North Augusta residents can weigh in on where the city should build a new public safety headquarters and court offices. Council has called for a town hall meeting at 6 p.m. on Aug. 12 in the Palmetto Room of the municipal building.
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There are two possible locations under consideration for the new HQ. Originally, it was planned for city-owned property on East Buena Vista Avenue, not far from the current public safety headquarters. However, because that plan was presented to council in September 2020, site and construction costs have increased by about $850,000 more than an alternate proposed location on Georgia Avenue known as the Seven Gables property.
City Administrator Jim Clifford said another concern is that there is no room for future expansions at the East Buena Vista site, but extra room is available at Georgia Avenue.
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When he presented the sketch plan to the Planning Commission at its last meeting, three residents — two from Butler Avenue, one from Georgia Avenue — expressed concerns about using the Georgia Avenue location including the historic nature of the site. They also mentioned the impact the traffic will have on the residential streets of Butler Avenue and Observatory Avenue, as well as traffic danger near the blind curve on Georgia Avenue.
That’s when Clifford advised council the best course of action would be to hold a public input meeting. In advance of the meeting, staff created a new page on the city website where people can review both plans.
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Clifford said. “We have a page for fire station updates and also now a public safety information site. We’ll post updates and information about the public safety headquarters on that site.”
That webpage is found here.
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a Staff Reporter with The Augusta Press. You can reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com.
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