Whew! Augusta taxpayers dodged a big bullet last week.
The community spoke, but the Coliseum Authority didn’t listen.
One authority member called Tuesday’s overwhelming defeat of a $235-$240 million bond referendum for a new arena a “bump in the road,” but it was more than that. It was a repudiation of getting the cart before the horse and proceeding with $15 million of planning and design work without having sure-fire financing that wouldn’t put the burden on property owners.
Authority Chairman Cedric Johnson said the next steps are to look at the election and get more community input to find out what the community is saying.
Shouldn’t they have done that first?
From the “bump in the road” comment, I believe they just want to keep on going and slip another referendum to the voters next summer in a different bag. We can only hope they’ll consider living within taxpayers’ means and building an arena only as large as people can pay for. After all, where’s the crowd from all over the world that was supposed to come and line up to see the James Brown statue on Broad Street? It’s sort of thinned out, hasn‘t it?
MORE: Opinion: Spooky Arena Referendum Looms Ahead
Better yet, take the unspent $10 million from the $25 million SPLOST dollars allocated to the existing arena and make it something people will want to go to and performers will want to perform in.
But if you must build a new arena, maybe there are other ways of financing it nobody’s thought of yet.
For example, divide $240 million by the 7,000 people who voted for it and bill them for their portion. Or charge $25 to park in the parking lot and $100 to get out safely after the show is over.
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Does Augusta Need a New Coliseum Authority?
According to information on Commissions, Authorities and Boards posted on the city’s website, the terms of all six Coliseum Authority members and its chairman who wanted to raise your property taxes have expired. Names and expiration dates are:
Booker Roberson, Dec. 31, 2020.
Linda Edney-Wiley, March 31, 2019.
Bonita Jenkins, Dec. 31, 2020
Darren Smith, Dec. 31, 2018
John Kelly, March 31, 2019
Brad Usry, Dec. 31, 2018
Chairman Cedric Johnson, March 31, 2020
Under the state’s holdover law, they may continue to serve until they are reappointed or replaced.
Maybe the Coliseum Authority Needs a 40-year-old History Lesson
The last James Brown Arena bonds were paid off by a beer tax because property owners revolted over paying with higher property taxes.
“The referendum Tuesday was clear evidence of the truth of the old adage that we must learn from history, or we are doomed to repeat it,” said former Mayor Bob Young.
Numbers Don’t Lie, But…
I don’t care how many times City Administrator Odie Donald says Mayor Hardie Davis’ 2022 budget didn’t increase but 6.12 percent because of upgrading a position, it increased more than that because he took Davis’ My Brother’s Keeper’s slush fund that was in a separate account and shifted it over to his operating budget, which increased by $67,970 to $554,020. So what if Donald did do away with Davis’ MBK slush fund that he used for such important initiatives as his reelection, paying a political consultant $9,000 to help him get reelected in 2017? It was too little, too late in my opinion.
Is That You Baby, or Just a Brilliant Disguise
The Augusta government’s Halloween party last Sunday night was held at the James Brown Arena because the arena and Bell Auditorium are the only government buildings people don’t have to have a mask on to enter. Most partygoers wore masks anyway. Not the kind you see people running around in trying not to catch Covid in Walmart, but all sorts of Halloween masks.
Several elected officials came dressed as vampires, and one was even brazen enough to come as a wolf in sheeps’ clothing. Administrator Odie Donald came as Uncle Sam handing out $100 dollar bills from a U.S. Treasury bag.
Some partygoers were thrilled to get what they thought was free money. Others were suspicious and started holding the bills up to the light.
MORE: Opinion: Some in Summerville, Forest Hills Consider Seceding Over Redistricting
“Is this real?” they asked.
“What’s real?” asked a woman dressed up as a fortune teller.
“Of course, it’s real,” Odie said. “As real as the dollars they’re printing in Washington, D.C. They’re sending $82 million to rescue us.”
“From what?”
“Covid and a dirty, dark overgrown city. And I’ve put aside $11 million for the mayor and commissioners to spend on what they want to.”
“Won’t somebody have to pay this back?” asked a Sumo wrestler.
“At some point,” Odie said, “but we’ll all be gone before that happens, some of us sooner than others.”
Current and former Augusta commissioners attended the party, and some even performed. Commissioner John Clarke came as an Elvis impersonator and sang “In The Ghetto.” The crowd went wild.
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The crowd also went wild when Commissioner Alvin Mason, a pit master, sang “Come On, Baby, Light My Fire.”
Mayor Hardie Davis came wearing a Burger King crown and purple robe. He wanted to come as My Brother’s Keeper but since he’s not, it wouldn‘t look good.
Commissioner Ben Hasan stood at the door handing out copies of his Urban Pro Weekly newspapers from a stack he couldn’t give away before he became a commissioner and had to quit publishing because it created a conflict of interest. Of course, he could have interviewed himself about what commissioners were doing behind closed doors, but it would have had to be off the record, so he couldn’t use it.
Commissioner Bobby Williams came as a school zone Coca Cola traffic cop sign. And Commissioner Brandon Garrett came as a billboard with corny Dad jokes written all over it.
Commissioner Catherine McKnight came dressed as Cinderella who went from political rags to political popularity and still has both her slippers.
Commissioner Jordan Johnson came as a homeless man to call attention to his Homeless Task Force and put out feelers for a government job.
Commissioner Sean Frantom came dressed as a caddy, which former Commissioner Bill Fennoy said was an advertisement for Frantom’s employer, Top Golf.
Fennoy, who was always critical of Frantom, refused to party until they played the National Anthem, so he could kneel and call attention to himself.
Former VA administrator Commissioner Dennis Williams came carrying a device that said, “Take a Number and Wait.”
Former state government employee Commissioner Francine Scott arrived with a stack of forms for people to fill out before they could get in line to get a hot dog at the concessions stand.
Coroner Mark Bowen came as the Grim Reaper, and new Fire Chief Antonio Burden came blowing smoke.
MORE: Opinion: $240 Million Bond Referendum Likely to Pass
City Clerk Lena Bonner and IT Director Tameka Allen were put out when they got to the party and saw they were both wearing Wonder Woman costumes. They shouldn’t have been though because they’re both genuine Wonder Women.
Besides Clarke singing one Elvis song after another, like “Jailhouse Rock” and “Burning Love,” the big draw was the dance floor and the music of “Funk You,” which has been the government’s message to taxpayers since consolidation.
Any party-goer who got too rowdy was escorted outside by city Marshals dressed as nightclub bouncers and into a Covid vaccination tent where they got a shot and $100 whether they wanted it or not. The nurses, dressed in vampire outfits, also drew a pint of blood for good measure. Most victims were so high the only thing they knew was that they woke up with a sore arm the next day.
The pie eating contest was canceled because nobody bakes anymore. Same thing with the cakewalk. The fishing ponds were abandoned because with so much money floating around, nobody wanted to stand in line to get a free dime-store necklace or box of Cracker Jacks. And the kissing booth was closed because of Covid.
When Uncle Sam’s money ran out, he and Sheriff Richard Roundtree stepped into a ring and wrestled over the budget. Roundtree won and came away with $3.2 million more to hire more deputies.
Former Commissioner Marion Williams showed up as a goat herder with 10 goats in tow but was told he’d have to leave the goats outside. Of course, he objected, and when the party ended at midnight, he was still outside with the goats arguing with the doorkeeper. When he realized the goats weren’t getting inside, he put a curse on the new James Brown Arena. He said it would never be built.
People laughed until they heard about the “Curse of the Billy Goat” that was placed on the Chicago Cubs in 1945.
Sylvia Cooper is a Columnist with The Augusta Press. Reach her at sylvia.cooper@theaugustapress.com
