Latest news with #NickPalumbo
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
City council follow-up on Enmarket Arena parking lot
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — After a heated city council meeting yesterday over the new Enmarket arena parking lot that, if completed, will be the most expensive parking lot in Georgia's history. 29 million dollars. That's how much money the City of Savannah would spend on the flat surface Enmarket Arena parking lot if the new 14-million-dollar proposal gets approved at the workshop set to take place in two weeks. 'Council members have a right to be outraged right now, and the public has a right to be outraged because we burned through $15 million so far,' Nick Palumbo District 4 Alderman said. 'The same contractor has billed us for an additional $1.9 million, which we have not paid. And the city is now recommending that we continue with the same contractor for another $14 million. I think, honestly, we need to ask whether or not they're going to be able to finish the job. What has changed on the site to render this recommendation?' According to the cities contract, they are required to remediate the site due to the soil in the area being contaminated. Palumbo said there are a lot of other less expensive ways to fulfill their obligations. 'The alternatives include we don't have a sidewalk that runs east to west from the arena to the site,' Palumbo said. 'We don't have a bike lane that runs east to west, from the arena to the site, you know, where all of the hotels and parking are downtown. We don't have a safe mobility connection that runs east to west that's there.' Palumbo said other council members agree with him that the parking lot is not needed and would add no value to the city or the patrons who call it home. 'It is in the 100-year flood plain adjacent to the Springfield Canal, surface parking produces the heat island effect, making our environment worse. And it really doesn't add any value to the community whatsoever, outside of just more convenient parking for the arena and for those arena patrons, perhaps,' Palumbo said. The workshop is set for May 22, and they will be taking a deep dive into the budget and other options available instead. We will keep you updated as we learn more. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
City of Savannah requests additional funding for Enmarket Arena parking project
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — On Thursday, a new request will be in the hands of city council to approve $14 million for the Enmarket Arena parking lot project. Alderman Nick Palumbo said the city is now requesting an additional $14 million to fund the completion of the Enmarket Arena parking lot project on top of the $15 million already spent. He told me its money pulled from the general fund that should be used to support other community needs. 'We haven't received very much information at all,' Palumbo said. 'Only that the cost of increased and ballooned. And we need to open this up to the public for review to find out what's happening with your tax dollars and with your money for any project.' It is a collective of $14 million dollars pulled from both the general and parking funds. Palumbo said the city is now looking at a final total of $29 million spent to fund the 'remediation and completion of the arena parking lot' leaving him with more questions than answers. 'So, the claim initially was that the $7.5 million to $15 million would be paid for by itself,' he said. 'So, parking fees that come from the parking spots as you pay to attend the arena that it would pay for itself. Well, clearly, we've exhausted that.' It is money that he said should be used for mobility solutions, housing or public safety. 'I've been asking to prioritize mobility spending and transportation options for years because currently we don't even have a sidewalk that connects on from east to west from the arena to downtown,' he said. 'No lighting implements and not even a single bike lane. We've had some improvements to Gwinnett Street and Stiles Avenue, but it's a half-baked cake. Why are we building a thousand more parking spaces in an area that's already inundated with traffic where residents are talking about how they want traffic calming measure.' The city's stormwater funding is still in limbo after FEMA announced in April the end of its BRIC program which would have given the city a $30 million dollar grant to address flooding. Palumbo told WSAV this proposal is a risky step to take. '…those are much higher priorities for us than surface parking lots in a flood prone area,' said Palumbo. 'And that's important to keep in mind. this is the area that's been identified as a flood prone area in the Springfield Canal. Impervious surfaces like surface parking lots will make the flooding worse.' He continued, 'there are some routine adjustments that happen throughout the year in the budget process at the end of the agenda to retool as we go along throughout the year. But I've never seen one this large. So certainly, it needs to be opened up for discussion in a workshop. A better explanation to the public of why we got here and why, of course, it spiraled out of control.' Palumbo urged residents to contact their city council representatives before the vote on Thursday to request consideration of community priorities before approving additional funding. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
City of Savannah sues nearly 50 companies, alleges forever chemicals in water
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — The City of Savannah filed a lawsuit against nearly 50 companies, alleging that they have been dumping harmful chemicals known as PFAS or 'forever chemicals' into the Savannah River.'…this is such a monumental lawsuit for us that we're seeking damages to be made whole again by the damages that they took and deliberately took and knew that they took and kept manufacturing them,' Savannah's 4th District Alderman Nick Palumbo said. The lawsuit claimed that the city has been put in a position where they have to remove the chemicals from its drinking water to meet specific standards and protect the public's health. Under new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations implemented last April, public water systems must come up with a solution that will reduce chemicals if monitoring shows high levels are present. The city said they do not currently have the treatment technology necessary to those chemicals.'You're talking a scale of hundreds of millions of dollars to overhaul not just one water intake, but a comprehensive overhaul of our entire water network and system,' Palumbo said. '…everything that's achieved through the water intake from the Savannah River because we're having to protect and filter out these forever chemicals, which are extremely fine, extremely small.'According to the EPA, exposure to these chemicals for a long period of time can cause illnesses and even death.'This is the same water that we're drinking from, showering in, bathing in, and these companies knew how incredibly harmful they were for the human body but kept making them and telling everybody that they were safe,' Palumbo also asked if the water is safe to drink right now.'Certainly, a lot of alarm and concern of is the drinking water safe today,' Palumbo said. 'You know, and that depends. You know, we're actively taking measures right now to protect the water supply that we have,' he Savannah Riverkeeper applauded the city for holding the companies accountable. 'I'm incredibly proud of this city,' Tonya Bonitatibus, executive director of the Savannah Riverkeeper, said. 'Incredibly proud of the city, of the government on the state side. The federal side is now going to protect our citizens. We're going to continue to bring in these chemical companies. Thank God the city of Savannah is willing to stand up and fight.' PFAS-LAWSUITDownload Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Savannah unveils inaugural Performing Arts Festival: A celebration of talent and culture
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — Savannah is setting the stage for something spectacular. The city is getting ready to welcome a brand-new celebration of the arts. The inaugural Savannah Performing Arts Festival kicks off today, and it will bring a mix of performances, panels, and a Tony award-winning musical to town. The stage is set at the Savannah Cultural Arts center for what organizers share will be a fun, multi-week festival showing local, and national talent. The festival will open with a ribbon cutting for the launch of this festival at noon today. Immediately after, you can meet performers and get a sneak peek at all the fun that will be offered over the next 12 days. From today to February 22nd – the festival will feature concerts, drama, comedy, interactive panels, and a special gala on February 20th. One of the highlights? A fully staged production of the Tony award-winning musical 'A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder,' which will be running this weekend and next weekend. Hosted by the nonprofit, Savannah Performance Alliance, this festival aims to highlight the city's vibrant arts scene. Savannah Mayor Van Johnson and Alderman Nick Palumbo will be some of the officials in attendance to celebrate the launch today, alongside festival organizers. For ticket and event information we'll have that linked right . Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
