The report on the proposed stadium in downtown Biloxi was merely one of several issues the City Council heard during its three-hour meeting Tuesday afternoon. In other business:
Road work: The City Council voted to apply for a $5 million grant from the Mississippi Development Authority to extent Back Bay Boulevard to Fifth Street. The $7.9 million project is expected to help spur a $50 to $60 million hotel tower at Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville, which is on Fifth Street, and a $200 million resort and convention center nearby, in the former Heinz pet food processing plant, which would be part of the Biloxi Boardwalk development.
RV park: The City Council heard arguments for and against a proposed RV park that would be situated off Wells Drive, near the A.J. Holloway Sports Complex. Councilmembers may vote on the issue during their Sept. 3 meeting.
Dumpster debate: The City Council also heard debate about whether it should override the city’s Architectural and Historic Review Commission’s rejection of the design for an enclosure of a dumpster that for years has served Mary Mahoney’s Old French House Restaurant and neighboring businesses. The city halted construction after neighbors complained that the project had not been approved by the AHRC, which later rejected the design. The issue may be voted on at the council’s Aug. 27 meeting.
Nighttime meetings: The City Council has voted unanimously to return to a meeting schedule that will see the first council meeting of the month begin at 6 p.m., beginning in September. The monthly nighttime meetings had not been held since Hurricane Katrina.
