Macon-Bibb mayor to sign lease for new Board of Elections office
The Macon-Bibb County Commission cleared the way Tuesday for a new location for the Board of Elections office.
The commission approved a resolution allowing Mayor Robert Reichert to sign a lease to move the election office to the former Shoe Carnival building in the Westgate Shopping Center.
Voters will be informed of the move by early December to ensure the county meets the requirement of 60 days notice in advance of early voting next year. The 2016 voting season features a busy election cycle that begins in February with early voting for the presidential primary.
The five-year lease will cost $100,400 per year, slightly lower than the current $103,716-per-year lease that ends in June. Officials are still working to end the lease early from the current location.
Board of Elections officials have said the new location will help solve space problems that have plagued them at the current Pio Nono location. The new building will have 12,550 square feet compared to 10,350 square feet in the existing space.
In other business Tuesday:
A new south Macon playground is closer to realization after commissioners approved demolishing five homes in the 700 and 800 blocks of Lynmore Avenue.
The plan is to turn that plot of land into a playground that will incorporate health and education activities for children and adults.
The funding for the demolitions will come from Commissioner Larry Schlesinger's blight bond money.
"Hopefully this is going to signal a renaissance in this neighborhood," he said.
Commissioner Al Tillman spoke about President Barack Obama telling federal agencies to stop asking about prior criminal convictions during the initial stage of the application process.
Earlier this year, Tillman sponsored the Macon-Bibb "ban the box" resolution and was part of a group that met with state legislators before it became a law in Georgia.
"We're proud to say President Obama has banned the box on a federal level," he said.
The commission also approved Tuesday paying $47,800 for engineering services as work begins to close the inert landfill where items such as concrete, asphalt and yard waste are taken.
Macon-Bibb expects to pay an estimated $1.2 million to close that landfill, which is being forced to shut down by the state's Environmental Protection Division because it is in a flood plain.
The money will come from a fund set aside by the Macon Water Authority in 2010 to help maintain the city's levee and close its landfill.
To contact writer Stanley Dunlap, call 744-4623 or find him on Twitter@stan_telegraph.
This story was originally published November 3, 2015 at 9:57 PM with the headline "Macon-Bibb mayor to sign lease for new Board of Elections office ."