Tuesday night Columbus City Council discussed grant funding for a recreation study and for storm shelters, as well as new firepower for the Columbus Police Department.
The council unanimously approved designating Neel-Schaffer as the engineer for a joint recreation study being undertaken in cooperation with the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors.
Last year the city and county jointly applied for a United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development Grant to conduct a study of each entity’s recreation offerings. The USDA awarded about $97,000 late last year, and the city put out a request for qualifications for an engineering firm to perform the study.
Neel-Schaffer was the only firm to submit qualifications.
Both city and county are in the process of expanding recreation offerings. The county just opened its $12 million sports complex off of Highway 82 West, which includes eight baseball/softball fields and a playground. The city recently approved about $3 million in bonds to complement about $1.6 million in cash on hand with the intention of revitalizing its park system, with the bulk of the money earmarked for Propst Park. The old youth softball fields will be turfed and turned into baseball fields, while the old baseball fields will be reoriented as softball fields.
Once the study gets underway it will assess recreation offerings in both systems, highlighting strengths, needs and areas where services are duplicated.
Ward 6 Councilwoman Jacqueline DiCicco asked for a timeline.
City Engineer Kevin Stafford – who works for Neel-Schaffer – said it would depend on how quickly information could be pulled in.
“A lot of this is going to be getting information in (from the city and county recreation departments), massaging it and then pushing it back out,” Stafford said. “My guess would be somewhere in the three to five month range.”
The board of supervisors approved contracting with Neel-Schaffer at its meeting Monday, contingent upon the city approving it.
Fire station storm shelters
The council unanimously approved committing about $15,000 in matching funds towards installing storm shelters at each of Columbus Fire and Rescue’s stations.
The shelters, which will not be open to the public, will be paid for via a Mississippi Emergency Management Agency hazard mitigation grant, according to Chief Operations Officer Jammie Garrett.
The grant requires a 25% match, which comes to about $15,000. The total grant award is around $60,125.
CFR Chief Duane Hughes said the city is asking for nine shelters to be spread among the city’s five fire stations so the firefighters can take shelter during inclement weather.
The department does not currently have any shelters.
The council also unanimously approved seeking bids to add a weight room to Fire Station 3. Weights are currently set up in one of the engine bays, which prevents trucks from being parked inside.
Hughes said the department will use some of its fire rebate money to pay for the addition.
New guns for CPD
Columbus Police Department Chief Joseph Daughtry asked the council to approve trading in the department’s .40 caliber Glock 23 handguns for 9mm Glock 45s.
The department will trade in about 109 old guns and pay $31,620 for about 70 more modern Glock 45s, Daughtry explained.
“This is something we do every so often,” Daughtry said. “We’re carrying generation four Glocks, and we’re going to the next generation. The officers are out in the weather, and going to the ranges, and over time (the weapons degrade).”
Daughtry said the 9mm round was less expensive than the 40-caliber round, and he thought the switch would save the department money in the long run.
The council unanimously approved the request.
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
