Central City Park is closed so work can begin on the $3.7 million improvement project. The Park is closed completely – including Willie Smokey Glover Drive – so the contractor can tear up the roads, put in new curbing, and add new sidewalks.

 The complete project also includes a new skate park, two new sets of bathrooms in the passive park area, utility work, new concession stands and bathrooms at both ballfields and skate park, new parking lots, a rose garden, new paved trails, four multipurpose fields, and an outdoor classroom space. This project is funded by the voter-approved Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST), and attached is a rendering of the full improvement project.

About the SPLOST

The current SPLOST was approved by voters in 2011, with collections beginning in 2012. It would fund improvements, upgrades, construction, and more for six years or until $180 million was collected. Thanks to this additional penny – which studies have shown is paid mostly by people traveling into or through Macon-Bibb – there is a new Animal Welfare Center, new Juvenile Justice Center, three new fire stations, $39 million in new or improved recreation facilities, a new public safety radio system, vehicles and equipment for law enforcement, road and storm drainage repair, and more.

 Commissioners, and the Macon-Bibb County Board of Elections, have placed the continuation of the SPLOST on the ballot on November 8, 2016. Should this be approved, it would continue the penny tax once the current one expires in March 2018. This would not be an additional penny on top of what people already pay.

The $280 million plan includes the next phases of recreation projects, federally-mandated closure of the landfill, courthouse renovations, runway extension at the Middle Georgia Regional Airport, stormwater repair and upgrades, public safety projects, and more. To develop the list of what was included, the County hosted a series of community meetings to hear directly from people. 

You can read about the projects and what else is included in the planned SPLOST here. To see the active and completed projects covered under the current program, check out the detailed SPLOST site.