In the coming weeks, Macon-Bibb County will be accepting proposals from professional builders and developers to explore options to upgrade or replace the Bibb County Law Enforcement Center. (1:54 into video)
Mayor Lester Miller said a request for proposal or request of qualifications soon will be posted on the county website’s procurement page to solicit input.
“To decide what a new jail would cost, how long it would take. But more importantly, if there’s a way in between we can look at expanding the jail to separate those that are maybe more violent criminals and those that have mental health challenges, to separate them in a facility there on the campus. So, I think those are all in play,” Miller said during the latest taping of the “Ask Mayor Miller” program.
He and county commissioners are planning ways to spend the $450 million to be collected over the next 10 years under the 2025 SPLOST.
In April, the county sought qualifications from persons or organizations to serve as project managers for a new Macon arena that is being considered on the Second Street side of the Macon Coliseum parking lot. (5:44)
“I will say we had a great interest in our (request for qualifications) that we placed out there for qualified folks to be an owner’s rep that would come in, and we’ll be making announcements on that very soon. But there’s only a couple spots on the property itself that you can put a new arena — where the Chamber of Commerce was at, or back toward where Piedmont is at,” he said.
The Coliseum would remain open during construction, and might not have to be demolished if it was deemed feasible for some purpose. Visit Macon is conducting studies, he said.
When weighing SPLOST projects, Miller said the new arena is a revenue-generating proposal that could entice investors, while the expense of a new jail would fall on taxpayers.
“I think everybody realizes that you’re looking at a minimal $250 million, probably more like $400 million if you were to build a new jail. And certainly without a tax increase, that’s not going to be possible. And you can’t use all your SPLOST dollars for that,” Miller said.
A new jail would not solve all recent complaints over jail conditions and overcrowding because there are other contributing factors, Miller said. (3:54)
“It’s supposed to be a holding facility, not a prison. That’s the difference. These are supposed to be people who can’t get out on a bond or have a hold for whatever reason, or waiting to go to court. But some of it can be staffing or managerial or operational. Some of it could be inmate destruction. So we want to make sure that we take care of the needs. Just because someone’s in jail it doesn’t mean they don’t need to be treated humanely. So we’re going to make sure that we do that. But at the same time, we can’t control their behavior all the times, and even at a new, brand new jail, if you’re going to throw trash down, if you’re going to tear things up or stop toilets up, it’s going to happen there,” he said.
One of the options is to build a new public safety facility, possibly in stages, at the corner of Seventh and Lower Poplar streets on land the county purchased as a potential jail site.
During a recent bus tour with commissioners and staff, Miller noted the property’s proximity to courthouses and hospitals and away from neighborhoods.
Job-creating east Macon site
Another major project could be on the horizon, he said.
Macon-Bibb County has redevelopment plans for its Emery Highway property along Second Street that is still home to River Edge Behavioral Health Center, and once housed the Middle Georgia Regional Commission and the Bibb County Health Department in a defunct shopping center. (7:09)
The county’s Urban Development Authority owns nearly 20 acres on that site.
“We have plans for a new project that will take up that entire piece of property there,” Miller said. “So we’ll see how that shakes out in the next several months, and we hope for a $350 million project there, up to 250, 300 jobs. So I think it’s going to be very exciting what happens there. We’ve just got to continue to navigate the federal, you know, changing of the guard as well as you know, things going on internationally we can’t really control ourselves here locally,” Miller said.
River Edge is building new headquarters on Riverside Drive and a new Adult Peer Support & Community Integration Center at the corner of Ingleside Avenue and Riverside Drive.
Repaving roads is his first priority for SPLOST funding and the county expects to have a Street Scan assessment back by mid-June so they can plot how to begin the paving projects .
Jaime Rohde submitted a question asking what Miller plans to do about Vineville Avenue’s dying reversible lane indicators. (10:35)
“Mayor Miller is going to do whatever GDOT tells Mayor Miller to do,” he said, referring to the state transportation agency’s control over that highway.
It is likely the reversible lane will become a turn lane as the current overhead light system is obsolete, Miller said, but no final solution has been reached yet.
He plans to continue to work with the Homeless Coalition to deal with the recurring issues with the unhoused encamped on the outskirts of downtown and leaving behind piles of trash as they search for anything useful from garbage bins. Once the interstate interchange project is complete, the county will be better able to police panhandlers, he said. (12:56)
“Why doesn’t downtown Macon have a public restroom?”
“That’s a good question,” Miller responded. “It’s just monitoring and keeping them clean and making sure they don’t become havens for crime. You know, sometimes they have options and still don’t use them.”
He said it was something to look into but he did not want to encourage people to try to “live out in the open.”
Architects are studying potential courthouse renovation plans, the last major project from the 2018 SPLOST, which will sunset soon. (8:52)
Money saved on that project could potentially pay down debt, Miller said.
The county remains in talks with Lovejoy Capital about the firm investing $25 million in improving Lake Tobesofkee after a recent public meeting. (18:41)
Miller urged all to heed the “no swimming” signs after two children recently drowned and another had to be hospitalized after going under at the Michael Dewayne Jones Public Fishing Area, which is named for a Macon-Bibb County Fire Dept. recruit who drowned saving three children in 2011. (20:58)
“Really, people are going to have to be accountable for following the law and doing what they’re supposed to do, and I hope this situation doesn’t repeat itself again,” he said.
Miller also said the county plans to continue anti-violence programs that he feels are making a difference in the homicide rate. (15:58)
The mayor took a question last month concerning overcrowding of local nightclubs that drew a follow-up this month asking what action had been taken.
“We’ve talked to the fire department and the sheriff knows it’s on the radar to make sure that we all do our job to make sure that we don’t have a dangerous situation inside the clubs,” Miller said.
May 18, three men died and six others were wounded in a shooting outside the Mid-Town Daiquiri Bar & Grill in what Miller called a “retaliation situation.”
As to what can be done about speeding drivers passing multiple cars on local thoroughfares, Miller said: “I’d say, contact the sheriff’s department, let him know particular areas that’s happening in. Perhaps they can beef up security there. The sheriff’s been pretty good about that when he gets knowledge of that. But just don’t assume that everyone knows that. We’ve just got to take personal accountability for ourselves to make sure we’re doing right and obeying the laws.”
Although Miller expected school speed zone camera citations to be paused during the summer, Sheriff David Davis published a new summer schedule for where and when the cameras will be operating during summer classes and camps in June and July.
Send your questions for the next Ask Mayor Miller to [email protected].
— Civic Journalism Senior Fellow Liz Fabian covers Macon-Bibb County government entities for The Macon Newsroom and can be reached at [email protected] or 478-301-2976.
