Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1506754
is less expensive, you can do that. If you want the VIP experience, we have a couple of options. We've been inundated with calls about sponsorships and requests for suites. PICKLEBALL JG: What was the impetus for building world's largest indoor pickleball facility? Mayor Miller: We were reimagining ways to the use certain spaces and fill them with some type of entertainment. With Amazon, outdoor malls, and online shopping, we're never going back to the old retail. Pickleball has grown in Macon. We've got a lot of courts at Tattnall Square Park. Early on, Alex Morrison, who's a great pickleball player, and I discussed pickleball at the mall and started looking to see how many courts we could fit in the space at [the former] Belk. And with 32 courts, it's going to be the world's largest [indoor facility], which will be great for economic development. We can accommodate 1,200 people for a four-day pickleball tournament, and with indoor courts people can commit to events knowing weather won't cause a cancellation. They'll stay several days at an on-site hotel or one in the area and can attend a concert at the amphitheater and take a short ride downtown by Uber or their own vehicle and take advantage of nightlife, restaurants, entertainment, and museums. And hopefully, go to our national park which will complement the whole community. We've got about 135,000 square feet of open space and it will be a multi- purpose facility. We've got storage rooms for the nets, can cover the floors, and be creative with the space, using it for activities like archery and cornhole, or as private event space. BOARD OF ELECTIONS JG: Let's talk about repurposing the Macon Mall and relocating the Board of Elections (BOE) there. Mayor Miller: We'll have a governmental wing near the military recruitment offices. We'll house the Regional Commission, a branch of the Middle Georgia Regional Library, the Mayor's Literacy Alliance, Planning and Zoning, Business, Inspection & Fees, two new courtrooms, a couple of other satellite offices, and a 10,000 square foot meeting space for events. The Board of Elections moved into their new office on June 20. They went from about 10,000 feet on Pio Nono to about 40,000 square feet in the mall. It's a state-of-the-art first- class facility and people will never stand outside in the elements [to vote]. The Mall has plenty of parking and it's on the bus route. The BOE staff has a loading dock to push ballots right out of the truck into the building. They'll never have to lift a finger, just roll them down the hallway, and it will be very secure. CRIME JG: Violent crime is up with more than 70 murders in 2022. Although these problems aren't unique to Macon, they're troublesome, nonetheless. What's your approach to crime in Macon-Bibb County? Mayor Miller: Number one, 70 murders was 2022. Homicides are FROM LEFT: Planting community gardens at Brookdale Resource Center, Launching the new fire department training tower 76 maconmagazine.com | AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2023