Who’s in charge of cleaning up grungy areas of Augusta?
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - District 7 Augusta Commission member Sean Frantom revealed during a committee meeting that Keep Augusta Beautiful is being disbanded.
This was in response to an Augustan who presented pictures of unkempt areas in the city.
Here’s who is really in charge of cleaning those areas in the city.
“It’s not just cutting grass and trees; it’s respect and our legacy. Our legacy for this city,” said Kevin de l’Aigle, Augusta citizen and business owner.
He walks his dog on Greene Street and is frustrated by what he sees. He says this level of upkeep also extends to nearby historical cemeteries, where his family rests.
In response, Frantom says there’s a fault at hand for clarity on who’s supposed to be cleaning things up. But that money from the disbanded ‘Keep Augusta Beautiful’ would go to creating results.
Created in 2018, the budget started at $124,000. This past year, it was down to just $13,000. The goal has always been to clean up neighborhoods.
“We got to do better as a city. That’s not just on our department heads, that’s on this body as well on giving clear direction on whether it’s parks and rec, engineering, you name it,” said Frantom.
We reached out to Augusta’s Director of Engineering Dr. Hameed Malik who says it is clear. His department oversees right-of-way maintenance and grass cutting, road improvement projects such as 15th Street, and new landscape projects.
Malik says parks and rec oversees keeping up the Broad and Greene Street medians while maintaining the city’s historical areas, such as the Cedar Grove Cemetery.
de l’Aigle said: “There’s so much potential there.”
He also says the city’s stormwater division, which is under engineering, has been taking on the responsibilities of ‘Keep Augusta Beautiful’ since June 14.
“I know I sound frustrated, but I see a lot of potential, and I feel very positive we could make this work,” he said.
We reached out to Augusta Parks and Recreation on how they define their role in city cleanup, but they were unable to comment.
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