As votes were coming in Tuesday night to approve Macon-Bibb County’s 2025 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax renewal, or SPLOST, commissioners were allocating about $2 million collected since 2018.
Nearly $1.3 million from the existing SPLOST and the Georgia Department of Transportation’s Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant, or LMIG, will fund Atlanta Paving & Concrete Construction asphalt paving and repairs for dozens of county roads identified as needing work in 2023. A list of the roads accompanied the resolution.
Now that the SPLOST renewal received 83% approval from voters to bring in $450 million over the next 10 years, Mayor Lester Miller plans to focus much of that money on road repairs. The county hired a contractor to scan all the streets in the county so they could set priorities for future paving.
Commissioner Raymond Wilder said many of the roads already on the list are cul-de-sacs and dead ends.
“I’d like to put more emphasis on the heavily traveled roads where everybody benefits in the future,” Wilder said before the vote.
Commissioner Donice Bryant asked whether the Atlanta Paving company would be doing all the work, but Miller said he intends to put out several bid sets to hire multiple contractors so the county can be working on more roads at the same time.
Some of the remainder of the 2018 SPLOST recreation fund will provide $368,526.18 for Great Southern Recreation to install an inclusive Playcraft playground at Memorial Park Gym. Nearly $148,000 in Community Development Block Grant Funds will pay for the same company to put in new playground equipment in Eastview Park.
More SPLOST dollars in the Culture & Recreation fund will pay BTBB architects an estimated $63,000, or 7% of the construction costs for renovations at the Grand Opera House.
Also from that fund, nearly $334,000 for Barbizon Charlotte to install new lighting at The Grand and close to $155,000 for production equipment.
“This is a fulfillment we promised a long time ago in the previous SPLOST,” Miller said.
The Macon-Bibb County Fire Department is getting a computer network infrastructure upgrade from 1 Accord Technologies for nearly $201,000 in public safety SPLOST funds from 2018.
Commissioners also approved $250,000 for tipping services at the Mead Road Transfer Station.
The county accepted $117,000 from the Georgia Opioid Crisis Abatement Trust Grant that will pay for training and substance abuse counseling services for Accountability Courts and $40,710 from the Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council to pay for surveillance equipment for the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office.
Alcohol and accolades
Macon-Bibb denied alcohol licenses for the new convenience store at 1436 Forsyth St. which is operating as a “vice mart” — a name used for stores without enough fresh food for sale and no gasoline. During the Planning and Zoning process, the store’s representative removed the fuel pumps from the proposal after concerns about traffic flow with fuel tankers near Monroe Street.
Kitchen Pride in Unionville also won’t be getting a license as the county requires fresh food or fueling stations to be eligible.
Miller said the store’s owner also was convicted of selling alcohol without a license.
Commissioners approved an alcohol license for the Macon Arts Center at 4570 Pio Nono Ave. in the former Whiskey River location. Owner Anthony Kirkland plans to build a movie production studio on the campus, host concerts and film them for video distribution.
Macon-Bibb also recognized the Southwest Patriots basketball team that came in second in the state championship and honored retired fire chief Stephen Stafford who was burned in a fire a decade ago that killed Lt. Randy Parker.
Also on Tuesday’s agenda, the Commission reappointed Steve Skalko to the Construction Board of Appeals.
Commissioners dedicated a portion of Poplar Street between Third and First streets as Bryan Nichols Way, the founder of the Macon Mainstreet Christmas Light Extravaganza that began in 2017 and drew nearly a million people to downtown this past holiday season.
“Thank you for the impact you have,” Miller told him. “Ladies and gentlemen, he’s responsible for about a million people coming to our community during the Decembers and significant economic impact on our local community.”
On Poplar Street during the Cherry Blossom Festival, Nichols will have a lighted horse and carriage display that people can get into and take pictures, he said.
Commissioner Valerie Wynn sponsored the recognition for Nichols and publicly admired his humility that shuns the limelight.
Wynn, a 2017 Cherry Blossom Festival Senior Princess, assembled former and current members of the royal court for a proclamation in honor of those who serve as ambassadors and volunteers during the annual festival that runs from Friday until March 30.
— Civic Journalism Senior Fellow Liz Fabian covers Macon-Bibb County government entities for The Macon Newsroom and can be reached at fabian_lj@mercer.edu or 478-301-2976.
