Censored Comment Blasts Bad Parking Deck Deal

Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012

Augusta, GA

Posted at 9:25pm

We've told you before how The Augusta Chronicle has an inconsistent policy regarding censorship of reader comments: (See-->Banned From The Chronicle). There are certainly circumstances where censorship is warranted on an online paper's comments section such as: Obscenities, advocating violence against others, racial  slurs, misogyny, and libel, among others. But with The Chronicle, often comments are simply removed because certain people disagree (often the publisher) with the opinions being espoused. The terms of service (TOS) for commenting underneath stories says that the service is  intended for "robust debate"... well up to a point.

So it was no surprise to us when we noticed comments under a story about the recent debacle over the TEE Center Parking Deck being removed: See -->Augusta Parking Management Deal Stalls. Community activist and City Stink columnist Lori Davis first brought it to our attention, notifying us that several of her comments under the aforementioned story were removed with no warning or explanation. But then this should not be much of a surprise.. the company that is trying to get a 15 year contract to operate the parking deck is Augusta Riverfront LLC, which has connections to William S Morris III, publisher of The Augusta Chronicle.

Now to be fair, it is their website. They can make the rules and change them without notice. But it is worth pointing out the inconsistencies in how the terms of service are enforced regarding censorship. Knowing that certain opinions are filtered out intentionally may give readers pause that the purpose of the comments section is not about facilitating "robust debate", but rather suppressing it. 

There was one comment that stands out from all of the others on this particular story. It was written by a regular poster who goes by the handle Dichotomy. It remained on the site for several hours before being removed by site administrators in the evening of January 31. Luckily, someone saved it and sent it to us. We've reprinted it below:

Comment by Dichotomy that appeared on The Augusta Chronicle TEE Center Parking Deck Story that was later removed. (Below)

***************

I think that if you poured all of the idiots and crooks in Augusta into one beaker and shook it well you could not have created a bigger mess than this deal. The City supplied the idiots and the LLC(s) provided the crooks. The lawyer, I'm still not sure which side of the fence he would fall on but I suspect his motives.

Congratulations South Augusta and south RC, you paid for much of this. You don't own squat but you paid for it and you are going to continue pay to operate it. I was going to say you paid for a lot of this.....but you didn't even get the "lot". I'll bet Billy and Paul laugh every time they see their parking deck(s), hotel, and TEE. And by the way, Fred "yes I am complicit in all of this", wants to raise your taxes again so we will have plenty of money to pay Billy and Paul to operate their decks and hire attendants.

And if you think this is crooked, just wait until you see how you are going to get took for the ball park and some of the "deals" and payback "jobs" that will come out of that.

If you can't figure this out....it's all about the influential rich people downtown playing with YOUR money and our commissioners being too stupid, or too crooked, to look out for our interests. Our commissioners keep getting us involved in a battle of wits with the rich guys and between the idiots and crooks on our side we are totally unarmed. Throw in a suspected crooked lawyer or two and we are totally screwed.
*****************

Feel free to leave your comment below. 
Related Stories:

• Deeds and Misdeeds: A "Chronicle" of Promises to Donate Land for Tee Center/Parking Deck 
• Fred Russell is Running Out of Excuses
• Exclusive: TEE Center Parking Deck Air Rights Gone With The Wind!
• Exclusive: The TEE Center LLC Trap

***Do you have a story idea, a tip, or would you like to write for City Stink? Then please contact us at: citystink@gmail.com***
Share this on Facebook by clicking the icon below

ParkingGate: Leave it to Fred!

Fred Russell: "What? Me worry? I Have it all taken care of"

Nov. 11, 2011
Dustin Goads
For now, awarding the management contract  of the new Reynolds street parking deck has been delayed. At a finance committee meeting this past Monday (Nov 7th), commissioners voted 4-0 to send it back to Fred Russell for renegotions with the interim operator, The Augusta Marriott, which is a subsidiary of Augusta Riverfront, LLC. That is the same group headed by Paul S. Simon who also heads up 933 Broad Investment Co LLC, which is the principal land owner where the new deck now sits, meaning they own the ground floor of the new deck and the 150 spaces that occupy the first level. You can read more about this  in The Augusta Chronicle: Augusta Chronicle: Russell to re-examine downtown parking deck deal

The act of sending this back to Russell, who is mostly to blame for the confusion in the first place is odd for many reasons, but mostly it shows a commission that has no idea how to proceed on how to solve the pickle the city finds itself in over ParkingGate. Remember it was Fred Russell who told commissioners back on Dec 9, 2009 when the TEE Center and Parking deck were approved, that Augusta Riverfront LLC (or their subsidiary) had AGREED to donate the land for the new deck. Russell reiterated this several times when commissioners asked repeatedly for clarification: see--> Dec. 9, 2009 Commission Meeting Minutes

But it turns out the land was never donated. Russell and general counsel says the deal was changed to allow for tax free bonds for construction of the deck. But Russell forgot to inform commissioners that the deal had changed and the land would not be donated. Russell also negotiated a very lopsided management contract with The Marriott over the deck. In the deal Russell negotiated, the city would pay the Marriott (owned by Augusta Riverfront LLC) a yearly fee of $25,000 to manage the new Reynolds street deck, and the Marriott would also get a sweet-heart lease deal where they would pay the city $50,000 a year for hundreds of city owned spaces in the deck adjacent to the Marriott. That would give the Marriott all revenue generated from those spaces.. which could be $400,000 a year. Not a bad deal for $50,000... well actually the Marriott would only pay the city a net fee of $25,000 once you factor in their contract to manage the Reynolds street deck, of which 933 Broad Investment Co LLC ( also a subsidiary of Augusta Riverfront LLC ) would own the ground level containing 150 parking spaces.

Russell says this was the best deal he could come up with. But another company, AMPCO System Parking submitted a lower bid with terms much more favorable to the city. But Russell ignored that bid in favor of the  Marriott because he assumed it was already agreed to award the contract to the Marriott. Russell also ignored findings from a 2009 parking study that showed that a surface parking lot option could accommodate the lost spaces from construction of the TEE center that would only cost $1 million instead of over $12 million the city spent on the new parking deck. Most commissioners have stated that they never saw the findings in that parking study. Russell says he knew about it but didn't think it was important because once again he just assumed commissioners had agreed to build a deck and award the management contract to the Marriott.

Fred Russell may not bear all of the responsibility for the parking deck fiasco (The city's general counsel and attorney Jim Plunkett were also heavily involved in the negotiations), but it's safe to say that Russell failed miserably in his duties to keep commissioners updated on the negotiations and that the deal over donation of the land had changed. That was a big change. Fred Russell also failed to make commissioners aware of cheaper alternatives. It all makes one wonder who's interest Fred Russell was looking out for. It sure doesn't seem to be that of the city.

So this all makes the observer wonder why commissioners would have confidence in Russell to come back with a better deal for the city? Remember it was just a few short months ago when Russell's head was on the chopping block over raises he gave out to department heads and other high level administrative employees when just about everyone else were getting pay cuts and furloughs, including sheriff's deputies. This was also during a period when Russell was telling commissioners that the city was over $7 million in the hole. Many commissioners, city employees, and taxpayers were outraged. Ultimately, Russell kept is job, not so much out of confidence, but because commissioners didn't feel they had a back-up plan to replace Russell.

But commissioners may have to come up with a back-up plan for Russell soon. News is that Russell is a finalist for a county administrator position in Sarasota, FL: Augusta Chronicle: Russell named Finalist for Sarasota, FL Position. What's odd about this news is that it broke nearly a week BEFORE the finance committee voted on Nov 7th to task Russell with going back and renegotiating a better parking deal with Paul S Simon. Will the parking deal really be on Russell's priority list if he is in line for another job in The Sunshine State? In fact, Russell will be in Sarasota on Tuesday interviewing for the prospective job when a budget plan is presented to commissioners on how to plug a projected $6.3 million budget deficit. Deputy administrator Tameka Allen will present the proposal in lieu of Russell: Augusta Chronicle: Cuts eyed for $6.3 million budget hole.  Just when will Russell have the time to revisit the parking deck deal?

Fred Russell's golden parachute by "The Shadow"

                                                      ^^Click image above to enlarge^^
And let's also not forget that the commission tasked Fred Russell back in July of this year  to have negotiations with Ripken Baseball on developing a "creative financing" package for a new baseball stadium. So it seems like the commission has put a lot on the plate of this city administrator who has given them plenty of reasons to lack confidence in his abilities to deliver. And with Russell perhaps heading for the warm sandy beaches of Sarasota, FL, he probably has even less incentive now to deliver on a better parking deal. Plus, Paul S. Simon, with his company owning the ground floor, holds the leverage. And Simon has hinted that he doesn't intend to budge.

But what happened to the tough talk from commissioners  just a couple of weeks ago? When the news first broke in the media that the city didn't own the land where the deck now sits, mayor pro-tem Joe Bowles even used the "C" word when interviewed by WJBF's George Eskola. Bowles said then that the city needed to own that land and would not rule out "condemnation" proceedings if it got to that. But it seems as though Bowles has backed off that threat. Now the commission is sounding more like a puppy dog with its tail between its legs going back to Paul S Simon begging for a better deal. But what if Simon doesn't want to match the terms of AMPCO Parking Systems? Bowles had previously stated that as an ultimatum. But will Bowles and the other commissioners back that up... with, say, the threat of "condemnation"? At this point that seems to be the only card the city holds to negotiate a better deal. But as we first told, the possible inflation of the land values  by the city where the deck now sits could throw a wrench in that option.

This doesn't seem to be ending soon, and instead of issuing a tough ultimatum to Paul S Simon, commissioners are now sounding more mealy-mouthed and more tepid in their resolve. It seems as though the "C" word has completely disappeared from the rhetoric over the parking deck. And punting the problem back to Fred Russell, who was largely responsible for creating it in the first place, makes the commission look even more like a deer caught in the headlights over this. It seems that they have no game plan. What will they do if Fred Russell gets that job in Florida? The commissioners better be coming up with a back-up plan fast.

Related articles:   

•  Land Swaps, Bonds and Air Rights: The parking Deck Saga Continued, 
•  The Parking Deck of Wonders, 
•  The Ghost of David Fry
• Brad Owens: A Rebuttal to Austin Rhodes Over ParkingGate
• Where's Deke on ParkingGate?

***Do you have a story idea, a tip, or would you like to write for City Stink? Then please contact us at: CityStink@gmail.com ***

Share this on Facebook by clicking the icon below

The Ghost of David Fry

The ghost of David Fry spotted near the new parking deck

Augusta, GA Nov. 3, 2011
The Outsider
Well Halloween may be officially over but the ghost of David Fry is still lurking the streets of downtown Augusta. No, not down at 5th and Broad streets by the Haunted Pillar, but instead his specter has been seen haunting another cursed Augusta landmark: the new TEE Center parking deck by 9th and Reynolds streets.

It seems that the recent revelation that the city of Augusta doesn't actually own the land where the new $12 million city owned deck sits and an impending trial over the attempted bribery of two Augusta commissioners involving this same parking deck has resurrected the restless spirit of David Fry.

Some of you may remember the name "David Fry" from two years ago. In August of 2009, the TEE Center and parking deck were in limbo because the commission had split along racial lines over whether to issue more revenue bonds because it was learned that the convention center was actually going to cost nearly double than the $20 million voters had  approved in a 2005 SPLOST referendum. Also, the addition of a parking deck across the street had some commissioners also crying foul, saying that the project had become too bloated and no longer resembled what voters approved and suggestions were floated to put in back on a ballot or redirect the SPLOST funds entirely. But that presented problems, because the TEE Center was inextricably tied to  a $37 million redevelopment project for Laney-Walker/Bethlehem. So if the TEE Center didn't get approved with the extra money needed to build it, some white commissioners were threatening to pull the plug on the $1 per night hotel/motel surcharge and pull the plug on redevelopment of Laney-Walker/Bethlehem. The situation was at a stalemate, and no one seemed eager to give up ground.

Now enter David Fry. He was an Augusta attorney and former nightclub owner. In late August 2009, commissioners Alvin Mason and Corey Johnson contact Augusta law enforcement that David Fry approached them with an offer of a bribe "if" they changed their votes on the TEE Center deal. Both Mason and Johnson had been voting consistently against increased funding for the TEE Center. The story didn't hit the news until early September 2009. What was particularly interesting is what Fry was offering the commissioners. According to Mason and Johnson, Fry told them that he could land them lucrative concessions in the new parking deck that would be built along with the TEE center (This is the same parking deck involved in the current "ParkingGate" saga).
WRDW's Chris Thomas  reported on the bribe in this story: WRDW coverage of TEE center bribe scandal

Chris Thomas also reports that Fry contacted commissioners Jerry Brigham and Don Grantham about a week after commissioners Mason and Johnson came forward to law enforcement about Fry's attempted bribe. Don Grantham says that he remembers being contacted by Fry on August 31st, one day before a vote on the TEE Center. Both Grantham and Brigham said they didn't report the incident because they thought the whole thing was "ridiculous." And it would have been ridiculous to try and get Grantham  and Brigham to switch their votes. Grantham had been the biggest proponent of the TEE Center on the commission and  Brigham had voted in support of it as well. WJBF also covered the breaking story of the bribery attempt here: Attorney arrested for trying to bribe 2 Augusta commissioners

The fact that Fry was offering concessions in the parking deck was quite interesting. What authority did he have to make such a deal? And why the parking deck? It seemed very odd because in all of the TEE Center drama that was taking place, the parking deck was not mentioned very much.

A local afternoon radio talk-show personality tried to quickly explain it all away as much ado about nothing. He said that Fry was just an overly zealous lone gunman type who was extremely enthusiastic about the TEE Center and was upset with commissioners Mason and Johnson for holding it up. According to the talk-show host, Fry was particularly livid at Mason, whom he had donated money to in his campaign against Bernard Harper. According to this same talk-show host, many wealthy West Augusta types supported Mason in his first campaign, and that Fry felt "betrayed" by Mason. Don't forget that Mason also received what he called a "threat" from a West Augusta "millionaire" over his votes on the TEE Center: details emerge on Tee Center "millionaire" threat.

The radio talk-show host explains the bribe as a way for Fry to get back at Mason and Johnson. He would offer them something he knew he could not deliver, get them to change their votes, get the TEE Center passed, and then leave them high and dry when it came time to collect on the bribe. Well that's the theory of the talk-show host: Talk Radio Host's Theory on David Fry's Big Plan.

The problem was that the bribery attempt backfired and nearly sank the TEE Center.

But let's really think about this. If David Fry knew that he was throwing out a canard for the commissioners, then why not offer something more grandiose and more sexy than a parking deck contract? I mean why not offer a lucrative concession in the TEE Center itself or in one of the hotels? Why not throw in a condo in Palm Beach, Florida and lifetime badges to The Masters? I mean if he had no ability to deliver on any of this, then why not promise the moon? Why did he choose to offer a deal in this parking deck? And why was an attorney willing to commit a felony to get the TEE Center and parking deck passed if he had absolutely no connection to it or anything to gain from it? Many people didn't buy the story that David Fry was just some lone-gunman type and questions still linger if  perhaps more were involved and whether Fry was just a fixer for much bigger fish.

After Matt Aitken defeated Bill Fennoy in a run-off election for the Dist 1 commission seat, the approval of the TEE center was a forgone conclusion. His campaign had almost been entirely predicated on approving the TEE Center. So on December 7th, 2009, the commission quickly agreed to approve the TEE Center and parking deck along with the Laney-Walker/Bethlehem redevelopment. This also happens to be the same meeting when Fred Russell told commissioners that Augusta Riverfront LLC (or its subsidiary) had AGREED to donate the land for the parking deck.

The David Fry story disappeared about as fast as a sitcom on The CW network. The parking deck is finished and open and the TEE center is under construction. David Fry was indicted by a grand jury in June of 2010. An almost forgettable snippet of a story brought that news in the Augusta Chronicle: Chronicle: Fry indicted over bribe. And not much has been heard since then of David Fry. But now it is  being reported  that David Fry will now stand trial for the bribery attempt, more than a YEAR AFTER he was indicted. Apparently a plea-deal fell through at the last minute.Chronicle: Fry case to go to trial . We have to wonder  if the same attorneys involved in the Fry case are also the ones involved in the chronically postponed Scott Dean child molestation trial. But with the new information swirling around ParkingGate, the timing of the trial of David Fry couldn't be any better, or worse (if you are Augusta Riverfront LLC)

So now it has become known that 933 Broad Investment Co LLC (a shell company of Augusta Riverfront LLC) has owned the land where the new parking deck sits since 2003. That means they essentially own the ground floor of the parking deck. Augusta Riverfront LLC owns the Marriott hotel and will manage the new TEE Center. They want the management contract to run the new Reynolds street parking deck for a fee of $25,000 a year and they want to lease hundreds of city owned spaces at another deck adjacent to the Marriott for $50,000, which could net Augusta Riverfront LLC 10 times what they would pay the city for the lease. But either way, since Augusta Riverfront LLC owns the land where the new deck sits, they have control over those ground floor spaces.. and the ground floor of any parking deck is the most lucrative.

All of this new information prompts more questions. Did David Fry know  that Augusta Riverfront LLC would have a lock on the ground floor of the new parking deck and was that the concession he was offering in his bribe?  And is there a connection between David Fry and Augusta Riverfront LLC or one of their subsidiaries such as 933 Broad Investment Co LLC? Fry so far has has not been talking. Will he be willing to take the fall in exchange for something far more lucrative than a small "slice" of the parking deck? Or will Fry start to sing like a canary in his upcoming trial? And in light of the new turn of events and information learned over the past couple of weeks perhaps the FBI should take a second look at this case to see if Fry was merely an agent for someone else who could have delivered on the parking deck management contract concession. Would it be prudent to postpone Fry's trial so that this case can be investigated further?

The Tee Center and parking deck has involved some of the most powerful players in Augusta, and the attempted bribery of two sitting commissioners of Georgia's 2nd largest city.  Perhaps the upcoming bribery trial will  finally put the ghost of David Fry to rest once and for all, or it might expose a whole lot more skeletons in Augusta's closet.
********************************************************************************
Related Articles:

•      Land Swaps, Bonds and Air Rights: The parking Deck Saga Continued, 
•      The Parking Deck of Wonders, 
•      Media Coverage Time-Line of ParkingGate

***Do you have a story idea, a tip, or would you like to write for City Stink? Then please contact us at: CityStink@gmail.com ***

Share this on Facebook by clicking the icon below

An Open Letter to Planning and Zoning Concerning the Overlay Zoning Proposal for Laney-Walker

The vote for the proposed overlay zone will be Nov 7th!

By Mike Sheil

• Dear Planning & Development, 

  I was happy to see in the Chronicle today that residents of Laney-Walker got some much-needed answers about the overlay district that is to be imposed on their neighborhood. 

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Click Here--> Augusta Chronicle 11/01/11: Laney-Walker residents receive much-needed answers on zoning overlay proposals
  
  

  From the article, I have learned that all the overlay will do is to ban liquor stores and pawnshops in the section of "Foundry Place" that is currently zoned for business. 

  
  

  I believe this is a fair reading of the newspaper article. I take further that no changes will come to the current residential zoned area of the neighborhood. Again, that's what I get from this article. The story also says that current property owners will be exempt from the restrictions of the overlay district. I presume that they will be able to open liquor stores freely without hindrance from the city government. This is what I gather from the reading of the article, but is it a fair reading of the facts? 

  
  

  The zoning amendment that was passed in June which enables the city to impose the overlay districts says this, as I'm sure you know, "The full text of the proposed additional requirements for the proposed overlay district must be provided at the time of the application for designations."

  
  

  
  

  
  

  I have asked repeatedly for this full text. So have others. We have been provided with various vague information packets, one of which is even labeled as the application for zoning overlay, but none of them is a full text of the proposed regulations. Has the text changed? We have seen nothing about the "grandfather" exemption in any of the information packets so far provided to us by the city, but now that angle is being put out to newspaper reporters. 

  
  

  
  

  
  

  The text of the application that has been provided to us says that every lot in the proposed area will be open to residential, professional, institutional and business uses. Every single lot. This fits in with the plan for "heavy commercial development" of the area. Fits a lot better than simply "banning liquor stores." 

  
  

  
  

  
  

  "The full text" of the regulations seems to be as-yet-unwritten, or in a state of continuous evolution. This document should have been in its final form when the application was first presented to the city. This is what the plain meaning of the law requires. 

  
  

  We are in much need of an answer to this question–

  Where is "the full text of the proposed additional requirements for the proposed overlay district"? 

  We would like to see the overlay district regulations in the form they are to be voted upon this coming Monday. That is, the form that they will take in law, not watercolor sketches. Certainly, the Planning Commission cannot be voting on a blank check. What is the full text, where can it be obtained? 

  
  

  Thank you, 

  
  

  Michael Sheil
  *******************************************
  
  
  Afterthoughts:
  That was the letter. By the by, I knew that they would try to sway the people with watercolor sketches. No joke. You cannot believe the power of watercolor sketches to make people lose their minds. The new overlay will find itself in the law code of Augusta. What will it look like there? It's a simple question, but they have been avoiding it like madmen. And this new thing about grandfathering in the current property owners? That is ludicrous--it would include the brand new homes the developer just built there and did manage to sell. These are the homes for which they are placing restrictions on older residents. That's the whole point of it. What nonsense will reporters in Augusta not swallow happily?
  
  
  Related articles: Urban Redevelopment or Land Grab?
  
  ***Do you have a story idea, a tip, or would you like to write for City Stink? Then please contact us at: CityStink@gmail.com ***
  
  
  Share this on Facebook by clicking the icon below

The Truth is a Funny Thing in Aberdeen, MD When it Comes to Publicly Financed Ballparks

Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen, MD

Augusta, GA       **Updated on Friday, Oct 14th, 2011**
Some of you may remember last Monday, October 3rd, when some big wigs from Ripken Baseball flew down to Augusta with current Aberdeen, MD mayor Mike Bennett in tow to once again pitch their multi-purpose baseball stadium to select civic leaders and members of the media. The Augusta Chronicle covered their visit in this article: GreenJackets owners try to save downtown stadium plan.


Their stated purpose was to "dispel accusations that Ripken Baseball left Aberdeen in financial trouble when the team joined with the city and state to build a stadium in 2002,"  and to  "to clear up misconceptions and rumors", according to The Augusta Chronicle article.


 Apparently, the supposed "rumors" they were talking about stems from  a 2007 Baltimore Sun article that claims that the financial arrangement between Ripken Baseball and the City of Aberdeen to build a new ballpark in 2002 left the city struggling to meet debt service payments in subsequent years. In fact the article claimed that the city had to dip into its general fund to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars every year to service stadium debt because expected revenues were not materializing. Most importantly, adjacent development that the stadium was supposed to spur,  was also not materializing as city officials had initially been led to believe. The city was apparently counting on tax revenues from that adjacent private development to recoup their costs in the stadium.


At the Augusta PR event, Aberdeen mayor Mike Bennett said this about the 2007 Baltimore Sun article as quoted in The Augusta Chronicle: “As a citizen at the time, I can tell you that the city folks were not that happy with the things that were written. Most of us knew that the things in the article weren’t correct,” Bennett said. “Yes, the city has debt there. We've always had debt there. It is what it is. We were part of the process of building the stadium and we knew there would be debt and things are moving forward.”   Mr Bennett disputed that the city was losing money each year on the stadium.


Mr Bennett also said in The Chronicle article: "'We have a great relationship with Ripken Baseball. Ripken Baseball has a great relationship with us". 


However,  no one was suggesting that there was any bad blood between the city of Aberdeen and Ripken Baseball. And all evidence suggests that Ripken Baseball does a great job at running minor league baseball clubs. In fact, The Aberdeen Iron Birds consistently sell out Ripken Stadium. The problem is, with all that said, the city of Aberdeen still consistently loses money on the stadium. The city may very well be extremely happy with Ripken Baseball's ability to deliver a quality product, but that doesn't negate the fact that the financial arrangement between the company and the city of Aberdeen over the ballpark was decidedly lop-sided in favor of Ripken Baseball. The company received the bulk of revenues earned from the stadium, and the remainder going to the city could not even cover the debt payments.


In fact, documents forwarded to City Stink, appear to confirm the claims made in the Baltimore Sun article. According to the City of Aberdeen Operating and Capital Budgets (Actuals) for fiscal years 2005 thru 2012 shows that indeed the city was losing money each fiscal year on the stadium; so much in fact that the city was having to dip into its general fund each year to service stadium debt. In FY 2010 the city had to transfer $414,102 from its general fund to meet its obligations on their debt on the stadium, and the city's tax digest was not growing proportionally despite the presence of the stadium to cover these costs. In fact, the adjacent developments that were supposed to boost the tax digest to cover the stadium's cost and even yield a profit for the city were chronically delayed and many elements were cancelled.


Below is a clickable graphic from the budget report showing the general fund transfers. Pay close attention to the next to last line that reads "transfers from general fund".. you will notice that every year since 2007 when numbers were available for this report, the city had to transfer hundreds of thousands of dollars from the general fund to cover stadium debt and they project to do so next year. In total, since 2007, the city has transferred more than $2,000,000 from its general fund to service stadium debt. That's not counting the years between 2002  and 2007 when the city was losing even more on the stadium. The stadium was supposed to pay for itself. It clearly has not. (click the image below to enlarge):

This data seems to counter the rhetoric of mayor Mike Bennett at the Augusta PR junket. Was the mayor simply ignorant of his city's own budget and unaware of these numbers? Or was he purposefully trying to engage in political spin and obfuscate the real data in an attempt to rewrite history  to help Ripken Baseball sell a similarly lop-sided financial partnership to Augusta civic leaders that might put the city at financial risk for a new ballpark? 

For a city the size of Aberdeen to have to dip consistently into their general fund year after year to the tune of an average of   $300,000 seems to be indeed a financial millstone rather than the financial boon that stadium spin doctors were making it out to be. The numbers don't lie. And Mr Bennett, upon assuming office in 2007, even wanted to renegotiate  the terms with Ripken Baseball to lessen the city's financial losses. He was partly successful in being able to renegotiate slightly better terms. That alone would seem to indicate that the mayor knew the city had made a bad deal initially with Ripken. But Bennett was adamant in denying there were any missteps by the city in negotiating the financial arrangement with Ripken baseball over the stadium.

People in Harford County, MD were a bit surprised to hear about mayor Bennett's trip to Augusta to pitch the virtues of the city's financial arrangements with Ripken Baseball and seemingly to encourage Augusta leaders to enter a similar relationship with the company to build a new stadium here in Augusta, and seemingly having no regrets of the initial deal inked with Ripken. . 

Patrick McGrady, a candidate for Aberdeen mayor who is challenging Mike Bennett, questions the ethics of the trip. Ripken Baseball officials admit they paid for Mr. Bennett's plane ticket to Augusta. Mr McGrady wonders if it  is perhaps a conflict of interest for the sitting mayor to essentially act as a lobbyist for Ripken Baseball, a company with which the city has a financial relationship. Mr. McGrady said via Facebook of the trip, "I do believe it is unethical behavior, and I hope it will be investigated." 

The Baltimore Sun also found mayor Bennett's trip to Augusta to give a sales pitch for Ripken Baseball to be interesting as well. They even did a follow-up article in response to what mayor Bennett said about their previous article being untrue during his appearance in Augusta. You can read their follow-up article here: Aberdeen mayor helps Ripken Baseball make pitch for new Georgia stadium.

So just who is right here? Was mayor Mike Bennett just having a bout of amnesia on Oct 3rd in Augusta, GA? So just who was trying to spread "misinformation" in Augusta about the baseball stadium? 

The truth about what actually happened in Aberdeen has profound ramifications for Augusta, where the city is contemplating developing a financial relationship with Ripken Baseball to build a new stadium here. For the more than  five years that the stadium proposal has been batted about, Ripken Baseball officials have been conspicuously coy about exactly how much they will pitch in financially for the costs. They neglected to give any more details at the October 3rd Augusta PR event  to  clarify what their role and financial stake might be and how much they expect from the city for a new stadium..

The main pitch for building a new stadium in Augusta has consistently been that it would be a financial boon to the city, that it would spur economic and real estate development in the city and be an economic boost to downtown. Initially, claims were made that the stadium would spur a mixed-use condo/retail/hotel development adjacent to the stadium, boosting the city's tax digest. Ripken Baseball officials have even pointed to the Aberdeen model as a "success story" that Augusta could emulate. Obviously the stadium has not been the economic boon nor cash cow that the city of Aberdeen was hoping it would be. 

Augusta leaders should thus proceed with extreme caution in forging any financial relationship with Ripken Baseball over building a new stadium. In fact the financial situation Aberdeen finds itself in regarding their stadium is not an anomaly. In fact, it seems to be the norm, and we will have more on that in future updates. 

Augusta leaders are cautioned to take the overly enthusiastic hype of stadium proponents with a giant grain of salt and to look at the real evidence, the actual track records, the real numbers, and not just buy into the often exaggerated predictions of a big economic pay-off that in reality never seems to come.

You can be sure there will be more follow-ups to this story, and City Stink will keep you updated. We would like to also challenge members of the local Augusta media to update their stories from last week in light of this new information.

**Update Friday, October 14th, 2011**

It appears there has been more political fall-out for Aberdeen, MD mayor Mike Bennett from his trip to Augusta (paid for by Ripken Baseball) to lobby on their behalf to help sell a stadium proposal to Augusta leaders. Patrick McGrady, who is challenging Mr Bennett for the mayor's job, has filed an official complaint with the city of Aberdeen Ethics Commission regarding the trip. You can read more about this here: Mayor and Challenger Disagree Over Augusta Trip

Here is a copy of Patrick McGrady's ethics complaint filed with Aberdeen Ethics Commission: Ethics Complaint Filed Over Bennett's Trip To Augusta on behalf of Ripken

**More reaction from media sources in the Aberdeen, MD area regarding the political Fall-out from Mayor Mike Bennett's trip to Augusta, GA: The Dagger Blog

**Update Nov 2nd, 2011** The Aberdeen, MD Ethics Commission finds mayor Michael Bennett in violation of the city's ethics ordinance: Mayor Bennett hit with ethics violation and Ethics panel "admonishes" Bennett

************************************************************************

***Do you have a story idea, a tip, or would you like to write for City Stink? Then please contact us at: CityStink@gmail.com ***

**Share this on Facebook by clicking the icon below

Historical Revisionism in Downtown Augusta?

Oct. 9, 2011

By The Outsider

The Augusta Chronicle had a very interesting read in Sunday's online edition by  Carole Hawkins titled: Downtown Augusta seeks tipping point. It seems like we have  heard this many times before. That downtown Augusta, with all its potential, just needs that spark to get going. It needs that "tipping point." What may surprise people is that despite all of the rosy rhetoric over the last several years about how downtown is on the upswing,  the number of businesses in the downtown district has actually decreased by 27% over the last decade. So it seems things are going backwards. Downtown is taking one step forward and two steps back, or at the very best it is staying put in status quo.

So, just what is the magic bullet that is needed for downtown revitalization? A riverfront esplanade with an amphitheater? The Riverwalk is nice, although not well maintained, but since opening 25 years ago, it doesn't appear it was the tipping point for revitalizing downtown like it was hoped to do.  A condo tower with an upscale mall with an exterior painted a peachy pink color? Been there done that, didn't work either. A children's science museum in the failed mall portion of the pink condo building? Ditto. It closed too. A new history museum? Check. Still no tipping point, but it has a leaky roof.

Well how about a hotel with a convention center? Got that covered. Still no tipping point yet.. maybe the convention center just needed to be bigger. Parking deck? A new one just opened. But the one that opened in the late 1970s didn't exactly attract cars or revitalization, and neither did the one at the hotel-convention center that this new one replaced. Maybe this one will be different and  the new gigantic 40,000 sqft TEE center (eyes rolling) will be the magic bullet.. the tipping point... the catalyst! Well we will have to wait and see but it doesn't look promising with not one convention booked in its opening year and in 2013 only one convention has been booked, and it has been to town before and used the smaller facility.

 Well what about a fancy tourist attraction to capitalize on Augusta's connection to professional golf? A Georgia Golf Hall of Fame and botanical gardens, yeah, that's the ticket! Well the state of Georgia and Augusta invested over $18 million of your tax dollars in that fantastic idea. Tipping point? More like weed patch. Yep, all that money and years later and all the city has to show for it is an expensive brick wall and a "Garden of Weedin'."

 So what's next on the horizon? What's the next tipping point for downtown? Well mayor Deke just hates seeing that monument to failure formerly known as the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame just sitting there growing weeds producing no tax revenue. So he wants to build a city financed "multi-use" baseball park on the site. Yeah, that's the ticket, another taxpayer financed boondoggle. But hey, did anyone tell mayor Deke that a city owned ballpark won't generate any property taxes on that site either? Uh oh.

Some will argue that there WAS a tipping point downtown, and it happened when Main Street Augusta was essentially shut-down and The Downtown Development Authority took over as the primary guiding force and trustee of tax dollars for downtown revitalization. Some people say that was a very bad thing, and was a tipping point in the wrong direction. But it looks like some folks are trying to white-wash that history. In the Chronicle article. It is said that Main Street Augusta, the group responsible for First Friday, just "fizzled" out. Brad Owens, who was a downtown bar owner and very active in various downtown groups, says that is flat out incorrect.

The most interesting part of The Chronicle article came underneath in the comments section. Brad Owens posted a very informative comment (which surprisingly is still up on The Chronicle website). Brad gives us a great timeline of what actually happened regarding Main Street Augusta and The Downtown Alliance and how the DDA seized control. I have pasted his comment below:
********************************

OK, where do I begin?

First, this is a 100% fact; "The number of downtown businesses dropped 27 percent over the past decade..."

Numbers don't lie and the DDA can try to spin it any way they choose, but a net loss is a net loss. Period.

Second, Augusta's Main Street program did not "fizzle" it was destroyed by the DDA itself. I challenge this statement for being non-factual, "Its board disbanded, and programs such as Saturday Market and First Friday were picked up by the Downtown Development Authority, according to Woodard..."

That is a misleading statement at best, 100% fabrication at worst.

Hal Hood was forced to resign and the vote by the Main Street Board to dissolve was not taken in accordance with the by-laws. The DDA wanted to keep the funding that was sent to Main Street thorugh the DDA by the county (please note the DDA didn't see a reduction in it's stipend it gets from the RC tax payer after MSA "disbanded").

Also, the only reason the DDA even has a budget is because of Main Street. After the city and county became one, Randy Oliver said the Main Street program could not receive direct funding form the city, so they merged the DDA and Main Street programs to have an "Executive Directors" position.

The money Main Street was getting was supposed to just pass through the DDA not be controlled by them.

Main Street was a business assoc of sorts for downtown, and have non-profit status. The DDA got to keep the non-profit status even after they got rid of Main Street.

It was a dirty deal form the begining, and just after they got rid of Main Street, the Downtown Augusta Alliance (DA2) showed up on the scene.

Also, the Enterprise Fund used to get the Sat Market off the ground was coordianted by several folks (me included) with then commissioner Tommy Boyles, Janie Peel was in the middle of it too.

First Friday was dumped by the DDA and the GAAC picked it up after a HUGE fight. The Chairman of the DDA along with Maggie decided, without a vote, to defund the event.

I am sick and tired of the story not being told right and folks taking credit for the hard work of others.

Hal Hood worked hard to get it right, he was sabotaged by certain DDA members and Mian Street folks in cahoots with those DDA folks.

I am sure this will probably get removed, because no one wants to hear the truth and the newspaper folks are too lazy to get at the truth.

I am tired of all the spin, downtown is not booming, it is not what it could be and certain folks have made sure that it stays down and the ball stays in their court.

http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/2006/10/12/met_100167.shtml

As you can see, I have FOUGHT to keep the funds going to these events while certain folks wanted it sent to their own pet projects.

Facts are stubborn things.

Brad Owens

************************
The problem is that people seem to have a short memory when it comes to all of the big taxpayer funded boondoggles that were intended to be the "tipping points" for downtown. When one looks deeper at the white elephants enumerated above, the name Augusta Tomorrow usually comes up. Despite their less than glowing track record, city leaders still seem  look to Augusta Tomorrow for more great ideas. Their ideas, tend to always focus on heavy taxpayer spending on big ticket status projects like the failures from years past. The master plan for downtown was commissioned by Augusta Tomorrow. They have somehow managed to appoint themselves as the master planners for downtown. Who is Augusta Tomorrow? They are a Who's Who? of civic business and government big wigs. You don't see a lot small business people in the ranks of Augusta Tomorrow , who would probably be the ones with the best insight on how to revitalize downtown (The membership fee alone is $6,000 for an individual). Instead you have the usual suspects: bankers, utilities officials, GHSU officials, a hodge podge of high society club types, government officials, and even the city administrator, Fred Russell. Also you will see a lot of Augusta Tomorrow in the ranks of the DDA. So could the DDA be a government funded proxy for Augusta Tomorrow?

Could it also  be that the vision that Augusta Tomorrow has for downtown is a bit outdated and isn't inline with the vision of those small business people who have actually been the primary investors into downtown over the last 15 years?  And should taxpayers be worried that when city leaders are seeking yet another "tipping point" for downtown, that really that is code for "lets build a publicly financed ballpark downtown!"

Will the real problems and past failures of downtown continue to get ignored in search of the "Next Big Thing?" City Stink will have more coming on the proposed ballpark and will cut through the spin and propaganda and give you the real facts on the true economic impact a minor league ballpark.

Until then, here is the second part in The Chronicle's series in the struggle to revitalize downtown Augusta: Empty Buildings Downtown Remain Impediment to Growth.

***Do you have a story idea, a tip, or would you like to write for City Stink? Then please contact us at: CityStink@gmail.com ***
Share this on Facebook by clicking the icon below

Urban Redevelopment or Land Grab?

Oct. 6, 2011
Augusta, GA
By The Outsider

If not for the keen eyes of a couple of concerned citizens, the proposed overlay districts for the Laney-Walker/Bethlehem neighborhoods may have been scuttled through at last Monday's Augusta Planning Commission meeting with no discussion and without most of the affected property owners even knowing about them. It seems that Planning and Zoning failed to mail out the required notices to the affected 136 property owners.

The overlay districts could have major ramifications on existing property owners in the neighborhood by possibly imposing architectural and  design guidelines enforced by a review board. This is similar to what property owners in designated historic districts, like Olde Town and Summerville have to deal with. Many people would argue that this kind of added layer of bureaucracy may place an unnecessary burden on existing residents of Laney-Walker, because these rules would be retro-active (meaning existing property owners would not be grandfathered in).

These residents tend to be fall into lower income brackets and may not have the financial resources to be able to adhere to the types of design and architectural rules that may be arbitrarily be placed on them without their consent. What if a longtime property owner wants to install a vinyl fence or change their shutters, or paint their house? Well, if the overlay districts are imposed, they may have to go before an architectural and design review board for approval of even the most benign renovations or changes to their property (just ask people in Olde Town!).

Mike Sheil, a property owner in Olde Town, who has fought many of his own battles against the inconsistently and arbitrarily applied historic preservation guidelines in Olde Town,  along with long time Laney-Walker resident Dee Mathis (who is one of the 136 affected property owners for the overlay district), showed up at Monday's meeting looking for answers and  to ask why affected property owners were not properly notified about the meeting. Because of the action of these two concerned citizens, a hearing on the overlay districts has been rescheduled for November 7th, and the following letter has been mailed to the affected property owners notifying them.



The following document, Section 25 of Special District Classifications, explains the overlay districts:

It appears that 10% of property owners can impose the overlay district.  So some people are wondering if this much hyped urban redevelopment program (funded mostly from the $37.5 million hotel-motel tax that was imposed to help pass the TEE Center) is really a land grab that will ultimately force longtime residents out. Below is a map of the 13 proposed overlay districts for Laney-Walker:

*** City Stink would like to thank Mike Sheil and Dee Mathis for contributing to this article ***

***Do you have a story idea, a tip, or would you like to write for City Stink? Then please contact us at: CityStink@gmail.com ***
Share this on Facebook by clicking the icon below