Here is a recap of the actions taken at the May 1, 2018 Macon-Bibb County Commission meeting. You can watch our meetings live on Facebook and at MaconBibb.TV on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. Click here to watch this most recent meeting.

At the Macon-Bibb County Commission meeting on May 1, 2018, Dr. Jimmy Robert Asbell, Senior Pastor at Vineville United Methodist Church, delivered the invocation.

Youth Commissioner Erin Pettigrew led the room in the Pledge of Allegiance. Here’s more about this young leader:

Erin Pettigrew

Senior at Howard High School where she is the Cheer Captain and prides herself in leading Howard Huskies Spirit. Erin believes, “[Civic education] is important because today’s youth needs to know that they must earn their way in society.  In the real world, you work for what you want and you must separate needs from wants.”  After high school, she plans to attend college for a degree in forensic investigation.

Our County Commissioners honored our Youth Commissioners as the Region 2 Champions of the Secretary of State’s Ambassadors Program.

The Board of Commissioners, along with community partners, proclaimed May as National Stroke Month in Macon-Bibb.

Congratulations to Charise Stephens with the Georgia Wellness and Fitness Festival for being recognized as a National Fitness Museum and Institute National Spokesperson, and a 2018 America Walks Fellow.

Agenda Items

Commissioners approved using $5.4 million dollars in Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) funds for CY2018 debt retirement. Click here for full details on GMA lease pool payments, interest on bonds, and other information.

The board agreed to hire Carter Engineering Group to plan & design improvements along roads and sidewalks around Middle Georgia State University. That project comes from SPLOST funds.

There will be pedestrian crossings added to the plan for the Jeffersonville Road Expansion Project. Commissioners voted to amend the contract with Moreland Altobelli Associates to include them in the SPLOST-funded project.

A roundabout is coming to a busy downtown intersection. Commissioners approved the $249,700 contract with Sam Schwartz Engineering for the traffic structure at the intersection of Forsyth, Spring, and Forsyth Streets. This is also a SPLOST-funded project.

Commissioners created a Memorandum of Understanding with the Macon-Bibb Division of Family and Child Services for a joint collaboration to provide job and skills training to young people through the Georgia Teen Work Internship Program.

Musco Lighting will provide and install lights at Henderson Stadium. The $271,000 in lights are part of a larger plan which will have a $3.8 million impact. Funds come from the sale of the Ed DeFore Sports Complex.

The fee for disposing of waste at the Walker Road Landfill will go up by $5 per ton. This will have no impact on residential service fees. Read more about it here.

State Farm has awarded the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office a $10,000 grant for the Teen Driver Safety Summer Program.

The Little Richard House and The Grand Macon are receiving special plaques to commemorate their music history. The plaques are funded with money from the Charles Cox Family Trust.

Ron Wildman was appointed to our Pedestrian Safety Review Board. He’s one of seven citizens at large from our community who are part of the group that analyzes and assesses ways to make Macon-Bibb more friendly for people who walk.

Commissioners passed a resolution honoring the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. on the 50th anniversary of his assassination (which was April 4.) The Martin Luther King Commission works year-round to keep Dr. King’s mission alive. To see events and learn how to host one, visit their website at https://www.maconbibb.us/mlk.

A master plan is approved for the Delores A. Brooks Community Center. WM2A Architects designed it after holding several open forums with community members. View the plan here.

Commissioners approved a resolution for the County Attorney to work with local development authorities to develop a Commercial Economic Development Incentives Policy. The goal of which is to attract and retain commercial businesses.

Commissioners also approved the 13th Amendment to the SPLOST project timeline and budget.

$140,000 in SPLOST money will serve as matching funds for the Macon Transit Authority to purchase two electric buses and charging stations.