Garden City Need Your Help (Savannah: landscaping, homeowner, suburb)

[amlovingit]

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Local business owners are writing big checks and partnering with the cash-strapped city to come in and do some major landscaping.

The Augusta Public Services Committee approved a memorandum of understanding with the Augusta Convention and Visitor's Bureau Monday.

"It's enormous," said Jennifer Bowen with the visitor's bureau. "Any homeowner knows that they are going to landscape their front lawn."

The visitor's bureau suggests the Garden City is anything but. A public-private partnership will tackle the medians along local gateways like St. Sebastian Way.

"This area is a front porch if you will into the medical district," said Jennifer. "A major business area and driver for economic development."

The city will spend $200,000 in SPLOST money to install a new irrigation system. Private businesses have promised an additional $300,000.

"I'm making a personal donation of $10,000," said Augusta Mayor Deke Copenhaver.

Mayor Copenhaver admits funding is drying up for simple things like cutting the grass.

"It is getting more and more difficult, to be perfectly honest," Copenhaver said. "To have the private sector step up to the plate shows that you've got business people that believe in this community."

The mayor says he felt compelled to act.

"If the business community is willing to invest in the community," Copenhaver said, "I should be willing to invest as well."

The challenge now is actually raising the money.

"We've raised money [before] from the private sector during the most difficult economy I've ever seen in my lifetime," Copenhaver said. "That speaks great things about the city of Augusta."

You can also donate to the Garden City Improvement Fund by contacting the Community Foundation for the CSRA at P.O Box 31358 Augusta, GA 30903

You can earmark your donation for the St. Sebastian Way project. Send donations to the attention of R. Lee Smith Jr.

[Newsboy]

I thought this was about the REAL place called Garden City, which of course is a suburb of Savannah and not much of a "garden city" at all (orignally named Industrial City).