Augusta, GA
Commission approves $25K pay hike for Augusta’s fire chief
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The Augusta Commission on Tuesday approved a $25,000 annual pay increase for the fire chief.
The raise for Fire Chief Antonio Burden were approved at a meeting held under the cloud of an ongoing cyberattack that’s brought some city services to a crawl.
At the meeting, the council also got an update on a new storage structure for the Rowing Club as the mold-infested Augusta Boathouse moves closer to demolition.
Ron Lampkin with the Augusta Central Services Department says city workers will not be able to have a new storage structure up by November when the club hosts a regional regatta.
Another option was to occupy an empty building owned by Augusta at Prep Phillips Drive, but everyone is leaning toward construction of a temporary building.
Also at the meeting, the commission approved a motion to accept state grant money for improvements at Boykin Road Park.
A $1.7 million grant will be used to revitalize it from an athletic park to a passive park. Features will include comfort stations, picnic shelters, a walking track, a sustainable playground with an interactive water feature, new lighting and a community garden with outdoor fitness equipment for seniors.
The commission got an update regarding assessment of properties on Ellis Street that homeowners say have been damaged by roadway water runoff.
Cranston Engineering is claiming the damage is not due to the city drainage system, despite proven inefficiencies of the current drain being unable to handle runoff from the Calhoun Expressway and a new engineering plan being approved to fix the drainage system. Suggestions of looking to an outside expert were laid out in Cranston’s evaluation.
“From Eve Street going up, behind those homes, from Eve Street on back, it’s impossible for water to flow to the storm drain. I’m not an engineer, but I’m using just a little common sense,” said Jordan Johnson, commissioner for district one.
AUGUSTA CYBERATTACK:
On Tuesday, the commission met at 2 p.m. and quickly went behind closed doors in an executive session, presumably for an update on recovery from the cyberattack.
The commission is allowed to hold closed meetings for legal and certain sensitive matters, and has done so often and for hours at a time since the cyberattack was discovered May 20.
After Tuesday’s executive session, commissioners signaled there would be no updates on the cyber-crisis.
Also on the agenda
- A sole-source procurement from Downtown Decorations, Inc in the amount of $99,876 for Christmas décor.
- Task the administrator with bringing back a status update on the $82.3 million in American Rescue Plan spending plan in a line-itemized breakdown.
- Motion to approve development of a plan regarding the reduction of the $1.3 million budget deficit of the Augusta Library.
- Motion to approve agreement for state inmates to be housed at the Richmond County Correctional Institution.
- Motion to approve an ordinance amendment to reduce cat euthanasia with the help of Best Friends Animal Society.
Copyright 2023 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
Augusta, GA
13th Street construction continues as projects fail brick by brick
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – If you drive in downtown Augusta near the 13th Street bridge, you’ve likely dealt with the construction traffic as part of Augusta’s beautification.
Brick-in-laid crosswalks were recently finished, and while they look great, they didn’t last long.
John Ussery, assistant director of traffic, says they have already fixed some of the crosswalks on Telfair Street and 13th and Greene Street.
Now, they are making their way down to Jones Street, and he says they’re almost done with the project — again.
“I’m driving. I’m like, “Yay, good job, guys.” And I hit this bump in the road, and I was like, “Where did this bump come from? It’s a perfectly good road,’” said Jesse Cheadle, who drives in Augusta.
Just when residents thought they saw the light at the end of the tunnel, crews are back out again.
“I’m looking at it and the brick had literally been broken. And coming into the road,” said Cheadle.
In October, the city installed brick sidewalks at the intersection of 13th Street and Jones Street.
They said the construction would take about two weeks.
“It’s frustrating because it’s such a high-volume area,” said Cheadle.
But now, three months later, they’re starting over.
“They laid the brick in there loosely. What did they think was gonna happen?” said Cheadle.
Ussery says they are having to redo all of the brick sidewalks because the contractor decided to try a different technique than what the manufacturer had suggested.
But this time around, they’re following the recommendation.
“Well, you had one job and you failed,” said Cheadle.
Cheadle says he’s hoping it’s all done soon because it’s not just about convenience, but also safety.
“That ambulance needs to get to a hospital in a timely manner. They don’t have time to go around I-20. They don’t have time to go around Gordon Highway,” said
Luckily, the city says they do not have to pay for them to fix the crosswalks this time around.
Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
Augusta, GA
‘We need help’: Ga. airport underfunding could hinder expansions
ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) – Municipal airports across South Georgia could see improvements paused or canceled because of a lack of funding from federal and state officials.
Regional Airports need $83.5 million per year for improvement projects, but Albany, Valdosta, Savannah, Augusta, Macon, Brunswick, and Columbus only receive $16 million from the FAA and $2.8 million from the state.
Airports outside of Atlanta are receiving the shorter end of the stick when it comes to federal and state funding. Airport officials say that they hope that with more grant funding and the expansion of a few projects, it will increase more revenue right here in the Good Life City.
“If we don’t improve our infrastructure and our facilities, we will continue to lose our business aviation to other states. Some of the other states are receiving anywhere from 30 to 80 million dollars worth of funds, where we’re getting around 19 to support 7 airports outside of Atlanta and that’s a challenge,” officials say.
In Albany, the airport has upcoming projects to bring bigger planes, more commercial flights, and Cargo airplanes to the city. But with the lack of funding, the completion of that project is at risk.
“We’re looking at a runway extension which will be a huge project over 100 million dollars and funding has not been identified for that project. So where would we get that money? Well, we need the Federal Administration and the State of Georgia to give us more support,” officials say.
While officials say the airport needs some improvements, passengers say they love the convenience of being able to travel right outside their backyard.
Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
Augusta, GA
North Augusta Baseball gets one last swing at Riverview Park
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – We’re just under two months away from baseball season and this year will be a bittersweet one for North Augusta’s baseball and softball teams.
While many players would much rather play at a brand-new facility, Riverview Park has been home to the Yellowjackets for a long time now.
After this season, however, North Augusta will finally have a new place to call home.
But, they will have one more chance to close out a phenomenal season before transitioning to the new stadium next year.
You’ve seen the construction and you can see the vision.
In just a few more months, across the street from North Augusta High School will be two brand-new facilities.
The newest home of the Yellowjackets baseball and softball teams.
“It’s a chance to have something that is ours,” said Lynn. “Our own atmosphere at school. It’s going to be exciting.”
The over $8 million project was slated to be completed ahead of this year’s season, but after multiple delays like the impact of Hurricane Helene and just how big of a project it truly is, the facilities are still several months from being ready for play.
In the event construction concludes as originally planned, Head Coach Kevin Lynn says the team has no plans to move fields in the middle of their 2025 season.
“I don’t want to have summer ball starting there, I want our kids to start a regular season there,” said Lynn. I want them to open the season up and have a true home opener.”
The good news is, nothing about this year will feel different for the team.
The Yellowjackets have called Riverview Park home for over 40 years and they’ll get one more chance to send it out with a grand slam.”I grew up watching my brother play here and many people before him, so being able to play here one last time feels really good.”
“I’d like to go out on a high note and finish up strong here. Our goal is to win all of our games at home since we play here all the time and know the layout more than anybody else. It’d be nice to accomplish those goals in our last season.”
Lynn’s team will open up on the road against Strom Thurmond on Feb. 11.
The Yellowjackets are 40 and 40 under Lynn as head coach.
It’s hard to believe we’re almost to baseball season, before we know it we’ll be talking about the Masters.
Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
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