New storm shelters should start popping up at city fire stations within two weeks.
The city council voted Tuesday to purchase 11 above-ground concrete storm shelters during its regular meeting at the Municipal Complex.
Each shelter can hold 12 to 15 people, Fire and Rescue Chief Duane Hughes said. They are meant to house firefighters, police and other emergency responders during a severe weather event, but he said their capacity will allow some room for the public.
“The only storm shelter we have is at the McKeller Technology Center,” Hughes said. “With us having five stations located around the city, that definitely will serve our citizens.”
Of the total cost of $69,795.01, a Federal Emergency Management Agency Hazard Mitigation grant will cover $52,346.26. The city can cover the remainder in its Fiscal Year 2024 budget, Chief Financial Officer Jim Brigham said.
The city applied for the grant in 2019, when Joe Dillon managed its hazard mitigation.
Also Tuesday, the council approved buying 12 more Project NOLA cameras to monitor more areas in the city. The cameras from the New Orleans nonprofit are equipped with sensors that allow police to zoom in on sounds such as gunfire.
The city received 10 NOLA cameras this summer and has five “Sky Cop” cameras to monitor crime hot spots.
Chief Operations Officer Jammie Garrett said the city could buy the cameras with more than $13,000 in interest it accrued from American Rescue Plan Act funds, which federal guidelines require to be obligated by the end of this year.
While the police department will help determine their placement, Garrett suggested a few areas: The Riverwalk, the amphitheater and the S-curve on Pickensville Road.
“There are areas … where we have illegal dumping, … crimes and areas we’re putting money into that would benefit from having cameras,” she said.
Redistricting
While not on Tuesday’s original agenda, Ward 6 Councilwoman Jacqueline DiCicco pressed for discussion on redistricting, specifically if others on the council still had objections to the draft map the Bridge and Watson firm presented in May.
Federal law requires the populations among wards, or any voting district, to deviate by no more than 10%. The 2020 census revealed the current ward lines create a greater deviation, which makes redistricting necessary before next year’s city election.
The city hired the Oxford-based Bridge and Watson consulting firm earlier this year to lead its redistricting efforts. At a May 2 city council work session, firm owner Chris Watson presented a draft map that set the top-to-bottom population deviation among the city’s six wards at 7.1%.
That meant boundaries in five wards would change – with Wards 2 and 6 getting smaller and Wards 1, 4 and 5 picking up ground. The draft map left Ward 3 untouched.
Watson has encouraged councilmen several times to meet with him and give feedback on the map. DiCicco said she reached out to Watson and said she was fine with his draft.
Vice Mayor Joseph Mickens, who represents Ward 2 on the council, told The Dispatch on Saturday the council would adopt a new map by the end of August, even if it meant calling a special meeting. He said he expected the final version to change somewhat from Watson’s draft.
Presiding over Tuesday’s council meeting in Mayor Keith Gaskin’s absence, Mickens said he will meet with Watson on Friday. He also encouraged other council members to offer their feedback on a new map in the coming days.
“Hopefully,” Watson can present options for a council vote Sept. 3, Mickens said.
Qualifying for city elections begins Jan. 2, and the Lowndes County Circuit Clerk’s Office has to enter the new data into a state address system after the council approves a new map.
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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