BSL Council Update - August 18, 2020 Meeting

Council Updates - August 2020

From Councilman-at-Large, Gary Knoblock:

Update, 8/25:  Although it looks as if Bay St. Louis has missed significant impacts from Marco, we’re still watching Laura carefully.  It’s predicted to escalate into a category 3 storm before hitting land near the Louisiana/Texas border.  

​However, we still need to be prepared and may experience high winds and higher than normal surges. Residents in lower areas, Wards 5-6, you know the tides will be rising. Batten down the hatches and be ready!!

Click here for the Shoofly Magazine's storm readiness check-list and complete resource guide.

---

---

At the August 18, Bay St. Louis City Council meeting,  Angela Toliver addressed the council wanting to rent the Old City Hall on 2nd Street to hold a ministry. The council said that the City Hall is currently being advertised for rental. You may have seen the ad on Facebook. The city is accepting proposals to rent the building. If you’re interested, get a proposal ready and submit to the City Clerk’s office.

Pat Tice of Valena C. Jones Church address concerns of a serious flooding issue near the church on Sycamore. Hopefully, Public Works can address the situation to open the culverts in and around the area. 

---

Sycamore Street flooding, photo courtesy Patricia Tice

---

A big shout out to city crews who replaced several culverts along McLaurin from 9th Street to Longfellow. In addition, the ditches were cleaned and the water is finally flowing. Again, thank you Mike Favre and PW director, Kim Favre.

We moved to approve the consent agenda, noting that we approved the subaward agreement with the Southern Rail Commission for the Gulf Coast High Speed Rail corridor station improvement planning and capital project. 

Next we moved to the comptroller’s report.  Please note that we set public hearing for the 2020-2021 Tax Levy and Budget for September 8th. 
 
The council approved two MDA-BP Grant applications for fiscal year 2021. The first grant is seeking funds for the Court Street Parking Garage and Community Center Improvement. The second grant is seeking funds for improvements for parks and recreation.
 
The council approved the purchase of a new Kubota tractor with boom and ditcher attachments for $90,066.94. This is the replacement tractor that was totaled in a traffic accident. Note that with the insurance proceeds and adding funds from the General Fund, we did not have to finance this equipment. We expect the tractor to be in the city in the next couple of weeks. 

Also, we authorized the purchase of two new F250 trucks for the Fire Department for $55,210.00. The trucks will be leased.
The Fire Dept., also requested the purchase of Fire Dex Armor from Ferrera Inc. in the amount of $33,864.00.  This was paid out of the General Fund. The firefighters needed the new protective suits. There is a possibility that the city could be reimbursed thorough FEMA/MEME, but there is no guarantee on the reimbursement.

Council originally set the Bond Workshop for Wednesday August 26, at 5pm but because of the storm warnings, has rescheduled it to September 2nd.  The council wants to finalize the list of projects to be paid by the bond. If you have any concerns please notify me or be at the meeting. 

Thank you and be safe!

---

The Shoofly Magazine:  keeping you informed and enriching community life - only with support from readers like you!