Augusta City Administrator Odie Donald held a meeting Aug. 19 with representatives of the Aiken-Augusta Swim League to discuss their publicly debated contract at the Augusta Aquatics Center, but barred two commissioners as well as representatives of the news media from attending.
By all accounts, the meeting went well and the parties involved were pleased with a final contractual arrangement. But the two commissioners, John Clarke and Catherine Smith-McKnight, of the 10th and 3rd districts respectively, are fuming that they were denied access.
“This was just BS, if you want to know the truth,” Clarke said.
MORE: Troubled Waters At Augusta Aquatics Center
At issue in the meeting was a contract signed by the city in 2016 that has been deemed by city attorney Wayne Brown to be null and void due to the fact the contract had no set end date.
According to Rebecca Harper, president of the AASL, when the contract was deemed void, Augusta Parks and Recreation Director Maurice McDowell took that as an opportunity to attempt to double the rates being charged, which would have been over $7,000 a month just to rent the pool. McDowell also tried to force the league to agree to use only 10 swimming lanes instead of the normal 14 lanes they occupy for swim meets.
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- Photo taken by St. Julian Cox on behalf of The Augusta Press.
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- Photo taken by St. Julian Cox on behalf of The Augusta Press.
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- Photo taken by St. Julian Cox on behalf of The Augusta Press.
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- Photo taken by St. Julian Cox on behalf of The Augusta Press.
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- Photo taken by St. Julian Cox on behalf of The Augusta Press.
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- Photo taken by St. Julian Cox on behalf of The Augusta Press.
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- Photo taken by St. Julian Cox on behalf of The Augusta Press.
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- Photo taken by St. Julian Cox on behalf of The Augusta Press.
The negotiations were also to include addressing the maintenance issues at the Augusta Aquatics Center, of which Harper had a list of grievances; including broken or improperly installed equipment, trouble with the air conditioning and fire alarms as well as inconsistency in the chemical levels in the pool.
Currently, the pools at Bernie Ward Community Center, Fleming Pool, Dyess Park Pool and the Charles Evans Splash Pad are all closed. Despite the intense summer heat, parks and recreation officials said none of those pools will reopen this year.
The Aquatics Center and Brigham Center have the only functioning public pools in Augusta, and the city cannot provide any information that proves a certified pool operator is contracted through the city as required by state law.
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The issue of safety, in terms of maintenance, is one major reason that Clarke said he got involved and made plans to attend the meeting as an observer. However, Clarke said that Donald told him and McKnight that their presence might somehow create bias.
“We were going to come there to the meeting to be observers. We were asked by the swim league to attend. We were just following our responsibility as elected officials and for Catherine and I to be told we could not attend is astonishing. It’s bewildering,” Clarke said.
However, former Augusta commissioner and future mayoral candidate Marion Williams has some advice for Clarke and McKnight. While applauding their effort to be available for such meetings, Williams says that having commissioners observing meetings involving contract negotiations can be tricky.
“It’s a catch-22. The best thing is to say, ’OK, y’all go ahead and meet,’ then put it on the agenda for the next committee and then the whole commission. Eventually, you will get the information. But to actually attend meetings like that can be a problem, no matter the intention,” Williams said.
McKnight said that she is following Williams’ advice and that she and Clarke will be bringing safety concerns about the safety of the pools to the full commission.
“We met with the Masters Swim League, and they have the same concerns as the Aiken-Augusta Swim League, and we are going to make sure that the commission as a whole discusses this issue,” she said.
Neither Donald or McDowell were available for comment despite repeated attempts.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com. St. Julian Cox assisted in gathering information for this article.
