South Bibb recreation center contract approved

A $7.6 million construction contract was approved Tuesday for a south Bibb County recreation facility.

The agreement clears the way for Warren Associates to build the Sub-South Recreation Center, which will be located off Hartley Bridge Road near Rutland middle and high schools. Some modifications were made to the facility to meet the budget after the first round of construction bids came in about $3 million higher than projected.

Plans now for the first phase call for a reduction in the number of ball fields and tennis courts and some other changes.

The groundbreaking for the center could be held late next week, said Commissioner Scotty Shepherd, who represents the district where the facility will be built.

After receiving numerous calls from people upset about the lack of progress, Shepherd said Tuesday’s night vote was a joyous occasion.

“We’ll have folks jumping up and down after tonight that are thrilled to death that this is finally happening,” Shepherd said. “We’ve had folks waiting for this for many, many years.”

South Bibb officials and residents have advocated for the new recreation center, citing its need to fill a void in the area. The project is being paid for with special purpose local option sales tax revenue, of which about $39 million is dedicated to various park and recreation center upgrades throughout the county.

Construction is expected to take one year.

Officials are pushing for the next phase of the project to be built using money from a future SPLOST that will likely be voted on by residents in November.

In other business Tuesday:

▪  The hours when fireworks can be used in Macon have been reduced.

The change means that someone shooting off fireworks after 9 p.m. on most days will be violating a noise ordinance. The measure came at the request of Commissioner Mallory Jones, who said he has received numerous complaints from people about when fireworks are being used.

A last-second amendment to extend the time window by another hour was withdrawn. Commissioner Al Tillman had proposed a compromise to Jones’ resolution that would instead allow fireworks to be used until 10 p.m. on most nights.

Tillman said some local store owners have said they were concerned about the time moving to 9 p.m.

“Let’s just see how this goes over the next 90 days or six months to see if the sheriff has a grip on this,” he said after withdrawing the amendment. “Hopefully it doesn’t affect the businesses that recently opened.”

Fireworks still can be used until midnight on July 3-4 and New Years Eve, and from midnight until 1 a.m. on July 1.

▪  A resolution to continue having a New Year’s Eve celebration in downtown Macon is headed to a County Commission committee for discussion.

The resolution proposes that Macon-Bibb County provides $5,500 for the celebration that is contingent upon NewTown Macon or the Cherry Blossom Festival agreeing to manage the event. Tillman has spearheaded efforts for the New Year’s Eve celebration at Rosa Parks Square to fill the void left by the former New Year’s Eve Cherry Blossom Ball Drop.

This story was originally published July 19, 2016 at 7:51 PM with the headline "South Bibb recreation center contract approved."