AUGUSTA, Ga. () – Challenges in the Harrisburg neighborhood were the focus of a community meeting organized by District 1 Commissioner Jordan Johnson at the E.W. Boys and Girls Club on Thursday evening.

This meeting gave residents the chance to voice their concerns, ask questions as well as hear updates about what is going on in their neighborhood.

Among the issues addressed were the necessary changes that need to be implemented. Nancy Blanchard, a Harrisburg resident for seven years, remarked that this was the most encouraging meeting she has attended, yet she still harbors some concerns.

“The blight, because I believe that a clean community leads to a productive community. I’m enthusiastic about the potential achievements we can realize and thrilled by the participation of various agencies striving to improve Harrisburg,” said Blanchard.

Mary Pruitt has lived in Harrisburg since 2018, she says she went to the meeting with nothing specific in mind but was curious to hear her neighbors’ concersns.

“Being a homeowner, I just wanted to know about different things like the blight ordinance and things like that changing, what exactly is being done about crime in the area. I know there’s been a lot of recent incidents that a lot of people were concerned about,” Pruitt said.

District 1 Commissioner Jordan Johnson says many of the issues that community members brought up did not catch him by surprise.

He tells me the meeting was community driven and wants to hold more in the future.

“We get an opportunity to engage the community in ways that they wouldn’t otherwise be engaged. It’s going to be up to us to really put our boots to the ground to find solutions and to really act on some of the things that folks are asking for. I told them tonight that there are going to be things that I can’t deliver on and things that the city won’t be able to help them with but at the end of the day it’s our job to listen and our job to try our best to find solutions and that’s what we’re going to commit to doing,” said Johnson.

If you have any concerns or questions about what is going on in your neighborhood you can email Jordan Johnson here: jjohnson@augustaga.gov.