During a brief meeting of the Picayune City Council, members of the community learned that the walking track recently opened at Crosby Commons will be inaccessible while additional work occurs.
City Manager Jim Luke addressed the audience at the end of Tuesday’s meeting to say construction of lighting along the walking track and of the amphitheater will start soon. With the work set to begin sometime next month, Luke advised the public that signs will be placed at the park to announce park closures for safety.
The work will also install another entrance on Sixth Avenue, in addition to a walkway inside the park connecting that entrance with the one currently on Goodyear Boulevard.
A ground breaking ceremony for the work is set for April 18, at 10 a.m. where Mississippi Department of Transportation Southern District Commissioner Tom King will be in attendance. MDOT and the Lower Pearl River Valley Foundation have been two major contributors to that work. Luke thanked both agencies for their grant funding. When the work begins, Luke expects it to take three to four months to complete. He said city officials will keep the closures brief, with intermittent reopenings when the work does not pose a threat to public safety.
In another matter, the Council approved a motion to apply for a grant from LPRVF to purchase self-contained breathing apparatuses for the Picayune Fire Department. Grant Administrator Christy Goss said the grant will help the department replace nine of those pieces of equipment, which have fallen into a state of disrepair. She said the cost to replace just one of those devices is $5,200.
In other business the Council:
— Approved a motion to deny a home occupation license request from Sean and Melissa Hammond to operate a spacewalk and waterslide rental business out of their home on Nina Drive.
— Approved a request to rezone three single-family parcels on South Haugh Avenue to C-2. The parcels are owned by Mark Gibson.
— Accepted a donation from Community Christians Helping Youth worth $485 to be used to purchase landscaping trees for Crosby Commons.
— Approved a request from Picayune Main Street to hold the bi-annual Street Festival on April 1 and 2.
The next Council meeting will be April 4 at 5 p.m. in City Hall.