Through a rather short agenda Tuesday, the Macon-Bibb County Commission took steps to change the landscape around City Hall and protect Robins Air Force Base for many years to come.
Commissioners approved Stafford Builders’ $2.5 million contract to enhance Rosa Parks Square, which was dedicated in 2005 by Mayor C. Jack Ellis after he attended the funeral of the late civil rights leader.
Mayor Robert Reichert’s administration expanded the park in 2009, and the space was slated for an overhaul through the 2015 Macon Action Plan nearly a decade ago.
Commissioner Elaine Lucas said she has been concerned about why some projects are finished and others are not, but saluted the Miller administration and her commission colleagues for funding this renovation and awarding the contract.
“This is going to mean an awful lot to this community,” Lucas said. “We need to make sure we remember the bridges that have brought us across, and Rosa Parks is one of those. Plus, this is a majority-Black community and we don’t ever need to forget any opportunity or diminish any opportunity to pay respect to these folks who helped to be the bridges that have brought us across to where we are today.”
Lucas, who is serving her final term on the commission, said she is looking forward to coming back to celebrate the ribbon cutting or unveiling of the renovated park.
“If y’all will let me come back and do it, and if you don’t, I’m coming anyway,” she said.
Macon-Bibb also abandoned and closed a right-of-way behind City Hall that will become part of a new private mixed-use development with 136 apartments, 7,000 square feet of retail space and a 355-space parking garage that eventually will be owned and operated by the Urban Development Authority to serve county workers, residents and the public.
No one objected to closing that unnamed right-of-way during the required public hearing before the 6 p.m. board meeting.
Securing Robins Air Force Base
Macon-Bibb County authorized entering an intergovernmental agreement with the Bibb County School District and the Central Georgia Joint Development Authority for a project to help protect Robins Air Force Base from a future disruption of the electric grid.
Kevin Brown, attorney for the CGJDA, said up to $7.5 million in PILOT funds, or Payment in Lieu of Taxes, will go into an authority fund to purchase additional property around the base in the noise and crash corridor around Robins. The CGJDA, which represents 11 counties, could be eligible for a matching $7.5 million from the U.S. Department of Defense Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration, or REPI, to further reduce population in that encroachment zone around the base.
In what is known as Project BESS, Georgia Power plans to build a 128-megawatt Battery Energy Storage System on about 12 of the 650 acres the Authority acquired for construction of the utility’s solar panels in the crash encroachment area north of the base off Ga. 247.
Those batteries could continue to supply electricity to the base for a limited time following an energy disruption.
In 2012, CGJDA received more than $12 million in REPI funds to pay back money expended to buy private land in the encroachment zone, which was an issue in prior Base Realignment and Closure hearings.
Not only will Project BESS keep the lights on at the base, but its resulting payments could further protect the viability of the base by removing more encroachment zones around Robins.
“This makes us BRAC proof,” Brown said.
The agreement recognizes the importance of the base and “that removal of any potential impediments to the continued operations of RAFB is critical to the security of RAFB, its future missions, and its continued presence as a major employer and economic development driver in Central Georgia.”
$500K settlement, new engineer and other actions
Following executive session, commissioners agreed to a $500,000 settlement from a traffic crash involving a county employee in April of 2019.
Ashley Stillwell, of Roberta, was injured when James Creath turned a county-owned Ford F-550 into her path of travel on College Street at Forsyth Street, according to the accident report.
The county’s insurance is expected to cover $360,000 of the claim and reimburse the general fund.
Macon-Bibb County approved John Hayes as the new county engineer. Hayes served in the position on an interim basis after working as the county’s assistant county engineer.
Hayes has nearly 40 years experience in the public and private sector, including as a construction engineer for the Florida Department of Transportation.
Commissioners denied the alcohol license for Bloomfield Grocery that has been operating as a “vice mart,” which the county defines as a store not selling fresh foods or fuel. Plus, it is within 100 yards of a church.
The Family Super Market at 2965 Houston Ave. has struggled to acquire an alcohol license since February, although county attorneys concluded the store meets the legal requirements. This time, Commissioner Bill Howell said he recently visited the store and found it in good order and selling the required fresh food.
“I would be more than satisfied to buy groceries there. The meat I saw was fresh, the produce I saw was fresh and the store was clean. And that swung my opinion of it,” Howell said.
Commissioner Paul Bronson was the only commissioner to vote against issuing the license.
Here are other highlights from Tuesday’s agenda captured in social media posts sent during the meetings.
— Civic Journalism Senior Fellow Liz Fabian covers Macon-Bibb County government entities and can be reached at [email protected] or 478-301-2976.
