Big benefits could come from summer baseball league, official tells Macon-Bibb commissioners

The commissioner of a summer collegiate baseball league made another pitch to Macon-Bibb County commissioners Tuesday.

Coastal Plain League Commissioner Justin Sellers detailed his league and the economic benefits he said would flow to Macon with a new franchise.

The presentation before a County Commission committee came as a feasibility study that will help determine if professional baseball would be viable in the county draws near.

Sellers said his league, which has had 81 alumni become Major League baseball players since forming in 1997, provides a minor league baseball type experience, and it's involved in community endeavors.

"We are very ingrained in our community, believe in our community and support them," Sellers said.

He estimated that 85,000 people would attend 28 home games and other special events annually. About $750,000 would be spent with Macon-Bibb vendors, including concessions. It's also possible that the league's all-star game could come to Macon-Bibb in time, which could generate about a $2 million economic impact, Sellers said.

The league would work to find an owner for the franchise. The length of the stadium leases for Coastal Plain franchises vary, but they're primarily three or five year leases, Sellers said.

The majority of the league's franchises stay in their cities longer than that, he said.

"We have ownership groups that are interested already who are involved with (Coastal Plains), but also have outside groups we would pitch this to," Sellers said.

The Coastal Plain League, with 16 teams in four Southeastern states, will have its first Georgia franchise -- in Savannah -- beginning next year.

Mayor Robert Reichert, who pushed for the feasibility study, has been a proponent of building a new minor league stadium as part of a mixed-used development at the former Bibb Mill site.

ELECTION OFFICE

The Operations and Finance Committee approved plans to continue negotiations for moving the Macon-Bibb Board of Elections Office down the road.

The resolution, now headed to the County Commission next week, would allow work to be completed for lease details and renovation drawings at the former Shoe Carnival store off Pio Nono Avenue.

The move to the Westgate Shopping Center would provide more space and parking and come at a cheaper cost than the current location nearby. The new lease would likely save $30,000-$40,000 per year, according to the board of elections.

The window for a move early next year would have to be decided by early December. The law requires that 60 days of notice is provided to voters before the next election.

The 2016 election cycle begins with early voting for the U.S. presidential primary starting in February.

LANDFILL CLOSING

Macon-Bibb County has found the $1.2 million that will help close the inert landfill that was used for yard waste and some construction material.

The money comes from more than $7 million that was set aside by the Macon Water Authority in 2010 to help maintain the city's levee and close its landfill, Reichert said.

The report came Tuesday as the Operations and Finance Committee passed a resolution that would pay about $48,000 for engineering costs to develop plans and bid specifications for closing that landfill.

Meanwhile, Solid Waste Director Kevin Barkley said he plans to present more details to commissioners in the upcoming weeks about how to manage some of the issues with the department.

Among them: The department has been struggling to keep pace with picking up yard waste, in part due to having just one employee trained to drive the truck that can pick up that type of material.

Two new trucks are on the way, and the department will have two more employees able to drive the vehicles when they arrive early next year.

"There's a high demand out there, and we're running as hard and fast as we can," Barkley said.

The county is now having yard waste recycled while piles of yard waste mixed with other material are being taken to a landfill outside Bibb County.

The state's Environmental Protection Division is forcing the closing of the inert landfill due to it being on a flood plain.

The county is also having to look at closing its main landfill on Walker Road in the next several years. The estimated cost for that is about $10 million.

HEALTH DEPARTMENT BATTLE

Reichert and county commissioners will show their support of keeping the state Department of Health's North Central Health District from taking over the county's health department.

County leaders agreed Tuesday to sign a letter supporting state legislation expected to be proposed by state Rep. Nikki Randall as a fight continues over control of the department.

Commissioner Elaine Lucas, who also serves on the local board of health, said the state took computers containing financial information last week. It's all part of a hostile takeover that would allow the district to handle everything from money to services, she said.

Reichert will pen the letter that commissioners will sign.

"We think it's an example for one size doesn't fit all," he said. "We think there should be a distinction for some larger urban areas that want to stand alone."

To contact writer Stanley Dunlap, call 744-4623.

This story was originally published October 27, 2015 at 6:52 PM with the headline "Big benefits could come from summer baseball league, official tells Macon-Bibb commissioners ."