Kroger plans to install coin-operated gambling machines in its Bibb County grocery stores.
Sheriff David Davis announced the Ohio-based grocer’s plan Monday night during the first-ever meeting of East Macon neighborhood associations organized by Macon-Bibb County Commissioner-elect Stanley Stewart.
Corporate representatives visited the sheriff last week.
“We thought it was a meeting to discuss, to say, ‘Is this a good idea or it’s not a good idea?’ And they basically said, ‘No, we’re going to tell you we’re going to do this and y’all can deal with it however you may,’ ” Davis said.
Several in the crowd of 50 or so residents in the fellowship hall at Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church wanted to know what they could do to stop the planned gambling machines from opening at the stores.
The gambling machines, called COAMS (Coin Operated Amusement Machines) in state law, have been operating in Georgia for a decade and are regulated by the Georgia Lottery Corp. The gambling machines have cropped up in convenience stores across the county and are especially concentrated in areas with high rates of poverty.
“Can we boycott it?” one woman asked.
“Kroger has made this decision on a corporate level to do that and I think that the way you can let them know your displeasure is not shopping there,” Davis said. “It’s all about money.”
Davis said state law prohibits municipalities from barring businesses that operate gambling machines, but a Bibb County ordinance caps the maximum number a business can have at six.
“We know what kinds of problems we’ve seen with the convenience stores and what types of issues we have,” Davis said. “So as you shop and you see these problems develop, please keep us informed, but also let the Kroger folks know about what we told them what to expect. … If it turns out that I have to go in there and pull the license out of the Kroger store. We’ll sure flat do it.”
In an emailed statement, Kroger said it is the company’s goal “to provide shoppers who choose to engage with COAMs a place to play that is safe, well-lit, convenient, and inviting, offering a best-in-class experience to Georgia residents.”
Infrastructure also was a discussion topic among attendees.
County Commissioner Elaine Lucas, who is running for a seat on the Macon Water Authority board, said safety improvements are underway on Gray Highway, one of the deadliest roads in the county for foot traffic.
Lucas also mentioned a coming announcement about relocating the main entrance to the Ocmulgee Mounds from Emery Highway to the planned development the county dubbed “East Bank.”
“You can rest assured, it’s going to be moved and it will be safer,” Lucas said. “People will be able to see the entrance from the interstate and so it’s just going to be so much more convenient.”
Lucas said the East Bank development includes a possible expansion of Piedmont Hospital’s medical facilities, a restaurant or two, a hotel and possibly apartments.
“Jobs will be created and that whole area will look so much better,” Lucas said.
A representative from Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Georgia, attended the meeting as did Floyd Griffin, Milledgeville’s first Black mayor and a current candidate for Georgia House of Representatives District 149, which includes a portion of East Macon.
Residents discussed the importance of getting young folks registered to vote by the Oct. 7 deadline. Some voiced concerns about possibly being removed from voter rolls, so a laptop was made available for residents to check their voter status on the secretary of state’s website. It was also announced that an expungement and warrant clinic is set for Oct. 5 at the Rosa Jackson Community Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Stewart, who will be sworn in as a county commissioner early next year, said one of his campaign promises was to hold regular neighborhood meetings.
“East Macon – and Macon overall – for a large part is really divided,” Stewart said in an interview after the meeting. “It is my goal, at least once a month, to get together and talk about issues facing East Macon as a whole.”
The next meeting is set for Sept. 9 in Ekklesia Christian Worship Center at 1755 Jeffersonville Road.
Macon Melody reporter Evelyn Davidson contributed to this report.
To contact Civic Journalism Fellow Laura Corley, call 478-301-5777 or email [email protected].
