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Engineering outlines $171 million-plus SPLOST asks, highlights stormwater, road paving and Rocky Creek flood work
Summary
The engineering director presented a long list of capital and maintenance needs for SPLOST 9, including a $25 million stormwater program, road-paving backlog funding, drainage projects in East Augusta and Rocky Creek flood-mitigation work, and numerous ADA, sidewalk, bridge and equipment items.
Dr. Malik, director of engineering, presented the commission with an itemized set of engineering and maintenance requests the department would like considered for SPLOST 9. He said the department compiled roughly 30 separate items and that staff trimmed the original list but the total remains substantial — he and the administrator described a working total of about $171,000,000 across department requests.
Stormwater and drainage: Dr. Malik said $25 million is included in the request for grading and drainage work and that the amount is intended to fund a capital program for repair and replacement of aging stormwater infrastructure. He described routine problems the department manages — collapsed metal pipes, sinkholes and bank erosion — and showed photos of failed pipes and undermined yards. He said much of the city’s older drainage infrastructure was constructed with metal pipe that is now failing and that the stormwater utility fee provides ongoing funds but that the capital need exceeds current receipts.
Road paving and maintenance: Dr. Malik summarized the road-paving backlog and said current annual pavement funding is roughly $6.5 million; he presented city estimates that about $12.8 million per year would be needed to maintain the current road condition and about $17.6 million per year would be required to control the backlog. He said the department’s long-term modeling shows larger investments are needed to stop growth of the backlog.
Specific projects and timelines: Dr. Malik reviewed projects already in design or under way, including East Augusta drainage phases (multiple phases, some under construction), Wilson Garden (in design and with federal funds for initial segments), and the Rocky Creek flood-reduction study and plan. He said the Rocky Creek plan has been under development for many years (beginning around 2002), that the Corps of Engineers provided initial design work but that Corps criteria did not fully address low-level storm events residents experience, and that the city is pursuing local project elements while awaiting Corps permits. He said the Rocky Creek work aims to construct holding facilities and control structures to capture flow upstream and release it gradually to reduce downstream flood peaks and that the goal is to begin construction in 2026 if permits are obtained.
FEMA and storm damage: Commissioners asked about FEMA money for sidewalks and storm damage. Dr. Malik said the city submitted assessments and that FEMA’s initial review listed about $5,000,000 in sidewalk-related damages; FEMA had returned to reinspect and is inputting final data. He said FEMA does not cover creek cleanup and said FEMA processes are ongoing.
Other items: Dr. Malik also described right-of-way and multiuse-trail projects such as Farmer Road (design and right-of-way activity with federal funding for design and partial construction funding), bridge rehabilitation needs driven by routine inspections, traffic safety and intersection improvements, ADA sidewalk compliance work, tree management in public rights-of-way, on-call emergency design services, and equipment replacement to sustain operations.
Commissioner questions: Commissioners pressed on prioritization: how hotspots and repeatedly flooded addresses are tracked and how long-standing projects should be sequenced. Dr. Malik said staff maintain a capital-planning list, Cityworks requests are tracked, and the department is sequencing projects to ensure a subset can be completed rather than starting many projects without finishing them.
Next steps: engineering will provide additional detail and cost breakdowns to staff preparing the consolidated SPLOST 9 list. The administrator reminded the commission of SPLOST schedule constraints and that staff aim to provide a recommended list for potential commission action in mid- to late July so the elections office can meet deadlines for the November ballot.
Ending: commissioners thanked engineering staff and asked that project sequencing prioritize repeated-flood hotspots and projects with available matching funds or federal grants where feasible.
