Spoiler alert: Five Augusta commissioners blocked Mayor Garnett Johnson’s Tuesday effort to hire a new administrator by not showing up.
Johnson called the 10:30 a.m. meeting for the commission to vote to hire an administrator, namely his preferred choice, longtime IT Director Tameka Allen.
The meeting saw five commissioners attend, including Commissioner Alvin Mason, who returned for the first time since going on medical leave in June.
Mason said he returned out of necessity.
“Augusta needs to shed some leaves,” he said. “The people didn’t elect us to hide.”
Six not enough to meet
With Johnson and Mason present, six were in attendance Tuesday. While six votes can pass a measure, commission rules require a supermajority of seven present just to conduct regular business.
Consequently, the commission could not convene or take a vote on an administrator Tuesday, so former Central Services Director Takiyah Douse will continue to serve as interim administrator.
In addition, the new IT system to record and stream meetings malfunctioned as the group attempted to convene at 10:30 a.m.
Mason cites need to return to cleanse ‘infected’ government
Mason, who had major spinal surgery in June and at the same time lost his mother, Hazel Sturdivant, said he flat-lined after surgery but was brought back.
“I have nothing to complain about,” he said. “I’m not 100%, but we’ve got work to do up here.”
Mason said Tuesday his health is about 50% restored, but he goes for another appointment tomorrow.
If he continues to vote with the same commission bloc, the six votes could effect significant change unavailable until Johnson gained a vote by referendum.
“I think the need is so great,” he said. “And the things that we need to vote on to get things in the right place.”
Mason compared what needs to be done – such as hiring an administrator and other items – to removing dead or diseased leaves from a plant.
”This government’s infected. It’s like a plant that needs to grow. It needs to shed some leaves or our whole government will be infected,” he said.
Mason said despite the failure of Tuesday’s vote to hire an administrator, efforts by the group won’t stop.
“We’ll come back Tuesday and try it again. Every single chance we get, we’re going to try it,” he said.
Group pushes Olive Road bridge effort through
The commission’s Engineering committee voted to move ahead with a new fix to reopen the low-clearance Olive Road bridge, over the warnings of Traffic Engineer John Ussery.
The arterial underpass has been closed since before the Masters Tournament, when an RV struck the bridge. Since then, CSX has completed upgrades, but the city’s portion of the roadway remains closed for safety, Ussery said.
Many issues make the bridge unsafe, including the delayed response when a vehicle hits it and the continued strikes despite more than 30 warning devices in place, he said.
The committee, chaired by Mason, voted to move forward with the purchase of a device suggested by Commissioner Wayne Guilfoyle and reopen the bridge immediately. The device is a traffic arm with a chain curtain from which plastic bars hang down and are expected to warn tall vehicles of the low clearance.
Ussery said more of the details, including financial support, need to be worked out for a device that might have a 70% success rate, while reopening with existing devices will see the same results.
