Augusta commissioners look at panhandling, transient rules

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Committee meetings of the Augusta Commission are taking place Tuesday afternoon in the Lee N. Beard Commission Chamber at the Augusta-Richmond County Municipal Building.

Among items on the agenda, Commissioner Sean Frantom is pushing to adopt a panhandling ordinance similar to Columbia County’s that would create more warnings and citations for homeless people and loiterers in public spaces.

There was a discussion of transient guests overstaying at Augusta hotels, although it hit some confusion.

In previous meetings, a representative from the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office said there wasn’t an ordinance with adequate “teeth” to remove or arrest overstaying hotel guests.

However, a city legal and planning and development staff member said there is.

Sheriff Richard Roundtree Roundtree got up and spoke in front of commissioners saying his agency is able to remove or arrest individuals on the same principles as trespassing if the hotel owner calls. However, he said he isn’t familiar with the current ordinance that was adopted “a long time ago.”

Commissioners voted to hold a workshop in the next 40 days to bring together Destination Augusta, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office and Marshal’s Office, hotel groups and some other entities to look over the current transient guest ordinance for a possible update.

Also at the meeting

After a break that lasted a few weeks, Interim City Administrator Takiyah Douse was back with her rightsizing plan she presented more than a month ago that aims to save the city about $10 million.

Parts of the plan include consolidating grass-cutting services, cutting vacant jobs and vehicle use, as well as a number of other money-saving tactics. Commissioners are expected to pick out and adopt certain parts of this plan moving forward.

Meanwhile, Mayor Garnett Johnson is pushing to discuss having every department in Augusta-Richmond County create a 5% and 10% budget cut model.

Also on the agenda, three discussion items will center around the Charles B. Webster Detention Center.

The topics include improving conditions for inmates, hiring more workers, and replacing and renovating jail cell pods. In a letter from Willow Products Co., there’s mention of a need for jail cell hinges to be replaced at an estimated cost of more than $300,000.

All items approved through Tuesday’s meeting must go through the full commission before they are fully approved or adopted.

Other important items being discussed include:

• More than $171,000 in emergency funds for structural issues on Fourth Street (more than $37,000), replacing air systems at the McBean Community Center (almost $26,000), roof leakage at the probation office ($80,000), and an evaluation of the electrical systems at the Augusta Common ($28,000).
• Increasing SPLOST 8 collection funds to make up for an 18-month cut to their collection period.
• $30,000 in increased security fees for Arts in the Heart, due to a shortfall in the festival’s budget.
• $5,000 from the Trustees of Oakland Park for renovations at Hickman Park, which was approved at teh committee level and now moves to the full commission.

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