Two south Augusta neighborhoods – one plagued by flooding, the other by crime – may get some relief from the Augusta Commission.
Rhoda Hann said her neighborhood off Lumpkin Road still hasn’t recovered from flooding that took place last June. She said homeowners’ insurance claims have been denied due to the city’s lack of maintenance.
During the flash flooding, water rose up to 40 inches inside her house and she lost everything but a twin bed and some personal items, Hann said.
She’s been able to afford to decontaminate and renovate her Argonne Drive house, but most of her neighbors haven’t been as fortunate and have had to move out, she said.
Richard Williams, Hann’s neighbor across the street, said approximately 20 houses in the neighborhood sustained between $20,000 and $60,000 worth of damage. Williams said he could barely afford to have his home decontaminated and had to live in motels and with family for months.
“It was bad. It’s bad. If I had a family, I couldn’t live there,” he said.
Williams said if the neighborhood’s retention pond and nearby Rocky Creek had been better maintained, the flooding wouldn’t have been as bad.
Homeowners have been informed FEMA won’t help with recovery and promised help from a nonprofit hadn’t arrived. Only the Red Cross offered the impacted families any assistance, he said.
MORE: Former DA opposes effort to call her as witness in cop-on-cop assault case
The neighborhood, built in the early 1960s as Pine Heights after Butler High School opened nearby, has been flooding almost since its first houses were built, according to old newspaper reports.
In 2017 during a particularly bad episode in the same area, the neighborhood was repeatedly flooded with raw sewage. Former Utilities Director Tom Wiedmeier said the city was installing a relief sewer as a quick fix, but that permanent upgrades to inadequate piping would cost $4-$5 million.
Augusta’s stormwater utility fee, intended to address issues such as flooding, was just over a year old then.
Tuesday, the city’s Engineering Services committee voted 4-0 for Interim Administrator Takiyah Douse to compile a list of the affected areas to determine the scope and estimated cost to address them.
Glendale wants convenience store out
Glendale, the neighborhood just south of the Olive Road bridge, wants the “Shopper’s Stop” shut down, said resident Dan Scott, representing the Glendale Historic Preservation Committee.
Much like the commission’s struggle with the Smart Grocery on Wrightsboro Road, the community hasn’t been involved in the discussion, Scott said.
“We’re here to express our concern,” he said. “I’ve lived there my whole life and I’m 47 years old. It’s been disinvested since I was a child. One thing that has remained constant is that store. It has not ever done us any good.”
The store has been the scene of multiple shootings and homicides. Scott said he’s gathered about 100 signatures on a petition to close it.
He said engaging the store owner – Walia Properties – doesn’t do much good.
“You can’t negotiate with the problem to find a solution when they are the problem,” Scott said.
Commissioners had one bit of good news for the neighborhood. The commission is set to consider revoking its license next week, officials said.
Scott also raised the issue of the bridge, which remains closed since the latest time a vehicle struck its low clearance.
He said the proximity of historic Pendleton King Park, which backs up to the bridge, might make it eligible for grant funding.
When the bridge is closed it restricts access to the park’s rear entrance, Scott said.
Douse: Marina repairs not “minor”
In other action, the Public Services committee voted 4-0 for Douse to have Central Services develop a scope of work to replace the electrical systems and boat dock at the city marina.
Marina operator Francis Christian said he had a report saying with proper maintenance, the city could get another five or 10 years out of it.
Christian doesn’t want the city to cut off power to the marina completely because it will inconvenience the approximately 37 boats parked there permanently. Thirty are connected to power, and eight people live on their boats, he said.
Douse said another report from JLA engineers concluded the structures should be “repaired immediately.”
The issues are not “minor” and “create hazards that are potentially danger to the public,” she said.
Commissioner Wayne Guilfoyle asked Christian if the city responded when he submitted requests for repairs.
Christian said the first city inspection in seven years took place Monday.
“About three years ago, it just bout became nonexistent,” he said.
Under a 2021 lease of the marina, marina warehouse and gift shop to Christian’s firm, Olde Town Pickers, the operator pays $5,664 annual rent in its fourth year.
The city is responsible for the maintenance of utilities while the operator is expected to perform daily maintenance and repairs and notify the city if it encounters repairs it can’t complete.
The agreement said a full inspection of the premises must be performed semi-annually by representatives of Augusta Parks and Recreation, Augusta Risk Management or some similarly appropriate city staff member, a member of Augusta Port Authority and the operator.
In other action
After nearly three hours in a closed legal session Tuesday, the full commission voted 8-0 for city Human Resources Director Anita Rookard to develop a recruitment process to hire a new recreation director. Former director Maurice McDowell abruptly resigned Feb. 14.
The full commission also approved a new three-year contract with Chief Appraiser Scott Rountree at his current salary of $148,526.
Susan McCord is a staff writer with The Augusta Press. Reach her at susan@theaugustapress.com
