Newspaper Page Text
The selling of Laney-Walker Blvd.
Property owners along Laney-Walker Blvd. complain the cityis
not offering a fair price for their condemned property
'By Sarena James
\I"GUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
- In the coming months Johnnie
Alae Thompson will be receiving
30,000 from the city of Augusta.
For an elderly black woman living
in one of the poorest parts of the
inner city, such a sum could repre
sent a significant boost in net
worth, were it not for the fact that
e and her family might be tem
porarily homeless. The fact is, Ms.
Thompson has to take the money
[or her home whether she wants it
or not. The city wants the land
upon which her modest home at
‘;n.‘l{) Spruce Street sits, and the law
snys they have the right to take it
— and take it they will, to make
room for a new health clinic.
~ Ms. Thompson would rather they
huild somewhere else.
- “They offered us $30,000 for this
property,” snid Johnnie Mae Th
ompson, an cight-year resident and
co-owner of the home. “We have
spent over that in buying and re
modeling this house,” she said
pointing to the cemented walkway,
the neatly laid red bricks added to
the porch area, and the black iron
Liars on the front door. “The city
snid they’ll give us 90 days to move
after everything’s settled. But it
looks like they’re just taking our
property from us,” Thompson
added. “I don’t know where I'll
fn.”
5.5. Johinson owns the property
around the corner from Ms. Th
ompson at. 908 Laney-Walker Bou
levard. He too, wishes the city
could pay more for their land grab.
“They offered me a little over
%£G.OOO for that property,” said
Johnson with a sarcastic laugh.
e hired his own appraiser and
lins offered the Board of Health a
cashier’s check for $5,000 just to
“leave my property alone.”
Mr. Johnson was concerned
about the low dollar figure placed
on his property by the city ap
praiser, so he hired his own. Ac
cording to Mr. Johnson, there was
some $25,000 difference in the
appraisal of the property he owns
at 1201 James Brown Boulevard.
The city’s appraisal was on the
low side.
City officials say they only have
£1 million to spend for land acqui
sition on the $7 million project.
Bias suit examined
From page one
is specify what hasbeen done wrong
and specify the proper remedy,”
Alls said.
Thestate argues that raceis used
in the admissions process at only
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TR RS the property
This wood-frame duplex shack on Laney-Walker owned by
Boulevard is onthe condemned list. Its ownerwants Commisioner Willie
more than the estimated $6,000 offered by the city. Mays.
Photos by Sarena James
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State officials also say Georgia’s
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And already, there are fears of
budget overruns. Critics, however,
say class and race are also factors
in the decision to limit the amount
given to property owners. They
suggest that “city money across
town (in the white community) is
green, but city money for (the in
ner-city) Laney-Walker is copper.”
“You selected the best designer,
professional business consultants,
and top-notch people foir this
project”, said Commissioner Willie
Mays at a commission meeting
Tuesday afternoon. “But when
ya’ll got down to the people and
the people’s property, ya’ll got
cheap,” he said. Mays told the city
that they were guilty of “forced
sales,” adding that most property
owners had few acceptable op
tions. Mr. Mays’ family owns W.H.
Mays Mortuary, a fixture in the
black community. His property is
in line to be condemned as well,
though he had no say in the mat
ter.
Dr. Frank Rumph, Director of
the East Central Health District,
says the city has the option to
exercise the right of eminent do
main by condemning and then
seizing property. “Some proper
ties have already been acquired
through condemnation because no
agreement could be reached,” Dr.
Rumph said.
According to F.A. Johnson, the
Health Department’s consultant
for the project, 26 of the 34 prop
ertiesinvolved have been acquired
— twenty-one by negotiation, and
five by condemnation.
Commissioner Mays and other
owners have begun to question
the wisdom of the site selection.
“We’re talking about thc relo
cation and disruption of people’s
lives,” Mr. Mays said. Another site
on nearby Twiggs Street was a
better choice, he said. That site
had fewer businesses — one fish
market — and residents — three
houses — to displace, he sug
gested. At a special meeting to
discuss the project, owners of the
affected properties have signed a
petition to have the health center
moved to a different location.
Vacated structures stand on the
northwest corner (at 10th Street
and Laney-Walker Bivd.) of the
proposed site for the new health
clinic. Two fires have occurred in
the vicinity in the past several
weeks.
AUGUSTA FOCUS JULY 24, 1997
ETRO .
THle briels
Suspect pulls gun
Acomplainant reported to police that on July 18,
she saw a black male trying to steal clothing from
Goody’s on Bobby Jones Expressway. Reportedly,
the suspect attempted to conceal three Ivy Crew
shirts, valued at S9O, and two pairs of Docker
shorts, valued at $63. The complainant stated that
when she approached the suspect, he got violent,
and threatened her. The suspect then pulled out a
small silver pistol and pointed it at the complain
ant. The suspect left the store and drove offin a red
Buick Skylark.
Man stopped for speeding
charged with five offenses
On July 20, A. Mobley was pulled over by an
officer for going 71 mph in a 45 mph zone. The
officer asked him for his driver’s license and proof
of insurance. Mobley cursed at the officer, and
tried to force his way out of the vehicle. The officer
was struck by the car door, and it forced him into
the lane of oncoming traffic. The officer struggled
outofthe lane of traffic and told the offender to put
his hands behind his back. Mobley kicked the
officer several times in the leg, and grabbed his
hands. Mobley and the officer fell to the ground at
which time the offender grabbed the officer by the
throat. The officer called for helped and continued
struggling with the offender. Mobley was placed
under arrest by arriving officers, and was commit
ted to the Richmond County Jail on four traffic
charges, and obstruction of a law officer.
Man refusing sex gets robbed
A man reported to police that on July 20, an
invited guest came into his room at the Kings Inn
on Peach Orchard Road, and offered him sex in
exchange for S4O. When the complainant refused
her, she picked up his wallet and took S2O out of
it. In a struggle to get his money back, the com
plainant reported that he was scratched three
times on his chest. The man then called 911 at
which time the woman ran out of the room. The
complainant pursued her but lost her behind a
bank. The complainant decided to press charges
against the woman. Police reported that the man
was highly intoxicated.
Utility appeals
From page one
rumors of a cover up. “When the Environmental
Protection Agency added coal tar to their list of
hazardous materials, we distributed newsletters
and fact sheets about what was going on,” he said.
Recently, the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances
and Disease Registry (ATSDR) announced its in
tention to study the affects of decades of contamina
tion on the residents living close to the defunct
plant.
Atlanta Gas Light Company promised to cooper
ate with the agency, but added, “we haven’t heard
of any claims asto injuries to health.” ATSDR plans
to release their report in late 1997.
3A