COLUMBUS, Ga. - A $70,003 emergency stairway repair at A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium was approved by the city manager Oct. 22 and reported to the Columbus Council on Oct. 27, ahead of Saturday's Fountain City Classic. The same meeting brought approval of six health care provider agreements, a non-voting Columbus Lions seat on the Sports and Entertainment Authority, rezoning ordinances and, according to the minutes, a motion for $25,000 bonuses for each Deputy City Manager. The meeting records do not confirm whether the stairway work has been finished.

The decisions are documented in the city's post-summary minutes from the regular meeting at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 27 in Council Chambers at the C.E. "Red" McDaniel City Services Center, 3111 Citizens Way. The Fountain City Classic is set for 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, at McClung Memorial Stadium. According to WTVM's Nov. 2 report, Albany State and Fort Valley State will meet in the 36th edition of the game.

Stadium stairway repair carries a $70,003 price tag

Columbus Parks and Recreation identified the need for repairs to a stairway at A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium on Aug. 5, 2026, according to the Oct. 27 meeting records. The work involves several concrete steps and the stairway retaining wall. The repairs were to be done before the Fountain City Classic.

The emergency purchase document describes the condition as "a public safety issue." It also says the game is expected to attract a high volume of spectators. The document cites those points in describing the need for immediate repairs.

Freeman & Associates, Inc., of Columbus, quoted $70,003.00 for the work. The company is one of the vendors on the city's On-Call General Contractor Services contract, RFP No. 25-0003. The City Manager approved the purchase Oct. 22, five days before the council meeting.

The item appeared in the records as an emergency purchase marked "Information Only." The minutes record no council vote on it. The minutes give the repair needs, the quoted amount and the approval date, but they say repairs "must be completed" before the game and do not document that they were.

Columbus Lions get a non-voting Sports Authority seat

Council adopted an ordinance on second reading that amends Chapter 2 of the Columbus Code. It adds a representative of the Columbus Lions professional indoor football team to the Columbus Sports and Entertainment Authority. The representative will be a non-voting, ex officio member.

Councilor Cogle is listed as the sponsor of the ordinance. The recorded action was adoption on second reading. The change gives the Lions a designated place on the authority without giving that representative a vote.

The records do not say why the seat was added or when the change takes effect. Those details would need to come from the city or the authority. Readers who follow the authority may want to ask about both.

Six Community Care Program agreements approved

Council approved provider participation agreements "for the delivery of essential healthcare services under the Community Care Program." The records list six provider names, which appear as six agreements, including two that involve St. Francis Health, LLC. The listed providers are:

• The Medical Center, Inc. DBA Piedmont Columbus Regional Midtown
• St. Francis Health, LLC
• MercyMed of Columbus, Inc.
• Valley Healthcare System Inc.
• New Horizons Area MH-SA-MR Programs
• St. Francis Health, LLC for The Bradley Center

The minutes do not describe the Community Care Program beyond that quoted phrase. They give no dollar amounts and no information on who is eligible. This story therefore does not describe the program or its cost.

A separate "Community Care Program Update" from Deputy City Manager Pam Hodge was also on the agenda. The minutes mark that item "No Action Taken." It is separate from the six agreements, which council did approve.

Rezoning ordinances move through council

Council adopted two rezoning ordinances on second reading that are described here, among several zoning items on the Oct. 27 agenda. One covers 4458 and 4462 Steam Mill Road, changing the zoning from SFR2 to RMF2. The other covers 7500 Heardmont Ct Lot 9, changing the zoning from RE10 to RE5 with a condition.

Two more were adopted on first reading. The property at 3813 Meritas Drive is listed for a change from GC to RMF1. The property at 1404 Hunt Avenue is listed for a change from SFR2 to SFR4.

First-reading and second-reading adoptions are different stages of the same process. The Steam Mill Road and Heardmont Court items were second-reading adoptions, while the Meritas Drive and Hunt Avenue items were first-reading adoptions. The minutes list the Steam Mill Road item as "adopted as amended" and note an amendment "to correct the rezoning classification from SFR2 to SFR4," without explaining how that applies to the item. The records reviewed do not describe development plans or say what the Heardmont Court condition is.

Deputy City Manager bonuses approved unanimously

According to the summary minutes, after an executive session in which no votes were taken, Councilor Crabb moved to compensate each Deputy City Manager with a $25,000 bonus "in recognition of their service," citing duties beyond their regular ones while the City Manager position was vacant. Councilor Tucker seconded the motion. The minutes say it carried unanimously by the nine members, with Councilor Chambers absent for the vote.

The minutes list Lisa Goodwin and Pam Hodge as the Deputy City Managers present. The motion is worded as a bonus for each Deputy City Manager, and this story does not state a total cost. The minutes do not give further detail about the vacancy period, so that is left to the Clerk of Council or the meeting video to confirm.

Mayor B.H. "Skip" Henderson, III, is listed as the mayor in the minutes. The amount, the wording of the motion and the vote are taken from the summary minutes. Readers who want to confirm the amount per person can ask the Clerk of Council's office.

Proclamations and public comments

The meeting also included four proclamations. They recognized Filipino American Heritage Month, Enrichment Services Program Month, Operation Green Light Week and Albright's Florist Community Appreciation Day. The proclamations were read during the meeting.

Eight people spoke on the public agenda that night, according to the summary minutes. The records reviewed give the number of speakers but not what they said. The public agenda and proclamations were part of the same Oct. 27 session as the decisions above.

What to know before Saturday

• Game: Albany State vs. Fort Valley State, the 36th Fountain City Classic.
• Date and time: Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, 2 p.m.
• Location: A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium, Columbus.
• Stadium repair: $70,003 emergency purchase approved by the City Manager Oct. 22 for concrete steps and the stairway retaining wall.
• Repair status: Completion before the game has not been verified.
• Other council actions Oct. 27: Lions non-voting authority seat, six health care agreements, rezoning ordinances and the Deputy City Manager bonus motion.

The full Oct. 27 summary minutes are published by the Columbus Clerk of Council. They document the emergency purchase and the other actions described here. They do not say whether the stairway work was finished before the game.