Just two days before his wife purchased a 98-acre tract of land on the border of Richmond and Burke counties, Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission member Ashby Krouse pledged in writing that he had "no financial interest" whatsoever in its value, an investigation by The Augusta Chronicle has found.
In his Sept. 3, 2002, appraisal of the property for owner William Hatcher, Mr. Krouse stated that he had no interest "either present, or contemplated, in the opinion of value put on this property."
By Sept. 5, the property was in his wife, Donna's, possession.
The land deal is part of a series of transactions, now under investigation by the Georgia attorney general's office, that ultimately resulted in the Krouses selling the land to the state for $265,000 - more than 10 times the amount they paid for it.
When contacted by The Chronicle this week, Mr. Krouse refused comment and said his attorney had advised him not to talk.
Mr. Hatcher, the president of MAU Consultants and Recruiters, owned the land from 1983 until Sept. 5, 2002, when he donated it to the Hale Foundation, a local charity that counsels and houses alcoholic men.
On that same day, Hale Foundation officials sold it to the Krouses for $25,000.
When first interviewed by The Chronicle in the fall, Mr. Hatcher said he did not recall who initially talked him into giving the land to the charity.
This week, he said he remembered that Mr. Krouse approached him with an offer to appraise the land at no charge if he donated it to the Hale Foundation.
"I said 'What's a Hale House?' He gave me a pamphlet and I looked it over," Mr. Hatcher said. "I told (Mr. Krouse) 'If you appraise it and it's close to what the county has appraised it for, I'll donate it.'"
At that point, Mr. Hatcher said, he was unaware Mr. Krouse intended to buy the land and assumed he just "knew of the Hale House and thought it was worthwhile."
Mr. Hatcher also says he was not present when Hale President Sam Sibley sold the land to the Krouses.
Mr. Krouse's appraisal, provided to The Chronicle by Mr. Hatcher, describes the property and lists its fair market value as $113,000 - close to the $117,888 assessed value listed by Richmond County's Tax Assessor's Office.
That was Sept. 3, 2002. The next day, Mr. Krouse delivered an appeal to the Richmond County Appraisal Office asking to reduce the land's assessed value to $25,000. Mr. Krouse said he submitted the appeal on behalf of Mr. Hatcher.
Mr. Hatcher maintains that he had no knowledge of the appeal document and denies signing a letter authorizing it.
"That is not my signature," he said Friday. "I can say that without question."
One day after the appeal was filed, Mrs. Krouse bought the property for $25,000.
According to Department of Transportation biologist Steve Wiedl, the Krouses already had plans to sell the property.
Mr. Wiedl told The Chronicle that days before Mr. Krouse pledged no financial interest - Aug. 30, 2002 - Mr. Krouse's father-in-law, former state Sen. Don Cheeks, arranged a meeting with him so Mr. Krouse could try to sell the land to the state.
DOT interoffice memos show that Mr. Krouse met with Mr. Wiedl on Sept. 6, 2002, the day after his wife purchased the land. Mr. Cheeks had set up the appointment and introduced his son-in-law to Mr. Wiedl at a Waffle House, Mr. Wiedl said.
Mr. Cheeks has denied he intervened on behalf of the Krouses or influenced the sale.
Initially, DOT officials did not consider the property suitable for wetland mitigation, but in 2003 they changed their minds, ultimately buying the tract for the Savannah River Parkway project, according to DOT spokesman Bert Brantley.
The Chronicle also has learned that Mr. Krouse has been sanctioned for a previous real estate deal by the Georgia Real Estate Appraisers Board.
In 1999, he failed to "disclose his position as a buyer and a seller to the parties involved" and failed to "disclose in a timely manner ... an agency relationship he had with other parties" while involved with the sale of property on Berckmans Road, according to the board's Feb. 29, 1999, consent order.
As a result, his license was downgraded from broker to associate broker, meaning for three years his real estate actions had to be supervised, board spokesman Ric Wilson said. Mr. Krouse also had to pay a $5,000 fine and complete an approved course on principals in real estate transactions.
By signing the order, Mr. Krouse waived his right to a hearing and admitted his guilt in the incident, Mr. Wilson said.
Reach Dena Levitz at (706) 823-3339 or dena.levitz@augustachronicle.com.
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