Aldermen hire two more officers

Published 7:00 am Thursday, November 8, 2018

Poplarville Board of Aldermen accepted the resignation of a third police officer, and adopted a tentative plan to repair numerous streets in the city during Tuesday’s meeting.

City Clerk Jane O’Neal said the Board approved a motion to accept the resignation of Christopher P. Netto, and move him to part time with the department.

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Another motion was also approved by the Board to adopt the new job description of police captain, and advertise to fill that position internally.

Two more officers were hired by the Board during Tuesday’s meeting, Chandler S. Jones, and William J. Knight, both at a rate of $16.31 per hour.

The Board also received a list of streets that need to be repaved or repaired, in addition to work to repair drainage issues along Martin Luther King Junior Drive, Beers Street and Church Street. The total project is estimated to cost $1.1 million, of which $250,000 will be used to repair the drainage issues on the three streets.

O’Neal said funding to cover the project will come from gasoline sales tax diversions to the city. She said that the Board received a letter from the Department of Revenue indicating that a monthly payment will be sent to the city.

Those payments mean that the city can conduct the city-wide repair work without raising taxes. O’Neal said the number of streets that will be repaired in this project will be dependent on the price of materials and labor.

A motion to enter into a grant agreement with the Mississippi Department of Transportation Aeronautical will provide funding to construct a three-unit T-hangar at the Poplarville Airport. Of the total cost of $406,334, the Federal Aviation Administration will provide $365,701, MDOT Aeronautical will pay $20,316, $5,000 will come from the city, $5,000 will be paid by the county and $20,317 will come from sponsors, the agenda states.

In the Fire Department, the Board approved motions to establish the position of Fire Captain and appoint Donald D’Anthonio to that position at a rate of $11.87 per hour.