December 20, 2024 * Issue 409 | |
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On Monday, December 16, 2024, Macon-Bibb County held an Inauguration Ceremony for Mayor Lester Miller and County Commissioners. Two new Commissioners were officially sworn in to take District Seats 4 and 8. You can watch the full ceremony here.
“This ceremony kicks off the beginning of a new team of leadership in our community,” said County Manager Dr. Keith Moffett. “These 10 elected officials may share different views, but they all have one thing in common – their love and commitment for Macon-Bibb County.”
“It is a great day in Macon-Bibb County. Not because of those of us standing here on stage…but because we are here together,” Mayor Miller said to start his comments, opening with his usual line celebrating our community before making sure he emotionally thanked his family for their support.
The Honor Guard led the Presentation of Colors, County Manager Dr. Keith Moffett led the Pledge of Allegiance, and Princess Eleanor Rogers sang the National Anthem. The Invocation was led by Dr. Rick Lanford. State Court Chief Judge Jeff Hanson led each elected official in being sworn in before Mayor Miller addressed the audience and community.
“Four years ago, I stood before you and acknowledged that our community was hurting…but resilient,” the Mayor said. “But while other cities floundered and struggled, we rose up and faced those challenges together.”
The four-year term of office for each of these officials begins at 12:00 a.m. on January 1, 2025:
Lester M. Miller - Mayor
Valerie Wynn - District 1 Commissioner
Paul Bronson - District 2 Commissioner
Stanley Stewart - District 3 Commissioner
Joey Hulett - District 4 Commissioner
Seth Clark - District 5 Commissioner
Raymond Wilder - District 6 Commissioner
Bill Howell - District 7 Commissioner
Donice Bryant - District 8 Commissioner
Brendalyn Bailey - District 9 Commissioner
“My friends…my teammates. If you thought the last four years were fun…if you thought we worked hard the last four years…if you thought we celebrated the last four years…Look at the team on this stage. Look at the team members around you. Think of the people you know in our community working daily,” he charged them to close out his comments.”
“We’re not done. We’re just getting started. And we’re starting the year with a bang.”
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Hundreds of people danced their way to the Macon City Auditorium in their best sneakers on Saturday, December 14, for the 3rd Annual Mayor’s Sneaker Ball. People from all over Macon-Bibb County came together to celebrate the successes of our community.
“The turnout this year was fantastic,” said Mayor Lester Miller. “For one night, it didn’t matter what our opinions or views were, we were all one and having a ball! I am so proud to be part of and serve this community.”
The Mayor’s Sneaker Ball raised money for six Lester M. Miller Scholarships. Those winners were Northeast High School Senior MyAsia Hancock, Howard High School Senior Malin Milton, Northeast High School Senior Jayvyn Thomas, and First Presbyterian Day School Seniors Elizabeth Jarrard, Jennifer Jarrard, and Margaret Jarrard.
“Serving as the Committee Chair for the Mayor’s Sneaker Ball was such an incredible experience,” said Andrea Cooke. “We celebrated everything that makes Macon-Bibb County special , and had an amazing time while also awarding six scholarships to some very deserving students. It was a night to remember, and I’m so proud of our community!”
People danced to DJ Black Jack, DJ Uh-Oh, and Mike Clark, Jr. They participated in a silent auction, took pictures, and more. Click here to see more pictures from the Ball.
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A Merry Visit
Santa & friends bring cheer to Children’s Hospital
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Santa Claus – alongside Elf on the Shelf and the Grinch – made a special visit to the Atrium Health Beverly Knight Olsen Children’s Hospital on Wednesday to visit children and babies staying there.
“This tradition is near and dear to our hearts,” said Fire Chief Shane Edwards. “To see their little faces light up after a tough time in their lives makes it all worth it.”
The Fire Department has been making this tradition happen since 2021. Due to COVID-19 precautions in place at the hospital, Santa was not able go inside to see patients. So, the Fire Department put him on their truck’s ladder, along with the Grinch.
“We had a group of firefighters come together and pulled resources, off duty, and they got in touch with Santa Claus,” said Chief Edwards. “This is just one of those instances where our firefighters went above and beyond for the community.”
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For the third year, Macon-Bibb County District 2 Commissioner Paul Bronson – along with the Macon-Bibb County Fire Department, Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, Macon Mental Health Matters, and other partners – joined together to take Santa, Mrs. Claus, and the Grinch around to different Macon-Bibb County neighborhoods.
“Everyone deserves those moments of joy that we all get during the holiday season, and we wanted to help bring one of those moments to children around the county,” says Commissioner Bronson.
“We had an amazing time spreading joy and kindness through the streets of Macon-Bibb! The honking horns by adults and waves from children reminded me of the reason for the season," says Andrea Cooke with Macon Mental Health Matters, who was dressed as Mrs. Claus. “There’s so much good in our community, and we love seeing it!”
That’s why he started Santa Spotting several years ago…to bring smiles to kids’ faces. And that’s exactly what happened with two little girls staying at the Brookdale Resource Center. They were jumping for joy and squealing in delight as the Fire Department’s ladder truck pulled up with a public safety escort and they saw Santa on the top.
“MOMMY! MOMMY! IT’S SANTA!” the older one yelled excitedly over and over while pulling on her mother’s hand, trying to run toward the truck.
As Santa (or Commissioner Bronson, as we know him) came down from the truck, he gave each girl a candy cane and small gift, then spent several minutes talking to him.
The scene was similarly played out as the caravan drove through Murphey Homes, Anthony Homes, and North Napier Apartments. They made a stop in Mount Homes in the Historic Pleasant Hill Neighborhood. In each area – and all along the route – the sirens, lights, and Christmas music playing from the truck brought children running out to catch a glimpse of Santa.
“We couldn’t do this without great support from our public safety team, as well as great community organizations,” says Commissioner Bronson. Those included Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Melanated Community Stimulation Project, Inc., and the Southern Center for Choice Theory, LLC, and Macon Violence Prevention.
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Holiday government hours,
trash pickup schedule
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Macon-Bibb County offices will be closed Tuesday, December 24, and Wednesday, December 25, in observance of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. They will also be closed on Tuesday, December 31 and Wednesday, January 1 in observance of New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. This includes City Hall, courthouses, and the Tax Commissioner’s Office. Emergency services will operate as normal.
Ryland will NOT pick up trash and yard/bulk waste on Wednesday, December 25. The pick up days will shift by one day starting on Wednesday. For example, if your day is Monday or Tuesday, your pickup will not change, however, if your pickup day is Wednesday, it will shift to Thursday, if your day is Thursday, it will shift to Friday, and so on. Ryland will also NOT pick up trash and recycling on Wednesday, January 1. Pick up will shift by one day starting that Wednesday, like previously stated.
The Convenience Center on 11th Street will be closed on Wednesday, December 25 and will reopen on Thursday, December 26. It will also be closed on New Year's Day. Click here to see other hours.
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If you’re looking for a safe and fun place to watch implosion of the abandoned hotel Downtown, we got you! Join Macon-Bibb County, NewTown Macon, and other community partners at Coleman Hill for a viewing party beginning at 8:00 a.m. Bring your own chairs and blankets to watch the implosion at 9:00 a.m.
“We’ll have plenty of opportunities for you to see the building coming down online, but if you want to see it in person, the best place would be on Coleman Hill with us,” said Mayor Lester Miller. “We want you to stay safe and stay out of the exclusion area.”
On Thursday, December 19, Mayor Lester Miller signed an Executive Order, establishing the Exclusion Zone to begin at 6:00 a.m. and end at 11:00 a.m. on January 1. The Exclusion Zone is the area around the implosion that should not have anyone in it while it's active.
You can view the map and read the executive order here.
On Thursday, Target Contractors also held a public forum for people to come out and ask questions. You can view the forum here. Representatives from Target Contractors began talking with the businesses closest to the hotel several weeks ago to introduce themselves, provide early information about the process, and see what questions they may have.
For more than a decade, the 16-story Macon hotel in the block bordered by Riverside Drive, First Street, and Walnut Street has been vacant…attracting theft and vandalism, filling with water in lower areas at times, growing mold, and causing other issues that are not part of a rejuvenating, strengthening, and thriving Downtown.
“It was time to recognize that, if that part of Downtown was to benefit as other areas have, we needed to rethink the area and take a more direct role in its future,” says Mayor Lester Miller.
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SPLOST extension would continue major projects | |
At its meeting on December 17, the Commission approved asking the community to extend the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST). The public for the extension will be on March 18, 2025.
“Our SPLOST has helped us move so many great projects forward – from road repair to recreation centers to park improvements and more – that we are asking the community to help us keep that progress going,” says Mayor Lester Miller. “We have a great deal on the horizon that needs to be funded, and the SPLOST is the best way to get them funded…and mostly by people that don’t live here.”
If the extension is approved, it will provide the funding for the following projects:
- roads, streets, or bridges, which may include paving, streetlights, sidewalks, bicycle paths, or other pedestrian, public, or user safety enhancements, or any combination of such purposes;
- public safety facilities, capital equipment used for public safety purposes, or, in the operation of public safety facilities, or any combination of such purposes;
- economic development purposes to create jobs or promote private investment, which purposes may include airport facilities, or any transportation facility designed for the transportation of people or goods, or capital equipment used for, or in the operation of, such facilities, or a combination of such projects;
- administrative buildings, a civic center, a convention center, a coliseum, local or regional solid waste handling facilities, local or regional recovered materials processing facilities, a local or regional jail, correctional institution, or other detention facility, a judicial facility, or any combination of such projects;
- recreational facility, historic facility, or a facility for some combination of such purposes, which purposes may include a park or greenspace, or both;
- a water capital outlay project, a sewer capital outlay project, a water and sewer capital outlay project, a stormwater capital outlay project, or a combination of such projects;
- retiring previously incurred general obligation debt or revenue bond debt secured by intergovernmental contract or a combination of such purposes;
- or any combination of two or more of the foregoing capital outlay projects, which may include any necessary demolition.
“From our need of road repairs to supporting public safety to continue advancing economic development, this SPLOST will make a huge impact on the future of our entire community,” says Mayor Lester Miller.
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The Macon-Bibb County Office of Planning & Public Spaces is inviting the public to share their thoughts on the future of the former Bibb Mill site, which is now known as the East Bank Project. To see the presentation that was given at two forums in November and to provide feedback online, click here.
“We want to hear from our community what they think of this area and what they want to see there in the future, from the buildings, trails, public spaces, and more,” says Director of Planning & Public Spaces Alex Morrison. “This is a critical junction between Downtown, East Macon neighborhoods, Centreplex, and the Park, and we only get one chance to get it right and make sure we are meeting the needs of our community and its residents.”
“I hope that residents and businesses surrounding the Park and Downtown attend and help us create a new gateway into our community and into our past,” says Visit Macon President & CEO Gary Wheat. “With Macon-Bibb leading this process, we can ensure the development complements the National Park, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, East Macon, Downtown, and all we have going on to move our community forward.”
“We want to see everyone’s ideas of how to make that area of Macon thrive – as well as feedback on the issues and obstacles the area faces – that can be included in the National Park strategic planning process that will begin in 2025,” says Matt Chalfa, Director of Strategic Planning for the Ocmulgee National Park & Preserve Initiative. “We’re especially interested in the local knowledge and perspective that residents of East Macon and Fort Hill can provide as to what they think would benefit their neighborhoods and what role the Park can play in that.”
Local leaders – from elected officials to development professionals to community groups – have long seen the potential of the former Bibb Mill site on Coliseum Drive. It’s the perfect location to become a vibrant center of activity and a gateway from I-16 into both East Macon and Downtown.
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People filled the bleachers at Freedom Park, not to watch a boxing match, but to see the boxing arena renamed in honor of four men who have changed the boxing world in Macon-Bibb and across the world. On Friday, December 13, Macon-Bibb held a dedication ceremony for the Ray-Montgomery Boxing Arena, in honor of Bishop Frank Ray, and Michael, Maliek, and Mikhail Montgomery.
“We are so proud of the work and ethic these boys have put into boxing,” said Mayor Lester Miller. “Throughout their careers they have represented Macon very well. There are a lot of kids out there now that are going to follow in their foots steps, and this dedication will help their legacy continue for many generations.”
The boxing arena was first named after local boxing legend Bishop Frank Ray, who managed the Macon Boxing Club for many years and trained local youth during his tenure. Three of those youth were Michael, Maliek, and Mikhail Montgomery who began their boxing careers at the Bay Street Middle Georgia Boxing Gym, which was started by Ray.
“To see and to know that you all still recognized him. I thought y’all had forgotten him. I was thinking about this when my daughter told me, and I was just so overwhelmed,” said Bishop Ray’s daughter Brenda Ray Smith.
“Being from Macon, I’ve always held Macon on my back,” said Maliek.
The Montgomery brothers grew up boxing in Macon, and Bishop Ray impacted their lives, too. Maliek is Macon’s first to win the Golden Gloves, Michael is a six-time Georgia Games champion, and Mikhail remains undefeated.
“I’m thankful for my brothers, the refs, everybody who was behind us over the years,” said Michael. “It’s definitely an honor.”
“First, I want to thank God. It’s been a long journey to this point and I, just like my brothers, have been through a lot,” said Maliek. “I want to thank my parents, Michael Montgomery, Sr. and Teresa, for always being that force behind us and keeping us on the right track and staying focused on our craft.”
“The renaming of this is big, not only for us, but the community,” said Mikhail. “We want to thank you all for getting recognized our lifetime of hard work and dedication to the sport. Hopefully we play the role of changing a lot of kids’ lives.”
The brothers have trained at the Freedom Park Boxing Gym since its opening in 2014. Former District 3 Commissioner Al Tillman brought this resolution before vacating his seat earlier this year. District 8 Commissioner Virgil Watkins also sponsored the resolution, that you can read here.
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Macon-Bibb web programmer wins national award | |
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Kai Fan, Macon-Bibb County’s Web Application Manager, was recognized as Local IT Leader of the Year in the national StateScoop LocalSmart Awards. This award recognizes the county or city leader at the managerial or director level leading the charge to transform their communities with technology.
“I am incredibly honored to be recognized as the Local IT Leader of the Year for the national StateScoop LocalSmart awards. I want to express my deepest appreciation to everyone who has trusted, supported, and most importantly, voted for me,” said Fan. “I don’t see this as a personal achievement. It’s a recognition of our entire team, the amazing teammates, and great leadership. We could not achieve this without the support from our team and community.”
Fan was nominated by the Beek Center for his work with The Opportunity Project for Cities (TOPC). Through that process, Kai and the IT team have worked to create a web application for the Blight, begun creating a Digital City Hall, and, soon to be announced, a streamlined Business Licensing & Permitting Process.
“His work ensures the city's web presence is not only functional but also aligned with the broader goals of enhancing connectivity, accessibility, and digital transformation,” said County Manager Dr. Keith Moffett. “By maintaining and optimizing web pages, Kai helps facilitate the flow of information to residents and stakeholders, supporting transparency and fostering engagement through modern technology.”
Kai is a full-stack developer with seven years of experience. In his current role as Web Application Manager, he works to create web applications that help improve communication between the public and the county. After graduating with a Master’s in Computer Science from Georgia Southwestern University in 2017, he’s enjoyed being part of the Macon-Bibb team for more than five years.
“Kai plays a crucial role in advancing our Smart City initiatives by managing all web programming, digital platforms, and virtual information,” said Dr. Moffett. “His efforts are key to creating a more efficient and responsive city through digital innovation.”
The LocalSmart Awards honor the visionaries who transform local government to make a difference in citizens' lives. These awards celebrate the achievements and initiatives of those who work to make a lasting impact in cities, counties and municipalities across the country.
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MBCIA announces over $1B investment milestone in 2024, presents P.I.L.O.T. checks to County and Board of Education | |
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From MBCIA - The Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority (MBCIA) hosted community leaders for an end-of-year celebration at the MBCIA office today to announce over $1 billion in investments made this year in Macon-Bibb County.
"This $1 billion investment milestone is a testament to the industries' successes and unwavering dedication, which fuels our continued growth and prosperity," said Chairman Robby Fountain of MBCIA. "To the industries committed to Macon-Bibb County, thank you. Your dedication makes Macon a premier destination for business."
Beyond the recently announced Irving Tissue expansion, numerous industries celebrated milestones within the community. YKK USA celebrated 50 years of operation in Macon, First Quality Baby Products announced a $418 million expansion, and Embraer reaffirmed its commitment to Macon by signing another 15-year lease.
“These industries’ deep commitment and dedication to Macon-Bibb County is what makes milestones like these possible,” said Macon-Bibb County Mayor Lester Miller. “This dedication is what leads to the retention and new growth within our county, making Macon THE best city in Georgia to do business. Thank you for all the hard work that led to this major investment and for your commitment to growing Macon-Bibb County!”
At the event, MBCIA also celebrated the continued partnership between the MBCIA, the Bibb County School District, and Macon-Bibb County. Superintendent of Bibb County Schools, Dan Sims, accepted a $1,941,643 check on behalf of the school district, and Mayor Lester Miller accepted a $1,929,580 check on behalf of the county . These checks were presented on behalf of Macon-Bibb County’s PILOT (Payment In Lieu Of Taxes) Program, through which Macon industries choose to reinvest in the development and education within the county.
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2024 Leadership Macon Class opens Sensory Room at Booker T. Washington Community Center | |
On Friday, December 13, the 2024 Leadership Macon Class celebrated the official opening of a sensory room at the Booker T. Washington Community Center. Each year, the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce's Leadership Macon class picks a project they work on throughout the year that will benefit the community.
“This class heard us and recognized the need in our community to have a safe space like this, and they responded in a most amazing way,” said Andrea Cooke, Macon Mental Health Matters Director. “This new sensory room will be available for both the agencies in the Center and our community to use as needed.”
“I felt that it was important we start to deal with the issues that plague our community, which is conflict resolution,” said Jeremy Grissom with the Leadership Macon Class. “Being able to manage stress and dealing with difficult situations is tough. This space can help with some of that.”
A sensory room creates a safe space in a building where children can go to self-regulate and decompress using calming, therapeutic features. The Leadership Macon class converted a room in the Center by painting the walls calming colors and adding special lighting, soft chairs, therapeutic toys, sound machines, and more.
“The Booker T. Washington Center has become a place where our community comes together to support children and meet them where they are when it comes to their needs, and we wanted to provide the children and the personnel here with something special,” says Olivia Walter with the Leadership Macon Class. “We are creating a calming, safe space that will be of great benefit to all who come through these doors either for assistance or to provide support.”
The sensory room was made possible thanks to community sponsors such as Georgia Power, Mid South Community Federal Credit Union, C-QUL, and Atrium Health Navicent.
People can visit the sensory room at the Center Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
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The Hub is Macon-Bibb County's source of information for employees, residents, businesses, and partners. With this regular e-blast, the Office of Communications provides a consistent flow of information about the efforts and successes of the consolidated government and partners to strengthen Macon-Bibb as the Hub City of Middle Georgia.
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The Office of Communications manages Media Relations, MaconBibbTV, Customer Service, social media, visual services, and crisis communications for Macon-Bibb. Its goal is to provide people information about the consolidated government and partner organizations, and to give them the chance to provide feedback, ask questions, and request services.
The Office has earned multiple
recognitions for its efforts.
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Macon-Bibb County is the fourth largest city in Georgia. Created on January 1, 2014 after being approved by the voters, it is Georgia's newest consolidated government and serves about 155,000 residents and thousands more visitors.
Its governing body consists of 10 Commissioners, with the Mayor serving as its Chair and the Chief Executive Office of the administration.
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