On Thursday, October 6, Mayor Lester Miller, Assistant County Manager Julie Moore, and other County leaders took a trip to Cambridge, Massachusetts for the Infrastructure Innovation Summit at Harvard Kennedy School. The trip was funded through our great partner, The Knight Foundation. 

Mayor Miller was invited to speak on a panel titled “American Rescue Plan Success Stories: Infrastructure, Public Spaces, and Creating Communities.” He talked about how our County chose to deploy American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to meet the needs of our community.   

“We were pleased to learn of additional federal grant opportunities that will be available this next year to continue to build out our infrastructure as related to a walkable, bikeable community,” said Moore.  

Mayor Miller, Moore, Macon Mental Health Matters (MMHM) coordinator Andrea Cooke, NewTown Macon President/CEO Josh Rogers, Historic Macon Foundation Executive Director Ethiel Garlington, and Knight Foundation Macon Director Lynn Murphey all represented Macon-Bibb County. They were able to network with other Knight City affiliates to discuss the different ways everyone has approached the use of ARPA funds.   

“This was a great opportunity to share what we’ve done so far,” said Mayor Miller. “It was really cool to get great feedback, and even follow up questions about how we do what we do. I was really proud to represent Macon-Bibb County.”

In the last year, Macon-Bibb County has distributed ARPA funds to help food distribution, to the Brookdale Warming Center, and focus on Blight and Affordable Housing opportunities.   

“We have also been grateful for partners who have assisted with matching funds to make these projects double their impact. The Knight Foundation was an early leader by providing $1.6 million to match the $1.6 million in ARPA funds utilized by NewTown Macon and Historic Macon,” said Moore.  

There are ten units in Beall’s Hill on Oglethorpe Street which will be available at the end of this month and two more Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessible units available by the end of November.  Through ARPA funds, NewTown Macon has issued loans that will provide 73 new units of housing and eliminate a blighted office park.