Arena board’s closed talks lead to insurance issues

Jan. 23--The current provider and approximately eight other insurance companies recently declined to provide public officer liability insurance for the Augusta-Richmond County Coliseum Authority.

Ed Enoch, the attorney for the coliseum authority, said Tuesday that current provider State Farm cited a December 2017 open meetings complaint filed with the Georgia attorney general's office in declining to renew the policy.

Public officer and director liability insurance protects the authority and staff from having to pay damages as a result of their actions on behalf of the authority.

"Even though (the complaint) was dismissed, even though there was a finding it was groundless, because that was there they wouldn't look at it," Enoch said.

Blanchard and Calhoun Insurance, which provided the coverage in the past, later agreed to provide a policy at a cost of approximately $6,162 per year, Enoch said.

In late 2017 as several authority members were attempting to field offers from Regency Mall owner Cardinal Management to build a new James Brown Arena at the vacant mall site, the authority closed a meeting to the public, citing the "real estate" exception to Georgia open meetings laws, but allowed four Augusta commissioners to be present.

Georgia Press Association attorney David Hudson said the closure amounted to giving "selective attendance rights" to the public on a matter of extreme public interest.

With a majority of four members then in support of building at the mall, the authority spent months during 2017 attempting to negotiate a deal with Cardinal, starting with a term sheet obtained by Mayor Hardie Davis, who favored the mall site over a downtown location. In early 2018, anonymous parties prompted a state ethics complaint when they advertised on billboards for the mall location ahead of the May nonbinding ballot question on the public's preferred location.

Local businessman David Dunagan filed the meeting complaint with state Attorney General Chris Carr. Based on Enoch's response to the complaint, the state office declined to mediate, citing a difference of opinion about the law but nothing it could remedy.

At Tuesday's authority meeting, Enoch said he sought insurance quotes from approximately eight providers after learning State Farm would not renew, but none responded.

Enoch said the authority was also running into difficulty obtaining property insurance for James Brown Arena and Bell Auditorium after provider AFM dropped the facilities.

The facilities' claims history included a $137,514 structural collapse in 2013 and three other losses since then for a total of $179,375 in claims. Enoch said AFM informed him it was dropping a number of smaller policies similar to Augusta's.

The authority has through the end of March to obtain another policy, and Enoch said he was optimistic -- with assistance from facilities' manager Spectra, which insures operations, and other insurance companies -- about finding one.

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