Richard, have a meeting and sell me the building for a dollar. I'll have it demolished and we can start from scratch.
The Augusta-Richmond County Coliseum Authority has less than two months of life left in its current form, thanks to legislation awaiting the governor's signature, but Chairman Richard Isdell said monthly meetings will go on as usual.
There's time enough for two more, but how much can get done at them is another question.
The recent resignations of Donnie Thompson and Jack Usry, added to Adrian Arnold's resignation last year, have left the 12-member board with only nine members.
"I doubt there'll be a quorum," Mr. Isdell said, "but to not hold the meetings would be a violation of our own rules."
Mr. Isdell said Global Spectrum, the company hired to manage James Brown Arena and Bell Auditorium, might ask for building improvements or new equipment, and the oversight board has to be there to approve or deny.
If the company badly needs something and he can't get seven members in a room, Mr. Isdell said, he'll resort to a phone poll.
"I'll make sure that we still do good things there," he said. "If we don't continue business on the authority end, the Global end dies as well."
Mr. Isdell said he doubts any committee meetings will be called, but he hinted that some members might hold a news conference to tell their side of the story of the events leading up to the board's demise.
"I think the cat's going to be out of the bag on why we weren't getting along," the chairman said.
Under a bill that passed the Legislature on April 3, current authority members' terms end at midnight May 31, and they cannot be reappointed for a year.
A new seven-member board will be appointed -- three members by the five Augusta commissioners in each of the two super districts, and a chairman, appointed by the legislative delegation, who only votes to break a tie.
The legislation allows commissioners to remove their appointees without cause with seven votes, including four by commissioners from the super district that made the appointments.
The board has been criticized as ineffective and overly quarrelsome, but Mr. Thompson has said he believes legislators punished them for refusing to hire a high-priced consultant in December.
Reach Johnny Edwards at (706) 823-3225 or johnny.edwards@augustachronicle.com.
Comments
Richard, have a meeting and sell me the building for a dollar. I'll have it demolished and we can start from scratch.
Knock it down and rebuild, have everything AGAIN at the Bell like it use to be.
I have never met Mr. Isdell, but he sounds like a whiner and one who goes around playing the "victim" card. Good riddance to him!
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