Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis Jr. prevented the chairman of the Augusta Port Authority, Clarence Thompkins, from speaking on behalf of the authority at the May 3 meeting of the Augusta Commission, and it led to a brief scuffle outside the chamber which may result in assault charges against Mayor Pro Tem Bobby Williams.
Dayon Walker, owner of Jetski Augusta, which provides history tours of the Savannah River using jet skis and rents property at the Augusta Marina, attended the meeting to hear an explanation of why the city of Augusta manages a bank account on behalf of the Augusta Port Authority but has not allowed the authority access to the account over the past two years.
After the commission meeting, Walker says he approached Davis respectfully in the lobby to ask him why he would not allow Thompkins to speak.
“I wasn’t being belligerent or rude, but the city claims it pays $60,000 a year to cut the grass out there, and that’s not true. I’ve been cutting the grass out there for the past year and a half. We haven’t had inmate crews. I have been doing the work,” Walker said.
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According to Walker, he also pitches in cleaning the boat ramps and painting the benches on the property because he feels it is a part of being a businessman on the waterfront, but if the city has allocated money for all of that work through the taxes he pays, then, according to Walker, why should he have do the work?
Walker says that when he approached the mayor after the meeting, Williams grabbed Davis and pulled him away and then charged towards at Walker yelling:
“You water people want us to pay you money? You punk! I’m from Cedar Street,” Williams says to Walker before pushing him and committing an assault, according to Walker’s account.
“I don’t know what the Cedar Street reference was all about, but (Williams) pulled the mayor away and then ran up and shoved me,” Walker said.
Television cameras nearby only recorded the aftermath of the altercation, but Walker says that cameras in the Municipal Building, which are operated by the Marshal’s Department show the entire encounter and that the footage shows him, a taxpayer and local business owner being assaulted by an elected official over why he was expected to cut grass owned by the city.
“They detained me, the Marshals, and told me that I was not under arrest, but that they wanted to look at the video and so I gave them my driver’s license and agreed to stay while they reviewed the tape. They came back and told me that the video backed up my story.” Walker said.
Walker says that he does plan to press charges against Williams for simple assault.
During the meeting, Augusta Finance Department Director Donna Williams presented Augusta Commissioners with an explanation that the city bank account labeled “Augusta Port Authority” was misnamed due to a “naming convention” and was never intended for use by the Port Authority and was a bank account run at the sole discretion of the Parks and Recreation Department.
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Donna Williams stated before the commission that while a bank account did exist for the port authority, the money in the account did not belong to the port authority, which is a group created by the Georgia legislature, and therefore, since city funds were involved, then it was not subject to the scrutiny by either the port authority, the media or the general public.
“It has been widely reported that I am somehow hiding a checking account that belongs to them that has some level of funding is simply not true,” Williams said.
Meanwhile, members of the port authority insist that they have always had a great relationship with the city until Maurice McDowelll took over as director of the Parks and Recreation department two years ago..
“We have asked over and over again about the SPLOST funds and never gotten an answer,” Bonitatibus said.
SPLOST VI had $450,000 alone dedicated to work on the Boathouse, but that money is currently unaccounted for.
Scott Hudson is the senior reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
