N. Augusta council OKs amphitheater
The North Augusta City Council on Monday authorized spending almost $2 million on a new amphitheater at Riverside Village.
The $1.97 million project will be able to seat 600 people for concerts and other events near SRP Park. There will be additional costs that will have to be approved by the council in the future for engineering and design that could bring the total to about $2.5 million.
The cost was reduced from an original bid of $3.185 million by R.D. Brown Contractors by eliminating features such as fountains, a splash pad and shade structures.
The resolution was tabled last week over concerns about the high cost of the project and the amount of features that will not be able to be included.
Funding for the project will be taken from Capital Project Sales Tax III and the series 2017B bond fund. The vote was 5-2 in favor of awarding the contract, with council members Fletcher Dickert and Kevin Toole voting no.
There will not be a shell to shield performers from the sun, one of a number of concerns raised by a member of the North Augusta Cultural Arts Council. Councilman Eric Presnell said he sees the amphitheater as a site for other events aside from concerts, such as a farmers market.
“I see this as something that can be used for a wide variety of other things,” he said.
Dickert said he supports the project but voted no because of the cost.
“We’ve taken a low bid and we’ve gone and negotiated 40% out of it,” he said. “Negotiating that much out of it I don’t think is in the best interest of the citizens.”
Mayor Bob Pettit said the goal is to have the amphitheater completed by Masters Week next year.
A week after a presentation by a representative of the Aiken County Veterans Council, the council passed a resolution Monday to join the Hometown Heroes Project. The project honors active-duty military members, veterans, and those who were killed in action or remain missing in action by displaying their names on banners hanging alongside roads. The city will be responsible for hanging and storing the banners.
Applications will be due around Sept. 20, and the banners will displayed twice a year– from Veterans Day to Christmas, and from Memorial Day to July 4. Applications can be picked up from American Legion locations, at the Municipal Building or online. The banners cost $75 per side.
The council also passed a resolution to allow Community Ministry of North Augusta to hold a fundraising event with Sno-Cap Drive-in on Sept. 19. The council proclaimed the date Community Ministry of North Augusta Day. The event will close West Avenue between Jackson and Spring Grove avenues from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.