by Caroline Abide, Contributing Writer

BILOXI (GG) — The food court of the Edgewater Mall was nearly full early Friday morning, November 21st. While the shops were still gated shut, City of Biloxi officials, representatives from the Chamber of Commerce, and interested citizens gathered at Chick-Fil-A for biscuit sandwiches and a special presentation from Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich. 

There was a particularly large turnout of Airmen from the Keesler Airforce Base, who took their place near the stage at reserved tables. 

“Biloxi is Keesler and Keesler is Biloxi,” Colonel Christopher Robinson said. “I’m thankful for all of the support we get from the city.”

Jessica Gazzo, the 2025 Chair of the Chamber of Commerce began the program by formally handing over her title to the 2026 Chair, Courtney Jacobs. 

Then it was time for the updates from the Mayor.

One of the first items that Gilich addressed was the ongoing development of the Popps Ferry Extension, a $30 million project which will connect Popps Ferry to Beach Boulevard after it intersects with Pass Road. The project has been in development for around five years, but Gilich assured citizens that they would be driving on the much awaited new route by this time next year.

The Mayor also announced new efforts to clean up public spaces, stating that there would be a published schedule as to when and where citizens can expect City beautification work. This represents not only a rigorous approach to city maintenance, but also a bid toward greater transparency with the public.

“You know, safe, friendly, and beautiful — that’s what we’ve talked about for years and years, and we’ll continue to make that happen,” Gilich said.

Last of the official updates, the Mayor elucidated the public on the status of the iconic Biloxi Lighthouse Pier, which has been out of service since Hurricane Zeta in 2020. According to Gilich, the City had been in talks with FEMA to cover half of the estimated $2.4 million in mitigation repairs within the larger estimate of around $4 million, but have had to submit a number of appeals to the federal agency in order to get closer to this goal. Nevertheless, Gilich said, the City would move forward.

“The government took 40 days off, so I don’t know where we are,” Gilich said of the most recent appeal.

The next City of Biloxi event, Christmas on Howard Avenue, is coming up on December 19th. “I think we have about a hundred Christmas trees that we’ll light … It’s good to show off Howard Avenue.”(Photos by Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce)