From Oby Brown with Historic Macon Foundation – A year ago, workers were clearing a 28-acre tract of thick privet. Today, county leaders and neighborhood residents gathered to dedicate Macon’s newest recreation area, North Highlands Park. 

Among Wednesday’s speakers were Macon-Bibb County Mayor Lester Miller; District 2 Commissioner Paul Bronson; Kathryn Dennis, President of the Community Foundation of Central Georgia (CFCG); and Ethiel Garlington, Executive Director of Historic Macon. Highland Hills Baptist Church provided refreshments for the event. 

Miki Fluker, a longtime North Highlands resident and former president of the neighborhood association, said she remembered when the site was a park many years ago. She and her daughter, Elizabeth, have already spent hours there listening to — and identifying — bird songs. 

“We’re grateful for the investment and attention that our neighborhood is finally getting,” Fluker said. 

 Macon-Bibb County Commissioners approved the park project 18 months ago. Historic Macon coordinated the work with the help of Bill Causey, the project manager. A $180,000 grant from the CFCG paid for the park’s design and construction. 

The low-maintenance park, located at 1084 Boulevard, features a basketball court, a quarter-mile walking trail, swing sets, benches — and a lot of green space. Chain posts along the front of the park help protect it, and a new park sign went up in February on the site, which the county owns.
Those who worked on the project included: Burt & Burt; Laurie Fickling of Oak Haven Studios; Darrell Bridges with Appling Brothers; Chad and Charlie McCaskill of Evergreen Lawn & Garden; Mark Buckland Jr. of Houston Asphalt; Ryan Rigsby of The Briar Group; AA Action Fence; Barry Merrit, who did the masonry work for the park sign; The Sign Store; DeMichiel Construction; and Michael Glisson, Director of the Macon-Bibb’s Parks & Beautification Department.