New coliseum authority members OK'd

The next Augusta-Richmond County Coliseum Authority took shape Tuesday, with Augusta commissioners making all six of their appointments to the newly constituted board.

Among their choices to replace a panel criticized as embarrassingly contentious: a public relations director, a pillar of the business community, two public school employees and the proprietor of the Fat Man's retail legacy.

"I'm excited," Fat Man's Riverfront Cafe owner Brad Usry said. "We've got a clean slate. We've got a good management company in place.

"Hopefully, everybody will take a positive approach from the start."

The only appointment left to be made is the chairman or chairwoman, whom Augusta's legislative delegation will name next Tuesday, according to state Rep. Quincy Murphy, D-Augusta.

Under a bill signed by Gov. Sonny Perdue last week, the terms of the nine remaining authority members end at 11:59 p.m. May 31, and the 12 seats will be reduced to seven.

The Augusta commissioners within Super Districts 9 and 10 got three appointments each. Their appointees' terms will run concurrently with the two super district commissioners.

The five commissioners in super District 10 nominated Mr. Usry, insurance agent Louis C. "Hap" Harris and banker David Hogg Sr. The super District 9 commissioners nominated Murphey Middle School counselor Joseph Collier, East Augusta Middle School food manager Charles Harris and Augusta Technical College marketing director Bonita Jenkins.

All six were approved by a 9-0 vote at Tuesday's meeting, with Commissioner Joe Bowles absent.

Charles Harris and Ms. Jenkins had been nominated for the coliseum authority in April by Mayor Pro Tem Alvin Mason and Commissioner Corey Johnson, respectively, to replace current members Willie Law and Keith Brown. The commissioners withdrew both names when they learned the bill being drafted would bar any sitting members from being reappointed for one year.

When District 9 Commissioner J.R. Hatney announced the names, Commissioner Calvin Holland expressed dismay that his pick, Shirley Darby, had been left out. Mr. Hatney told him they could only nominate three people.

"It's very disappointing," Mr. Holland said. "However, I'll concur."

The new board members vowed to let civic center complex management company Global Spectrum, hired last year, do its job and continue raising revenue. They said a priority will be cleaning up the coliseum authority's image.

Ms. Jenkins said a focus should be "showing the city, as well as the media, that we can all get along and make a decision."

"We can disagree," she said, "but we don't have to be ugly about it."

Hap Harris said he believes incidents involving the authority have given the city a "black eye" and put James Brown Arena at a disadvantage in booking top-name acts.

"The main thing is to get behind the management team running it and let them do what they're paid to do," he said.

Mr. Hogg, the Augusta market president of Savannah River Banking Co., said he would like to see the civic center complex become more financially viable, though he realizes it might never turn a profit.

"We just have to sit down and all get together and try to have a common goal on what we want to accomplish," he said. "I hope that the people who've been appointed, and I know some of them, would be more agreeable and hospitable in making decisions."

Reach Johnny Edwards at (706) 823-3225 or johnny.edwards@augustachronicle.com.