Skipping the July 2 meeting of the Macon-Bibb County Board of Commissioners made for a lengthy agenda Tuesday as the county approved more cybersecurity, funded road work and emergency roof repairs to the Macon Coliseum, upgraded disaster preparedness, and took steps to turn Lake Tobesofkee into a lucrative tourist attraction.
The Commission also earmarked $500,000 to continue Macon Violence Prevention efforts, allocated nearly $365,000 in SPLOST funds to repair and resurface tennis courts at John Drew Smith and Randy Stephens tennis centers, agreed to purchase wastewater pumps for the closure of the landfill, and gave the owners of the Macon Bacon an opportunity to continue to lease Luther Williams Field through 2037.
The county approved District 9 Commissioner Brendalyn Bailey’s resolution encouraging public service agencies such as the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services, Macon Housing Authority, the Division of Child Support Services, to remove barriers to folks getting assistance.
By September, Bailey wants providers to have live telephone operators instead of automated answering systems that can confuse and frustrate callers, and provide appropriate backup for staff so that someone won’t be turned away if the regular worker is out of the office.
The alcohol license request for Family Super Market at 2965 Houston Ave. resurfaced this week after failing to receive a second on a motion for approval at a prior meeting.
County attorneys recently determined that the store now sells the required amount of fresh food to qualify for an alcohol license under local law.
“We see no legal basis not to approve them,” Mayor Lester Miller said as he motioned to approve the license and was seconded by Bailey.
With Commissioners Elaine Lucas and Mallory Jones not yet in attendance and Valerie Wynn absent, the 4-2 vote failed to reach the required majority to pass with Paul Bronson and Seth Clark voting against it.
Miller reiterated that the county didn’t see any legal reason to deny the request and intimated that a legal fight could be pending.
“We’ll make a motion for attorney fees to defend that one,” Miller said before moving on to the other alcohol license requests.
The Commission approved alcohol licenses for Shell Food Mart at 6369 Thomaston Road, Extramile Chevron at 4987 Bloomfield Road and Braddock’s Cask & Table, a new restaurant moving into 347 Cotton Ave., home to the former China Wok and multiple other short-lived eateries since then.
In a unanimous vote, the county’s building at 688 Walnut St. will be named for the late civil rights leader and Bibb County Commissioner William P. Randall. The old tax assessors’ building that bore his name at 651 Second St. will likely be torn down.
Commissioners also approved a memorial plaque on Mulberry Street for Georgia’s first Miss America — the late Neva Jane Langley Fickling, a street dedication of Temple Place off Womack Street in honor of Mother A.B. Jackson of Jackson Temple Holiness Church, and a memorial bench in Tattnall Square Park for Starla Dingler, who volunteered for the Big Henry Fund to support the Methodist Home for Children and Youth.
Here are highlights from the meetings captured in social media posts.
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— Civic Journalism Senior Fellow Liz Fabian covers Macon-Bibb County government entities and can be reached at [email protected] or 478-301-2976.
