The newly hired, newly fired facilities manager at the Augusta-Richmond County Coliseum Authority says the board is "slowly destroying" the civic center.
She's right.
Yet, with any luck, the board's firing of her has only sown the seeds of its own destruction.
The civic center has been under-performing for years -- and rarely if ever has been run well, truth be known. But the appointed Coliseum Authority that oversees it has been more dysfunctional than ever in recent months, firing key employees willy-nilly for transparently petty and childish reasons.
Most observers, for instance, believe the board's firing of facilities manager Julie Huggins after only a week on the job was retaliation by some board members for the previous firing of general manager Robert "Flash" Gordon.
Members responsible for firing Huggins hung their hat on a discrepancy with her title at her former job at a facility in Jacksonville, Fla. The chairman of that facility had cleared up the confusion in her favor -- and reports indicate Huggins had been doing a stellar job in her first week here -- yet, the sharply divided Coliseum Authority voted to fire her anyway Tuesday.
The public knows the truth: that the Coliseum Authority is a circus without a ringmaster, a chaotic, racially divided and imperious-acting joke of a board.
If the board could agree on a food vendor, which it's had difficulty doing, perhaps it ought to be Little Caesar's -- for that's what we've got running the place: little Caesars. These high-handed, narrow-minded buffoons have struggled mightily to become the most incompetent public entity going in Augusta -- at a time when even the formerly maddening Augusta Commission now appears sane and capable.
If only we could put the Coliseum Authority out of our misery. But the area's state legislative delegation -- the only one authorized to change the Coliseum Authority -- has been unable to agree on a solution. The delegation risks letting the legislative session end without fixing this toxic mess.
Let's be clear about this: If our representatives and senators fail to act, the responsibility for the Coliseum Authority's collateral damage to this community -- the racial undertones, the divisiveness, the costs of an under-used facility and the cost of any litigation by the fired facilities manager -- will be laid directly at their feet.
The legislative delegation has but days to avoid the public's wrath and agree to a bill fixing the Coliseum Authority.
Solutions include starting with all new members; reducing the number of appointees from 12 to nine or fewer; requiring them to have some entertainment or business expertise; limiting their terms; and providing for easy removal of disruptive and unhelpful members.
Should our state representatives and senators fail to agree on a solution, they must resort to the nuclear option: a short, sweet bill abolishing the Coliseum Authority and handing its operation completely over to the city.
State Rep. Barbara Sims has always preferred this option and, frankly, so do we. Why in the world do state legislators have to have a hand in the local civic center operation, except to be able to hand out political plums so their undeserving cronies can feel important?
Abolishing the Coliseum Authority is an option the entire delegation must support if they cannot fix the problem any other way, and now.
Comments
Dead on target Chronicle....People stop wasting time and money on the Coliseum Authority-Authority now that is a joke- Just give them a plaque "Best and worst comedy acts of the 21st century Augusta Ga.". Then disband them and tear down what is left of the Coliseum. Put in a real circus complete with year round rides and such.....:-)
It is my understanding that a compromise bill covering all of the areas the chronicle is suggestion is already prepared, in the state clerks office, been signed by three representatives only awaits a fourth signature. As you stated they need to do something and "do it quick."
Abolish the Authority, return it to the county and then hire a management company to run it. State legislators have no business in this at all!
Tear down this outdated building and let's get something new, including competent management.
The problem with the coliseum authority is more then 25 years old. Why would any action be taken now? As far as justus4s goofy analysis goes, the "rewarding" of a settlement hasn't taken place yet, but the typically lame black woman on the authority ( I forget her unimportant name) rewarded her with the opportunity for a suit.
I don't think they want to lose any of their mighty power of authority, and perhaps if they run it themselves, they too would be fired!
Sounds like the newly terminated manager has a "slam dunk" of a lawsuit. Being fired after the first week really cinches it as generally there is a procedure of written job evaluations and performance, warnings, etc. The issue was cleared by her previous employer, yet that went on deaf ears. It is going to cost the county big time, at least they deserve so. This reminds me of Forrest Gump. "Are you stupid or something."" Moma says stupid is as stupid does." By what logic is a lawsuit "rewarding" the employee. That is just soooo absurd-ROFLMAO.
I think you are being too hard on Little Caesars. To lump them in with the CA is a disgrace to them.
Why is it that Augusta's important leadership organizational issues require state government authority to correct?!! After all we know how effective state government is at making the right decisions in a timely manner.
PATRICIA had the nerves to call my comments racist but heaven forbid that anyone would consider her " TYPICAL LAME BLACK WOMAN" comment to to racist in nature. I guess finding out what her name is , was too much work for Her Royal Highness.
Janice Jenkins is the person who made the stupid comments. I believe she is a nurse without any managerial experience. Cut the funding for the authority and take away their power. Let them meet if they want to but without pay. Turn the management over to a professional company that answeres to the city manager.
I think Hypo, that she is following the example of a prominent black politician currently running for prez. Just showing the double standard that exists. Doesnt feel good being lumped together does it? One would think that a member of a part of our society that has experienced such horrible bigotry and treatment in the past would be more sensitive to such things when talking about others.
Now is the time for the delegation to move off their deaf and dumb butts and abolish the Authority and return control of this complex to the City of Augusta. Do so now.
The Authority is just another reason why this town is second class, is the laughing stock city of the state, and why the only time this town is a "tourist" town is for the Masters. The other 51 weeks there is nothing to attract people to visit the Garden City (and just where is this garden?). Fire the CA, bull doze the building, and consider building an "entertainment" complex with a new ball park, arena, and other attractions in one location. There is enough land at Regency Mall to build this, plenty of parking, and would be a boon to the area economically with potential new restaurants and bars (decent bars, not dives).
Why does Augusta even have a Coliseum Authority?
The most shameful actor in this tragedy is Keith Brown. He has had a chip on his shoulder after he got caught lying about his residence and was forced to leave the Augusta Commission. He is a whiner, and he is now shown to be vindictive and petty. I pity our city if he is kept in government.
Kudos to the chronicle for this article, it is right on the money.....
The problem with the Coliseum Authority is cystal clear to me now with the revelations about the hateful venom spewed from the forked tongue of Rev. Jeremiah Wright who recently wrote that our white supremist federal government controls everything from the Capitol to the Ku Klux Klan. This is what Obama believes and what is being preached in the black churches including Augusta. No wonder I get wicked stares full of hate from the blacks in the mall - just because I'm white. No wonder there is such hatred by the blacks for everything white in the buisness of the Civic Center. This explains the Marion Williams types of Augusta and Janice Jenkins. They hate the whites pure and simple and are not going to be satisfied until they put us on the plantation, beat us with a whip and pay back the sufferings of their forefathers forgetting that the past is past and enjoying the fruits of prosperity and blessing that their forebears worked for and suffered for that can today be enjoyed by all Americans black and white.
Greenjacket: How do you know that the Black folks in the mall are givng you wicked stare because your White? May be they are staring at you because you are handsome! I get stared at sometimes and I go through my checklist of possible flaws: Is my zipper open; is there an green booger dangling from my nose; do i have some mildly funny joke writing on my shirt and people want to read it. I admit you must be careful--but you may be trying to avoid some Black guy on one side of the mall and some White guy sticks you up! Remember Ted Bundy--nice looking normal --my grandmother would have invited him (Bundy) in for tea and probably tell Obama to go around back.
This is not a new problem though. The board has needed to be abolished for years. Its been over ten years of this non sense. The board has changed members, but the idiocy remains. I know LMI left a bad taste in the authority's mouth, but that should not stop them from getting a new private management company. Also, LMI blamed much of the problems they had running the center on the micromanagement on the authority. While I think LMI has to share the blame in their failure, I do think next time around the authority should let a private company do their job without having to report/get approval from the authority for every little move. Oh, and greenjacket, yes there is alot of racist blacks messing things up, but they are keeping up with the old fashioned racist whites. We need a younger board, people who went to school after segregation, who are used to being around each other and will work together.
This article is correct with its' content and ideas. I don't think the city of Augusta and Richmond county can run, manage, direct or govern anything with the racial divide that exists in everything. "Voting along racial lines" has been the content in most articles written about the Augusta Commissioner, the Coliseum Authority and the state representatives. I say give all the positions to blacks and then it will no longer be racial. I'm not sure what they would report when they disagreed. It is a shame that none of these people and these groups can lay down race and move this city forward.
Excuse me Jake, I should have posted "some" blacks give me angry stares. Senator Obama figures in on the discussion because he is the leader running for President who believes like his racist pastor and church believe. This mess is being propagated throughout the black churches. His sermons sell. His news magazine started by Wright, sells. And in order for it to sell, there must be readers who agree with his racism. He holds conferences and goes to conferences urging black pastors to follow his twisted theology. Wright is not a lone wolf howling in the wilderness. He is the rule rather than the exception, and it's filtered down to Augusta. That's how Obama is drug into this. If he didn't believe it, prove it! Oh, I know, he renounced his pastor's inflammatory preaching. How easy it is to talk the talk and not walk the walk. Why does he continue on in this church? Walk the talk, I say, and leave the bigoted, racist, hate white church. Prove what you say by your action.
Reddog that was the funniest comment..:-) I needed that laugh...Have a great day
I do believe that the clown on theCA will now learn that they can be held accountable for their actions and speech in public meetings. According to what I heard on Austin's interview of Ms Huggins, at least one member of the CA stated in public hearings that she had lied on her resume and committed fraud in doing so, though a letter had been received from her former employer that cleared up this misunderstanding. I do hope Ms Huggins sues the CA as a whole (County) and the individual(s) on the CA who defamed her with false accusations in a public hearing.
Also, from what Ms Huggins said during the interview, she was about to expose the abject incompetence of both Flash Gordon and their bookkeeper.
Eithr get rid of the coliseum or get rid of the incompetents; the citizens vote these idiots into office and would rather complain than use the impeachment process (direliction of duties is a good charge) or change the incumbents when election time rolls around.
The 'authority' seems an unlikely name for the "group" heading up the operations for the colisium. Augusta must endure this calamity, and other famous reputations which are so similar. Now in the world of "facility directors", the famous "Augusta, Georgia is no place to be" is rampant, laughing at our city. More time is spent booking directors, instead of events!
Does anyone agree with that statement?
Our State Reps, have more important issues like the education our children are recieving. Columbia County had a graduation rate of 81% for 07 and that is not a rate we should except.
The Coliseum needs a major overhaul so that Augusta can attract more performers and bring in more money to assist in building up Augusta. The Coliseum has to show that we want to bring and treat new entertainers right. If Augusta citizens are not happy with the way the coliseum is being run and do not want to go to the coliseum then entertainers will not want to waste thier time and money if there are low turn out rates. Entertainers want to entertain and make a profit so they can continue providing their shows and as it stands right now, I don't believe that coming here will provide a profit and it will become a hard sell or already is a hard sell to get entertainers to come to Augusta.
I certainly agree that the CA needs to be reorganized, and the behavior of most of its members (with Freddie Sanders and Adrian Arnold being the exceptions) has been sorry. However, I was also disappointed in Ms. Huggins yesterday. Spewing her anger to the media and airing the CA's dirty laundry was both unprofessional and unwise. If she really thinks she has a viable legal claim, the smart thing would be to keep her mouth shut and present her arguments in court. Maybe the CA is better off without her after all.
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