The Georgia City County Managers Association is holding its annual spring conference in Augusta this week despite ongoing COVID-19 concerns that still have Augusta Commissioners meeting in almost sterile conditions.
Several Augusta Commissioners said having the GCCMA conference, or any conference brought to Augusta for that matter, is a positive indication that Augusta is beginning to recover economically from the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The event, being held at the Augusta Marriott and Conference Center Tuesday through Thursday, will bring around 170 city management professionals and exhibitors from throughout the state to the Garden City.
According to Business Manager and Conference Coordinator for GCCMA Erica Grier, the organization is putting on a bit of a scaled down conference to fully adhere to Centers For Disease Control guidelines.
“We have six-foot tables with vendors sitting at either end to maintain social distancing, and all participants must wear masks indoors,” she said. “We are looking at having a safe atmosphere where our members can attend the conference and later go out and explore Augusta.”
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One of the presenters will be Augusta City Administrator Odie Donald who will have a presentation titled “Strategic Planning As A Roadmap To Municipal Success.”
Donald’s presentation is promoted as including the topic “the importance of citizen input,” which District 10 Commissioner John Clarke said is a bit ironic considering Donald has recently chosen to go to court to try to block release of public information to the public and the press.
“Yeah, I don’t know that I want to hear a sermon from him about transparency,” Clarke said.
However, Clarke is among those cheering the GCCMA for choosing Augusta, and he hopes that will encourage Augusta businesses – and goverment – to open up even more.
“If we can have conventions and everything be done safely, then we can have open government meetings safely too,” Clarke said. “We have limited attendance at full commission meetings, and the committee meetings are still limited to Zoom.”
Clarke said it is time for the city to open full access to the public of Augusta citizens can offer input on city business.
“They keep saying it is iffy. Well, it isn’t iffy. We can’t keep hiding behind a computer screen. If we can have open restaurants and open conventions, then we can have open meetings,” he said.
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District 8 Commissioner Brandon Garrett agrees and goes even farther, saying it is time for Augusta to open fully and try to get back to normal.
“The fact we can’t have open meetings or a parade outside just baffles me,” Garrett said. “Come on. This is the best weather we have had all year. It is time to take advantage of that and get people back together, and that is true for city meetings as well.”
District 3 Commissioner Catherine Smith McKnight was recently named to the GCCMA’s statewide training board, and she said she is ecstatic that Augusta was chosen for the spring conference.
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McKnight joined her other colleagues in calling for Augusta meetings to re-engage with the transparency standards espoused by the association.
“We need to be meeting face-to-face in front of our constituents,” McKnight said. “Holding out and avoiding public contact when we now know how to do it safely is ridiculous at this point. It’s time, it’s time to just open things back up safely and move forward.”
Scott Hudson is the Editorial Page Editor of The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com.
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