The Laurel City Council approved several documents this week that will pave the way for the city to begin its 2021 and 2022 Community Development Block Grant Process while also approving the purchase of seven new vehicles for the Laurel Police Department.
On a 6-0 vote, the council adopted a resolution approving the firm of Sample, Hicks and Associates for administrative serves related to the city’s FY2021 and FY2022 Community Development Block Grants.
In a separate action, the council adopted a resolution approving the firm of Neel-Schaffer for engineering services related to the city’s FY2021 and FY2022 Community Development Block Grants.
The council also adopted a resolution granting authority to submit an application to the Mississippi Department of Transportation’s Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) for the Spec Wilson Boulevard Pedestrian Improvements Project.
The estimated total project cost is $812,468.75. According to city documents, the project is eligible for 80 percent funding under the TAP Program.
In a separate matter, the city council approved the request of the Laurel Police Department to purchase seven 2021 dodge Chargers in the amount of $208,662 from Landers Dodge of Southaven.
Mayor Johnny Magee said the Southaven dealership has the state contact for the vehicles. However, local dealers are always considered.
According to city documents, the vehicles are on state price and will be paid out of the LPD Vehicle
Account. No funds are to be taken from the city’s General Fund Surplus.
Also, in relation to the police department, the council approved an order changing the rate of pay for the records clerks in the Laurel Police Department. The effort is to bring the pay for record clerks up to match that of front office clerks. According to city documents, the rate of pay for non-probationary records clerks will be changed from R05 to R06.
In a separate matter, the Laurel Fire Department was granted authorization to transfer items from the LFD Inventory list to the city surplus inventory list.
The fire department was also granted permission to apply for the Walmart Community Grant for funds to update the electronic training equipment at the Laurel Fire Department Training Facility. According to paperwork, the grant would be for $2,500.
The council with a 67-0 vote, appointed a new person to represent the city on the Board of Directors of the Laurel Airport Authority.
Elvin Ulmer was appointed to serve on the Board of Directors of the Laurel Airport Authority for the City of Laurel to complete an unexpired term.
According to city documents, Melvin Daniels Jr. has resigned from the Board of Directors of the Laurel Airport Authority effective immediately with his term set to expire on September 25, 2020.
Therefore, the position had to be filled by the appointment of a new representative and Elvin Ulmer expressed his willingness to serve on the airport board.
The Laurel City Council, upon nomination by Mayor Johnny Magee, approved Elvin Ulmer was appointed to the Laurel Airport Authority for a five-year term with said service to begin immediately and expiring on September 25, 2025.
Also, the city board voted to adopt an order entering into a service contract with the firm “Wage House Expert” (Van Craft) for a wage hour analysis study.
In other business, the council set October 6, 2020 as the public hearing date for nine pieces of properties in the city to determine whether or not the properties are in such a state of uncleanliness so as to be a menace to the public health and safety of the community.
Public hearings were set to determine “overgrown property status” at:
Parker McCurley Properties LLC located at 127 North 17 th Avenue in Ward One; Jean Alberto Montoya at 119 South 18 th Avenue in Ward One; Cordia Sue Jernigan at 202 Pineview Drive in Ward One; Prisock Properties Inc. at a lot east of 1219 Simmons Street in Ward Seven Romas Revell McLain at 2103 Center Avenue in Ward Seven; Erica Baker at 2125 Center Avenue in Ward Seven; Lawrence Moore Sr. at 2322 Queensburg Avenue in Ward Seven; Juanita W. Portis at 1142 Spriggs Street in Ward Seven; and Kaul Arvinder at 923 Jeffery Drive in Ward Three.
The council also conducted public hearings on three pieces of property to determine if they were a menace to the public health and safety of the community.
Hearings were conducted for:
Property located at 1035 Parker Drive in Ward Three, which belongs to Curtis Ballard; and
Property located at 130 West 16 th Street in Ward Four belonging to 401 (K) RMF Funding LLC.
The council also approved an order granting a one-year special exception to Amanda Cooley to allow a day care facility to be in operation at 703 N. 11 th Avenue. The property is in Ward Six and is zoned as a RW, Medium Density Residential District, which does not permit such operations.
Also, the council approved an order accepting a lease bid on Interstate-59 Billboard Property. According to city documents, the city accepted bids up to August 14 th and only one bid was submitted. Headrick Outdoor Media submitted a bid for $1,800 per year. Based on the bid guidelines, the city accepted Headrick’s bid for a five-year lease, which would be a total of $9,000 for the five years.
In other business, the council voted to accept the results of the election held in August 2020 for the Mississippi Power Franchise Fee; adopted an order to advertise for property insurance for the fiscal year 2020-2021; adopted a final order for approving an application for tax exemption on ad valorem for Sanderson Farms; approved a lot cleaning assessment for Birtha McRae; and adopted a resolution authorizing signatures on AmeriCorps 2020 program documents.