The Augusta Parks and Recreation Department is back under the Augusta Commission’s microscope as the body is requesting a review of underused and poorly maintained city parks.
Some commissioners, including John Clarke, Catherine McKnight and Brandon Garrett, say some of the areas that are called public parks are underutilized, under maintained and becoming public nuisances at worst and a drain on the taxpayers at best. They are on record saying it is time for Augusta to divest itself of property that it has long been neglected.
“We have actually been talking about this for months since we first started asking questions about why the rec department couldn’t cut the grass or maintain our historic cemeteries. This is not some new thing, Brandon, John, and I have been asking these questions for months,” McKnight said.
In October 2021, Parks and Recreation Director Maurice McDowell answered questions before the commission about the department’s failure to cut grass at area parks and severe maintenance issues that were cropping up at community centers and other department run facilities.
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Last year, the Augusta Aquatics Center had to undergo a costly overhaul just to remain safe for swimmers.
McDowell said, at the time, that many of the maintenance issues such as tall grass was due to COVID-19 related staffing issues.
The Parks and Recreation Department also has one of the highest employee turnover rates in city government. The turnovers peaked in 2019 when the department lost 75 employees, many of whom were supervisors or specialized workers, according to documents provided by the Augusta Human Resources Department.
McDowell promised the commission a timely update that would specify which of the 15 or so parks were underused. He also promised to make recommendations on what to do with what amounts to surplus city land.
According Garrett, who serves in District 8, McDowell has not yet provided the update.
“We haven’t heard a peep, and I think it is time now to revisit the issue and talk about these properties that we call parks that are really just vacant tracts of land,” Garrett said.
One of the areas Garrett referred to is what was once used as a BMX course. That property is located on Division Road near Lake Olmstead off of upper Broad Street. The city created the landscape for a competitive bicycle course and installed stadium lights, but today, the area is just a hilly expanse in the heart of what Garrett calls a perfect area for redevelopment.
“We could put that land and a whole heck of a lot of other land back on the tax digest by just admitting we don’t need and can’t support over 60 public parks,” Garrett said.
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District 3 Commissioner McKnight agreed and said the city should look at how Pendleton King Park, arguably Augusta’s most heavily used park, operates and attempt to mirror its success.
“Pendleton King is officially maintained by the city, but they have a foundation, and they have volunteers who make that park absolutely beautiful year-round. If we are going to try and call ourselves the Garden City, then we need to emulate what the folks at Pendleton are doing,” McKnight said.
McKnight says she agrees that any underused public parks, especially those that harbor criminal activity, should be closed and sold to put the property back on tax rolls, thereby reducing the government’s responsibility and liability.
“It just seems like common sense to me. If what was once a city park has now become just an empty tract of land, then we need to repurpose the land, and if that means selling it, then we should sell it,” McKnight said.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
