Board chides commissioners

Citizens advisory group says officials are staging an ambush on Augusta's Housing Department director

Web posted Friday, January 12, 2001

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By Clarissa J. Walker
Staff Writer

Members of a Citizens Advisory Board say some Augusta commissioners seem to be staging an ambush on the director of the Augusta Housing and Neighborhood Development Department.

And there are local government leaders riding on the coattails of residents who are complaining about the department's rehab program, Housing Department advisory board members said.

``There is always a rush to condemn someone,'' said Barbara Gordon, a member of the Citizens Advisory Board. ``The whole city should be up in arms about this. It's no way to do business.''

On Thursday, Citizens Advisory Board held an emergency meeting to discuss highly publicized complaints concerning the department's housing rehab program.

The board plans to go together to Tuesday's county commission meeting to urge the commissioners to further investigate the complaints.

Housing Department inspectors showed two hours of slide presentations and offered explanations for what appeared to be defective work on several of Augusta's rehabilitated houses. They said the program is to make old houses last longer, not turn them into showplaces.

County Commissioner Andy Cheek said he has walked through 10 homes that were rehabilitated by the program.

``It's been 10 for 10 shoddy workmanship,'' he said, adding that the Augusta Commission gave Director Keven Mack seven months to fix the problems with the program in June.

``Tuesday, I suspect that the discussion will go toward terminating Mr. Mack,'' he said.

Mr. Mack has taken hits from community members and commissioners who say that the program does more harm than good. The rehab program federally funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and pays up to $25,000 for the rehabilitation of each home.

Inspector John Kemp said many of the homes the Augusta program has refurbished were built before the 1950s, and bringing them up to building code standards usually consumes most of the money allocated for each house. There is little left for cosmetic touch-ups residents want, he said. Board members said they don't believe some of the commissioners grasp the goals of the program.

``Rehab or remodeling the work should be quality workmanship,'' Mr. Cheek said. ``Those who condone the quality of work that these old people have been getting, they are the ones who are confused. They are allowing shoddy work to be accepted.''

Reach Clarissa J. Walker at (706) 828-3851.

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