Walmart to appear before city group Wednesday

Walmart’s planned supercenter in west Biloxi will move a step closer to construction Wednesday when executives are scheduled to present plans to the Biloxi Development Review Committee.

The DRC is a board of city staffers representing key city departments where developers can get a one-stop review of many issues involving a construction project. Members of the eight-member committee, which is chaired by City Arborist Eric Nolan, include representatives of the Community Development, Fire and Public Works departments.

“We’ll be discussing issues that involve the site,” said city staffer Bill Raymond, a member of the committee. “Those include zoning, ingress and egress, utilities and so forth. Once those issues are resolved, they’re ready to submit construction plans for review, and unless there are any requests for variances, they’re ready to get construction permits.”

Raymond said Walmart had not yet announced a construction timetable.

Walmart confirmed in April that it planned to construct a new supercenter on C.T. Switzer Drive in west Biloxi, in the shadow of two well-known retail hubs, Edgewater Mall and Edgewater Village. The announcement was made in a week that also saw the city issue construction permits on two other major projects, the $45 million expansion of the Palace Casino Resort and the $14 million Kroc Center at Yankie Stadium.


News and notes

Curtain time: The Parks and Recreation Department will bring down the curtain on its hugely popular summer camp program Wednesday with a four-hour event at Hiller Park. This year’s camp featured 575 campers. The Hiller Park affair will include water slides, space walks and other games, with burgers and hot dogs provided by IP Casino Resort Spa. To print a flier about the event, click here.

New fee schedule: The city’s Community Development Department, which had not adjusted its fee schedule for several years, will introduce a new fee schedule beginning Aug. 23. To see the fees, which are more inline with neighboring communities, click here.

Oil update No. 1: To see the latest updates and actions by members of the Mississippi Joint Operations Center in Biloxi, click here. To visit the Spill Info area of the city’s web site, click here.

Oil update No. 2: WWL-TV’s Doug Mouton dropped by Biloxi City Hall Tuesday morning for an update on Biloxi and the oil spill. His story is scheduled to air this evening at 10 on the New Orleans CBS affiliate.