Felon or visionary: Should Riverwalk be named for Ed McIntyre?

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – For a number of casual Riverwalk goers and city leaders, former Mayor Ed McIntyre is a solid pillar in the Garden City’s history.

He was the first Black mayor and the person who started the idea of the Augusta Riverwalk – and some want to name the landmark for him.

But for some, it’s his reputation as someone who was put in federal prison for extortion that’s a step in the wrong direction to be memorialized forever.

The Augusta Planning Commission held a hearing Wednesday on renaming the Riverwalk and the Eighth Street plaza for McIntyre.

About 25 people were at the hearing, with several speaking on both sides of the issue.

One person in support said: “We’re about to have a convicted felon for a president, so we should honor someone who only had one mistake. We shouldn’t focus on that one mistake.”

Another supporter of the renaming called McIntyre a “convicted felon, but also a visionary.”

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A commission regular we previously interviewed, Dan Funsch, said we just got done renaming Sammie Sias Way after he was convicted, and that this decision would be ignoring the lessons we just gained from Sias’ federal trial.

The application for the renaming was being submitted by the former mayor’s son – who wasn’t at the hearing.

On the Planning Commission, there were three votes in favor of the renaming and four against.

A final hearing and vote will take place Sept. 19 at the Augusta Commission meeting.

Mayor Garnett Johnson was at the hearing but had no comment.

A new name would be among several changes for the Riverwalk.

The Augusta Parks and Recreation Department has spent thousands so far on improvement projects this year.

Through an open records request, News 12 has found the city’s spent more than $850,000 on the Riverwalk this year, but it still looks pretty rough with broken brick, graffiti and defaced monuments.

With potentially a little more than $400,000 left in the budget, many are wondering if it’ll be enough.

“I think it really behooves us to make sure that thing shines, and it doesn’t,” Funsch told News 12 a few weeks ago.

“I think we need to maintain this much better than we do. It needs to be a priority in my opinion,” said Funsch. “It looks shabby.”

In other matters

Also on the agenda for the Augusta Planning Commission meeting at 3 p.m. Wednesday were:

• Public hearings on renaming the utilities building for former Director Tom Wiedmeier and the Diamond Lakes baseball field for former Commissioner Andrew Cheek.
• Rezoning requests for 3306 Old McDuffie Road, 2300 Milledgeville Road and 1062 Claussen Road. A convenience store is proposed for the old McDuffie Road address.

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