10 months ago
Some Macon city council members are concerned about air pollution in the city.
That's why Councilman Rick Hutto introduced an ordinance that would limit the amount of time a car can sit idling to 15 minutes.
He says the city is about to go back into non-attainment, meaning the air quality will be above regulation pollution levels.
Hutto says a resolution was introduced in 2005, but an ordinance would help make it enforceable.
While most of the public works committee supported the measure, there was some concern with enforcement.
Council members worry about the time and manpower it would require an officer to enforce a 15 minute time limit.
Hutto withdrew his ordinance, and plans to come back in two weeks with a different proposal.
He says he would certainly be willing, at least in the beginning, to limiting it just to city owned and operated vehicles. He says he would like to see it expand city wide.
He says he modeled the ordinance after the one in Atlanta, currently the only city in Georgia with idle time limits.
Some council members also wanted more information on how the ordinance is enforced in Atlanta.
Hutto says he plans to present more information at the next meeting in two weeks.
He says there will be exceptions to the rule for bus drivers, police cars with K-9s, freezing weather, and maintenance vehicles that need the engine running to perform a task.
Also Tuesday night, Executive Director of the Music Hall of Fame Lisa Love updated the community resources and development committee on it's financial status.
She says without the hotel-motel tax increase that failed in the general assembly, the Hall of Fame is looking at a tough year financially.
She says they lost 30% in the state budget, so the hotel-motel tax would have closed the gap.
Love says the state covers about 75 percent of the museum's $1 million operating budget.
She says it was reduced from $840,000 in 2008, to $601,000 in 2009, and now $582,000 for fiscal year 2010 which starts in July.
Love says she hopes to work with the community to develop a long term solution that will help the Music Hall of Fame sustain itself.
City council also voted to authorize Mayor Robert Reichert to apply for a federal grant that would fund improvements to the Terminal Station in downtown Macon.
The $3.8 million grant would come from President Barack Obama's federal stimulus plan.
If the city receives the grant, it would generate about 75 jobs in Macon.
The money would be used for a new roof and an energy efficient heating and cooling system for the Terminal Station.
