You can now view Macon-Bibb’s blighted properties online

The most extensive effort to identify blight in Macon-Bibb County has been completed — and now the information is available to anyone with access to the internet.

Detroit-based Loveland Technologies spent the summer surveying 32,000 parcels throughout Macon-Bibb. But the most significant component is the mapping of blighted properties, which can later be easily updated.

A presentation of the Macon-Bibb survey was made during Tuesday’s County Commission meeting.

People using the site have the ability to search properties by address, hover over particular neighborhoods to see the clusters of “red” which signifies a blighted property and much more.

The survey identified about 3,700 unoccupied structures. The majority of the parcels currently surveyed are in the city’s urban core.

“This is a great tool for groups in the city working to get on top of blight, quantifying how much blight there is, creating budgets,” said Jerry Paffendorf, Loveland CEO and co-founder.

The database offers a framework for county departments and officials to use while addressing blight. County commissioners are winding down spending $14 million in blight bond money on various projects. Another influx of money from the 2018 special sales tax revenue will go toward dealing with the abandoned and boarded up structures and overgrown lots.

County Commissioner Virgil Watkins used $183,600 of his blight bond money to pay for Macon’s survey.

“This is still just the beginning of collecting data,” he said. “We as policy makers need to decide how we’re going… to come up with some viable solutions.”

To view the survey go to www.maconbibbsurvey.com.

Loveland Technologies also has a survey app people can download on their smartphones and tablets.

Landfill settlement

The County Commission approved a settlement agreement Tuesday with two former employees.

The agreement results in a former assistant director of the Solid Waste Department and a landfill supervisor receiving 12 months of back pay after being fired due to managerial issues at the landfill.

Former Assistant Solid Waste Director Larry Dunning will get $63,856 and landfill supervisor Lee Stringer will get $38,334.40.

The settlement ends the two year ongoing legal battle. The county appealed the case in Bibb County Superior Court this summer after an administrative judge ruled there was not enough evidence showing the two employees deserved to lose their jobs.

“This (agreement) is in accordance with the authority given by the commission in executive session,” County Attorney Judd Drake said during Tuesday’s pre-commission meeting.

This story was originally published September 19, 2017 at 6:43 PM with the headline "You can now view Macon-Bibb’s blighted properties online."