The Board of Aldermen received a report on a number of the city’s sidewalks that are getting a curbside facelift to accommodate handicapped individuals thanks to a Mississippi Development Authority Community Development Block Grant.

The ramped curbs are making sidewalks compliant with the American Disabilities Act, allowing them to be usable by both blind and wheelchair-bound persons.

Sidewalks on both sides of the street on Julia Street from Church to Willie Streets have been earmarked for the new ADA-compliant curbs as are those on Main Street between Church and South Streets.

Aldermen discussed earlier this month that residents still having FEMA or other travel trailers as a result of Hurricane Katrina should make preparations to move them out of the city as soon as possible. March 1 is the deadline for removing the remainder of the trailers, a FEMA representative told aldermen this month.

The FEMA representative said 11 trailers are still in the city.

In other matters, Alderman Bill Winborn addressed the issue of the vacant lot on Main Street, which once housed The Other Side, Kloze Klozet and the Masonic Lodge.

Winborn said Mark Gibson of Picayune had asked the board for its recommendations as to what he should do with the property he owns on either side of the section owned by Belinda Holden, proprietor of The Other Side.

Winborn told the board he would like to see Gibson begin plans to build an 8,000- to 10,000-square-foot metal building on either the north or the south end of the block with a brick façade on the Main Street frontage and possibly down one side — depending on which side of the lot it is situated.

The vacancy left from the fire that destroyed the entire block more than two years ago continues to be a source of concern for city leaders and downtown merchants.

Winborn said he hopes Gibson will consider moving forward to help revitalize Poplarville’s downtown area.

In other activities, aldermen voted this month to place Walter Lowe on the Library Board as a trustee and accepted a bid of $1,175 to sell an old model Telesquirt fire truck.

The city board meets the first and third Tuesdays of the month at 5 p.m. at City Hall.