Using prefabricated materials is making possible a second new pod at Charles B. Webster Detention Center, officials said Thursday. The savings will give the Richmond County Sheriff the 300 new beds total he initially sought and only increase the cost by about $20 million.
City and sheriff’s officials discussed the addition and several others at a workshop on special purpose, local option sales tax 9, growing the package from $434 million up to $462 million or even $476 million that will take almost seven years to collect.
After postponing the SPLOST referendum from Nov. 4 to May 19, the Augusta Commission now needs to finalize the project list by Jan. 6 to allow time for the May 19 election to be called and advertised, Administrator Tameka Allen said.
Completing the SPLOST list is ongoing but separate from the stalled 2026 budget process. The proposed budget has a $21 million shortfall that would require raising taxes or laying off up to 240 staff or some combination, officials have said.
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SPLOST 9 funds can’t be flipped into Augusta’s beleaguered general fund to pay for operations and salaries.
Richmond County Sheriff Gino Brantley needs the additional beds plus $15 million for renovations to relieve overcrowding and other poor conditions at the jail, said Lewis Blanchard, chief of staff. The jail was built to house about 1,050. Including another $18 million for patrol vehicles brings the sheriff’s total from SPLOST 9 to $103 million.
Other big projects that remained on the list Thursday include:
- $25 million for a large sewer expansion in south Richmond County to attract industry to the area
- $22 million for Riverwalk upgrades and Boathouse reconstruction, to be borrowed up front with the jail money
- $20 million to convert the former Craig Houghton school into a juvenile justice facility
- $18 million to expand the city’s convention center
- $10 million for a new park and community center to accommodate growth on the west side
- $10 million for fleet maintenance facility upgrades
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Hiring construction management firm on list
Having several large building projects has made hiring a construction management firm such as the city did with SPLOST 6 appealing, Allen said.
The work, budgeted at $4 million, would be put out for bids, but the service would resemble SPLOST 6 capital projects manager Heery International, she said.
Heery garnered about $9.5 million during a decade-long stint managing Augusta capital projects such as the convention center. Using city lobbyist Butch Gallop as a subconsultant, Heery plied local politicians with campaign contributions, event donations and skybox tickets, according to prior reports.
Does city need another park?
Some commissioners questioned the new $10 million park and community center included in the SPLOST 9 package.
Some in the Jimmie Dyess Parkway and Wrightsboro Road area don’t want a new center, or don’t want one in the intended location, the former Sue Reynolds Park, Commissioner Catherine Smith Rice said.
Commissioner Francine Scott said the city was trying close other parks, while $10 million may end up not being enough to complete the project.
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Mayor Garnett Johnson said rapid growth in the area and its many families warrant building a center to serve it, while funding will take years to collect.
“Having a plan for that community is in the best interest of this community,” Johnson said.
The handful of commissioners who attended Thursday appeared to reach consensus for adding $5 million for additional upgrades at May Park, which recently received a state grant.
Chief: Three stations need replacing
Fire Chief Antonio Burden repeated his request to replace three fire stations, including the city’s two busiest. Those are Station 9 on Walton Way Extension and Station 13 on Lumpkin Road. The third is Station 14 in Blythe.
So far, only one of the department’s requested stations has been approved. Each would be allocated $6.4 million, Burden said.
The commission has another scheduled work session on the SPLOST on Dec. 4.
