Judges' offices would be how big?

Augusta commissioners decided to go for the whole enchilada last week and seek bids for an estimated $81.8 million courthouse that will put the whole judicial family under one roof.

They're only $27 million short, but they're optimists and hope the final estimates won't be that much. But the fact is, they could be more because construction costs are rising every day, so much so the architects included $10.3 million in cost escalation in the $81.8 million budget estimate.

Commissioner Joe Bowles thinks the building could be built for much less. Others say if they cut down the size of some of the offices, particularly the judges' offices and private bathrooms, they could cut the cost.

Each of the 18 regular judges will have a 300-square-foot office and 50-square-foot private, Americans-with-Disabilities-Act-compliant bathroom. Each senior judge will have a 260-square-foot office with private ADA-compliant bathroom. Their secretaries and law assistants will each have 120-square-foot offices.

Now just how big is a 300-square-foot office? Big enough to house four Law Enforcement Center jail cells, eight inmates and four toilets. The total space allocated for judges' offices, not counting bathroom space, could house 158 inmates, which could accommodate half of those now sleeping on the floor.

Granted, the judges need more space to contemplate how many years they will give those eight criminals that could fit in their offices, but not that much.

QUOTE 1 OF THE WEEK: "It's still going to come in somewhere under $100 million dollars for the total project. It will probably come in about the same cost as the judicial center and attract 500 times more tourists."

Augusta Commissioner Andy Cheek, after receiving word from utilities officials that relocating utilities on Ellis Street to make way for a canal will cost millions.

QUOTE 2 OF THE WEEK: "I'm thankful to God that I don't have any opposition. It gives me more time to work in my business. So, I just need one vote, and I got it."

Augusta Commissioner Jimmy Smith, during a candidates' forum at the Augusta-Richmond County Committee for Good Government.

THE PEOPLE SPEAK: Last week, we talked about what it would take to put Augusta back on the map, a topic that prompted e-mails from several people expressing their ideas.

Roxann Bustos wrote to ask, "What happened to the movement to construct a new performing arts center near the river? It seems to me that it would make a lot more sense to put that at the Golf Gardens site than a baseball stadium. I also think it would do much more to improve the quality of life for Augustans than a new canal would. It would enable us to make the most of one of Augusta's top resources - our numerous outstanding local performing arts groups (e.g., Augusta Symphony, Augusta Opera, Augusta Players, etc.) - and also to bring in top quality outside groups. It is something that would be used year-round and that would attract visitors."

Clint Smith wrote to say that entitlement living, poor education expectations and crime are holding Augusta back.

"The growing crime here is beginning to spread out from the downtown area to throughout the county," he wrote. "Until Augusta gets the crime thing solved, no bright future will be possible."

Carleton Duvall wrote to say that the first thing that needs to be done is to rewrite the city charter to give the mayor veto power, the commission majority vote rule and the administrator hiring and firing authority.

"As long as the charter remains as it is, Augustans will have no confidence in our city government and will vote down every proposal that is offered at a referendum," he wrote. "Right now, confidence in our city government is lower than I have seen it in a long lifetime."

The second thing to do, he said, would be to re-establish the Committee of 100, a group of business and civic leaders founded in the '50s whose only purpose was to seek and acquire new industry. It was funded by private donations from local business. They hired a professional director. Most of the new industry that came to Augusta in the post-war era came as a result of that group, Mr. Duvall said. It was later absorbed into the Chamber and died.

"Augusta is a great community. I have called it home for most of my life. It truly saddens me to hear it referred to as 'Disgusta' over and over again," he lamented. "How do we get the ball rolling on these suggestions?"

CHEW ON THIS: What would you think about putting the Medical College of Georgia dental school on the 17-acre Golf Hall of Fame property as a way of revitalizing Augusta?

That is one proposal being talked about in some circles by folks who say the commercial and residential redevelopment that would follow would make Augusta a boomtown.

The transfer of the state-owned Golf Hall of Fame property to MCG could be immediate and done by the governor with minimal complications, providing 17 acres for old or new MCG missions as early as next year. And that would give more time for relocating Gilbert Manor residents, which is a concern to state Reps. Wayne Howard and Hardie Davis.

Mr. Howard said that if Gilbert Manor residents move to the renovated Olmstead Apartments, they will move ahead of people on public housing waiting lists, some of whom have been waiting for years. It could take years for MCG to obtain the Gilbert Manor property. After all, they've been talking about it for 30 years.

Just imagine downtown Augusta bustling with students and faculty, one mile from the entrance of MCG. The Savannah College of Art and Design has been instrumental in the revitalization of downtown Savannah, and many buildings have been utilized in the process.

Whaddya think?

HOMECOMING REDUX: More than 30 years ago, a young soldier who had been shipped back from Vietnam was given only enough money by the Army to get to his next post in Florida. He suffered standby flight delays in California and Philadelphia and was put on standby in Atlanta for his flight into Augusta to see his 17-year-old wife, their 13-month-old daughter and their young son, whom he had never seen.

At the end of his rope, he asked Delta for help. The stewardess went aboard the plane and asked 125 passengers whether any of them would volunteer to give up their seat so the veteran could get on the last flight into Augusta that day. Not one person stepped forward, according to Rick Carpenter, who read the story from the veteran himself in the Readers' Comments section of The Chronicle.

Mr. Carpenter sent the veteran an invitation for drinks and dinner the next time he came to Augusta, if ever. He later learned he lives in San Francisco but planned to return to Augusta for the Aquinas High School 50th anniversary.

So Friday night, Mr. Carpenter and co-host Susan Dudley of Aiken threw a party for the veteran and eight members of his family, attended by other veterans, active-duty military members and Reader's Comments participants at Reed Creek Interpretive Center in Martinez.

"It's not every day that any of us get the opportunity to right a wrong that occurred more than 30 years ago," Mr. Carpenter said. "But we will try to do so, hopefully demonstrating that the greater Augusta community does indeed care for and appreciate what our veterans and military have accomplished through their service for the improvement of all of our lives."

A JUICY CONVERSATION: As Chronicle reporter Sandy Hodson and I were leaving the judges, lawyers, D.A., solicitor, probation officers and friends' 18th annual Hot Dog Luncheon on the River last Friday, we ran into former Augusta Commissioner Tommy Boyles on the sidewalk, and then who should drive up but state Sen. J.B. Powell in a black Ford Crown Victoria, which Mr. Boyles said made him look like former Mayor Bob Young, a comment Mr. Powell didn't seem to appreciate.

Mr. Powell had a wad of chewing tobacco in his cheek and was spitting into a cup, which became the next topic of conversation. Mr. Boyles recalled that his wife had bought him a new suit for his first commission meeting and that then-Commissioner Bill Kuhlke, who's also known for keeping a chew in his jaw right regularly, leaned over during the meeting to spit into a trash can and hit his new suit.

Mr. Powell said he could go him one better.

"I was on the commission with him three or four years, and I never saw him spit," he said.

Reach Sylvia Cooper at (706) 823-3228 or sylvia.cooper@augustachronicle.com.