Public forums for the Freedom Park improvement project to be funded by the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax have been added to the calendar of recreation forums happening in May, June, and July. Macon-Bibb County is beginning to plan for upgrades and improvements at several recreation centers. Before those plans can be drawn, public forums will be held at the centers to seek public feedback on what amenities and activities could be included. Through these meetings, the designers can develop preliminary drawings, seek additional feedback, and then provide a final drawing to the public before presenting to the Commission.

The Sizemore Group is hosting the meetings for Freedom Park. Vaughn & Melton are hosting the SubSouth Recreation Center forums at Rutland High School and the Central City Park forums in the Round Building. WMA Architects are holding the forums for the Rosa Jackson Community Center, Frank Johnson Community Center, and Memorial Gymnasium projects at those sites. All meetings will begin at 6:30 p.m.

To help keep the public updated on the progress of projects, it releases the financial statements of spending each month. In December, it launched a new interactive online map to show how funds are being spent on each of projects. The map can be accessed by clicking here. The projects have been divided into five focus: Economic Development, Public Safety, Recreation & Cultural Arts, Infrastructure, and Debt Retirement. On the map, you can view the projects by these focus areas or as a county-wide program, as well as read short descriptions of each project. By clicking on an individual project in the list or on the map, you will be able to view the project’s budget, amended budget, what was spent in prior years, what is budgeted for the current year, and how much remains to be spent.