After taking a one week break, Augusta commissioners will meet in committee on July 12 to discuss issues that are on-going.
Aside from routine alcohol petitions, the committees will discuss overgrown grass throughout the city, vacant city-owned buildings and a request to change commission meeting times.
Kevin de l’Aigle is scheduled to address the Public Services Committee on grass maintenance on Greene Street and Magnolia Cemetery, and he is hopping mad.
According to de l’Aigle, the grass in the Greene Street median is hardly ever maintained properly, and trees are growing out of the ornamental bushes.
“When they had the July 4th event, the organizers had to clear the area around the Signers Monument so that they could set their stuff up for the event,” de l’Aigle said.
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It is unclear what department is responsible for maintaining the median as several different departments share responsibility for different areas throughout the city, but de l’Aigle says the city needs to quit passing the buck and simply cut the grass.
“Augusta is supposed to be the Garden City, but it’s in shambles; it’s embarrassing,” de l’Aigle said.
De l’Aigle traces his family roots in Augusta all the way back to 1798, and he is a partner with Edwards Mercantile & Company and Cherokee Rose Events, which is operated out of the historic de l’Aigle house that sits across from the Municipal Building. Generations of his family are buried in Magnolia Cemetery, which is chronically unkempt.
The cemetery continues to have large untreated fire ant piles and wild saplings growing up against the grave markers. The Parks and Recreation Department is responsible for the upkeep of the cemetery, and de l’Aigle says he is tired of hearing excuses.
“If the director of the parks department can’t manage to keep a cemetery looking presentable, then he needs to be replaced with someone who can,” de l’Aigle said.
With regard to city property, District 3 Commissioner Catherine McKnight wants a discussion on the city divesting itself of vacant buildings and allowing those properties to return to the tax rolls.
One building on her list is Old Engine Company 7 on Central Avenue. The good news is that the Augusta Fire Department has removed the plywood and replaced broken window panes that were damaged recently in a hail storm. The building remains in solid condition but could use a good paint job and needs a roof replacement.
Sitting inside the engine company garage is one of the city’s vintage 1920s-era fire trucks. From the outside looking in, the engine case on the truck is visible, and it looks like the Fire Department has meticulously maintained the antique vehicle.
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Currently, the building is only used for storage, but McKnight says the city is missing a great opportunity by keeping the building on mothball status.
“We could sell the building and someone could maybe do a themed restaurant. They could keep the fire pole, and we could loan them the firetruck to be displayed. There are all kinds of things that could be done with the building. We don’t just have to let it sit and rot away,” McKnight said.
Another building that is in danger of rotting away is the Boathouse at the Marina. McKnight says the commission needs to reverse its decision to keep the building in the hands of the Parks and Recreation Department.
“We had someone offer to pay over the market value and assume all the restoration costs, and we let that buyer slip away,” McKnight said.
Another building that is currently managed by the Augusta Land Bank is the old “Green Thumb” building on Central Avenue behind Daniel Village, and McKnight says it would not take the city five minutes to find a buyer for that prime piece of commercial property.
Commissioners will also discuss changing meeting times as requested by District 7 Commissioner Sean Frantom, who suggests holding executive session meetings at 2 p.m., committee meetings at 4 p.m. and full commission meetings at 5 p.m.
Years ago, the commission did change the meeting times to late afternoon to both accommodate commissioners who had trouble juggling the schedule with their day jobs and to give the community greater access to attend.
Scott Hudson is the senior reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
