Project Jackson now on 'life support' - WFXG FOX54 Augusta - Your News One Hour Earlier

"We don't think that Project Jackson is dead, but it is certainly on life support."

Mayor Lark Jones is now faced with the challenge of working with the Atlanta based developers of Project Jackson to find a new direction.

"This is not something we dreamed up on our own," said Jones. "So we're working with a developer here. We've got to sit down with them and figure out where they want to go at this point in time."

Their options include a less expansive project that wouldn't require a county council or school board vote to direct funds at it.

"We have a backup plan, with the current owner," explained Jones. "It's a much smaller scale development. And we can do that without the school board or without the county. We can do that on our own."

They could also present more information on the existing plan to the Aiken County Council, something at least one councilman wanted.

"There were a lot of questions I had about the project," said Councilman Andrew Siders. "A lot of questions about the financing, that, in my mind, were still unanswered. So I was not in a position to vote on that."

The Mayor says the council was fully briefed on the project.

"The county council had been briefed some weeks before," said Jones. "If he had been calling and asking for information, and we weren't providing it to him, I'd like to know about that because some heads will roll."

But for now, Project Jackson will remain on life support, future unknown, while common ground can be found on how to develop the North Augusta riverfront.