Augusta Commissioners voted June 7 to use American Recovery Plan funding to proceed with badly needed repairs at Riverwalk.
Parks and Recreation Director Maurice McDowell abandoned his plan to steer the federal relief funds away from Riverwalk entirely and use them to enlarge the Julian Smith Barbecue Pit.
In fact, McDowell was rebuffed so badly for his attempt to shift the money at the May 31 Public Services Committee, that the barbecue pit was not mentioned at all.
However, McDowell at first claimed that the problems at Riverwalk were overblown, showing photos of minor brick damage and one of a chain link fence, stating the fence was placed in the area temporarily when the river last flooded to prevent people from getting too near the riverbank.
“The fence was placed there as a temporary measure, and we are having it removed,” McDowell said.
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McDowell, then contradicted himself and stated that Riverwalk had more problems than the allocated $700,000 could solve. He suggested that the city could augment current funding by using Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax 8 funds. The only problem is no current allocation of funding for Riverwalk is in the final version of SPLOST 8 that was approved in March 2021.
According to McDowell, the fountains at Riverwalk have not been fixed because the leaking pipes are buried under several feet of concrete.
“We also have trees that were planted on and along the levee that are undermining the structure,” McDowell said.
District 10 Commissioner John Clarke, speaking on the plumbing issue, asked McDowell why the Parks and Recreation Department didn’t consult with the Engineering Department to simply run a new waterline to the fountains rather than dig up tons of concrete looking for a leak. To that, McDowell responded he would rather have a private company offer suggestions.
On the issue of the trees on the levee, McDowell left more questions in his attempt to answer the questions of District 8 Commissioner Brandon Garrett. McDowell said he couldn’t identify which trees might be causing structural damage, what type of trees that were presenting a danger or when they might have been planted.
“We will need to bring in an arborist,” McDowell said.
The Commission voted to allocate $700,000 to Riverwalk repairs to include the fountains, $150,000 for more electrical outlets at Eighth Street where the Saturday Market is held and $150,000 for tennis court expansion at Diamond Lakes.
The funding package did not include McDowell’s request for $150,000 in “discretionary” spending.
Commissioners reached a deadlock when discussing renovations at the Henry Brigham Center, and the discussion at times became heated.
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In 2020, the commission authorized $6 million for a complete and thorough overhaul of the Henry Brigham Center, and when the lowest bid came in at just over $7 million, the city rebid the project and on the second attempt the lowest bid was $8.3 million. According to Procurement Department Director Geri Sams, several of the original bids had to be denied due to non-compliance and none of the firms challenged their non-compliant status.
Two years later, the renovations are expected to cost north of $10 million if the city attempts a third bid.
Both Clarke and District 7 Commissioner Sean Frantom asked why McDowell did not alter the scope of the original bid when the project went over the $6 million mark. Mayor Pro Tem Bobby Williams, who represents District 5, became animated and accused his colleagues of attempting to shortchange projects in his district in favor of projects in their districts.
“I was just asking a question; I have a right to ask a question,” Frantom said.
Williams nearly exploded, claiming the original center was shoddily built because the Commission at the time did not want to fully fund projects in District 5.
“The center that was originally built was built by prison labor. You have skilled labor and unskilled labor, and it was built using unskilled labor. You can look at the brickwork and how the mortar comes over the bricks, the small office, the way it’s painted, looks like a cave,” Williams said.
Williams also claimed its roof was supported by a crane.
A motion was made to approve the last final bid of $8.3 million using American Recovery Act funding to cover the $1.3 million shortfall. The measure was voted down twice in a 5-5 tie.
Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis Jr. was not on hand to break the tie.
Scott Hudson is the senior reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
