Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich has called a special meeting of the Biloxi City Council for 4 p.m. today to discuss granting a two-month extension for the firm overseeing the city’s massive infrastructure work.
Under the proposal, HNTB would continue overseeing the $355 million in infrastructure work until April 29. HNTB has agreed to continue the program management – about $175,000 a month – at the same fee.
Today’s issue actually began years ago, when six months into infrastructure design work, FEMA proposed revisions to the engineering scope of work, delaying design work for two years. As a result of the delays, funding for project management, which entails oversight of design and engineering, had been significantly diminished when construction began.
See the agenda for today’s meeting
News and notes
Popp’s Ferry detour: The section of Popp’s Ferry Road between Starks Road and Greystone Drive will be closed to traffic from Saturday at 8 a.m. to Sunday at 5 p.m. The closure will allow contractors to install drainage and sewer lines, part of the widening of Popp’s Ferry Road east of Cedar Lake Road. To see a map with detour routes, click here.
Podcasting: Chief Administrative Officer David Nichols discusses the recent storm threat, and the city’s issue with its infrastructure work. Downtown businesswoman Terese Collins also stops by the program. To listen, click here.
Tommy Moffett: Hundreds turned out Thursday night for a Black History Month program that honored Tommy Moffett, the city’s first African-American police chief, and African-American police officers and firefighters. To see photos from the occasion, click here.
Refreshing photos:Â Downtown stakeholders had two days of meetings and tours with national downtown revitalization authorities offering insight into revitalizing downtown Biloxi. To see photos from the gatherings, click here.
Weekend preview: This weekend you’ll find shows by George Thorogood and the Destroyers, Arlo Guthrie, Martina McBride, Herman’s Hermits, and Breaking Benjamin; dinosaurs and monster trucks at the Coast Coliseum, and “The Piano Lesson” at Center Stage. To see the complete lineup, click here.
Council preview: To see the agenda and supporting documents for the Biloxi City Council meeting on Tuesday, click here.
