Metro Spirit 04.24.2003

Page 20

20 M E T R O S P I R I T

MACAULEY CULKIN corrupts MARILYN MANSON.

Read all about it on page 46

A P R 2 4 2 0 0 3

Would you like the air inside your house cleaner than the air outside? Call

(706) 868-6111

INVITATION FOR BIDS The Housing Authority of The City of Augusta, Georgia will receive bids in the Board Room of the J. Madden Reid Administration Building, 1425 Walton Way, Augusta, Georgia 30901 until 2:00 P.M., (local time) in Augusta, Georgia on Thursday, May 1, 2003 for The Rehabilitation of 2361 Amsterdam Drive, 2427 Belgrade Court, 2339 Helsinki Dr, 2307 Prague Ct, Barton Village GA06P001014, Augusta, Georgia. At the time and place noted above, the bids will be publicly opened and read aloud. Contract documents, including drawings and specifications, are on file at the office of The Housing Authority of The City of Augusta, Georgia, 1425 Walton Way. Bidding documents may be obtained at the office of the Modernization Department the Housing Authority of the City of Augusta, Georgia, 1425 Walton Way, and (706) 312-3164 (Mr. Charles Carswell, Resident Engineering Inspector). Bidders are requested to inspect the property as well as operations and conditions that may be affected. Arrangements shall be made for inspecting the site by contacting the Housing Authority at (706) 312-3164 (Mr. Charles Carswell, Resident Engineering Inspector). The Contract, if awarded, will be on the basis of the lowest base bid from a responsible bidder. No bid may be withdrawn for a period of sixty (60) days after time has been called on date of bid opening. Bids exceeding $40,000 must be accompanied by a bid bond or cashier’s check, made payable to The Housing Authority of The City of Augusta, Georgia, in an amount of not less than 5% of the base bid. The successful bidder will be required to furnish and pay for both a Performance Bond and a Payment Bond or bonds in an amount equal of 100% of the contract price along with a Builder’s Risk Insurance Policy and other insurance requirements in accordance with the General Conditions. The successful bidder will be required to furnish and pay for Builder’s Risk Insurance Policy and other insurance requirements in accordance with the General Conditions. The Housing Authority reserves the right to accept or reject any bids and to waive any technicalities and informalities in the bidding process. Attention is called to the provisions for equal employment opportunity and to the requirement that not less than minimum salaries and wages, as set forth in the specifications must be paid on this project. The work to be performed under this contract is subject to the requirements of Section 3 of the HUD Act of 1968, as amended 12 U.S.1701u (Section 3). The purpose of Section 3 is to insure that employment and other economic opportunities generated by HUD assistance or HUD-assisted projects covered by Section 3, shall, to the greatest extent feasible, be directed to low-and very low-income persons, particularly persons who are recipient of HUD assistance for Housing. The Housing Authority of the City of Augusta, Georgia has established a goal of awarding 20% of the dollar value of contracts to Minority Business Enterprises. General contractors should contact the Georgia Department of Labor, Veteran Outreach Program at 601 Greene Street for qualified veteran owned business. The Housing Authority of the City of Augusta, Georgia BY: Jacob L. Oglesby, Executive Director

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whatever, to walk miles to go to a park. So this is about the closest place where they can go out and relax.” “They would have to rip all this out here and get the trees away or whatever,” she added, pointing to the brick planters and benches that were installed in the courtyard. “To be really honest, this is ridiculous to open this up to the public. To take away from the elderly.” Downey doesn’t dismiss the illegal activity that’s gone on at Richmond Summit, but said the blame for it cannot be laid solely on her residents or the complex. Even after being told that sheriff’s deputies had responded to Richmond Summit over 650 times in two years, Downey said she still feels the sheriff’s department could do more to patrol the area. In fact, Downey said, she has requested increased patrols in the past. “Nothing (resulted from the requests), OK?” Downey said. “We have a (sheriff’s) substation in the back here on Ellis Street. You very seldom see a police officer in there.” Major Richard Weaver of the Richmond County Sheriff’s Department said that the substation, the space for which was donated by a property owner, is no longer used by deputies because it could not be properly heated and cooled. Downey said she had a security system installed on the doors of Richmond Summit, but “street-wise” individuals have found their way around it, even sometimes using sticks or branches to bypass security system sensors. “I am willing to do anything. I mean, they (critics) say people are going in and out; I have 136 apartments here,” Downey said, with exasperation. “People who live here have the right to go in and out. That doesn’t mean they’re prostitutes or drug-dealers and they’re (the criminal element) not going in the daytime. It happens here in the evening, at night.” Downey said that, under HUD guidelines, visitors have to leave by 10 p.m. Guests are allowed overnight stays with residents for up to a two-week period. Guests must apply for such stays in person at the office, accompanied by the resident, and be registered. “They’re (guests) supposed to leave at 10 o’clock every night,” Downey said. “I can’t just knock on every door and say, ‘Excuse me, he has to go,’ or ‘She has to go.’” Downey said crime incident reports have been forwarded to the owners of the property, and she also put in a request to hire private security for the building and grounds. However, none of her supervisors have responded, she said.

“We have security doors. I put in for a security guard, too,” Downey said. “I have had no response yet from my upper echelon. You know, maybe that would help, but I cannot make the decision to hire somebody. I can just suggest it.” Bill G. Sanders and Asbury D. Snow Jr., were listed on the Richmond Summit deed as general partners in the property’s ownership. Downey confirmed that she was answerable, albeit indirectly, to Snow. Although Richmond Properties, Ltd. was not listed among corporations registered with the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office, Snow’s name was listed there as the sole agent for an Atlanta-based company called the Sanbury Corporation. Snow, however, did not return two messages from The Spirit left on his voice mail at Sanbury Corporation seeking comment about the security and crime issues at Richmond Summit. A phone number or correct address could not be found for Sanders. An address listed for him on the Richmond Summit deed is now occupied by a bookstore. No one at the bookstore knew of him. Chris Naylor, executive of the Downtown Development Authority, said he recently met with Downey and feels she is truly trying to correct the problems at Richmond Summit. “I’ve gone down and talked with the manager down there, a very nice lady. And a lot of those problems are people coming in (from outside the complex),” Naylor said. “The manager down there is doing the best

“I am willing to do anything. I mean, they (critics) say people are going in and out; I have 136 apartments here. People who live here have the right to go in and out. That doesn’t mean they’re prostitutes or drug-dealers and they’re (the criminal element) not going in the daytime. It happens here in the evening, at night.” — Edie Downey, Richmond Summit property manager.


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