The city of Hattiesburg is taking the first step in using the 1-cent sales tax approved in 2019 to improve one of the 17 projects to be funded by the tax proceeds. The city council approved hiring Landry Lewis Germany Architects, P.A. for services related to the roofing project at the former Hattiesburg American building. Mayor Toby Barker said the conversion to a community arts center requires work on the roof.
“One of our 1-cent projects in our Parks & Rec tax is turning the old Hattiesburg American building into a community arts center,” he said after Monday’s agenda setting meeting at City Hall. “It’s one of the things that voters approved last year. That revenue (from the tax) has been coming in, so we can start moving on some of those projects.”
Barker said preliminary work has been done to repair the roof.
“It’s a 36,000-square-foot building,” he said. “We had an initial roofing study done and identified four zones. We are patching three of those four zones. We are doing a total replacement of 12,000 of those 36,000 square feet in the high area of the building. It’s probably the place that has had the most leaks. (Architect) Andrew Lewis will be designing the project, and we will put it out for bid.”
Barker said the part of the Hattiesburg American building with the highest ceiling – where rolls of newsprint were stored near the loading dock – will be used for a theater.
“The design could take several months, then it will go to bid,” he said. “We hope that by the fall we will see total replacement on that side of the building.”
Barker said the 1-cent tax has provided the resources to complete some projects.
“We’re moving projects; that’s a good thing,” he said. “Every month, the revenues come in above estimate. We opened the Thames (Elementary School) gym, which is being used consistently for youth basketball, adult basketball and pickleball. We are working on the East Eighth Street basketball and tennis facility right now . . . waiting for the weather to warm up just a little bit so we can do the final sports surfacing on that. We will soon be working on the hitting facility at Vernon Dahmer Park.”
Barker said funds from the 1-cent tax were budgeted for the community art center conversion.
“For this community arts center, we originally allotted $250,000 of the $3.6 million that we will get as a city,” he said. “First, we have to fix the roof and get the building dry.”
Eighty-one percent of Hattiesburg voters approved the 1-cent sales tax to fund the renovation of Reed Green Coliseum at the University of Southern Mississippi and 17 of the city’s parks and recreation projects.
A 60 percent majority of voters was required to pass the measure.
“One of our 1-cent projects in our Parks & Rec tax is turning the old Hattiesburg American building into a community arts center,” he said after Monday’s agenda setting meeting at City Hall. “It’s one of the things that voters approved last year. That revenue (from the tax) has been coming in, so we can start moving on some of those projects.”
Barker said preliminary work has been done to repair the roof.
“It’s a 36,000-square-foot building,” he said. “We had an initial roofing study done and identified four zones. We are patching three of those four zones. We are doing a total replacement of 12,000 of those 36,000 square feet in the high area of the building. It’s probably the place that has had the most leaks. (Architect) Andrew Lewis will be designing the project, and we will put it out for bid.”
Barker said the part of the Hattiesburg American building with the highest ceiling – where rolls of newsprint were stored near the loading dock – will be used for a theater.
“The design could take several months, then it will go to bid,” he said. “We hope that by the fall we will see total replacement on that side of the building.”
Barker said the 1-cent tax has provided the resources to complete some projects.
“We’re moving projects; that’s a good thing,” he said. “Every month, the revenues come in above estimate. We opened the Thames (Elementary School) gym, which is being used consistently for youth basketball, adult basketball and pickleball. We are working on the East Eighth Street basketball and tennis facility right now . . . waiting for the weather to warm up just a little bit so we can do the final sports surfacing on that. We will soon be working on the hitting facility at Vernon Dahmer Park.”
Barker said funds from the 1-cent tax were budgeted for the community art center conversion.
“For this community arts center, we originally allotted $250,000 of the $3.6 million that we will get as a city,” he said. “First, we have to fix the roof and get the building dry.”
Eighty-one percent of Hattiesburg voters approved the 1-cent sales tax to fund the renovation of Reed Green Coliseum at the University of Southern Mississippi and 17 of the city’s parks and recreation projects.
A 60 percent majority of voters was required to pass the measure.