Mayor Hardie Davis, in a pre-recorded video, gave the state of the city address in which he praised the citizenry for unifying in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and called for a continuation of his vision of “one Augusta.”
Rather than delivering the speech in person, as is the custom, Davis appeared as the keynote speaker in a video shown on Facebook that contained plenty of pomp and ceremony.
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The professionally-produced video began with a salute by the color guard of T.W. Josey High School ROTC and was followed by the National Anthem sung by Shawna Dominique Harris, the Black National Anthem sung by Joseph Washington and a performance of Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water by the Augusta Choral Society, filmed inside Sacred Heart Cultural Center.
Davis began his speech by reflecting on the pandemic and its effect on Augusta.
“2020 proved to be daunting and sometimes unrelenting, but together we stayed the course. Together we battled the global pandemic that none of us had ever seen before,” Davis said. “Together we made sure our families, our neighbors and our friends were taken care of.”
Davis then went on to talk about how Augusta continues to evolve, stating that the world already knows the city as home to the Masters Tournament and James Brown. Davis proclaimed that the world now sees Augusta as also the global cyber security capital of the United States.
The mayor then turned his attention to what he believes are the community challenges for the coming year and said he believes they all tie into his vision of “one Augusta.”
“This evening we come together, not as a White Augusta or a Black Augusta, a South Augusta or a West Augusta, but rather one Augusta,” he said.
Affordable housing and blight removal is what Davis said are his top priorities and will continue to remain his focus for 2021. Davis cited the partnership between the Urban Renewal Agency and the Augusta Housing and Community Development department which created the $32 million Beacon Station development in the Laney Walker area of East Augusta.
“Beacon Station has spurred development all along the corridor with $24.3 million in contracts, labor and services. It is a shining example of what public private partnerships can do.”
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Davis lauded his “Fight the Blight Program” he launched in September of 2019 and claimed the city demolished several “dilapidated single family structures” at the launch of the program and pledged to continue to eliminate vacant and blighted structures throughout the city.
While Davis gave praise for the work against blight in the city’s urban core, he said he plans to focus the city’s efforts in 2021 toward the South Augusta area.
In fact, Davis said his goal is to “re-imagine” that area of the city.
“If you look at a map, Gordon Highway and Deans Bridge road is right in the center of our community. Coincidentally, it looks like a hub that connects us with our neighbors, north, south, east and west,” he said. “Unfortunately, this area has been neglected far too long.”
Davis said his future plans include the former Regency Mall, but did not elaborate further. His final statement was to proclaim that “the state of our city is strong.”
You can watch the entire program here.
Scott Hudson is the Managing Editor of The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
