Federal grant sought by city

The city is seeking federal funding to renovate a social services building near Booker T.

The city is seeking funding to renovate the building where the Multi-County Community Agency based in Meridian provides services such as bill payment assistance, food distribution, and more.

The building, located next to the Head Start facility on Carver Avenue, has issues like leaks, a deteriorating roof, faulty doors, and an air-conditioning unit that needs replacing.

At last Tuesday’s meeting of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen, a public hearing was held regarding the facility and they selected an engineer to provide cost estimates at no charge to the city unless the federal funding for the project is secured.

Aldermen chose Allen & Hoshall over JH&H Architects Planners to assess the building and estimate costs for the federal CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) application.

“We’re familiar with Allen & Hoshall and have worked with them before,” said Ward 2 Alderman Jim Fulton. “We used them for the restroom work at Booker T. Gym.”

The CDBG grant will help benefit low- and moderate-income citizens through the project if awarded, but the application and process are competitive.

A decision on the grant may not come until sometime this fall, officials said. 

“We’ve been investing in long-term items the last few years like the gym and DeWeese Park,” said Mayor James A. Young. “These are next-generation projects that are being done today.”

In other business, aldermen voted to:

• Approve a motion to block the street from Highway 21 to Philadelphia Elementary on April 27 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for a carnival. The motion was unanimously approved;

• Approve a motion to pay Allen Engineering two invoices in the amounts of $2,217.89 and $187.50 for the Airport Lighting Improvement Project. The motion was unanimously approved;

• Approve a motion to hire Chanclor Greer with the Street Department at $10 per hour effective April 22 pending drug screen. James Tatum recused himself from the vote. The motion passed;

• Approve a motion to hire Maurice Brown with the Street Department at $10 per hour effective April 22 pending drug screen. The motion was approved unanimously;

• Approve a motion to approve road bores for C-Spire along St Francis Drive, Meadow Lane, King Avenue, Beech Street, Breland Street, Mayo Street, Cherry Avenue., Walnut Street, Water Avenue, Hendrix Street, Peachtree Avenue, and Range Avenue. The motion was unanimously approved; 

• Approve a motion to promote Brandon Beckham to Patrolman 2nd Class at $17.77 an hour for completion of the police academy. The motion was unanimously approved;

• Approve a motion to transfer Chloe Trapp back to a police clerk position. The motion was approved unanimously ; 

• Approve a motion to allow Police Chief Eric Lyons to attend the state conference in Biloxi from June 17-21 and for the city to pay for registration and travel. The motion was approved unanimously.