Football stadium could get upgrades with sale of sports complex
Plans for major renovations to a stadium that tie into the sale of a sports complex could take a significant step this week.
The Macon-Bibb County Commission's Committee of the Whole is scheduled to vote on a resolution Tuesday that authorizes the sale of the Heath Road sports complex to the Bibb County Board of Education. If the full commission and school board approve the matter, one of the requirements is for a public hearing to be held.
The financial details of the sale were not available Monday.
The money the county receives from the sale of the Ed DeFore complex would be used to upgrade Henderson Stadium, which was built in the 1960s. Macon-Bibb would seek proposals from firms bidding to design and renovate Henderson.
The county and school district are also partnering to build a multipurpose complex behind Hartley Elementary School on Anthony Road that would feature artificial turf.
The cost of that $1.5 million project is being split between the county and the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation.
Disability fee exemption
A Macon-Bibb County commissioner wants to allow people with disabilities not to be forced to pay solid waste collection fees.
Commissioner Joe Allen is sponsoring an ordinance that would exempt people who are fully disabled from the garbage and recycling charges. Allen initially proposed a similar measure being added to an ordinance last year, but the exemption was removed without his knowledge, he said.
"If this doesn't get done this time, I'm going to be very unhappy with this government," Allen said. "This is something that should have been done. Everyone on the board agreed to it."
Allen's proposal is on Tuesday's agenda for the Operations and Finance Committee. It states that homeowners can apply for a fee waiver if they are designated 100 percent disabled by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or the U.S. Social Security Administration
This story was originally published January 22, 2018 at 2:56 PM with the headline "Football stadium could get upgrades with sale of sports complex."