Congressman Rick Allen (R-Ga.) has sent a letter to Shawn Edwards, the Augusta Land Bank director, demanding an accounting of federal funds given to the Land Bank Authority.
Allen’s letter, dated Jan. 22, cites several articles published by The Augusta Press as the cause of his concern.
In November 2022, the Augusta Commission allotted $1 million in American Rescue Act funds to the Augusta Land Bank, ostensibly to demolish blighted properties.
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At the meeting, District 7 Commissioner Sean Frantom protested the allocation, noting that the Land Bank already receives $750,000 annually from the city general fund, when the Land Bank is supposed to be self-supporting since it keeps the proceeds from any land sold.
“When I started, we were at $100,000, then we went to 400 and then 600. In my mind, we don’t have a great revitalization program,” Frantom said.
District 8 Commissioner Brandon Garrett asked Engineering Director Hameed Malik, since the money is routed to the Land Bank through Environmental Services, to account for how many buildings had been demolished.
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Malik stammered.
“I’ll have to get that information. I think there are ongoing demo…I’ll have to check on that,” Malik said.
Documents received through an open records request show that upon receiving the $1 million, the Land Bank Authority voted to give Edwards an 8% raise and backdated the raise so that Edwards also received a lump sum payment of $21,100.
Other documents seem to indicate that the final raise was actually 40% over his original salary.
The Land Bank Authority also voted to give Lisa Williams, the project coordinator and only other employee of the entity, a raise as well.
Prior reporting has highlighted bank records that show Edwards has spent thousands of dollars on food, cocktails and entertainment over the past year.
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In his letter, Allen stated the ARP funding was only to be used for “public health and negative economic impacts, provide premium pay for workers who had to work through the pandemic, provide government services that would have otherwise been cut due to a lack of revenue caused by the pandemic and make necessary investments in water, sewage or broadband infrastructure.”
Allen’s letter gave Edwards until Feb. 5 to respond.
Multiple attempts via voicemail and text have been made to reach Edwards over a period of months.
Edwards did respond by text that he would meet to discuss the Augusta Land Bank with conditions; Edwards demanded the meeting occur in person, that his attorney had to be present and that he be allowed to record the meeting.
The Augusta Press accepted his conditions and went about setting up the meeting; however, Edwards wrote back on Jan. 22:
“Heard back from Atty. John Manton. (He) Wants to know the posture of the conversation. Clearly stated questions on city purchases won’t be addressed. So specifically what are we talking about?” Edwards wrote in his text.
No meeting with Edwards has been set as of news time; however, the Administrative Services Committee will be taking up the matter when the committee meets on Jan. 30.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
