AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDWWAGT) — A 30-day deadline for property owners at Brook Landing to fix code violations expired Monday, following a 12 On Your Side Investigates report last month on apartment complexes operating without business licenses.

City building inspectors gave the property owners the deadline after finding 66 deficiencies across every building at the complex. Nearly half of those, 31, were classified as direct threats to life safety.

Voucher program findings

Fifteen families at Brook Landing use federal Housing Choice Vouchers to pay rent. Augusta’s Housing Authority passed 13 of the 15 voucher apartments during its inspections. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires apartments accepting vouchers to meet minimum housing quality standards.

12 On Your Side Investigates cross-referenced city records against Housing Authority data address-by-address. The comparison confirmed voucher recipients live inside Buildings D and H, both cited by the city for electrical deficiencies and safety hazards.

Ronald Lee Jones has lived at Brook Landing for 16 years and pays his rent using a voucher. He lives in Building H.

“The water. That’s been the water and the AC. It gives out the units … came with the whole unit breaking down, the heat. I don’t know how old it is,” Jones said, describing the biggest problems he has seen.

Jones said getting repairs made has been difficult.

“It has. It really has. I mean, very few … they do the best they can. So I just go along with them,” Jones said.

Jones said a long waiting list for rentals accepting vouchers makes it hard for him to move elsewhere.

Housing Authority responds

In an email, the Housing Authority said, “A passing HCV inspection should not be interpreted as a certification that the entire property complies with every applicable … code.”

It was city building inspectors, not the Housing Authority, who gave the property owners 30 days to fix the violations.

City official addresses findings

12 On Your Side Investigates brought its findings to Adleasia Cameron, who became Augusta-Richmond County’s director of planning and development this past spring.

Asked how one inspection could pass a unit while another inspection at the same address found violations, Cameron said: “Those are questions that we will have to continue to look into. And we do have open cases right now that I don’t want to speak to right now until I get the full report on those.”

“We want to make sure that our community is safe,” Cameron said.

What’s next

12 On Your Side Investigates filed an open records request seeking documented progress at Brook Landing. The property owner was contacted for comment last week and has not responded to the latest questions. He has previously emailed 12 On Your Side Investigates saying he is working with the city.

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – People who use Augusta’s community centers say they are waiting on repairs and upgrades to the places they use every week.

At Bernie Ward Community Center, longtime users pointed to aging floors, equipment, bathrooms and other parts of the building they say need attention.

At Henry Brigham Community Center, the wait has meant losing access to the swim center altogether, which has been closed since Oct. 31, 2025, because of mechanical problems.

Longtime user Janet Robinson has now started a petition calling on the city to finish the repairs, provide a clear timeline and set a reopening date.

Other regular pool users say the closure has forced them to travel elsewhere for aquatic exercise or kept some from participating at all.

Commissioner Don Clark, who represents District 5, said the city is targeting a November reopening.

Problems for pool users

The Henry Brigham Community Center closed in 2022 for a multimillion-dollar renovation project. The original projected cost was $8.3 million, and the project came in over budget at $8.6 million to $8.7 million. The new community center building reopened to the public in 2024, featuring an indoor walking track, dance room, weight room, e-sports room, sauna and a gym that can hold 500 people.

At the time, upgrades to the swimming pool building next door, along with the outside track and playgrounds, were described as still in discussion, with city leadership looking toward the special purpose local option sales tax to pay for the additional work because the main building project was already over budget.

Robinson, a real estate broker with Augusta Real Estate, started a petition on change.org after her mother, DeLois Davis, told her she was tired of having to travel elsewhere to swim. The petition has collected 140 signatures.

“The thing that got me to do it this time is I heard her,” Robinson said. “We have to do something about this. We can’t just let it stay like this.”

Robinson said she has spoken with Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson and Commissioner Don Clark about the closure.

Janette Welcher, who has attended the swim center’s Water Warriors program since 2012, said the pool has closed repeatedly over the past two years. She said the facility closed for construction and reopened around the end of November 2024, following Hurricane Helene, then closed again in March 2025 when the boiler went out. Welcher said the pool did not reopen until September 2025, when a pump failure closed it again in October, and it has remained closed since.

“We came back in September, the pump went out in October,” Welcher said. “Enough is enough. We’ve been told that we’ve been working on it, we’re gonna get it fixed. We have heard some things, some issues, but we don’t really know what is going on.”

DeLois B. Davis, who has used the swim center for about 20 to 25 years, said the pool serves as a gathering place as well as a place for exercise. She said the facility’s ramp allows access for people who cannot use stairs and said the boiler at the facility needs a fence installed.

“We really do have a good support system at that pool,” Davis said. “It’s a tragedy for us having to go over to somewhere else when we used to coming in here, and not being able to do what we do.”

Gwen Rouse, who has used the center for about 25 years, said the facility has also hosted community events in the past, including summer camps and family reunions.

“I had issues with my knees, and I was told water is good for them,” Rouse said. “So I was walking, and I seen the swim center, so I decided to start coming in to the swim center. I enjoyed it, so it became kind of a part of my life.”

Rouse said the closure has made it difficult to get the same benefits elsewhere.

“It’s hard to imagine having to leave your community to go to another place to get the benefits of recreation and the things you need in life when we have it right here,” Rouse said. “So you have to leave your community to go to another center to meet your needs, and I feel like that’s a travesty for our community.”

Sherry Allison, who has taught water fitness classes for the Augusta Recreation and Parks Department for more than 20 years, said she had to find work elsewhere because of the closure. She said the ramp at Henry Brigham allows easier access for seniors than the Augusta Aquatics Center, where her class relocated.

“I am really astonished and appalled that this pool is still closed,” Allison said. “We have been closed at several times throughout the years for repairs, which they needed to do, but never this long a period of time, and I just think it’s terrible.”

Glenda Johnson said the ramp is important for seniors who cannot use stairs, including those who use wheelchairs in the pool.

“It’s a whole lot of ladies had start coming with the wheelchair. They had that wheelchair that can go in the pool, but now it’s down,” Johnson said. “So we need this pool for the seniors.”

Patricia Thomas, who moved to Augusta after retiring, said the distance and cost of traveling to the Augusta Aquatics Center has limited her ability to exercise.

“To take a taxi from my home to here is $10. From my home to the Aquatic Center is more than $20 one way,” Thomas said. “I’m retired, I have to count my money, and I couldn’t afford it, so I’ve missed a lot of classes. It’s detrimental to my health. I need the Brigham Center open so I can exercise and be healthy.”

Robinson said Henry Brigham serves residents from Hephzibah, McBean and Blythe.

“It’s very important for it to be working,” Robinson said.

Is reopening ahead?

Commissioner Don Clark, who represents District 5, said the city has emergency work orders in place to repair the pool, including replacement of the boiler system.

“We’re pushing right now for a November reopening of the pool,” Clark said. “We have emergency work orders in place now, getting these repairs completed, and really it’s resulting in the replacement of that boiler system and some other specific repairs that have to correspond or repairs that have to go on with it.”

Clark said the timeline should not have extended this long.

“Bottom line, it shouldn’t have taken this long, period,” Clark said.

Clark said the delay came from an extended process of attempting smaller repairs before deciding on a full overhaul.

“It got hung up in the processing of the submissions they were doing. Initially, they were trying to do repairs to it,” Clark said. “Looks like those kind of got overly extended, and a decision should’ve been made well before now to say, ‘All right, this isn’t gonna work, let’s go ahead and just do a full overhaul.’ So started with the boiler system, but then the more work that they got onto that boiler system, they just said we just need an overall revamp of everything in there.”

Clark compared the repair process to repeated trips to a mechanic.

“It’s kind of like working on your car. You can go back and forward to the shop over and over again, the problems are still the same,” Clark said. “Until you finally say, ‘Okay, trying to replace this or replace that isn’t gonna work, so you just need to replace the entire system.’”

Clark said he is requesting daily updates on the project and confirmed the city has an emergency purchase order in place.

“I’m getting daily updates, requesting daily updates,” Clark said. “I just verified today with procurement that we got an emergency PO that went through so that the system can get completely overhauled.”

Clark said November remains the target reopening date.

“I say November, if it happens sooner, even better, but that’s what we’re targeting right now is November,” Clark said. “This should’ve happened well before now as far as just finally saying, ‘Let’s stop with the repairs, and let’s just go ahead and overhaul it.’ So now we’re deeply engaged, meaning myself, Commissioner Scott, and of course the administrator, and we’re just gonna get it done.”

Meanwhile at other community centers

Glenn Hazelwood uses Bernie Ward Community Center to play pickleball.

“We have issues with because we play pickleball; we try to stay safe, and we’ve had problems where it leaks from the ceiling, and that makes it really hazardous for participants,” Hazelwood said.

“Oh, it’s very frustrating. But we try to work with the staff and the… we know that the staff is working hard to try to correct these problems, so I imagine the solution is above their head,” Hazelwood said.

The city’s records back him up. According to Bernie Ward service requests, crews have been out repeatedly over the past year to fix air conditioning drain lines at the center.

According to the records, a city staffer flagged that the line still was not “properly repaired.”

The records state as recently as last month, another pipe broke loose and had to be reattached.

“The air conditioning, when it works, it’s pretty good, but there’s other considerations. You know, the condensation leaks and things like that,” Hazelwood said.

Bernie Ward is not the only location with problems. According to May Park service requests, records show a vent fell out of the gym ceiling twice this summer. One report says it almost hit a camper.

Lawrence L. Freeman uses May Park Community Center.

“When you got peoples wanna come and rent the facility, don’t put them in a hot box. We got to put them in a comfortable box where it can be comfortable,” Freeman said.

“Check your units. Check your, check your buildings. Check your ducks,” Freeman said.

According to the records, five of Augusta’s cooling centers do not have a yearly service plan.

The city said in a statement that “an open repair ticket doesn’t mean the whole building is without AC” and that “if a center stops working altogether, Parks and Rec has to tell Emergency Management and get repairs going.”

“To update the facility not only for the aesthetics, but for the safety of the participants and the staff,” Hazelwood said.

The city says all 11 locations are functional as cooling centers.

At Bernie Ward, Parks and Recreation told commissioners in June the department was finalizing a three-phase renovation covering the pool, the Fleming Park complex, and the facility building. Plans were 90% to 95% complete at the time.

Maintenance records reviewed include repairs at all 11 centers, how long some took, and which locations have annual service agreements.

How to get an update

Augusta Recreation and Parks will hold an informal community meeting at 6 p.m. Sept. 23 at the Bernie Ward Community Center, 1941 Lumpkin Road.

The meeting will update residents on the Fleming Park Improvement Project as the design nears completion.

Department representatives will review the project’s status, the improvements included in the near-complete design, and the anticipated next steps.

Residents, park users, and other community stakeholders are encouraged to attend and learn more about the project.

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Pepper spray was used after a large fight broke out Monday morning at Laney High School, parents were told in a letter from the principal.

Principal Marvin Washington said the incident happened during morning intake and involved “multiple students.” Preliminary findings, he wrote, indicate it started from an off-campus dispute that happened over the weekend but spilled onto school grounds.

Richmond County School System police officers and administrators “intervened immediately,” Washington said.

Because of the size and intensity of the altercation, responding officers deployed pepper spray to quickly de-escalate the situation and protect students and staff.

The area was ventilated and medical staff evaluated those affected, according to the letter. Washington said normal school operations resumed shortly afterward and the matter is being handled under the district’s code of conduct and applicable laws.

Washington stressed that the school system is committed to maintaining “a safe academic atmosphere where all students can learn and grow,” and said fights of this nature “are unacceptable and will not be tolerated” on campus.

He urged parents and guardians to talk with their children about making positive choices, resolving conflicts peacefully and keeping personal disputes off school grounds. Families with safety concerns about the school are encouraged to contact the school directly or call the district’s Safety Tip Line at 706-828-1077.