Master plan ideas emerge

The city might be on the hook for most, if not all, of the $500,000 cost of a citywide master plan, and today Augusta commissioners will start sorting out how to get the most for the money.

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Fred Russell: City administrator will have to look to excess sales tax money to fund the master plan.

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Commissioners have a work session scheduled this morning with ShieldsDesign LLC President John Shields, who as a principal partner with Icon Architecture Inc. oversaw the compilation of the Augusta Tomorrow-sponsored downtown master plan, which was unveiled earlier this year.

Impressed with his work, the commission voted in March to have City Administrator Fred Russell negotiate with Mr. Shields on drawing up a second plan picking up where the first one left off, with an emphasis on south Augusta. They authorized Mr. Russell to spend as much as $100,000 for preliminary work last month, then approved the contract last week.

Aided by Georgia Tech, Mr. Shields has been working off the Planning Commission's 2009 Comprehensive Plan, which divided the city into seven sections, including Fort Gordon. He said he wants this plan to flow seamlessly into the first one, with a theme of "one Augusta."

Though he's still in the beginning stages -- having had multiple one-on-one meetings with commissioners to get a sense of their wants -- Mr. Shields said he plans to focus on gateway corridors such as Gordon Highway and Deans Bridge, Peach Orchard, Windsor Spring and Tobacco roads, zeroing in on "nodes" where village-type, mixed-use developments could be planned.

Two possible locations: the intersection of Gordon Highway and Deans Bridge and the intersection of Belair Road and Jimmie Dyess Parkway, Mr. Shields said.

On Tuesday, he spent three hours with Mayor Pro Tem Alvin Mason touring his district, seeing middle-class neighborhoods but no upscale retail stores or restaurants to cater to them.

Mr. Mason said his area could use some upper-end hotels, considering the proximity of Augusta Regional Airport. He said he's also looking for a concentration of shops, restaurants and residential units at either Tobacco and Windsor Spring roads or Tobacco and Peach Orchard roads.

"Not a strip mall, but more like a town center, where people would want to come and spend their dollars," Mr. Mason said.

Mr. Shields said he'll be asking the commission to form a master plan advisory committee today, a panel of political leaders and stakeholders who would ensure community input, as was created for the first master plan.

Another issue likely to come up: where the city will get $500,000. Mr. Russell intended to take it out of capital funds, but on a motion from Jerry Brigham the commission told him to look for excess sales tax money.

Mr. Russell was also told to keep looking for outside help. The idea from the beginning, voiced by several commissioners, including Mr. Mason and Don Grantham, was for south Augusta's private industries and employers to chip in, along with Hephzibah and Blythe.

The downtown plan cost $275,000. Of that, $95,000 came from Augusta, $31,000 from North Augusta and the rest from private donations.

This plan is costing almost double that, but it will cover far more space.

"The planning process isn't cheap," Mr. Russell said, "but the result of not planning is a whole lot more expensive."

Joe Bowles, the only commissioner who voted no last week, said getting outside help will be tough now that the city is committed to the contract.

"I'd be surprised if we raised 10 percent of the cost," he said. "(The master plan) may actually have some advantages to it. I don't know if it's worth a half a million dollars."

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