Members of the Augusta Commission’s Finance Committee approved a proposal to generate funds to kickstart seven projects on the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) 9 list.
Administrator Tameka Allen presented committee members with a recommendation to float a general obligation bond to get cash in hand to begin seven of the most impactful projects. The total bond issue would be $80.9 million.
“We looked at our respective priorities and listening to the respective priorities from the governing body. What you’ll see is the items that could actually be bonded for us to move forward as expeditiously as we possibly can,” Allen explained. “We have met with each of these entities to have discussions on what can be bonded so we can start immediately without the entire project, of course, being bonded. What can they get done in ample time during that time when we’ll start collecting the funds?”
One of the projects is the $22 million project to expand sanitary sewer service from where it ends on Deans Bridge Road, Peach Orchard Road, Windsor Spring Road, and the Augusta Corporate Park on Mike Padgett Highway.
It was a project put forth by the Augusta Economic Development Authority (AEDA). Allen recommends $10 million of the bond issue be allocated for that project. AEDA President Cal Wray knows precisely how the funds will be used.
“Plan, design, possibly begin right-of-way acquisition, and hopefully, get the basis for beginning the project, so we can give an exact timeline of how long it’s actually going to take,” Wray told ABD. “Right now, we’ve got to say 48 to 60 months, and while there is some certainty there, there’s still more uncertainty than companies would want if they’re going to invest a billion dollars plus.”
Wray added it is a step to grow South Augusta and improve quality of life.
“You now have the opportunity to build a house and put it on sewer if you want. You can connect to sewer if you want, but you don’t have to,” he said. “Potential for more commercial and retail. It’s all the things that people talk about in South Augusta. They want more residential. They want more retail. They want more commercial. It opens up all those opportunities.”
However, it is that potential $1 billion prize Wray has his eye on.
The new sewer line will stretch from Little Spirit Creek Basin to North McCombs Road. That end point is particularly significant. It will service the proposed 1,150-acre industrial mega-site planned at the Richmond and Burke County line. Wray wants to create a single-user site, similar to the Hyundai plant developed in Bryan County between Savannah and Fort Stewart. That said, Wray could be a company making a $1 billion investment that creates 1,000 jobs.
Wray believes choosing the sewer line extension out of the extensive list of projects in the $375 million SPLOST 9 is a sign commissioners are behind the project.
“Without a doubt,” he said. “I think that’s the exciting part. They believe in the project. If they pre-bond this, it lets us get started. It puts everything in place that we need to continue pushing forward.”
The remaining six priority projects for bond issuance are:
- Projected costs for the Charles B. Webster Detention Center expansion through mid-2028 ($33,000,000)
- Full project costs for the new Juvenile Court facility ($19,141,000)
- Initial funding for Riverwalk/Boathouse reconstruction ($10,000,000)
- Full commitment to the University System of Georgia Board of Regents in support of a medical research facility at Augusta University ($5,000,000)
- Initial funding for new facility/facility revitalization for Recreation & Parks ($2,259,000)
- Design work for Augusta Convention Center expansion ($1,500,000)
The finance committee recommendation next goes before the full commission for final approval.
