The caretaker of the Confederate Powderworks chimney wants to be its owner, too, and is asking the city to either turn it over or spend about $134,000 during a tough budget year repairing the 147-year-old smokestack.
Mr. Herron said the chimney, the last remnant of a vast Civil War munitions complex along the Augusta Canal, is cracking and bricks are falling off.
Though he didn't get into the cause with commissioners, his group has said pigeons are roosting in the top and their droppings sprout seeds that grow into weeds and break down the mortar.
The estimated cost of repair is $192,000, and the organization has raised about $58,000, Mr. Herron said.
He said he doubted making up the difference will be a priority for the city this year, given the economy, but that maybe his group could raise the funds.
"It's hard for someone to give money to something that they do not own," he said.
Mr. Herron found support in Commissioner Betty Beard, whose district includes Harrisburg, where the chimney stands in front of Sibley Mill.
Ms. Beard said it's part of the city's history -- one of the best sights of Petersburg boat rides on the canal -- and brought up how she's trying to maintain history in the Laney-Walker neighborhood, too.
"I think it would be a great help to this city," she said.
Ms. Beard said City Administrator Fred Russell and Historic Augusta Inc. should consider the proposal, and the committee voted to have Mr. Russell look into the idea.
Mr. Russell said he'll find out whether Historic Augusta would rather see it in private or public hands -- Executive Director Erick Montgomery said he needs time to consider it -- and whether it could be eligible for grants.
Mr. Russell said he'll also talk to the Law Department about a possible violation of the state constitution's gratuities clause, which forbids governments giving away assets without compensation.
The city bought the powderworks complex, which had been in federal hands after the war, for $32,000 in 1872, then demolished, scrapped and sold everything but the 176-foot chimney. Mr. Herron's group wants to own 10 feet out from each of its four sides.
"We might have to rent it to them for $1 per year," Mr. Russell said, "or sell it to them for some amount."
Mr. Herron said this isn't about taking possession of the monument, but saving it from ruin in whatever way the commission sees fit.
"That's all we're asking," he said. "We're asking that it be restored. Nothing more, nothing less."
Reach Johnny Edwards at (706) 823-3225 or johnny.edwards@augustachronicle.com.
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