Biloxi leaders of the past used the year 2020 as a planning benchmark, and now that we’ve reached 2020, Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich told a State of the City audience today, you can see the vision from the past plans becoming reality today.
Gilich, in a 28-minute presentation, spoke of new hotels, new restaurants, multi-million-dollar efforts to revitalize downtown Biloxi, an initiative to help avoid a repeat of the disastrous opening of the Bonne Carre spillway, and a plan to build a new Popp’s Ferry bridge, as part of a connector from U.S. 90 to I-10 and Mississippi Highway 67.
The mayor noted casino gaming revenue, driven by the arrival of sports books, was $50 million above the previous year, a new city park and ballfields are coming to Eagle Point, and all streets north of the CSX railway, reduced to dirt as part of the city’s $355 million infrastructure work, are now paved.
The mayor’s address was presented to an audience of more than 600 during a Biloxi Bay Area Chamber of Commerce-organized luncheon at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino. The presentation airs this evening and Friday on BTV at 7, 7:30, 8 and 8:30 in the morning and evening. It is also available on the city’s YouTube channel now.
Gilich, who took office 56 months ago (“but who’s counting?”), pointed to new waterfront boardwalks now in place and spoke of others that will provide residents and visitors better access to the waterfront.
All of the work, the mayor said, is taking place against a backdrop where the city’s long-term plans are coming to fruition. Video and photos from yesteryear were woven with progress of today and displayed on big screens at the Beau Rivage meeting room.
However, he said, Biloxi’s public works are not just about an appreciation for Biloxi’s history, but recreating the venues where it took place, such as downtown, in neighborhoods, and along the waterfront.
“Not only do I want our children and grandchildren to appreciate our history,” Gilich said, “but I want them to experience the Biloxi where I grew up, the Biloxi where many of you grew up, the Biloxi that others of you have heard about.”
State of the City: Video, photos, detailed reports and more
