A downtown zipline, city cleanup and new department are a few of numerous agenda items going before Augusta Commission committees Tuesday.
Plans are moving forward for an “Outdoor Urban Adventure Center,” proposed to include a zipline based at Freedom Bridge and other eco-tourism attractions. Going before a committee Tuesday is an agreement between the city and The Forge Augusta Inc., owned by a firm involved in similar type facilities around the Chicago area.
The Forge will operate and staff the attractions and pay the city 3% of net revenue. The city is responsible for capital and its replacement. The commission approved a memorandum of understanding in 2023 awarding Destination Augusta $1.75 million in sales tax 8 funds to administer the project.
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Other items going before one of five commission committees Tuesday include:
- A discussion of underused city parks, requested by Mayor Pro Tem Wayne Guilfoyle. The agenda item states that fully maintaining Augusta’s 74 recreation and parks facilities would cost $22 million a year.
- Mayor Garnett Johnson is requesting approval for Operation: City Clean-Up, an initiative aimed at improving cleanliness and aesthetics in high-traffic and high-impact areas. Involving city departments and law enforcement, the program would provide court-ordered community service hours.
- A motion for the city to abandon a .98-acre segment of Johns Road between Gardner and Fitten streets considered no longer to have a public purpose.
- A discussion of suspending the alcohol and restaurant licenses and revoking the Sunday sales license for Tiffany’s Eatery and Lounge, 828 Broad St. The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office requested the move after the venue was caught breaking numerous license requirements.
- Planning Director Carla Delaney is asking for guidance on amending the city’s historic preservation ordinance. Questions raised at a recent workshop she said included whether applicants can immediately appeal to the Augusta Commission and are required to submit post-demolition plans.
- Johnson’s request to establish an opioid advisory committee to “address the opioid crisis” by recommending ways to distribute opioid settlement funds.
- Johnson’s request to reestablish a city public works department tasked with maintenance of public spaces and roads. The request includes reports from the Recreation, Engineering and Central Services on what each does in the area of maintenance.
- A request from Housing and Community Development to loan $960,000 in American Rescue Plan HOME grant funds to Woda Cooper and Parallel Housing to fund construction costs for E.W. Estates, the subsidized housing development intended for the former Weed School building. The commission postponed action on the development last month.
- Hiring UHY Advisors Mid-Atlantic Inc to audit the Recreation and Parks department. The commission authorized procuring an audit firm in January. UHY is the same firm selected after a procurement last year.
Augusta Commission committee meetings start at 1 p.m. Tuesday in the commission chamber after the commission’s called 11 a.m. legal session.
