The Augusta Land Bank Authority voted March 6 to sell the West Vineland Park to the Augusta National Golf Club for $350,000.
As with other properties the Augusta National has purchased, the club paid way over the market value of $58,000.
Even though the price paid for the park is certainly a tidy windfall for the city, the sudden sale with no public discussion is causing some controversy.
The Augusta Land Bank Authority posts a schedule of its meetings, but does not release meeting agendas prior to meetings.
The park, located at 239 West Vineland Road, sits within a small, quiet neighborhood adorned with dogwoods and azaleas and offers a tennis court and playground. Unlike other city parks that are neglected and unused, West Vineland is popular with nearby residents.
In fact, the park is so popular that when Augusta commissioners went on a bus tour of parks that the then Parks and Rec. Department Director Maurice McDowell wanted to close, residents were waiting for the group with picket signs in hand.
Former Augusta commissioner and regular columnist for The Augusta Press, John Clarke, was on that bus trip and distinctly recalled that the commissioners unanimously agreed to keep the moratorium on selling off city-owned parks.
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“This is just another secret deal made with no public input, just like the Land Bank did with the park on Merry Street. They don’t give a darn what the residents think, so it is all done behind closed doors,” Clarke said.
Clarke is referring to the former “Central Park,” which was sold in a similar manner to a local developer to build tiny homes for young adults transitioning out of foster care.
While the Augusta Land Bank voted in February to accept the West Vineland property as surplus, the agenda did not make it clear that the tract of land was a park and the agreement was predicated on a letter signed by the Interim City Administrator Takiyah Douse at the behest of the commission.
The letter was sent just after the commission voted on Sep. 12 to transfer the property to the Land Bank, but, again, it was not disclosed publicly that the plot of land was actually a city park.
Commissioners also did not vote to raise the moratorium on selling off city parks in a public vote, according to meeting minutes of the time.
District 3 Commissioner Catherine McKnight, who voted with the majority to sell the property, declined to comment on the process of the land transaction, but said that the sale of the park was “inevitable.”
It is not clear what purpose the golf club may have for the property since it is too small for a building or a parking lot and the Augusta National has not released a statement pertaining to the purchase.
A call for comment was not returned by representatives of the Augusta National.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
