Animal shelter resolution delayed by commission

Macon-Bibb County delayed a proposal to see if an outside agency was interested in running the animal shelter.

The County Commission voted Tuesday to refer back to committee a resolution to seek proposals from nonprofit organizations to handle adoptions, spay and neutering and some other animal welfare related services.

The resolution stated that Macon-Bibb employees would still perform animal code enforcement, including investigations and picking up strays.

The resolution will be back on the March 28 Public Safety Committee agenda.

The county previously contracted with an animal rescue group to run some of the shelter’s operations until the contract was terminated in 2016.

Animal rescue group members spoke at Tuesday’s meeting about what they say is a committed department staff. If any help is needed, it’s with the adoption side, where a large number of animals are brought to the shelter, they said.

“We feel the shelter is doing an awesome job,” said Debi Kirkland, with Pixel Fund rescue group. “I see tremendous effort to help every dog that walks through the door.”

“I think we would be making a big mistake to bring in an unknown quantity ... to run that facility,” Commissioner Mallory Jones said.

Officials are looking at ways to reduce the budget after having to dip into the general fund balance for $8 million in the previous fiscal year, Macon-Bibb spokesman Chris Floore said.

“We’re looking across the board on ways to save money and or operate better,” Floore said before Tuesday’s meeting.

The commission also voted Tuesday to table a resolution to seek bids for managing Bowden Golf Course.

Opened in 1940, the Millerfield Road golf course is significant in Macon’s history, as it became the first publicly integrated facility in 1961. In 2015, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Court merger

The Macon-Bibb County Commission approved a resolution of support for a state Legislature bill that would have State Court take over Municipal Court.

The resolution was added to the agenda at Tuesday’s precommission at the request of Commissioner Gary Bechtel. State Senate Bill 283 was filed by state Sen. John Kennedy, R-Macon, who says it will be a more cost-effective way to operate the courts.

Municipal Court of Macon-Bibb County handles minor cases such as traffic and parking violations. State Court of Bibb County hears civil cases, plus misdemeanor criminal offenses.

Commissioners Joe Allen, Scotty Shepherd, Larry Schlesinger, Al Tillman and Gary Bechtel voted to support the bill.

Several commissioners objected to the bill being drafted while the commission was having the Middle Georgia Regional Commission study the issue.

They also questioned some of the back-door politics involved since the early stages of the process, including keeping the Municipal Court judge out of the loop while planning was underway.

Commissioner Virgil Watkins said he wanted more clarity before making a decision.

“From every point that State Court has made there has been a decent counterpoint from Municipal Court,” he said at the precommission meeting. “To have an unbiased body like the regional commission to assess ... is prudent.”

Last year, the County Commission tabled a resolution to ask the Legislature to consolidate Municipal Court with the State Court.

Commissioner Elaine Lucas said Macon-Bibb County’s mayor and possibly others tried to “quarterback sneak” the merger through the Legislature.

“We don’t need to take away the people’s court rushing through something like this,” she said.

Blight mapping

A new system will be used to map blighted properties across Macon-Bibb’s urban redevelopment area.

The commission approved Tuesday using $183,600 of blight bond money for a blight survey project. The money will pay for surveyors to map out dilapidated structures and blighted properties. The money, using a Loveland Technologies system and surveyors, is coming from Watkins blight bond funds.

The surveyors will work in conjunction with the Macon-Bibb County code enforcement officers, Watkins said earlier this week.

“Not only is it accessible to the government, it will also be accessible to the public,” he said. “I think it provides us with a better map so we can tell how many blighted properties we have and what each situation is. Right now we’re approximating.”

This story was originally published March 21, 2017 at 7:51 PM with the headline "Animal shelter resolution delayed by commission."