What's Up, Waveland? September 2017

Mayor Mike Smith sits in as columnist for Alderman Jeremy Burke this month, with a "State of Waveland" update on the lighthouse project, park improvements, the Waveland Business Center, blighted properties, gateway enhancements and sewer system repairs.  

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The Waveland Bathroom/Lighthouse Project is gaining ground for funding and construction is set to begin soon. The project will increase the number of visitors to Waveland’s beachfront, add a much needed bathroom facility and make the venue available for events such as weddings, festivals and parties. We are on our way to making this a reality.

Elwood Bourgeois Park is being enhanced with the addition of a splash pad on the west side of the park. A new basketball court, tennis court, pavilion and children’s play set have been added in the past couple years. On the east end of the park Waveland is converting one of the softball fields and the t-ball field into a football and soccer field. 

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​Martin Luther King Park received a new splash pad last year and now other areas of the park are in the process of being renovated. The Community Center is being rebuilt, and walkways are going to be rebuilt at the park.

Presently the Waveland Business Center sits half-occupied, but I'm optimistic that will change in the near future.  Waveland is actively exploring the possibility of surplussing the Waveland Business Center building to a Waveland redevelopment commission.  This would allow the commission to negotiate long-term leases, which by law is difficult for municipal governments to do. If Waveland is able to form a redevelopment district, I believe that will allow the Waveland Business Center to be more attractive to potential tenants.  

Blighted properties have been a big issue for the past 12 years. Waveland is currently making a huge push to get these properties cleaned. Blight enforcement officer Don Sibenkittle, along with our Waveland Building Department are bringing these properties to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen for resolution.

I was just awarded a scholarship from Mississippi Power Company to attend the True South Economic Development Course at the University of Southern Miss. This is an intensive four-day course that will hopefully answer the looming question we’ve had since Hurricane Katrina:  how to encourage development on Coleman Avenue, as well as Highway  90.

​Waveland has applied for a gateway enhancement grant that would address the main corridors into Waveland:  Waveland Aveune-Highway 90, Highway 603-Highway 90 as well as Kiln-Waveland Cutoff- Highway  603. Items included in this grant are professional landscaping, lighting, tree screening along Highway 90 and way-finding signage.  

​If you live on Herlihy, Edna, Meadow Lane or East Meadow Lane, this pertains to you:  over the next couple of months the city of Waveland will begin work on completely revamping our 40-year-old sewer system in your area. Of course that comes with disruptions in daily life for residents until this project is complete. Thank you in advance for your patience!