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Council members question county 1% paving priority after $350,000 project near dealership
Summary
Staff said a $350,000 paving project around a Honda dealership was approved by the county 1% sales-tax committee and that the city plans to use an existing MOU to host the work; several council members criticized the choice as unfair to neighborhoods with long-pending needs and requested a 1% committee briefing.
City staff told the Public Works Committee they plan to use an existing interlocal MOU with Hinds County and a previously approved 1% sales-tax allocation to accelerate a $350,000 paving project on streets near a Honda dealership.
"They approved $350,000 to pave these streets," Lorenzo Anderson said, describing the project area as Larson, Foley, Harding and Monroe Streets near the dealership. Anderson said the 1% committee selected the project in September and staff were seeking a straw poll from the committee because the contractor has a small weather-dependent window for work.
Several council members pushed back, saying the 1% selection seems to favor the dealership corridor over neighborhoods that have waited years for work. "$350,000 could easily fill some potholes and fix some streets in Wards 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7," one council member said, urging better representation and a report from the 1% committee so ward representatives can answer constituents.
Anderson said the city cannot reallocate 1% funds unilaterally because the committee has already made selections; he recommended the council invite the 1% committee to brief the council and said staff would include other suggested streets in a future round.
