What's Up, Waveland? - February 2019

2/1/2019

Waveland Alderman Jeremy Burke reports on the upcoming Nereids Parade, the recent conference of the Mississippi Municipal League, and recent appointments made by Mayor Smith.

2018 Parade: Queen Doris | Photo by Brenda Comer

Nereids Parade

Mark your calendars for the annual Krewe of Nereids parade on Sunday, February 24, at noon. The parade begins in front of the Hancock County Governmental Annex Building in Bay St. Louis and rolls west on Highway 90, ending at the intersection of Auderder Street and Highway 90 in Waveland.

Both lanes of Highway 90 in Waveland will be closed from the Bay St. Louis-Waveland city line to Waveland Avenue.

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Please read the notice below regarding the Nereids parade.

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

2018 Parade: Catch of the Day Float | Photo by Brenda Comer

2018 Parade: Sassy Divas of Bay St. Louis | Photo by Brenda Comer

PUBLIC NOTICE FROM THE CITY OF WAVELAND

There will be no parking of vehicles, trailers, or recreational vehicles before 12:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon February 23, 2019. Any vehicle parked on the right-of-way at any time that obstructs the view of traffic for cars going into or out of businesses will be towed.
There will be no marking or reserving parking areas along the parade route with tape, rope or other means of “marking a spot.”
Underage consumption of alcohol will not be tolerated. There will be plain clothes officers enforcing the law.
There will be no sale of silly string &/or Snap and Pops on the parade route.
There will be no skateboards, hover boards, skates, scooters, bicycles or any unauthorized modes of transportation, including motorized forms of the items mentioned above, on the parade route. Any one of these will be removed from the parade route.
There will be no drones of any kind on the parade route.
There will be no reptiles or pets of any kind allowed on the parade route.
There will be no glass containers on the parade route.
There will be no parking on the median or ladders or scaffolding.
Please be courteous and use the trash containers provided along the parade route.

Board Members Go To Capitol

Alderman Bobby Richardson, Mayor Mike Smith and Alderman Jeremy Burke at the state capitol.

Waveland Mayor Mike Smith, Alderman Bobby Richardson, and I recently attended the Mississippi Municipal League’s 2019 Mid-Winter Legislative Conference in Jackson, Mississippi.

Along with approximately 500 municipal leaders from all over Mississippi, we participated in discussions of current legislative issues and their impact on local governments and attended sessions to listen to ideas to help move Waveland forward. We also networked with legislators and business leaders at the Gulf Coast Legislative Reception and at the capitol to provide them important feedback on issues that are critical to Waveland.

While in Jackson Mayor Smith, Alderman Richardson and I met with Mississippi Development Authority leadership to ask for additional funding for a community building at Martin Luther King Jr. Park on Herlihy Street. I’m pleased to report that Mayor Smith got word in mid-January from the Mississippi Development Authority that Waveland got the additional funding required to fund the building at Martin Luther King Jr. Park.

Attending the MML's Mid-Winter Conference and visiting the capitol during the legislative session are valuable components of Waveland’s progress forward.

Waveland Appointments

In accordance with Waveland’s charter, Mayor Mike Smith was required to make his appointments to several positions at the first meeting of the new administration. The list of the mayor’s appointments are as follows:

Police Chief - Michael Prendergast
Fire Chief - Tony Mallini
City Attorney - Rachel Yarborough
Superintendent of Utilities Department (Public Works) - Brent Anderson
Judge - P.J. Mauffray
City Prosecutor - Melinda Tucker
Public Defender - Todd Thriffiley
Mayor Pro Tem - Shane LaFontaine
City Clerk (temporary) - Ron Duckworth

The two changes that Mayor Mike Smith made was appointing former Assistant Chief Michael Prendergast as the Waveland Police Chief. Chief Prendergast replaces Dave Allen.

Chief Allen has served as Waveland Police Chief since 2013 and served Waveland well. He led a department that was facing a number of lawsuits to one of the most respected police departments in South Mississippi. I’m happy to report that Dave Allen has agreed to stay with the Waveland Police Department to serve as Head of Investigations and a full-time Cyber Crimes Investigator for the city of Waveland.

I’m positive Chief Prendergast will do a stellar job. His 30-plus years of experience in law enforcement and fresh perspective will be invaluable for the Waveland Police Department. I am confident that under Chief Prendergast’s dedicated leadership, the Police Department will continue to work diligently in protecting our community against crime, while implementing best practices, new technologies and initiatives to ensure the department is able to meet the growing needs of our city.

The other change that was made was the appointment of Ron Duckworth as city clerk. The appointment of Ron is only a temporary appointment. Ron will still hold his position as comptroller, but Mayor Smith informed the Board of Aldermen that his desired choice of city clerk wouldn’t be ready to begin work as city clerk until February, so Ron was temporarily appointed to fill the position.