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MetroBeat Coliseum Authority Finally Back to Business
“I think if the voters in Richmond County had a chance to vote, they’d abolish the Augusta Commission quicker than they would the coliseum authority.” — Authority member Bill Maddox
Methodists that the authority wasn’t going to refund every cent of the conference’s money. “We’re doing them wrong,” Maddox said. “We’re basically telling them not to come back.” Several authority members agreed that the civic center had suffered a great public embarrassment following the United Methodists Conference and were determined not to lose any other events for the civic center. In an attempt to entice both promoters and the public back to the civic center, the authority voted to reduce parking at the facility from $4 to $3. The board estimated that it would cost the authority approximately $50,000 a year, but board member Carolyn Usry said she believed that, if the civic center didn’t address the parking fees, many events, such as Springtime in the South, wouldn’t come back. “We are going to lose the spring show if we don’t have a reduction in the parking,” Usry said. But with the reduction in parking revenue, the authority members also realized they needed to consider a more conservative budget for the civic center’s fiscal year.
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BY STACEY EIDSON
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t’s amazing what the AugustaRichmond County Coliseum Authority can accomplish if the board members actually attend the civic center meetings. For the first time in more than a month, the coliseum authority had enough members present for its Sept. 17 meeting to conduct business. The previous three meetings called by the authority failed to achieve a quorum because they had been boycotted by various members of the board. Finally, it was time for the authority to get back down to business and the board didn’t waste any time dealing with some of the civic center’s most controversial items. As soon as the authority’s interim chairman, Joe Scott, called the meeting to order, he dramatically announced his resignation as chairman of the board, leaving a surprised Belle Clark, secretary of the authority, in charge of the meeting. But Clark’s reign as chairman lasted only a few short minutes as she immediately called for the election of new officers. With little debate, the board quickly elected authority members Bernard Harper as chairman, Billy Holden as vice chairman, Annie Rogers as treasurer and Fred Reed as secretary. With the election of officers finalized, the board chose to address a dark cloud that has been hanging over the authority’s heads for months: How much money should be refunded to the North Georgia Conference of United Methodists? The four-day conference in June has been described by some members of the authority as a “complete failure” on the part of the civic center and its private catering company, Fine Host. The complaints about the filth of the civic center and poor food service were serious enough for the coliseum authority to terminate the civic center’s general manager, Reggie Williams, on June 25. However, the authority decided the United Methodists’ grievances weren’t severe enough to warrant a full refund. Instead, the board decided to refund a total of $38,000 to conference officials. The authority would be responsible for $10,000 of the refund, while Fine Host would have to return $28,000 to the church officials. Authority member Bill Maddox couldn’t believe after the board had listened to the problems experienced by the United
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Therefore, the authority decided to approve the facility’s proposed 20022003 budget, excluding any proposed salary increases for employees. “This budget has a 7-percent salary increase for employees,” Maddox said. “I think we should consider giving our hourly employees a raise. They’re the ones that need a raise, not our top people. The top positions here are making more money than anybody in the state.” Maddox said Macon currently pays its civic center assistant general manager $46,000 and its accountant $36,000. In comparison, Augusta’s finance director for the civic center receives approximately $49,000, while the assistant general manager is paid about $53,500, Maddox said. The authority also had to deal with the lingering issue of Williams’ salary. Following the termination of Williams as general manager of the civic center, the board had continued to pay Williams his $75,000 annual salary. According to Scott, Williams had an oral agreement with the authority and its former attorney, Sam Nicholson, for a one-year contract at the civic center. Therefore, Scott said, Williams deserved the remainder of his one-year salary.
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The authority has been highly criticized for continuing to pay Williams. During a recent meeting the authority had with the Augusta Commission on Sept. 13, Mayor Bob Young blasted the authority for what he saw as the board throwing money away. “Now, the authority has terminated Reggie Williams as manager,” Young said. “So, why is he still being paid if he’s fired?” With those types of decisions being made by the authority, Young said he didn’t think the local legislative delegation had any other choice than to abolish the board. “The coliseum authority has become an embarrassment to this city,” Young said. “In fact, the coliseum authority may have outlived its usefulness.” The mayor wasn’t the only one critical of the coliseum authority during the Sept. 13 meeting. Augusta Commissioner Ulmer Bridges told The Augusta Chronicle after the meeting that he was prepared to discuss abolishing the authority. Maddox took exception to Bridges’ comment. “I would like to say this: I think if the voters in Richmond County had a chance to vote, they’d abolish the Augusta Commission quicker than they would the coliseum authority,” Maddox said. While the authority may not have agreed with the manner in which Young addressed Williams’ salary, the majority of the board members agreed that Williams should not continue to receive a paycheck. After an hour-long legal meeting, the authority’s new attorney, Ziva Bruckner, recommended that the board cease payment of Williams’ salary. That suggestion was approved with a vote of 5-4, with authority members Mildred McDaniel, Annie Rogers, Belle Clark and Scott voting against the motion. Scott said the authority was treating Williams unfairly. “It’s wrong,” Scott said. “It was wrong when they voted to fire him and it’s wrong now.” Scott said he only hoped that Williams wouldn’t take the authority to court. “It would be bad for the public and bad for us here to drag this thing to court,” Scott said. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if he did.”