Several members of the Augusta Commission expressed their displeasure when Parks and Recreation Department Director Maurice McDowell failed to show up as scheduled and address the body at its Tuesday, Sept. 20 meeting.
McDowell was scheduled to give an update on the progress of the work being done on the bathrooms at Diamond Lakes Park and Community Center. Instead, several members of McDowell’s staff attended on his behalf and told commissioners that the director was out of town attending a convention.
In May, the department put in an emergency request for funding to fix what was termed “faulty plumbing” and stated to the commission that the bathrooms had to be closed for safety reasons. McDowell explained at the time that plumbing of the bathrooms themselves was always in fine working order, but that it was the storm drains coming off of the scoring towers that were leaking water into the bathrooms making them a slip and fall hazard.
Throughout the summer, patrons to the park and community center had to use portable toilets. District 4 Commissioner Al Mason said that residents continue to call him and complain about the smells emanating from the portable toilets and the length of time it was taking to replace a few drainpipes.
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Parks and Recreation Department staff told the commission that the bathrooms will be open by this coming weekend, leading Mason to question the timing of the bathrooms being reopened, after being closed for four months, at the exact same moment the commission was requesting information.
The Parks and Recreation Department staff member did not provide their original timeline and could not provide a final cost figure.
“I’m here to tell you something smells other than the toilets,” Mason said.
Mason commented to the effect that he was losing patience with McDowell, leading District 10 Commissioner John Clarke to point out the issue with Diamond Lakes is just one of many with the troubled Parks and Recreation Department.
“It’s not only Diamond Lakes; it’s the other parks too. If it’s not one thing, it’s another,” Clarke said.
Also at the meeting, Tonya Bonitatibus, director of Savannah Riverkeeper, was called before the commission to update the body on what her nonprofit group has done with riverfront property it has occupied for the last seven years.
Savannah Riverkeeper was given a 100-year lease on a large 12-acre stretch of property just past the Boathouse on the river. Prior to the city taking over the land, it was used as an automobile junkyard and over the decades, the land had become contaminated.
Bonitatibus reported that Riverkeeper volunteers have removed around 250 tons of junk and trash, replaced the roof on the warehouse building that is used for office space and have created a nine-hole disc golf course.
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The one-time dump is now used by the military for exercises, contains a water testing lab and has canoe launch sites.
Only one small two-acre area remains contaminated, however federal funding from the Brownsfield Grant is not available because the city still owns the land, according to Bonitatibus. She estimated it would cost the city $150,000 to finish the decontamination process.
When questioned about the length of the lease, Bonitatibus said that she initially asked for a 50-year lease, and it was former commissioner Joe Jackson who made the motion to double the lease to 100 years.
Clarke continued to question Bonitatibus about the length of the lease and if it was renewable every year. Bonitatibus answered bluntly that the terms of the lease did not call for any renewals and could not be broken unless Riverkeeper violated their agreement to clean and maintain the property.
“My job is not to clean it up so you can put apartment complexes on it. My job is to bring it back for the community,” Bonitatibus said.
Scott Hudson is the senior reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
