Parks and parking are likely to highlight Augusta Commission committee meetings Tuesday.
First up is an update on Augusta Recreation and Parks facilities which are undergoing a “usage audit” to determine which the city might divest in order to better focus resources.
The commission hired Infrastructure Systems Management, the engineering firm headed by former Engineering Director Abie Ladson, to assist. The firm is using cameras to determine how much use many of the parks actually receive.
Commissioner Brandon Garrett, who requested the discussion, asks how the city might “consolidate” parks and community centers “to provide better service and consistent maintenance” in the agenda item. Augusta has more than 60 of them, from venues such as the Julian Smith Casino to tiny parks such as 0.1-acre Alexander Barrett Park.
In other business Tuesday, Augusta Regional Airport is seeking a committee recommendation to accept a $10.4 million grant from the Georgia Department of Transportation.
The airport’s enterprise fund will provide a 25% match to GDOT’s $7.8 million award, according to the agenda item. The funds are intended for construction projects at the airport including a drainage ditch enclosure and a southeast apron.
Engineering and Environmental Services Director Hameed Malik is scheduled to provide an update on the Transportation Investment Act-funded work ongoing on Broad Street.
Construction is ongoing along Broad between 13th and 15th streets and Eighth and Ninth streets and work on additional segments is soon to begin, the agenda item states. Many downtown businesses have expressed grave concerns about business interruptions caused by the work and the loss of on-street parking spaces.
Malik is expected to present an update on a design assessment the department sought to look at ways to add more parking spaces to the project.
The meetings start 1 p.m. or at the conclusion of an 11 a.m. called legal session in the Lee Beard Commission Chamber of Augusta Municipal Building.
