What's Up, Waveland - December 2016

12/1/2016

Waveland Alderman Jeremy Burke keeps us up to date with information on the new utility ordinance, the new noise ordinance and the South Street construction project.

Utility Ordinance

In November the city of Waveland completed a task that has been in the works for over a year, and adopted a new utility ordinance to address water and gas rates.

The new ordinance, which is linked at the bottom of this section, is a more fair way to bill customers who use Waveland water. The ordinance that has been adopted now has customers paying for only water they used.

The old ordinance charged customers for a minimum of 4,000 gallons whether or not 4,000 gallons was used in the household. The new ordinance does not allow a minimum, and each customer will be charged per 1,000 gallons used.

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That being said, monthly water bills will become less for customers who use less than 5,000 gallons per month. In addition, commercial water deposits, which have been the highest on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, have been revised. Commercial customers with water lines less than 4 inches will now pay a deposit of $270, as opposed to the former deposit of $600.

This new ordinance is a fair way of billing. Households that use less water will not be subsidizing higher-usage water users. The new water rates will be reflected on the bills that are mailed out in January 2017.

Click here to read the new utility ordinance.

Noise Ordinance

The city of Waveland adopted a new noise ordinance in November.

The new ordinance allows music 85 decibels or less to occur later on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Thursday night noise can go on until midnight and Friday and Saturday noise can go on until 2 a.m. All other nights, the noise must stop at 10 p.m.

I was the lone nay vote on this ordinance. I don’t believe Waveland should have adopted a citywide noise ordinance that doesn’t address commercial and residential zones individually. Waveland should not establish what time entertainment should stop in commercial zones. I believe a business should be able to have a band or DJ in a business located in a commercial zone until whatever time they wish. Another concern I have with the ordinance is that it does not protect the quiet residential neighborhoods. I believe Waveland has a responsibility to protect the peace and quiet in R-1, R-2, and R-3 zones.

The new noise ordinance will take effect on December 16.

Click here to read the new Noise Ordinance.

South Street Construction Project

Several months ago Waveland approved a construction project to raise part of South Street that is prone to flooding. After several months of waiting for necessary permits from the Department of Marine Resources to mitigate some wetlands affected by the project, job contractor Moran Construction began the project on November 14. It is a 45-day project that should be finished by January 1.

South Street is closed from Sears Avenue to Brown Avenue. All traffic on South Street is being detoured to Beach Boulevard to get around the project. Even with the recent rain, the project is still on schedule. This project is being completed using Hancock County Road and Bridge Funds.