by Hunter Dawkins
The city of Long Beach adopted Ordinance 637 and unanimously passed South Mississippi Planning & Development District (SMPDD) proposal from a few weeks ago. SMPDD Representative Kristyn Gunter gave a presentation about a pavement management program back in May, which the Board of Aldermen approved this plan. The ordinance sets building and safety code standards for the city.
Additionally, the Board unanimously denied a street and detention pond for the Oak Haven subdivision. With Alderman Mark Lishen addressing a city concern about derelict pools, City Attorney Jim Simpson advised that home owners with nuisance pools may be given citations and brought to Environmental Court for non-compliance. Subsequently, the Board took no action.
Following short discussion, the Board unanimously decided to table the community development review process and two tree board appointments until the next aldermen meeting on July 17. After suspending the rules to add an item to the agenda involving child endangerment brought up by Alderman Bernie Parker, the Board tabled this to give Simpson time to review this concern.
In other actions, the Board approved the Agreement between the Police Department and HIDTA Task Force, an LED Lighting Project proposal with Gulf Coast Lighting Group with the Police Department and unanimously accepted the 2017 Audit Report.
During the workshop on the budget and tax abatement this week, a major issue expressed by both police and fire departments were the turnovers due to the cost of insurance provided. Long Beach Fire Chief Mike Brown said, “It takes a little bit here and a little bit there” when discussing step increases in the yearly budget.
“We spent about $350,000 last year on sewage and water repairs,” stated Long Beach Public Works Director Joe Culpepper when breaking down the figures for the yearly budget. More materials should be presented for next week’s official meeting, as no action was taken in the work session.
