Neighborhood Improvement program moves into East Macon

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Macon-Bibb County’s 5 x 5 Neighborhood Improvement project will call East Macon home for the next few weeks.

County service departments will focus on the Kings Park neighborhood for the next five weeks. The Samuel Hart Sr. Community Center is in the middle of the area. The county has already turned the electricity back on in the building and built new wheelchair ramps.

“We had a transformation, it was not a good one, but the possibilities are limitless right now,” said the President of the Kings Park Neighborhood Association, Theresa Hugley.

Macon-Bibb County Commissioner Elaine Lucas hopes to attack blight in the area and connect the two building that make up the community center so residents can have more space for activities. She said it’s important for neighbors to continue the work once the 5 x 5 program is finished in order to avoid falling back into what it has become.

“What we want to do is to leave a group of folks who are better informed, who are empowered to look after their own neighborhood and to access services as they need them,” explained Commissioner Lucas.

The county set aside $40,000 for the project. Commissioner Lucas said it’s possible commissioners could use some money from the blight fund if needed.