An effort to combine Macon’s state, municipal courts held up

State Court Judge Bill Adams appeared Tuesday before the Macon-Bibb County Commission and made his case for combining the municipal court with the state court.

However, the matter did not get the support it needed to move forward.

The proposed court merger was something Adams said he and his office had researched in depth before presenting it to Mayor Robert Reichert. The mayor presented a resolution to the commission’s Committee of the Whole to recommend the court merger be presented to the state legislature.

The merger would mean all municipal court employees would transfer to the state court and that a part-time judge would be initially appointed by the governor and then it would become an elected position, Adams said.

While the move may not achieve an immediate cost savings, he said it would make things more efficient for the courts as well as for people who go to those courts.

“I don’t think we need two courts handling traffic cases in the county,” he said.

Commissioner Elaine Lucas questioned Adams about who brought up the court merger issue and why it was needed.

“I guess this is good for somebody,” Lucas said. “But I’m confused why this is coming up.”

Adams said his office initiated the proposed court merger, and that the state court, which is planning to move to the fifth floor of the courthouse, had the capacity to now handle the additional case load.

Bibb County Solicitor-General Rebecca Grist said the state court has the attorneys and a Spanish interpreter who could help with municipal court cases. The merged courts would make things easier on defendants and lawyers and would decrease paperwork, she said.

Adams admitted he did not approach Municipal Court Judge Bobby Faulkner early in the process and that he had apologized to Faulkner “several times” for that.

“I wish I had talked to him sooner,” he said, adding that Faulkner “had every opportunity to offer his opinion.”

But Faulkner said his feelings were hurt and that he still resents the way the matter was handled.

“This is a heck of a way to spend your day off,” he said as he sat at the conference table.

He said he didn’t think it was right for the state court to “go behind my back,” to propose the court merger. “And I resent that.”

The municipal court already provides what the state court says it could offer, and it’s set up to handle cases quickly, he said. Also, the municipal court needs to be in the same building as other courts, he said. When the city and county consolidated it was agreed that the courts would remain separate.

“I’m a big proponent of if it’s not broke don’t fix it,” Faulkner said.

Lucas said she didn’t like the way the proposed court merger was brought up and that maybe the commission could discuss it during its January retreat.

Commissioner Mallory Jones made the motion to table the resolution and Lucas seconded it and it passed 5-4.

Commissioners other than Jones and Lucas voting to table the issue were: Bert Bivins, Ed DeFore and Virgil Watkins. Voting not to table the resolution were Gary Bechtel, Larry Schlesinger and Al Tillman.

Beall’s Hill to see improvements; Riverside might be ready for residential

In another matter, during the Operations and Finance Committee meeting, commissioners quickly approved a resolution authorizing the mayor to sign a contract with Whiteway Development Corp., doing business as Appling Brothers Co., to do $1.65 million of streetscape improvements in the Beall’s Hill neighborhood.

The only bid received came from Appling, Bill Causey said, adding that some lights and sidewalks were removed to make it fit the budget.

Also, the commission agreed to take about $37,000 from the fund balance to go toward a remediation plan at the former Macon Manufactured Gas Plant property on Riverside Drive situated between Spring and New streets and the Ocmulgee River. The work, to be done by Geotechnical & Environmental Consultants, would help remove the nonresidential use restrictions on the property, Reichert said.

Soil bores would be done only on 11 “hot spots” which have been identified on the site, he said.

“We think we can get clearance for 15 feet below the surface,” he said. “I think it’s a wise investment.” As long as nothing is built below the 15 feet, the site should be cleared by the state's Environmental Protection Division for residential development.

In 2013, a development group called Renaissance on the River backed out of developing the site because environmental restrictions prevented the land from being used for condominiums.

“The idea is to get a clean bill of health,” Bechtel said.

This story was originally published December 13, 2016 at 4:21 PM with the headline "An effort to combine Macon’s state, municipal courts held up."