“They paved paradise, put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swingin’ hot spot
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot
(Ooh, bop-bop-bop-bop, ooh, bop-bop-bop-bop)
They took all the trees put ’em in a tree museum
And they charged the people a dollar an’a half just to see ’em”
-Joni Mitchell
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Augusta commissioners did a lot at their meeting last week. They approved a request to rezone a large beautiful, wooded tract of land on Washington Road, possibly the only one left in Augusta’s stretch of the road, to allow a car lot to be built bordering the Montclair subdivision. And they denied a rezoning request for a group home for troubled boys off Rollins Road in rural south Augusta because of residents’ objections. They also took giant steps towards legalizing cigar bars in Augusta.
Bidness, Doncha’ Know?
When progress raised its ugly head, Augusta’s Mayor Hardie Davis welcomed it at Tuesday’s commission meeting and broke a 5-5 tie vote on the rezoning request, paving the way for Jim Hudson Lexus to pave 4.47 acres of paradise on Washington Road and put up another car lot.
The beautiful, wooded property will be clear-cut, paved, a car dealership will be built (very high-class they say) and 45 light poles from sunset to sunrise will light up the night for the homeowners of the tree lined Montclair subdivision.
It will mean 30 jobs and an annual $500,000 cash infusion to the city’s tax revenue, the promoters said.
But what will it mean to the Montclair residents, 115 of whom signed a petition opposing the rezoning? Lower property values, more noise, more traffic through their neighborhood, more drainage problems and more light at night to make the stars even harder to see.
The dealership will border about 600 feet of Montclair residential property, resident Jim Daniel told commissioners.
“Six hundred feet is the length of two football fields from one goal line to the next,” he said. “And this property borders Montclair property residences more than it does Washington Road and Warren Road combined.
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Approval of the zoning request will have a historical and dramatic impact and will transform the appeal and the stability of Montclair forever, Daniel said.
“Historical because Montclair has gone 56 years with property adjacent to us being zoned for residential use,” he said. “Montclair is a planned neighborhood with more than 500 homes with sidewalks on both sides of the street, beautiful tree canopy and large parks at both ends of the neighborhood.”
“Property values of homes adjacent to the proposed car dealership nearby will drop dramatically because perspective homebuyers would not want to purchase a home and live next to a car dealership.”
The collective asset value of Montclair homes on Richmond County tax books is more than $100 million, Daniel said.
“And this does not count the negative effects on the value of approximately 300 homes along Warren Road and connector streets,” he said.
What does that matter? Money talks, even though it doesn’t tell the whole story, especially when it comes to development vs. neighborhoods. How many times have I witnessed the drama? Too many. And I always know what’s going to happen. Sooner or later, money speaks louder than objectors’ words.
For the record, I’m going to tell you who voted for the rezoning. It’s up to you to figure out whether or not they get a new car.
Commissioners voted 5-5 on the rezoning request twice. The first time on Commissioner John Clarke’s substitute motion to deny the rezoning with Clarke and commissioners Jordan Johnson, Alvin Mason, Sean Frantom and Brandon Garrett voting yes. Then everyone waited to hear whether the mayor would vote to break the tie.
“The mayor’s not voting,” said City Clerk Lena Bonner.
Then they voted on Commissioner Bobby Williams’ motion to approve, and Williams and commissioners Dennis Williams, Catherine McKnight, Ben Hasan and Francine Scott voted yes. And once again, everyone waited. And this time, the mayor voted yes, after which he said, “We’ve gone from Motor Mile to dealerships leaving our county. It needs to stop.”
Astute observers have an idea of why the vote went the way it did. The only thing they can’t figure out is why McKnight seconded the motion.
Afterward, Clarke said, “If that dealership was such a good deal to put there, why did they try to meet with each commissioner privately beforehand?”
Clarke turned down two invitations to meet with the promoters, he said.
He must not be in the market for a luxury vehicle anytime soon.
“Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot.”
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Joe Camel’s Hump is Under the Tent
Augusta has higher-than-average numbers of people suffering from deadly smoking-related diseases, according to distinguished doctors at Augusta University and the Georgia Cancer Center who work with those people.
And when Commissioner Jordan Johnson placed an item on a commission agenda several weeks ago to amend the smoking ordinance to allow for cigar bars to operate in Augusta, concerned doctors mobilized and made appointments to speak at meetings and implored commissioners not to weaken the smoking ordinance.
Augusta University Pediatrics Specialist Dr. Courtney Widjaja cited a 2016 bronchitis study that found there were more than 108,000 hospitalizations over 15 years with health-care costs totaling $734 million.
“That comes from increased critical care usage as well as decreased parental time spent at work,” she said. “That begs the question, in what twisted world would we propose an economic amendment in exchange for an equal and possibly greater economic burden?”
But with impassioned warnings of the dangers and costs of smoking still ringing in their ears Tuesday, commissioners gave final approval to amend the smoking ordinance to allow for cigar bars to operate in Richmond County.
They even approved two other items that when, read for the second time at the next meeting, will complete the process of legalizing cigar bars.
Commissioners voted 7-3 in favor of Johnson’s motion, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Bobby Williams, to amend the smoking ordinance. Only Commissioners Sean Frantom, Brandon Garrett and John Clarke voted against it.
Commissioners also approved Johnson’s motion, seconded by Commissioner Dennis Williams, to approve the companion items 7-3 with the same commissioners voting no.
Concerned citizens should keep an eye out for commissioners driving new luxury cars smoking big cigars.
Choosing His Poison
Man on the Street: (To passerby) Hack! Hack! Hack! Can you direct me to the nearest cigar bar? I need a stogie real bad.
Passerby: Yes. It’s right down 15th Street, across from the Georgia Cancer Center.
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LeRoy’s Fed Up
Augusta Tree Commission Chairman LeRoy Simkins is on the warpath over the Garden City’s ragged appearance.
The neglect of flowers, trees and vegetation and overall appearance of Augusta began with the demise of the Trees and Parks Department, according to Simkins.
“Really, we have no Parks Department anymore,” he said. “They threw the remnants of that department into the Recreation Department. The new director there just fired the last two people who had experience with arbor culture and city maintenance.
“The azalea beds on Greene Street and Broad Street were neglected by the crews they sent to work downtown,” Simkins said. “Alien plants started coming up in there. The only thing the crews would do is cut the grass.
“We used to have two street sweepers. I think we still have them, but they don’t run, and they won’t repair them.”
Simkins said he doesn’t think there’s been a leaf raked in years.
“The only thing they do is blow them into the storm drains and clog them up instead of bundling them up and taking them to the landfill. The leaves you see are last years’ leaves. It’s just neglect. And what’s so sad is there are so few commissioners who seem to care.
“For Heaven’s sake, the mayor hasn’t said a word. He seems to be more interested in exotic things out of town than being concerned about the appearance of his city.
“We keep trying trying to attract out-of-state venues, and here we’ve got a dirty city to present to these people. What sort of PR is that?”
The city also used to have an active Tree Commission, but it hasn’t met in awhile.
“They tell us it’s because of COVID,” he said. “Every time I try to call a meeting, there’s something wrong down there, and we can’t have it.”
The city also spends thousands of dollars on trees and shrubbery and let them die because they don’t water them,” he said. ”I’ve tried to talk to those in charge in the city, They say, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah,’ but nothing happens.”
Is the Plan Working Yet?
Several weeks ago, City Administrator Odie Donald presented a detailed plan for cleaning up Augusta with a major announcement of a “No Fee Amnesty Day” at the Richmond County landfill Oct. 23.
Meanwhile, Donald said the “dynamic” city staff had moved quickly toward cleaning up downtown.
“We have a short-term plan to resolve these issues now …. We have delineated that work down to the most minute detail, and beginning this upcoming week, they all have assignments and will be delivering this service to make sure we’re maintaining until we can get through the end of the year,” he said.
Since I hadn’t heard any more about the cleanup, I drove to Augusta to check it out, and honestly, I couldn’t tell whether the plan has worked or not, except that it looked like there wasn’t as much trash on the streets and in the parking bays as there was when I rode down Broad Street last summer. And it looked like somebody has been emptying the trash cans.
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Not Fit for Prime Time
It sounded like a promotional ad for a raunchy new fall TV show with accusations flying of ticket fixing, political favoritism, adulterous affairs and Neo-Nazism.
It wasn’t though. It was a Blythe City Council meeting. It started there anyway. It began as an appeal from former police officer Gabriel Mendez who contended he was wrongfully fired from the department. It continued outside where Mayor Phillip Stewart accused former council member Judy Cordova of extramarital affairs, and she denied any such thing. Besides she’s not married.
Then, a man who looked like he came straight from type casting appeared, holding a walking cane which he pointed at the mayor while accusing him of adulterous relationships.
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After reading Scott Hudson’s account of this “council meeting,” I’m more convinced than ever that the smaller the town, the more vicious the politics. It was that way in Naylor, Ga., a tiny town 9.5 miles from Valdosta when a new administration came in and proposed implementing a 1-cent sales tax. And it was that way in Hahira when the city council wanted to accept a state grant to build a new library. All hell broke loose. But that was 35 years ago, and nobody would ever in a million years have thought of accusing their neighbors of ticket fixing, much less adultery. In public anyway. The social fabric of society today is badly frayed.
OK. So, I sound like an old fogey. I, in fact, am one. The world has gone to hell in a handbasket. Rudeness, crudeness and tatooedness are all too often on public display.
Anyway, the simple thing would be to not try to fix the politics in Blythe. Just change the name to Peyton Place.
Sylvia Cooper is a Columnist with The Augusta Press. Reach her at sylvia.cooper@theaugustapress.com.
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