WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — Warner Robins' mayor and council met Wednesday to unveil their wish list for the city's future, and to talk about how to get it done.
It was an all day event, for them to discuss and develop plans they don't always have time to discuss in regular meetings.
Council had a board full of goals and spread sheets with plans at the meeting.
The topic that saw a lot of attention was recreation.
"There's been a lot of need for recreation in the community, we honestly believe that will help combat crime," Councilman Larry Curtis Jr. said.
He says they recently worked on projects around the topic.
"One of the things we did is, we built the North Houston Sports Complex, which was originally designed for basketball, but we use it for other things. We use it to make money," Curtis said.
All council members said its been a great project, many people get use out of it through events, and tournaments.
Councilmen Curtis says he wants more facilities, especially for youth.
"We're looking to bring more basketball courts and other facilities to Warner Robins, especially on the southside of town," he said.
Growing up in the city, Curtis says recreation was a great outlet for him, and he wants to give that to the younger generation.
They're thinking of adding or renovating gyms and fields for different uses.
But young people aren't the only ones in mind, Councilmen Clifford Holmes mentioned he wants a gymnasium to have a gathering space for seniors.
"You have some people who want pickle ball, some people want volleyball, some people want basketball, some people just want to go out and throw a frisbee. So, we want to make sure that we have enough facilities to facilitate everybody," Councilmen Derek Mack said.
Councilmen Mack says another one of his wish list items is to see bike trails.
"I think the perfect thing, as I look at a map of the city, would be to build something along the Baygall Creek area, build it up, light it, its got a lot of green space," Mack said.
He says a lot of people have been asking for more green space, and places to enjoy the outdoors. Mack says Baygall Creek offers a lot of opportunity to provide that.
He says its tucked away from the road so it also provides safety.
"As I look at a map, it goes all the way from Byron, all the way to Bonaire, so we could use at least 30 miles of trails that these people could use. I think it would be of great use for people that want to stay healthy, be outdoors," Mack said.
Councilmen Charlie Bibb says he wants to update old street lights.
"They don't light up anything, they give off some light, but with the technology we have today, with LED lighting, their should be no excuse that in any neighborhood, or any city that we don't have LED lights in our area," he said.
He says the need is likely throughout the city, but he finds it most necessary in the city's northside. He says they want to target areas with blight and high crime.
Council did not vote on any of these projects, but says they are dedicated to seeing ideas through to completion.
For the second half of the meeting, council members planned to create timelines for completing current projects, and setting priority for future ones.
They all agreed this was meeting was necessary to moving forward.
"This gives us an opportunity to bring everyone's initiative from the different posts in the city to be in alignment with what the mayor has in place already. We can build upon that and have a tangible plan to move forward with," Mack said.