Council to eye elevations; Holloway stumps; other news

The City Council will meet Tuesday at 9 a.m. to discuss the proposed new flood elevations, which will have a dramatic impact on new construction in the city. The council may vote on the new measure at their 1:30 meeting Tuesday afternoon,

The new elevations will mean that new homes would have to be elevated anywhere from 3 feet to more than 20 feet above the ground, depending on their location.

Mayor A.J. Holloway, who originally proposed that the city enact the FEMA elevations nearly two months ago, has noted that residents would not qualify for state-administered homeowner grants unless the new guidelines were followed.

Also, he added, failure to enact the new elevations would jeopardize the city’s membership in the National Flood Insurance Program, which has saved Biloxians hundreds of dollars in reduced flood insurance rates over the past several years.

The city plans to mail easy-to-read flood elevation maps in the next several weeks, but meantime you can see FEMA’s maps by clicking here.

To see the complete agendas and available resolutions for Tuesday’s City Council meetings,
click here.

Holloway has busy week at the podium

Mayor A.J. Holloway this week spoke to two local groups – the Biloxi Chamber of Commerce and the Biloxi Rotary – and addressed a group of visiting airline executives.

The story of Biloxi is a compelling one, Holloway told the airline execs and Rotarians. To find out why the airline execs were in town and to read why the mayor’s bullish on Biloxi,
click here.

Reviving the Renaissance updates

Several committee chairs involved in the city’s Reviving the Renaissance initiative have provided updated minutes for online visitors.

To visit the RTR site, click here.

Main Street hosts Brown Bag on April 21

Main Street Biloxi will continue its Brown Bag Lunch
series on Friday, April 21, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at
the new shoo fly on the Town Green. Musical entertainment for Main Street will be
Don Hupp.

“Please come out and enjoy yourself on the beautiful Biloxi Town Green,” Main Street’s Kay Miller said. “Admission is free. Bring your lunch, and Main Street will provide the fun, soft drinks and great door prizes.”

Details: 435-6339 or e-mail kmiller@biloxi.ms.us

Shrimp fest, blessing scheduled for June 10-11

Organizers of this year’s Blessing of the Fleet and Biloxi Shrimp Festival are accepting applications for 2006 Shrimp Queen contestants.

Read more about the contest and the overall event by clicking here.

News and notes

Webcasting: You can hear the latest on the issues du jour in this week’s “City Desk” webcast, hosted, as usual, by Gary Michiels. To listen, click here.

Municipal holiday: Non-emergency municipal departments will be closed Friday in observance of Good Friday.

Mold reminder: Hands Across Gulf Coast will sponsor a free Do-It-Yourself Mold Cleaning Workshop on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at Main Street Baptist Church.