It took about five years to have street lights installed in some areas in Picayune.

Members of the Picayune City Council and community members gathered Tuesday evening to celebrate the addition of street lights on Main Street, Bruce Street, Jackson Landing Road and Martin Luther King Boulevard.

“Lights keep burglars away,” Mayor Greg Mitchell said. “This is not going to be the last thing we do here.”

The effort to put the lights up in that area was in the process four to five years ago but a change in city administration halted the process, Guy said. He said when the new administration came into office back then, they decided not to go ahead with the installation of the street lights.

“It really didn’t set well with the people, they were upset,” Guy said.

Council member Leavern Guy said the additional cost to Picayune taxpayers is $4,800 since most of the work was done with city employees and the work was done in a joint effort between the City of Picayune and Mississippi Power Co. Some of the new lights are not working properly, but Guy said the city plans to have them fixed shortly after Thanksgiving.

Other plans for the area include adding sub-surface drainage to replace the ditches currently lining Martin Luther King Boulevard.

A similar lighting project is planned for Miss. 43 North but issues with the state-maintained road need to be worked out first, Guy said.