Ocean Springs News
MEDIA PRESS RELEASE - for immediate release
May 7th, 2010 | For details and information concerning this release, please contact Johnnie Bernhard at (228) 875-2209.
Funds for East Beach Sidewalk go to Pave Roads
Ocean Springs, MS – Economic stimulus funding of $494,000 – earmarked to build sidewalks on Halstead Road and the south side of the seawall on East Beach in Ocean Springs, will be diverted for asphalt overlays on Holcomb Blvd. and Halstead Road, according to Mayor Connie Moran.
This week the Board of Aldermen voted to authorize Moran to request the ARRA Committee, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, to divert the funds to the road overlay projects, rather than lose the funds to projects outside Ocean Springs.
The Committee, comprised of local coast planning officials, met today at the Gulf Regional Planning Commission and decided to honor the city’s request to retain the funds for road paving, which will be completed under MDOT’s direction.
The City was set to begin construction of the sidewalk project when local residents Judge Neil Harris and Buddy Gunn stymied the project by obtaining an injunction in Hinds County Chancery Court. The plaintiffs are now claiming outright ownership of the sand beach in front of their parcels on East Beach, and have sued in Jackson County Chancery Court to settle the issue of ownership. The City, Jackson County, and the Mississippi Secretary of State each filed answers to the complaint on May 1. A hearing has not yet been set.
“The Committee had given the City an extension until May to begin construction, and was prepared to either fund the road overlays, which can be accomplished quickly and without engineering design, or fund projects in other cities. They would not extend the deadline,” said Moran.
“We sincerely appreciate the Committee’s consideration to keep the funds in Ocean Springs,” she said. “However, the Board wishes to be perfectly clear that our priority was to build this sidewalk, and this solution is one which has been forced upon us.”
The funds could only be expended on improvements to federally designated roads, which make Halstead and Holcomb eligible for the paving.
The City has maintained that the sand beaches are public lands under the auspices of the Secretary of State. They have been zoned public since 1972, and have been maintained by Jackson County for decades using taxpayer dollars from the seawall tax on purchases of gasoline
The plaintiffs have put up a $250,000 bond, which would potentially cover attorney fees and relief to the defendants if the judge rules the beach is indeed public.
“Many people walk and enjoy the beach,” said Moran. “The Board contends this is a necessary project for public access and safety. Pending the court’s decision, the Board will press on for a resolution to build some type of sidewalk in the future.”
