayor, members of the Commission, Madam
Administrator, elected officials, department heads and all guests. It is my pleasure to stand before
you once again to present to you the 2018 City of Augusta City Interns and present them with their
completion certificate. For the past 9 years the City of Augusta has generously invested into youth
leadership of Augusta graduates. Youth Leadership Augusta is a Leadership Augusta Program
sponsored by the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce. Of internship program was created and
is currently administrated by the Tax Commissioner’s Office. Each year we offer our students and
exclusive opportunity to work in various departments please join me in congratulating these
students. (APPLAUSE) As I call their names parents and department heads are welcome to stand
as your particular students name is called, students please join me as your name is called. Michael
Grant Stokes, Outstanding Utilities Intern. (APPLAUSE) Reed Fly, Outstanding Information
Technology Intern. (APPLAUSE) Benjamin Davis, Outstanding Human Resources Intern.
(APPLAUSE) Jada Jenkins, Outstanding Human Resources Intern. (APPLAUSE) Savannah
Peeples, Outstanding Animal Services Intern. (APPLAUSE) Raya Curry Outstanding Fire
Department Intern. (APPLAUSE) Camille Smith Outstanding Procurement Intern. (APPLAUSE
Christopher Head Outstanding Engineering Intern. (APPLAUSE) Erica Pureves Outstanding
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Utilities Intern. (APPLAUSE) Olivia Wall Outstanding Law Intern. (APPLAUSE) Zahira Jackson
Outstanding Mayoral Intern. (APPLAUSE) Riley Karuglian Outstanding Mayoral Intern.
(APPLAUSE) I would like to offer our students a brief opportunity to speak about their experience
during this summer so I would like to begin with Mr. Michael Grant Stokes.
Mr. Stokes: It’s been an honor to learn about the inner workings of the Richmond County
Utilities Department. not only do I work with the Utilities Department and Finance I get to take
tours around the Canal and the different Water Treatment Plants and also the Traffic Engineering.
So it’s been an exciting experience to sort of get a head start on my career path so thank you Team
Leadership for giving me such a great opportunity. (APPLAUSE)
Ms. Brigham: Ms. Riley Karuglian.
Ms. Karuglain: Good afternoon, my name is Riley Karuglian. This summer I had the
amazing opportunity to be an intern for the Mayors Office. It’s been a great experience especially
for continuing my future in political science. I’ve made a great friendship with all the staff, Ms.
Margaret Campbell, Ms. Tonya and Ms. Leticia and Mr. Davis, we’ve all had a great time. I’ve
learned how policy is made I’ve learned how all of the departments kind of work together
everything is so important when you’re trying to run and change a city. It’s been a great experience
and thank you Youth Leadership for giving me this opportunity. (APPLAUSE)
Ms. Brigham: And Ms. Zahira Jackson.
Ms. Jackson: Hello, my name is Zahira Jackson and I do an intern at the Mayor’s Office.
Thank you to the Leadership Program for giving me this opportunity. I would never think of
actually doing that it; really expressed me to new ideas. I want to thank Ms. Tonya and Ms. Leticia
and Margeesa and of course, Mayor Hardie Davis for this opportunity. I really enjoyed it, thank
you. (APPLAUSE)
Ms. Brigham: As we close our presentation I would like to give a special thanks to our
Chairman of Youth Leadership Augusta, Mr. Steven Kendrick, all of our advisors and thank you
to our parents for all of their support as well. Thank you so much for your time. (APPLAUSE)
Mr. Mayor: Okay, parents, if you’d like to come forward and take a picture we want to
give you that opportunity. Yes, please I’m going to ask the Commissioners if they would, Mr.
Kendrick, if you don’t mind if you would please come in and we’re going to stand behind them.
If you want to stand in the center aisle you’re certainly more than welcome to do that, parents. All
right if you’ll, okay there’s been a lot that’s going on in our city I want to make mention of a couple
of things and I think they’re important to those of us who live here, citizens alike. And as we all
know, this is an exciting time to be an Augustan or to be in this region and last Tuesday we all saw
the culmination of a one-year project with the Georgia Cyber Center and the grand opening of
Phase 1 that will continue to be a major investment in our city with the expectation that in
December of this year we’ll have the grand opening of Phase 2 of that facility. So a lot of hard
work went into that and a partnership between the state, the city, Augusta University and a host of
other partners. I do want to take a minute to this is something that the City of Augusta has
participated in, I don’t want to steal Herbert Judon’s thunder, our Director at Augusta Regional
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Airport, but we as a city have been engaged in this conversation. Today they’re announcing that
the City of Augusta and Augusta Regional Airport has been selected as a grant recipient for the
SCASG Grant. Many of you know that last year they came and asked us to support that effort and
so they were successful in winning that grant. The grant funds are typically used to encourage
new market services or to support existing service or to restore lost services. One of the things
that our airport director has been working on is bringing new service to the Augusta area and in
particular a direct flight to Washington, DC. So we hope that this will help us in our efforts to
maximize our opportunity to be able to bring direct service to the City of Augusta to Washington,
DC particularly in advance of all of the work that’s going on from a cyber and a cyber security
perspective. So kudos to the Augusta Regional Airport staff, Herbert Judon and his team. I think
that’s a good place for us to acknowledge their efforts, that’s good for the citizens. (APPLAUSE)
I also want to make mention and this is in support of our Engineering, Utilities, Traffic Engineering
team. Starting on Monday Walton Way between where the old Trinity CME Church has since been
moved that area will be closed off and a detour will be set up, that will be an 8-month project as
they do soil remediation. The old Atlanta Gas and Light facility that was there there’s still ongoing
remediation work and so to those of you who are here in the audience and those who are watching
by way of the internet and of course you’ll see it on television if you’ve not read it in our local
periodicals. That is a very significant project that will kind of change the way we do work and get
to work every morning. In advance of the school year starting as well we know that Walton Way
coming off of Gordon Highway is a major thoroughfare for people coming into downtown as well
but you will have a detour. I want to make sure everyone is cognizant of that fact that the way to
get to and from work will change if that is your normal method of traveling into downtown. That
work will begin on Monday of next week and that road will be closed off there at that section
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between Taylor Street, Walton Way and I believe I don’t always remember I guess 8 Street. All
right fantastic, so please be cognizant of those things as we kind of change the way we’re going to
do business getting in and out of downtown in the area located near Walton Way. All right, the
Chair recognizes Madam Clerk.
The Clerk:
DELEGATIONS
C. Mr. Johnny Chivers, Jr. regarding the renaming of the John C. Calhoun Expressway to
Veterans Memorial Expressway.
Mr. Mayor: Mr. Chivers, as you come you have five minutes to state your case, sir.
Mr. Chivers: Mr. Mayor, Commissioners, thank you for having me here my name is
Johnny Chivers, Jr. I retired SFC United State Army. I’m here in support of Commissioner Bill
Fennoy in changing John C. Calhoun Expressway to Veterans Memorial Expressway. It’s not
about one person; it’s about all the veterans, the men and women who wore the uniform and still
do wear the uniform. I’m sure everyone sitting here enjoys the freedom and honor that they have
to live in this country of America thanks to those people so I’m here to ask for the support of my
Commissioners and the Mayor to renaming that, it would be an honor. There’s been thousands of
veterans that chose to live here such as myself and I’m sure we have contributed financially greatly
to this community so it would be an honor to have something to be named in our honor. I feel we
deserve it after all we’ve earned it, thank you all. (APPLAUSE) Do you have any questions for
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me? But like I say one Commissioner, Commissioner Sias’ been in the uniform. It’s more than a
job; it’s a way of life and we got our men and women every day wearing that uniform to keep us
safe and free so again I’m asking for the support of the Mayor and Commissioners of this
community to back me and Commissioner Fennoy. Thank you again.
Mr. Mayor: Thank you, sir.
The Clerk:
DELEGATIONS
E. Ms. Mary Tibbets, West Augusta Alliance regarding its opposition to the proposed
Neighborhood Bar/Restaurant at 3004 Skinner Mill Road.
Mr. Mayor: All right again, ma’am, you have five minutes.
Ms. Tibbets: Yes sir, thank you. Mary Davis, Commissioners and visitors that are here to
support this effort for being here to support us. The restaurant and bar that’s to be located at 3004
Skinner Mill Road is landlocked and it’s located also in a blind curve making left hand turns off
of that or out of that property is going to be a feat within itself because you can’t see up the road
or down the road. The entrance into the ingress that I think and I’m not positive of this that I think
belongs to the 3004 property where you would enter, it would seem to me that it’s too close also
to the traffic light so you would be taking a right hand turn or a left hand turn and it is not safe.
There was just this past weekend, well ten days ago, a man took out the culvert and the manhole
cover and knocked it clean off of it’s foundings. So these are concerns of safety that we have as a
community with way too much traffic coming down or up Skinner Mill Road. I ask you when you
make your decision today that you please think about could this happen in my neighborhood and
that’s you, Commissioners, and I’m going to tell you the answer is yes. It could happen to your
neighborhood, it could happen to next door to you, a man could put a garage right next door to
your house if he so chose to. He just has to come before you guys and he has to have the right mix
of information to get it above to the next level and to get passed. So today the residents of the
surrounding neighborhoods have in hand approximately 200-plus signed opposing this bar and
grill going in place at 3004 Skinner Mill Road due to safety issues and due to the fact of what it’s
going to render our community. First of all you would likely not find anyone here who’s not in
favor of progress that will grow or improve our cities or communities, however, I believe that like
many of my neighbors that businesses such as this a new untested food business entrepreneur can
succeed. Many community planning studies show that new restaurants fail within the first year.
Unfortunately if he fails, unfortunately if and when he fails we residents of the community will be
left with abandoned buildings and lots to take care of. To further highlight this point the property
will be zoned for commercial business and will not be reversed back to the zone that it was in
before. We will set, this will set a precedent for more commercial property ventures that will
perpetuate our concerns for safety up and down Skinner Mill Road. It’s a two-lane community
road not like Washington Road. This endeavor is entirely not suited for our community for many
safety reasons as previously discussed in the Planning and Zoning meeting on July 2, 2018. The
entrepreneur does not meet parking requirements of a 90-spaces required so hence he has applied
for a variance. The fact is we are not a Rae’s Creek, Forest Hills or Hammonds Ferry. Those
communities were built with restaurants in their community, they had their little shops place there
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and they had some say so in what would happen in that particular community. We as a
neighborhood do not have and will not have any input into what goes on with this man’s property.
He could do whatever he chooses once you let this go. So I pray that you seriously think about it.
Could it be in my backyard, could it be in my Commissioner’s backyard because it could. Our
neighborhood will have no control on this matter and if he fails we are left with an empty,
abandoned building which brings me to point out once again safety. Over several years there have
been multiple wrecks in front of my house. I have with me today, I can show you where a police
officer came out, the man was upside down he did a lot of damage to my property and never once
came forward to pay us for any or even to come say he was just sorry because I would’ve forgave
him.
Mr. Mayor: Ms. Tibbetts, your time has expired.
Ms. Tibbetts: Huh ---
Mr. Mayor: Your time has expired.
Ms. Tibbetts: --- fine, thank you.
Mr. Mayor: All right, are there any questions for Ms. Tibbetts?
Mr. Guilfoyle: Mr. Mayor ---
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Mr. Mayor: All right, the Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 8.
Mr. Guilfoyle: --- Mr. Mayor, I was writing down a question that Ms. Tibbetts had as far
as her concerns and the concerns of the residents and when this agenda item comes up I’ll bring it
forth before business license, Rob Sherman, shall I say.
Mr. Mayor: All right, so you waive you’re going to yield until the agenda item is addressed.
Mr. Guilfoyle: Yes, there’s no reason to have to keep repeating it.
Mr. Mayor: All right very good thank you, thank you, ma’am.
The Clerk:
DELEGATIONS
F. Ms. Marcia Plunkett; Skinner Family Cemetery regarding its opposition to the proposed
neighborhood restaurant/bar at 3004 Skinner Mill Road.
Mr. Mayor: All right, Ms. Plunkett, before you do this so I know we’re going to hear this
in a moment. To those of you who are opposing this matter would you please stand? You’re in
opposition to this matter. Okay, okay I’m not asking for that just yet I just want to get a sense of
who’s here in opposition to that, okay please be seated. If you’re in support of this measure, would
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you please stand? Okay all right very well all right, thank you. All right, Ms. Plunkett, you have
five minutes.
Ms. Plunkett: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Later in the session you will be there
will be a request to concur with the Planning Commission to approve a change of zoning of the
property at 3004 Skinner Mill Road from R-1A to B-1. I come before you to express my concerns
as it affects the adjacent property. Barely a year ago my mother-in-law Katherine Skinner Plunkett
passed at the age of 92. Upon her passing my husband and I Mark Plunkett inherited the Skinner
Family Cemetery located at 3010 Skinner Mill Road. In the years I’ve been in the family my
husband and I have assisted his mother with the upkeep of the Skinner Family Cemetery she
inherited from her aunt in 1976. My husband was first tasked with cutting the grass at the young
age of 10. Katherine was very passionate about maintaining the memory of her ancestors and the
integrity of their final resting place. It was impossible to have known just how intense the
responsibility was for her to preserve this resting place until the day the cemetery was passed on
to us. It is located one-half mile east of our residence on Skinner Mill Circle which along with
three other properties we own on Skinner Mill Road are part of the original land grant deeded over
200 years ago to the family. There were nearly 30 souls buried in the Skinner Family Cemetery
over a 127-year period from 1817 until 1944. The first to be buried was Emmeline Skinner an
infant girl that survived only one day. Most notably is Major William Skinner III born in 1744 for
payment for his service during the Revolutionary War of 1776 Major Skinner was given a land
grant the original land grant was in Screven County where George Washington stopped and had
breakfast with him in 1791 on his tour through Georgia. In 1806 he traded land grants with his
father-in-law Seaborn Jones of Richmond County consisting of 4,129 acres. This tract of land
would come to be known as Skinnerville. The fence line has been breached several times in the
past by drivers losing control on the dangerous curve it sits on. Aside from those unwanted visitors
the cemetery has been anonymous and inaccessible to anyone other than family, friends and its
two neighbors. Properties on both sides have always been single-family residences. These
neighbors have been protective as well as respectful of the private cemetery. With the proposed
rezoning of adjacent 3004 Skinner Mill Road by its new owner from residential to commercial this
historic cemetery is threatened with uncertainty. Unlike a pubic cemetery a private cemetery has
no onsite caretaker to oversee it and maintain it daily. Curious patrons from an adjacent business
could easily trespass, cause irreversible damage. Only one such incident and the sanctity and
history will be lost forever. No amount of proposed green fencing would deter a persistent patron
or deflect large service vehicles accessing the bordering drive. This is particularly true should the
new owner build an establishment that serves alcohol as planned. Furthermore the new owner of
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3004 Skinner Mill Road has stated during the recent rezoning hearing on July 2 that the Skinner
Family was in favor of his plans to not only build a neighborhood restaurant but also to
memorialize Major William Skinner III as a part of his establishment. The Skinner Family in no
was wishes or agrees to have this cemetery or any of its residents exploited for anyone’s use. It is
our preference that it stay anonymous and inaccessible. To be perfectly clear we are staunchly
opposed to a business, especially a restaurant with a bar, next door to our cemetery. It is our wish
for the adjacent property to remain residential to avoid any peril to this fragile, private family
cemetery. I ask that your decision today takes into consideration whether preserving and
protecting this 200-year old cemetery on predominantly residential road is more important that just
another restaurant and bar. Thank you for your time today.
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Mr. Mayor: Thank you very much.
The Clerk:
DELEGATIONS
G. Mr. Mike Samadi regarding a Special Exception for property at 4013 Belair Road.
Mr. Samadi: Good afternoon, Honorable Mayor and Honorable Commissioners. I
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appreciate you having me here and allowing me to express my issue. On or about August 22
2016 this body of commissioners had approved a Special Exception zoning for a Personal Care
Home at the property address 4013 Belair Road and from that point on of course there were some
stipulations. I tried to meet and I met all the stipulations with the county, the Fire Marshal’s or
whoever had the stipulations I met all the stipulations. Unfortunately as an agent of a landlord or
a landlord we don’t operate Personal Care Homes therefore we have to rely on others that are in
the business or want to be in the business to help operate the Personal Care Home. Unfortunately
at that time I had a newborn with illness and also a toddler which also had issues with plus an ill
father, and I had to rely on some untrustworthy individuals who claimed that they would be able
to get the state license to operate and unfortunately I went from one bad, one terrible person to
another to another and had to evict one which would not move out although she had a broken
recliner and twin bed in this whole big place. I had to go through the complete eviction process,
you know, to get that broken recliner and the twin bed out of the property and or another one
claimed that she can negotiate with me after they already came to terms. And then she turned
around and sued me which I do have a copy of the judgement here and she lost and therefore I
have a judgement against her which I know I won’t be able to collect and so on and so forth. I
have two others that approached me one which was transporting elderly clients from South
Carolina to Georgia and therefore FBI and the State Task Force got involved for some serious
violations. And finally the last one which signed a contract with me she moved into the property
without paying but she’s claiming that she is going to, she’s in the process of getting the state
license however nothing happened and she finally got arrested by the State Task Force for abusing
her clients and/or embezzling the money from clients. Unfortunately I had no control over these
individuals as nobody does. We all are human we try to do the best we can in life. We try to trust
people and unfortunately the (unintelligible) situations that some people are not trustworthy. I
learned recently from Planning and Zoning I had a conversation with Ms. Lois Schmidt at the
Planning and Zoning that said my Special Exception has expired and she asked that, she mentioned
that for me to continue I have to reapply, go through the entire process. The property’s already
been brought up to code and the fire extinguishers are there, the compression hood is there, the
fence is there, whatever requirements that is needed for a Personal Care Home is already there.
For me to go through the additional cost and time and things at this time is difficult for me. I ask
this body of the Commission would please consider that and give me a special allowance for me
to have to proceed for six more months and hopefully I can get someone who is true and
trustworthy in the place so we can get a license, a state license, the required state license and
proceed.
Mr. Mayor: All right, I think we may have a few questions. Mr. Sherman, would you
approach please? The caption on the agenda item simply says regarding a Special Exception for
property. Can you please just in simple terms tell us what’s going on here?
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Mr. Sherman: Yes, well as Mr. Samadi said back in August 2016 his application for a
Special Exception to allow a Personal Care Home at this address was heard by you and it was
approved. Once the action’s taken by the Commission to approve a Special Exception the
applicant has six months to begin work on the project and one and if after six months if the use
ceases to exist or there’s no activity for one year you lose that Special Exception and then it’s, you
basically have to start over.
Mr. Mayor: Okay and so in effect he’s asking for an extension of that time?
Mr. Sherman: Well, that time has expired so I guess he’s asking for a variance to the
regulations that would allow him to I don’t know if he’s if he wanted to open back up or if what
are you asking?
Mr. Samadi: I have never opened up as a (unintelligible). I just had series of bad people
that claimed to be operators. Through Mr. Roy Publico who I believe is one of your inspectors or
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a Planning and Zoning Inspector has recently on June 22 sent me a copy of his final approval. I
nd.
just received that as I mentioned June 22 I have an email from him with his approval which I’m
not sure of course doesn’t have a date when the property was finally approved. The Fire Marshal
has been there several times. I checked everything; everything is working. The heat, the Fire
Marshal’s approved it however Mr. Publico’s approval which was the last thing I’m not sure when
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it is but I received it on June 22. As I mentioned I never had the opportunity to operate this
though I was trying to unfortunately I had some serious family issues of my own plus that. I had
several people who claimed that they would or that they were trying to open or to get the state
license. We are stuck on getting a state license. Everything else was done; approval from the
county and the Planning and Zoning everything was done it’s just that I had some bad operators
that did not submit the application for the state licenses.
Mr. Mayor: All right, so there seems to be some substantial gaps in this conversation and
it might be could for you to spend some time and get some discovery here find out how best to
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proceed. The Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 1.
Mr. Fennoy: Yes, I think the questions that I had Mr. Sherman has already answered but
like you, Mr. Mayor, I think that Mr. Samadi and Mr. Sherman should get together and find out
what needs to take place and bring that back to committee so that we could vet it and see how we
go about moving forward.
Mr. Samadi: If you ---
Mr. Mayor: Hold on ---
Mr. Samadi: --- please allow me.
Mr. Mayor: --- Rob ---
Mr. Sherman: Yes.
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Mr. Mayor: --- Director Sherman, can you facilitate that and make sure that that does
happen?
Mr. Sherman: Yes.
Mr. Mayor: Okay, all right, Mr. Samadi, so what’s going to happen is that you’re going to
get an opportunity to meet with our Planning Director and make sure that you’ve got all of the
permitting in place as you are required. If you’re still thinking about opening up as a Personal
Care Home, you still need the state license to be able to do that as well. So I think, I don’t want us
having a premature conversation here as this body without those things being in place and we’re
approving something that quite frankly you didn’t take action on for a variety of reasons. All right,
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the Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 6.
Mr. Hasan: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Mr. Mayor, the only thing that concerns me around
that is as I look at the history there and by Mr. Samadi’s own admission everyone he has brought
in to his business of which he has gotten approved to conduct a Personal Care Home and that’s
about four business persons for this timeframe, one of them being arrested, so nobody has panned
out for him in trying to potentially manage something that I’ve heard I think I heard him say it as
well that he doesn’t necessary have the skillset to run it so he’s looking for somebody to manage
something. And that kind of concerns me because he has about four business persons and thus far
none of it has worked out for him. The second thing and I just want to share this with Mr. Samadi
this is a personal story for me, Mr. Mayor, I hope you don’t mind me sharing it. When I had a
business on Laney Walker Boulevard I had an opportunity to have the adjoining building next me
that was connected by the wall. The owner of the property allowed me to cut a hole in the wall
and what I did next to me was a barber shop, was already established there what was set up there.
By cutting a hole in the wall it gave me access to it and I was able to go out and get barbers and
things of that nature. I can’t cut a hair, I took and set it up, took everything out of there, set the
shop up and everything and the barbers stayed with me for about six months. After that they sold
everything. So my thing is that you may very well be setting yourself up again. If you cannot
manage that and get yourself qualified, you’re at somebody’s mercy. You’re not actually in control
of what you’re doing; somebody else is in control of it. And that’s, Mr. Mayor, I don’t want to
debate, I just want to share from my personal experience and I think he’s going down the same
road again because nobody’s worked out for him thus far, thank you, sir.
Mr. Samadi: If I may ---
Mr. Mayor: All right, hold on, hold on, the Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the
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8.
Mr. Guilfoyle: Mr. Mayor, can I ask Rob Sherman a question please?
Mr. Mayor: You may.
Mr. Guilfoyle: Rob, I listened to Mr. Samadi and I actually read where he actually had
four different tenants over the past two years. It wouldn’t hurt to use a Lease Management
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Company on your next venture, sir. But as far as Rob as far as Special Exemption as far as
extending it have we ever done that because we already got policies in place.
Mr. Sherman: No, but, I’m sorry.
Mr. Guilfoyle: No, I’m asking.
Mr. Sherman: No, it’s specific in the code it’s six months to get started a year if it ceases
to exist you lose that right.
Mr. Guilfoyle: That’s all I need to know. Thank you, Rob, thank you, Mr. Mayor.
Mr. Mayor: Thank you. All right, Mr. Samadi, so here’s what’s going to happen.
Mr. Samadi: --- if I may answer?
Mr. Mayor: All right, so I gave you an opportunity to explain where you are, what your
position is. There’s nothing we’re going to do today nor is there anything we can do to give you
right to open the business. So what I would suggest is you take an opportunity to meet with Mr.
Sherman as we are suggesting you do so that he can get you in a better position based on all of
what you’ve heard, okay?
Mr. Samadi: May I ask you a question?
Mr. Mayor: You may.
Mr. Samadi: I do not dispute the policy and I do not, I mean I’ve known Mr. Sherman,
Director Sherman, for years. I’ve have no issues as far as meeting with him and coming to some
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compromise from what I understand the deadline to apply is August 4 and I’m hoping to be able
to get an answer. And as far as Commissioner Hasan is concerned, I finally came across a young
lady who’s already been in the medical field for 26 years and who is running another Personal
Care Home successfully who is going to be taking over and in fact this is not the first Personal
Care Home that I have, which I’m this is the third one which I’m trying to work with this young
lady. And so I have no problem meeting with Director Sherman at all but I’m hoping to get a
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conclusion before August 4.
Mr. Mayor: Very well all right, thank you.
Mr. Samadi: Thank you.
The Clerk: Our next items are our Consent Agenda that consists of Items 1-21. And under
the Planning portion of the agenda I’ll read the Planning petition and if there are any objectors
would you please signify your objection by raising your hand.
Item 3: If a request for concurrence with the Planning Commission to approve with
conditions below a petition for a change of zoning from Zone R-1 and Zone B-1 (Neighborhood
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Business) to Zone R-2 (Two-family Residential) affecting property located at 1110 Florence Street
and 1301 and 1305 Eleventh Street.
The Clerk: Are there any objectors to this Planning petition? None noted, Mr. Mayor, and
under our Public Services portion of the agenda I’ll read the alcohol license and if there are any
objectors to those would you please signify your objection by raising your hand.
Item 5: Is a request for a retail package Beer & Wine License to be used in connection
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with Coliseum located at 808 11 Street.
Item 6: Is a request for an on premise consumption Liquor & Beer License to be used in
connection with Chipotle Mexican Grill located 229 Robert C. Daniel Parkway, Unit A. There will
be Sunday Sales.
The Clerk: Are there any objectors to either one of these alcohol petitions. We have an
objector, Mr. Mayor, for that one and also, Mr. Mayor and Commission, on Item 7 under Public
Services the Planning and Development Department has asked that the second reading be waived
on this amendment in order to get this to the Board of Elections so that they can meet their timeline
to have it on the ballot for the November election. So our Consent Agenda is Items 1-22 with one
objector to Item 5.
Mr. Mayor: Okay I’d like to add to the consent agenda the addition to the agenda that we
have in front of us that was provided, it was requested by Risk Management that’s the item that’s
before you I’d like to add that to the Consent Agenda, all right without objection. All right, the
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Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 4.
Mr. Sias: Mr. Mayor, I want to pull a couple of items but it’s not going to be a long drawn
out process.
Mr. Mayor: Okay if you’ll tell us what they are, sir.
Mr. Sias: Item 1, Item 2 I would also pull Item 7 to make that request for the waiver Item
---
Mr. Mayor: Well, I think you can leave seven on there and again as we read it as Ms.
Morawski has indicated waiving the second reading.
Mr. Sias: --- okay, no problem and 11.
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Mr. Mayor: Okay, all right, the Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 9.
Mr. M. Williams: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I’ve got a couple of items I’d like to pull to get
some clarity. Item number 4 I need to get some understanding about that one also Items 14, 15,
and 16 the condemnation is what we’re authorizing there.
Mr. Mayor: All right, so let’s just suspend for a moment. All right, Madam, Ms. Morawski,
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Items 4, 14, 15 and 16 the Commissioner from the 9.
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The Clerk: Okay.
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Mr. Mayor: Okay all right, the Commissioner from the 9 continue.
Mr. M. Williams: I think that’s it, Mr. Mayor, for pulling.
Mr. Mayor: All right, I’m going to pull Item 19. All right, the Chair recognizes the
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Commissioner from the 1.
Mr. Fennoy: Mr. Mayor, I’d like to add Item number 30 and number 31 to the Consent
Agenda.
Mr. Mayor: Okay all right Item 30 add to the Consent Agenda, Item 30 without objection
all right, Item 31.
Mr. Sias: Objection on that one.
Mr. Mayor: So, Item 31 remains on the regular agenda.
Mr. Frantom: Motion to approve.
Mr. Mayor: All right, we’ve got a motion ---
Mr. Sias: Second.
Mr. Mayor: --- with a second, voting.
Mr. Hasan: Mr. Mayor, I’d like be on the record voting No for 25.
CONSENT AGENDA
PLANNING
3. Z-18-35 – A request for concurrence with the Augusta Planning Commission to approve
with the conditions below a petition by William J. Palladino, on behalf of Augusta Land
Bank, requesting a change of zoning from Zone R-1 and Zone B-1 (Neighborhood Business)
to Zone R-2 (Two-family Residential) affecting property containing 0.28 acres and known as
1110 Florence Street and 1301 and 1305 Eleventh Street. Tax Map 059-2-175-00-0, 059-2-
176-01-0 and 059-2-176-00-0 DISTRICT 1 1. Provide an access easement for the proposed
shared driveway and parking spaces as part of the plat recording for the newly created lots.
2. Provide landscaping that is similar to the illustration shown on the concept plan date
received on 5/31/2018.
PUBLIC SERVICES
5. Motion to approve New Location Application: A.N. 18-25: request by In Sun Kim for a
retail package Beer & Wine License to be used in connection with Coliseum located at 801
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11 Street. District 1. Super District 9. (Approved by Public Services Committee July 10,
2018)
6. Motion to approve New Location Application: A.N. 18-26: request by Kaswania Keith for
an on-premise consumption Liquor & Beer License to be used in connection with Chipotle
Mexican Grill located at 229 Robert C. Daniel Jr. Pkwy, Unit A. There will be Sunday Sales.
District 3. Super District 10. (Approved by Public Services Committee July 10, 2018)
7. Motion to approve an amendment to the Augusta, Georgia Code Title 6, Chapter 2, Article
1, Alcoholic Beverages, Section 6-2-15 Sunday Sales effective upon approval of a referendum
to provide for the sale of alcohol on Sundays beginning at 11:00 A.M. in accordance with
Senate Bill 17. (Approved by Public Services Committee July 10, 2018)
8. Motion to approve referring this matter to the Augusta Planning Commission for
consideration and to keep the Parking Task Force informed about the issue regarding
consideration of parking options, requirements, issues and solutions for businesses that
desire to open in the Central Business District. (Approved by Public Services Committee July
10, 2018)
9. Motion to approve Amendment #2 to Cooperative Agreement FY2018 with CSRA
Regional Commission for Senior Nutrition Services for Augusta, GA. (Approved by Public
Services Committee July 10,2018)
10. Motion to approve appointing a subcommittee with Commissioner Sean Frantom as
Chair and representatives from the DDA, the Sheriff’s Office, the Mayor’s Office, CVB,
Administrator’s Office, Parks & Recreation Dept. and business owners to meet and discuss
creating an entertainment district as an overlay zone. The area to be considered for the
entertainment district. What is the purpose of the entertainment district 1) Alcoholic
beverages outside of premises 2) Tables & chairs in front of bars 3) Etc. (Approved by Public
Services Committee July 10, 2018)
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
12. Motion to approve bid award of contract to Midwest Maintenance of Augusta to restore
the integrity of the exterior building envelope at the Augusta Animal Services Building in
the amount of $244,382.00. Bid Item 18-188. (Approved by Services Committee July 10,
2018)
FINANCE
13. Motion to approve a request from Mr. Rayonta Whitfield with the Augusta Boxing Club
for a refund on the 2017 taxes. (Approved by Finance Committee July 10, 2018)
ENGINEERING SERVICES
17. Motion to authorize condemnation to acquire title of a portion of property for permanent
easement and temporary easement (Parcel 166-0-014-00-0) 4257 James Drive. (Approved by
Engineering Services Committee July 10, 2018)
18. Motion to approve Agreement with the Augusta Canal Authority for delivery of water
through the Augusta Canal. (Referred from June 12 Engineering Services Committee)
20. Motion to approve purchase of Water Optimization Software Subscription for Augusta
Utilities – Facilities Maintenance Division. (Approved by Engineering Services Committee
July 10, 2018)
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PETITIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS
21. Motion to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of the Augusta Commission held
June 28,2018 and Special Called Meeting held July 10, 2018.
APPOINTMENTS
22. Motion to ratify the reappointments and appointments of the Richmond County
Legislative Delegation as follows: reappoint Aishia Leverett and Lawrence Washington –
Augusta Port Authority; Ethion Rowe and Chris Booker – ARC Zoning Appeals Bd.; Gwen
Roundtree and Lillie Hamilton – ARC Library Bd.; Cedric Johnson – Coliseum Authority;
Charles Lamback – General Aviation Commission; Robert Cook and Debra Spencer –
Planning Commission; Denice Traina and Charles Cummings – Transit Citizen Advisory
Cmte.; Randy Wishard – Animal Control; Eugene Tanzymore, Kitty Cato and Clyde Lester
– Sheriff’s Merit Board; Larry Harris and Dan Troutman – Augusta Aviation Commission.
FINANCE
30. Approve $15,000 from Contingency to fund Sand Hills Community Center Youth
Program. (Requested by Commissioner Bill Fennoy)
Ms. Davis out.
Motion Passes 9-0. \[Items 3, 5-10, 12, 13, 17-18, 20-22\]
Mr. Mayor: Okay, Ms. Morawski, Item 23 and 24 there was a request I think it came from
multiple sources for us to delete or table this item.
The Clerk: Yes, sir.
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Mr. Mayor: The Commissioner from the 9 has some question or concern about that I too
share the sentiment that this item again in the event that the petitioners are not here we should refer
this back to committee and not take any action on this matter. All right, I’m going to recognize
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the Commissioner from the 9 to speak to it.
PLANNING
23. Z-18-30 – A request for reconsideration and concurrence with the Augusta Georgia
Planning Commission to approve with the conditions listed below a petition by Kirk S.
Laney, on behalf of Kirk S. Laney, sole member of Dixon Airline Recycling & Disposal LLC,
requesting a change of zoning from Zone A (Agriculture) To Zone HI (Heavy Industry)
affecting property containing approximately 21 acres and known as part of 1710 Dixon
Airline Road. Tax Map 145-0-033-00-0 DISTRICT 6 1. Approval be granted for all lands on
TPN 145-0-033-00-0 currently zoned A (Agriculture) to be rezoned to HI (Heavy Industrial)
to be in conformance with existing use of the land. 2. An inspection by the City of Augusta
and an inspection by the Georgia EPD must be conducted on the overall site and any prior
deficiencies found on the site must be corrected or remedied prior to a business license being
issued by the City of Augusta for any and all operations on the site; 3. The Cemetery on the
property needs to be clearly delineated on any and all site plans, plats or depictions of the
site, the required cemetery buffer needs to be verified, and the cemetery and the required
buffer need to be adequately fenced to prevent encroachment by an of the recycling
operations should the cemetery be located in these area; 4. An undisturbed buffer similar to
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the one shown on the Concept Plan submitted with the rezoning request bust be enforced
between the proposed mining operation and the existing residential structures. In no case,
can the undisturbed buffer be reduced below 100 feet in width against the residential lots
and all mining activities must be performed during the normal business hours of 8:00 am to
5:00 pm. 5. No inert fill activities may take place on the site. 6. An annual inspection, as part
of the annual business license renewal, shall be conducted by Augusta Code Enforcement
inspectors to ensure compliance with all provisions of this zoning action.
24. Z-18-31 – A request for reconsideration and concurrence with the Augusta Georgia
Planning Commission to approve with the conditions listed below a petition by Kirk S.
Laney, on behalf of Kirk S. Laney, sole member of Dixon Airline Recycling & Disposal LLC,
requesting a Special Exception to establish a Recycling Area for Concrete, Asphalt and
Wood materials in the HI (Heavy Industrial) Zone per Section 24-2(a)(17) of the
Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance for Augusta-Richmond County affecting property
containing approximately 150 acres an known as 1710 Dixon Airline Road. Tax Map 145-0-
033-00-0 DISTRICT 6 1. Approval be granted only for the areas specified for recycling on
the Concept Plan resented with the zoning case, which includes an approximately 3.16 acre
area for concrete recycling, and approximately 2.99 acre area for asphalt recycling and a
approximately 3.35 acre area for land clearing wood debris recycling. 2. The property owner
must maintain the proper permitting from EPD for the portable crusher, as long as the
portable crusher is being utilized on the site. 3. The portable crusher must not be utilized
outside of the areas specified for recycling on the Concept Plan, which includes an
approximately 3.16 acre area for concrete recycling, and approximately 2.99 acre area for
asphalt recycling and an approximately 3.35 acre area for land clearing wood debris
recycling. 4. An inspection by the City of Augusta and an inspection by the Georgia EPD
must be conducted on the overall site and any prior deficiencies found on the site must be
corrected or remedied prior to a business license being issued by the City of Augusta for any
and all operations on the site; 5. The cemetery on the property needs to be clearly delineated
on any and all site plans, plats or depictions of the site, the required cemetery buffer needs
to be verified, and the cemetery and the required buffer need to be adequately fenced to
prevent encroachment by any of the recycling operations should the cemetery be located in
these areas; 6. The Site Plan for the recycling activity must comply with any other State and
Federal ordinances and regulations in effect at the time of development. 7. All
recycling/production /crushing or reduction activities must be performed during the normal
business hours of 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. 8. No inert fill activities may take place on the site.
Concrete, asphalt and land clearing wood debris brought into the site, from offsite, shall be
for recycling purposes only, and recycled or reduced materials must conform to the EPD
Rule for such activities. All recycled or reduced concrete, asphalt, and land clearing wood
materials shall not remain on the property indefinitely. 9. An annual inspection, as part of
the annual business license renewal, shall be conducted by Augusta Code Enforcement
inspectors to ensure compliance with all provisions of this zoning action.
Mr. M. Williams: Thank you, Mr. Mayor ---
Mr. Mayor: I’m going to 23 and 24.
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Mr. M. Williams: This item has been before us several different times and I keep
wondering, I thought I could get Rob to help me out. Why does this keep reappearing? Why is
this being persistent?
Mr. Sherman: Okay, at the last Commission meeting it was before you and it’s not the last
Commission meeting but it was a couple of Commission meetings ago ---
Mr. Mayor: That’s correct.
Mr. Sherman: --- no action was taken on it so the applicant requested that we place it back
on the agenda so it’s here today but at the last minute today or maybe late yesterday afternoon the
applicant notified Planning and Ms. Morawski in the Clerk’s Office that their engineer’s out of
town and can’t be at the meeting today and asked that it be postponed until your next meeting.
Mr. M. Williams: I’m trying to remember though, Rob, can you help me, since this wasn’t
passed Mr. Mayor what we voted on because I mean I don’t see how it didn’t pass but sure but --
-
Mr. Mayor: Okay so ---
Mr. M. Williams: --- how did we get back here is my question.
Mr. Mayor: --- all right, so what’s before us is a motion to reconsider okay that is a motion
to reconsider this matter. And there was information that was provided by the Environmental
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Services Director, the Commissioner from the 6 was very eloquent in his analysis and he shared
some things with us that we were not aware of, he provided that and the Administrator concurred
with that. What has since happened is as I understand it is that there has been new information the
use of this facility is much different than what was articulated before and the petitioner simply
says I’d like to come back and have that conversation with you. And their request today since I’m
not here let us move this to committee and then bring it back, that’s what I’ve heard and that’s all
that’s being asked for today.
Mr. M. Williams: If I can follow up, Mr. Mayor ---
Mr. Mayor: You absolutely may.
Mr. M. Williams: --- thank you if that was the case it looked like they would’ve brought
it back to committee versus bringing it back to Commission anyway but the name has changed but
the use is still the same. Now can somebody explain to me what’s the difference because the name
done changed, Rob, at least three times maybe four but I mean at least three times. And we had
the airport director here who is not in support of this, we had the landfill director who was not in
support of this as well and just because we changed the name the same usage is just a different
name.
Mr. Sherman: Let me go back to I guess ’16 or ’17 when it was before you and there was
an application for a Special Exception for a Landfill. That was denied, a landfill an all-
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encompassing landfill. What’s before you today is there’s two cases, property in total is roughly
150 acres. Of that 150 acres 150 approximately 20 acres is still zoned agricultural and one of the
zoning cases is the application to rezone that from Agricultural to Heavy Industrial. Then the other
application is to apply for a Special Exception for a recycling, now the recycling of materials and
they’re specific in saying asphalt, concrete and wood products etc. to bring on to the property and
to recycle. And they’ve designated three areas within that 150 acres for these three recycling
activities, each of the three areas is roughly two to three acres. It’s my understanding that they
will dig up some of the buried concrete and recycle that. Any materials that are landfill materials
will be sent to the city landfill. Now of the 150 acres all of that can be mined for the clay and sand
but what’s specifically they are, and that they can do in the Heavy Industrial Zone as it is the 130
acres that’s roughly 130 acres. So what they’re asking for is for a Special Exception for recycling.
It will be tied to that and one of the conditions is that it cannot be used for inert fill. For inert fill
if they decided that that’s the direction they want to go, they’ve got to come back to you to get a
Special Exception for that. And inert, not to complicate it but to give you the facts, inert landfill
is allowed in a Heavy Industrial Zone if there are no residents are residential uses or residential
zones within a 1000 feet of the property. In this case there are residential uses within a 1000 feet
of this property so they cannot do an inert landfill without a Special Exception which again in the
future if that’s their direction they go or want to go, they’ve got to come back through the Planning
Commission and your final decision on that request.
Mr. M. Williams: Can I respond, Mr. Mayor?
Mr. Mayor: Well, let me ask you this before you respond. The petitioner has asked for us
to delete this item from the agenda. What we’re effectively doing now is debating this item in the
absence of the petitioner. Their request was a simple one. I think it’s certainly germane and that
is wait until we get back and we’ve done that in several occasions before this body and then let us
come and have the conversation in front to you and at that time if you will allow us to have this
being reconsidered because I think facts have changed. It’s my understanding there is support for
this from the Environmental Services Department as well because of the specific use. I’m not here
to speak for Ms. Videtto but more than anything the petitioner has asked would you please delete
this item, give me an opportunity to be heard in front of this body. I think that’s what we’re asking
for. That’s a very just request and I’m going to ask this body if they’ll move forward with that.
I’m going to recognize and come back to you so we ain’t got to do all of that today. All right, the
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Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 9.
Mr. M. Williams: Mr. Mayor, if that was no objection from this body from any elected
official I can understand that but there was objection. The agenda book belongs to this body and
once it’s printed and passed out, it’s our opportunity to either except or reject it and I chose to
reject it because it’s been before this body multiple times under a different name. Heavy Industry
I agree with what Mr. Sherman just said but at the same time we know that Heavy Industry is,
can’t allow inert landfill which would be next to an airport who we was told there wouldn’t be any
household garbage and so birds wouldn’t be attracted. I don’t think birds’ radar and they’ve got
very good eyesight can tell whether there’s garbage in there or not until they land until they come
down and if not nothing else but worms and everything else is there who’s going to attract birds
to the airport. Now we just talked about the significance of the airport and the grant they just got
in moving forward in trying to build a better facility but now we’re going to allow an inert landfill
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which you can throw a rock twice and hit the airport almost from where we’re talking about this
location. This has been oncoming, this has been ongoing for quite some time so I agree with you
what you just said I’ve got no problem with that, but I just think we are setting our city up wrong
when we put issues like this out here and act as if they’re not. Now this is very, can be very
detrimental Mr. Judon is here I don’t know if he’s here he’s spoke against this at one point in this
chamber now you’re saying that we ought to just let them come back and talk. I’ve been wined
and dined but I don’t feel like that today, Mr. Mayor, this ain’t my day.
Mr. Mayor: Yeah, I understand that. All right, I’m going to go in this order again the
request was to delete this from the agenda. That’s what’s before us no other consideration other
than just deleting it from the agenda. All right, the Chair will entertain a motion for that. All right,
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the Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 4 you had your hand up.
Mr. Sias: Thank you, sir. I’m going to make that motion that you’re asking for but I want
to say this first. Mr. Sherman, if it’s a recycle of C&D is what you said.
Mr. Sherman: No, just asphalt not all construction demolition to (unintelligible) what
they’re telling us only asphalt, concrete and limbs and such.
Mr. Sias: How do you classify asphalt and concrete?
Mr. Sherman: Well, not well ---
Mr. Sias: Okay we ain’t going to argue over it today but that’s C&D. The thing so, the
point I wanted to make as I made the motion was once you start stacking stuff out there such as
asphalt and concrete and you’re supposed to be recycling it it’s basically inert fill until you actually
recycle it and in case you don’t you’ve got inert fill. Move that this item be deleted from the
agenda.
Mr. Frantom: Second.
Mr. Mayor: Okay, we’ve got a motion to delete it from the agenda, voting.
Mr. Williams votes Present.
Ms. Davis out.
Motion Passes 8-0-1.
Mr. Mayor: Okay, Ms. Morawski, here’s what I want to do. I want to go to I believe it’s
item, the item that the petitioner’s are here about with the restaurant ---
The Clerk: Twenty-five.
Mr. Mayor: --- twenty-five all right very good, let’s go to twenty-five.
The Clerk:
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PLANNING
25. Z-18-36 – A request for concurrence with the Augusta Planning Commission to approve
with the conditions below a petition by James Jacobs requesting a change of zoning from
Zone R-1A (One-family Residential) and Zone B-1 (Neighborhood Business) To Zone B-1
affecting property containing 1.12 acres and known as 3004 Skinner Mill road. Tax Map
018-0-013-01-0 DISTRICT 7 1. A Traffic Impact Assessment shall be commissioned at the
cost of the application to determine which, if any, roadway improvements must be made to
mitigate the impact of additional traffic to and from the site. Roadway improvements, if
required, by the Traffic Study or the Augusta Traffic Engineer, will be performed t the cost
of the applicant. 2. The conceptual site plan submitted and evaluated is for the purpose of
the current zoning action only. Issuance of development permits shall be contingent upon the
submission and approval of the development plans meeting all applicable development
regulation.
Mr. Mayor: Okay, Director Sherman, here’s how we’re going to do this. We’ve heard
from two delegations who are in opposition of this. I think the just thing is that we hear from the
petitioner. So, whoever that petitioner is if they’ll come forward and be here with Mr. Sherman,
okay? All right, we’ll give them a moment to come around. All right, I’m going to step out for
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just a moment but the Commissioner from the 9 is acting Chair, all right, Rob, if you’ll proceed.
Mr. Sherman: Do you want to hear from the applicant first?
Mr. M. Williams: Yes, if the applicant will come on this side just so we’ve got two mikes
come on this side and Rob you can stay where you are that way you won’t have to share. Mr.
Jacobs, go ahead and give us your reason for this restaurant/bar.
Mr. Jacobs: My name is Rody Jacobs. I am the owner and developer of the property at
3004 Skinner Mill Road. I’m a resident in District 7 in Richmond County have been most of my
life. I grew up in Brywood Subdivision off of Boy Scout Road and in Waverly Subdivision off of
Skinner Mill. I currently reside off of Warren Road on a tract of land that Mr. Plunkett mentioned
was owned by William Skinner after the Revolutionary War. Currently 3004 Skinner Mill Road
is dual zoned both R1-A and B-1. Now the property adjacent to us is already zoned B-1 and the
property directly across the street from us is already zoned B-2. We’re applying for the B-1 Zoning
of the entire property so that we can build a neighborhood restaurant on the site. The best way to
transition from a commercial area which is at the intersection of Skinner Mill and Boy Scout to a
residential area is a project that’s woven into the fabric of its surroundings; that’s exactly what we
intend to do. So what defines this neighborhood restaurant? A neighborhood restaurant must
mesh well with the surrounding environment, it must have a unique vibe, it must have topnotch
service, it must have excellent food and it must improve the overall quality and value of the
surrounding neighborhood. Our restaurant will include an indoor dining area, a small covered
outdoor patio and an open courtyard surrounded by mature trees, an outdoor fireplace and various
seating options. There will be a large brick oven on the interior that you can dine around and
watch food being prepared as well as a small smokehouse adjacent to the outdoor courtyard where
you can watch the fresh meats being slow smoked in one of our custom offset barrel smokers. You
will be able to join us for brunch after church on Sunday and let your kids play under the large
canopy trees and courtyard. You’ll be able to enjoy good conversation and great food by the
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outdoor fireplace on a cool evening in the fall. Our goal is to create a uniquely inviting community
atmosphere while serving quality food prepared by trained chefs that is family friendly and caters
to all ages. There are several green elements we’ve incorporated into the design and the
architecture that will be unique to the property and will allow the project to mesh well the
surrounding environment. All the stormwater runoff collected from the building and parking lot
will be directed into an underground retention system so there will be no need for a detention pond
on the property. The rainwater stored in the underground retention wells will also be pumped
through an irrigation system and will provide water to the newly landscaped site. The main
entrance and main drive aisles of the parking lot will be asphalt but all the parking stalls or parking
spaces will be constructed using a drivable grass product. Drivable grass is a structural product
that allows you to have a grass parking lot that will hold up to vehicular traffic. This product
allows water to percolate into the ground and eventually into an underground storm water retention
system and irrigation system. A drivable grass parking lot also filters the water runoff before
entering the ground improving water quality and provides an esthetically pleasing alternative to
complete asphalt or concrete parking lots. The outdoor courtyard will be enclosed by a green
screen planted screen fence that will be covered in a flowering evergreen vine.
Mr. M. Williams: You have one more minute, Mr. Jacobs.
Mr. Jacobs: We have communicated with the owners of the adjacent cemetery and agreed
to maintain the historical property for them. I’ve expressed interest in memorializing the cemetery
to the owners by constructing a monument that explains the history and importance of respecting
the adjacent property. As for the traffic along Skinner Mill, we have aligned the entrance so you
are not pulling out into a blind curve. We’ll install a right turn lane along Skinner Mill Road so
cars coming around the curve do not have to stop for traffic pulling into the parking lot. We have
also communicated with the owner of the adjacent property at the corner of Boy Scout and Skinner
Mill Road and he has agreed to allow access so that we can have an entrance and exit directly on
to Boy Scout Road. We also have a signed petition with 230 names in favor of the rezoning.
Mr. M. Williams: Okay, your time is up. Commissioner Guilfoyle had a question and
Commissioner Hasan ---
Mr. Hasan: He answered my question.
Mr. M. Williams: --- okay Commissioner Guilfoyle had a question.
Mr. Guilfoyle: Yes, this question is for Rob Sherman. Mr. Sherman, Ms. Tibbitt’s her
concerns was, I through this in are they going to have dance?
Mr. Sherman: Are they going to?
Mr. Guilfoyle: Yeah.
Mr. Sherman: No.
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Mr. Guilfoyle: Thank you. As far as landlocked curved blind spot, has the Traffic
Engineering Department looked and addressed this issue?
Mr. Sherman: Well, the preliminary review of his concept plan was done by various
departments at a workshop ---
Mr. Guilfoyle: Right.
Mr. Sherman: --- that Terry does once a month and the Traffic Engineer reviewed it and
said that he had no objections with it based on what’s proposed provided that they put in a turn
lane. So if you’re going north on Skinner Mill Road there will be like a decel lane where you can
get off the travel path and turn right into this (inaudible).
Mr. Guilfoyle: Right and Ms. Tibbitt, I’m hoping I’m saying her name correctly Tibbitt,
saying that where the ingress/egress belongs to somebody else that was her statement.
Mr. Sherman: The landlocked parcel part, no, this property has frontage on the right-of-
way.
Mr. Guilfoyle: Okay ---
Mr. Sherman: Now in addition to what he was just saying and we weren’t certain that this
had been worked out apparently it has been there will be another entrance and exit off Boy Scout
Road ---
Mr. Jacobs: That’s correct.
Mr. Sherman: --- is that what you’re saying, so.
Mr. Guilfoyle: --- okay, concern of safety and amount of traffic on Skinner Mill Road. I
live on Windsor Spring Road and I know traffic.
Mr. Sherman: Well, this is, Skinner Mill Road’s a heavily traveled road and this will
increase the traffic on it but Skinner Mill Road goes from Boy Scout Road to Walton Way and
then you have the Warren Road Bridge going into that neighborhood so there’s a good bit of traffic
coming on Skinner Mill Road, you have residential developments, you have commercial activity
already, apartments, so it’s a major road.
Mr. Guilfoyle: Okay, does not meet parking requirements. Have we addressed that?
Mr. Sherman: No, you did not address it. That’s a variance that was requested to the
Planning Commission and it was approved by the Planning Commission to reduce the number of
spaces from 94 to 59 so yes by variance of 40 spaces.
Mr. Guilfoyle: And you can operate your business with that amount?
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Mr. Jacobs: Yes, sir. We also have verbal lease agreements in place within a 100 feet of
the property so we do meet parking requirements off-site parking within what’s in the zoning
ordinance we have to have a lease within I think it’s 300 feet of an adjacent property.
Mr. Guilfoyle: All right, is this property abut any neighborhood, adjoins any neighborhood
or is it stand alone?
Mr. Sherman: It does not adjoin a neighborhood.
Mr. Guilfoyle: Okay, all right and I would ask questions on Ms. Plunkett but it was a
family cemetery and I really couldn’t come up with questions because it was more of an
educational piece for me, thank you. And we are in compliance, they follow and meet every
guideline that’s set forth?
Mr. Sherman: Well, at this point they’re asking for the rezoning so that it can be used for
a restaurant and as he was saying a portion of the property is currently zoned B-1 ---
Mr. Guilfoyle: The other side B-2.
Mr. Sherman: --- right and a third is zoned B-1 two-thirds say is residential. This will
allow him to move forward having a site plan developed that will be reviewed by all the applicable
departments for compliance with their codes, Engineering, Utilities etc., Planning and then once
it’s all approved then he could go forward with the actual construction and the building.
Mr. Guilfoyle: All right, Mr. Chairman, can I ask Mr. Jacobs a question?
Mr. M. Williams: Yes, sir.
Mr. Guilfoyle: Mr. Jacobs, as you heard the Ms. Tibbitt’s that was here before us earlier
and her concerns as well as some of her neighbors in the neighborhood. What I’m finding out is
that it’s a good bit of distance away from where you’re building your building but have you reached
out to the neighborhood?
Mr. Jacobs: Yes, sir. So several weeks prior to all our zoning commission meeting I held
a hosted a meeting on a Wednesday evening for anybody that was interested in coming in and
hearing us what we’re proposing and asking any questions. And I think we had, I think there were
approximately 30 or 35 people at that meeting within the neighborhoods. They asked questions,
expressed concerns, and I made sure to answer the questions and address those concerns at that
meeting, yes, sir.
Mr. Guilfoyle: Thank you, Mr. Jacobs. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. M. Williams: Grady, you had a question?
Mr. Smith: (Inaudible).
25
Mr. M. Williams: Pull you mike down so I can hear you now.
Mr. Smith: You know maybe I’m thinking about another area. May I ask Rob a question?
Mr. M. Williams: Yes.
Mr. Smith: Rob, wasn’t there a study done between Walton Way Extension, Boy Scout
Road in that area about four-laning that especially down the hill where those apartments are on
Skinner Mill Road because it was so dangerous people walking back and forth at night and there
was no curbing or anything.
Mr. Sherman: There is an open ditch section along most of Skinner Mill Road and I can’t
answer that question about the four lanes because I just don’t know. Are ya’ll familiar with that?
Ms. Speaker: In 2008 (inaudible).
Mr. M. Williams: Excuse me, Rob, now you address the Chair ---
Mr. Sherman: I’m sorry ---
Mr. M. Williams: --- she may not know the rules but you know the rules.
Mr. Sherman: --- I apologize. I was actually asking Terry.
Mr. M. Williams: Well, let me say this. Half of this county probably got open ditches and
stuff if we’re talking about growing pains or we’re talking about progressing or what Grady did
you get your question answered?
Mr. Smith: Yeah, I guess Rob would be the one that would answer it if he could. If not,
we can talk to the Traffic Engineer. I think wasn’t it several years ago though there a discussion
about four-laning between Walton Way Extension and Boy Scout Road, widening the road? I don’t
know if it was four lane or not just making improvements because it was so dangerous that you
know especially when you’re walking down by where Warren Road Bridge is and then from there
to Walton Way Extension there were no sidewalks or widening for turn lanes or whatever.
Mr. M. Williams: I think we had plenty of debate and conversation. I need to get a motion
to go ahead and do something one way or the other. Can I get a motion, Mr. Mayor, can I get a
motion from this body? District 7 Commissioner.
Mr. Frantom: Thank you, Mr. Chair. Can I ask Rob a question?
Mr. M. Williams: Yeah.
Mr. Frantom: Is there not going a roundabout down at the bottom where Boy Scout meets
Skinner?
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Mr. Sherman: I believe that is correct.
Mr. Frantom: And what’s the timeframe on that?
Mr. Sherman: Can I ask if Abie’s here? I, that’s Engineering, Traffic Engineering, I can’t
tell you.
Mr. Frantom: John’s here.
Mr. Sherman: John Ussery’s here.
Mr. M. Williams: We’ll call Abie back from home or wherever he is.
Mr. Ussery: That’s as good as you’re going to get. I think 2019 is the timeframe on that,
the start of that.
Mr. Frantom: And there’s already a sidewalk going up the left side of the property, is that
not right?
Mr. Ussery: Yes, that’s correct there are (unintelligible).
Mr. Jacobs: There is a sidewalk on the property.
Mr. Frantom: Yeah, there is a sidewalk on the property going up. I guess my other question
is Rob, was any form of lighting on that curve being put in?
Ms. Speaker: (inaudible).
Mr. Mayor: Hold on, okay, I’m going to ask everybody to suspend. Please refrain from
outbursts. We had a petitioner come up and speak on your behalf and we want to try to again be
as just as possible in hearing this matter so please refrain from your outbursts. Continue, sir.
Mr. Frantom: Is there any lighting being put in at the corner that would help more than
what it is currently?
Mr. Sherman: There is proposed lighting for on the property and the applicant can address
that.
Mr. Jacobs. I have proposed to not only include as part of my turn de-cel lane also adding
back there is an existing sidewalk in front of my property and we’ll be adding that sidewalk back
once the turn de-cel lane is in place. And also I’ve already met with lighting engineers to determine
how we can incorporate tasteful streetlighting, site lighting to help illuminate that area. That’s one
of the big concerns that was brought up at the meeting that I held. It is a dark area and they want
to, had a concern with the vehicle traffic but also the pedestrian traffic so I’ve addressed that and
we’ve already started working on designs that will be functional and esthetically pleasing as well.
27
Mr. Frantom: Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. M. Williams: Mr. Sias.
Mr. Sias: Thank you, Mr. Chair, I just wanted to ask the applicant a question.
Approximately what’s the distance on the streetlights you’re going to have say to go in front of
your property? And basically maybe you described going actually past your property if I’m not
mistaken just now, am I correct?
Mr. Jacobs: So obviously I can only control the property that I own as far as the streetlights
and what we can install. I do not have a confirmed design yet. We have been working with the
engineers to provide something so I don’t have those exact measurements as of yet.
Mr. Sias: And then in discussing this with our Traffic Engineer as streetlights is one of the
things I’m very concerned about. I would expect that you as this body has to make a decision that
there are folks supporting it on both sides meaning some for it, some against it. And if you’re
willing to do some of those extra things, Mr. Chair, I’m going to make a motion to approve this
but I want to consider a caveat and then I want to ask Mr. Sherman about it. If we put a stipulation
in there that the zoning reverts back, would that make this whole project this property useless if it
failed, if the restaurant failed as a business?
Mr. Sherman: Well, then you would have a building on there and only a portion of the
property is zoned commercial as it is.
Mr. Sias: So if we put a caveat to switch it back then we’re really creating a worse problem
that it would be if it failed.
Mr. Sherman: I believe so.
Mr. Sias: Motion to approve.
Mr. D. Williams: Second.
Mr. M. Williams: We’ve got a motion and a proper second. All in favor let it be known
by the normal sign of voting.
Ms. Davis out.
Motion Passes 9-0.
Mr. M. Williams: Mr. Mayor, back over to you.
Mr. Mayor: Thank you, thank you, Director Sherman. Okay, we’re going to give
everybody who’s still dealing with this matter an opportunity to step into the foyer, still a lot of
business left to attend to. Madam Clerk, we’re going to go to Item number 31.
The Clerk:
28
ENGINEERING SERVICES
31. Motion to approve renaming the John C. Calhoun Expressway – Veterans Expressway.
(Requested by Commissioner Bill Fennoy)
st
Mr. Mayor: The Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 1.
nd
Mr. Fennoy: Mr. Mayor, on May 22 75% or 74% of the Democrats that voted, voted for
a name change. Of the 68 precincts in Richmond County, this passed in 67 of the 68 precincts the
only precinct where it did not pass was in Precinct 708 and it was a tie ten for and ten against. I
know that this was a non-binding vote but I don’t think that my colleagues could ignore the wishes
of the voters of Richmond County. I have reached out to members of the Republican Party and
they have proposed a compromise and I don’t mind altering my vote, I mean my agenda item to
rename the expressway Charlie Norwood Veterans Expressway. While discussing with this some
of my constituents they pointed out the fact that Charlie Norwood has two VA Hospitals named
after him but I had an opportunity to go to the ribbon cutting ceremony on the Cyber Building this
past Tuesday and I heard Governor Nathan Deal talk about the impact that Charlie Norwood had
on Augusta-Richmond County. He said that Charlie Norwood fought tooth and nail to keep Fort
Gordon open and because of his fight, Fort Gordon is open. And I look at the impact that the
closing of the Fort Gordon could’ve had on Augusta but also look at the impact that keeping Fort
Gordon had on Augusta. The military is in the process of moving their Cyber Headquarters from
Fort Meade, Maryland to Augusta, Georgia. During the presentation last Tuesday it was pointed
out that the military is going to spend more than $2 billion-dollars in Cyber Security out at Fort
Gordon. I look at the opportunity that this is going to create for the City of Augusta and for the
residents that live in Augusta but also the opportunity that it’s going to create for people all across
this country. I think that it’s only fitting and proper that we have a major thoroughfare in Augusta
named after someone that’s had a positive impact on Augusta. The naming of the new Cyber
Building is going to be named after Nathan Deal but the naming of the other building is going to
be named after Michael, and I forgot the other guy’s name ---
Mr. Sias: (inaudible).
Mr. Fennoy: --- yeah but they have had a positive impact on the City of Augusta. The
present naming of the expressway is not someone who has had a positive impact on Augusta. So
I think that we ought to listen to the 13,300 voters or 74% of the Democrats that voted in May and
not the 4,700 or the 27% of the Democrats that voted in May and honor Charlie Norwood because
he had been a positive asset for Augusta and the veterans which active and retired make up about
25% of the residents of Richmond County. So I’d like to amend my motion, Mr. Mayor, to rename
the expressway Charlie Norwood Veterans Expressway.
Mr. Hasan: Second.
Mr. Mayor: All right, I have a motion and a second. Okay all right, the Chair recognizes
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the Commissioner from the 4.
Mr. Sias: Thank you, Mr. Mayor ---
29
Mr. Mayor: Sure.
Mr. Sias: --- whether the idea is Veterans Expressway or Charlie Norwood Expressway
the issue, the number one issue I have with this agenda item is that it’s saying that we’re going to
rename this road. We can only make a request on this particular road to the State of Georgia
Legislature and we’re saying Veterans Park, Veterans Highway Expressway. One of the things
you learn in the military is integrity and honor and that is what you’re supposed to live and die by.
I could never support this if it’s still saying we’re going to rename it. We’re going to make a
request and that is the problem I have with this item. We can’t rename that road. We can request
the General Assembly of Georgia rename it. No matter what you try to rename it to, that’s the
problem with this agenda item for me. I don’t want to say it’s dishonest but it’s not clear, it’s not
truthful. We can’t rename it; we can make a request and that’s the problem I have with this and I
brought that up before and I still see it saying we’re going to rename it. That’s not going to happen.
We can make a request so if we want to be honest about this thing whether it’s Norwood, whether
it’s Veterans, or whether it’s Trump, it needs to be honest it needs to be straight and right now it’s
not and I’m going to vote in support of anything in my view that’s dishonest in its presentation.
So if we want to do this, if you change it and make it honest I would support it but I’m not going
to support it it’s dishonest form. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
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Mr. Mayor: All right, the Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 1.
Mr. Fennoy: Mr. Mayor, I’d like to further amend my motion to make it honest ---
Mr. Mayor: Well, suspend.
Mr. Fennoy: --- okay.
Mr. Mayor: I think the fact that you brought it forth and you’ve been through what you’ve
been through in this community speaks of the honest attempt that you’ve had and to that end that’s
why we’re having this conversation. So be careful as you step into that I think your efforts have
been pure, have been certainly not disingenuous. I mean any time you go through the scrutiny of
being written about and you know maligned in this community you certainly aren’t doing it
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because you have impure motives. I think what the Commissioner from the 4 is really trying to
articulate is that this body has the opportunity to petition the Legislature to rename this road
through the State Department of Transportation so Attorney Mackenzie here’s what I’d like for
you to do. If you will craft that motion for him so that it has those elements in it and then we will
allow him to have that read for the record.
Mr. MacKenzie: Sure, I’d be happy to do that. Actually I had already put together a
resolution the last time we did this. So the resolution would be a Resolution petitioning the Georgia
General Assembly to rename the John C. Calhoun Expressway.
Mr. Mayor: All right, so a motion to ---
Mr. M. Williams: To rename to something, Mr. Mayor, or just rename.
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Mr. MacKenzie: In the resolution you could say rename to the Charlie Norwood Veterans
Expressway.
Mr. Mayor: --- all right, very well. So the motion is to adopt a Resolution to rename is
that what I’m hearing, Attorney MacKenzie?
Mr. Mayor: Okay, all right.
Mr. Sias: Point of Personal Privilege, Mr. Mayor.
Mr. Mayor: Hold on, I’m going back to the Attorney. All right, Attorney MacKenzie.
Mr. MacKenzie: That’s correct.
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Mr. Mayor: Okay all right, Commissioner from the 1.
Mr. Fennoy: Mr. Mayor, I believe and Commissioner Sias is absolutely correct. This is
a state road and we cannot rename it but we can send a Resolution up to Atlanta to have it renamed.
And most recently the Georgia Senate voted unanimously to send a resolution to the Department
of the Interior renaming a creek in Savannah from Runaway Negro Creek to Freedom Creek. So
I believe that there is a, that our legislature in Atlanta there’s a willingness on their part to correct
anything that may give the appearance of something degrading to a group of people.
st,
Mr. Mayor: All right, so Commissioner from the 1 what I’ve heard is that the
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Commissioner from the 4 is prepared to support you because you have a superior motion that’s
in front of you now and if that’s the motion that’s read into the record and you have a proper
second. What I heard is that he’s prepared to support that. You don’t want to filibuster anymore
and lose your support.
Mr. Fennoy: I don’t.
Mr. Sias: I did ask for a Point of Personal Privilege.
Mr. Mayor: You did and I’m going to recognize you at the appropriate time. All right, if
you’ll read that for the record.
Mr. Fennoy: Where the Georgia Department of Transportation maintains an expressway
that spans several miles in the state I-20 to downtown Augusta and was named the John C. Calhoun
Expressway. And whereas the John C. Calhoun Expressway serves as a major entryway into the
downtown area of Augusta. And whereas the John C. Calhoun Expressway is an important
landmark in the city and whereas residents of Augusta and historians from across the region have
made compelling cases that this expressway’s namesake John C. Calhoun is not a reflection of
modern Georgia and has no strong connection with Augusta, Georgia. And whereas that it is
written that to everything there’s a season, a time to every purpose under heaven, a time to be born,
a time to die, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to breakdown and a time to build up, a time
31
to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace, now therefore do here resolve that
the Augusta Georgia Commission petition the Georgia General Assembly to take official action to
change the name of the John C. Calhoun Expressway to Charlie Norwood Veterans Expressway.
Mr. Mayor: Okay all right, we have a motion and a proper second.
Mr. Speaker: (unintelligible).
Mr. Mayor: Okay all right, we’ve got a motion and a proper second the Chair recognizes
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the Commissioner from the 4, state your inquiry.
Mr. Sias: Thank you. On this Point of Personal Privilege I appreciate my colleague’s
reading and but for me the time as a veteran is always beyond this and I had brought this up before.
So as you stated, Mr. Mayor, it wasn’t my intention to assail anybody of their efforts or anything
but this had been brought by myself that we need to be have this motion basically as it is now and
it kept coming back this same way it was. So that was my main point was to let’s do it, let’s give
the citizens of Augusta and if we’re going to take this, we’re going to take this opportunity to try
to do something like this we should just be completely honest with them. It may or may not happen
but bottom line this body can request it but we request it honestly, thank you.
Mr. Mayor: Duly noted thank you, sir. All right, we’ve got a motion and a proper second,
voting.
Mr. Fennoy, Mr. D. Williams, Mr. Sias, Mr. Hasan and Mr. M. Williams vote Yes.
Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Frantom, Mr. Guilfoyle and Mr. Smith vote Yes.
Ms. Davis out.
Motion Fails 5-4.
Mr. Mayor: Okay, Ms. Morawski, all right, we’re going to go from top to bottom.
The Clerk:
PLANNING
1. Final Plat – Manchester Section 8-A – S-866-A – A request for concurrence with the
Augusta Planning Commission to approve a petition by Southern Partners Inc., on behalf of
COEL Development Co., requesting final plat approval for Manchester Section 8-A. This
residential subdivision is located on Ken Miles Drive and contains 37 lots. DISTRICT 4
2. Final Plat – Southampton Section 6 – S-867 – A request for concurrence with the Augusta
Planning Commission to approve a request by Southern Partners Inc., on behalf of COEL
Development Co., requesting final plat approval for Southampton Section 6. This residential
subdivision is located at Windsor Spring Road and Inverness Drive and contains 53 lots.
DISTRICT 4
Mr. Mayor: Hold on just a minute, Madam Clerk, we’re going to take Items 1 and 2. All
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right, the Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 4.
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Mr. Sias: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. This question references these two items that we said
we’ll treat them as companion items and I would like to get Mr. Ussery up to the mike, the Traffic
Engineer. Mr. Ussery, as you may or may not remember this is where we kind of started the
streetlight discussion from Southampton and Manchester came along as well. So my question to
you and I’m going to make a motion to approve this irregardless of your answer. Here’s what I
want on a timeline. In these particular sections of these two subdivisions that are being developed
do these sections include now operational streetlights and if that’s not a fair question I apologize.
I just wanted to know if these sections contain, I know ya’ll have made some adjustments to the
process but does these two sections contain operational streetlights?
Mr. Ussery: I believe that our current posture is for new subdivisions to include streetlights
so if these are brand new subdivisions then they should include streetlights. If they’re not, then
they probably do not.
Mr. Sias: The reason I asked that question these may have predated what we were doing.
I’m almost sure they are, they’re predated, but here’s what I would ask ya’ll do to including
Planning and Development, Mr. Sherman, if along with Engineering. If there are no street lights
active in these two plats that we are approving, I would ask that ya’ll take immediate steps to do
something about that.
Mr. Ussery: We can do that.
Mr. Sias: I can’t direct you to, I’m asking ya’ll to.
Mr. Ussery: I understand. We’ll do everything we can to make sure that that happens.
Mr. Sias: Motion to approve these two companion items, Mr. Mayor.
Mr. D. Williams: Second.
Mr. Mayor: All right, I’ve got a motion and a second to approve Items 1 and 2. All right,
we’re now voting on Items 1 and 2, voting.
Ms. Davis and Mr. Guilfoyle out.
Motion Passes 8-0.
The Clerk:
PUBLIC SERVICES
4. Motion to approve adopting by reference the International Property Maintenance Code
2012 Edition and Georgia Amendments, with the exclusion of (IPMC) Chapter 1
Administration and Enforcement; and request approval to adopt International Property
Maintenance Code Administration and Enforcement, Sections 7-1-140.1 through 7-1-153.2.
(Approved by Public Services Committee July 10, 2018)
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Mr. Mayor: Okay, the Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 9.
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Mr. M. Williams: Thank you, Mr. Mayor, it’s a lot of dashes ain’t it.
Mr. Mayor: It is.
Mr. M. Williams: Rob, can you, this maintenance code from 2012 can you help me
understand exactly what we will be approving today, how that’s going to be affected? We’ve been
in need of this since 2012 but this needs to be explained a little bit more to me. Help me understand
what this process will entail if it’s approved.
Mr. Sherman: A little history on it. It’s the International Property Maintenance Code,
okay. The Georgia Department of Community Affairs administers the construction codes and the
optional codes, the permissive codes. The mandatory codes are building, electrical, plumbing etc.;
those codes we are required to enforce. The optional codes the International Property Maintenance
Code is one of them; we have the option of adopting that. In 2000 and probably five we adopted
the 2003 International Property and Maintenance Code in Georgia amendments. We’ve been
working under that code ever since. The state DCA doesn’t adopt a new code every year. For
instance the 2012 code was adopted and implemented January 1 of ’15; we are now asking for
approval to adopt 2012 code. This came about over the past few I guess two to three years the
Administrator organized a committee that included the Environmental Services, the Marshal’s
Department, Keep Augusta Beautiful and Planning and Development Code Enforcement section
to work on our efforts to clean up the city. Let’s just put it that way. And then several things have
been presentation, two presentations have been brought to you with one with recommendations
and then the latter one with what has become of those recommendations and we told you about
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what has been implemented. At the June 21 workshop, bus tour and workshop, the other
departments presented information to Planning and Development presented to you the processes
that we wanted to improve and one of them was to adopt this 2012 Ordinance, the other was to
just a policy in the department. Once for instance when we send out a notice to a property owner
that they have code violations and give them a specific timeframe for coming into compliance. If
they’re not in compliance at the end of that timeframe we’re going to request that a citation be
issued.
Mr. M. Williams: Okay hold your point, Rob, because when you talk about and I guess
you’re getting to it now Administration and Enforcement what bothers me is I don’t what’s
changing, I don’t know what the old one was and then we go and change and the new one comes
in. We’ve got people who that’s blatant with not being negligent as far as cleaning up and property
maintenance and then you’ve got some people who are struggling. Some people ain’t and you’ve
got to be able to tell the difference. So, that’s another issue we’re going to talk about hopefully
today about the two different ones. But when we approve something like this that’s been changed
because there’s a lot of dashes that we talked about here earlier, how do I know that we’re doing I
guess the best thing for the constituency versus taking something that’s working somewhere else
that’s not working here because we ain’t doing the same thing they’re doing somewhere else.
Mr. Sherman: Okay, let me see if I can explain that. This is the 2012 code and so what
we will be doing is adopting this by reference. In other words in the city’s code book this will not
be inserted page by page but there will be a reference to this book. Now when the Department of
34
Community Affairs adopts this and writes the rules for municipalities to adopt it, we adopt the
book excluding Chapter 1, Chapter 1 is the Administrative Section. We don’t adopt the Chapter
1 because we have to modify it for Augusta. There are blanks in the different sections and that’s
the dashes that you were talking about 140 through 153. Those are sections in the Administrative
Chapter 1 where it will be blank where it says such and such city, we have to fill in the blank
Augusta, Georgia. Now what we did include the only thing that is significant for you to know, the
other is just everything the other administrative sections in that 140 through 152, 153 they’re in
the for the most part verbatim in the 2003 code. But what we have included in the Administrative
Section is a, there’s a penalty if a property owner is notified of code violations and once they
receive that notice, if the property becomes vacant and the exterior is in compliance with the codes
but they lock the door it’s not going to be occupied, the code violations exist. As it is once they
get those code violation corrected they’re supposed to notify Code Enforcement, they reinspect
and then it’s approved to be occupied again. What this penalty is saying is that if you reoccupy
that property without complying with the codes, there’s a $500.00 dollar penalty. What we have
found is that there are property managers who will put that liability out on the tenant. They will
rent the property to the tenant, those corrections are yours to make and they’ll have it written in
the contract. We’re saying that no it’s the responsibility of the property owner. If you reoccupy
the property before complying with the codes then there is that $500.00 dollar penalty.
Mr. M. Williams: Okay the other I guess question would be, Rob, what about properties
that’s already existing like boarded up properties that’s overgrown, hadn’t been taking care of, are
they going to be in this same? I mean how is that going to work? Now we’ve been approved
something so how’s that going to work?
Mr. Sherman: Those codes are in this book as well. Those codes that we’re working under,
under the ’03 code. There have been a few amendments that have changed things when they refer
to the smoke detector so just different that come under the building code but they’ve also included
it in here but as far as property maintenance keeping the grass cut etc., those codes are in place.
We’ll continue to work those; this is just a new addition of the International Property Maintenance
Code.
Mr. M. Williams: Okay, I’m trusting you again, Rob. You’re driving this bus so I’m
going to make a motion to approve.
Mr. Hasan: Second.
Mr. M. Williams: I’m a little bit concerned but I asked those questions I needed to ask and
you know you ---
Mr. Mayor: All right, I’ve got a motion and a second to approve, voting.
Ms. Davis, Mr. Fennoy and Mr. Guilfoyle out.
Motion Passes 7-0.
The Clerk:
35
PUBLIC SERVICES
11. Motion to approve Mead and Hunt Aviation Consulting Services Contract. (Approved
by Public Services Committee July 10, 2018)
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Mr. Mayor: All right, the Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 4.
Mr. Sias: Thank you, sir. I’m going to make a motion to approve this but I pulled it, I want
to make a request and I don’t see Procurement in here. So I would like to ask the Administrator if
I can route this request and through her office to achieve to get something for me. And if I’m
requesting something that I’m not supposed to have, ya’ll can vet that for me as well. This
company has done good work at the airport, but it’s just like anything in political business they’ve
been there for a long time so basically what I want to see is on this last contract I just want to see
some of the bid documents and the score sheets and this kind of thing and if that will be permissible
I believe once this item is disposed of, is that correct?
Ms. Jackson: That’s correct, sir.
Mr. Sias: So after this item is disposed of, then I’d like to see that information on this bid,
the bid packets. Move to approve.
Mr. Smith: Second.
Mr. Mayor: We have a motion and a second, voting.
Ms. Davis, Mr. Fennoy and Mr. Guilfoyle out.
Motion Passes 7-0.
The Clerk:
FINANCE
14. Motion to authorize condemnation to acquire title of a portion of property for permanent
easement and temporary construction easement (Parcel 166-0-012-00-0) 2420 Boykin Road.
(Approved by Engineering Services Committee July 10, 2018)
15. Motion to authorize condemnation to acquire title of a portion of property for permanent
easement and temporary construction easement (Parcel 166-0-020-00-0) 4272 Windsor
Spring Road. (Approved by Engineering Services Committee July 10, 2018)
16. Motion to authorize condemnation to acquire title of a portion of property for permanent
easement and temporary construction easement (Parcel 166-0-021-00-0) 4264 Windsor
Spring Road. (Approved by Engineering Services Committee July 10, 2018)
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Mr. Mayor: All right, the Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 9.
Mr. M. Williams: Mr. Mayor, I wanted to take all three of these as companion items, I
guess. I don’t have any problem with the condemnation I just know that ---
Mr. Mayor: If you’ll let Ms. Morawski read it for the record.
36
Mr. M. Williams: --- okay.
Mr. Mayor: All right, we’re going to 14, 15 and 16.
Mr. M. Williams: Mr. Mayor, the reason I had these pulled because Pastor Banks I think
was here ---
Mr. Speaker: Pastor Scott.
Mr. M. Williams: --- Pastor Scott yeah, this not the same address as her.
Mr. Hasan: Mr. Mayor (inaudible).
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Mr. Mayor: All right, the Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 6.
Mr. Hasan: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Her address is what 4252 Windsor Spring Road, 4254
Windsor Spring Road and 4280 Windsor Spring Road. She did have one I think was around on
James Drive I’m not sure about that address but those were the addresses that she came down and
what she had forwarded to me a couple of weeks ago, 4252, 4254 and 4280.
Mr. M. Williams: I do know there was Windsor Spring Road and there was something
42 but I didn’t remember those other numbers. I just wanted to check where we were and we didn’t
have discussion we still need to do this. I ain’t got no problem with it but I want to make sure that
we, but I’m going to make a motion to approve those three, Mr. Mayor.
Mr. Mayor: All right, we’ve got a motion and a second to approve Items 14, 15 and 16,
voting.
Ms. Davis and Mr. Guilfoyle out.
Motion Passes 8-0.
The Clerk:
ENGINEERING SERVICES
19. Motion to approve the recommendations for enhancements to the Vacant Lot Program
including the increase of fees charged and authorize the drafting of revisions to the
ordinance. (Approved by Engineering Services Committee July 10, 2018)
Mr. Mayor: So I had this item pulled the caption again reads that you’re including the
recommended fee increases and this is, is that correct?
Mr. Hasan: Yes, that’s correct.
Mr. Mayor: Okay, all right, those were adopted in committee.
37
Ms. Jackson: They were discussed in committee and the committee voted to move those
along. Yes, they can’t really adopt them, we’ll just say they really can’t adopt them but they did
approve the recommendation.
Mr. Mayor: Okay all right.
Mr. M. Williams: The question, Mr. Mayor, and what we just approved with Rob Sherman
a few minutes ago were the new guidelines. How’s that going to play with 19, Rob? Are you
familiar with what we’re talking about now?
Mr. Mayor: Yeah, he’s taking it back to Item number 4. Those are separate items, separate
items, Commissioner.
Mr. M. Williams: So the Maintenance Code and this fee, I don’t want to add additional
fees to a ongoing situation that we’ve got so that’s totally different. I know we’re talking increasing
---
Mr. Mayor: Yeah, it’s totally different, sir.
Mr. M. Williams: --- okay, do we have a motion and a second on that?
Mr. Mayor: We do.
The Clerk: No, sir, I didn’t hear it but ---
Mr. M. Williams: We’ll get it for you, Nancy ---
Mr. Mayor: Okay.
Mr. M. Williams: --- who motioned and a second?
Mr. Hasan: Motion to approve.
Mr. Fennoy: Second.
Mr. Hasan: Unless you’ve got, do you want to say something on the fees?
Mr. Mayor: It’s included in there I’ll get, my question was answered.
Mr. Hasan: Okay.
Mr. Mayor: All right, we’ve got a motion and a second, voting.
Mr. Sias, Mr. Guilfoyle and Ms. Davis out.
Motion Passes 7-0.
38
Mr. Mayor: Okay, Ms. Morawski ---
The Clerk: Twenty-six?
Mr. Mayor: --- yes.
The Clerk:
PUBLIC SERVICES
26. Discuss establishing a James Brown Museum at the old Regency Mall Site. (Deferred
from the June 19, 2018 Commission Meeting requested by Commissioner Marion Williams)
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Mr. Mayor: All right, the Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 9.
Mr. M. Williams: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. You know Commissioner Fennoy talked about
the Democrat vote and the Republican vote was a nonbinding vote about the Calhoun Express but
also a nonbinding vote about moving the James Brown Arena to that location. The Democratic
ballot listed the majority said yes and the Democrat, the Republican ballot majority said no. So,
since it’s been put out there that we didn’t want it, the voters didn’t want it which I don’t believe
that was true it’s just one side of that, but I’ve been thinking as to what can we do to generate and
create something on that side of town. So I’ve had no discussion with my colleagues but putting
it on this agenda so we can get a feel for it. I wanted to talk about our thoughts what can we do to
create a James Brown Museum. It’s been said they want to put a wing onto the Augusta Museum
for James Brown but James Brown is much more bigger than a wing whether it be a turkey wing,
chicken wing, or any kind of wing, I mean it’s totally just ---
Ms. Speaker: With the hot sauce.
Mr. M. Williams: --- that’s right with the hot sauce and James Brown would probably say
hot sauce but, Mr. Mayor, I just think we ought to be having an open conversation about that at
that site. It is big and for something to be done, we need something to be done, we need the
economic dollars that will come in. If we build it and build it right, something we never built
before, I think people that are riding by on Reynolds looking that the Cyber Center because it was
built in such a fast timeframe and the building is so exciting that people are overwhelmed. And I
think we’ve got to still be thinking with that frame of mind about doing something and that is the
best location, not the deal, but I think the location we can talk about getting something started there
that entertainers all over the world I believe especially the United States will be glad to be a part
of helping us do something with that if we reach out to touch and you know ask for assistance with
that.
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Mr. Mayor: Sure, the Commissioner from the 1.
Mr. Fennoy: Mr. Mayor, this past weekend I had an opportunity to visit Gaylord Opry
Land in Nashville, Tennessee and I was completely amazed at what I saw. That facility has over
2,500 beds. During the regular year, regular parts of the year they employ about 2,500 employees
then during the tourist time of the season they have over 3,000 employees at that facility. They
39
have numerous restaurants I think and I don’t know about Sean but Commissioner Dennis
Williams and myself lost about 10 pounds getting from the check-in to our rooms and from our
rooms to the convention center. I mean that is a humongous and something I wouldn’t mind going
back to. And they, be open by the spring well the spring of next year they’re going to add a $90
million-dollar waterpark to that facility. I mean those of you all that have not seen it, it is something
to behold. And the first thing that came to my mind is Regency Mall and whether the City of
Augusta could do something like that. I’m not saying it could be the James Brown Arena but I
mean it can’t, not the James Brown Arena but the James Brown Museum but whether we are
willing to put our heads together and see what it is that we could come up with that would where
we could have that wow, that wow factor in Augusta. And I know that hopefully within the next
couple of years we’re going to have a whitewater rafting out at the Lock and Dam and I think that’s
the beginning of many great things that’s going to take place in Augusta. Hopefully by this time
next year we’ll have a Martin Luther King Park in Augusta where the Martin Luther King family
will put a statue of Martin Luther King that we can incorporate into our Recreation and Parks
Department. But I was just amazed at what I saw. I had not seen anything like it and the only
reason I wouldn’t go back if they couldn’t get me a room closer to the check-in desk. But that
place was huge, it was large, the food was excellent, I mean it was just amazing at the, I was just
amazed at that facility. So, Commissioner Williams, I mean I don’t know what’s going to end up
happening to the James Brown Arena but I think that something needs to happen and I think that
we as Commissioners should take the lead to make something happen. That place has been sitting
for 30-plus years and it’s time to bring life to south Augusta and it’s time to bring life to that
facility. So and what I saw in Nashville this past weekend only encourage me to do more to make
that happen.
Mr. Mayor: Yeah, I couldn’t agree with you more. The Chair recognizes the
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Commissioner from the 5.
Mr. Jefferson: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I look at this item as up for discussion so I would
like to discuss a little bit that the Regency Mall area it was a no go for the James Brown Arena,
Augusta Richmond County Civic Center whatever we want to call the building. But getting to the
point that Commissioner Williams is trying to make and following what Commissioner Fennoy
has said, you know I didn’t go on this convention with them but it was in ’06 I was at the same
hotel the Gaylord in Opryland in Nashville, Tennessee and using the words of Commissioner
Williams we are looking for a wow factor, and it would be a fantastic wow factor if we could put
our heads together whether it’s the James Brown Museum at that site or somewhere comparable
that we could utilize something in Augusta to bring economic dollars to bring entertainment. The
proof is in the pudding with the statue. People come from miles around. The famous singer Toni
Braxton, her mother was here recently and she took pictures with the James Brown statue and I’m
pretty sure she would’ve had fun in a museum just like you would in Opryland and just like you
would in Graceland. But what we need to do every day we, well every day I go home there’s not
a day go by when I pass the Regency Mall site and it’s a disaster that’s a diamond in the rough for
something and it’s sit there for so long. So since this is open for discussion you know the James
Brown Arena as well as the Regency Mall site, the James Brown Museum you know I just look at
the years that have gone by the dollars we have not captured because we’re just sitting back not
doing anything with a prime piece of real estate. Looking at the fact that James Brown and Augusta
goes hand in hand, Marion Williams is the official spokesperson of the Augusta Commission when
40
it comes to James Brown and I’m pretty sure his words don’t fall on deaf ears. I mean we’re all
James Brown fans to a certain extent, some of us more than others, but that is a selling point here
in Augusta that we’re not taking advantage of. That site is a prime piece of real estate we’re not
taking advantage of. We need to get in the proactive mode to take economic development to the
next level in Augusta. You know if not the arena there what are we going to put there. If not the
James Brown Museum at that site where would you put it? It’s too many pros and not enough
cons to not put James Brown and Regency Mall in the same conversation whether it’s the museum,
the coliseum, or like Commissioner Fennoy said a monument to the civil rights legend Dr. Martin
Luther King. We have a golden opportunity to do some things and if we could find some investors
and secure the deal as everyone keeps talking about which was the game breaker, I think we need
to think seriously about economic development, James Brown, the Regency Mall site in the same
conversation when we’re selling Augusta and stop just letting it sit there and the grass growing.
We talk about what we should’ve, could’ve or would have done and become more proactive with
all three of those aspects. So since this is open for discussion people say I don’t say very much.
I’m a deep thinker and this has been heavy on my heart heavy on my mind for quite a while and
when Commissioner Williams brought it up, I just couldn’t hold back from chiming in. And once
Commissioner Fennoy brought up the Dr. Martin Luther King statue which I hadn’t thought about
in Augusta, these are great things that could happen in Augusta but it won’t happen if we just sit
back and don’t open discussions and say closed lips because it’s a taboo subject because some
people just cringe and clam up when we start talking about south Augusta or Regency Mall. We
need to go out there and beat the Regency Mall drum, beat the James Brown drum and just put
economic development first and that will be a great step in redeveloping south Augusta. On that
note I’m going to close and listen whatever my colleagues have to say about that. Thank you, sir.
Mr. Mayor: I believe the gentleman knows of what he speaks and has great passion for
that area. You know one of the reasons it looks so bad out there it’s certainly not because of the
people who own the mall location but those who own the outparcels and those are local Augustans
who own those outparcels. All right, so this morning I drove by and we had a detail crew out there
cutting the parcel right there at the intersection of Deans Bridge and Gordon Highway but the
forest that’s there needs to be thinned out. We need Code Enforcement to get on that and send a
letter to the folks who own that property. I believe that one of the principals who are part of the
Gold Cross team they own another parcel that is there and they’ve allowed it to grow up into a
forest. And I think anywhere else in Augusta if we saw that we’d send somebody a letter. We
write and say you need to cut it you need to clean it down and you need to get it done as soon as
possible but for some strange reason we have not taken that same approach right there at an area
where a majority of our citizens live and congregate on an annual basis and a regular basis so but
I think that’s going to change though. I absolutely do. All right, the Chair recognizes the
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Commissioner from the 1, I’m sorry the Commissioner from the second.
Mr. D. Williams: Mr. Mayor ---
Mr. Mayor: Yes, sir.
Mr. D. Williams: --- every almost every week we have this item on the agenda. I think it’s
about time we appoint some type of subcommittee or commission to look at some possibilities of
doing something with the area. We come here every week and we discuss establishing a James
41
Brown Museum but we don’t have any details in trying to put it together, no facts, no costs, no
nothing other than we want to put it out there in the mall. So it appears to me that we should
appoint some type of subcommittee or commission or whatever you want to do to look at it and
bring some ideas back so we can have a constructive conversation regarding the subject.
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Mr. Mayor: Yeah again, the gentleman has great passion. The Commissioner from the 9
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has an Economic Development Subcommittee meeting on the 19I believe that’s on Thursday so
nd,
the Commissioner from the 2 I hope you’re hearing me, in your notebooks there is a flyer about
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the meeting that’s going to take place on the 19 and that’s the Commissioner from the 9
Economic Subcommittee meeting that’s going to take place. In addition to that if memory serves
me correct the Chairman of the South Augusta Retail Development Project, the Commissioner
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from the 4 I believe that they are hopefully working on this as well and to that end we’ve got 24
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months to get something done. All right, the Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 7.
Mr. Frantom: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Part of what you said I want to talk about but I was
at the Gaylord and I just want to say that that is about 10 miles outside of downtown kind of where
the Regency is ---
Mr. Speaker: 5.5
Mr. Frantom: --- 5.5 okay, it’s not that far. And then there’s a waterpark they’re adding
on the end of it and it was impressive. Obviously we know we don’t own the parcels at the Regency
Mall but we do have EDA that hired an individual to really bring, I don’t know if they hired him
yet, maybe Commissioner Sias can tell us, but to really bring people together to talk to have this
conversation because we do continue as Commissioner Williams said, we continue to have this
conversation and since we don’t get anywhere so hopefully maybe they could come and give us
somewhat of a presentation of what’s going on, what their feedback is, what they’re hearing from
the EDA, the $200,000 we put in their budget this year for that position. One suggestion I would
like to see is that we talk about how we only have one statue. I went to Suwannee with the Art
Committee back in 2016 I think it was and they do a sculpture tour. I mean how cool would it be
just like we did the Art in the Box Tour across this community to put different statues of famous
people or James Brown at major intersections across south Augusta you know all through Augusta.
And I think this is something that would help us tell the story better because we always talk about
how we don’t tell the true story of what we have in Augusta and to have those signature areas
where people can go to take pictures maybe they’re at a recreation center, I don’t know, but I think
that that’s one thing that’s very doable. I think obviously cost is going to be a major factor of
anything we do but I think that’s something that could we could do fairly quickly. We probably
could get some sponsors to support some of that if we didn’t have it all in our budget. But I would
just like us to kind of get something done as opposed to continue to talk even if it’s something
small like statues like we did with the Art in the Box, we had 25 Art in the Boxes around the
community. I think that would be cool to have knowing that you’re in Augusta. So that’s kind of
my two-cents on it. I’m hoping that we can get the locals as the Mayor said to kind of own up their
property get it cleaned up because we do need to look at the entire community of seeing growth so
thank you, Mr. Mayor.
42
Mr. Mayor: All right, so we’re going to have a conversation on Thursday at the Economic
Development Subcommittee meeting that will put some teeth to where we’re at okay? All right,
very well, thank you.
Mr. M. Williams: Motion to receive as information.
Mr. Jefferson: Second.
Mr. Mayor: I think that’s fine. Again we just receive it as information I think that’s
appropriate. We can go on to the next one; we don’t have to vote on it.
The Clerk:
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
27. Discuss the process for placing agenda item(s) on the Commission’s Executive Session
agenda. (Requested by Commissioner Marion Williams)
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Mr. Mayor: The Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 9.
Mr. M. Williams: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I placed this on the agenda because there’s been
several items that we have tried to add to the Executive Session that don’t seem to get there. The
Commission shouldn’t have to wait on the Attorney or one Commissioner or the Mayor to put an
agenda item on if there’s something that we need feel like is necessary to go on the agenda. It
should be at least have that opportunity and that has not happened, Mr. Mayor, so I put it on the
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agenda so we can get that out in the open. The Commissioner from the 7 just said you know we
talk, do a lot of talking but we get some action get something concrete so we’ll know this process
as different issues with discrimination and different issues that come up different departments but
we don’t get a chance to talk about them. They don’t even make the agenda. So we used to have
and I know things change we used to have a Legal meeting on a whole different day but we do it
on Tuesday now with the committee so I’ve got no problem with it. If we need to change dates so
we can handle that business we need to handle that. We don’t need to keep saying well we didn’t
have no time we’ve got people waiting out here it takes a little time to do that. So do you have
any recommendations?
Mr. Mayor: Well, you know, I do. I have a variety of recommendations ---
Mr. Sias: No way, no way.
Mr. Mayor: --- I recommend that, I recommend that instead of having committee meetings
on the second and fourth that we have work sessions where we deal with all of these issues and we
stay here as long as we need to until we’ve vetted and talked about it as opposed to having two
commission meetings one after the other. That’s the recommendation that I have because it
certainly will make us more efficient and we could get the business of the people done I think in a
more efficient way. That’s one approach that would then allow us if we had a work session to take
the matters that we talk about on committee and again whether it’s a 3-hour period of time or a 4-
hour period of time we just deal with those issues, we bring the people in and let them talk about
43
it and discuss them in a level of detail that we can vet what needs to then move forward. I have a
second recommendation that if we did the work sessions that we would only have two commission
meetings a month but nobody asked me until today, I appreciate you asking me that. But those are
recommendations that would make us more efficient ---
Mr. M. Williams: You gave three, Mr. Mayor, but one of ---
Mr. Mayor: --- that we only have two commission meetings a month and you know the
other time is spent in work sessions and those work sessions allow us to begin dealing with many
of these structural issues that keep going on and on and on.
Mr. M. Williams: --- Mr. Mayor ---
Mr. Mayor: Yes, sir, I’m getting to the other one.
Mr. M. Williams: --- yeah but before you get there I’m talking about the Executive Session
---
Mr. Mayor: I’m getting there.
Mr. M. Williams: --- we’re already complaining when we come in what time we’re going
to leave. I mean I applied for the job but I mean I don’t mind working. You ain’t never heard me
complain about leaving. So once you ran for office it takes time to handle the people’s business
that you so graciously talk about every time you open the Chair that we’re going to handle the
people’s business.
Mr. Mayor: That’s right.
Mr. M. Williams: But everybody wants to go home. It’s like the folks in church.
Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die, ain’t that something.
Mr. Mayor: Well again, you asked me for a series of recommendations. I’m laying them
out there to try to get you to the Executive Session. And if we did those things then you could
have that one Executive Session that you’re talking about and you could deal with the issues
whether they’re you know issues of personnel, litigation or real estate, you could have that one
time where you just deal with those and then staff could go out and do what’s necessary to make
this government more effective and efficient. Those are my recommendations and you know all
of them are free.
Mr. M. Williams: Thank you, sir. I thank you for them but I just think that you know this
stuff comes up periodically you know whether it be like you said whether it be personnel, whether
it be real estate or whatever. Those things happen in a government and you have to deal with those
things. If you don’t then they’re going to get pushed back and pushed back and then it’s going to
cost us cost the taxpayers more money. So we’ve got to learn to handle those things. We try to
be good with the time. Sometimes it gets I guess longer than others but when it comes to Executive
Session that’s something that belongs to this body. It don’t belong to the Lawyer, it don’t belong
44
to the Administrator, it belongs to this body and we ought to be able to have an Executive Session.
Now sometimes it may not include having a legal person in there. We can have an Executive
Session where we all just talk but we had not had those opportunities. We have not been able to
do that and I would love to see us be able to get back on track so we can handle those.
Mr. Mayor: Well again, I believe the gentleman knows of what he speaks and I too share
that sentiment that we get to doing some of those things. All right, the Chair recognizes the
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Commissioner from the 1.
Mr. Fennoy: Mr. Mayor, to your knowledge is there a written process that we have in place
for putting items on the Executive Session agenda?
Mr. Mayor: Well, the Chair yields to the Attorney to speak to that.
Mr. MacKenzie: Sure, I’ll be happy to address that. In preparation for today’s meeting I
actually looked at that specific issue. We have our own rules and then if it’s not covered by our
rules then it defaults to Robert’s Rules. The Executive Session is a little unique because that’s part
of the meeting where we actually don’t want to publish some of things that might be discussed in
like real estate things of that nature. And So Robert’s Rules does address that although it’s not
specifically addressed by our rules and effectively it allows for something called the Proposed
Agenda Methodology. And what that means is a Proposed Agenda is prepared by staff but it’s the
majority view of the Commission that would control whether or not that agenda is adopted or any
items are heard or not heard on that agenda. And so that’s a permissible methodology to utilize
for Executive Sessions or for any portion of the meeting like a work session methodology where
you may not have a specific published agenda. You just do it by majority vote to kind of decide
what you want to hear or don’t hear based on a proposed agenda and that’s what we’ve been
utilizing for the Executive Session portion. I think one thing that could help is if anybody has a
request you can send it in however because it is a Executive Session there’s only certain requests
that will qualify. For example if it’s a matter relating to an employment matter or a potential
litigation matter if you just send the request that says I want to talk about potential litigation we
actually have to identify what the name of the matter is for the minutes for me to be able to comply
with the Open Meetings Act. And so if you make a request, I respectfully ask that you just list the
name of the employee if it’s an employment matter or the name of the case and I’d be happy to
add those to the Proposed Agenda and it will still be up to the body to determine whether or not to
hear certain items or not hear certain items.
Mr. Fennoy: May I follow up, Mr. Mayor?
Mr. Mayor: Sure.
Mr. Fennoy: So, Mr. MacKenzie, you said majority. I mean I’m trying to figure out how
the process would work. I mean how do we go about getting the majority to get it added to the get
something on the agenda?
Mr. MacKenzie: To clarify what happens there’s a proposed agenda that’s usually the one
I prepare in advance of the Executive Session.
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Mr. Fennoy: Okay.
Mr. MacKenzie: Anybody can request to add to be added to the proposed agenda, I’ll be
happy to add it on there. I just respectively ask that you be specific about it so that it complies with
the Open Records Act, Open Meeting Requirement. Then once you get into Legal it’s by majority
vote if you decide whether or not you want to hear or the order in which you hear the items once
you get into Executive Session, according to Robert’s Rules that’s decided by the majority.
Mr. Fennoy: So we’re in Executive Session and I want to add something to the agenda. I
would raise my hand, be recognized by the Chair and I will say I want to add A, B, C to the agenda.
You would let me know whether this is something that could be discussed in Legal and once that’s
determined then my colleagues would vote on whether they want to talk about this in Legal?
Mr. MacKenzie: Yes, that’s correct. Now if you gave some advance notice as I’m
recommending as an emergency item it would help, like if you want to talk about a specific
personnel issue, it helps you know if you give us some notice at least a day or two in advance if
not more so that we can make sure that staff and the Administrator has a recommendation that we
have the information relevant to that subject matter, but that’s correct.
Mr. Fennoy: Thank you, sir.
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Mr. Mayor: The Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 6.
Mr. Hasan: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Mr. Mayor, in talking with terms with the Attorney
he just mentioned I don’t disagree in terms that those are some of the processes and procedures
that you can use whether it’s about Robert’s Rules of Order are not. Also I’d like to just try to
make mention of Commissioner Fennoy’s, if I understood him correctly, initial question was
written from a written perspective we may not have anything but what we have agreed to
previously and has come up time and time again as any Commissioner because the Attorney would
have them and let them know to add something to the agenda. And for a moment let’s just assume
that everything qualifies to make the point but the thing was simply just the Commissioner make
the request and that’s the way it’s been. So I think it’s best to say well is that the way it was right
now? We establish do we want to change that in any form or fashion. But what I understood and
we have had this conversation before a Commissioner simply puts in a request to the Attorney and
you yourself said I want you to add this to the agenda and just assume that has merit to be in Legal
it’s on the agenda. If not we’re going to, you know, get in there and take six votes and ask to we
want to hear this. That has never been the process. I mean I don’t mean it’s not an option so excuse
me let me just say that was but that’s what it has been historically the Commissioner makes the
request and it’s on the agenda providing it’s qualified to be discussed in Legal.
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Mr. Mayor: All right, the Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 9.
Mr. M. Williams: Mr. Mayor, there’s one rule that supersedes Robert’s Rules and that’s
the elected rule that we took as an oath when we came into this office. Now I heard the Attorney
who says we need to request through him and he could get the proper people in place but when
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you’re talking about personnel I mean it’s good to give him I guess heads up to have somebody
there we need to have there. But if there’s an elected official who has an issue in personnel or real
estate when we go into Legal we name those things by law that we have to name that we’re going
to discuss. You don’t get back there and talk about the other stuff, the only things that are listed
on those things. You, me one other Commissioner, Grady Smith may have an issue in one
department that we named going into Legal; we have that right to discuss that back there. Now
it’d be good to give him a heads up so he can have his eyes, he may not have the information we
requested. We don’t have to give him pre-warning of what we’re going to talk about or what
issue’s that’s going with the department it’s going to be. We talk about legal in Legal and it names
those things that we’re going to be talking about and that’s what we do. So I kind of differ with
that because once you took this oath as an elected official and you decide to discuss personnel, real
estate or whatever else we go into Legal for, those are the things we can do. We may not even
have the Attorney present when you’re talking about the Executive Session. Executive Session
would even include him that we may need to talk so we list those things when we’re going in. I
agree with Robert’s Rules and Robert’s Rules list a lot of things but that one rule as I said
supersedes and that’s the elected official rule that we make those decisions to go into personnel,
to go into Legal to talk about the three items that we’ve got listed on there be it real estate,
personnel or.
Mr. Mayor: So as a practical matter Title 50 of the State Code is what provides for an
opportunity for us to go into Executive Session. As such it also lists those items that can be
discussed ---
Mr. M. Williams: Right.
Mr. Mayor: --- during that period of time which I think the Attorney has alluded to. Those
items from a specific perspective whether it’s a personnel issue with John Doe and Sally Gray is
what is of importance to those of you on this body and you want to know that there’s a mechanism
whereby which you can say I’d like to discuss this. I think that what’s been talked about by the
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Commissioner from the 1 and the 6 is generally consistent with what we’ve done and I think
that if you have a matter we’ll continue to you know just submit whether you call Ms. Bonner and
say please have this added or you call the Attorney and say would you please add this or you can
call the Mayor’s office; we will continue to do that. I think all of the points that you raised
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Commissioner from the 9 are salient with regards to if we want to talk about matters that requires
us to do that outside of the Administrator or the Attorney are certainly well within our right to do
that and we can certainly move forward with that.
Mr. M. Williams: I think for clarity, Mr. Mayor, I think the problem has been when the
Attorney makes a list of the things we’re going to talk about and when we get there we only talk
about those things on his list. So if my colleagues have a different person or different legal ---
Mr. Mayor: Yeah ---
Mr. M. Williams: --- within the guidelines that you mentioned to talk about then we ought
to be able to discuss that as well but we’re giving him and he only makes the list on what we gave
47
him. If someone came to you with a personnel issue for instance and we’re going into Legal I
mean we can’t discuss it until the next time we meet because he just got it.
Mr. Mayor: --- well, in all fairness you don’t want to be just having general conversations
---
Mr. M. Williams: I’m not saying that I’m just ---
Mr. Mayor: --- you want to be able to have a conversation that has merit, i.e. if you have
someone that says I have an issue and I want this issue talked about in Executive Session, you
want to make sure the staff is at least reasonably prepared to have a substantive conversation about
that and so some advance notice I believe is prudent. And so to that end we don’t want to just
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show up on Tuesday the 4 or the 2 and have a conversation that’s no one’s prepared to have a
discussion on.
Mr. M. Williams: And we have not done that but there’s been things on the list that have
been listed that we have not gotten to and that’s why the conversation’s being had today. I mean
we’re not talking about just walking in and decide what you want to talk about today if we don’t
hold the meeting long it’s not about that. We done put it on the agenda so to speak but we shouldn’t
have to but we put it on the agenda and it still didn’t get discussed so that’s ---
Mr. Mayor: Yeah, well, you know if what you’re suggesting is that regardless of the time
that until we’ve exhausted the conversation about any and all agenda items that you want to make
sure that we vet those then I think you know we certainly can consider that as we move forward.
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The Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 7.
Mr. Frantom: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. My concern with this agenda item is the fact that
we go into Executive Session and we’re there an hour plus and the citizens are waiting on us. I
would hope moving forward that we could kind of strategically put in what’s the most pressing,
what could be pushed off because one of the concerns that I continue to here is why do we meet a
1:00 o’clock, why do we meet a 2:00 o’clock. Why don’t we push it back to four or 5:00 o’clock
so more people can be engaged since we are representing the people. And I would love to see
meetings later but I don’t think it’s the will of this body but I think the main thing for me is the
fact that the timeframe that we’re in there making sure that we get out when the people are
expecting especially like that Public Services Committee and that sort of thing and we kind of
strategically put in the number of items we can get to. I know sometimes we have extraordinary
circumstances but if we know that’s coming then we just need to focus on that so thank you, Mr.
Mayor.
Mr. Mayor: Thank you ---
Mr. Hasan: Mr. Mayor.
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Mr. Mayor: --- the Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 4.
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Mr. Sias: Thank you, sir, and I’m just going to say this and be as brief as I can be. We’re
supposed to start our meeting at 11:00. That rarely happens. We have two hours to do our
business. We, a couple of suggestions, number one, we should have a time limit on the discussion
unless it’s just really an overwhelming item. Secondly, we need to start on time. Everybody needs
to be here so we can start on time and have a quorum and get going. And that’s, we went from
12:00 to 11:00 and we’re still starting at 12:00 so we really need to start on time in our Executive
Session and have a time limit on debate or a time limit on the number of items that’s on the agenda.
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But I agree with my colleague from the 7 we really should be sitting back on this dais at 1:00.
We really should be, thank you.
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Mr. Mayor: All right, the Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 10.
Mr. Smith: I was going to say one thing but I was on the Commission been on the
Commission since 2011 and then we used to meet at 5:00 o’clock. And I’ll have to say the sugar
levels from everybody dropped severely and the attitudes and language we got real rough where a
couple of times going down the elevator wasn’t even safe. So the thing about it is you know we’ve
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been, I agree with what the Commissioner from the 4 said if we get there and start on time and
limit each item or assess so much time for each item and stick to it, I think we could move further
down the trail. And if anybody out there in the audience has business with this Commission you
do business from 9:00 to 5:00 now or you know during the day and if it’s serious enough they’ll
be here. But I was on that other Commission for a while a believe me about 5:00 o’clock
everybody’s in a different mood and by 6:00 o’clock, buddy, if you said something you better
watch what you say because you’re subject to get attacked. So I think we just need to start on time
and I believe we’ll be in good shape.
Mr. Mayor: The gentleman knows of what he speaks. The Chair recognizes the
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Commissioner from the 6.
Mr. Hasan: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Pretty much to what my colleague here said you know
me coming down here since 2006 I did see those time changes and I can tell you the participation
did not increase at all from the citizen perspective in saying that. It sounded well, thought it was
the right thing to do and I witnessed the Commission changing it and realized they got no more
participation out of it. That’s one side of that and that’s concurring with my colleague
Commissioner Smith on that. The other thing, Mr. Mayor, I think we have to use more discretion
about what is on the agenda that we may not have privy to in other words when I say privy I don’t
mean it in a negative way it means that if I’m not willing and I put something on there then you
all have a working list of some hot button issues that we’re going to see. We need to see better
discretion about do we need to put this on the agenda. I’m going to be very specific here such as
the Depot Project. If it comes back, Mr. Mayor, we should not put it on the agenda on the Legal
meeting. We should have a date to come in and discuss that so we can flush this thing out if it
comes back. We’re not going to resolve that issue back there and got a laundry list of other issues
to resolve so there could be several issues like that when they come up, we need to have a Special
Called Meeting just to address those couple of issues because we know they can be very long
issues and so we have to use a little more discretion about that so we can get through the agenda
and get some of those things out of the way and set up a certain date for certain times when those
issues come before us so we can talk those things fairly through.
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Mr. Mayor: Yeah all right, the Commissioner from the 1.
Mr. Fennoy: Motion to receive as information.
Mr. Hasan: Second.
Mr. Mayor: All right very well, thank you.
The Clerk:
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
28. Discuss the Marshal Office’s notification process for removal of junk/abandoned vehicle.
(Requested by Commissioner Marion Williams)
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Mr. Mayor: All right, the Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 9.
Mr. M. Williams: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Nancy, I’ve got something here that I’d like for
you to read. It came from, it was mailed to me from one of one of the constituency. But let me
tell you why I had this placed on. We’ve been as a group very adamant about cleaning up Augusta
and trying to get people to understand that we’re not going to allow them to just do any and
everything. On our main streets there are a lot of abandoned buildings, properties overgrown and
cars that’s been there for quite some time. But on the other hand the side streets now people are
complaining about how the Marshal’s Office had been effective in coming in and I guess going
into the back yards to I guess to notify them notification of what they need to do. I’ve been very
adamant about cleaning up and I mean it. I think if we can do anything to clean the city up, we
don’t have to tolerate those type things. Now I had an offline meeting with the Marshal himself
and I was hoping somebody would be here today to address this to help me understand a little bit
better about the process, how it’s working, what we need to do or what we don’t need to do. I
don’t know, Mr. Mayor, do you have any idea about?
Mr. Mayor: Well, I can’t speak to this matter but I do know we certainly can get a
representative from the Marshal’s Office. It may not be the distinguished gentleman in the rear
there I think he’ll yield to one of the folks but we can, you know, put this on another agenda item
so you can properly vet that if you’d like. All right, the Chair recognizes the Commissioner from
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the 1.
Mr. Fennoy: Yeah, with Commissioner Williams’ approval, I’d like to move this back to
make a motion this goes back to committee to give someone from the Marshal’s Office an
opportunity for us to address it.
Mr. Smith: Second.
Mr. M. Williams: I’ve got no problem sending it back. Like I said I had a meeting with
the Marshal offline just he and I. But I mean you know when you look at this community you’ve
got to understand this community to know how this community operates. You still have the have’s
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and have not’s. You’ve still got people who are really trying but you’ve got people who’s got stuff
that’s been sitting out sitting around. Just on my street I had my neighbors to come up to me and
tell me that the Marshal came into one of the backyards to tell him that he’d be grateful that
Commissioner Marion Williams for them coming over there. But if you’ve got a job to do then
you do your job. Now we’ve got some people who have been just blatant. I can show you where
cars sitting with no wheels, no tires, no rims, no nothing on it. Just sitting on the ground on our
main thoroughfare and they’re still sitting there but you’ve got people that on the back streets that’s
going in there back to have them to be ‘not harassed’ but I guess pushed to do something when
we’ve got stuff on a major street so that bothers me. I ain’t go no problem doing what I do, Mr.
Mayor, because we’ve been talking about cleaning up, getting the street ready, letting people know
that we’re not going to, we’re going to work with people.
Mr. Mayor: Sure ---
Mr. M. Williams: And so that motion that Commissioner Fennoy’s got I’ve got no problem
with it.
Mr. Mayor: --- very well. Okay all right, we’ve got a motion and a second to refer this to
committee and we can have a conversation about that and make sure we get addressed what is of
concern. All right, voting. This is a vote to refer back to committee. All right, the Commissioner
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from the 1 is chairing. I need to step out for just a moment.
Ms. Davis and Mr. Guilfoyle out.
Motion Passes 8-0.
Mr. Fennoy: What’s our next item?
The Clerk:
PUBLIC SAFETY
29. Motion to award RFP #18-149 to EMS Management & Consultants, Inc. and to authorize
the Mayor to execute the contract with EMS Management & Consultants, Inc. (Requested
by Commissioner Sammie Sias)
Mr. Hasan: Motion to approve.
Mr. Smith: Second.
Mr. Fennoy: I’ve got a motion, I’ve got a second and I’ve got two questions.
Commissioner Williams, your hand went up first and Commissioner Frantom.
Mr. M. Williams: I’ll yield to Commissioner Frantom.
Mr. Frantom: I have some questions for Chief James or whoever’s going to answer about
this. Chief James, what’s the reasoning by now putting this in place when we’ve done it for free
for so many years?
51
Chief James: And it has been our plan for a while to start charging that for these services.
We’ve been told before even on the Commission dias why is it that you know why haven’t we
started charging for these fees before. And so this is to charge so that we can offset some of the
funds that we’ve been using to provide the services that we’ve been providing.
Mr. Frantom: How much money are you expecting to collect, do you have a number?
Chief James: We really don’t have an exact number. It’s going to be kind of based on
what that call volume is going to be. In the next month or two if this passes and goes through then
we’ll be coming back to the Commission to establish what the fees will be specifically that will be
approved by Commission.
Mr. Frantom: A year ago we talked about Gold Cross and how they gave us a lot of the
indigent care to transport. And I guess my question is I mean is there any cost involved on our
end or is this just I mean we’re just getting whatever they collect and they’re keeping a fee, is that
correct, there’s nobody getting hired, there’s no none of that or is there?
Chief James: As far as the billing goes no we, the company makes the collections and then
the money is sent to us and that company is only getting 5.75% of what’s collected.
Mr. Frantom: And then my last question is that if we don’t get the zone, will this still be
in place? I mean this is not a zone I mean?
Chief James: Right we would, this would be initiated or requested that we do this
regardless if the zone is achieved or not. We still run calls, we still are responding as an ambulance
and we still need to recoup some of that cost.
Mr. Frantom: And I missed one question. Where’s the money being used for?
Chief James: The money will be used to recoup the cost of what we’re spending and
anything in excess will be given back towards the General Fund.
Mr. Frantom: Okay, I guess my concern about this is that I mean we’re hitting the
taxpayers again and I just don’t know if the timing is right based on everything that we’ve had
going on with the zone issue, with the increased costs from local providers. I just don’t know,
thank you, Mr. Mayor.
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Mr. Mayor: Thank you. All right, the Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 9.
Mr. M. Williams: Thank you, Mr. Mayor and District 1 Commissioner. I’ve got several
issues with this. first of all the Fire Department if we start charging people for transport and I don’t
think we’ve done many transports are we going to charge them when the firetruck comes to their
house now or are we going to, I mean if we start charging the Augusta Fire Department is the
Augusta Fire Department. Now you’re not a private entity where you’ve got a private ambulance
service business you work. That’s a part of this city and if we chose to get an ambulance and have
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one and we choose to send it and if somebody calls us for an ambulance and say I want you to
send me a bus, a truck, or ambulance to pick me up then you say okay I’m going to charge you.
But we choose to send an ambulance when we had another provider out there whether we liked
them or not. We’re going to pay a company to bill people who had not paid a professional services,
I mean a professional ambulance service and now we got a ‘ambulance’ that I’ve never seen. I
was on the Augusta Fire Department for a long time. I ain’t never seen this ambulance. I’m not
saying it’s not there, Chief, but I just never seen it. But my point is when the firetruck comes to
your house that’s one bill you already paid in your taxes you already paid that. So we’re going to
send an ambulance to your house we’re going to charge you so how do we know we aren’t charging
for the firetruck too? I’ve got some issues with this one because we bought some equipment,
bought two ambulances. We don’t have the staff, we don’t have equipment, we don’t have housing
for them are we going into the ambulance business and if we are, we need to say that. But you
don’t pretend, you don’t act like people don’t understand. I mean people ain’t, I mean this is what
is the 2018. This ain’t 1918. I mean people are smart, people got internet I mean but you’re going
to tell me that you’re going to send an ambulance, pick somebody up who’s in distress, they’re
sick, they’re down then we’re going to start billing them now from the Augusta Fire Department
through some harassing company who we don’t know who it is and what their procedures are but
we’re going to do a billing process now. I guess that is so when we get ready to go into the
ambulance business we’ll already have a billing process set up. I’ve got some serious issues with
this, Chief, and I know where this come from, I know how long it’s been here, I know who’s
pushing it, I know how it got here. I totally disagree with it. If it looked like we were going into
business we would say you know let’s go into the ambulance business. Now we talked about the
subsidy that Gold Cross got or whoever’s cross it is whether it be Red Cross or whoever is
providing it, if we can’t the subsidy how are we going to go into business and provide equipment?
How are we going to buy ambulances and manpower and all that stuff that goes with it if we can’t
afford to pay the subsidy? Now we hear everybody saying, oh, that subsidy is way too much.
Well it may be but we’re going to increase taxes, we’re going to raise taxes for the people that go
into the ambulance business ourselves. Is that what you’re trying to get me to vote on? I’m
certainly not going to vote for it. I think you already know that but I just hate the fact that you
proposed that for a city. Now if we was broke and we weren’t riding around here with air-
conditioned everything even bicycles got that I mean if we was going down here and we were
trying to recoup money in every way we could. You know I guess we’d start charging to run the
firetruck, raise the ladder. We’ve been in churches raising the ladder, we’ve been getting cats out
of trees. Every time we get a service from the Augusta Fire Department there’s going to be a
charge to it it looks like now. But if you charge for the pickup you sure going to charge for
everything else because it ain’t right to charge for one and don’t charge for the other one now.
When we’re called as a service for this city and every city does that. It ain’t just Augusta. Every
city when you call the Fire Department you’re calling a friend, somebody to help you. Somebody’s
supposed to be able to assist you in what you need but you’re telling me now there’s going to be a
billing process to go with that and we don’t know what the price is, don’t know when it’s going to
be done. I’ve got enough people complaining already so, Mr. Mayor, I’m ready to vote. Ya’ll
know what my vote is. This is just a waste of taxpayer’s time and money sitting here talking about
this crazy foolishness.
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Mr. Mayor: All right, the Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 2.
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Mr. D. Williams: Mr. Mayor, may I ask the Chief a question?
Mr. Mayor: Sure, you may. Would you speak into the microphone please?
Mr. D. Williams: Chief, our current provider, any time a firetruck or fire ambulance goes
out to the house, don’t they bill the patient for that care, the current provider?
Chief James: The current provider does.
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Mr. Mayor: The Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 1.
Mr. Fennoy: Chief, would you give me a scenario in which you all would bill for services?
Chief James: You can only bill when you transport a patient in your ambulance to the
hospital or you get there and you render it which just passed in April or you render medical
assistance and your ambulance service on the scene has Medicare and Medicaid agreed that would
pay. There will be no situation where a firetruck responded to your house to put out your fire and
you would get a recommendation from us to make a payment for that.
Mr. Fennoy: Okay and the people that you will be billing have Medicaid or
Medicare/Medicaid?
Chief James: Or insurance or the whole grant, the whole, you know ways of paying. So
some citizens have insurance, some citizens have Tricare, some citizens have Medicare, some
citizens have Medicaid and we’re not, this would not be the only or first by far Fire Department in
the State of Georgia that charged.
Mr. Fennoy: Okay and my last question, Mr. Mayor. If I’m having a heart attack and you
all are the first on the scene and you all have to transport me to the hospital and I don’t have any
type of insurance, I don’t have Medicaid, I don’t have Medicare, I don’t have private insurance or
anything, would you all bill me for transporting me?
Chief James: The company would bill each call at least three times and then if you’ve got
no payment then they would turn it over to us and ask what we wanted to do with this or not. So,
the company if you want to turn it over to collections they will only be as aggressive as this body
chooses that we want to be as you choose that you want to be aggressive as far as getting your bills
back, getting your bills paid.
Mr. Fennoy: So I changed my mind, Commissioner Sias, I’ve got one more. So if this
body says that in a situation like I just mentioned if this body said that we will not bill anyone that
has no kind of insurance then that means that they won’t get billed.
Chief James: Correct.
Mr. Fennoy: I’m through now.
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Mr. Mayor: Okay, Chief, to that end I don’t know what the line of questioning will be with
regards to that. Should this body then be deciding on this at this time if that hasn’t been
determined?
Chief James: Be deciding on the company that’s going to be ---
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Mr. Mayor: No, I think the Commissioner from the 1 has just raised a series of very
relevant questions particularly with regards to the payer mix. Most importantly what happens in
the event that you have someone who can’t pay and what you just indicated is that this body needs
to determine whether we’re going to pursue that through a collections process or not. We would
decide that. But you’ve got a contract here saying we’re going to authorize EMS Management &
Consultants to get in that business of billing. Would that not have already been included in that
discussion and having already been decided before this body? I mean I don’t ---
Chief James: --- No, in other words we will bring that, the fee schedule will come back to
this body for approval and this body will have the authority to say this is what we’ll charge for
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these calls. And as the Commissioner from the 1 said if we don’t want to charge for this that
someone had no insurance or no anything then that would be in the information that we forward
to the company and then they would not charge those folks. They would not pursue it any further.
Mr. Mayor: So why weren’t we having that conversation before we got this?
Chief James: Because we had to set up the process. The company assists you in setting
up the process, they assist you in filling out all of the Medicare/Medicaid forms that you have to
do exactly correct so they help you line up all of that stuff and then we bring this back to the
Commission.
Mr. M. Williams: A point of clarity, Mr. Mayor?
Mr. Mayor: Hold on for a minute, I’m trying to walk down the street with you.
Mr. M. Williams: I understand.
Mr. Mayor: No, no, I’m talking to the Chief, I’m talking to the Chief trying to walk down
the street with him. But I think this is a very germane matter where you’re asking this body to
vote on it but really the elements of what this looks like you’re going to come back and say I need
you to concur or not concur with this and I think that’s the heart of what the Commissioner from
st
the 1 is effectively asking. I mean he’s talked about the payments and the most salient point was
the fact that you’re going to leave it to this body to determine whether we engage a collections
entity. I don’t think the Utilities Department does that, I don’t think Planning and Development
does that. I think they unilaterally make those decisions not this body. I may be wrong on that but
I’m not aware of this body ever making a decision about whether we move to collect.
Chief James: And that would be presented to you up front in the fee schedule so that would
be approved prior to. I don’t think that us as staff would take it upon ourselves to say this is what
the charge will be without having Commission approve of what the charges are.
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th
Mr. Mayor: All right, I’m going to go to the Commissioner from the 9 and then I’ll give
you a chance to close out, okay?
Mr. M. Williams: Mr. Mayor, I’m trying to determine. Almost 30% of this population in
this community is probably indigent that we’ve got to deal with the people who are on the streets.
And somebody asked a question about what’s the present provider the other company charging.
They’re in business, they’re supposed to charge. This is government. Now we’re going to go into
the ambulance business. Are we supposed to be making money on it because we paid the subsidy
because they’re in business. They ain’t good neighbors, they ain’t good friends, they’re in business
to make money. My point is though how do we determine who can pay, who don’t pay. If you
hadn’t paid in three payments now we going to decide what we’re going to charge you or what
we’re going to do because you ain’t paid. We don’t know if you’ve got insurance. I heard the
Chief saying that there’s several different types of insurance whether it be private insurance,
Medicare/Medicaid, whatever it is but when you’ve got 30% of your community in need you think
people are going to pay for a ride in an ambulance that came from the Fire Department they’ve got
they got transported to the hospital for being out all night long? I mean this is really ludicrous. I
don’t understand how we can even think that this would be something good for this community
allow the Fire Department to get into that situation to start charging people for an ambulance. I
guess my question, Chief, to you is how many transports have you had in the last year? Now I got
that number that you gave me before but I want to know how many transports that you had in the
last year?
Chief James: In the last year 2017 we transported 47 times.
Mr. M. Williams: 47 times you transported them to the emergency room or to the hospital.
Where were they transported to? Because the other provider says they’ve got somebody they
picked up probably 75 times and they were just drunk, they were just on the street. So I’m asking
what were those transported to the hospital you’re saying?
Chief James: Right, those transports were to the hospital.
Mr. M. Williams: And nobody has paid us, nobody has offered to pay us at one point at
no time.
Chief James: We have not billed.
Mr. M. Williams: Okay now you stated here the other week that every time your fire
machine goes out you send an ambulance with them. You said just in case and you did say that.
Chief James: No, I didn’t.
Mr. M. Williams: Didn’t you say in case something happens you wanted an ambulance
there to be with your equipment when you send a fire ---
Chief James: I said on every structure fire. Not every time they went out (inaudible).
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Mr. M. Williams: --- okay well if it’s a structure fire, I’m sorry, I didn’t say structure. I
left that out ya’ll write that down now. But every structure fire that you send out and there’s a lot
of structure fires you get calls on did that same ambulance because you ain’t got but one maybe
two because I ain’t seen none of them. But you said on a structure fire if it’s over there at a
structure fire how are you going to call picking somebody up?
Chief James: If they’re on a structure ---
Mr. M. Williams: Let’s vote ---
Mr. Mayor: All right ---
Mr. M. Williams: --- this is crazy, I don’t know.
Mr. Mayor: --- all right, the Chair will entertain a motion.
Mr. Hasan: We have a motion on the floor, a motion and a second.
Mr. Mayor: Okay, a motion and a second.
Mr. M. Williams: A substitute motion to deny, Mr. Mayor.
Mr. Frantom: Second.
Mr. Mayor: All right, I’ve got a substitute motion to deny with a proper second. All right,
we’re going to vote on the substitute first. All right, this substitute motion is to deny this request,
voting.
Mr. Frantom and Mr. M. Williams vote Yes.
Mr. Fennoy, Mr. D. Williams, Mr. Sias, Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Hasan and Mr. Smith vote No.
Ms. Davis and Mr. Guilfoyle out.
Motion Fails 2-6.
Mr. Mayor: All right, we’re back to the main motion. The Marshal has arrived and he is
certainly prepared to speak to that matter if it’s the will of the body or if you want to again have it
simply to be discussed during the committee process. That was a junk, junk and abandoned ---
Mr. Speaker: (Inaudible) this item first?
Mr. Mayor: --- I am but I want to alert everybody because if you don’t want to hear that
now I’m going to go ahead and let the Marshal go home. Okay, they’d rather hear during the
committee process, Marshal. Okay, we’re back on the main motion, we’re back on the main
motion, voting.
Mr. Fennoy, Mr. D. Williams, Mr. Sias, Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Hasan and Mr. Smith vote Yes.
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Mr. Frantom and Mr. M. Williams vote No.
Ms. Davis out and Mr. Guilfoyle out.
Motion Passes 6-2.
Mr. Mayor: Ms. Morawski, I don’t think there’s any other business before us.
The Clerk: No, sir.
Mr. Mayor: All right, this meeting is adjourned.
\[MEETING ADJOURNED\]
Nancy W. Morawski
Deputy 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
July 17, 2018.
__________________________________
Clerk of Commission
58