(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column of those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Augusta Press.)
Augusta officials have had more money to spend the past two years because of COVID-19 funding than any commission in the city’s history. So, it seems odd they can’t get the grass cut, buildings are falling apart and long-promised sales tax projects can’t get off the ground.
They’ve got money but can’t figure how to spend it. It seems the easiest way is to hire more unnecessary people and give huge raises to senior-level employees, courtesy of previous Administrator Odie Donald, who won’t be around when it comes time to pay the piper. Donald always talked like he thought he was the smartest guy in the room. And apparently one of the city’s department directors thinks the same way.
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But Recreation and Parks Director Maurice McDonald’s spending plan was less successful than Donald’s were when at least some commissioners recognized that the plan McDonald came back with Tuesday was nothing like the one they’d asked him to submit.
Commissioners expected him to present plans for repairs and improvements to Riverwalk and Diamond Lakes Park using $1 million of American Rescue Plan money, but for some reason McDonald proposed using the money for construction at the Julian Smith barbecue pit at Lake Olmstead and for the Augusta Farmers Market.
McDonald said more than once that the condition of Riverwalk and other facilities have been overblown in the media, which made me wonder whether he’d tell that to the guy waiting to get into the Port-O-Let at Diamond Lakes Park.
Anyway, McDowell might be blind to the damage at Riverwalk and deaf to the commissioners’ directions of the week before, but surely he heard them Tuesday asking why he thought completing work at the barbecue pit was more important than Augusta’s main public attraction along the river.
Talk is Not Always Cheap
The stark reality is when you don’t spend money actually fixing problems instead of just talking about them, the prices go up and up and up.
For example, the Boathouse at the Augusta Marina is in such bad shape, the public can’t use it.
“If we don’t do something about it, it’s going to fall over into the river itself,” said Commissioner Ben Hasan.
The original bid for repairing it was $900,000 which would be $1.3 million now. And with only $500,000 of Splost 7 money available for use, the project is $800,000 short.
“I think we should really slow down on this,” said Commissioner Jordan Johnson. “The ARP money is not going to solve all of our problems. We have to be aware of what’s coming down the pike.”
So, they settled for Commissioner Sean Frantom’s proposal to have a “holistic conversation” about it.
“Eight hundred thousand is a lot to go toward the Boathouse,” he said.
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And if the image of the Boathouse falling over into the river wasn’t bad enough, the warning that something has to be done to repair an eroding bank on the Augusta Canal beside the Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School to avert a potential catastrophe was even worse.
The bank on the second level of the canal is undermining the Davidson arts building, said Dayton Sherrouse, executive director of the Augusta Canal Authority.
“If you look at that picture, you see where it’s undermining the building, and if it’s not corrected, there’s the risk of the building collapsing and falling into the second level of the Canal,” Sherrouse said.
The repair has been in limbo since 2016, awaiting a decision on which government entity should pay for it.
The school board paid for an engineering study in 2017, but couldn’t have the work done because the board doesn’t own the property. And City Engineer Hameed Malik said he doesn’t think the city should pay for it because the Canal didn’t cause the erosion. The runoff and activity around the bank did.
So, the parties at Tuesday’s meeting agreed to get together and decide what to do. Or they could hold out and wait until the Davidson building collapses and falls into the canal, which would be a prime example of false economy.
Time is Money
Two years ago, commissioners voted to spend $6 million on a Henry Brigham Center in District 5. When it was put out for bid, the lowest bid was $8.3 million, and Mayor Pro Tem Bobby Williams, who represents that district, said they’re afraid to bid it out again because it will be $10 million.
“Constituents are looking for Brigham Center to be finished,” Williams said.
The project is $1.6 million short now, McDowell said. “The original scope did not change,” he said. “Construction costs went up. Construction costs continue to rise as we bid and rebid.”
“This is something we’ve got to do,” said Williams. “It’s a place people go for political meetings. I’m asking commissioners for $1.6 million to help. This project is way overdue. We started this project three years ago. We’ve got to deliver.”
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As Williams continued to press interim Administrator Takiyah Douse about funding sources, he paused and said, “I know I’m politicking.”
“You’re doing a good job of it,” said Commissioner Sean Frantom.
Back to the Future
Scene: Richmond County Tax Commissioner’s Office the day after the mayoral runoff
Former Richmond County Tax Commissioner Steven Kendrick, who lost the runoff to political newcomer Garnett Johnson, enters current Tax Commissioner Chris Johnson’s office and looks around longingly and sighs, “And to think this was once all mine.”
“Hey Steven,” Johnson says. “Sorry about what happened yesterday. I thought you had that thing sewn up. You had the momentum and everything. What do you think happened?”
“You happened,” Kendrick replied. “I made a big mistake when I swapped jobs with you when I qualified to run. I didn’t think anybody would care when I took your job as deputy tax commissioner, but they did. So, I had to give up my paycheck and take a leave of absence to shut everybody up and try to make them understand why I had to stay on the city payroll and keep my insurance and benefits. I thought they’d understand my sad family story and get off my back. But no. It made it worse. And then you had to go and resign your old job as deputy to get your severance and raise for your new job.”
“Yeah, but I had to do it. I couldn’t just turn my back on $55,000 severance and a $23,000 raise.”
“I know, but the timing was bad. And then that thing with C4Live canceling and being so slow to refund ticket holders after I promoted ticket sales. That’s been a fiasco.”
“And that $6,000 donation C4Live made to your campaign didn’t do you any good either. Why don’t you donate it to the Boys and Girls Club? You’re working for them now, aren’t you?”
“I can’t. I need that money to defray my campaign expenses. Those radio and TV ads cost a lot of money. And people even criticize me for working for the Boys and Girls Club although I haven’t had any other source of income since we swapped jobs.”
“And then I come up with an announcement people have been dying to hear for years, and I get criticized for that.”
“You mean the Regency Mall press conference about the mall owner going to build a $200 million multi-purpose complex there that the Economic Development Authority didn’t even know about? That was a big mistake, Steven. Nobody believes that rich man from New York is going to spend that much of his own money on Gordon Highway. He even tore up the paving out there to keep from paying the rain tax. And the mayor wasn’t even there. People think that press conference was just a cheap b.s. campaign ploy.”
“Hey man, whose side you on?”
“Yours. But you have to admit you made some mighty bad blunders, so many that some people suspect you sub-consciously didn’t want to win and sabotaged yourself. They said, ‘Nobody is that stupid.’”
“I’m not stupid! I’m the smartest man in Augusta! The state even! That’s why I should be mayor, not that wimpy Johnson.”
“I feel your pain, Steven.”
“Do you? Do you really? OK. Let’s swap jobs again. You step down as tax commissioner, and I step up. You can keep the severance. I’ll find a way to make it legal. After all, I’m a constitutional officer. I can do what I want to do. Harry could swear us in this afternoon. What do you say?”
“No. I say, ‘No.’ I like being the tax commissioner. And you’re not the constitutional officer now. I am.”
“What? You’re not the real tax commissioner. I’m the tax commissioner. People elected me to the job. Four times. I made this office what it is. Modern, successful, customer oriented. I made you deputy tax commissioner. And now you’re saying you won’t swap jobs with me?”
“Yes, that’s what I’m saying.”
“Then I’ll run against you in 2024. And I’ll win, and then we won’t swap jobs again. I’ll fire you.”
“Oh, you will, will you? That’s fine. Meanwhile, get back to your deputy tax commissioner’s office and get to work, or I’ll fire you now. I’m a constitutional officer, and I can do what I want to do just like you did. Strut around like a big shot bragging about how you modernized the tax office. Yeah, you and a big budget increase over Jerry Saul’s. You hired nine new people right off the bat. And you got yourself a $30,000 raise too through some secret maneuvering nobody knew about until it was already done.
“If the tax commissioners office was so great, how did a safe get left open and somebody steal $25,000 from it even after a security guard reported that it was open?”
“That was 12 years ago,” Kendrick said.
“But people don’t forget. They have long memories when it comes to their money.”
(Kendrick storms out into the cold, dark world of Augusta politics.)
Sylvia Cooper is a columnist with The Augusta Press. Reach her at sylvia.cooper@theaugustapress.com
