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George Orwell Was a Prophet
When Mayor Hardie Davis’ Task Force on Confederate Monuments, Street Names and Landmarks issued its final report last week, you were surprised only if you live under a rock.
Anybody with any knowledge at all about local politics could have guessed what the results would be before the task force held its first Zoom meeting back in September. The task force would vote to remove all Confederate monuments and rename anything named after Confederate generals. All you had to do was look at who was among the 11-members, six of whom were appointed by Davis and five by the Augusta Commission.
Task Force Co-chairmen were Corey Rogers from the Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History and Erick Montgomery, executive director of Historic Augusta Inc., neither of whom voted. Other members were:
Nancy Glaser, executive Director of the Augusta Museum of History
Christine Miller Betts, former director of the Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History
Kelby Walker, businessman and political activist
Hardi Jones, retired federal government employee
Richard Peoples, pastor
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Katie Delaigle, descendant of Berry Benson, the soldier atop the Confederate Monument on Broad Street and a real-estate agent
Dr. John Hayes, Augusta University associate professor in the department of history
Dr. Mallory Millender, Paine College professor emeritus
Lee Powell, retired IT system engineer
Each week the group discussed one of the five areas of interest and took a final vote Sept 20.
For the final vote, nine members would vote and, in the event of a tie, the co-chairpersons would step in to make a determination, but there was no tie. One committee member was absent at each meeting. Here are the places they voted on and the results:
•The Confederate Monument on Broad Street: The vote was 5-3 in favor of moving the Confederate Monument on Broad Street to either Magnolia or Westview Cemetery. Delaigle, Powell and Walker voted no.
•The Confederate Monument on Greene Street in front of Saint James United Methodist Church: The vote was 5-3 in favor of requesting the United Methodist Church to accept possession of the Confederate Monument on Greene Street and move it to a more suitable place.
Delaigle, Powell and Walker voted no.
•Jefferson Davis Highway: The vote was 7-1 in favor of removing all signage and monuments connected to Jefferson Davis Highway.
Delaigle voted no.
•John C. Calhoun Expressway: The vote was unanimous in favor of changing the name of John C. Calhoun Expressway.
•Gordon Highway: The vote was 7-1 in favor of changing the name of Gordon Highway.
Delaigle voted no.
•Fort Gordon: The vote was 7-1 in favor of changing the name of Fort Gordon.
Delaigle voted no.
And this won’t be the only task force in Augusta to “study” removing Confederate monuments and renaming streets and buildings associated with the Confederacy, according to one of the members.
A list of prominent black leaders of the past was compiled as an offshoot of task force discussions to replace the Confederate names. But everyone should consider the possibility that naming and renaming buildings, roads and bridges after people is an exercise in futility. Eventually, the tide will turn, sentiments will change, and whoever something is named after will be on the wrong side of history.
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Another Fool Idea
The mayor has hatched another fool idea to get attention and spend more of your tax money, but it’s not worth talking about. I’ll keep you informed about his fool ideas in the future but only by number and date.
For example, I’ll start with this one – Fool Idea #1, 12/20.
If I had started this system at the beginning of his reign in 2015, we’d be in the hundreds, maybe even thousands, by now.
The Fire is Out Because the Chief Is
After years of controversy, Augusta Fire Chief Chris James finally cut a deal. He agreed to resign in August if they’d let him use his golden parachute between now and then. His departure should make members of the fire department happy for at least a year or two until the new chief does something to make them mad. Or starts making them do shifts on ambulances.
The real winner in this is Gold Cross EMS as the threat to their private ambulance service has diminished since Augusta Commissioners parked the fire department’s ambulances.
Meanwhile, Gold Cross might be able to get a deal on three slightly used ambulances. All they’d have to do is repaint them.
Breaking Up is Hard to Do
In a new form of urban flight, Columbia County Commissioners voted to ask the Legislature to allow them to form their own judicial district.
The Augusta Judicial Circuit’s District Attorney-elect Jared Williams suggests that Columbia County wants a divorce because he’s Black, and he wants to make sure we understand history.
“We have been a circuit since 1870. Fast forward 150 years, and less than a month after voters elected the first African-American District Attorney, Columbia County leadership is now asking to leave,” he states.
While it might be a racial issue, it has come up before, well before Williams ran for DA, because Columbia County Republicans don’t want Richmond County Democrats to be able to elect the politicians that serve Columbia County. And since Columbia County elects its own sheriff, coroner, clerk of court, tax commissioner and everybody else who’s anybody in local government, it only makes sense they should be able to elect their own DA and judges.
Unfortunately, the fact that it makes sense will have little impact on the argument.
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SPLOST, SPLASH, We’re Taking a Bath
New Augusta Administrator Odie Donald began last week’s SPLOST 8 work session by reminding commissioners that initial requests totaled $941 million, and then made a statement worthy of the Quote of the Week: “There’s never enough money in government to fill all of the needs…”
He then went on to explain that taking into consideration commissioners’ special projects for their districts and the overall good of the county, he’d pared the total down to “a little under $250 million.”
It actually turned out to be a little more than $250 million at $250,285,000.
The list of recommendations Donald presented were later updated and are included here. There’s $22.4 million for public safety; $65.8 million for quality of life projects; including $5 million for a water park and $25 million to start on a new James Brown Arena which is really just a drop in the bucket that will need at least $175 million more to fill.
I don’t know who was pushing the water park, but it might have been Commissioner Marion Williams, who’s harped for years about doing something to bring people to town to spend money.
Many of you will recall that Williams championed a drag strip in south Augusta, a very unpopular proposal with the residents who lived anywhere near the proposed site. The city paid $25,000 for a feasibility study, which also ticked some folks off big time. What made it even more controversial was that his son-in-law bought property right across the road from the proposed site and was going to start a business called Drag Snacks.
If the water park idea goes anywhere, the son-in-law could buy property nearby and call it Lifesavers and sell sunglasses and beach towels.
Oh well, that was a digression.
Administrator Donald also recommended $25.5 million for general government, $16.5 million that would go to pay off the Cyber Center Parking Deck. He proposed $53.5 million for infrastructure, which in earlier drafts included $20 or $25 million for storm water, but that drew so much criticism, considering how the city already receives $16 million a year in storm water taxes. (They call them fees. I call them taxes.)
Anyway, it seems that $20 million for storm water has been recategorized as $20 million for grading and drainage. Storm water is there. You just don’t see it. That’s government transparency for you. And it reminds me of a story about a salesman who came back from a sales trip wearing an expensive pair of boots. When he turned in his expense report, his boss kept going over and over it, until the salesman asked him what was wrong.
“I know those boots are in here somewhere,” he muttered. “I just can’t find them.”
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Another digression
Donald recommended $19 million for government facilities, including $6 million for a new juvenile court, although Chief Augusta Judicial Court Judge Carl Brown says the vacant Craig Houghton Elementary School the city already owns has plenty of the space needed for juvenile court and everything else they do. The judge says the children and families don’t have the time it will take to get a new juvenile court built. Four juvenile murder cases are pending, among their many others.
Well, that’s a story for another day.
Donald also included $14 million for a Depot Project; $4 million for blight mitigation and $10 million for Industrial recruitment and site preparation.
A Robust Conversation
Donald recommended $7.5 million for Hephzibah and $1.5 million for Blythe.
“After conversation with those mayors, as well as our mayor in two actually fairly robust conversations, I think we have given them appropriate resources in a manner that they will find acceptable,” Donald said.
A few minutes later, while talking about road resurfacing, Donald said, “We’ve had some very robust conversations, and I trust that the road resurfacing was under-supported.”
Shortly thereafter, Commissioner Sammie Sias was talking about giving the airport $2 million or $3 million for a new hangar.
“The airport is very important in our economy,” he said. “Traffic has been record-breaking. They are very robust, but they could use a start on this particular hangar.”
Not to be out-robusted by the administrator or commissioners, Mayor Hardie Davis, speaking of city blight, asked “How do we put together a robust program, not only to tear down but with strategy as well with public-private partnerships?”
Robustly?
Sylvia Cooper is a Columnist with The Augusta Press. Reach her at sylvia.cooper@theaugustapress.com
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