Macon-Bibb County's Urban Development Authority is asking commissioners to let them take over a parking deck that has fallen into disrepair.
Debbie Dupree parks at Mulberry Street parking deck and walks to work. "If you get here after 8:30, it's hard to find a parking spaces," said Dupree.
She says the deck has changed for the better since Lanier Parking took over managing the deck. "You'd see liquor bottles sitting around as you'd go from floor to floor, that kind of thing," said Dupree.
Some unwelcome visitors use the deck at night -- bat droppings litter the stairwell and graffiti covers the top floor walls.
"Making sure that people who are coming to the parking deck not to park aren't using it," said Alex Morrison, head of the Urban Development Authority.
Morrison says they're asking Bibb County commissioners to let them take over the deck from the Industrial Authority. They'd have Lanier Parking, their management company, run it so they can spend money to improve it.
He says they're trying to control who comes into the deck so they can cut down on the graffiti. He says improvements including safety precautions and graffiti remediation would cost about $170,000.
"Increased lighting, increased security, as well as an overall aesthetic uplift of the facility, which hasn't had a major redo since the '90s," said Morrison.
Dupree says Lanier is a great company and she likes how parking has changed downtown.
"There's a lot of people who work here and like to go to the restaurants, and if they're building the downtown, they need is a safe place for us to park and feel comfortable," said Dupree.
Bibb County commissioners plan to discuss the parking deck on Tuesday. Morrison says the money for the improvements would need to be decided separately.
Morrison says his department would need to take out loans for the project, which would be paid back with revenue from the deck and the county would back those loans.