Biloxi Parks & Recreation and Public Works crews are back on U.S. 90 this week, trimming medians and scraping up sand from the eight-mile stretch of highway along Biloxi’s waterfront.
About 20 workers will be working daily beginning at 7 each morning, with Parks and Recreation workers using weed eaters to trim medians and Public Works laborers using heavy equipment to remove sand that had blown onto the highway from the sand beach.
“We have lane closures in those areas where the workers are, so we’re asking motorists to please be cautious and be patient,” Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich said.
Parks & Recreation Director Sherry Bell said work should be completed in about a week.
Gilich had ordered city crews to begin working on tidying up the medians several weeks ago. The three-week project wrapped up about three weeks ago.
“What we’re doing now,” Bell said, “is going back to hit those areas where the grass is already coming back, so it won’t take as long this time around. We’re also going to be applying a high-grade and environmentally friendly herbicide that will help control the weeds where they were coming through the concrete.
“We want to get Highway 90 to the point where it won’t be as hard to maintain year ’round.”
Council hears from social-service agencies
Representatives of dozens of social-service agencies appeared before the City Council this morning in hopes of being included in the city’s FY 2016 municipal budget.
Councilmembers are wrapping up the budget for the pending fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.
The city, which before Katrina had divvied up as much as a million dollars a year among more than two dozen agencies, has not provided social-service funding for the past two years.
The council, meantime, has its regularly scheduled meeting thsi afternoon at 1:30 p.m.
Social-service spending through the years
See photos from the budget meeting
See agendas for all of today’s meetings
News and notes
Natatorium closing: The Biloxi Natatorium will be closing today at 3 p.m. to host a Biloxi High School swim meet. The Natatorium will reopen Wednesday at 5:30 a.m. For more information about the Natatorium, including typical hours of operation, click here.
Farmer Market Festival: The City of Biloxi’s Charles R. Hegwood’s Farmers Market series continues on Thursday, September 24 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. under the I-110 off Howard and Hopkins. Festivities include children activities, entertainment, hourly giveaways and vendors selling fresh produce, plants and homemade goods.
Street work: To see the latest on the massive amount of street and infrastructure work underway throughout the city, click here.
