Code Enforcement officers and staff will now be eligible for retention bonuses, and an east Macon lounge owner is stuck with a five-year lease but no alcohol license after Wednesday’s special called meeting of the Macon-Bibb County Commission.
Commissioners considered 45 agenda items and a dozen alcohol license requests, but the Code Enforcement change and the alcohol license application for Lanita Hunt’s 478 Lounge drew the most debate with both items resulting in a 5-3 vote.
Former mayor Robert Reichert advocated for a license for Hunt, who voluntarily surrendered her prior license after a 2022 fatal shooting at her former club Rodeo Bar and Grill, but the majority of commissioners voted to deny a new license.
Sheriff David Davis shut down her old club after investigators discovered her surveillance camera system was not recording on that night of violence, as is required by local law.
Reichert said she has already installed a security system that passed inspection at the new location on Shurling Drive.
Hunt said she agreed to probationary terms that could result in her immediately losing the license if she violates the agreement.
“Safety is the most important thing. People should be able to go out, have a good time and go back home without a problem,” Hunt told the commission. “I’m just trying to go to another place, start over fresh, abide by all the rules and I’m asking for a second chance from the city.”
On a prior appeal, the judge ruled there were mitigating circumstances that deserved consideration, such as confusion over ownership of Rodeo and what actually happened in the fatal drive-by shooting, and that Hunt surrendered the license with the understanding it would not prevent her from being licensed again in the future, Reichert said.
Two men spoke in favor of Hunt’s character, and Commissioner Stanley Stewart moved to approve saying that denying the license would interfere with Hunt’s livelihood because the club has already been operating on a temporary license.
Latricia Wright, of east Macon Bellevedere Manor Weaver Heights Neighborhood Watch, spoke out against the license for fear crime would increase and cited statistics to back up her claim. Wright also submitted a letter from a different neighborhood watch group also opposing the license for the Shurling Plaza establishment near her neighborhood of families, children and seniors.
“We are deeply concerned about the late night establishment serving alcohol near our homes will negatively impact the area,” Wright said. “Within east Macon the crime is down and we don’t want to contribute to an increase in crime.”
Mayor Lester Miller told Reichert that Hunt was welcome to apply again for a license but at this time it was denied.
Commissioners approved 12 other alcohol licenses including applications for Theatre Macon, Shuster’s Candy and Creamery, and new downtown restaurants J. Reid’s and Gangnam Grill.
Code Enforcement clash
Designating the county’s Code Enforcement department under the public safety level also divided the commission along the same lines.
Commissioner Donice Bryant-Cato said the county should respect the consolidated charter that established the sheriff as the top law enforcement officer, but county attorneys said the change does not affect the charter or upset that hierarchy and only allows veteran code enforcement officers to receive Macon-Bibb’s longevity retention bonuses made available for public safety employees such as sheriff’s deputies, firefighters and others since 2021. It would also help the department become licensed by the FAA to operate a drone team and qualify the code enforcement team for other state benefits for law enforcement.
Bryant-Cato wanted to table the item to hear from Sheriff David Davis, but the motion failed.
Davis has deputized some code enforcement officers who are certified by the state Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, but the public safety designation covers non-sworn officers and support personnel.
Stewart said the move felt like a “power grab” to him, and wanted the measure tabled due to the vacant seat in District 5.
Commissioner Paul Bronson questioned why code enforcement is not handled by Planning & Zoning, but Macon-Bibb’s P&Z is unique in that it is a separate, quasi-judicial body that has its own inspectors who only enforce the Comprehensive Land Development Resolution and do not have jurisdiction over other county ordinances.
Other agenda items
Commissioners also earmarked up to $14 million from the 2018 SPLOST for courthouse renovations to include a new separate entrance for inmates and detainees, safer passage for judges to the courtrooms, new windows, a new courtroom and enhancements throughout the building.
When the 2018 SPLOST was passed, a new courthouse was the largest item on the list, coming in around $40 million. After property acquisition issues, the Miller administration built two new courtrooms at Macon Mall and purchased 688 Walnut St. for other county offices and freed up space in the main historic building.
Wednesday, the commission also designated the Macon Mall courtrooms and the Juvenile Justice Center as official annexes so that the court’s business could continue during the renovation and not increase a backlog of cases that began during the COVID pandemic.
The Juvenile Justice Center also received $105,720 for CANA Communications to install new communications for a security system.
From the 2018 SPLOST, the county transferred $4.3 million left over from projects that are substantially complete to other SPLOST spending categories so those funds could be used to fund remaining projects under that voter-approved sales tax collection that raised $280 million. In addition, nearly $309K in interest earned from that 2018 SPLOST will be used for cost overruns on other projects.
From the 2025 SPLOST, another $1.2 million will pay Professional Paving Services to resurface 5.5 miles on portions of Clinton, Upper River, Riggins Mill and Millerfield roads.
Through the Georgia Department of Transportation’s Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant and 2018 SPLOST funds, another $3.5 million will pave an additional 16 miles of road in a project that will soon be put out to bid.
From a pot of $31.5 million in 2025 SPLOST collections through June, the county authorized $17.5 million for the arena, $5.1 million for debt service, $5 million for the jail expansion, $2 million for public safety spending, $1.5 million for I.T. projects and $375,000 for cultural and recreation projects.
The county also authorized an agreement with the Red Cross to use local recreation facilities as emergency shelters, and an as-needed contract with EDS Holdco and Acuity International for shelter operations.
Commissioners approved dispersing previously approved Community Development Block Grants and Emergency Solutions grants to 11 local agencies and agreed to a $100,000 match for a $400,000 Federal Highway Administration Safe Streets For All grant that will be used to update the Vision Zero Action Plan.
Commissioners also took $35,000 from the general fund to buy DocAccess software to comply with federal regulations to provide assistance for the sight-impaired with a program that also translates items into 52 languages.
The county denied Flora Ivey’s request for an ad valorem tax refund and accepted a bench for Whittle Park near Rose Hill Cemetery from the Daughters of the American Revolution to commemorate the 250th birthday of the United States.
Here are highlights from the meeting captured in social media posts during the meeting.
— Civic Journalism Senior Fellow Liz Fabian covers Macon-Bibb County government entities for The Macon Newsroom and can be reached at [email protected].
