The Ackerman Board of Aldermen held a public hearing on Tuesday, February 4 prior to their regular board meeting, concerning the sale of Tom Glasgow Park to the Choctaw County School District.
The school district has made an offer of $475K for the property and will gift the location of the current football facility to the town.
Phylis Benson of the Golden Triangle Planning & Development District conducted the hearing which was attended by a number of interested citizens.
Benson explained that the Town received funds from the Miss. Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks to construct the park in the mid-1970s. Those funds were funneled down from the U.S. Department of Interior in the form of a Land and Water Conservation Grant, and the agreement states that the Town must maintain a park perpetually, although the location can be moved.
The public hearing was the next step of the process of the sale. The Town has stated their intention to construct a new park behind the Community Center and have three or four ball fields and concession outlets.
The Board voted 3-0 to move forward with the next step in the process. Aldermen Bill Taylor and Felecia Baber were not present.
In business during the regular meeting, the Board:
• Voted 3-0 to revise the ordinance on discharging a firearm within the city limits, increasing the fine to $500-$1K.
• Voted 3-0 to place $1.5K in the Police Department Drug Fund which will be used for undercover drug purchases.
• Voted 3-0 to upgrade the BBI court reporting program to Windows 10 at a cost of $5.7K.
• Voted 3-0 to donate $4K to the Summer Youth Program.
• Voted 3-0 to approve travel for Joey Green to the MsRWA Annual Mgt. and Tech. Conference on March 30-April 2.
The Ackerman Board of Aldermen meets on the first Tuesday of each month at 5:30 pm.
