Macon-Bibb County will mark the start of construction of its new fire department and sheriff’s precinct at 4036 Napier Avenue with a Groundbreaking Ceremony on Wednesday, April 26 at 10:00 a.m. This new public safety facility will be named, once completed, after Mayor Pro Tem and District 5 Commissioner Bert Bivins, III.
 
The new fire station will replace the Breezy Hill station on Forsyth Street, and the precinct will replace the one currently located at 600 Pio Nono Avenue. Construction of this new public safety facility is funded with an estimated $2,250,000 in voter-approved Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax funds. It has been designed by BTBB, Inc., and is being built by Warren Associates. Construction should take 330 days.
 
“With the new location of our fire station, we’ll be able to improve our response times because our crews and trucks will be able to get in and out much quicker,” says Fire Chief Marvin Riggins. “We’ll also be able to have a facility that can better serve the community with meeting rooms.”
 
“This is an exciting move for the Sheriff’s Office, and one we’re very much looking forward to,” says Bibb County Sheriff David Davis. “To be able to work closely with the Fire Department to protect this area will be of great benefit to the people living around here.”
 
“This groundbreaking marks more than just the start of construction…it is another milestone in our efforts to work better as a government to improve public safety and remove blight from our neighborhoods,” says District 9 Commissioner Al Tillman, who represents this area of Macon-Bibb. “With the SPLOST funds, our Blight Remediation Program, and the cooperation of our Fire Department and Sheriff’s Office, we are better able to help our residents.”
 
In early March, two houses were demolished as part of the Blight Remediation Program to make way for this construction, and later this year, five more structures in the area will be torn down as part of the attack on blight: 4036 Napier Avenue, 3996 Napier Avenue, 3965 Grand Avenue, 3970 Grand Avenue, and 3980 Grand Avenue. The demolitions are being paid for with $160,000 in District 9.
 
These demolitions were another phase of Macon-Bibb’s overall attack on blight. Later in March, several structures were torn down on Wise Avenue to make way for a new athletic field for the neighborhood to use. In February, Macon-Bibb demolished 19 structures as part of seven remediation projects: Lynmore Estate Habitat Project (2 blighted structures); Lynmore Avenue SMART Project (7 blighted structures); Emily Street Blight Removal Project (2 blighted structures); West Bond Street Blight Removal Project (2 blighted structures); Kings Park Playground & Community Center Project (2 existing structures); Third Avenue Stabilization Project (2 blighted structures); and Culver Street Commons Project (2 blighted structures).
 
The first round of the Blight Remediation Program tore down 15 structures and was funded with $642,870 from District 1, 2, 4, and 5 funds. It included:

The demolition of 13 structures in and acquiring five vacant lots for the Lynmore Estates Habitat Project;

Acquiring one property and demolishing a structure for the Lynmore Avenue SMART Project; and

Demolishing an abandoned restroom structure for the Hillcrest Park Improvement Project.