By Eric Curl
April 2, 2024 – With murals, sculptures and monuments primarily located downtown, the city is looking to provide more arts and cultural opportunities throughout the broader community.
To that end, the city is seeking proposals from qualified consultants to provide professional services to develop a public art master plan and ordinance. The purpose of the plan is to set a long-term vision will provide clear direction for the future of public art in the city, according to the request for proposals (RFP).
The plan will include a well-defined vision and unifying brand for public art in Savannah and provide a menu of themes or project types that are a priority for stakeholders and residents, a general process by which artists are commissioned and selected, standards for maintenance and upkeep, and a process for prioritizing an annual plan of work each year, the RFP states The project is expected to take 9-12 months once a contract has been awarded.
The RFP comes as the city and more commercial businesses are embracing art as a way to beautify their properties, including the owner of the Victory Square shopping center, where local artist Brian MacGregor recently painted a series of colorful murals, as reported by Rob Hessler for Savannah Morning News.
Proposals are being accepted by the city until April 11.
The city is also looking to assess the condition of its existing monuments, as described in a seperate contractor solicitation. Landmark Preservation was recently hired to inspect 34 monuments and provide recommendations for repairs and maintenance.
City planning underground garage next to Forsyth Park as part of private office complex
March 24, 2024 – The city is planning to partner with a development group to build an underground garage west of Forsyth Park’s south end in conjunction with the construction of a private office complex at the site.
The city would issue bonds through the Savannah Economic Development Authority to fund a 3-level underground garage with 450 spaces, according to the agreement being considered by the Savannah City Council on Thursday (Update: The agreement was approved.) 350 of the spaces would be allocated to the building’s tenants during business hours, while 100 spaces would be reserved for public use. All of the spaces would be publicly available after business hours and on the weekend.
The bonds would be paid off with parking fees paid by the building’s tenants and public users, in addition to increased property tax revenue generated by the office complex. Read more>
Chatham County seeking construction contractor for public safety complex, despite failed grant attempt
The county recently requested bids to construct the facility, about nine months after submitting a $20 million grant application to the US Department of defense for the project. Unfortunately, the application was unsuccessful for the second year in a row and the county is now looking at ways to reduce costs and come up with alternative sources of funding, according to a county spokesperson on Wednesday.
When the grant application was submitted, the county had $53 million set aside for the project from Special Local Option Sales Tax revenue and capital improvement project funds, but the project’s estimated costs had grown to more than $95 million.
Planned for a site at 654 Gulfstream Road, near the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport, the 2-story, 83,000-square-foot facility is expected to consist of classrooms, office and administration spaces, a dispatch call center, sleeping units, sally port, bay and dock areas. Bids for the construction contract are due to the county by April 19. Read more>
Foram Group’s East Broad apartment complex plan heading to City Council
March 16, 2024 – The Foram Group is once again proposing to develop a mixed-use complex with residential and commercial space along East Broad and East Gwinnett, following the Metropolitan Planning Commission’s recommendation to deny a similar plan last fall.
The latest proposal is scheduled to go before the Savannah City Council on March 28, when the mayor and council members will consider Foram’s request to rezone nine parcels to construct the complex. (Update: The proposal was postponed to the April 25 meeting.)
Foram is petitioning to establish development and design standards, including allowed uses and parking requirements, for the project area. The buildings would be permitted to be four stories in height and 185 residential units would be allowed within the planned development, under the proposal. Parking would be accommodated in the structure of the building or in an underground parking garage within the property boundaries. Read more>
Hutchinson Island dredging becoming a real drag
March 13, 2024 – On Friday, the Chatham County Commission will consider another contract increase, amounting to $433,000, for the Slip 1 dredging project on Hutchinson Island. (Update: The contract was approved)
The slip, a water harbor east of the Westin Hotel, is being developed as a commercial marina that would serve the 27-acre Savannah Harbor mixed-use development being constructed to the east. More debris was discovered than what had been anticipated and the pending increase comes after the approval of two previous increases, amounting to about $1.3 million, and bringing the revised contract total to more $5.1 million.
Funding of the voter-approved project has proved challenging from the start. The amount of voter-approved sales-tax revenue available for what was originally a $3.36 million dredging contract wasn’t enough to cover the cost of the voter-approved project. As a result, in August 2022, the commission approved using $2.5 million in general funds to supplement the sales-tax revenue. The increase being considered Friday would be paid for using contingency funds set aside for capital improvement projects.
Housing plan
In addition, the commission will consider an agreement with SEDA for Georgia Tech to conduct a regional study of the housing and infrastructure necessary to accommodate anticipated residential and commercial growth.
Read the commission’s full agenda>
Savannah planning property swap with Pooler
At today’s meeting, the Savannah City Council will consider an agreement with Chatham County and the city of Pooler to exchange properties and “allow for more efficient services delivery by government resources for both municipalities”, according to a memo City Manager Jay Melder sent the council on Tuesday.
Three churches currently within Savannah would be swapped with property currently in Pooler adjacent to the Highlands community that cannot be developed to “its highest and best use” without Savannah’s utilities and other services, while the three tax-exempt church properties are proposed to be annexed from Savannah into Pooler where most of the congregations live, and where the church members desire to reside, Melder’s memo states.
Read the council’s full agenda>
Speaking of Pooler: The former city manager has responded to the lawsuit filed by his former employer
Former Pooler City Manager Robert Byrd is seeking to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the city against him that questions the legality of his separation agreement.
In his court answer and motion to dismiss, Byrd argues that the court lacks jurisdiction to hear the case because the city’s complaint for declaratory judgement fails to present a justiciable controversy.
“This is an improper attempt to obtain an advisory opinion regarding issues that have already been resolved,” Byrd’s court response states. “Plaintiff seeks to set aside or terminate a contract it lawfully entered into with the Defendant, and has ratified.”
Byrd also seeks in his court filings to disqualify Pooler City Attorney Craig Call’s law firm, Scheer, Montgomery & Call, as the city’s legal counsel due to the firm’s duel role as “necessary witnesses” in violation of the state rules of professional conduct.
A motion hearing has been scheduled for April 23 regarding the matter.
Last, but not least – The Tybee Island City Council is meeting today, where they will continue to discuss a proposed ordinance meant to reduce the amount of short-term rentals, as described by Savannah Morning News reporter Destini Ambus in her Feb. 27 article.
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