AUGUSTA, Ga ()- Tuesday, Augusta commissioners will continue the discussion on what to do about the 5th Street Marina. They are expected to vote on interim City Administrator, Takiyah Douse’s, recommendation to replace the electrical and boat dock systems.

The marina has been there for 30 years and city leaders say neither system has been well maintained.

Now, they have to decide how to fix the problem, preferably without shutting the marina down.

The marina was supposed to be inspected twice a year and that hasn’t happened. The result could potentially cost the city millions to bring it up to code.

Mayor Pro Tem, Brandon Garrett, said that they wouldn’t be in this situation if the property had been inspected like it should have.

“Unfortunately, that’s seems to be the case for a lot of things in Augusta and the way that we maintain our properties. And, you know, when Central Services was created back in 2017, the whole idea behind it was to help them maintain our facilities. And of course, inspections are part of maintenance. So I think that there’s definitely been a ball dropped here,” he said.

There is still a lot to be decided regarding what comes next.

One major concern is how the work can be done without shutting the marina down altogether, forcing people living on boats there to move.

Many commissioners agree that the city is at fault.

“This is a colossal mistake on our end of 30 plus years. This isn’t just today. I mean, we’re going to take the brunt today, but it wasn’t built to specs. We need to get it to specs. We’ve already invested a lot of money in the 5th Street Marina and the bridge and everything. So, I just think that we have to fix that. Maybe, again, let’s fix it in pieces, but making sure that it doesn’t close,” said Commissioner Sean Frantom.

There won’t be word on exactly how much the work will cost until it goes out for bid.

Commissioners will review Douse’s recommendation and discuss next steps at Tuesday’s meeting. It will take place at the municipal building on Telfair street starting at 2 p.m.

Photojournalist: Dania Alawir.