Macon-Bibb commissioners set to vote on blight projects Tuesday
The Macon-Bibb County Commission is set to vote Tuesday on 15 blight projects that would clear the way for the first major wave of efforts to clean up blighted neighborhoods.
The various projects, primarily targeting the city's urban core, also cover some areas of the former unincorporated Bibb County. If the commission approves the $4.5 million in projects Tuesday, the county's blight consultant will work with a local authority to acquire the privately owned properties for redevelopment.
"I think it's important for the commission to sign off on these projects and that the neighborhoods be informed that these projects are going to happen," Commissioner Larry Schlesinger said last week. "Hopefully, we can begin very quickly so we can really start to see the results of the blight fund."
Among the series of projects to be voted on Tuesday are replacing blighted buildings and overgrown lots near Vineville Avenue to make way for recreation fields, redeveloping properties in the Bellevue neighborhood and making improvements behind Williams Elementary School in the Pleasant Hill neighborhood that would create a walkable environment for students.
Also, six commissioners have pledged a total of $813,000 to restore the Clinton Street auditorium into a community center that will be part of an east Macon arts village.
The funding for the projects would come from $14 million in blight bond funds, of which $2 million is already being spent on Beall's Hill neighborhood improvements. Another $2 million is being used to attack blight and build athletic fields along Wise Avenue.
The commission voted last year to evenly divide up $9 million of those bond funds among the nine commissioners, while the remaining $1 million is designated for community engagement and waste disposal.
The Macon-Bibb County Land Bank Authority will handle acquiring the properties, which in some cases could take six months if a foreclosure process is necessary.
The Land Bank will have to "prioritize some of the projects because of the large number of properties that will have to be bought," said Alison Goldey, the land bank's executive director.
COMMISSIONERS TO CONSIDER ROUNDABOUT AGREEMENT
The County Commission likely will vote Tuesday on an agreement to pay for lights and 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, GDOT could begin the conceptual phase of the roundabout.
The county engineer "believes that a roundabout at this intersection would be an effective measure for safety and welfare" of Macon residents, the resolution says.
To contact writer Stanley Dunlap, call 744-4623 or find him on Twitter@stan_telegraph.
This story was originally published February 1, 2016 at 5:29 PM with the headline "Macon-Bibb commissioners set to vote on blight projects Tuesday ."