Filmore Thomas park, Log Cabin Drive work moving forward in Macon-Bibb County
While evidence of progress at two long-awaited Macon-Bibb County projects is hard to come by, county leaders remain confident residents will see activity soon.
Improvements to the Filmore Thomas Recreation Area and roadwork along Log Cabin Drive are closer to happening now that the projects are in various stages of design and site work. Macon-Bibb has about $3 million in special purpose local option sales tax to spend on the projects.
Macon-Bibb spokesman Chris Floore said any skepticism is understandable because residents have been waiting on work to begin there in earnest for years.
“We’ve taken some significant steps in the projects,” Floore said. “I know they haven’t been visible, but they’ve been significant.”
Commissioner Al Tillman, who represents the area, said the two ventures have been at the forefront of his agenda since he took office in January 2014.
“One of my goals is to get Filmore and Log Cabin Drive done, and that’s what I’ve been working on,” he said. “We are closer than ever.”
One example of how long the Filmore Thomas park project was stalled is a sign proclaiming the location of the park, which until recently listed the names of the Macon City Council from the past decade, Tillman said.
The future park will be on the site of the former Durr’s Lake that’s now just a small stream. It was once home to a skating rink and bowling alley, which have since been demolished.
Bids on the site work are due in September for the $1.6 million project that will add walking trails, pavilions, two basketball courts, a splash pad and parking.
“That puts us on track to have the resolution ready for commissioners by early-to-mid October,” Floore said.
The county would then work with a contractor to come up with a construction timeline, he said.
There also isn’t a date set for when roadwork begins on Log Cabin Drive, but Floore said he’s hopeful that engineering designs will be completed in the next few weeks. It will then take another 30 days to bid out the project that would alleviate safety hazards.
“We’re widening the road, realigning the intersection to make is safer for pedestrians and drivers,” said Clay Murphey, SPLOST project manager for Macon-Bibb.
A home at the intersection of Log Cabin and Hollingsworth Road that blocks the view of oncoming traffic will be demolished. Log Cabin will also get a sidewalk and a new pedestrian bridge.
On Monday afternoon, two Macon-Bibb County employees were marking the property line of a Log Cabin home located next to the house that will be knocked down.
The county is working on right of way and easement agreements with property owners along the road. About 20 property owners did not respond to certified letters recently sent out requesting temporary easements, Tillman said.
“We are ready to go and move with things. It’s just getting the neighbors to respond,” he said Monday while driving on Log Cabin Drive.
Murphey said it’s usually a methodical process when negotiating rights of way and easement as well as acquiring properties for projects like Log Cabin Drive.
Floore said the county is looking to bring improvements that people in the area are proud of.
“These are two big projects in the district and in neighborhoods where they’ve long asked for them,” he said. “We’re excited about taking on the projects.”
To contact writer Stanley Dunlap, call 744-4623 or find him on Twitter@stan_telegraph.
This story was originally published August 27, 2015 at 6:39 PM with the headline "Filmore Thomas park, Log Cabin Drive work moving forward in Macon-Bibb County ."