The Augusta Commission has a series of big-ticket items including approval of a downtown adventure park, speeding up the Broad Street project and potentially naming a replacement for resigned Commissioner Alvin Mason on its regular Tuesday meeting agenda.
The commission will also hear from Augusta-Richmond County Coliseum Authority Chairman Cedric Johnson on the authority’s decision to remove the name of James Brown from the new arena being built downtown.
The Outdoor Urban Adventure Center includes in its current design a zipline extending from the Freedom Bridge, the former Fifth Street Bridge converted to pedestrian crossing, an eight-story tower and observation deck and donut boat tours.
The product of a memorandum of understanding with Destination Augusta and $1.75 million from Sales Tax 8, the adventure center would be operated by The Forge, a Chicago firm landed by Destination Augusta, with a target opening date of Spring 2026.
Going for approval Tuesday is an operating agreement between the city and The Forge that gives Augusta a 3% share of net park revenue while making the city responsible for all capital equipment. In addition Destination Augusta is asking the city to waive all “planning fees” that the city would otherwise have to pay..
Johnson to address commission
Johnson is scheduled to address the commission after an invitation from Mayor Garnett Johnson stating the commission’s concern about removing Brown’s name from the facility, which the authority calls the “New Augusta Arena.” This is in hopes of securing a naming sponsor such as Savannah has at Enmarket Arena, named for the gas station chain.
In response, Johnson claims voters “decisively rejected” the 2021 campaign to build a “New James Brown Arena” yet “overwhelmingly” supported a 2023 referendum that identified the facility only as a “new arena.” However, the two referenda differed widely in other ways, including the 2021 campaign’s use of a property tax hike to fund construction.
The authority only recently informed the commission of the name change, and as recently as last year the commission approved an agenda item “for the issuance of bond and construction of the new James Brown Arena.” The JBA name appears frequently on city documents as well as in numerous uncorrected media reports published after the referendum passed.
Mason’s replacement on agenda
Two commissioners, Don Clark and Francine Scott, put the matter of Mason’s replacement on the agenda for Tuesday. The three-term commissioner resigned June 18 after impassioned comments about the arena’s name and citing health concerns.
The Consolidation Act says that the vacancy is filled “by the remaining members of the commission-council,” and the appointee serves the rest of the unexpired term, unless it exceeds a year. In that case, the appointed commissioner serves until a special election can be held to elect someone to serve through the end of the unexpired term.
Clark, who represents District 5, has a motion on the agenda to “begin the process of accepting nominations” by commissioners to fill the vacancy, while Scott seeks a discussion of the “temporary appointment” of a District 4 commissioner.
In other business
Other items going before the commission Tuesday include spending $13 million to rush construction of the Broad Street streetscape project. Engineering and Environmental Services Director Hameed Malik proposed adding a night shift at that cost after business owners raised concerns. The city would use Transportation Investment Act sales tax discretionary funds to add a second shift of road workers.
Other spending going for final approval Tuesday include $108,712 to resurface Reynolds Industrial Road, $1 million to address bad dirt and conflicting utility lines in the Broad Street streetscape project and $90,000 to pay for the July 15 special primary runoff. In addition, the commission is set to approve a $4.1 million budget adjustment at the landfill to cover that amount in expenses associated with disposal of Hurricane Helene debris.
The commission is also slated to vote on the “final” project list for special purpose, local option sales tax 9. The commission has held several work sessions about the list and has another at 10 a.m. Tuesday. Administrator Tameka Allen also has presented her suggestions.
