The Augusta Commission vacillates and pingpongs between sticking their noses in county business where they don’t belong and taking a siesta on matters when they should be paying attention.
When they aren’t paying attention, they tend to do stupid things, like spending stupid amounts of money for totally stupid projects such as cutting down all the healthy trees on Broad Street and replacing them with healthy trees.
Citizens and taxpayers in Augusta will certainly be paying attention this summer when temperatures soar into three digits and there is no tree canopy to offer even a minor respite from the heat.
Workers were out in force last week, chainsaws in hand, cutting down the elms and oak trees that once shielded Broad Street from the blazing sun and added character to the downtown area. Just as they did with the trees on Greene Street, the workers didn’t seem to be operating with any amount of rhyme or reason. They were told to cut down trees, and they went about it with gusto.
Where are those people who chain themselves to trees when you need them?
Here we go again…
This coming week, the Augusta Commission will receive as information an emergency request for moisture-related issues (MRI) remediation at the Richmond County Sheriff’s Administrative Office in the amount of $85,174.91.
If you recall, the administration building was completed in 2012, making it roughly the same age as 401 Walton Way was when mold began its inevitable take over; coincidentally, it was plumbing in the administration wing that led to mold issue that sickened dozens of employees before the thing was demolished.
This comes on the heels of the commission having to shell out funding for an Augusta Municipal Building “leak investigation” in the total amount of $85,578.00. That is your government in action, they have to spend nearly $100,000 to “investigate” a leak; meanwhile, the basement is flooding.
I’m just wondering, but don’t these buildings come with some kind of warranty?
Kickin’ the can on down the road
What do you call a business that stays open until 3 a.m., charges a cover to get inside to enjoy a dance floor, a D.J. spinning the latest hits and a cash bar?
The Augusta Commission apparently doesn’t know the answer.
Richmond County Sheriff’s Office representatives Chief Lewis Blanchard and Inv. Joe Ortiz, armed with video, ticked off a laundry list of violations against Tiffany’s Eatery on Broad Street at the last commission meeting on April 15.
Investigators cited the bar…er restaurant owners for not meeting their 50% food quota to be classified a restaurant, allowing smoking inside, charging a cover fee and allowing dance with no license. While doing walk-throughs, officers smelled reefer and observed people smoking from Hookah pipes.
The cops have been called numerous times for drunken brawls at the location and two police officers have been injured there, with one requiring hospital treatment.
It was clear that the Sheriff’s Office has had enough with this location, so Sheriff Brantley did the only thing he could using his power as sheriff and that was to recommend the alcohol license be yanked.
I recall several years ago when Southbound Smokehouse on Central Avenue allowed patrons to stay in the building after midnight, moved tables to allow dancing, played loud music and allowed minors in because of their “restaurant” status.
The cops showed up in numbers, raided the place, placed everyone there in temporary custody while they checked IDs and searched for drugs. If I recall, one patron was found with illegal substances.
They were literally told by everyone, from the Sheriff’s Office and Code Enforcement to individual commissioners they contacted the hammer was coming down.
The owners pulled their own license before it could be yanked.
At Tuesday’s meeting, though, Chief Blanchard felt the need to address what he knew would likely be used as a defense and stated that, no, the Sheriff’s Office did not choose to pick on Tiffany’s Eatery because its owners are Black; instead, the were picking on them because they were an eatery where there were no tables from which to eat, and people who patronize this establishment tend to get drunk and disorderly, even with officers milling around.
This time, there was no SWAT presence. The cops didn’t round up everyone there and prevent them from leaving; they merely wrote out the citations and showed up to testify in “alcohol license court.”
Whadda ya know? The commission politely asked the owners to close at the same time as other restaurants, then kicked the can down the road to the next committee cycle, knowing that hardly anyone other than Ben Hasan, Doug Ivey, Susan McCord and myself will be watching when they slap them on wrist and allow them to stay open.
After all, the commission doesn’t want to appear to be racist, Lord no!
I plan to remind the commission of this when a tragedy occurs, and one will eventually. Mark my words.
If only I had Elon Musk’s money!
My friend gave me what I thought was a nice compliment the other day. He called me Augusta’s version of DOGE.
On second thought, maybe he was calling me a nerd because I like to read financial spreadsheets like some adults still like to read cereal boxes at breakfast. I came up with my screen name: “Bad Back.”
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter, Editorial Page Editor and weekly columnist for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
