Council approves resurfacing project, but a few members question which streets got picked

Some 31 north Jackson streets in Wards 3 and 7 will soon be resurfaced after the Jackson City Council unanimously approved the 31 streets during a meeting last week.

The 31 streets are Phase 1A of the of the city's "Street Resurfacing Project" that the Council approved a few months back.

The first phase will cost the city just above $5 million and is funded through the One Percent Sales Tax Commission, which was created in 2014 to fund key infrastructure projects in the city.

Construction company Dickerson and Bowen, Inc., will do the repaving with hopes to get the job done before cold weather sets in. Work will start in October, officials said.

The streets were picked after construction firm Neel-Schaffer conducted a survey sent to various homeowner associations in Jackson who identified the worst streets in their neighborhoods, said Hibbett Neel, the chairman of the board of Neel-Schaffer.

• Main Street - Ridgeway Street to Walter Dutch Welch Drive

• Parkway Street - Ridgeway Street to Walter Dutch Welch

• Avenue G - Parkway Street to Main Street

• Avenue H/James O. Glass Drive - Parkway Street to dead end

• Holmes Avenue - Medgar Evers Boulevard to Bainbridge Drive

• Ashdown Street - Bainbridge to Albermarle Road

• Aurora Street - Bainbridge to Albermarle Road

• Bainbridge Drive - Holmes Avenue to dead end

• Albermarle Road - Larkspur Street to Oakland Avenue

• Eminence Row - Bailey Avenue to dead end

• Lawson Street - Eminence Row to dead end

• Cottage Street - Eminence Row to Collier Avenue

• Marion Dunbar Street - Ridgeway to Mayes Street

• Ridgeway Street - Livingston Road to dead end

• James Hill Street - Ridgeway to Mayes

• Mobile Avenue - Randall Street to Lavernet Road

• Taylor Street - State Street to dead end

• Lorenz Boulevard - West Street to State

• Council Circle - State Street to State Street

• Redwing Avenue - Council Circle to Council Circle

• Eagle Avenue - Council Circle to dead end

• Glenway Drive - Old Canton Road to Woodland Circle

• Ridge Drive - Woodland Circle to Wood Dale Drive

• Woodland Circle - Glenway Drive to Glenway Drive

• Woodland Drive - Glenway to Woodland Circle

• Peachtree Street - Poplar Boulevard to Woodrow Wilson Avenue

• Myrtle Street - Laurel Street to Riverside Drive

• Bellevue Place - State to Monroe Street.

• Moody Street - Madison Street to Greymont Street.

• Whitworth Street - Bellevue to Manship Street.

• Quinn Street - Moody Street to Poplar Boulevard.

While Tuesday's vote ended unanimously, Council members representing West and South Jackson were upset that no streets from their wards were picked for the first phase of the project.

"I don't see a single Ward 4 street on here," Ward 4 Councilman Brian Grizzell said.

Ward 6 Councilman and Council President Aaron Banks said the streets that were chosen for phase one were picked to consolidate the project, so construction workers wouldn’t have to travel to all over the city. The next phase, which will likely occur in the spring, will be streets near each other in different wards.

"All of the streets that were picked are in a certain radius of each other, so when they go to the next schedule that they believe they can start in the spring it will be in a radius that allows us to prevent additional costs of moving all of the equipment, all of the asphalt," Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba told Council members.

Banks also voiced concerns toward the mayor's administration over the lack of communication with the Council about the project. He was upset that none of the Council members had a list of the streets the homeowners associations picked before the Council meeting.

"If it wasn't for the hard work of Mr. Neel, I wouldn't support this and let me tell you why: to do projects like this and for the Council not to know or not be involved at all is very problematic," Banks said. "My problem is that it's an insult to have stuff mailed into the administration by homeowners associations and as of today not one Council member has a list (of streets). None of us and that is insulting."

Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes also expressed concerns that the One Percent Sales Tax Commission chose which streets were being resurfaced, saying they do "not have the authority to select streets. They were supposed to give a master plan, that's it. They're taking the Council's responsibility, and we should not allow it."

Stokes also said not all wards are represented by the One Percent Sales Tax Commission.

"I know in my ward, there's not a single person on this One Percent Commission represented. Not all wards are represented," Stokes said.

Banks and Ward 5 Councilman Vernon Hartley both told Lumumba that some neighborhoods in their wards don't have homeowners associations, so Council members need to be involved so they can represent those areas in their community. Hartley also said he previously sent in a list of streets needing resurfacing in his ward. Hartley said he was upset that those were not made a priority.

"Your most disenfranchised communities and neighborhoods don't have neighborhood associations, which are the streets that (are) affected the most," Banks said.

Lumumba shot back saying the Council members are welcome to attend the One Percent Sales Tax Commission’s meetings and offer input.

"The Council is certainly welcome to join us at our One Percent meetings," Lumumba said. "It helps when Council members are there and expressing your concern. One of the things we've talked about in this process is that there are so many communities that are not with formal (homeowners) associations and how we should deal with those."

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jackson MS City Council approves first phase of street resurfacing