AUGUSTA TOMORROW UNVEILS UPDATED MASTER PLAN

AUGUSTA TOMORROW UNVEILS UPDATED MASTER PLAN

9/2004: After extensive renovations, Georgia Bank & Trust Company of Augusta opened a banking facility at the Augusta Cotton Exchange and maintained the structural and historical integrity of the Cotton Exchange’s historical heritage.

9/2004: Augusta Tomorrow unveiled an updated 2000 City Center Master Plan Map, hand-rendered by architectural illustrator Andrea O’Shea. Individual master plans developed by downtown organizations were included on the map, and the map was digitized to provide for easier modification as buildings and plans changed in Augusta’s City Center. Some 25 organizations endorsed the new map; however, a relevant committee of city government withheld approval, contending its geographical scope was limited.

10/2004: For the first time in Augusta Tomorrow’s twenty-two year history, Augusta Tomorrows board took a politically oriented stand on SPLOST PHASE V. The board’s stance was that the SPLOST proposal was too massive and that government structure needed to be re-evaluated. The citizens of Augusta defeated the $478 million SPLOST PHASE V in November 2004 and subsequently approved a more directed SPLOST V in November 2005.

11/5/2004: The Augusta Common Service Center was opened on the northeast corner of the Augusta Common.

12/20/2004: City of Augusta budget constraints had diminished support for the public/private partnership with Augusta Tomorrow, Inc. In 2004, with maximum support available of $11,000, Augusta Tomorrow, Inc. declined further City support and requested the funds be used for other City needs. Due to the City’s financial issues, the Augusta Tomorrow, Inc. board voted to move the city representative from dues paying status to non-dues paying ex-officio status. The North Augusta city representative, a non-paying board member since the late 1990s, continued non-dues paying ex-officio status.