Macon-Bibb summer camps to move while recreation center renovations underway

With several Macon-Bibb County recreation centers having to close during the summer months for renovations, the county was faced with a question of what to do with the scores of children and teenagers who attend summer camps at the centers.

The answer lies in a partnership with Bibb County schools.

The Recreation Department has teamed up with the school system to meet the demand of the camps that draw hundreds of students to the centers in the summer. This year, programs such as such as Zumba dance classes, mentoring, and arts and crafts will take place in the neighborhood schools around the Frank Johnson, Memorial Park and Rosa Jackson recreation centers.

Commissioner Virgil Watkins was one of the county officials who had concerns about where students could find a positive environment to spend time while school was out. He said he's satisfied with the plans put together by the Recreation Department.

"My biggest concern was we would we have inadequate facilities for the kids to go to, but our (Recreation Department) has done an excellent job of planning for that," Watkins said.

Reggie Moore, who heads the Recreation Department, said he was worried about how the closings could impact the programs, so planning began months in advance.

Ballard-Hudson Middle School will be the site for campers at the Memorial and Frank Johnson centers, which are located less than a mile from the school. Also, Rosa Jackson's summer programs will be held at the nearby Appling Middle School. Each camp allows up to 125 people to participate, Moore said.

"We kind of wanted to jump ahead of the game so we wouldn't panic," he said. "I'm relieved to know the school system was willing to partner with us. That's just a tremendous asset to the Recreation Department."

In preparation, the department is hosting a summer camp kickoff April 16 at the Macon Mall. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., parents will be able to sign up their kids for the camps. After that event, people will be able to register at the Recreation Department's administrative offices in Central City Park.

Stephanie Hartley, communications director for Bibb County schools, said the cooperation with the camps is another example of the strong relationship the school system has with the county as each navigates projects funded by special purpose local option sales taxes.

"By working together, both Macon-Bibb County and Bibb Schools have been able to move forward with SPLOST and ESPLOST projects over the years without disrupting recreational opportunities for students," she said in an email.

Moore said his department also is working to partner with other groups to use their facilities for after-school programs once school resumes in August.

CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS UNDERWAY

Macon-Bibb likely will have eight park and recreation center construction projects underway in the next 30 days.

Overall, there is $39.5 million of SPLOST funds that will go to multiple recreation projects across the county. The largest project -- the Sub-South Recreation Center on Hartley Bridge Road -- will involve building an $8 million center in south Bibb County from scratch. Most of the projects are renovations that will allow residents to use them for many years to come, Bibb SPLOST coordinator Clay Murphey said.

"Most of these buildings were built in the 1970s and haven't had anything done to them since then," he said. "It's time to clean them up, modernize them, increase the size of them."

Construction has started at several recreation centers in the past several months. Last year, construction started on the new Filmore Thomas Recreation Area off Log Cabin Drive and East Macon Park, 3326 Ocmulgee E. Blvd. The first renovation of 2016 was in January at the Rosa Jackson Recreation Center, where $3.45 million will be used on a new gym, playground, splash pad, multi-purpose room and other amenities. A few days after that groundbreaking, county officials celebrated the completion of $1.2 million in renovations to the John Drew Tennis Center.

In March, work has or will begin at Memorial Gym and the Frank Johnson Community Center, with both projects taking about 180 days to complete. Memorial Gym, at 764 Long St., is getting $2.1 million in upgrades with an expanded entrance, a renovated pool and new bathrooms, a computer lab, meeting space and a workout room. Frank Johnson also is getting a new entrance, restrooms, computer lab and more.

This summer the Gilead-Bloomfield complex will get $1.8 million for renovations, including a new gym.

Murphey said he's anxious to see what the next SPLOST list entails for the second phase of recreation center projects.

"We need a recreation center in west Macon because they don't have anything out there," he said. "But all the (projects), every single one except Rosa Jackson, has a second-phase component to it."

Information from the Telegraph archives was used in this report. To contact writer Stanley Dunlap, call 744-4623 or find him on Twitter@stan_telegraph.

This story was originally published March 21, 2016 at 7:35 PM with the headline "Macon-Bibb summer camps to move while recreation center renovations underway ."