Lots of people have asked me why the city voted to approve the purchase of the Weed School for $1.3 million last week. The short answer is that they had no choice.
The longer answer is that incompetence or worse, corruption, is to blame for the financial disaster that is just beginning regarding the Weed School sale.
What never made the news was the fact that The Augusta Press had put the city on notice that the vote to purchase the school was in direct violation of the Open Meetings Act and that a lawsuit would be forthcoming. City Attorney Wayne Brown asked The Augusta Press’s counsel to give him to the end of January to figure out what position the city was going to take on the matter.
The end result was a vote that embarrassed the commissioners who were forced to approve the purchase, despite knowing it was a horrible decision. Catherine McKnight was a lone no vote in what was a shocking embarrassment for the city. Now, when future issues come up related to the Weed School, the commission will have to own the issue of approving the purchase.
While I wish more commissioners had taken a stand on the matter, I understand that they were boxed into a corner. Had they not voted to approve the purchase, the city would have faced a lawsuit and been embarrassed even further. Not to mention that once the court invalidated the sale, a legal quandary of epic proportions would have unfolded. Had the lawsuit prevailed and a judge ruled the sale invalid, the $1.3 million would have to be recovered from the seller. The benefactor of the sale is likely gone with the wind; at least until campaign contribution season comes around.
Who is to blame for the Weed School?
As much as everyone wants to blame the Land Bank, they are not to blame. The Land Bank is an easy target to blame given the shenanigans and financial mischief that has been going on there for a long time.
Augusta’s Housing and Community Development (HCD) Department is to blame for the Weed School. The Land Bank is simply the holding tank for the property.
Commissioners might get a pass on the forced vote for the Weed School, but the citizens are not likely to forgive them for not discipling those responsible in the HCD department.
To sum things up, the city bought a property for $1 million over its appraised value. They were aware and ignored the environmental concerns that are likely to cost more in cleanup than the value of the building. They purchased a property without voting on it publicly, thus breaking the law, and then they tried to cover it up.
Will the city discipline those involved? Not unless citizens apply pressure and demand it.
In the private sector, aka real work, all parties involved would have been given the boot the next day. Yet, our elected officials continue to put up with incompetence daily while paying these people massive salaries. All this to the detriment of the city. It is not a surprise that people have lost all faith in the fiscal responsibility of its government.
Joe Edge is the publisher of The Augusta Press. Reach him at joe.edge@theaugustapress.com
