Picayune’s City Council approved two proclamations and dealt with some property matters during Tuesday’s meeting. 

The proclamations focused on declaring Septembers as Histiocytosis Awareness Month and the week of Sept. 17 to 23 as Constitution Week. 

During the presentation of Histiocytosis Awareness Month, local business owner Tonya Cialona said her grandson was only 2-years-old when he died from the disorder, which causes red and white cells to attack each other. 

Margaret Ann Warwick, a member of the Picayune Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, said this is the 229th anniversary of the drafting of this nation’s Constitution. 

In a separate matter, the Council held a public hearing to deal with a number of properties causing issues in the city. 

The first was for Stone Treated Materials. Mayor Ed Pinero said this property has been a problem in the area of Rosa Street for a number of years. Previous coverage states that the property was used to treat lumber pilings. It is located next door to a Superfund cleanup site, which was established in response to decades of pollution due to the use of creosote to treat lumber by a separate company in that area. Code Enforcement Officer Tom Milar brought the property to the Council so they could consider declaring it a public nuisance, but after it was added to the agenda he discovered that the property is in the process of being sold. As such he requested 60 days to have the problem with the property remedied. The current problem with the property was not discussed during the meeting.

During the public hearing, the owner of property located at 26 Patrice Road addressed the Council. Darlene Bigner read a letter written by her daughter, Angelique Bigner that outlined the work that has been ongoing to address concerns lodged by Milar. Those concerns include high grass, garbage and old toys in the yard and issues with overgrown bushes and trees. 

After Darlene Bigner outlined the work that has been done so far to cut the front yard and remove some of the garbage, Milar advised the Council to give them 30 days instead of 60 to ensure work would continue. The Council approved that motion. 

Two separate properties were also discussed during the public hearing involving pools left in a poor state. The pools were located on property located at 620 Glenwood and 2002 Orleans Boulevard. Milar said the water in both pools has become a breeding ground for mosquitos. Both properties were declared a public nuisance and their owners were given 30 days to address the issues. 

Efforts by the Picayune Police Department’s officers and staff to raise funds to install benches at the splash pad were successful. During the meeting, the Council approved a motion to accept a donation of $2,395 from the Picayune Police Officer’s Association for that purpose. 

For additional coverage of Tuesday’s meeting, see Thursday’s edition of the Item.