North Augusta’s city council reviewed the agenda for their next regular meeting at a study session on Sept. 27. The Oct. 4 agenda includes a second reading of the resolution to rezone the Flythe/Seven Gables property on Georgia Avenue to clear the way to build the new public safety headquarters and court offices. Council members approved the resolution unanimously during the Sept. 20 meeting.
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City Administrator Jim Clifford said that if council approves the second reading, he will ask for a resolution to be added to the agenda. It will direct him to proceed on the construction of the building at the Georgia Avenue site.
“The last standing guidance from the council to the previous administrator, Todd Glover, was to put the public safety headquarters at East Buena Vista,” he explained. “So, I’d like to have a formal document that is the request of the council to the city administrator and staff to move forward in that way.”
Clifford said the resolution could also include bringing design plans back to council before putting the project out for bid, scheduling at least one citizen input session to discuss the design of the building and working with non-profit organizations on preservation of the two legacy buildings on the site.
The site was part of a hunting lodge built by North Augusta’s founder, James U. Jackson. The lodge supported visitors to another Jackson property, the Hampton Terrace Hotel, that was lost in a 1916 fire. Historic North Augusta and the Punch and Judy Theater have both expressed interest in restoring and using the structures.
Originally, the plan was to build on East Buena Vista Avenue near the current headquarters, but since the plan was presented to council in September 2020, site and construction cost estimates increased by about $850,000 more than the location on Georgia Avenue.
Also during the study session, Finance Director Cammie Hayes said a notice for the public hearing on the proposed 2022 budget will be posted on Oct. 1.
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“What that public hearing does is it provides all the details as far as when the public hearing will be held, as well as the time and the location,” she said. “It also provides a consolidated look at our budget and along with that, we will post the finalized budget on the city’s website for the public to view.”
Copies of the budget will be available in the city clerk’s office for anyone who does not have Internet access.
The proposed total budget is just under $48 million. The current budget is just over $44.6 million. It includes a 4% cost of living adjustment for all employees.
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Aiken and Edgefield Counties recently did reassessments and that will have an impact on the North Augusta tax millage rate, which is currently 73.50 mills. Due to prior annexations, some areas of North Augusta extend into Edgefield County.
“If we do a rollback based on our property tax assessments from Edgefield and Aiken County that would roll back to 70.2,” Clifford said. “What the staff and I are recommending is that we lock in our current millage rate at 73.5, understanding that that is a de facto increase of 3.3 mills. It’s a way we can capture some of the costs.”
Hayes says keeping the millage rate at 73.50 mills will result in an annual tax increase of about $31.00 on a person with a $200,000 home and two vehicles totaling $40,000 in value.
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a Staff Reporter with The Augusta Press. You can reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com.
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