Jackson Free Press

This morning, the Jackson City Council confirmed the appointment of former Municipal Judge Gail Wright Lowery as municipal judge pro tempore to preside over the city's new code enforcement.

The city enacted a moratorium on the removal of dilapidated houses last month while considering a new hearing format to confront negligent property-owners. High grass and deteriorating buildings bring down neighbors' property values, Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. said.

The mayor's office traditionally carried out property hearings before the council, but Johnson said homeowners often did not show up for those hearings, which he said subjects the city to legal liability. The mayor said a new state law allowing the city to directly add the cost of property upkeep and demolition to negligent property owners' taxes increases the need for more legal safeguards.

Prior to the law, which began in July, the city could only put the costs for upkeep to property-owners in the form of a lien, which owners do not have to pay until they sell the property. With few reimbursements, the process regularly drained the city's demolition and property-upkeep fund every year. The city anticipates that homeowners will prove more willing to challenge the city's upkeep of their property in court if the owners must foot the bill at the end of every tax year, however.

Lowery initially will serve as hearing officer one day a week over code enforcement and water bill disputes."I think (the hearings) will soon cover more than one day a week," Lowery told the Jackson Free Press, referencing the sheer number of property disputes before the council in the years preceding the moratorium.

Ward 2 Councilman Chokwe Lumumba said he also believed that the number of hearings could expand in the future. "(Is) she going to be doing that big list that we had to contend with?" Lumumba asked. "Good luck."

Convenience Store Ban Tabled
Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes agreed to temporarily rescind his proposed six-month moratorium on new the stores this week and bring it up in the city's planning committee for future consideration.

Stokes submitted an order future halting construction of any new convenience stores while the planning committee debated a proposed resolution establishing minimum-security standards for convenience stores.

Stokes, who argued that a high number of robberies at city convenience stores is a public hazard, said he wants convenience stores to have security available during some hours of operation--possibly armed security. However, a majority of council members, including Council President Frank Bluntson, opposed both the security requirement and the moratorium.

"I don't think the council can tell folks to get their own security," Bluntson told the council during yesterday's work session. "We may as well order you to get security for your own home."

Ward 6 Councilman Tony Yarber pointed out that only a handful of robberies in the city actually involved convenience stores. Deputy City Attorney James Anderson said he was researching the issue of mandatory security at small businesses, and said he had discovered an unnerving observation.

"My research tells me that when there is a robbery, people get killed when there is armed security around," he said.

Johnson Pushes Fundraising Enforcement for Minors

Johnson asked city police to enforce the ordinance restricting minors from asking for money during fundraisers on public roads. Council members supported Johnson's call, although Lumumba said children needed some kind of safer venue to solicit financial support for sports and school events.

"These teams need to have uniforms and things," Lumumba said, adding that the bad economy prevented small businesses from donating as much as they had in the past.

Street Paving Projects Underway
The council also voted unanimously on change orders adding about 60 new street paving projects to the city's current street paving list. Johnson said many of the city's street-paving contracts came in under budget, so the administration added new streets for paving with the leftover funding.

Johnson Addresses Future City Developments
Johnson offered an update on Riverwalk, a project by developer David Watkins to replace Town Creek with a man-made canal for lakeside development. Johnson called the plan "doable," but said the city must emphasize flood control along the Pearl River, before focusing on the project.

Johnson also responded to Stokes' request for an update on the possibility of building a light-rail system connecting various parts of the city, but said the Central Mississippi Planning and Development District--which is currently designing improvements for the Highway 80 corridor--is in charge of chasing the rail project.