Call Center Company in Macon-Bibb County, GA

After advocating repeatedly for a new Bibb County Jail, Bibb County Sheriff David Davis proposed Thursday an idea to instead expand the current local jail to better accommodate for disruptive inmates and those with mental health issues.

Some detainees who fall under these categories share close quarters and interact with neurotypical and well-behaved ones in the general population areas, rather than in separate cell blocks at the Bibb County Law Enforcement Center at 688 Oglethorpe Street in Macon. This overlap has recently caused safety issues, Davis said at a town hall meeting hosted by Macon’s NAACP Thursday evening.

“We try to isolate them, those that have what we call acute mental health issues,” he said. “I’m talking about they’re destabilized, they’re being violent, they’re being physically aggressive.”

About 30% of incarcerated people at the jail have acute mental illnesses, according to Davis. But the jail’s infirmary unit and designated cell blocks do not have enough room to fit all of them, he said. He was unsure how many of these people do not fit.

“We don’t have as many as I’d like, that’s why I’d like to build a little bit bigger space,” Davis said.

The jail capacity is 966 detainees, and the jail held 980 as of Thursday, Davis confirmed.

At least six people have died by homicide or suicide at the jail since 2020, The Telegraph previously reported.

When the jail is over capacity, detainees are put in a more open space, rather than holding one person per cell. Several people sleep near each other in the open space, rather than in individual cells.

“Those are sometimes in our J block or the newer unit, because its more open in the dormitory area so that we have space to put individuals in those places,” Davis said. “That’s how we can accommodate up to 1,020 (to) 1,030.”

People in these units lay on individual plastic boat-shaped beds on the floor, which include a mattress and sheets.

“Did y’all ever have a sleepover and you can lay a pallet on the floor or something?” Davis said. “We call it a boat, but what it is, is a self contained bed unit.”

Gwenette Westbrooks, president of Macon’s NAACP, asked if the jail makes any effort to release inmates faster, in order to improve its overpopulation.

“Some people have misdemeanor charges, not all of them are felonies... A lot of them are not able to get bonded out because they don’t have money...,” Westbrooks told Davis. “Would y’all allow those people to be released early when it comes to overcrowding?”

The jail offers detainees incentives for community service, such as lawn mowing and cleaning inside of the jail. A judge decides whether the person can shorten their sentence for these duties.

“If they’re in there doing community service, and getting what we call good time ... their sentence is basically cut in half ...,” Davis said. “They get their time cut, a day for a day.”

Around 11% of inmates at the jail were booked on misdemeanor charges, he said. These people are more likely to have their sentences cut short.

When the jail gets overcrowded, which Davis said happens often, it transfers detainees to other law enforcement centers in Georgia.

“We have had some that were chronic trouble makers that we did send to other jails, and they seem to be able to accommodate them, but that’s a case by case basis,” he said.

Those who are disruptive usually do not take their recommended medications, according to Davis.

“So if we have a facility that we can put individuals like that, kind of sick and the disruptive, that would really help us,” he said. “Something without more than 200 spaces, 200 beds or cells, that would be very helpful.”

Davis said he has spoken to Macon-Bibb County Mayor Lester Miller about this option, and expects commissioners to discuss it soon.

Lester recently addressed the need for a new or upgraded jail in a lengthy Facebook post.

These upgrades to the current jail are more likely to happen than a brand new jail, Davis suggested. The county already bought land to build a new jail, so it is unclear what will happen to that land.

“At this point, it could be done obviously for less expenditure, for less money, and in less time than a new jail,” Davis said.

This story was originally published May 9, 2025 at 12:50 PM.

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Primary Content

Credit: Georgia Power

Construction is underway at four new battery energy storage system sites located across Georgia, including one in Bibb County, totaling 765 megawatts of power, Georgia Power announced Wednesday in a news release.

The 128 megawatt BESS site in Bibb County follows the state’s first ever BESS site near Columbus, which entered service in 2024. The construction of the Bibb County site is accompanied by three other BESS projects in Lowndes, Floyd and Cherokee counties.

“BESS projects support the overall reliability and resilience of the electric system, while also enhancing the value of intermittent renewable generation resources such as solar,” Georgia Power said in a release. “Storage systems can improve the efficiency of renewable energy by storing excess energy produced during periods when the demand for electricity is lower, for use when the demand is higher, such as on cold winter mornings.

“Because battery storage can provide stored energy to the grid for hours on demand, BESS resources enhance the overall reliability of the electric system.”

The site in Bibb County is being built next to the solar facility by Robins Air Force Base, allowing Georgia Power to leverage existing infrastructure while removing the need to build new transmission stations, saving money and time associated with transmission interconnection and network upgrades, according to the release.

This project is being engineered and constructed by Burns & McDonnell and is expected to be in commercial operation in June of 2026, the release said.

The BESS projects were approved by the Georgia Public Service Commission through the Integrated Resource Plan process and provide “quickly dispatchable” capacity for customers, according to the release.

“At Georgia Power, we work with the Georgia PSC and many other stakeholders to make the investments required for a reliable and resilient power grid, integrating new technologies to better serve our customers today and as Georgia grows,” said Rick Anderson, senior vice president and senior production officer for Georgia Power. “As we expand our diverse energy mix to include more renewable energy, which requires careful advance planning and flexibility to accommodate times when that source is not available, these batteries will be an invaluable part of the electric system.”

The power company is working to add more battery storage projects across Georgia with the approval of the state energy regulators.

Georgia Power plans to add 1,000 megawatts more of new battery storage across Georgia in the coming years, according to the release. All-source capacity requests for proposals in the 2025 and 2022 Integrated Resource Plans are expected to include BESS too, the release said.

Georgia Power said it’s committed to helping customers add their own solar panels and batteries to meet Georgia’s growing energy needs.

“Georgia Power is also committed to supporting customer-sited generation resources to meet the state’s growing energy needs,” the release reads. “The 2025 IRP includes two customer expansions of BESS programs including enhancements to the Customer Connected Solar Program and launching a new Customer-Sited Solar Plus Storage Pilot.”

The Customer-Connected Solar Program is a 25 megawatt distributed generation program that allows Georgia Power customers to build a solar facility through partnering with a solar developer on or adjacent to your property, according to Georgia Power’s website. The power company will purchase the energy generated and retire the Renewable Energy Credits, enabling customers to claim the renewable benefits of the local solar energy.

“The Customer-Connected Solar Program is accepting applications on a first-come, first-served basis until the entire 25 MW portfolio is fulfilled,” the website reads.

The new Customer-Sited Solar Plus Storage Pilot plans to add 50 MW of solar and battery storage by giving homeowners and small businesses the chance to install on-site solar panels with batteries, making it easier for customers to generate and store their own renewable energy.

“The goal is to encourage more customer-sited renewable generation by pairing dispatchable BESS with behind-the-meter solar systems,” the release said.

Georgia Power serves 2.8 million customers in all but four of the state’s 159 counties.

This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with Macon Telegraph.

Tags: Georgia Macon-Bibb County Georgia Power energy construction lowndes county Floyd County Cherokee County

Secondary Content

About the authors

Author

Reporter, The Telegraph

Margaret Walker reports for The (Macon) Telegraph.

The Macon-Warner Robins area is a regional market located in Middle Georgia on I-75, a little more than an hour’s drive from Atlanta. The area has a healthy retail environment with a balance of government, industrial, and white-collar employment. Robins Air Force Base is a major area employer with some 17,000 military and civilian employees. The Telegraph is also the publisher of The Sun News, a weekly newspaper distributed throughout Houston (Warner Robins) and Peach counties.

The house was supposed to be demolished Tuesday morning, as part of the county's Blight Fight.

MACON, Ga. — Right now, a home in Macon's historic Vineville Neighborhood is still standing.

The county planned to demolish 2720 Vineville Avenue on Tuesday morning, because they said in a Facebook post the home is dangerous and deteriorating.

But they held back the wrecking ball because people stepped up overnight, wanting to look at the home, to potentially buy and restore it.

"We would like to get with code enforcement and planning and zoning and say, 'How do we properly address demolition by neglect?'" Lars Anderson, President of the Vineville Neighborhood Association said.

He said the owner abandoned the home years ago, but hopes someone can save it by buying and restoring the property.

"We want to be part of the solution. We don't want to be part of the problem. We don't want to have neighbors having to live next to properties which are dilapidated and falling in and all we do is stamp our foot. That's not what we're about. Our goal is to be part of the solution and really I think what we want to try to do is work hand in glove with [Planning and Zoning] with code enforcement to identify these structures early, see how things can be helped." Anderson said.

According to the county website, they've demolished 717 blighted homes through a program they call Blight Flight, which started in 2021.

Before they demolish anything, code enforcement inspects a building and to see if it's a danger to the public. If it's deemed a danger, the county can demolish the building.

That's after the owner gets a nuisance letter from the county, giving them the choice to demolish or secure and repair it in a reasonable time.

Chuck Tinson lives in the area, and said he was interested in buying 2720 Vineville Avenue a couple years ago.

"If you ride down this street, or you look on the side there, there's some beautiful homes. I don't know what it would take to recreate that architecture but if somebody could get in to recreate it would be awesome," he said.

When he contacted the owner, he said she wasn't interested in selling. Some neighbors 13WMAZ spoke with told us a squatter lives there, and they've seen small fires set there, so they're worried for their safety.

"Even in its condition, you can still see the beauty and the charm in it so I hope somebody can deal with it," Tinson said.

Anderson said he sympathizes with people who live next to it, and said nobody deserves to be neighbors with a home in dangerous conditions. He said that's why his association wants to work with the county to help find buyers for historic homes in Vineville, before they turn to demolition.

"If we lose a property, it's often said it's like losing a tooth. It's more than just a tooth, now you have a gap," Anderson said.

The County said they'll hold off to see if someone wants to buy and fix it, before they move forward with demolition, although they have no timeline set for that yet.

The house was last sold in 2012 for $55,000. County tax records says it's currently worth just over $130,000.

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The regular speed limit on Zebulon Road is 45 MPH. But during the morning and afternoon periods, when the lights are flashing, the cameras will issue tickets.

MACON, Ga. — When you drive to work on Monday and pass through a Bibb County school zone, you may want to lift your foot off the gas.

Starting at 6:00 a.m. on May 5, the school zone speed cameras will track your speed.

After a month-long pause, Bibb Sheriff David Davis is giving the green light to start issuing tickets again with some key changes.

At the Sonny Carter Elementary School zone on Zebulon Road, a lot of cars fly by every hour. School hours are from 8:20 a.m. to 3:20 p.m.

The regular speed limit on Zebulon Road is 45 miles per hour. But starting at 7:20 a.m. and going until 9:20 a.m., you'll see the yellow lights flashing on the school speed limit signs. That means the cameras are on, and the speed limit is 25 mph.

If you're driving more than 11 miles per hour over the speed limit, which is more than 36 miles per hour, you'll get a citation in the mail.

Once those speed limit sign lights stop flashing after 9:20 a.m. -- between 9:21 a.m. and 2:19 p.m. -- the speed limit goes back to 45 miles per hour, and the cameras will not be operating.

Then, 2:20 p.m. is an hour before school dismissal time. That means the flashing lights are back, and so are the cameras, from 2:20 p.m. until 4:20 p.m.

Once again, if you're driving at 36 miles per hour or faster, you'll get a ticket. There is one speed flashing lights sign at each end of the school zone on Zebulon Road.

The exact timing of the lights flashing, meaning the cameras are operating, vary based on each school's start time. Elementary, middle and high schools start at different times.

Click here to see the list of camera operation times for all 18 school zones in Macon-Bibb.

Stratford Academy and First Presbyterian Day School opted out of the system. In a Facebook post, the Bibb County Sheriff's Office said it will remain that way starting Monday.

RELATED: LIST | Bibb County school zone speed camera enforcement times, speed limits, locations

The cameras will only issue citations during specific periods, and only drivers going at least 11 miles above the speed limit, the sheriff's office says.

MACON, Ga. — School zone speed cameras will resume issuing citations in Macon on Monday, according to a decision from Bibb County Sheriff David Davis.

The cameras were initially turned off by the sheriff’s office on March 19, while Georgia lawmakers debated potential regulations for speeding cameras. They did not pass any further bills on the issue, and now, speed cameras are going to resume ticketing in Macon-Bibb.

According to the sheriff’s office, the cameras will only issue citations while the yellow lights are flashing, and only drivers going at least 11 miles above the speed limit will be ticketed.

As the school zone cameras resume, there is a major change: the school zone cameras will not be active in the middle of the school day. Previously, the cameras enforced the speed limit during the hours school is in session.

According to the sheriff's office, as the speed cameras return to Macon-Bibb County, they'll only enforce during arrival and dismissal hours.

13WMAZ filed an open records request detailing when the cameras are activated in school zones. In response, this is what we received. Here are the school zone speed cameras enforcement times and speed limits for schools in Bibb County:

Stratford Academy and First Presbyterian Day School have specifically asked for their speed cameras to be turned off, meaning that speeding citations will not be issued via camera in those school zones.