Macon-Bibb committee approves series of blight projects
A list of 15 blight projects received committee approval Tuesday and now head to the full Macon-Bibb County Commission for a vote.
The commission's Economic and Community Development Committee approved about $4.5 million worth of projects after relatively little discussion in Tuesday's meeting. The projects, which are being paid for from $10 million in blight bonds, are expected to be voted on by commissioners next week.
Most of the legwork in deciding which projects to include has taken place over the past several months. Blight projects consultant Cass Hatcher said a lot of hard work went into getting the first round of projects together.
"There have been a lot of late nights and weekends to get this process started," he said.
In 2015, the commission voted to allow each of the nine commissioners to spend $1 million on blight projects, while another $1 million was set aside for waste disposal and community engagement.
The 15-project list includes removing blighted structures and clearing lots to make way for a community playground, recreation field, new housing and more.
The largest amount of money, with six commissioners providing a total of about $813,000, will go toward renovating the Bibb Mill auditorium and turning it into the centerpiece of a planned arts village in east Macon. That figure was lower than the original $973,000 that was to go the project.
Here are the 15 blight projects approved in committee Tuesday. Some projects would require additional money to complete.
$171,232 for the Hunt School senior housing support project. The money would clear 12 blighted structures and two lots around the Shurling Drive senior housing project.
$413,832 for Jeffersonville Road blight removal. Funds would demolish 18 structures for future development.
$184,312 to stabilize Third Avenue. This project includes demolishing structures to provide buildable lots in support of the reworking of the connector at interstates 75 and 16.
$133,508 for Culver Street Commons. This would replace 22 blighted buildings and vacant lots near Vineville Avenue with recreation fields.
$37,320 for Emily Street. Officials would acquire and demolish two west Macon structures.
$149,908 for West Bond Street. The money would be used to tear down 11 structures near Napier Avenue.
$710,018 for the Central South/Tindall Heights project, which would knock down 35 structures, rehabilitate two structures and clear one lot.
$708,224 for the Village Green neighborhood. The project would demolish 40 structures, rehab one and clear a lot.
$28,000 to acquire eight structures on Vista Circle in north Macon, Pine Forest Road in west Macon and the Fort Hill neighborhood for a rehabilitation project.
$206,868 for a Mattie Hubbard Jones Park enhancement project. The money would be used to demolish and clear lots near the park on Second Avenue.
$314,084 for the Unionville Street connection project, which would reconnect several streets in the Unionville neighborhood.
$264,640 for the Kings Park playground and Hart Community Center project. This project would clear structures and lots to make way for a park in the Kings Park neighborhood.
$144,248 for a Lynmore Avenue project. The money would be used to demolish 10 structures for a community playground in south Macon.
$222,870 for phase one of a Lynmore Estates neighborhood project, which would tear down 14 structures and clear three lots for houses to be built by Habitat for Humanity.
LOG CABIN PROJECTS MOVES FORWARD
Also Tuesday, the commission's Operations and Finance Committee approved a $1.6 million construction bid for renovations of Log Cabin Drive.
The bid from R.J. Haynie Associates will need final approval from commissioners before crews begin work on a project that will add a new turning lane at the Hollingsworth Road and Log Cabin intersection.
Other planned improvements involve widening Log Cabin Drive, adding a pedestrian bridge and sidewalks, as well as repairing the Rocky Creek bridge.
COMMITTEE SUPPORTS RIVERSIDE DRIVE ROUNDABOUT
The commission's Facilities and Engineering Committee voted Tuesday on an agreement to pay for lights and some landscaping at a possible roundabout at the intersection of Riverside Drive at Bass Road and Arkwright Road.
The agreement with the Georgia Department of Transportation asks the county to pay for electric service for lighting at the roundabout as well as for landscaping maintenance, according to the resolution. If commissioners approve the agreement that's likely to be on next week's commission agenda, GDOT could begin the conceptual phase of the roundabout.
To contact writer Stanley Dunlap, call 744-4623 or find him on Twitter@stan_telegraph.
This story was originally published January 26, 2016 at 6:04 PM with the headline "Macon-Bibb committee approves series of blight projects ."