City Stink

Downtown Augusta Brawl Video Goes Viral

2013-05-06T20:26:00.001-04:00

Monday, May 6, 2013
Augusta, GA
From CityStink.net Reports

A video of a violent brawl in downtown Augusta, GA on the night of April 27th has been making the rounds of social media. Police say they are just now finding out about the violence more than a week after it occurred even though gun shots were fired. On The night of May 3rd, a couple was violently attacked with baseball bats on Riverwalk. Is violence in downtown getting out of control? Will these incidents reverse efforts to revitalize downtown? Where were the police? At Operation Rolling THunder Checkpoints perhaps?

We here at CityStink.net decided to enlarge the video of the brawl in an effort to help the police identify suspects. Oh we also added some background music and production values too. Maybe the DDA can use it as a promotional video for downtown. Come downtown ya'll, where everything's waiting for you!

Corporal Gripweed: Local Activist Challenges Operation Rolling Thunder

2013-04-30T12:07:00.001-04:00

Tuesday, March 30, 2013

Augusta, GA

By Corporal Gripweed

Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the boisterous sea of liberty.

Thomas Jefferson

Operation Rolling Thunder.

Three words that have been resonating loudly in the ears of CSRA residents for the last few weeks.While there have been many who have raised questions about the legality, constitutionality , and effectiveness of the roadblocks associated with this operation, so far the only measurable difference made, by the RCSO's own admission, is the number of citations written for child restraint violations.

No small matter to be sure, but hardly a great return on the massive investment in man hours and law enforcement resources that could be put to better use in other areas apprehending violent criminals.

While no fan of these roadblocks, I also understand their intent and purpose. The well worn phrase often used by our friends on the left is "if it saves one life it's worth it".To me, this is a monumental oversimplification of the core issue.

At what point do we freely give up liberty in order to protect us from ourselves?.

More than one founding father has been attributed as having said "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither".

This past Thursday local activist and stalwart libertarian Rocky Eades was ensnared in this tricky argument.

Reports are, that upon seeing flashing lights and noticing stopped traffic, Mr. Eades decided to avoid the area and seek an alternative route. In doing so, he brought down the wrath of the Georgia State Patrol who pursued him, stopped his vehicle and asked why he avoided their roadblock. Rocky reportedly answered, that he saw the lights, thought it may be an accident and was merely trying to avoid being stuck in traffic. A plausible explanation to anyone with an ounce of common sense…But remember we are dealing with "Operation Rolling Thunder"...So his explanation was not good enough for the officers on duty that day. Further reports state that Mr. Eades and a passenger were "rousted" from the vehicle and treated as criminals from this point on. Guilty until proven innocent I suppose.

Mr. Eades was ultimately arrested for "obstruction of an officer" and his passenger was allowed to drive Mr. Eades vehicle home after passing a blood alcohol test.

From what I've heard Rocky is reasonable, intelligent and in this case may know the law better than those who were sworn to uphold it. I also believe he has retained counsel and should pursue the matter vigorously.

Of course, there are two sides to every story and the side of law enforcement should be heard before any judgements are made.

To be sure, the vast majority of law enforcement officers are hard working honest public servants who want to do just that; serve the public. And they may have acted within the law in this case, but I wonder if this time they let their zeal to arrest someone they ASSUMED to be guilty of DUI, get the better of them.

While it is certainly true that it is the job of law enforcement to keep the roads safe, should law enforcement have the authority to arrest a citizen merely for the act of avoiding contact with them when they have done nothing illegal?

Safety vs. liberty……that is the question.

Stay Tuned.

C.G.

Six Reasons Why CADI Should NOT Be Brought Back

2013-04-02T02:36:00.000-04:00

Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013
Augusta, GA
By The Outsider

"It's a deja vu all over again." Or in this case, It's CADI all over again. It's the issue that just won't seem to go away, despite the efforts of many determined downtown business owners and commissioners, who rejected its renewal last December.

But that won't stop proponents of a special tax district for downtown Augusta that nets between $350,000 and $400,000 in additional taxes. They've gotten out the lipstick and have applied it generously to the pig called CADI, that has already gobbled up nearly $2 million over the past 5 years, in hopes that Augusta commissioners will reconsider and give them more. Critics charge that CADI amounts to nothing more than a $2 million slush fund confiscated through deceit and controlled by an unelected politburo of downtown cronies.

Both sides will supposedly be able to make their case at this afternoon's commission meeting as to why or why not CADI should get a second life, but in this article we give SIX reasons why commissioners should vote against CADI once again.

#1: A Majority of Downtown Business and Property Owners Do NOT Support Renewal of CADI

A myth that has been perpetuated by the pro CADI crowd and parroted by some members of the local media, is that a majority of downtown property owners are in favor of extending the program. They gleefully point to a petition that was circulated in the waning days of last December with supposedly 116 signatures in favor of renewing the special downtown tax district that funds CADI, and that this represents slightly more than 50% of all property owners within the district. But this "will of the majority" is all an illusion and based upon a rigged petition process.

There are 373 parcels of property in the BID area. We found 14 that do not pay taxes (County property, Church, and other non profits) leaving 359 parcels that pay the BID tax. CADI turned in 116 petitions with 116 signatures covering 165 properties. That leaves 194 parcels that did NOT sign for CADI.

Of the pro CADI petitions, there were only 78 total signatures, meaning some people signed more than once. GA Law OCGA 36-43-3 states Taxpayer means any entity or person paying ad valor em taxes on real or personal property, whether on one or more businesses or one or more parcels within a district. So, basically you are supposed to get only one vote no mater how many pieces of property you own. To get around this they have several different entities owning property. They change the names of the entities by adding an initial or changing the spelling.

For example, Natalie B McLeod, who is the president of the CADI Board of Directors, signed two petitions listing the parcel property owner on one as 1106 Broad St. LLC and on the other listing the parcel owner as 1106 Broad Street LLC. So by spelling street on one petition and by using an abbreviation on another she gets TWO votes.

Then we have Lynwood Smith listed as the parcel owner on one petition and Lynwood C. Smith listed as the parcel owner on the second petition thus he gets two votes. We have Fred Daitch signing two petitions with L. Daitch Properties LLC as the owner on one and F. Daitch Properties LLC on the other. Alonzo P Boardman , Jr. signed 5 petitions with the parcel owners as follows: Elizabeth F. Boardman Trust, Elizabeth Boardman Trust, Elizabeth F. Boardman, Elizabeth F. Boardman ETA and finally Elizabeth Browning. Bryan Halterman signed 12 petitions using different entities or businesses that he controls as the owner. They are 1151 Broad St. LLC, 1126-30 Broad Street, Bentley Warehouse LLC, Bentley Building LLC, Halterman Partners Inc, Castle Hall LLC, 1006-1008 Broad Street LLC, Claussen Building LLC, Rexall Drugstore LLC, Elliott Building LLC, The Sylvester Building LLC, and finally Bryan M. Haltermann . Georgia Bank and Trust CO and Georgia Railroad Bank and Trust Company had two petitions signed by R. Daniel Blanton, President. Georgia Bank and Trust also services the CADI loan debt.

But even with this rigged process, all of these signatures that supposedly represent a majority of downtown property owners only account for about $100,000 out of approximately $350,000 collected from the tax district. That comes to only about 30% who signed the petition in favor of extending CADI. That means that downtown property owners who pay 70% of the CADI taxes did not sign the petition in favor of renewing the program.

#2 There Is No Compelling Need for CADI

To listen to the pro CADI crowd, you would think that downtown was buried under a mountain of trash since the program was discontinued on January 1st. In an Augusta Chronicle article, the CADI Board president Natalie McCleod was quoted as saying: "When you go downtown now that CADI is absent, you can tell in the dirtiness,.....The city doesn’t have the money or manpower to do it.”

But on a recent survey of downtown, it appeared that the city was doing a great job keeping the streets and sidewalks clean. We just didn't find the heaps of trash strewn all over that pro CADI alarmists keep hyping.

We tagged along with a couple of the members of a new downtown volunteer initiative called AVID (Augusta Volunteer Initiative for Downtown) this past weekend to see what the situation was with trash downtown . We walked Broad Street from 13^th Street to 5^th Street and from Reynolds Street to Greene St. (all of downtown not just the BID area) picking up litter along the way. In that entire area, we only filled ONE trash bag that weighed 28 pounds.

This is after 3 months WITHOUT CADI. So, either the city is doing its job or there isn't all that much trash. We covered the sidewalks, gutters, and medians. The main streets and the side streets. It took us 3 hours. Community service workers and volunteers from groups like AVID can do this every Saturday morning and eliminate the need for a $400,000.00 a year extra tax.

And public sentiment seems to be on the side of the volunteer initiative. The AVID Facebook page has already garnered 208 "likes", whereas a pro CADI Facebook page created just a few days later has only managed to get 32 "likes" as of publishing this article.

#3 There Have Been NO Significant Changes to CADI Management Plan

One of the major reasons why the Augusta Commission voted not to renew The BID this past December was because of complaints that it never delivered on its initial promises. The chief selling point for the BID more than 5 years ago was that it would provide enhanced public safety, but that was never a component of CADI. For all intents and purposes, it has been nothing more than a very expensive trash removal service.

The only difference that we can find in this current proposal is that the BID millage rate will be uniform for all property owners in the district. Beyond that, nothing much has changed. There is no mention of enhanced security, business recruitment and retention, or promotion of downtown.

But of course any changes in the management plan, including the now uniform millage rate would mean that the petition from December of last year is moot and cannot be used to renew a modified CADI now. The petition from last December states “We hereby petition you to initiate proceedings to renew the Downtown Augusta Business Improvement District known as the Clean Augusta Downtown Initiative in accordance with the State of Georgia, City Business Improvement District Act for the purpose of executing the management district plan included with and made a part of this petition”

So if CADI changes the plan then the petition is no longer valid. Their plan is to ask the Commission to change the management plan for them. In other words, they want the Commission to change the plan CADI says the majority of the property owners voted for. Talk about disregarding the wishes of the voters. How about CADI changing the plan and then putting it back in front of the PEOPLE to either vote it up or down?

#4: CADI Amounts to Taxation Without Representation

As we already told you, the rigged petition process was designed to allow only 30% of downtown property owners to impose a new tax on the other 70%. To make matters worse, an unelected CADI Board of Directors oversees the more than $350,000 collected annually in the tax district. The Augusta Commission had concerns about the make up of the CADI Board back in December. This new Board is supposed to include pro and anti CADI people. The current Board is the same pro CADI people that have governed it for the past 5 years.

Natalie McLeod, who serves on the CADI board of directors is also a member of The DDA. Sanford Lloyd also serves on both the DDA and the CADI board of directors. Paul King and Bryan Halterman, who both have long associations with the DDA, also both serve on the CADI board of directors.

The board of directors of the BID should represent all of the business and property owners in the tax district. There have so far been no open elections to assemble such a board. Who chose Natalie Mcleod to be serve as Board chairperson? For that matter, when was there ever an open election to choose any of these current board members? Whose interests do they really represent if they most downtown property owners have had no say so in their selection? How can this unelected board rightfully have the authority to decide how nearly $2 million in taxes are spent?

CADI proponents also claim they will change the way the Board is selected in December. Well, how about we wait to consider authorizing a new BID until the NEW Board is elected in an open and fair election?

#5: No Accountability

Why should Commissioners even consider re instituting a program that cannot account for nearly $2 million in taxes that were collected and spent over the previous 5 years? No one has been able to adequately explain how 8 CADI workers making just barely above minimum wage has managed to cost downtown property owners nearly $2 million over 5 years. There has to date been no audit of the program. There is no oversight from city administrator Fred Russell and no one can explain how the current or the previous CADI board was chosen.

We have also heard reports of the CADI board holding secret meetings leading up to today's Commission meeting and purposefully excluding downtown property owners who have been critical of the program. So much for outreach. And this should concern commissioners greatly: that the bulk of downtown business owners continue to be excluded by this pro CADI politburo.

#6: The Commission Has Already Settled This Issue

At the last scheduled Commission meeting of 2012, extension of the Business Improvement District and CADI for another 5 years was voted down. That should have settled the issue, but here we are again. According to the city charter, an agenda item must muster SIX votes in order to pass. CADI proponents failed to assemble these six votes, so The BID and CADI expired at the stroke of midnight on January 1st, 2013.

Per the CADI Board minutes on 1-25-2013 Fred Russell advised that the BID ceased to exist as of January 1, 2013. How can you renew something that no longer exists? Are we now rewriting the rules of how the commission passes an agenda item? Shouldn't "No" mean "No" the first time? The same reasons why The Augusta Commission rejected renewal of CADI back in December still exist today.

Very little has changed to the program and the same people are trying to circumvent the rules to sneak it back in against the will of the majority those paying the tax. Perhaps District 7 Commissioner Donnie Smith put it best when he was quoted by the Augusta Chronicle saying "They’re repacking and rehashing the same stuff.......It’s still the same old small group trying to control the thing.” Indeed.

There is a legal progress to re institute a new BID downtown sometime in the future, but the pro CADI group is doing everything they can to circumvent that process. Before any new BID is entertained, all affected property owners downtown must be included in the process. It must be more than just an expensive sidewalk sweeping service but should also include enhanced security, business recruitment and retention, and promotion of downtown. There first needs to be an open and fair election to for choosing a board of directors rather that installing a politburo of cronies. There must be a new petition process that is not rigged to favor one side over the other. That means no duplicate votes for favored individuals. Also the tax district should encompass what is generally considered to be the entire downtown central business district and not gerrymandered in such a way to yield a predetermined result and exclude property that might be critical of the program. All sectors of the downtown community should have adequate representation on the board of directors. And lastly, the requisite waiting period under Georgia law should pass before this issue should even be brought up again. That should give people plenty of time to get this right and demonstrate if there is truly a need for it in the first place.

But why not try the Volunteer Initiative (AVID) first? If the same services can be achieved with community volunteers organized by downtown block captains for free instead of costing downtown property owners nearly $2 million over a 5 year period, shouldn't that be given a chance? You have to ask yourself why this same small pro CADI clique is so determined to get their hands on this tax tax money. Is it really to benefit downtown or is it to benefit them?

It's frankly an insult to commissioners and the downtown business owners who have tirelessly fought against CADI to have this issue continuously brought back up week after week after week. With these six reasons explaining why CADI should not be resurrected, let's hope there are at least six commissioners who will do the right thing today and vote to finally put this issue to rest..***
OS

Related Articles:

Could AVID Replace CADI?

2013-03-21T15:03:00.001-04:00

Thursday, March 21, 2013
Augusta, GA
By The Outsider

A group of downtown business owners are putting together an alternative to the controversial CADI program that will aim to keep downtown clean without costing property owners $350,000 in additional taxes. The program is called AVID and it stands for Augusta Volunteer Initiative for Downtown. As the name suggests, AVID relies on volunteers to keep downtown sidewalks clean. According to the AVID press release, downtown property and business owners are being asked to signed a pledge agreeing to keep the sidewalks in front of their business or property clean to the best of their ability, to direct lost visitors to their destinations and report any suspicious behavior. The group has already set up a Facebook page here: AVID Augusta.

AVID organizers say that downtown Augusta can be kept clean without the added expense and bureaucracy of the CADI program as long as downtown businesses agree to do their part. Organizers ask for citizens to email questions or concerns to AvidAugusta@gmail.com. You can read the full press release below:

Welcome to AVID Augusta by CityStink Augusta

Will CADI Be Brought Back From the Dead?

2013-03-19T10:11:00.001-04:00

March 19, 2013
Augusta, GA
By The Outsider

Like a zombie in a B horror movie, bad ideas never really die in Augusta. Instead, they lurk in the shadows waiting for the next sequel to make their attack on new unsuspecting victims. Such is the case with the latest efforts to resurrect the CADI program (Clean Augusta Downtown Initiative). Just three months after the Augusta Commission rejected renewing the downtown Business Improvement District (BID) and its companion CADI program, proponents are on the schedule at this afternoon's commission meeting to speak out in favor of giving the program a second life.

It's being packaged as a "new and improved" CADI, but upon closer inspection, it's just more of the same. CADI proponents made a big deal about distancing themselves from the Downtown Development Authority and its executive director Margaret Woodard in hopes that severing ties with the DDA would improve the chances for a 2nd shot at renewing CADI. However, the CADI board of directors is full of the same DDA cronies today as it was before. Byrd Warlick, the attorney for the DDA is on the agenda at today's commission meeting speaking out in favor of renewing the program. Natalie McLeod, who serves on the CADI board of directors is also a member of The DDA. Sanford Lloyd also serves on both the DDA and the CADI board of directors. Paul King and Bryan Halterman, who both have long associations with the DDA, also both serve on the CADI board of directors. In fact the board of directors of CADI is nearly identical to what it was last year. Nothing has changed.

Also, we found that certain property owners are represented on the CADI board of directors even though they have not paid their property taxes, and thus into the Business Improvement District. Travers Paine III, another CADI board member, also signed the renewal petition for Augusta Green Inc at 811 Broad St, a property where he also serves on the board of directors. Public records show that 811 Broad St is delinquent for $6,762 in property taxes from 2012 and is also delinquent for 2011 property taxes, yet Mr. Paine still serves on the board of directors for CADI, which wants to impose a tax on other downtown property owners to fund its operations. Should representatives of properties delinquent in their property taxes be allowed to serve on the CADI board of directors?

Only minor changes have been made to the CADI proposal that failed to win over commission support this past December. In this latest incarnation, all property owners within the district will pay the same tax rate. Augusta Riverfront LLC, the owners of the Augusta Marriott, were paying a lower rate under the previous tax district. Beyond that though, it is still mainly just a glorified cleaning service that will cost downtown property owners around $350,000 per year. Critics of the program still question the high cost of a program that employees only about 7 to 8 workers making around $9 per hour. And independent audit has yet to be conducted to determine just how the approximately $1,750,000 that was collected over the previous 5 year period of the business improvement district was spent.

In this latest CADI proposal, there is no mention of public safety, and many downtown business owners say that was how the business improvement district was sold to them in the first place. CADI critics also question the need for an additional tax on downtown property owners when the city seems to be doing a good job keeping downtown clean. They cite the recent St. Patrick's Day parade which fell on a Saturday. City cleaning crews were out in force this year picking up trash soon after the parade ended. It was a different sight last year when sidewalks were strewn with trash and empty beer bottles for days following the event. That was when downtown had CADI. Critics of the program say that this illustrates that CADI was merely displacing city services for which downtown business owners were already paying. Under the guidelines for creating a business improvement district, these services should be supplemental rather than a substitute for existing city services.

The refrain from CADI proponents is that a majority of downtown property owners signed a petition wanting renewal of the program; however, upon closer inspection, that is bending the truth, to say the least. An Augusta Chronicle report revealed that only 78 individuals were responsible for the 116 signatures in favor of renewing CADI. Bryan Halterman was responsible for a dozen signatures. Paul King provided 8 and Alonzo Boardman provided 6. According to the Chronicle report, all 116 signatories only represents about $103,066 of the taxes collected in the BID. That's less than a third, but proponents still claim that renewal of CADI represents the will of a majority of downtown property owners.

There has been virtually no outreach to downtown property owners who opposed CADI last time and no effort to include their concerns in the process.

Since it would take unanimous consent from commissioners to add consideration of approval of CADI to today's agenda, no action is expected on the program's future today. However, the way in which CADI proponents managed to get on the agenda to speak after the deadline had passed is raising some eyebrows. Only a commissioner or the mayor can add someone to the agenda to speak after the regular deadline has passed. Byrd Warlick was apparently added by District 1 Commissioner Bill Fennoy, who is also asking that commissioners add renewal of CADI to today's commission agenda. CADI critics are calling foul saying that this last minute maneuvering denies them a chance to speak out against the program. Last December, renewal of CADI failed to receive the needed 6 votes for passage, but now there are 4 new faces on the commission.

Beyond the CADI issue, this disturbing trend of agenda items being brought back before commissioners over and over again after already having been rejected begs for reform. Also, if speakers can be added to the commission agenda after the official deadline has passed then opponents should be afforded the same courtesy. If commissioners want to take unanimous action on something at today's meeting perhaps they should consider imposing a minimum waiting period before previously rejected agenda items can be brought back before the commission. Also they should consider reforming the process for citizens to be placed on the agenda to speak before the commission. Either make it easier for all citizens to address the body at the last minute (Columbia County allows citizens to sign up to address commissioners right before the meetings) or end the favoritism that allows commissioners to add certain people to the commission agenda at the last minute, thus circumventing the process and denying opponents the right to speak.

Critics of the CADI program though say it is time to put a stake in the heart of this monster once and for all.***

OS

Facts from the 2012 CADI ANNUAL REPORT
Segway/Bike 3283 yearly hours or 9 hours a day to accomplish the following:

59 Yearly Panhandle reports or about I a week
5605 Yearly merchant visits or 15 a day or 2 and hour
Assistance per year 767 or 2 a day
1939 handbills removed or 5 a day
11 Police assistance calls for the years or less than 1 a month
6 Augusta Cares calls or one every two months
58 bags of garbage removed per week from the public trash cans

ALL THIS FOR $350,000.00 A YEAR
IS IT REALLY WORTH IT?

Short Sheeted via Term Sheet

2013-02-27T17:30:00.000-05:00

Public Thrown for Loss in (nearly)Free Falcons Stadium?

By Al Gray

Georgia Dome to be Torn Down for new Falcons Stadium

About two months ago, a “term sheet” was signed by the Georgia World Congress Center and the Atlanta Falcons to build a new retractable-roofed stadium for their pro football team. After the travails that followed the notorious Augusta Tee Center Term Sheet, the mere mention of that phrase was enough to raise eyebrows.

The thought came to mind “What if……?” What if it was a one-sided deal against the public? What if the consultants’ reports were not analyzed? What if the cost to the taxpayer was a whole lot greater than advertised? What if the legalese meant huge opportunities for cost-shifts to the public? What if media was silent because of the team owner’s position on the board of the Atlanta newspaper’s parent company?

The deal was too huge and the possibilities too big to ignore, so this author performed a month long investigation on the reported stadium costs versus what the documents showed. The report that came from this effort is the inaugural article in agraynation.com, the multimedia blog born out of the Augusta Project, that work being a year-long series of investigations and articles that appeared in City Stink and the Augusta reform Facebook pages.

The Falcons say they are paying $700 million of the $1.2 billion cost.

Are they really? Or is this another prank of being short sheeted via term sheet? Will the weary public think it is turning in to a warm comfy bed, only to find all openings denied?

The full report, found here, compiles figures from consultant reports, the term sheet, and the financing. It suggests that the Falcons may only be paying $50 million or less.

Most of the cost is all ours.

There is a big rush to get this deal approved ASAP.

Stay tuned.

Corporal Gripweed: Sometimes Gridlock is Good

2013-02-11T12:30:00.002-05:00

Monday, February 11, 2013
Augusta, GA
By Corporal Gripweed

"That which is right will become popular,and that which is wrong will soon lose its temporary popularity, and sink into disgrace".

Thomas Paine.

There are certain words and phrases that have become popular in recent political discourse. Words like; moderate and bipartisanship . Phrases such as "reaching across the aisle", and "avoiding gridlock."

Gridlock…I've always loved that word…Thomas Jefferson wrote that "Government which governs least, governs best".

I submit that in some cases, gridlock is a good thing. The recent vote on the TEE Center skywalk which would connect the parking deck to the TEE Center across Reynolds Street, is a perfect example.The Commission voted 4-4 to deny funding for the project.

In this case, the so-called "boogeyman" of gridlock worked as it should have. It is no secret that I, and many of my compatriots here at CityStink.net have never thought this project to be a wise use of taxpayer monies, especially given the fact that we were to absorb all of the expenditures but reap virtually none of the profit, if any. Under the current contract with Augusta Riverfront LLC, the owners of the Marriott and the contracted manager of the TEE Center, the taxpayers are guaranteed only a measly 5% of the catering receipts after a $400,000 threshold is reached.

This last point is a slap in the face to taxpayers as we have already spent $1.4 million on the kitchen that will do the catering. My guess is, this threshold will not be met regularly, meaning that the city (the taxpayers) receives 0%. But what is more distressing is the fact that two of Augusta's "freshman" Commissioners, Mary Davis, and Donnie Smith voted, "No," on the motion to deny the expenditure for the skywalk , which means they are in favor of spending more money we don't have for something we don't need.

So much for the Augusta Chronicle's glowing assessment that Mrs. Davis and Mr. Smith would quote,"shake up the Commission". Already they have shown who they are working for. And in this case it does not seem to be the taxpayers.

On the other side of the equation we have the other two newly elected Commissioners, Marion Williams and Bill Fennoy. Because I'm a conservative, I'm guessing that my political ideas on a national level are very much different than theirs, but on this one they got it right. In particular, Mr. Williams who rightfully pointed out that we should not spend money we don't have on something that hasn't yet shown itself to be worthy of that expenditure. Sounds prudent to me. In this case Mr Williams sounds like the fiscal conservative.

On top of all of this we are supposed to believe that well educated executives and those bright enough to be conventioneers can't cross a semi-busy street in a modest sized city where there are two crosswalks with signals?…Indeed.

My suggestion is, if Billy Morris, Paul Simon and Augusta Riverfront LLC truly appreciate the incredible $65 million gift given to them by ARC taxpayers and facilitated by city administrator Fred Russell with the help of outside counsel Jim Plunkett ,then they should be willing to pay for their own skywalk. After all, they are already advertising the facility as the "Marriott Convention Center".

Moreover, we the taxpayers, could very well be on the hook for the yearly management plan of the TEE Center, soon to be voted on by the new Augusta Commission. A worrisome prospect given the recent exuberance by some commissioners to hand over the keys to the public treasury to the detriment of the citizens of Augusta.

My advice to newly elected Commissioners, who recently voted for re- opening the city's purse, yet again,would be; To rethink your stance…And do what's right…not what you think might be popular among the "ruling elite" .***
CG

Escalating School Board Legal Fees Raise Questions

2013-02-08T13:24:00.000-05:00

Friday, February 8, 2013

Augusta, GA

By Thomas Easton

Yes, the good people at CityStink.Net and Augusta Watchdogs have been somewhat dormant recently but we felt with the New Year after a nice holiday break we would continue our investigations into what is ‘right versus wrong’ in Augusta and its surrounding areas and ask all those questions some say local media won't or can’t ask.

After reading the recent article in the Augusta Chronicle article from January 19^th of this year, “City Continues To Use CostlyOutside Counsel Despite Staff Attorneys” article about all the money being paid by Augusta Richmond County for its legal services. It started our collective investigative juices flowing. We definitely could argue about the amounts paid out by the Augusta Richmond County for some of these services seem to be rather high especially when taking into account the actual service rendered, but this article is not about that.

It is about good management of a vendor. It is the requirement of any good client to manage its vendors for a profitable relationship by both parties. In this case, the client: The Richmond County Board of Education (RCBoE) does not ‘manage’ its client-vendor relationship with Fletcher, Harley & Fletcher LLP. The information we received was from records requests as well as the external study Performance Review of the Richmond County School System, March 12^th 2008.

Our various records request dealt specifically to the fees paid to Augusta based Fletcher, Harley & Fletcher LLP. You ask why we just chose Fletcher, Harley & Fletcher LLP? Well, they are the only legal firm providing services to the RCBoE and now the Columbia County Board of Education (CCBoE). The amounts paid out for legal services by the RCBoE are high, and it is believed this is because RCBoE is not managing its business relationship with Fletcher, Harley & Fletcher LLP as efficiently as it could and their is a lack of oversight and protocol.

Fletcher, Harley & Fletcher LLP has been providing legal services to the Richmond County Board of Education for over forty years (this is proudly displayed on the firm’s web site) and started representing CCBoE as counsel in 2007. They are an established Augusta based legal firm specializing in Banking and Investment, Bankruptcy, Corporate Business, Education, and Environmental & Natural Resources.

Since this article is about the management of the client-vendor relationship, it does in the end come back to the effective use of the taxpayer’s dollars. The taxpayer has demonstrated a ‘blind’ trust in that the elected and appointed officials of the RCBoE to judiciously carry out policy and supposedly ensure our children are getting every advantage for every dollar spent However, the question is exactly how good is this stewardship when it comes to effectively managing the public’s trust, the interest of the children as well as tax dollars?

The information regarding the spending of tax dollars for legal services surprised us. We were amazed over paying so much money for legal services when actual student populations are decreasing.
Here are the RCBoE legal costs from 2000 through 2011:

The legal cost for this twelve year period totals out to be $5,842,460.02 for a twelve year annual average of $486,871.67. Unfortunately we were unable at this time to receive the actual invoices for billed services from RCBoE to show the actual services rendered, actual hours, how they were billed or guidelines for use.

Since this is will be an ongoing investigation of the RCBoE very similar to our investigative work into TEE Center and TEE Center Parking Deck fiascos perpetrated by the bad management practices of City County Manager, be prepared for more revelations in the weeks to come.

In closing, based on our work so far on the RCBoE, we ask this one question that individual citizens of Augusta Richmond County may want to ask the RCBoE as well as individual elected officials, “Does RCBoE have a procurement process for legal services or any services and if so is it documented where all individuals are trained on it”?***

T.E.

Stay Tuned..More to Come

New Stadium Did Not "Slip Away" From Augusta

2012-12-20T12:25:00.000-05:00

Thursday, December 20, 2012
Augusta, GA
By The Outsider

Project Jackson. It sounds like a top secret military program, and yesterday some of its details were declassified in a public presentation in North Augusta, SC. It turns out that all of the rumors flying around last week were true: there indeed is a plan to move The Augusta Greenjackets across the river --- and a proposed new stadium will be a centerpiece of Project Jackson.

The response to this news ranged from enthusiasm, confusion, and hand wringing -- depending on what side of the Savannah river you are on. A riverfront ballpark has been debated for more than six years, but up until now, the discussion has always centered on a location along the downtown riverfront on the Georgia side of the river. Yesterday's presentation revealed the most specific proposal to date for a new stadium for the Greenjackets. Here is what we now know:

The Details

Ripken Baseball will be selling the team. The new owners will be an Investment Group known as Agon Sports and Entertainment. One of the principals of this new group is none other than Jeff Eiseman, the past President of The Augusta Greenjackets under the Ripken group.

Project Jackson will be more than just a ballpark. It includes over $110 million in additional private developments that include a luxury hotel, apartments, town homes, restaurants, retail and office space.

The public sector is expected to chip in 30% of the cost of the project, totaling around $43 million. This would include the cost of the stadium, a conference center, and a riverfront park.

Despite the move to South Carolina, the new team owners expect the name to remain The Augusta Greenjackets.

This is just a proposal. There is no guarantee the stadium will be built. Depending on what funding mechanisms are used, voters could reject the stadium in a public referendum. Also, some nearby residents of the affluent neighborhoods of Hammonds Ferry and The River Club have expressed concerns about noise, congestion and light pollution from a stadium. So, this is not a done deal by any means.

A Collective Whine

As soon as the details of Project Jackson emerged yesterday in North Augusta, you could practically hear a collective whine from across the river. An article on the stadium proposal appeared yesterday on the Augusta Chronicle website and received over 100 comments by the end of the day. Generally, people who were proponents of a new stadium on the downtown Augusta riverfront viewed the news as a major defeat and wanted to point the finger of blame. To paraphrase some of the comments from those wringing their hands over the announcement : "Augusta blew it," " Augusta just lost a great opportunity", "This idea was just too big and progressive for the people of Augusta" and "would the last person leaving Augusta turn the light off?"

Some people wanted to blame Augusta commissioners for supposedly "letting this great opportunity slip away." That blame is misplaced. For more than six years, Augusta commissioners have asked for a specific proposal from the Ripken Baseball group and the mayor. Those specifics never came. Instead, all Augustans got were vague sales pitches of "Multi-use facility" and "public/private partnership". The Ripken group was intentionally coy about how much of their own money they were even willing to invest in the project. In fact, after the dozens of meetings Mayor Deke Copenhaver and City Administrator Fred Russell held with Ripken Baseball officials, not once did they produce a concrete proposal like the one that was revealed yesterday in North Augusta. Not once were actual costs presented to the public and Augusta commissioners. All we got was a six year long sales pitch for a product we never even got to see.

Show Me The Money!

It was obvious that the Ripken group had their eye on the former Golf and Gardens property almost as soon as they purchased the team -- perhaps even before. When the state of Georgia announced that the downtown golf themed attraction -- that never even fully materialized -- would be closing, the sales pitch for a baseball stadium at the site began almost immediately. But instead of making an offer on the property when it was available, the Ripken Group stalled and teased the public with pretty conceptual water colore renderings. They created a "Bring Baseball Downtown" website that was supposed to look like a public grass-roots effort. They talked about possible condos, and all sorts of goodies, but with no specifics and more importantly, no actual dollar figures. The trite term "public/private partnership" was continually batted around, but with no specifics of how much the private sector would invest into the project versus the public sector. And after the recent debacle of the "public/private partnership" between the city of Augusta and Augusta Riverfront LLC over the TEE center and numerous other failed downtown boondoggles over the years, that term naturally sounded off alarm bells in the minds of taxpayers from Washington Rd to Willis-Foreman Road.

Several years ago Mayor Copenhaver asked commissioners to commit to acquiring the Golf and Gardens property from the state of Georgia for potential use as a site for a new baseball stadium. This would have cost the city $millions more for a property that it had already sunk $6 million of SPLOST money into for the failed golf and gardens attraction. Commissioners were naturally hesitant, especially when Ripken Baseball was still unwilling to give them more specifics. So time went by .. and the Ripken Group never made an effort to acquire the Golf and Gardens property on their own, and they still never brought a specific proposal forward to the commission. Instead they engaged in back room meetings with the mayor and city administrator and went on a prolonged six year tease with the public. We kept hearing reports over the years that a "big announcement" was imminent over the ballpark.. but nothing ever materialized. Bottom line is, Ripken Baseball and the mayor had six years to make a presentation to the public like what was done yesterday in North Augusta, and they never did.

Augusta is the Big Winner

Despite all of the hand wringing from some, the city of Augusta stands to be the big winner if Project Jackson happens. The metro area will still have a minor league ball team, and that team will still be called the Augusta Greenjackets. This team will have a new state of the art facility much closer to downtown Augusta than the current one at Lake Olmstead. But the best part is that Augusta taxpayers will not be on the hook paying for any of it.

And the private aspect of Project Jackson -- the hotel, the apartments, the town homes, restaurants and retail and office space -- is what is expected to pay for the ballpark. That was a crucial missing element from proposals floated for the Augusta riverfront. Initially, six years ago, we did hear about the possibility of a mixed-use development, but talk was always vague and never as specific as what is being proposed in North Augusta. As the years went on the proposal for the Augusta riverfront started to be called a "multi-use facility", which is a big difference. This basically means they were pitching a baseball stadium that could be used for other events like weddings and concerts. The talk about a mixed-use development, including upscale condos and restaurants, seemed to have completely disappeared from the discussion and the sales pitch from the Ripken Group.

And it is not like the Golf and Gardens property on the Georgia side of the river will sit fallow. It is slated to become the site for an exciting expansion of the new merged University. This will include student housing, research and teaching facilities and even possibly a performing arts center. So downtown Augusta stands to benefit from two big projects: a ballpark and town center complex right across the 13th street bridge and a new university campus in the heart of downtown. If commissioners had of committed the city to acquiring the golf and gardens property for a ballpark, downtown Augusta would have ended up with far less... likely only a taxpayer subsidized stadium that would sit vacant most of the year. In this case, Augusta gets to have its cake and eat it too.

Even Mayor Copenhaver had to admit that this news might be good for Augusta:

And what if Augusta taxpayers had built the Ripken Group a new stadium to keep them in town? Well, it appears, based on yesterday's announcement, that may not have even have made a difference. The Greenjackets are getting a new riverfront stadium, but yet the Ripken group is selling the team anyway. What guarantees did Augusta have that building a new stadium would have kept Ripken baseball and the Greenjackets in Augusta? None.

Perhaps former Augusta mayor Bob Young summed it up best in a comment he posted to Facebook earlier in the week when the details of Project Jackson started to emerge:

"Time to put down the Kool Aid and have a reality check.
First, North Augusta is going to develop a project with a baseball stadium that requires about 4 times the public investment stadium supporters in Augusta were talking about. This tells me that the true cost of this project is finally seeing the light of day. Second, Ripkin is selling his team, even though he is getting a new stadium. What's with all of his talk about loyalty to Augusta? Folks, if the people of North Augusta want to go on the hook for this, more power to them.
Augusta's challenge now is the stadium on the lake. It's bought and paid for. The city gets control back when Ripkin leaves (remember, the contract gave Ripkin control over all uses of the park, not just baseball.) New home for our local college teams, perhaps?"

Indeed. The challenge for the city of Augusta is what to do with Lake Olmstead stadium. The city owns the facility free and clear, and now with complete control of it, Augusta can receive all of the profits generated from events and concessions. Maybe it's time the city started marketing that facility. The other option is to lease it out to the new merged university for college sports. Either way, the city is in a much better position in regards to controlling its asset at Lake Olmstead and reaping the benefits from it.

But officials should not jump the gun, So far, Project Jackson is merely proposal, and North Augusta citizens could give it the same icy reception that Augusta did with talk of spending tax dollars on building a ballpark. Also, there may very well be a push back from residents in nearby Hammonds Ferry . It's still very early in the game, but by all appearances it looks like North Augusta officials went about this the right way. They came up with a specific proposal first with actual cost figures and who would pay what... and now they are pitching that to the public. It's the complete opposite way Ripken Baseball and the mayor went about handling selling the downtown stadium proposal.

The challenge for North Augusta officials now is to make sure that the private sector keeps their end of the bargain. As we have reported in previous stories, when cities build new stadiums on the promise of adjacent private development, it often does not materialize or not to the extent as promised. If North Augusta is going to commit $43,000,000 towards Project Jackson, taxpayers will want to be confident that the private development will come and pay back the public's investment. That means North Augusta officials need to insist on clauses in their partnership agreement that stipulates a time frame for construction of the private portion of Project Jackson, with financial penalties if the private sector breaks their promise. Luckily, North Augusta does not have the incompetent Fred Russell as their city administrator.. so we expect they will negotiate a much better deal for the taxpayers.

The end result of Project Jackson is that it may finally help unify both sides of the Savannah River. Hopefully it will also make Augusta leaders look at how North Augusta handles planning and negotiating these big projects, and they will learn something. You could say that both sides of the river could view this as a home run.**
OS

Commissioners Nix BID and Bridge to No Where

2012-12-19T13:25:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Augusta, GA
By The Outsider

The Mayan calendar supposedly predicted that the world would end at the close of 2012, but perhaps what they really meant was that Augusta's controversial downtown Business Improvement District and the frivolous TEE Center sky walk would have no future. In a marathon meeting yesterday, the last of 2012, Augusta commissioners decided not to renew the BID and its companion CADI (Clean Augusta Downtown Initiative) and the proposed "Bridge to No Where" spanning Reynolds street connecting the new convention center and its parking deck failed to receive the needed 6 votes for approval.

Bye Bye BID

Perhaps receiving the most attention at yesterday's meeting was the proposed renewal of the BID. Up until the last minute, it was not even certain if the DDA had secured the needed 110 signatures from select downtown property owners to even bring the item before the commission for a vote. As of late last week, they were 20 short, and they received a major blow when the largest property owner in the district, William S Morris III and his related companies, came out against renewal. But late on Monday, the DDA miraculously pulled the necessary signatures seemingly out of thin air, getting 4 more than the minimum necessary. But that did not sway commissioners. Wayne Guilfoyle, Bill Lockett, Alvin Mason, Joe Jackson and Joe Bowles all voted against renewing the controversial program. Commissioners Matt Aitken, JR Hatney, Jerry Brigham , and Corey Johnson voted to keep it. Outgoing commissioner Matt Aitken made a motion to renew the program with new provisions, but it failed to receive 6 votes for approval.

Critics of the BID maintained that just because the DDA managed to scrape up the bare minimum of needed signatures to bring it before the commission did not mean that it had the support of a majority of downtown business and property owners. Robin Schweitzer, a downtown business owner, spoke out against the BID at yesterday's meeting and pointed out that it did not cover all of the Central Business District and was purposefully gerrymandered to insure its passage in 2007. But even under the DDA's selectively hand drawn BID, they were barely able to get the minimum number of signatures for renewal. Former commissioner Andy Cheek, who served on the commission when the BID was first enacted, also spoke out against renewing it in an afternoon public meeting. He said that the DDA had mismanaged the program from the very beginning and never delivered on their promises to provide enhanced security downtown.

Paul King, a prominent downtown property manager, showed up with a posse clad in bright yellow t-shirts emblazoned with "I'm 4 CADI." Observers noted that most of them were employees of the program and tenants and employees of Mr. King. He appealed to commissioners to save the program, admitting that some mistakes were made but gave no specifics how the program would be corrected if continued. Commissioners questioned the logic of renewing a program with so many flaws and failed promises. Several commissioners questioned how 7 to 9 hourly wage sidewalk sweepers could cost downtown business owners in excess of $350,000 a year and said the entire program begged for an audit. We have attempted to gain access to the books of the BID and CADI for previous stories and have received nothing but stonewalling from the DDA and their attorneys.

Some political observers are questioning why Paul King was the main spokesperson for renewing the BID at the commission meeting yesterday, instead of DDA director Margaret Woodard, and this lead to people asking who is really pulling the strings at the DDA. We will have more about Mr King in an upcoming article.

The Bridge to No Where Goes No Where

An agenda item that was expected to gain easy approval yesterday was the proposed sky walk connecting the new convention center to the new parking deck across Reynolds Street; however, it also failed to receive the needed six votes for approval. Championed by Joe Bowles, who had placed it on the agenda, the sky walk was estimated to cost close to $1 million. Bowles said that money that was left over from construction of the deck would pay for it, but others questioned the need to spend that money on something that was not necessary and instead proposed putting the money in the bank or spending it on something that was actually needed.

With a bit of theatrics, Bowles made an impassioned plea for approval of the skywalk, citing recent pedestrian deaths in Augusta. Bowles said he did not want "to have blood on his hands" if a pedestrian was struck and killed crossing Reynolds Street trying to access the convention center. Critics of the skywalk asked why not spend the money to improve the safety at intersections that actually do have a history of pedestrian fatalities like Washington and Peach Orchard roads. Reynolds Street is relatively safe for pedestrians. Also in a bit of irony, traffic engineers said that a flashing billboard proposed for the skywalk would actually make Reynolds Street less safe for motorists and pedestrians. Under the management agreement for the convention center, Augusta Riverfront LLC would have received all profits from advertising on the electronic billboard on the skywalk.

Striking out yet again on both items was Mayor Deke Copenhaver, who even went on TV endorsing passage of the skywalk and also supported renewing the BID. Lori Davis, however can chalk up two more political victories. She helped mobilize opposition to renewing the BID and also fought approval of the skywalk. Davis took to her government watchdog Facebook group yesterday and asked citizens to email all of the commissioners and urge them to vote "No" on both agenda items. Davis says she has a lot more planned for the coming year.***
OS

Related Stories:

Coming Up Tomorrow: We discuss the ballpark and adjacent development proposed for the North Augusta riverfront known as Project Jackson.

Corporal Gripweed: Commission Should Pull the Plug on the BID/CADI

2012-12-17T21:45:00.002-05:00

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Augusta, GA

By Corporal Gripweed

"If you would understand anything, observe its beginning and its development"

Aristotle

Today, December 18th, in the Commission chambers, there may be a vote to decide the future of the troubled BID/CADI program....or maybe not.

As of this writing, it is unclear if the Director of the DDA, Ms. Margaret Woodard, has the necessary signatures of downtown property owners to even bring the issue before the Commission... If not, the BID will die a whimpering death at the stroke of midnight on December 31st, as it should.

What began as a five year experiment with a Business Improvement District, has turned into a failed program, that has been mismanaged from the very start, beginning with the way it was sold to downtown businesses and property owners.

Ostensibly it was promoted to be primarily a security force of off duty officers and trained security professionals to augment RCSO during large downtown events. The bonus would be that graffiti removal and cursory clean-up would be provided when needed as well.

This, however, would not be free. Property owners would have to pay another separate tax on top of those already paid to provide these extra services. But here's the kicker: each property owner got a vote for each property that they owned, so the largest property owners got the most votes and of course they were most likely to be able to afford the tax. Giving the "little guy" virtually no say in whether this extra program was needed, much less whether they could afford it. And small business owners who leased their space got no vote at all, but ended up having the new tax tacked on to their rent anyway.

So, the petition was circulated among those who were in favor, and those who were on record as opposed were ignored and kept out of the process. In fact, the BID was gerrymandered in such a way to insure that property owners who were opposed where excluded altogether. Most businesses east of 6th street were excluded. The BID does not cover all of downtown, but rather a a select portion that the DDA believed they could convince a slight 51% of property owners to approve. You see.. if it did included all of the recognized Central Business District, it would have never come close to getting the needed signatures for approval.

So... no surprise as to the result...The BID was passed --- to the tune of over $350,000 a year which the DDA exclusively controls. There have been no audits or accounting as to how this money has been spent. After 5 years, we are talking about at least $1,750,000!!

The DDA rewards its cronies at the expense of others

Fast forward to this year:

After the failure of the program to address clean-up after this years St. Patrick's Day Parade, some people in the community began to question the program and in particular the leadership of Ms. Woodard.

It has become obvious that this program has been mismanaged from the very beginning. The promises made to property owners concerning security-- the MAJOR selling point of the BID 5 years ago-- were never implemented.

At best, the BID/CADI has become nothing more than a perfunctory garbage pickup service that even Commissioner Wayne Guilfoyle said "had been done (previously) as well by prisoners". Any graffiti removal was performed at businesses who liked the program (aka cronies of the DDA) and NOT performed at those who opposed it...even though they pay the tax as well, lending further credence to the cries of favoritism within the DDA.

DDA Director Margaret Woodard

It's no secret that this writer and City Stink are not fans of Ms. Woodard and the DDA, but I would go further and ask that the Board of Directors of the DDA, which includes Paul King, be called out concerning their obvious lack of fiduciary duty. They are responsible for handling hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer monies and have failed in that duty.

If Ms. Woodard is able to get the needed signatures to bring this before the Commission for a vote, I sincerely hope enough Commissioners will understand that there is no need to renew this unneeded and mismanaged program. If somehow she does manage to pull out of thin air the bare minimum of signatures needed at the last minute, commissioners should realize that this does not indicate support of the majority of business and property owners downtown. What instead it does represent is a rigged attempt to make it appear that way.

At this point, the reputation of the DDA is so tarnished, that the next logical step is to replace Ms. Woodard with someone who has the confidence of downtown business owners and who can effectively do the job of actually promoting downtown development and economic retention. Woodard has failed to to this. The other option is to completely defund the DDA bureaucracy to ensure that it receives no more support from county taxpayers. What value are south Augusta taxpayers getting from having their money diverted to bureaucracies like the DDA anyway? Certainly that money could be better spent elsewhere, right?

One need only look at the beginning and the development of this program to understand why it turned out the way it has -- .its failure rests squarely upon the shoulders of the current Director of the DDA and its officers. It was sold on deception and is only serving to put an extra burden on small downtown business owners. Commissioners would be wise to pull the plug on this failure and completely reevaluate the role of the DDA altogether.***

Anointment of Corey Johnson Raises Questions

2012-12-14T14:18:00.001-05:00

Friday, December 14, 2012
Augusta, GA
By The Outsider

It appears there is a push underway to anoint commissioner Corey Johnson the next Mayor Pro-tem and this has started to raise a lot of eyebrows. WRDW News 12 reported on Wednesday that Commissioner Joe Jackson intends to nominate Johnson for the post being vacated by Commissioner Joe Bowles at the first commission meeting after the New Year. Mayor Deke Copenhaver even was quoted as saying that he fully expects Johnson to be named the next Mayor Pro-tem.

But some are wondering what the motivation is to anoint Johnson before the new commissioners have even taken office. There will be four new faces on the commission after January 1st -- well actually 3 new faces if you consider that Marion Williams is a returning commissioner. Some political insiders are saying that Johnson's confidence indicates that this has all been prearranged behind closed doors. Many people were hoping that the new commission would do business differently.

So why the push for Johnson as Mayor Pro-tem? Well considering the history for filling the post, commissioners like to alternate between black and white commissioners. The exiting mayor-pro tem, Joe Bowles, is white -- so it is assumed that the next Mayor pro-tem should be black -- and apparently the powers that be have already decided it should be Corey Johnson. This has many political observers speculating that this is a reward for Johnson switching his vote on the TEE Center management contract. As you may remember, commissioners debated for more than a month over the details of the TEE Center contract. Augusta Riverfront LLC was essentially holding commissioners hostage-- demanding they sign off on a lopsided contract that would have been very detrimental to city taxpayers. Fred Russell and the mayor continued to play a game of cat and mouse -- always waiting till the last minute to put the contract on the commission's agenda with no changes whatsoever, hoping to wear down the commission into signing off on it out of shear fatigue. But commissioners continued to balk at the tactics and there was even a push to ditch Augusta Riverfront LLC in favor of Global Spectrum -- the manmager of Augusta's James Brown Arena and Bell Auditorium. It seemed that finally commissioners had the upper hand and were on the cusp of getting major concessions from Augusta Riverfront LLC or they would go with an entirely new operator.

But something happened after the General Election on November 6th. The very next day, approval of the TEE Center management agreement was placed on the Nov 8th commission agenda. It looked as though they were back to their old tricks again. But even just an hour before the meeting commissioners were saying that they did not believe it would pass -- and Joe Bowles was even quoted just an hour before the meeting that he still favored the Global Spectrum option. But, oh how things change when they get in the commission chambers. This time, the contract did have amendments, but it was hardly the best deal the city could have gotten given their new position of strength. In fact, most commissioners had not even seen the amendments until right before voting on them, and the lawyers were even handwriting amendments just seconds before the vote. Surely commissioners would not approve such an important document that they had once again been hurriedly prepared and placed on the agenda at the last minute -- that most of them had not even had time to study? Surely they would not approve this contract when just an hour earlier, they were telling the media they would not? But they did. Yes, it was an improvement over the previous deals floated, but hardly the best deal the commissioners could have gotten if only they had waited one more weak. It looked like the commission was in a rush to pass anything after the results of the election just two days earlier . And who was the deciding vote that passed the TEE Center contract with Augusta Riverfront LLC at the last minute? Yep, you guessed it -- Corey Johnson.

We had been hearing for weeks that an immense amount of pressure was being put on Johnson to change his vote in favor of the terms with Augusta Riverfront LLC, and when people began talking about using Global Spectrum, that pressure intensified. Johnson stood his ground for a couple of weeks but in the end, voted for the contract with Augusta Riverfront LLC.. that was only slightly better than the original.. just at the moment when the city had the upper hand in the negotiations.

Political insiders tell us that some of Augusta's biggest power brokers dangled some mighty big carrots in front of Johnson for him to switch his vote -- but the clincher was apparently promising to make him the city's next mayor. And now it looks like they are making good on that promise by prepping Johnson for the job by anointing him the next mayor pro-tem, which is essentially an understudy for the mayor. The next mayoral election will be held in 2014. After the results in the sheriff's race, the downtown power brokers saw the writing on the wall, and realized that the next mayor was likely to be black -- and they needed to get busy now prepping someone for the job whom they could control -- and that someone appears to be Corey Johnson.

But what about Bill Lockett? He has been proven right on a multitude of issues -- including the TEE Center. Lockett has a command of the details on the most complex issues and comes fully prepared to ask tough questions. Corey Johnson on the other hand has difficulty forming a complete sentence. And then there's the whole ego thing. When interviewed by WRDW about the anticipated mayor-pro-tem position.. Johnson exclaimed, "Because I'm great. I'm going to be honest with you because I'm great." Wow, what humility. If he does get the job, we have to wonder if he will require a gold plated throne.

But what about Wayne Guilfoyle? He has emerged as a real leader on the commission and, like Lockett, does his homework before commission meetings. Guilfoyle had some tough questions for DDA director Margaret Woodard earlier this week regarding the renewal of the downtown business improvement district and companion CADI program. Guilfoyle wondered why downtown business owners were being taxed a third time for services that once were provided for free by jail inmates. Astute observation, Wayne! Guilfoyle, also held his ground on the TEE Center and he was one of the swing votes that halted action on the controversial Laney Walker Overlay. And isn't it about time an Asian-American held the mayor pro-tem position? I mean, if we are going to award the position on a rotating racial quota, isn't it about time for an Asian-American to get the nod? Plus it would give South Richmond County a level of prestige they have not had on the commission in quite some time.

But the power-brokers have decided they want Corey.. maybe because they fear independent thinkers like Bill Lockett and Wayne Guilfoyle. They seem to have the next four years planned out and Johnson asd mayor-pro-tem fits nicely into their plans.***
OS
More to come

The Winners and Losers From The District 1 Runoff

2012-12-11T15:49:00.002-05:00

Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Augusta, GA
By The Outsider

It has been a week since Bill Fennoy trounced incumbent Matt Aitken in the District 1 runoff on December 4. This was a reversal of fortunes from three years ago when the same two candidates met in an early December runoff for this same seat with Matt Aitken taking it with 54% of the vote. Turnout was even lower this time -- at around 19% of all registered voters-- but Fennoy still managed to win by a margin close to 700 votes. Yes, it was a rout and a clear rebuke of Aitken's performance on the commission for the past three years. Some political pundits were predicting that Aitken might squeak out another win because of the lower than expected turnout, but an analysis of the vote shows that the precincts that had the lowest overall turnout were the ones Aitken needed most to secure reelection. Bottom line is -- there was not nearly as much enthusiasm for Aitken this time around and many of the people who voted for him in 2009 simply stayed home last Tuesday.

Despite the low turnout, this was perhaps the most widely watched of all of the commission races this year. Aitken's victory 3 years ago disrupted the 5-5 racial split on the commission that existed since the beginning of consolidation, giving white commissioners a 6 to 4 majority. Many leaders in Augusta's black community said that this resulted in Augusta's black majority being politically marginalized and allowed for legislation to be rammed through with little discussion or compromise. In essence -- whomever has a 6 member voting bloc has control of the commission, and many black members of the commission felt like they had been rendered irrelevant. Now that 5-5 balance has been restored, and depending on whom you ask, that either means more gridlock on the commission or a necessity to compromise.

So what should people expect from this new commission? Some political pundits say that gridlock just might be a good thing for the Augusta Commission if it halts bad deals like the TEE Center and Parking deck and a publicly financed baseball stadium which voters have indicated they overwhelmingly oppose. So we thought it would be interesting to examine who are the big winners and losers from the results of the District 1 race. We will dispense with the obvious -- the candidates themselves -- and take a look at who else won or lost last night. Let's start off with the big losers:

The Losers

Mayor Deke Copenhaver: The mayor staked a lot of his own political capital on the reelection of Matt Aitken. He openly endorsed him, appeared in slick mail outs and he even made robo calls to voters encouraging them to give Matt a second term. The clear rebuke of his candidate shows that the mayor may not be the hot commodity he once was. There was a time when having even a subtle nod from the "mandate mayor" was considered political gold -- and Deke seemed to have the Midas touch. But now it seems like the mayor's golden halo has become a little tarnished. From continuing to push the unpopular ballpark to being on the wrong side of the TEE Center debate to acquiescing on GRU, many people are starting to rethink the mayor's legacy altogether.

And what about that ballpark on which the mayor has staked most of his mayoral legacy? Well, after last Tuesday night, it's as good as dead -- at least in the form Deke has been pushing -- a taxpayer financed facility located downtown. Dr Ricardo Azziz struck a major blow to Deke's ballpark fantasies when he took control of the Golf and Gardens property earlier this year, but many political insiders tell us that Deke had not given up and was eyeing the old Post Office building downtown across from the James Brown arena. But Deke needed Matt Aitken's vote for the ballpark proposal to have any future -- and Matt had proven to be a reliable supporter of his plans. He even introduced a motion last year on the commission that would have committed the city to a public-private partnership with Ripken Baseball for construction of a new stadium. Knowing what we know from the TEE Center debacle, the term "public-private partnership" is code for "The public pays all of the costs and the private sector gets all of the benefits." Now with Matt Aitken off the commission, the mayor's hopes in getting a new ballpark approved before he leaves office in two years are crushed-- like peanut shells in the stands after the end of a double-header.

Fred Russell: Augusta's city administrator has been skating on thin ice for years, but like a monster from a cheesy horror film, he always manages to come back from the dead. Efforts to fire Russell have failed in the past, with votes typically falling along racial lines -- black commissioners voting to get rid of him and white commissioners voting to keep him. But with the new makeup of the commission, Russell's luck may have just ran out. Even commissioners who had voted to keep Russell in the past have said they have been very unhappy with his handling of the TEE Center and would likely support his firing if it were brought up again. The sticking point though has always been Russell's replacement and watch for a real fight over that if he is shown the exit, and it may happen a lot sooner than you think. So could this be a curtain call for Russell-Mania? Our Magic 8-Ball says "Most Definitely."

Queen Madge and the DDA: Another big loser after Matt Aitken's defeat is the Downtown Development Authority and its executive director Margaret Woodard. Aitken had been perhaps the biggest supporter of the DDA on the commission -- in fact, he is a product of the DDA and even announced his 2009 candidacy in front of the ill-fated Broad Street clock -- the same clock that the DDA moved to the airport against the wishes of many downtown business owners.

There have also been a lot of rumblings from these small business owners downtown about the performance of the DDA's CADI program, and many say that they were initially mislead by Margaret Woodard and the DDA about what services the BID (business improvement district) would provide when it was approved 5 years ago, saying that it was promoted as providing enhanced public safety downtown but has become little more than a very expensive litter removal program. Now, the BID is coming up for renewal and many business owners are lobbying against it. Ultimately, the commission will decide its fate -- and with Aitken gone, things could tilt in favor of the opponents of the BID and CADI program. But beyond that, many downtown business owners say the real problem is the DDA itself, describing it as bureaucracy out of control that acts with complete disregard to everyone except themselves and their cronies. Even the BID board of directors is packed with DDA cronies and the company that administers the CADI program is headed by none other than cronies of the DDA.

Retail business owners say that since the DDA has usurped more power from downtown merchants associations, that business has sharply declined and Margaret Woodard often plays favorites, steering lucrative state grants and business leads to her cronies. We predict that there will be a push to significantly curtail the power of the DDA and its executive director, and the new makeup of the commission makes that more likely. Also look for an effort to defund the DDA at the county level which would essentially eliminate the executive director's position. Queen Madge might finally be dethroned.

Mobility Transit: One of the big efforts over the past 3 years has been the privatizing of certain city amenities and services, with the most notable being the public bus system. The city contracted with an outfit named Mobility Transit and it has been a bumpy ride to say the least. There were the reports of unpaid bills and the cancellation of employee health benefits because of lack of payment by Mobility. People wondered how a company like Mobility Transit got the contract in the first place. Their track record in providing transit services in other locales seems to be non existent. Look for Mobility to get the ax in the coming year, and it's a good bet that the public bus service will go back to being an in-house operation. Also look for the new commission to put the brakes on efforts to privatize other city services and amenities like The Patch golf course.

Billy Morris & Paul Simon: Perhaps the biggest losers from last Tuesday's election were the men behind Augusta Riverfront LLC, the owner of the downtown Marriott hotel and soon-to-be managers of Augusta's new convention center (formerly known as the TEE Center). Morris and Simon have managed to get a lot from Augusta taxpayers over the years and Matt Aitken was only more than happy to give them more. When it came to managing the new parking deck and convention center, Matt Aitken was more than happy to sign away the city's rights to any profits and essentially hand over a blank check to Augusta Riverfront LLC that would allow them to loot the city's general fund. Even when other commissioners balked at the hideously bad contracts, Matt Aitken just "wanted to move forward", which is essentially code for "Just give Billy and Paul whatever they want." Well, with Matt gone from the commission at the end of the year, the taxpayer gravy train that has been chugging down Reynolds street may finally be coming to a halt.

The Winners

Lori Davis: Initially a declared candidate for the District 1 seat, Lori Davis decided not to enter the race the week before qualifying. Some of her critics misconstrued this as her "giving up" out of frustration, but Davis had no intention of calling it quits. And if her critics thought she was going away, they were sadly mistaken. Instead, Davis contended, her efforts would be better used by fighting government waste and corruption on multiple fronts, and being consumed by a political campaign would have distracted from those efforts. However, Lori Davis made it clear that District 1 needed someone other than Matt Aitken, someone whom she supported 3 years ago. But things had changed and promises were broken. Davis has been fighting a six year battle to rid nuisance properties from Harrisburg and to make absentee landlords more accountable for their properties and the negative impact they have on the surrounding community.

When Matt Aitken courted Lori Davis' support in the 2009 run-off, he promised to support a Chronic Nuisance Property Ordinance (CNPO) and even said he would ask the state legislative delegation to introduce a bill in Atlanta to enable communities to draft effective CNPOs. Those promises were never kept, and once Aitken got on the commission, Davis says that phone calls and emails to Aitken were rarely returned. Instead, Aitken was focused on things like a riverfront ballpark, the TEE Center and further enabling the DDA. So this time around, Davis threw her support behind Bill Fennoy, even appearing in television ads for him. We believe that Fennoy's trouncing of Aitken last Tuesday was in no small part due to the endorsement from Davis. One lesson that should come out of this is: Do not underestimate Lori Davis. We suspect that this new commission will be more amenable to the drafting of a sound CNPO and we would not be surprised to see Lori Davis have a seat on one of the local boards that could make this happen.

Commissioner Bill Lockett: With the commission now returning to a 5-5 balance, it's safe to say that there will be a whole new dynamic at play after the new year, and with that, there will be the need for new leadership from both factions in order for anything to advance in the commission. We see two clear leaders emerging under this new paradigm, and one of them is Commissioner Bill Lockett. As one of the more senior members of the commission and one of the most educated, Lockett dives right into the details on most issues. Lockett come prepared to ask tough questions and never takes anything at face value and always wants to see it "in writing." Some political observers say that with Marion Williams coming back to the commission, Lockett will be overshadowed. We do not agree with that assessment. In fact, we predict that Lockett's presence will temper Williams to a great degree. Lockett will prepare him and other commissioners with relevant information before meetings so that they can ask pertinent questions. We suspect the other commissioners will defer to Lockett's experience and his attention to detail on complicated issues.

Commissioner Wayne Guilfoyle: Though he endorsed Matt Aitken in the run-off, Guilfoyle now stands to become one of the most powerful men on the commission. Though most political observers like to say the commission is now split 5-5 along racial lines, others point out that it's actually 5-4-1. You see, Wayne Guilfoyle is actually of mixed race -- half white and half Asian. Though Guilfoyle typically caucuses with the white members of the commission since being elected two years ago, he has routinely shown an independent streak, often being a swing vote. And the fact that his voting pattern tends to be unpredictable will make him perhaps the most powerful member of the commission after January 1st. Being of mixed race, Guilfoyle can refuse to play the white vs black dynamic and in the process he can become the main power broker on the commission. For anything to pass on the commission, it needs six votes, and now, no one faction has that majority. We suspect that Wayne Guilfoyle's phone will be ringing a lot this next year, and with Bowles gone from the commission, expect to see a lot more of Wayne Guilfole on the evening news. Also watch for Guilfoyle to bring more attention to issues of importance to South Augusta in the coming year.

South Augusta: With Commissioners Guilfoyle and Lockett gaining more prominence on the commission, look for South Augusta to be more in the spotlight. Both commissioners represent districts that encompass the southside. The new dynamic has shifted power away from the downtown power brokers and out towards South Augusta. Expect to see movement on reforming Augusta's tax code, how trash pick up is handled and billed to South Augusta, and revitalization efforts for inner south Augusta neighborhoods like the Gordon Highway corridor and Deans Bridge Rd.

Small Downtown Business Owners: With South Augusta gaining more prominence politically after this election, it might seem counter intuitive to include downtown small business owners in the winners column. Quite the contrary! As mentioned earlier, one of the ramifications of last week's election is that the power of the Downtown Development Authority has been significantly weakened, and that puts small business owners in the downtown core in a stronger position than ever. Just yesterday, the DDA and its executive director Margaret Woodard were put in the hot seat over the renewal of the BID (Business Improvement District). Mike Walraven, a small business owner downtown, spoke out against renewal of the BID and its companion CADI program, calling it "another tax". Commissioners grilled Woodard on how the program was misrepresented to downtown property owners and the undemocratic way the Board of Directors for the BID was installed. Look for downtown business owners to have a greater role now in the future direction of the central business district, instead of it being monopolized by the DDA and their cronies.

Bus Riders: Augusta has long been plagued by a less than adequate public transit system, but it has not always been this bad. There was a time when there were actually bus stops on Broad Street in the heart of downtown. Now, the closest you can get is the awkwardly located bus transfer station west of 15th street. People who depend on the bus -- often the poor, disabled and elderly -- have long complained of long waits, unpredictable schedules and a lack of routes to places people need to go. Downtown business owners say that since the busses were removed from downtown, retail has suffered and it has become harder for them to attract workers who rely on public transit. Bill Fennoy made improving public transit a central theme of his campaign, and we suspect there may now be the political will to actually make it happen. This may involve building new partnerships with the new merged university and downtown business owners to help pay for expanded bus service in the city's urban core -- where it is most needed. Also, look for efforts to improve service in South Augusta and out to business centers like The Augusta Mall and The Augusta Exchange. We expect one of the first things commissioners might do in January is take one of those "Magical Mystery Tours" on a city bus to get a sense of how the transit system can be improved... but this time they ought to ride it like the average daily user does.. with delays and all. ***

Stay Tuned: More to Come

Billy's Boy

2012-12-03T22:47:00.001-05:00

Don't Hit A Foul Ball

2012-12-01T23:46:00.000-05:00

Viva Las Vegas

2012-12-01T13:01:00.000-05:00

See More Here--> Sylvia Cooper's City Ink Column Sunday December 2, 2012

Corporal Gripweed: District 1 Runoff Leaves Voters Little Choice

2012-11-27T16:39:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Augusta, GA
By Corporal Gripweed

"Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil."

Jerry Garcia

It's down to two candidates in the undecided District 1 race for Richmond County Commission..On the one hand we have incumbent Matt Aitken, and on the other, challenger Bill Fennoy.

With about a week to go before the decision is made, I do not envy the voters of District 1. How can it be that in one of the most important districts in the county, that includes downtown and the manufacturing facilities downriver, that this is the best that can be done? Both men have proven themselves to be interested in public service.

Fennoy serving on the Coliseum Authority, and Aitken currently serving on the commission, but neither man has a track record of particular achievement to be touted as "praiseworthy" as it relates to public service.

As someone who tries to keep up politically ,while not allowing it to rule my daily life, I have two distinct memories of each man respectively. Fennoy was best known as the man who punched activist Woody Merry in an altercation after a Coliseum Authority meeting. And Aitken was caught off-guard on camera by WRDW's Chris Thomas, concerning a budget vote, making it painfully obvious that he had no clue what he voted to approve. (see video below)

Fennoy? Who stated publicly that the seat belonged to a "black Obama supporter" or Aitken…who failed to show up at ANY Laney-Walker Overlay meetings…and only attended one of at least four debate forums leading up to the general election.

A man who maybe, has trouble controlling his temper and doesn't think before he acts….Or a man who graduated from the "Deke Copenhaver" school of milquetoast politics and allows others to do the thinking for him.

Which leaves us with the question…Who will best represent the interests of District 1?

In my opinion….neither, but the reality is that one of these two men will represent District 1 for 4 years.

One thing is certain. if re-elected Matt Aitken will continue to do as he has in the past... which is to say and do as he's told by the power brokers pulling his strings.

Mr Fennoy may be the more pragmatic choice at this point, as he's never served on Commission and may be just the "roll of the dice" the city needs…because what District 1 HAS had the last few years has been more of a puppet than a leader and an advocate for his constituents.

It's a shame that such an important district is left with such paltry choices….."the lesser of two evils" indeed.**

*Editor's note: Harrisburg neighborhood activist and former Dist 1 candidate Lori Davis has officially endorsed Bill Fennoy in the Dist. 1 run-off

Enslaved Forever on the TEE Plantation

2012-11-12T09:49:00.000-05:00

Monday, November 12, 2012
Augusta, GA
By The Outsider

Now all Augustans lie prostrate to Massa Billy and Massa Paul, thanks to the 6-3 vote of the Augusta Commission to pass the TEE Center deal last Thursday, November 8, 2012. White, black, Mexican, Korean, Chinese or Indian, the entire City of Augusta is now enslaved to Billy Morris and Paul Simon or, if you believe Augusta radio talker Austin Rhodes at WGAC, the Morris children.

No one can really tell who the owners of the new TEE Center management company are because it didn’t even exist until last month and it was registered by an intermediary to keep the ownership hidden, something Augusta’s procurement policies seem to prohibit. It will just have to suffice that the person’s listed on various documents for the original Morris/Simon LLC suggest that the Morris family are the principal owners. Even the Augusta Chronicle, who has acted throughout the TEE escapades as a front for these shadowy LLC’s, has been forced to weakly acknowledge that there are ties with Morris Communications.

The place where they put the permanent shackles on the people was originally supposed to be Augusta’s wonderful new TEE Center, but the massas had confiscated the building before the last concrete set up. They weren’t content to just stick spurs in horses over there in their Hippodrome in Aiken County, now the children all across Richmond County find themselves bound to a plantation and they didn’t have to move to Morris’ Creek Plantation, Wade Plantation, Butterfield Plantation or Millhaven Plantation to do it.

When you are in Augusta, you don’t move to the plantation, the plantation comes to you. Worse of all, the legalese says you and your descendants are slaves to the Morris massa’s TEE House FOREVER!!!
Yes. You read that right.

Mayor Deke Copenhaver and Administrator Fred Russell cheered as Commissioner Corey Johnson, Commissioner Matt Aitken and four other commissioners voted for this:

“Term of this Agreement” shall mean the period of time commencing on the date of this Agreement and continuing in perpetuity for so long as the TEE Center is in existence and shall include the period of time following any casualty with respect to the TEE Center for so long as City has the right to rebuild the TEE Center.

Now reader, you are just about to read the last part of that and tell me it is a way out of the Tee Center for Augusta because it ends when the TEE no longer exists. Well, it is like the old tale of Dem Bones – “Toe bone connected to the foot bone: Foot bone connected to the leg bone: Leg bone connected to the knee bone….." You just have to make the connections to get the whole body of facts.
Reading on:

During the Term of this Agreement (perpetuity), City shall, at its sole cost and expense, maintain the TEE Center to the Standard for so long as the TEE Center shall exist.

Getting a better picture now, reader? The “Standard” is whatever Billy and Paul’s interpretation of what their Marriott Hotel says it is and Augusta has to pay whatever it takes to meet their ‘Standard.’ That sounds expensive already, doesn’t it?

Now you Doubting Thomases who are left thinking that this pay-out to Morris and Simon isn’t FOREVER, get with the program. “The knee bone is connected to the thigh bone, and the thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.” And so it goes with the Tee Center. You follow the boneyard and find out it is the TEE Center. Now a Doubting Thomas would say “Well, if Augusta decides to contract with someone else or close down the Tee Center, we can stop paying them or stop paying costs on their behalf, right?”
This isn’t exactly true, according to the contract:

The parties acknowledge that Developer has an important interest in insuring that the TEE Center is maintained in accordance with the Standard, whether or not Developer serves as the Manager or Caterer. Accordingly, this Agreement, and particularly this section of this Agreement, may be enforced by Developer. (Developer is the Morris/Simon)

In other words the Morris/Simon massa still has the power over the taxpayer, even if their contract is lifted.

Are you getting a queasy feeling in your stomach, Hephzibah? So you on Warren Road think that the TEE plantation you are on will meet an emancipation proclamation that sets you and all your descendants free from PERPETUAL bondage? Dear readers might still not be convinced that the TEE Center is their massa FOREVER. It’s time to read some more:

During the Term of this Agreement (PERPETUITY, remember?), City shall, at its sole cost and expense, procure and keep in effect fire and extended coverage for the TEE Center and all personal property located thereon, including rent loss or business interruption …, in amounts at no time less than the total replacement cost therefor. Such policy referred to above shall name City and Developer as loss payee and additional insureds, as their interest may appear.

So, there you have it. Augusta has to pay for the TEE Plantation in PERPETUITY and pay to insure that it is replaced in PERPETUITY. If it is destroyed, the Morris/Simon hotels are almost certain to be destroyed too, so replacement would be driven more by the Morris/Simon decision on what to do with their hotel complex than anything Augusta decides.

How great is the claim on Augusta’s tax system to pay for the TEE Plantation? On the financing side, the project was built using general obligation sales tax bonds, as certifications by the Construction Manager, R.W. Allen attest. General obligation bonds are backed by the fullest ability of Augusta to tax people out of their homes and businesses out into the street. On the operations side of the TEE Plantation, hoteliers get looted for the first $250,000 (another $100,000 goes into capital spending), but then the rest of the TEE Center losses come out of the General Fund, which also is fed by the power to tax folks into poverty. When a contract like the TEE contract gets executed, that obligation comes before paying for essential city services, like fire and police protection.

Now that the whole skeleton of bones has been assembled, the full picture of the TEE Center deal is this – All of the people of Augusta-Richmond County, their children, and descendants are now under double general obligations to the extent of the value of all of their property to the Morris children and descendants in PERPETUITY.

Get used to the shackles and chains that Mayor Deke put you into. Only death or getting out of Augusta will give relief.

Can you say that you’ve been TEE-totally subjugated?
It sure looks this way to an Outsider.***
OS

Special Report: Out of Line Asking for a Single Line?

2012-11-08T14:54:00.003-05:00

TEE-Totally Fried Circuits

A $2.6 million Cover Up?

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Augusta, GA

By Lori Davis

In $15 Million Augusta CONference Center Pays$25,000 a Year to City this writer brought up the issue of the enormous electrical power costs that were evident in an earlier Georgia Open Records Request in which the accounting for Augusta Conference Center lease payments was obtained. Those records suggested that the Conference Center Manager, Augusta Riverfront LLC (owner and operator of the Marriott hotels), was using estimates to separate power used by the Marriotts from that charged to Augusta’s Conference Center rather than precise separate metering.

That got me to thinking. If they are estimating for the Conference Center, where they are responsible for the power bill, are they going to estimate again for the TEE Center power? Will there be separate metering for the bill that the taxpayer has to pay out of the General Fund of Augusta-Richmond County?

In a Georgia Open Records Act Request submitted on October 31, 2012 an official inquiry was made to access the simple single line diagram that would answer my question. A single line diagram looks like this:

click image to enlarge

It doesn’t show locations, specifications, or details, it just shows how power enters a development or building and the uses to which it is directed. Imagine the shock when the response from Augusta’s Law Department was a refusal to provide an answer to my request based upon” considerations that disclosure “would compromise security.”

Why is Fred Russell’s and Deke Copenhaver’s Law Department engaged in this cover up? Russell flits about, dismissing public watchdogs’ efforts as being concerned over nickles and dimes, when he hides the truth about the legitimacy of a $5.2 million ($350,000 for 15 years) Tee Center Cost? Proposed Management company executive Paul S. Simon thinks that " this is a very expensive building to operate", while citing a $350,000 annual power bill as a reason, so a key player doesn't see this Fred's way.

Sources tell me that the way the TEE Center electricity was routed was such that the Tee Center, where Augusta pays the bill, is on the same incoming circuit as the Conference Center, where Augusta Riverfront LLC pays the bill. They say that, in the aftermath of last Friday’s meeting between three Augusta Commissioners with Augusta’s contracted counsel and an Augusta Riverfront LLC attorney efforts are underway to accomplish separate metering.

The watchdogs want to see proof of developments on the issue. We want to see savings.

At just one-half the costs indicated by Mr. Simon, this is a $2.6 million question. It is good to see a team of Augusta Commissioners looking for answers that Fred Russell and the Law Department intend to hide.

-LD

Lori Davis GORA 10312012 Response

Catering May Crater Augusta Finances

2012-11-08T11:20:00.004-05:00

TEE Catering Delivers Sweets To Whom?

Thursday, November 8, 2012
Augusta, GA
By Al Gray

Part 2 of Reviewing Augusta’s Tee Center Contracts

When Augusta’s Trade, Exhibition, and Event (TEE) Center was officially presented as a concept for approval in August 2007, what stood as the partnership agreement was an unsigned, undated document entitled "Term Sheet." between the city and Marriott Hotel Franchisee Augusta Riverfront LLC. Under that agreement, Augusta was not in the catering business and was not slated to furnish $1.4 million in kitchen equipment, or if it was, that detail was not spelled out for the Augusta City Commission.

Much has been written on this blog about the saga of the Tee Center Kitchen Equipment and that tale is not one to be retold now.

What is now germane is that the Augusta Commission has been presented with a raft of contract and legal documents to be approved and executed that clearly should have been in place by late 2009, having been repeatedly promised as being “finalized” by City Administrator Fred Russell in the last half of that year. Now the Commission is being asked to whisk these complicated deals through in an expedited fashion lest Tee Center events face cancellation.

After the Management Agreement, the Tee Center Catering Agreement has the greatest impact upon TEE Center operations, as Augusta Riverfront LLC is already the Manager of Augusta’s Conference Center and Caterer for events there. Augusta is paid no share of catering from its Conference Center under previous deals.

The following represents a summary of the primary Catering Agreement issues compiled from a review of the contract documents. This list has been provided to Commissioners and has become the basis of discussion and attempts toward a speedy resolution of major issues. The approach was to review the agreements in PDF form, write comments, apply sticky notes that Adobe Acrobat provides to annotate documents, and then to provide a summary from the compiled sticky notes.

Solutions were designed to be the product of meeting participants and were not suggested in the summary.

The author is not a licensed attorney, auditor, or public accountant. This analysis was provided from a multidisciplinary perspective in the manner that accountants, attorneys, administrators, owners, policy makers, and media might find useful in trying to decipher the pitfalls and dangers in the agreements.

Primary Issues

Since most of the language in the Catering Agreement mirrors the language of the previously-reviewed and annotated Management Agreement, this document will only be annotated with comments and questions unique to this agreement.
Phantom legal documents (see “ Conference Center Management Agreement dated____, 2012”) should not be referenced.
ARLLC (Augusta Riverfront LLC) is both Conference Center operator and Caterer with a captive LLC (TEE Center Manager Augusta Convention Center Management LLC) between them. Isn’t this just a fiction to eliminate a conflict of interest as alluded to in the Catering Agreement?
Controls over inventories of food and beverage (to prevent co-mingling of Augusta, Hotel and Conference Center purchases) being in place before contract execution should be mandatory.
If Kitchen doesn’t serve Hotels (as has been publicly stated by the Marriott General Manager), can’t that reference be taken out?
Cross over events into the Conference Center will deprive the Tee Center of catering revenues, while the agreements relieve the Conference Center of costs.

As with the Management Agreement, time will tell how many of the above issues are addressed, handled, and rectified.

-AG

The author, Al M. Gray is President of Cost Recovery Works, Inc., a provider of Cost Avoidance and Cost Recovery for America's leading companies, businesses and governments desiring Superior Returns. He is a frequent contributor to CityStink.net.

Can Augusta Avoid Outsized Tee Center Costs?

2012-11-07T00:54:00.001-05:00

Augusta’s Tee Shot Hits Rough

Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Augusta, GA
By Al Gray

Part One – The Management Agreement

When Augusta’s Trade, Exhibition and Event (TEE) center was approved in 2007, prudence might have suggested that one of the first steps in the process of building the facility might have been to execute the Management Agreement in advance. This being Augusta, Georgia, where almost nothing is done in accordance with normal business practices, the building has gotten within weeks of being used before a management agreement was even submitted to Augusta commissioners for approval. Worse, the management agreement was one of a covey of documents to flush out for approval.

A very rapid assessment of the provisions of the contracts was needed, because the proposed Manager immediately began hawking the loss of events that might result if the Augusta Commission has the temerity to actually deliberate on the terms and conditions of the entire contract documents.

The following represents a summary of the primary Management Agreement issues compiled from a review of the contract documents. This list has been provided to Commissioners and has become the basis of discussion and attempts toward a speedy resolution of major issues. The approach was to review the agreements in PDF form, write comments, apply sticky notes that Adobe Acrobat provides to annotate documents, and then to provide a summary from the compiled sticky notes.

Solutions were designed to be the product of meeting participants and were not suggested in the summary.

Tee Management Agreement Major Issues at 11/2/2012

1. Differences in 2007 and 2009 Commission Approvals and these Documents. No cost cap. Unlimited conduit to Augusta General Fund.

2. Cost shifting between agreements. Electric utility example. Beer inventory example. $300,000 a year for 50 years = $15,000,000 ( Augusta’s Laney Walker Improvement cost calculation method)

3. Kitchen built under Tee Agreement where ARLLC supplies equipment switches to 50 year Conference Agreement where Augusta supplies and repairs kitchen equipment with no revenue from Conference Center.

4. No accounting provisions for backcharged labor to Hotels or any other credits, refunds, rebates, or other benefits going to Augusta.

5. Cross indemnification between Tee and Conference Center – sever-ability issues. WHO IS LIABLE?

6. Too many ways to circumvent Annual Plan, including that an unknown, unknowable “Standard” trumps everything, including Annual Plan.

7. Fringe benefits and bonuses, including for LLC PRINCIPALS, are unlimited.

8. Accounting and auditing envision most of the accounting off TEE Center books, without rights of audit to ALL HOTEL ACCOUNTING records on a real time basis.

9. Conventions can be booked using Tee Exhibition Hall while using Conference Center where Augusta gets no revenues.

10. When Augusta signs these contracts, it assumes extraordinary indemnity provisions immediately so that it would have to advance payments to the Manager to defend the Manager from actions by Augusta

Time will tell how many of the above issues are addressed, handled, and rectified.

-AG

The author, Al M. Gray is President of Cost Recovery Works, Inc., a provider of Cost Avoidance and Cost Recovery for America's leading companies, businesses and governments desiring Superior Returns

$15 Million Augusta CONference Center Pays $25,000 a Year to City

2012-11-01T11:57:00.002-04:00

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Augusta, GA

By Lori Davis

Augusta Riverfront LLC is the proposed caterer for the City of Augusta’s new Tee Center and a sister company is slated to be the Tee Center Manager. On Tuesday Augusta Riverfront’s Darryl Leach appeared on the Austin Rhodes show on WGAC to defend the controversial contracts for catering and management presented to the Augusta Commission. During the show Leech brought up the fact that the existing Augusta Conference Center had cost Augusta about $14 to $15 million to build.

Since I just got back a response to my Georgia Open Records Act Request for Conference Center lease payments last week it was surprising to hear that those buildings cost $15 million 11 years ago. What was more surprising is that Augusta only sees about $25,000 a year in lease payments on that $15 million complex!

Yes, you read that right. Augusta’s return on the Augusta Conference Center is 0.17% a year!

Scanning the accounting I got from Augusta’s legal department was interesting, to say the least.

In the Tee Center Workshop on October 10, 2012, Augusta Riverfront LLC President Paul Simon said this regarding the Conference Center lease : “However, we get in that case we get all of the profits from the center except we give the city 5% of the room rents, not just catering .” Maybe he meant to say “just not catering”, but then Augusta attorney Jim Plunkett earlier in the same meeting referred to Conference Center profits/ losses being shared by the city.

Wait a minute. The records that I got from the records request show that the leases were figured at 5% of the greater of Center expenses or Center revenues, with Augusta getting $23,395 in 2003, $21,493 in 2004, $25,137 in 2005, $24,381 in 2006, $27,559 in 2007, $14,828 in 2008, $26,277 in 2009, $26,434 in 2010 and $25,992 in 2011! The revenue figures were room rentals alone with NO CATERING REVENUES INCLUDED!

The 1999 Agreement that covers this says that “miscellaneous revenue” is supposed to be included in the base for the annual lease payment calculations. Isn’t catering an item of “miscellaneous” revenue, when it was not excluded from the contract language for the lease payment calculation?

The Conference Center lease says that the annual lease payment and reporting is supposed to be submitted by Riverfront’s “certified public accountant”, but we could not find the name of the Riverfront controller on the roster of Georgia CPA’s.

Expensive Issues for Augusta:

In 2008, Riverfront deducted $13,164 from Augusta’s payment for resurfacing the hotel parking lot. This sort of expenditure doesn’t seem covered as an Augusta cost because hotel parking lots are hardly this city's responsibility, although it might be covered under the separate parking lease referenced in the agreement. It looks like Riverfront arbitrarily reduced Augusta’s payment to cover an expense that they felt entitled to.

If Augusta gives them a bank account that is an open pipeline to taxpayer general funds, like Finance Director Jerry Brigham told us two weeks ago will be the case, will Riverfront feel ENTITLED to make deductions from payments to Augusta like this?

The next thing I saw that was surprising is that Riverfront figures ½ the electrical utility costs for the entire complex of hotels and conference center go to the conference center! How was this percentage arrived at? For the Tee Center, is this how the $350,000 Paul Simon suggests as the estimated Tee Center Power bill will be figured – a ballpark guesstimate? Should not there be separate metering for the conference center? Is there separate metering to make damned sure that the $350,000 power bill all goes to the Tee Center and not the hotel/conference center complex?

I have submitted an Open Records Request for the electrical design drawings for the Tee Center, in the hope of getting answers to these question from the Augusta Today membership, which now provides access to engineers who now join the Augusta Today and CityStink.net of investigators and watch dogs.

More than one commissioner is sniffing around this one, too.

Even bigger an issue is whether the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau is actively marketing events that cross over from the Tee Center where Augusta gets the costs, into the Conference Center, where Augusta gets no revenue – all revenue goes to Augusta Riverfront LLC.

More than one commissioner wants that question answered too.

It is wonderful to have a clear majority of Augusta commissioners now working for the people. I never thought I would see the day. Most frightening to those wanting to drain Augusta’s general fund should be this – These guys are showing real signs of UNITY!

When do we go the other way and start getting our money back? In the case of the TEE Center, a power shift is overdue. From the looks of how aggressively Riverfront pursues Augusta’s money, the taxpayers need this commission to show backbone!***

Lori Davis GORA Response 10262012 - Conference Center Lease LD

Conference Center 2008 Schedule

Mayor Retreats from Locked and Loaded Commissioners on Tee Center

2012-10-31T14:25:00.004-04:00

Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Augusta, GA
From CityStink.net Reports

Locketted and Loaded was Commissioner Bill Lockett when the Tee Center was removed from Monday's Augusta Commission Committee meeting. See our exclusive video below:

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Video: Augustans Get Dud Wiser from TEE Calamity

2012-10-31T00:00:00.000-04:00

Wednesday, October 31st, 2012
Augusta, GA
From CityStink.net Reports

Some are calling the Augusta Tee Center a huge Dud. Cost Recovery Works' Al Gray continues his voluntary work for Augusta Today in a Cost Avoidance Role. He says to Augustans - "When you've been Dud-wisered, you've paid it all." See Al's special video report below:

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Mayor Deke Copenhaver Still Doesn't Get It

2012-10-30T15:53:00.002-04:00

Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Augusta, GA
From CityStink.net Reports

The following email was sent out today by Mayor Deke Copenhaver to all Augusta Commissioners. It appears our illustrious mayor has not learned one darn thing from his failed stunt yesterday. Now he is trying to put commissioners on a guilt trip for standing up against the very lop-sided last minute management contract with Augusta Riverfront LLC to manage the soon-to-be-completed TEE Center.

The mayor has shown absolutely no willingness to get all parties together to FIX what is wrong with this contract -- that if passed in its current form will cost Augusta taxpayers $millions of dollars. Deke seems intent on ramming this thing thru by all means necessary. Commissioner Joe Bowles and others have suggested contracting with Global Spectrum (the manager of the Augsuta Entertainment Complex) to run the Convention Center when it opens in January. Global Spectrum has already said they are prepared and ready to go if they are needed. Instead of addressing this option.. they mayor wants to manufacture a "false" crisis and act like a drama queen in order to force commissioners to approve a contract that would be very detrimental to the taxpayers of Augusta Richmond County. The mayor's email starts below:

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Gentlemen,

The news of the decision by the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police to cancel their convention here in Augusta is now being reported in the Rome News Tribune, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, WSAV in Savannah, WSB TV in Atlanta, WRCB in Chattanooga and other media outlets throughout the southeast. Due to this fact as well as the fact that there are several commissioners who are ready to vote to approve the operating agreement, I believe that a work session will only continue to bring negative regional media attention to Augusta while at the same time further negatively impacting our ability to ensure the long-term success of the facility.

Basically, we are now in damage control mode and I would highly recommend that those parties who still have questions or concerns meet with the management group or their representatives directly as soon as possible as it is imperative that we get an agreement in place in order to not put future bookings at risk.

I heard this morning that our downtown business owners are extremely upset with the situation as it stands due to the loss in revenues that they will incur due to our losing our first major booking and I’m hopeful that their concerns will be heard and that we can come to a resolution on this.

Thanks,

Deke
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