Council renews Charter agreement
Published 7:00 am Wednesday, December 6, 2017
Picayune’s City Council held a brief meeting Tuesday to handle some routine business before taking a break for the rest of the year.
The meeting kicked off with Mayor Ed Pinero recognizing St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church for its 100 years within the city of Picayune.
A representative with Charter Communications also spoke to the Council about the renewal of the franchise agreement between the two entities. City Clerk Amber Hinton said the new agreement added several benefits to the city, including basic cable packages at several city buildings and a dedicated channel should the city decide to start its own broadcast.
Charter Communications Senior Manager of Government Relations Rustin Legendre said the city will still receive 5 percent of the company’s gross profits from the city’s nearly 2,000 customers.
Efforts by the company to bring the city of Picayune to the digital standard are said to be complete and Legendre said the company is willing to work with businesses within the industrial park to bring fiber services to those businesses. All the company requires is two to three of those businesses to agree to a three-year plan
The Council approved a motion for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., parade to be held on Jan. 15 starting at 10 a.m.
The parade will begin at Rose of Sharon Church, travel down Beech Street towards Rosa Street, turn left onto Rosa and then turn onto Jones Street before heading to Pleasant Valley Baptist Church where services will be held. Participants are asked to begin lining up at 9 a.m.
At the end of the meeting Rev. Brian Dees addressed the Council about the need for continued consideration to conduct improvements to the cemetery on Eighth Street and parks within precincts II and IV.
In other business the Council:
— Appointed Shirley Stough to the Board of Trustees for the Pearl River County Library System.
— Reappointed Lex Dobe as a member of the Picayune Housing Authority.
— Approved annual rent payments of $600 to Norfolk Southern for the Main Street parking and for $300 to the same company for Shay Park because those areas are on railroad right of way property.
The next meeting will be Jan. 2, 2018 at 5 p.m. in City Hall.