One image at a time, Augusta is incrementally moving toward better utilization of its many parks and recreation facilities.
Results from an ongoing “usage audit” were incomplete by Tuesday Augusta Commission committee meetings, but consultant Abie Ladson said his firm may have workable data by the end of the month.
After legal delays, the city now has 136 cameras mounted around the city’s many parks and facilities, said Ladson, the former city Engineering director now consulting on the parks study and other projects.
The cameras, which cost about $9,000, capture an image every 15 minutes, producing some 391,000 images per month, but the city needs a few more weeks of data to draw useful conclusions, Ladson said.
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Commissioner Brandon Garrett, who called for the discussion Tuesday, said he hoped recommendations would be ready for the city to begin deciding which of 60-plus parks to potentially close or consolidate.
Some commissioners have pressed to divest underutilized parks, while others question the process.
“I just wanted to make sure that we’re not only just looking at the amount of people, but also the quality of the park and what can we do up here to increase the usage,” Commissioner Jordan Johnson said.
Commission Catherine Smith Rice said it is obvious Augusta has too many, as some resemble vacant lots. She asked Ladson, “Don’t you think we have way too many parks for this city? Which of these parks can we eliminate?”
Ladson said while some usage audit findings have been surprising, the audit will help the city make informed decisions.
“If you arbitrarily just say, hey, we’re going to close this park, or close that park, without any backup or data, anybody can challenge you and say, “Why are you you closing this park?'” Ladson said.
Having the data protects the government, as well as elected officials, from fallout associated with closing parks, he said.
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Commissioner Tina Slendak asked Ladson as well as Procurement Director Andy Penick about the status of upgrades at Big Oak Park on Wheeler Road. She’d been told they were awaiting procurement approvals. Penick said he’d check on the status.
In other action Tuesday, the city’s Engineering Services committee lacked a quorum due to the absences of Commissioner Don Clark and Mayor Pro Tem Wayne Guilfoyle.
As a result, the committee would not hear findings about adding downtown parking spaces from Engineering and Environmental Services Director Hameed Malik.
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Downtown merchants have expressed concerns about losing spaces and business from the Transportation Investment Act-funded streetscape work on Broad Street and adjacent side streets.
The Public Services committee referred action on a short-term rental ordinance to the next committee cycle.
