Senior center project moves ahead after county officials’ pledge

Macon-Bibb County Commission members cleared the way Tuesday to begin accepting construction proposals for a new senior citizens center, but only after making a pledge to see if a compromise could be met.

County officials will determine in upcoming months how to fund construction of the center, estimated to come in at least $600,000 more than budgeted. The commission agreed Tuesday to allow contractors to submit proposals on building the 10,000 square foot center inside Central City Park.

The commission plans have another conversation next week to see about potentially adding other improvements to the project that’s drawn criticism from some seniors.

“It’s just a matter of being willing to work things out,” Commissioner Bert Bivins said during the pre-commission meeting. “I don’t know anybody here that doesn’t want to do the best we can for seniors. I know all of us feel that way.”

During Tuesday’s meeting, several seniors strongly asked commissioners to not accept any bids until more changes could be made to the plans. They also spoke against moving out a nutritional program, which would mean the more sedentary seniors would not be able to use the center.

“Seniors are supposed to be respected and cared for and there is no indication with this,” Macon resident Mamie Bronson said. “We voted for the (special purpose local option sales tax) before because you told us we would have a senior center.”

There was some discussion during Tuesday’s pre-commission meeting about delaying the vote. Commissioner Elaine Lucas suggested “going back to the drawing board” so seniors could feel they were more involved with the process.

“We had some starts and stops that are not fault of our own and now we’re faced with a situation with some folks who say they are not being treated fairly,” she said.

Officials estimate a new center will cost about $3 million to build. Currently, there is $2.3 million remaining for the construction, combining money from the SPLOST and from a land swap with Mercer University that involved the current Adams Street senior center.

Some seniors have been critical about the process, including having the scope of the building downsized and the fact that the center is one of the major final SPLOST projects to be built.

Some of that delay was due to finding a location seniors agreed upon after Macon-Bibb scouted multiple sites.

Macon-Bibb officials have said they will look for another source of revenue for the center.

Once the bids come in, Macon-Bibb officials could work with a contractor to implement some cost-saving measures such as changing some of the building’s materials.

The senior center is about 2,000 square feet smaller than the estimated $3.5 million original design. That reduction comes from the elimination of a dining room and for office space for the Middle Georgia Community Action Agency, which provides a nutritional program for some seniors.

But for the group of seniors that would using the new center, there is several thousand additional square feet available to them in the 10,000 square feet plan than in the current facility, Commissioner Al Tillman said.

When new furniture and technology is added to the cost, there could be a need for a $1 million in extra funds to complete the project, said Julie Moore, assistant county manager for budget and planning.

A groundbreaking on the center could come as early as spring 2017, and construction would take about a year, officials said.

Cook Out

The County Commission approved a right of way resolution at the site of a future Cook Out restaurant in west Macon.

The resolution calls for Cook Out to pay about $60,000 for the right of way at the former JL’s Open Pit Bar-B-Q on Brookhaven Restaurant.

Cook Out’s closest locations to Macon are in Warner Robins and Milledgeville. The fast food chain known for its burgers and milkshakes was founded in North Carolina in the 1980s.

Slave burial grounds

Historic Macon Foundation will place interpretive panels and a state historic marker inside the Oak Ridge section of Rose Hill Cemetery.

The county gave the agency permission Tuesday to put up the displays that would be used to teach people about the history of that section, where numerous slaves are buried in unmarked graves.

The panels are being funded through a grant from the Community Foundation of Central Georgia, and Macon-Bibb is matching $2,500 of the $5,000 needed for the state marker.

This story was originally published October 4, 2016 at 7:43 PM with the headline "Senior center project moves ahead after county officials’ pledge."