Bibb school district to take ownership of ballpark

The Bibb County school district may soon be the proud owner of two additional athletic facilities.

At its Thursday meeting, the Board of Education agreed to accept ownership of Tom Fontain Ballpark from Macon-Bibb County.

Members also gave the superintendent permission to move forward with data collection on the Ed DeFore Sports Complex, said Jason Daniel, the district’s executive director of Capital Programs. This opens up the door for the superintendent to later negotiate the purchase of that complex from the county.

These agreements are related to the construction of a multipurpose sports complex behind Hartley Elementary School. The Cal Ripken Foundation and Macon-Bibb would pay $750,000 for that facility, but there would be no cost to the school district. The project includes plans to renovate the Tom Fontain Ballpark, which is located in front of site for the complex.

In others news, the district will allow Macon-Bibb to temporarily use its vacant property at the intersection of Northside Drive and Wesleyan Drive. Macon-Bibb will temporarily store debris from Tropical Storm Irma there until it can be disposed of.

At the request of board member Sundra Woodford and board president Daryl Morton, the Macon-Bibb will be asked to provide a time frame for use of the land and address how the property will be restored later.

The district has accepted a $2 million grant to participate in the federal GEAR UP program for a seventh year. The program supports a cohort of students — now seniors and first-year college students — as they work toward graduation and college. The school system must match that grant funding.

This story was originally published September 21, 2017 at 6:36 PM with the headline "Bibb school district to take ownership of ballpark."