Organizers for the “Macon Speaks” neighborhood meetings said Tuesday they have been pleased with the turnout and the dialogue the meetings generated.

“We had twice as many as the meeting Saturday -- I’m thrilled,” said Community Foundation of Central Georgia Executive Director Kathryn Dennis, describing the crowd of more than 50 who attended a late Tuesday afternoon meeting at the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame. “I’m happy that about half of the people were under 40. We’re counting (on the meetings) serving their purpose.”

The purpose of the meeting, along with one held later Tuesday night at the Museum of Arts and Sciences, was to allow ordinary Macon residents an opportunity to talk about the issues they think are most important during this year’s city elections.

Sponsors for the community meetings are the Community Foundation, The Telegraph, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce and the University of Georgia’s Fanning Institute, which conducted the meetings.

“Certainly, tonight there was a great turnout,” Telegraph Publisher George McCanless said. “We heard a lot of great ideas. There was a lot of energy in the room. I think a lot of people left the meeting excited about the upcoming election rather than dreading going through it. The question is, can we capture that excitement and use it moving forward and help turn this into the community that we want?”

The Fanning Institute will analyze the data accumulated from the four public meetings as well as a series of private meetings held with a variety of groups in Macon. That data will be available to the media to use to help shape the debate for the mayoral and City Council primaries, which take place next month.

Tuesday’s early meeting included a sharp debate about whether Macon needs a clear vision before going forward, or whether individual aspects of the city -- such as jobs, race relations and poverty reduction -- should be fixed before developing a vision.

Those who attended the meeting filled out a survey and listed jobs, education and economic development as the three most important issues.

Some said they think the data accumulated from the meetings will help craft a vision for Macon.

One idea that was near-consensus at the meeting is that residents in their 20s and 30s need to be more active in the political scene and that many Macon City Council incumbents have served too long.

Nathan Dees, who said he attended because he lives in and cares about downtown, said many of the ideas presented Tuesday are discussed among local residents but rarely in a public forum.

“All of these ideas have been around for a while,” he said. “But we have to try to get them implemented. Unfortunately, I think most of City Council are comfortable in their seats, and people just keep voting them in.”

Dees said he liked one idea he heard Tuesday: showing up at council meetings to help influence how members vote.

“A small, vocal group at City Council (meetings) can make a difference,” he said. “It’s inspired me to start going to meetings.”

Fanning Institute Director Joe Whorton told those in attendance that Macon is in a good position, given its geography and resources, to be a leading city in the state.

“You have all kinds of assets here,” he said. “You can be the envy of other cities.”

But many at the event said Macon residents are often their own worst enemies, talking negatively about the city on issues such as race, crime and education. They pointed to community apathy and a willingness to accept the status quo as part of the problem.

Others pointed to progress with projects such as the College Hill Alliance, which has redeveloped the neighborhood between downtown and Mercer University, and hope to duplicate its success in other Macon neighborhoods.

Many also indicated they favored consolidation of Macon and Bibb County.

“We need it,” one of the crowd members said. “We’ve got to get the city and the county to come together on a vision.”

To contact writer Phillip Ramati, call 744-4334.