Augusta Boathouse continues to make waves among leaders
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Much remains in question about the future of the Augusta Boathouse.
Officials for weeks have pondered whether it needs to be demolished or repaired after a water pipe burst over the winter, leading to mold that’s only gotten worse.
Augusta Commission met Tuesday in committee form, and there was some back-and-forth between city Parks and Recreation Director Maurice McDowell and Rowing Club over the boathouse.
“We’ve been kicking the can down the road a month at a time. ‘Oh, we’ll get back to you. ‘Oh, we’ll look at helping you out.’ ‘Oh, we’ll do this.’ Nothing happened, and nothing happened, and nothing happened,” said Augusta Rowing Club Head Coach Brad Holdren.
Since commissioners set out to look at demolishing, their priority has been to the Rowing Club. Without a space, their annual regatta, which city leaders says brings in an economic impact of a million dollars, would disappear with the club.
But there’s been some miscommunication.
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Club say they haven’t met with city leaders to discuss a temporary home for their boats. But the Parks and Recreation Department says the two sides have met two to three times to talk about finding a replacement building.
McDowell said: “We’ve had several meetings with the Rowing Club, various . We’ve had meetings to include the Augusta Sports Council and my department.”
Megan Buckaalew is with the Augusta Rowing Club. She said, “The official Rowing Club representatives were not invited.”
Commissioner Brandon Garrett said, “I am trying to understand this because I’ve heard three different stories up here. I’m just trying to understand.”
The city says it’s paying $4,000 a month for portable outhouses while the club pays a dollar a year for leasing.
The question now is how or whether to find storage for the Rowing Club. They need at least 12,000 square feet, which they say could cost a few hundred thousand dollars.
The Augusta Central Services Department says demolition would cost $200,000 to $400,000, and building a new boathouse would cost an estimated $3 million.
But there’s no funding for it in SPLOST 8.
Holdren said: “Hopefully, this will force some people to get some actual numbers on paper.”
Last time the matter came up in March, leaders said it would be a five- to seven-year year process that could potentially pull money from SPLOST 9.
All of this is because the commission said it would the Rowing Club while it’s left without space.
Meanwhile, mold has continued to spread in the boathouse because city officials decided not to treat it back in March. So the mold is making the structure more unsafe for the club to use by the month.
“The mold has continued to spread. We did have the building tested for asbestos as well, and that came back negative,” said Ron Lampkin, interim director of Central Services.
Ahead of next week’s full Augusta Commission meeting, city leaders cold evaluate options to get a space for the Rowing Club – including a sharing agreement with the Savannah Riverkeeper.
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