Biloxi City Council reviews options for MIMA funds, including 3,000-meter replacement and library roof

Biloxi City Council members spent a workshop session reviewing options for spending Mississippi infrastructure (MIMA) funds, focusing on a proposed package that includes a citywide water meter replacement, a construction road to serve major development and a West Biloxi Library roof repair.

City staff member Christie told the council the project list is unchanged except for three additions: a citywide water meter replacement of about 3,000 meters that are not automatically reading, a construction road in the Bellavi main thoroughfare to give construction traffic access to Lorraine Road and keep trucks off small local streets, and a West Biloxi Library roof replacement that increases the general-obligation (GO) bond total to $8,318,080. “The total should be $8,318,080,” Christie said.

Why it matters: MIMA funds are limited and must be obligated quickly, and some projects are contingent on separate grants. Council members repeatedly pressed staff on which items would be paid by MIMA diversion funds, which would be paid through a GO bond and which could rely on other grants or an MDEQ SRF loan. “MIMA can pay for these projects,” Christie said, while also warning that certain grant matches would be financed differently.

Key exchanges and decisions

• Water meters and utility capacity: Council members raised the 3,000-meter figure and its operational implications. Christie said many of those meters are failing after about 10 years and currently require manual reads, and that replacing them would free staff time and improve enterprise fund revenues. She said the city lacks sufficient excess revenue to pay the labor for a full replacement without outside help: “We don't have enough excess revenue,” Christie said. Using MIMA to buy and install meters would reduce MIMA funds available for other projects.

• Construction road and neighborhood impact: The proposed construction road would provide a dedicated route for trucks tied to large housing developments and could be built initially as a construction-type road and later upgraded. Council members said building that road would both address the traffic burden on small subdivision streets and fulfill an existing obligation the city has in certain development agreements.

• Library roof and bond totals: The West Biloxi Library roof ($305,000 on the spreadsheet) was added to the geo-bond list; Christie corrected the spreadsheet to show the GO-bond total as $8,318,080. Council members sought clarity about which items on the mayor’s spreadsheet are placeholders, which are budgeted, and which depend on future grant awards.

• Grant contingencies and reporting: Several projects (including Edgewater Estates’ water-line replacement) hinge on receiving grants; if the city does not “get the word of grant,” the work would be uncertain. Staff emphasized state reporting requirements for MIMA: unused MIMA funds can be reclaimed and the state expects projects to be obligated in the year they are received.

• Bond mechanics and debt service: A finance staff member explained the city would issue a single GO bond and that a portion of the bond's debt service could be covered with MIMA monies for minor eligible projects. Staff provided an illustrative figure: an $18 million par bond with about $1.45 million per year debt service on a 20-year schedule for the whole package, with roughly $12 million par amount directed to MIMA-eligible projects.

What was not decided

No formal action was taken to adopt a final project list or issue a bond; the meeting functioned as a workshop for staff to gather direction. Council members asked for more detail, earlier packet delivery and copies of prior MIMA reports. Christie agreed to provide requested details and past reports so the council can prioritize before any formal resolution.

Next steps

Staff will supply the council with more detailed cost breakdowns, the updated project spreadsheet and prior MIMA reports. The council expects further discussion on bond parameters and project prioritization in upcoming meetings.

Quotes

“It's not reading at all right now,” Christie said of the approximately 3,000 meters needing replacement. “We don't have enough excess revenue,” she added when describing constraints in the water enterprise fund. Tisdale warned that projects contingent on grants could displace items currently on the bond list: “If we don't get the word of grant, then Edgewater Estates ... is just out in the wind.”

The workshop concluded with a motion to adjourn that carried; no votes on project approvals were taken.