Savannah City Council gives update on new arena

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - The Savannah Arena was a big topic at Thursday’s city council meeting along with a resolution to help make the city a little greener.

As we get closer to the completion of the Savannah Arena, Savannah City Council voted to begin construction on a $9 million parking lot along with an additional $105,000 for lights.

They also approved just over $536,000 for a pedestrian bridge to connect the lot to the arena.

“This should be the arena and Savannah’s downtown/West Savannah neighborhood but I think this is a win-win for the neighbors. It’s a win-win for the city and development,” said interim City Manager Michael Brown.

The arena will be on Savannah’s Westside. Alderwoman Bernetta Lanier who represents the area says residents are concerned about drainage.

“Right now, we need to assure the citizens in that area that were going to pay due attention and due the due diligence and do the work to make sure that we don’t experience drainage problems that can be avoided if we had more preventative measurements done in those areas,” said Alderwoman Lanier.

Council also unanimously passed a resolution for the city to regulate the use of single use plastics, food packaging and replacing them with locally recyclable or compostable alternatives.

“Most people out there don’t know that all Americans ingest on average one credit card worth of classic per week. That’s just on our water systems. It’s out there. It is out and about. We have to do a better job of making sustainable choices and it begins with us and begins in our city,” said District 4 Alderman Nick Palumbo.

In their workshop meeting earlier, council discussed a comprehensive plan for the city and Chatham County.

The city manager also gave an update on the arena’s progress. He says the north, south and east external walls of the arena are up. Now crews will be able to begin installing electrical lines, plumbing and sheetrock.

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