During a meeting Tuesday of the Columbus City Council, Mayor Robert Smith announced Mississippi Department of Transportation officials agreed to mill, pave and stripe Plymouth Road, Main Street and Highway 182, to the Alabama state line, after Smith sought assistance on the city”s behalf.
The bid process will begin March 23 and bids will be awarded April 13, with work on the project to begin in May.
“I want to personally thank MDOT officials and Northern Highway Commissioner Bill Minor for adhering to my request and assisting us in milling, paving and striping 5.2 miles of road,” Smith said, noting 4.2 miles of road also will be completed from Lehmberg Road to the Alabama state line.
“We wouldn”t be able to do it without them,” he added of MDOT, who will completely pay for the road work; the project will be completed at no cost to the city.
In other matters, the council:
- Dismissed a proposed rental ordinance for which the council held a public hearing Feb. 9.
- Agreed to remove “unwarranted” traffic lights at four city intersections: The intersection of Highway 69 and Williamson Road, where a stop sign on Williamson Road will be installed; the intersection of Bell Avenue and 17th Street, where a two-way stop sign will be installed; the intersection of College and 13th Street, where a stop-sign on 13th Street will be installed; and the intersection of 15th Street and 11th Avenue South, where an all-way stop sign will be installed.
City Engineer Kevin Stafford explained the traffic lights at the intersections were “unwarranted” considering changed traffic patterns and noted a fifth “unwarranted” light, at the intersection of College Street and Ninth Street, was removed by the city years ago.
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As proposed, the ordinance, which is based on Tupelo”s rental ordinance, stipulated a license is required to maintain or operate a rental housing unit and the license fee will be $10 for owners of one to three rental units, $30 for owners of four to 10 rental units and $100 for owners of 11 or more rental units.
Additionally, the proposed ordinance stipulated an inspection of the rental property, by the Columbus Building Department, was required before any license was issued and an inspection may be performed before a license renewal is issued.
Among other things, the ordinance stipulated rental housing must have sanitary facilities, including a lavatory basin and a bathtub or shower and hot water service.
The ordinance also stipulated space and occupancy requirements, required safety and security measures, landscaping restrictions and other things.
But the council realized most of the stipulations in the proposed ordinance are included in a 2006 International Building Code ordinance the city previously adopted.
The forum was a “teachable moment,” said Ward 5 Councilman Kabir Karriem, noting he hopes the city”s building inspections department starts enforcing the codes “already on the books.”
“In the ward I represent, we have a lot of blighted and slum areas,” Karriem said. “And we need some help. Some people have no running water. It”s up to the people (renting) whether they want to stay or not, I guess. But it”s up to the city to be sure no one is living like in a third-world country.”