september 15, 2009 commission meeting

8/3/2019 September 15, 2009 Commission Meeting

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REGULARMEETING COMMISSIONCHAMBERSEPTEMBER15 2009AugustaRichmond CountyCommiss ionconvenedat200pm September15 2009 th eHo n Deke Copenhaver Mayor presid ingPRESENT Hons Holland Smi th Mason Grantham Hatney Beard Johnson JacksonBowlesandBrigham membersofAugustaRichmond CountyCommissionTh e i nvoca t i on was g i v enbyth e Reve rendDr Mel v i n Ivey Pastor GreaterSt JohnBapt is tChurchTh e PledgeofAllegiancetoth e Flagofth e Uni tedStatesofAmer icawas recitedMrMayor Pastor ifyo u cou ld come fo rwardIave something foryo u And t hankyo uso much forbe ing there inap inch foruswitht ha t Bythese p resen tb e itknown t ha tRe v Dr

Melv in I v e y Pasto r G rea te rSt J ohnBapt i s tChurch isChapla inofth e D ay forh is c iv ic andsp i r i tua lguidance demonstrated t h roughou t th e commun i t y Serves asa n examp le forallofth ethfa i th commun i t y Given unde rm y hand th is15 DayofSeptember2009 Thankyo u forthosewonder fu lwords APPLAUSE Madam Clerk o n toth eDelegat ionsTh e Cle r k

DELEGATIONSAMr BarryWhite Execu t i v eDirector Con v e n t i o nandVisitorsBureauRE CVBActivityRepo r t

MrWhi te Thankyo uMrMayor And ifyo u cou ld keep ittof ive minutes please s irMr Whi t e Ier ta in lywill Thankyou Mr Mayo r membe r softh e Commiss ion Iappreciate th e oppor tun i ty tob e here Commissioners Calv inHol land and JoeBowles curren t lyse rveonth e BoardofDi rec to rsforth e Convent ion andVisi torsBureau and t hey asked t h a tIcome and sharealittlebitofin fo rmat ion t ha tw e sharedato u r l as tboa rdmeet ing regard ing th eTravelandHosp i ta l i ty Indust ry inAugusta So f i rs tIwan ttoshareav ideowi t h th e fe w peop lewhose l i ve l i hood dependonv is i to rs inAugus ta V ideo show n Those a re j us tafewofth emo r e t h a n5000 peop l ew h oworkinth e t r ave lan d hospi ta l i ty i ndust ry inAugusta Youcan

f ind mo r e v ideos wi thmo r e employees o n YOUTUBE Ifyo u gop u t inVisitAugusta yo u cansee those v ideos More v is i to rsare good forAugusta 2008was th e bes tyear t ha tw e e ve r ha dinho te l ta x r evenueand even inth is d own economyand compared toabanne r yea rw e reon l yd own3 yea r todate compared to2008 And tha tsg r ea tnews especial lywhen yo u cons ide rw h a tshappen i ng toourcompe t i t i on Savannah Athens a n dMa c o n a reallexper i enc ingdec l i nesof10 MetroAt lan ta a reas a re see i ngdec l i nes inthet e ens Greenv i l le SCisexper i enc inga20 dec l i ne inh o t e lr e v enu ecompa r ed tol a s tyea r Soits on ly3 downBusiness isgood inAugusta andw e reex t reme ly for tunate Itsou r j o b atth eCVB tomarke t

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th e cityasadest inat ion forv is i tors Itsalsoourjobtoident i fy oppor tun i t ies toat t rac tmo r evis i tors tospendmo r emoneyand ul t imately resul t ing inmo r e j o b s andmo r e ta x revenue forth ec i ty Eightyearsagow eatth eCVB recognized th e need W e were losing large convent ionsandevents too u r compet i to rs becausew e lacked adequatemeet ing faci l i t ies Inone yea r alonew eident i f ied events t ha t t o ta ledmore t ha t 13mil l ion dol lars inan impac t t ha twere go ing too the rc itie s To d a yw e face th e same chal lenges t h a tw e d id e i gh t asw e d id e i gh tyearsago W e restilllos ingmi l l ionsofdol lars too u r compet i t ion and inth e pas te i gh tyearso u r compet i t ion hasg r own and s t reng thened Da l ton Maconan dCo lumbushaveallexpanded t he i r conven t i oncen t e rcomp lexes Athens isp lann ing theirsecondexpans i ona n dColumb ia SC isa l readyp r opos i nganexpans i on afterb e i n g o p e nonlyforafewyea r s Inafeas ib i l i ty s t udyourcustomers to ld us t ha tw e had an oppor tun i ty Ifw e bu i ld exh ib i tspacew e have an oppor tun i tytohos t thosemeet ings t ha tw e current ly canno taccommodate Ou r customers to ld u s ino rde r tob e successfu l th e exh i b i tspacemu s tb e d o wn to w n m u s tb e connec t ed toh o t e l r o oms a n dconnected too u r exist ing c i ty owned conference cen te r Inef fect t hey sa id expand you r alreadysuccessfu l fac i l i ty Th is g ivesu s a n oppo r t un i t ytoa t t r ac tmo rev i s i t o r s t h a twillspendmo r emoney andu l t ima te ly resu l t inmo re j o bs andmo r e ta x r evenue forAugus ta The p rom iseofmo r emoney andmor e j ob s isn o taho l low p romise The exh ib i tspace n ow known as t h eTEECenter isn o teven open and ye titisalreadydel iver ing o n thesepromises Asaresul tofth eTEECenterAugustaisa l r e a d y p l a n n i n g e x t e n s i v e revitalizationins o m eofourhistoricneighborhoods The rev i ta l izat ionwillcreate jobs resul t ing inmo r emoney foro u r economy andourcommun i t y Atthesame t ime a sar esu l toftheTEECen te rAugus tahas at t ractednewouts ide i nves tmen tsinourdown t ownwithth e add i t i onofap roposed ho t e laga in generat ingmo r e jobsandmo r e ta x revenue forAugusta Th e promisesa re r ea l Th eTe eCenter isgood forAugusta The Te e Cen te rhasbeen endorsedbyth e cityas th e l ead ingeconomicdeve lopmentagenc ies Th e Augus taChambe rofComme r ce th e Deve l o pmen tAutho r i t yofRichmondCounty Augusta Tomo r r ow th eDown t own Deve l opmen tAuthor i ty and th eGreaterAugustaSpo r t sCoun c i l Th e p r o j e c t a l so r e ce i ved endo r semen t fromth is b o d y in i t ia l ly an dmo s tnotab ly in2004when th e Commiss ion inc ludeditinth e SPLOSTVpro jec t list alistul t imatelysuppor ted b y th e vo te rs ino u r res idence Th eTEECenter isg ood business On average5000peop le spend th e n i gh t ino u r hotels and t ha ts5000 peop le spend ingmoneyeverydayand eve ryn igh t inAugusta An d even t hough these a re th e peop lewhose jobsdi rec t ly depend o n vis i torstoo u rcityt hey arentheon l y onesw h o bene f i t Wi t h morev i s i to rs too u rcityeve r y res identwins andmo r e vis i tors isgood forAugusta

Mr Mayo r Okay t hank yo u sir Ii k ed t ha t v i deo to o Dow e have any quest ionsorc omments Comm is sio ne rHol landMr Ho lla nd Th an kyo u Mr Mayo r Id j us t liketocommendBar ry and h is s ta f ffor

th e jo b t ha t t hey redo ing downatth eConvent ion andVisi torsBureau alongwi th Ph i lwho isth eChairman Andofcoursew e wou ld hope t ha tsomeofth e o the rpro jectshere inAugustawou ldcomebe fo reu s and share some in fo rmat ionwi t h u s ra ther than si t t ing o u t le t terstou s Becausew e f ee lifyo u comebe fo re u s inpersonand share in fo rmat ionwi th u s and communicatewi th u sbe t t e r a ndg i ve u s a n oppo r t un i t y toa sk quest ions inr e fe rence towha t yo u redo i n g Soweshould commend yo u forwha tyo u redo i ng andw e t hank yo u forwha tyo u showed t odaywasve r y g ood Howeve rw e rejus tgo ing tocont inue towo r kwi th yo u anddoth e be s tw e can forAugusta Thankyo u ve r ymuch

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MrMayor Thankyo u Commiss ionerHolland Ms BeardMs Beard Bar ry Imwonde r ing ifyo u have been incon tac tatallwi thDr Sandersatth eUniversi tyofTexasMrWhi t e inaudib leMs Beard He d ida yo u haveMrWhi t e Imve r y fami l iarwi t h h is r e po r tMs Beard Okay We l l youknow itism y op in ion t ha tmaybe he needstocome inandsharewha t he feels inreference toconvent ion centersallove r t h eUni tedStatesbecause just l ikeallofth e centers inth is a rea t ha t ishappen ingallo v e r An d there a re thosewho f ee l t ha t thesefunds cou ld b e used be t te r do i ngo t he r th ings l ike i n ne rcitypro jec ts andwha thave yo u Im

Fredwha twou l dweneed todoino r d e r tob r i ng th i s pe rson inso t h a twecou l d g e tano the rperspect ive inreference toconvent ion centersMr Russel l Ifitsth ewillofth e b od yw e db emo r e t h a n happy tomake arrangementsforh im tov is i twi th u s Iu s tneed th e direct ion f r om the g roup tod o t ha tMs Beard Wha td o you th i nkMr Holland MrMayor I onthaveaprob lem wi th t ha tMrMayor Commiss ionerHollandMr Holland Ih inkanyd i rec t ionw e ge t inreference toanything t ha tw e ret ry ing tod o

Ihinkw e shou ld h e a rnourcityan dwecan g e t i n fo rmat ion t h a tsgo i ng tohe lp u s a longf r om anyone thatca n c ome a n d sha re i n f o rma t i onwithu s SoI on thaveaprob lem wi th itsoIllvo te foritMrMayor OkayTheCle rk Ist ha tamot ionMrMayor Istha tamot ionMr Hol land Tha t samo t i onMrMayor W e haveamot ion andasecond Commiss ionerBowlesMr Bowles Dow e haveacos tandasourceoffund ing forth is tripMrMayor Iwas justgoing tosayIh ink

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Mr Russel l I ontknowwha t th e cos twou l d b eb u t th e sourceoffund ingwou l dbe th emoney se taside forth eTEECenteratth emomen tMr Bowles W e realready shor toffunds so w e rego ing top aysomebody toc ome and

tellu s t h a t t hey d o ntikeTEECenters Sowerego ing tospendmo r emone yand have lessfunds tobui ld th e TEECenterMrMayor Bu t just forclar i ty andmaybe forcos tsavings ifw e cou ldd i r ec tMrRussel ltogetincon t ac twithth e gen t l eman an d pe rhaps itwou l dn tb e youk n ow difficulttodoaconference ca l lasopposed to ist ha tokaywi th eve rybody Mr GranthamMr Grantham Thank yo u MrMayor Ih inkw e y o u k n oww e rerunn ing a round th esource t ha tw e current ly have and sidesteppingBarrywi th in fo rmat ion t ha the sal ready col lectedforus andb r ough ttous basedonth e convent ion exh ib i t space andwh a tsavai lableaswe l laspeop le t h a twan t tocon t rac ttoc ome toAugusta Imn o topposed toget t ing someone else to

come intotellm ewha tshappen ing toth e exh i b i tspaceb u tIus t t h ink t h a tyo u k n owweredelaying th e inev i tablewhenw e d o th is Barry sal ready donealotofresearch inth is regardsMrWhi te MrMayorMrMayor MrWhi teMrWhi t e Mr Sandersd idar e po r t fr om theBrook ings Insti tute inWashingtonDC

Ihinkitw a s ava i lab le in2004a n d thatswhathesbas i n ghisc ommen t son Iwouldr ecommendatth e ve r y least that th is body rece iveacop yoft ha t r e po r tMrMayor Has everybody r ead Mr Russel lMr Russel l An d ifyo u d l ikeIdb emore t han happy tog e tac os tforh im tov is i twi thus and seewha t hewou l d charge fort ha t And t henIwou l d b emore t han happy tosee ift ha tsc o s tp roh i b i t i ve toa r r ange forhimtomayb edoa n aud i o conve rsa t i onwithusorav i d e oconversat ion ifatallposs ib le Iwilllookforth e cheapes tw a y toge t t h e bes t i n f o rma t i onift ha tsth e direct ionIece iveMrMayor Commiss ionerJohnsonMr Johnson Thankyo u Mr Mayo r Ih i n kwh a tweneed todopr imar i l y islookat

maybe l ook ingatitf rom adi f ferentperspect ive Ih ink th e p roposeddes ign t ha tw e have n owinplace is40 000 fee tofexh ib i t space r i gh t Bu tw e donthave any seat ingcapaci tywi th in tha tspace An d wh a tw e need todoisl o o kato t h e rop t i onsoral ternat ives toencompass t h a tandwh a tw e need todotobu i ld th is par t icu lar convent ion cente rb u tpr imar i lyatac os t t ha twe canaf ford W e a l readyexceeded th e 20mil l ion dol lars Now you reta lk ing 18mil l ionmore Somaybe itwou l d b e g ood tomaybege t j us tadi f ferentop in i onoradi f ferentperspect iveo n wha twou ldwo r k forth is part icular c i ty basedo n those t ha thave doneofcourse researchand designsinth e pas t And t ha tsth e t h in g th a tsth e t a rge tIwou l d l ike tol o o katmaybe t ry ing toobta in

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tomaybe seewha tcanwo r k andwha twillwo r k because int h e l o ng ru nIh ink itcan b e help fu lbutp r ima r i l y aga inIeal ize s ome th ings inr ega rds to i n n e rcityr e deve l opmen tan d peop letalk ing abou t taxes there Butifyo u redeve lop i n ne rci ty th e taxeswillgou p Yo uwills ta r ttoco l l e c tmo re t axesbecause itwillb e comeav iab le ne ighbo rhood We l l n ow itcantb e v iab lebecause itssomewhat bl igh ted SoIh ink itsgo i ng tob eawin winsituat ion ifyo u l o o katitandmake sure yo u crossally ou rTsanddotally ou rIswithth is pro jec t Butt ha tsth e th ingtha tw e wan ttomake t ha thappens SoImallforgett ingad i f fe ren tperspect ive tol o okatwha twillwo r k andwha tsmo re l i ke ly towo r k hereAugustaGeorg ia

Mr Mayo r Okay wehaveamo t i o n an dasecond J us t togetc lea ronth is just isCommiss ioner Hol land toamend y o u rmo t i on wou l d yo u amend yo u rmo t i o n tod i r ec tMrRussel ltocon tac t th is ind iv idualatth e samedisseminat ing th e Brook ings Insti tute r e po r t toth eCommission so t ha tw e cange tacos to n th isMr Holland Io amend itMrMayorMr Mayo r Okay Wehaveamo t i o n andasecond Ift he re snof u r t he rdiscussionCommissionerswilln ow vo te b y th e usua lsign

Mr Br igham vo tesNoMot ion car r i es91Mr Mayo r Thank yo u Mr Whi t e Andletm e justre i te ra te Imsog lad t h a tyoub r o ugh t f o rwa rd Imen t i oned ina n ear l i e rmee t i ng us i ng g o o d da ta Th e w a ywes tackupcompared too the rmarke tsatt h i spo in t int ime isex t reme lys t rong Img lad t h a t you b r ough tt ha to u t ThanksMrWhi te Mypleasure Thankyo uMrMayor Madam Clerk o n toth e consentagendaThe Clerk Ye s sirMrMayo r Ou r consen tagenda consistsofi t ems139 i t ems139F o r th e bene f i tofan y objectors toan yofourPlanning pet i t ion whe n those pet i t ionsa re r eadwou ld you please signi fyyou r object ions b y rais ing you r hand

Item2 Isar eques t foraSpec ia lExcep t i on toestab l ishaFam i l y Persona lCareHomeonprope r t y locatedat2237WinstonWayItem3 Isar eques t foraSpec ia lExcep t i on toestab l ishaFam i l y Persona lCareHomeonprope r t y locatedat1718WeedSt ree tI tem 4 With condit ions isar eques tforaSpecia lExcept ion toestabl ishaCongregatePersonalCareHome inaP1 Professional Zone o n prope r t yknow as1509BrownRoadI tem 5 Isforwithcondi t ionsapet i t ion forachangeofzon i ng f rom aZoner1A One fami lyResidential toazoneR1C One fami lyResidential affect ing p roper tyat3043Denn isRoad

TheCle rk Are there anyobjectors toanyofthosePlanning pet i t ions

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september 15, 2009 commission meeting

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