Approve the agenda.

Motion to move by Mr.

Schumacher.

I have a second.

Second.

Second by uh Mr.

Tisdale.

Any discussion?

All in favor?

Opposed.

Motion carries.

Mayor's report.

Who reported this time?

All right.

Council reports.

Only thing.

Uh I have a Ward 1 meeting tomorrow at 5 30 at the Frank Groid Center with all the department heads in case anybody wants to come.

I know a lot of people are from Ward Two that's in here.

But War 2, Ward 1, East Biloxi, it's all any food, some African food or anything.

That is uh to be they will have some snacks, so put it that way.

Good deal.

I can't get Mike Nell to come if I didn't.

That's all I have.

All right.

Thank you, Mr.

Marshall.

I've got a whole member.

All right, Mr.

Neil.

Uh I'm good.

Mr.

Tuesday.

Not a thing.

Thank you.

Mr.

Schumacher.

All right.

Anyone else?

Have anything?

Council reports before we move on.

All right.

We'll go ahead and move on to the public agenda, citizens' comments.

Have a total allotted time of 45 minutes.

When you are recognized, come up to the front, uh, sign in your name and your address, stated clearly for the record so the clerk can record it.

This is not this portion is not question and answer.

Um so if you have any opinions or you you want to talk about any subject, you may.

Uh it's just not question and answer.

So we'll get started on that.

Anybody on my left, your right, raise your hand to be recognized if you want to come up and speak.

All right, yes, ma'am.

But wait just a minute.

I don't think your mic is there.

You go.

Go ahead and restate your name.

Sorry, I can hear myself just fine.

It's okay.

Uh so Stacey Riley with the Gulf Coast Center for Nonviolence.

Um, when we're also a funded agency through the community development block grant out of this under the public services.

And I think I sent you all got you all uh an email about the um what we're able to use the CDBG funding for, and and we're just a little worried that the funding may not be released to the agencies who applied for it and we're getting awarded.

But our the C D BG money that we get for our agency, um, it specifically funds our preschool program, um, which is a therapeutic preschool program for kids age three to five who have either been exposed to domestic violence or have experienced sexual assault themselves, uh, but it also assists with services, specific services to kids in our shelter program who are under the age of eight.

Um, so it's very important that we're able to provide the prevention and intervention services to these young kids who have experienced the travesty of this trauma they've they have been exposed to or things that have happened to them.

And the C D BG considerably helps us to be able to provide services to those kids as well as the families that we see in shelter and that preschool program.

So this is me pleading to hopefully move our CDBG contracts forward at the next council meeting so we can uh continue to do the work that we do as an agency.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Anyone else on my left?

Yes, sir.

Good evening, James Pennington, Back Pay Mission.

I want to thank uh Mr.

Marshall, Mr.

Glavin, and Mr.

Tisdale and the Mayor for kind of walking around East Biloxi with us and looking at some homes that are in need of repair and homes that Back Bay Mission is repaired.

So I'm here really asking the same thing as Stacey to make sure that the funding that we have, the 20,000 for CDBG or Tibra, which is tenant-based rental assistance, which is going to be used for utilities, is still secure.

Um Mr.

Marshall had sure secured uh had told me it was.

So just here to make sure that's true, and hoping that at your next council meeting you can vote on that.

So and we appreciate that and appreciate what you saw today with us because that's what we see every day.

So thanks.

Thank you.

Anyone else on my left?

Yes, ma'am.

Hi, I'm Kay Denult with the Mental Health Association of South Mississippi.

So just kind of mirroring what our first two folks said we have some C D BG funds that we were expecting.

And you know, just our other residents worrying about people who are out there loitering around and just trying to find a place to be.

On the mental health side, there are a lot of folks who are in that situation as a result of a mental health issue that they may have, substance use issues, and a lot of times that um has evolved from maybe a childhood trauma that they experienced, and that can be all sorts of things.

We don't get to pick our parents, and sometimes parents aren't ready to be parents.

And there's a lot of things that can happen to someone who grows into an adult and they're not um doing so well, and so they end up in the streets.

So our folks try to help them to move forward, help them to find a place, uh place to live, and also access to treatment and other resources that they need.

So we just hope that we're able to help Biloxi and help our citizens here.

Anyone else on my left if you want to speak, raise your hand to be recognized.

If not, I'll move okay.

Come on up.

Doing good.

How y'all doing, everybody?

Um Leo Carney, um organization that's uh ADOS Empowerment Project.

And I had an opportunity to um come across a grant, a National Wildlife and Fisheries grant.

And so I wanted to know well, not know, but I just wanted to give you guys an overview of what I what I plan to do with with that grant money and hopefully partner, maybe partner with the city um to help improve an area in by Augusta, nearby Augusta is the nature trail um back there.

And um I hope hopefully I want to address two interconnected issues urban flooding and the lack of uh safe and welcoming outdoor spaces in areas where like our residents and some of our homeless residents reside.

And this vision is to transform these neglected spaces into restore green areas, nature trails, um bird insect sanctuaries, and hopefully that will serve both an environmental and a community need.

Um this will help with uh flood mitigation, um beautification and conservation.

Um again, we plan to uh restore and maintain the existing trail, um, and we hopefully we'll add some safe pathways, uh some more interpretive signage um benches and some educational markers for that area.

And so again, I'm hoping to partner uh with the city council uh on this issue, and uh uh I'll uh I'll uh I'll hopefully we'll we'll uh get that done.

Someone print my name.

All right, but thank you guys.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Anyone else on my left?

Your right.

We'll move over to my right, your left.

Anyone on this side of the room would like to speak?

Raise your hand to be recognized.

Anyone in the back of the room?

All right.

Um public comments is now our citizens' comments is now closed.

Uh yes, uh, Mr.

Tisdale wants to clarify.

Point of order.

I forgot this during my comments.

This is being this meeting is being videoed.

Thank you.

Appreciate that.

Thank you, Mr.

Tisdale.

All right, we'll get on into the uh policy agenda, the subject matter of this meeting is to discuss community development block grants, uh funding and for related purposes.

This meeting was called um as uh a result of some of our uh regular council meetings by Mr.

Marshall.

Uh I hope we can have a very uh positive civil, well thought out and thoughtful uh dialogue with everyone uh this evening and uh make some progress.

Uh so with that uh I'll go ahead and give the privilege to open the meeting to Mr.

Marshall since he called uh this meeting.

Good morning, good afternoon, hello everybody.

Uh first of all, I want to thank everyone for being here today.

I want to especially want to thank my fellow council members for taking time out of your busy schedules.

This is something that goes above and beyond your call of duty, but also it is our call of duty because we're here to make sure that the people are served uh are served and uh taken care of.

Um I see several of our CDBG uh agency who have been awarded uh funds.

Uh they're here today, and you want to make sure that they're gonna get their funding.

I know that uh you put on hold.

You put on hold because of the fact that we need to re-look at some things.

Uh some of the decisions about the funding that was made was made prior to uh the majority of us that sits up here uh were elected.

So this gives us opportunity to look at it so we can make up our mind, the new board as to which way things are going.

One of the things that uh I want to rest, I want you to feel sure is that I am not against any of you receiving your funds.

I'm gonna make sure that on the next agenda, uh the next city council meeting that that is put on the agenda so that we can go on and make sure that's done.

Okay.

Sometimes we have to slow things down so we all can get on the same page.

This money uh is not just not just about your organization.

Matter of fact, each of your organizations, I met each of you, I know you, but it's about the whole community.

And we want to make sure that the whole community uh reaps and uh enjoy the fruits of this.

Um today I had the blessing to go with the mayor and uh several of my uh a couple of my uh fellow city councilmen, and we were went into the uh the East Bloxy neighborhood.

Uh we visited several homes.

Uh by me living in the area and knocking on those doors and knowing the people there, I knew that uh what their plight was, what they were going through.

Uh what we saw, I'm gonna let the other two members, I'm gonna pause now and let them explain to you what they saw firsthand.

We're gonna start with our Dr.

Tisdale.

Well, thank you, Mr.

Marshall.

I appreciate that.

We visited four homes this morning.

We stayed at each anywhere from five to twelve, thirteen.

And it turns out, due to my background, I knew most of the the residents, senior citizens, uh ranging in age from I think mid-70s to mid-90s, uh dealing with can construction issues regarding their homes, whether it was uh a roof, whether it was flooring, whether it dealt with uh the piers upon which the home sat, uh termites, uh things of that nature.

So the uh the point was, and Mr.

Marshall made this point was to see how some of our senior residents live.

And there are a lot of factors beyond their control that results in the homes that they live in having uh an uneven flooring and that approaching that certain age, I'm very aware of slips, trips, and falls at my age, that would be a hip uh at their age, I can only imagine.

So uh given my background, I I'd been to observe similar situations when I was a school principal.

So I'm I'm well aware of uh of the issues.

But it was a good, it was a good visit and was illustrative of those kinds of situations that community development block grants uh can help assist with the residents in their housing.

So that's my report, Councilman.

Was that all right?

Yes, sir.

Thank you, sir.

President.

Yeah, I'll just uh add a few things to that.

Everything that Paul said uh, you know, is accurate.

Uh but we saw, you know, uh we saw people that were appreciative, number one, that we would take the time to come out and and look at firsthand uh the conditions uh that they need some help with.

Uh I think what we also saw was uh, you know, talking to Back Bay Mission uh that took the tour with us is uh they were very in tuned uh to what is happening with some of these homes and some of the needs with the homes and the follow-up with the foundation uh or the flooring, and uh that there is a uh remedy, you know, for it.

How do we put a number to how many homes are in uh the condition that we uh that we uh inspected today, if you will, and then what kind of plan can we uh put in place uh to to try to give give some relief and help.

Uh if the number of homes is uh what Mr.

Marshall is uh guesstimating it at, uh we're not gonna be able to cure it uh all in one uh swipe or even in one year, I don't believe, but we can uh start uh making a difference, and if we methodically uh have a plan in place, then I think we can we can make a big uh big impact uh you know over time.

So uh it was really good.

Uh the hospitality that they uh offered, there was no bitterness.

Uh it was more appreciative.

Uh thank you for coming and visiting.

Let me show you uh the condition of my home.

Uh we may do with what we we the uh resources that we have.

If there are any available resources, we we would certainly uh appreciate it if we would be considered for that.

And uh I believe that's what it might away today.

All right, thank you, Mr.

President.

We're here today to get information.

We're not here to protest, we're not here to be in disagreement.

Uh we've already heard two of my fellow council members tell you that they recognize the problem, they see the problem.

We're here to get information on how we're gonna get the funding to start to fix the problem.

We're not going to, my estimate is on a low-ean, we're talking two to three hundred homes just in east Biloxi.

Just in East Beluxy, but their woman's in each of uh each of these wards.

So we're gonna have to have this going ongoing, not just this year, next year, ongoing.

We have to be able to keep it going.

Uh in order to do that, we're gonna have to have a program designed in-house along with volunteers on the outside.

I'm gonna ask that the uh Bag Bay mission to come forward and uh have a seat.

I got a couple of questions for you.

One of you sit down at the chair and get the microphone and got to speak in and put your name on it for me, please.

What I need to know is that uh the scope of the work that we saw on the houses that you worked on.

Can you give me a brief description of the scope of work that you were that you were experiencing doing in some of the situations that you come across?

Sure.

Well, today you guys see the full scope of what we see on a regular basis.

Um what we deal with mostly on every project is uh what we call scope creep.

We may go to a house to address the foundation, but when we leave, we've addressed the foundation, the live termites, the flooring, um, and just giving the house life again, painting usually.

Um not one project that we go to are we doing one thing?

Um roofs, uh fascia soffit.

Right now we're doing a lot of porches, decks, and ramps in East Biloxi because most, if not all from Katrina are rottening away.

Um so our scope creep usually our our scope usually grows with every project.

Say that again.

The scope grows with every project.

Okay.

Once you start opening things up, the other issues.

So there's plumbing, sometimes electrician, elect electrical, and these houses are old and haven't been touched since Katrina.

So um code.

We have to bring things up to code, whatever that may be.

Okay.

So we're dealing mainly primarily with what age group?

Our seniors.

Seniors.

Mostly seniors.

Okay.

So we're talking about as in today, we're talking to people 70, I don't think I don't really think anybody much under 78, 79, up to 90s.

Okay.

My view is that uh uh can you just well we didn't tell them go get a loan?

Do we tell people to go?

Can they go get a loan?

I mean, are these people that they can go out and call them?

Absolutely.

Okay.

You know, then you're living on a fixed income to try to pay that loan back.

So then there's a gap.

Okay.

So we're talking about an 80-year-old going to borrow on a 20-year-old mortgage.

I don't I can't see a bank doing that.

And I don't I don't actually see a city asking someone to do that.

Okay.

What I'm asking about now is the flooring.

When you say flooring, what type of flooring damage do are we talking about?

Are you typically seeing when you say flooring?

So the main system from the floor floor joist up.

So when they walk into their kitchen, and the floors are weak.

Yes.

Giving in, spongy, warped, unsafe, rotten.

Unsafe?

Yes.

So we got an 80-year-old, 90-year-old, and an unsafe living environment, yes.

Living environment.

Okay.

Um we was out today, and and Dr.

Tilsdale, you can you can also confirm this.

We saw just that.

We saw kitchens that were we didn't want to walk on.

We were very uncomfortable walking on.

But yet we saw senior citizens having to go through that just to stand at their stove to fry egg.

Yes, they're living in these spaces.

So there are certain rooms that they don't even go in.

It's just unsafe in their own home, is unsafe.

Yes.

Okay.

These are things that I don't want to try and make it look bad, but this is actuality.

The mayor of this city was there, witnessed it, walked on the floors, walked around the spots that we asked the senior citizens to walk on and live in.

These are senior citizens that we know that can't afford to fix it, can't go borrow money.

And we know that when Katrina came through, the water rushed in.

When it poured back out, it took with it the soil and the foundation stabilization under their houses.

That was 20 years ago.

Over the last 20 years, that solid foundation, which was taken away with Katrina, has caused their homes to warp, their floors are rottening, they're retaining water under their houses.

This water is attracting turbines right in their wood.

The problem that I have is that we're dealing with trying to see which way the funds should go.

Should they go to this problem with the senior citizens who are living in an unsafe environment that we can't say we don't know?

The mayor walked on those floors.

Dr.

Tilsdale, you walked on those floors.

I walked on those floors.

Bad electrical in their homes.

We don't know if grandmother's gonna get electrocuted.

Roofs are leaking.

We can't fix the roof because the foundation which caused a roof leaks is there.

All these things that I'm naming, are these things in the scope of your organization a fixing?

Yes, they are.

Just to point out, then we do this all over the worthy.

Oh, yes.

Right, we had, yes.

Okay, so we are talking in uh Mr.

Schumacher, your ward?

Yes.

Okay, we're talking in your ward, your senior citizens.

We all have them.

We all have them.

Yes.

And that's our and I and I what we're trying to figure out, is that should that be our priority at this point?

Or should that be our secondary or third or fourth, and we're gonna pick a road to nowhere.

I could share with you what back our program's priority is right now.

Um everything that you're talking about is what we do on a regular basis, but we had to make the tough decision as of recent kind of what you're speaking of now.

What do we tackle first?

What's most important?

So we're taking on um doing repairing steps because again, they are rottening away.

They haven't been touched since Katrina.

Um the material is not the same as what they were using after Katrina.

And people need safe access to get in and out of their home.

You have a lot of elders that are now living in homes that have been raised up and they have stairs.

So that's what we've taken the initiative on to finish out this year tackling is providing safe access to homeowners.

Safely.

Okay.

So with these funds, if we were able to work with your organization.

Would you be able to do it without these funds?

Could you do this?

Can continue the work that we need done without these funds?

Do you need them?

Oh we do, but we can with what we have.

Yes.

And I've been fortunate to partner up this year with several banks that allow us access to federal home loan bank funding, which allows us to replace roofs along the Mississippi Gulf Coast as far up as to Soha, Wiggins, Jackson County this year.

We've completed 58.

At least 15 of those are in East Belux.

So we we want to so we want to go into our communities into uh Mr.

Glavin's area, we're going to make sure that Mr.

Glavins, anyone who fits this model, this income in his area.

Would these funds help you go in there and help your senior citizens in his ward?

Any funds would be um helpful.

Will these funds also help Mr.

Shoot Maker in his area?

They could, absolutely.

Okay.

And it may be more logical to look at each case by case because not every homeowner's needs are the same.

Okay.

All right.

Any questions for the back bay mission anyway?

I got one.

How do y'all determine who is more important?

I mean, with seven wards, people are strung out, you know, I mean, throughout a good stretch.

How do you determine who is who is more important?

You got Ms.

Jones over here and ward one.

Well, we try not to look at it from a point of who's more important, but who's who's less safe?

Have the tough task of trying to decide what's the next project.

But also keep in mind our work, our labor is done by volunteers, and each volunteer group has a different set of skills.

Today we may have painters.

Next week we might have heavy hitters that are ready to do construction and um build up homes.

So we have to place those groups uh where their skills are.

So we always have projects on our book on our books, and we have to decide the need and also if the group can fit that project.

Right.

I mean, what let's say somebody fills out, I I guess walk us through your application process.

I guess is what everybody kind of wants to know.

Like say if I fill out an application about my house needing work, what is how do y'all go about what qualifies?

Yeah.

Or no, I mean, what is y'all's process of doing?

Do y'all send somebody out there to look at it?

You know, besides, okay.

So do the first assessment.

And after I do the assessment, then one of our um contractors, licensed contractor, will go and do another assessment.

Um, but you're qualified if you're a homeowner, um, and your income.

And most of our clients live at or below median income.

30 percent roughly.

Right, right.

I mean, I guess it was just my question was this you know, it's easy to fill out an application a hand at, you know, and I can put down everything I need, but I guess going out there and actually because you said, you you look at the application, need a roof, need a floor, but you get out there and the whole underneath is gone.

So I was just trying to see how do you determine who is more needs it the quickest, I guess would be.

Like I said, it's based on safety, of course, because we want to make sure seniors are living in their home as safely as possible so they can age in place.

But um I wouldn't say um who's more important.

Yeah, it's more so, you know, where can we put the group?

And does uh this person are they living safely?

Right.

They all important.

Um, trying to put, you know, I guess I guess trying to direct your people in the right direction where it really needs, and how do you determine how much money goes into each house?

And that's we don't currently have a cap of how much money goes into a property.

And also the groups that that come here that work with us without them we we we couldn't do any of this they are the reason that we're able to do this work in this community and others do it.

That's right it's it's their funding and they they provide the free labor.

And a lot of times when they're at someone's home again we're there for one thing that turns into something much bigger and these groups will take on the cost.

Right now I I know after Katrina we got thousands and thousands of volunteers are y'all still seeing that the it kind of went away a little bit went somewhere else.

That's the other thing we're struggling with especially during COVID we lost all of our volunteers actually we probably have five fifty volunteers a year a thousand plus but volunteerism is done for us pretty fortunate to which is a task to keep them coming most volunteers by the numbers being down across the country they want to go to disaster areas.

We're not living in a disaster area anymore on what from that perspective.

I have a follow-up to Councilman uh Gray's line of questioning so we we know where the low mod areas are we can identify them on maps and stuff like that.

Do we do any um mail outs or outreach uh to all the uh people in on these addresses that are identified uh as low mod do we do any of that and and say if if you want to uh uh submit an application to see if you qualify do we do we do anything application process open and closes uh councilman and that's because you're looking at the team I mean my boss Mr Craig and then we have a construction manager is no we don't have a large team.

I understand but do we do a period does is there any periodic mail out okay so that's going to lead me to another thing we do uh our our monthly newsletter uh that's an opportunity because it goes to all these addresses if you're a citizen of Biloxi it goes to all these addresses so perhaps they could be and there may be maybe maybe I I've missed it reading through it that hey if you want to make application if you think you uh you have issues in your home you may qualify uh for this relief effort contact this office and provide your your contact information and that may be a way to expedite and speed up the process of people submitting these applications taking your resources volunteers uh to be able to respond and and approve these applicants perhaps you may you may say I got I'm chewing on that elephant one chunk at a time already you know I don't know I don't I don't know your business so uh that's just a suggestion in this workshop that I would make perhaps we can use our resource our newsletter to reach all of these people that are on this map that that is that may qualify for this relief effort.

You mean that if you guys are going to help fund some of the project that's another issue but you know that we got to make sure that we're getting people the information at least they can say I'm gonna try to submit my application see if I qualify and see if I'm gonna get some relief or not we can outreach everyone from board seven all the way to ward one I I think that has to be a part of this.

And then once we assess all the the needs and the volume then we can go and maybe it opens the door up for additional funding from areas we haven't thought of yet I don't know mostly it's word of mouth at this point.

People know about us they see our trucks they see our trailer.

And we don't really market the program and that's for a number of reasons.

We don't want to give false hope to people you know and put them on this list and not have any guarantee as to if we can show up or when but like Mr Pennington stated um everybody knows about back bag.

I mean there isn't another entity on the coast that does what we do.

So I don't know if that's the best idea unless there's a ton of money somewhere is to inundate us with those calls probably don't have the resources either to try to go through so many applications like then you then you're looking at thousands of applications instead of a few hundred you know people are going to think that there's something there when you know there really is right.

Then you're looking at thousands of applications instead of a few hundred.

You know, people are gonna think that there's something there when you know there really isn't.

Do y'all do y'all have any idea exactly, not exactly, but where you're at in money?

Have you looked at some of these projects and see what it might take to fix some of them?

Sure, yes.

Yeah.

So you know where you're at a little bit in your head.

Yes.

Yes.

So a typical home, typically, and I think we uh we asked this question today is somewhere typically because you get free labor for the most part, or or reduced labor free labor from volunteers, but the typical outlay for a typical home that is damaged is around 40 grand?

Yes.

Did I hear that correctly today?

So then if you take that, say let's say on average it's 40 grand, what is your capability?

How many homes can you take care of in a year?

With a cap at 40,000?

With a just say it's that's the 40,000 is the average.

How many homes can you take care of in a year?

That is a good question.

Yeah, but uh I'm and that's why we're having this workshop.

There's no wrong answers, or if there isn't an answer yet, uh but it that's a if if I was trying to create a budget or create a goal or a target, and that's that's what it typically costs, and then you know what your resources and capabilities are, and then we we know what a number looks like.

They can be so to speak.

10,000 for perhaps 30 or 35,000 if we can and the roofs are anywhere from 15 to 20,000.

Understood.

Um I no wrong answers if I had to guess, anywhere from 10 to 15.

Okay, good.

It's good to know.

Yes, sure.

And contractors.

We would have to pull them in at some point for some things.

Thank you.

I mean, appreciate that question though.

Absolutely.

So how many how many houses a year would y'all typically be able to help?

I think just like I said, there's no wrong right answer.

So I mean, we just year alone, you just want to know the houses that we've touched in some way, whether that's HVAC, a roof replacement, a ramp, a porch, floors.

I would say anywhere from 60 to 80.

But that's because I write grants or funding.

That's not volunteer.

That's paying contractors.

Right.

So paying contractors.

Yes.

Grants through funding.

Right, because I mean a lot a lot of your volunteers are not gonna have HVAC experience or electrical and or the code for Mississippi when they somewhere up north.

HVAC funding ran out for X came through, Mississippi.

Yes, Mississippi Power from the um the lawsuit with the Kemper plant.

Yeah, those monies were made accessible.

Um we were able to provide that assistance to 459 homes.

That's all I have.

Thank you.

I know you guys mentioned volunteer.

So all the work done on these houses, volunteer work?

Volunteer work, but we have licensed contractors on site that that um monitor the work, make sure things are done by code accurately and safely.

Right.

So we're pulling, are you guys are pulling permits and contractors?

Are they pay or is that volunteer as well?

They are uh Back Bay Mission employees.

So it's also mainly I guess the funds are for material.

All of the funds, yes.

All of the funding is for material, yes.

That's all I have.

Thank you.

And we have two licensed contractors, who has some construction skill number?

Iowa, she is so our housing recovery program is a team of four.

Yeah.

Plus Samantha, you are I'm sorry.

Good.

Good.

Okay.

Ms.

Matthew, you say that you write grants?

Yes.

Can you wait?

Tell me what kind of grants do you write?

All kinds.

Federal, um, foundation organizations, name it.

So you're so part of your job is still just sitting around, you you actually go out and find organizations to donate money to grant money.

That's that's the my job, yes.

Okay.

Yes.

Application, golf courts, golf portable tax come through your currents.

So we hope to continue doing development in um Gulfport.

We'll like to do some development here in Biloxi, but we haven't been blessed to find property.

So you would you would you would you characterize that writing grants is the essential part of what you do?

Yes.

Yes.

Funding is very essential to what we do.

Without that, we couldn't do anything.

And for the other three nonprofits that have a dollars, all of us write grants constantly.

That's really our lifeblood.

All right.

Thank y'all so much.

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

So if we design a program and we say we're going to cap it at $25,000.

And yeah, per unit.

That's our cap, $25,000.

Okay.

You'll be able to find houses where that would go the furthest, which what I'm hearing you're saying.

Because there's gonna be some housing gonna be going up $80,000.

We're just not gonna be able to do $80,000 on work.

But we know that you've you know that you know that the program coming from the city of Biloxi, CDBG says that the cap is $25,000.

You'll be able to work to find a way to, and we we're gonna leave our scope of work to what we think is essential.

You're okay with working with that kind of a program.

Absolutely.

Okay.

That would that will allow us to touch more houses and everything to get where we can dine to to meet the needs of as many people as we can.

Okay.

Thank you so much.

I have one little tidbit before affordable housing is greatly needed, and we are developing affordable houses in Gulfport, but nothing's happening here in Biloxi.

Want to share that?

Can't point.

Truly affordable housing.

I just finished our fifth one.

Are you speaking to microphone?

Truly affordable houses.

We just finished the fifth one in Gaston Point community.

Okay, how how do y'all the affordable housing?

What determines the affordable housing?

30% of the income.

30% of the person's income.

Okay, so you'd have to have lots to build on?

Yes.

So if you have the lots, then we'll build it.

Then y'all build it, then how how do they get funding for the housing?

Meaning like if somebody wants to, I guess, buy the house, is that y'all or do y'all rent them?

Multiple ways.

Um I'm not sure if the city offers a program for first-time homeowners.

Um, but I do have some bank partners that are willing to work with clients to attain that.

Okay.

Somewhere, yes.

Current current uh guessing point.

We have some single mom veterans that are there with the potential of owning them.

Okay, so how have y'all been getting the lots in Gulfport?

Is the city donating the lots to y'all?

For y'all, yeah.

I mean y'all say y'all in Gulfport doing this, none over here.

How are y'all obtaining the lots?

Gifted.

Lots are gifted.

Yeah.

Gifted?

They gifted.

Okay.

Not not through the city, just through people.

Okay.

That's all I have.

And what if the city had some lots that would they would donate to y'all?

Could you vote on them?

Yes.

Sure.

Find a way.

Affordable house housing is so critical.

No, we have tangent.

We have four housing programs for the unsheltered.

Try to move them into housing.

Only move folks in the golf port because it's the only place.

Or Moss Point.

Watch it.

Sure.

Uh question.

We hear affordable housing, and I know that that varies based on the individual and the income and so forth.

But what would a general definition or how would you describe affordable housing here in Biloxi?

I I realize it's impossible to do that precisely, but generally, if I'm single, I have a job, I'm making $15 an hour or whatever, then can I afford a $1,500 apartment?

I cannot afford if if housing, new housing construction is how much these days per square foot, what figure do you use roughly?

For our affordable housing, our rents are about 700, 750.

But it's it's a home with the you know two bedrooms fully furnished, everything is there.

Yes.

Brand new everything's new.

All the appliances.

Okay.

Yeah.

But to answer your question, like you said, it would be based off case by case and the person's income and hopefully some programs to assist them with getting started.

And generally these days, you based on your income, what percentage?

30.

30 is the magic number.

Okay.

Thank you.

All right, thank you so much.

Thank you.

Ms.

Susan.

State your name.

Susan Pickage, Federal Programs Manager for the City of Biloxi.

Okay.

Can you explain to me your your duties and responsibilities for your job?

I administer the CDBG program for the City of Biloxi and assist with other projects.

Some of your duties include.

I oversee the um, I do all the daily functions of the program.

I do all the procurement.

I do all the um the contracts.

I oversee all the sub-recipients.

I oversee all the federal programs contracts, and I do all the recording of the um everything in the IDIS system to HUD.

Subrecipients, deliberate those are organizations that spoke earlier?

The nonprofit that spoke code tells you.

Yes, yes, that's called sub-recipients?

Yes.

Okay.

The uh we just heard from them and they all agreed because they uh back bay mission uh turns and ask them they all say that grants were the essential to their function.

Is that a part of your duties also?

Yes.

So you write the grants for the city?

No.

We don't the CDBG is it's a grant, but it's an annual allocation that we submit the uh annual action plan that we go through the process and we submit to HUD every August for Submittal.

So that's the grant.

So is now a part of your job to prepare federal, state, and private foundation grant applications?

For the for the action plans with the assistance of a consultant that we've had over the years.

I'm asking, is it your job and you're part of your job duty responsibilities to prepare federal, state, and private foundation grant applications?

Yes.

Yes.

The housing were we just talking about providing housing for our senior citizen.

Wouldn't that be considered a program?

Yes.

And I'd like to enter I'd like to review what the process for that if I can.

But I'll I'll wait till you ask.

Okay.

It I'm excited.

It sounds like the council wants to go back to doing rehab, and it's a process.

We have to have a plan.

And with the plan of the rehab, it we have to get the details, put the program together, and as the city decide if you want to do an emergency assistance, or if you want to do a full rehab program, which 40 or 50,000 dollars or 10 to 12, how you know how much you want to spend on each house?

Do you want to do it?

You know, you put all this in your plan.

Then you before you go any further, you decide do you want to do this in-house or do you want to sub it out?

Once you get all this in place, and we get it approved in the action plan, you could be doing all this while you're working on your action plan that's due next August.

You get all that in place, and then you decide if you want to if you want to if we want to sub it out, back bay mission.

Well you have to procure it.

You have to select, you have to uh do an RFP for someone to administer this program.

Then you with that you decide is the city gonna take applications, or is the nonprofit gonna take the applications?

All this has to be procured, advertised.

And then you put you gonna have a waiting list.

We had in the past.

You take applications, first come, first serve, you advertise it.

I mean, the B news is great now.

And then you you take your application, you could do that in-house, and then but one thing you have to remember the more you put on the nor uh the nonprofit, they're gonna they're gonna want to admin.

So that's gonna have to come out, you know.

If you give them, you'll have about five hundred thousand dollars a year for rehab.

If you want to do extensive, you want 40 or 50, the more money you put in the house, that's where your elevation is gonna come in.

And you're gonna have to raise the houses.

If you do an emergency rehab program, it may not you can go fix a roof if a roof, you know.

I mean, I haven't done rehab in 20 years, and I know the price we were spending between 40 and 60,000 back at the day on rehab.

So those are the things that we just will put in the program in the program and then move forward there.

Do we want to do we could do 10 houses a year?

Or we could do 20 or 30, you know, we could do roofs, floors, or you know, to keep it down where you don't have to raise these houses.

Another option, if she was talking about for affordable housing, down payment down payment assistance is an option.

We did two million dollars in down payment assistance.

Find someone to build some houses.

Then come back with the the, you know, before we were spending $30,000.

We were given grants for $30,000 for first-time home buyers.

First time home buyer is someone that has not owned a house in three years.

Get them in the house.

But that's challenging because of the insurance rates and the at the flood rate, you know, the insurance.

And then you're you're looking at low-income, you know, but that's a that's a way to you come, you decide how much money you want for down payment assistance.

But you could you can do the rehab, but it just it has to have we have to have a plan.

We have to have everything how they how it's done.

And this this is good because it takes time to put a program together.

So we we're right now we're we're actually we're getting ahead of it.

We we're on schedule to do this.

Yes, because but if we've got plenty of time.

If y'all, if the council and administrative wants to do rehab for the 26 for the PY 26 year, start it down and do it right.

Don't halfway do it.

Get everything together, everything, all the the program, the policies, everything in place, and then you can do that.

When you say the 26 year, um what do you mean by that?

We're in the 25 year now.

That's in place now.

It's it's it's rolling.

Almost over the 26th will start we we're early.

We met with you, we said that usually we start in January.

Start the planning for next year's projects.

So we can have all this ready to go for October 1, 26.

Be the fiscal year 26-27.

Okay.

Right now, Lera, the funds have been set aside for our road, right?

Correct.

Okay, in order to redirect those funds from the road so we can go right into what we're doing right now, our rehab program.

What process is that?

It needs to be canceled.

And then amendment process start.

But I will I will tell you this.

Uh the government shut down, HUD shut down.

We can't do no amendments now till nothing can be approved by HUD until it opens back up.

So say it opens up before Christmas.

But we I mean, an amendment won't happen until after Christmas.

Right.

Okay.

So it's still you can give the government open up in the next two months, we can still get going with it, right?

Right.

Okay.

Ms.

Tizel, can you work on give some information maybe file on a time frame?

See, we all am I saying it right.

If I understand correctly, and you're the expert, Susan, so if I'm not on target, let me know and for the benefit of the other councilman.

Because we had talked about substantial amendment.

So right now we're all set for program year 25.

And that program has been written, all the public hearings have been concluded.

Um I think we've sent that in and it's been blessed at the state and the federal level.

And it goes to the state level, and then the state forwards that to the feds, and it so it goes up the ladder and comes down the ladder, and then we get an okay.

And that may take weeks or months, I don't know.

And with the government shut down, we don't know because nothing's moving.

So if we wanted, if if the council excuse me, wanted to look at a substantial amendment since that was mentioned.

There's a there's a timeline there, certain things that have to occur.

Public hearings, you've got a public.

Potholes.

Oh, I can't.

Hair loss.

Okay.

So my point is if we're gonna if we're gonna do a substantial amendment, and I'm trying to get in my mind that if we wanted to do that at this point in time, then we've got to have a hearing or two.

And you with that hearing, is there anything that has to be uh packet or anything, an informational packet put together for whoever shows up at the hearing, or is it just we're having a hearing to determine a special amendment and is there a survey that's done at these hearings and then things, but we gather input, right?

First, y'all need to decide if the road project, the road project is about to be bid out, and the money is there and it's ready to to be bid out.

And just by talking amendment, I can't just, you know, right.

So the process will start if if for whatever reason the process was advertised, we will have a a public hearing, and then a 30-day comment, and then it will come to the council for approval, and then sent to HUD.

So I'm thinking what you just described, probably the earliest we could get that done would be by March.

Probably later because as all of y'all know, I'm leaving.

Paula's been here 45 days.

She's gonna be good, but she's uh we got a consultant that we don't have a contract for.

So I'm just being honest.

I know that's that's fine, and that's what we that's what we know.

I'm trying to look at a at a timeline here.

The other thing is you said that the the project in this case, the road is if we advertised for that yet.

No, it's it's in its final stages.

Okay.

So Rick, this may be a question for you.

What if the council decides that we'd like rather than use money for the road, we'd rather shoot for a substantial amendment and look at putting more money into housing.

If we did that, what what has to happen or and what's the results of doing something like that?

Well at any point in time, you can change and make a substantial amendment from there.

Time-wise, there's going to be multiple things that can happen.

One, we're going to stop the process of bidding the road.

So it will not be bid at that time.

That money then will have to be moved.

I don't know what Susan and M, if they have to have that attached to anything.

And what's the possibilities of us losing that funding as well, too?

Because as you go through this, what I would request, and this is just me, because I'm coming in new just like Mr.

Marshall and the other three, other four.

But you don't go halfway through and torpedo a plan that has already been done.

You go ahead and let's plan what we need to get done for this upcoming year.

I understand the housing requirements.

I understand the housing needs.

But the council before had set this plan.

We have moved forward with this plan for the betterment of the city of Biloxi.

What we need to take a look at at this point in time is how do we set a plan up that is going to be successful so that we're able to reach as many personnel, as many of our seniors, as many people as we can once we're able to do that.

That is my request from y'all is let's take a look at this.

Just because you don't like what someone did before you, that plan was already in action.

You have the opportunity to cancel whatever you want.

Because everything that we fund goes in front of U 7 and the mayor.

But what I would ask for you to take a look at is yes, you were elected to make decisions for the city as a whole.

For that, you've got to be able to take a look.

How do we do this successfully?

Not torpedoing this, torpedoing that.

How do we successfully make a plan that supports everyone here?

That is what we're here to do is to support everyone here and everyone in this city.

To do that, you have to have a solid plan.

And I think everyone here will agree.

It takes a while to develop that plan.

We've got an expert here that I've got for 45 days.

And then she's gone.

Paula's gonna do an outstanding job.

Grace is another one of those contracts, and Grace has done a great job on doing this.

And as we work through this, it's these are great plans that we're working on.

But Mr.

Marshall, we've we've had this discussion several times.

The problem that I have is we just keep discussing it.

Let's get a plan together while this one is still moving forward.

We can walk in two gum at the same time.

But we can't keep tripping each other up as we do this.

So that is my suggestion for us to take a look.

Let's move forward.

If you don't like what the past council did, that's great.

You got elected.

Let's change it.

But let's change it with a solid plan that affects everyone here, and it doesn't open us up to being able to lose what we've already gotten.

Those are my concerns on there.

Now, however, you want to do this, I I work for y'all.

You tell me what you want to do, and and I'll do that.

But what I heard uh Rick, thank you for that.

But I heard you say one thing, and I think you you said it too.

There is a risk if we if we blow this up, you your words were torpedo, and we divert this back over and we start this process and get into it, and something gets hung up, and then all of a sudden that money they said, well, we're it dissipates.

That that can't happen.

That is a risk.

Again, at the end of the year, at all on August 4th, every year, they run a timeliness test.

You cannot have over 1.5 of your entitlement and your lock system.

We were in timeliness this year.

So it's gonna be challenging, but we can you can do it.

You can do a program, but you can't throw it together.

It's gonna, it's gonna have to a lot some tweaking because of the of the issues that Biloxi has.

So I I want to make um I want to make this point.

Thank you, Susan.

I don't mean to cut you off.

I I I agree, Rick, you know, we've got this plan for the Posferry extension.

We've talked about it with our citizens for a number of years, uh almost two decades, and the plan is in place and we're progressing, and it's all teed up to go to touch that highway to be able to get access to a state, state and federal funding.

That plan is in place.

Yes, like you said, we can cancel it and then come over here and start working through this, and we may uh run it all the way through fruition and get it off the ground successfully, but there's repercussions in that other plan over there, uh big repercussions, delaying it, not being able to get the funds uh to qualify, not being able to repair uh bridges and infrastructure over there that we've been trying to do for two decades, and then all of a sudden we mess that up, and then if there's a risk in losing this money, then we mess this up and are delayed until what you recommend it go to the next fiscal year, start planning it.

We got enough time to put it in place, and we know what that looks like.

It's it has continuity, and it just sounds like the right thing to do to plan instead of to torpedo, you know.

That's my my three cents.

Mr.

President.

Yes, sir.

I got a couple questions on this really for a few people here.

Um when is the timeline on this?

When does this funding for this road expire?

It's the the money is in the 25 budget that started October 1.

It doesn't expire.

So we're once we get it bid, it'll start early.

We'll be we should be ready for a contract, maybe late January, early February, and then I don't know.

I haven't seen the specs to see how long the contract's gonna be.

So we'll have it.

My goal was to have it completed by the end of September next year.

How long you've been working on this on the whole project since 16 2016?

Yes.

So how much money is it gonna cost to bring that road from where's it where's it at now?

Aquariance, and we're gonna bring it to Banackey.

Aquarians to uh Graham.

So what's the cost to do that?

I haven't seen the cost estimate.

We have 760,000 available for the construction.

And that is that including buying the house that was.

Oh, everything's already that's already done.

That house is the house the all the acquisition has been done, all the act all the design has been done.

We're we're just waiting for the final.

I got an update this week.

We're we're ready.

I'm I'm waiting to give them the uh bid dates where we can bid it out.

Okay, and I don't want you to go nowhere yet, because I know they got other questions.

Chief Miller.

Can you can you give us some importance on how how important it is to close that railroad?

How many deaths have we had there on that that needs where that when two railroads crossings need to be closed?

We've got we've had several accidents there.

I couldn't suggest they're also I can pull stats for I mean uh accidents and we're gonna be stuck there several times, and then we had a bus access or every people killed uh staff right now okay.

I mean, we've we've had a few deaths there.

I mean, I I live right there by it, so I I know.

Um more for I guess back bay mission.

You can just stand up and answer this one.

The timeline, if somebody applies for something, how long does it take to do the application process?

Application process.

The application process is not long as a verification.

All right, let's just do it this way.

From the time it somebody applies for the application and they get it.

Come grab his microphone for me.

That time you get a contractor on the ground.

She needs a microphone, people at home got to hear.

Yeah.

From the time you get somebody fills out the application and get approval for it, and a contractor hits the ground to start.

I mean, not starting, just pull it up first day and gets out of a truck.

What do you think that timeline is?

That timeline varies, Councilman Gray.

Um, we I I inherited a waiting list when I started at Back Bay Mission three years ago.

That waiting list had 85 houses on it.

You have people that's been waiting for a year, some waited for six months, some waiting for four years.

The timeline varies again based on volunteers, funding, uh, the need.

Okay.

Well, I I'm just trying to put something together, you know, time timeline-wise, because if we have, you know, Ms.

Pickett, uh, you're saying that as we can't get anything started until October of 2026 to get a good program together and get it approved.

It's it's gonna take a good till next summer to get everything together.

And you can do all that because you can get all your procurement in place.

If you want if you want the nonprofits to do that, if if you know, if we want if we don't want to do it in-house, set up we do a uh proposal, put everything in that we want them to do, we advertise it, and we take there may be two or three other people besides back pay mission that wants to do that.

We can break it up, we can take and to move it fast.

So you mean in-house and outside house.

What do you mean the city of Bloxy don't build work on housing?

No, I'm talking about investments back in the day.

I did the program.

We had inspectors.

I we had an expect we did the write-ups, we did the application, we did the oversight, and we had local contractors that did the work.

We did all that in-house.

So in order to get so many housing that we have, we would have to kind of do it in-house and outside of house.

You could do it, you could do you could you could do it depends on your staff.

Right.

I don't, I mean, I won't, I don't want to speak for you know, future staff, but you could do it, you could have everything ready for October.

You could have your nonprofit in place, you could have everything procured, have everything in place and ready to go, have the write-ups and have everything ready to go as soon as your money comes available.

Because whoever gets this, they're gonna they're gonna have to do this work and then get paid.

CDBG is reimbursement.

So they they will do the work, they will do the contractors, they will get the contract or in-house, volunteers or however the program is designed to do.

They will do this, and then we'll do we'll just in them in the program guidelines, it will have the payments of how they will be paid, but you can have all this ready in place to pull the trigger as soon as you get the 26 money.

Back in the day, Grace was the grant writer, right?

Didn't she write grants or not?

Yes.

Do we have any more grants that that y'all see is gonna come out to be able to help this program next year?

Well, the before the shutdown, we heard that the home program wasn't even in the funding for 26.

So that's the other housing funds.

So I I don't know.

That's the only ones I've ever dealt with.

Okay.

And you had a question.

Yes, not a question, it's a comment.

I I don't want I miss Susan to sound like I'm taking any sides here because I'm not.

Um I have a passion for this work.

I live in this community.

What Ms.

Susan is saying is is is true.

Um it's gonna take some time to put a program like this together.

It's not something that you can do in a matter of a few minutes.

Um and my program is um small in staff.

Um, like I said, I take the applications, I do the first assessment.

Um, I keep up with the homeowners after everything is said and done.

Um I love the idea.

The need is is there, and I would love to take part.

Back bay would love to take part, but I don't see it being something that's gonna happen like that.

It's gonna take a lot of time and planning and scheduling, a lot of thought put into this and uh multiple heads to come together.

It's not something that's gonna happen.

I just did what you guys are talking about doing with Loss Point, and it did not go.

Well, and that's what we're doing.

We're trying to put a timeline together, whether we have enough time to do this project to save lives, and because it seems like we're not gonna be able to do anything until next year anyway because putting a program together to help people, but if people wanted to donate to the Back Bay Mission now, and y'all can help people that need help now.

We're gonna do that.

That that is still possible to do absolutely.

That's happening every day, every week.

And that's all we're we're trying to figure everything out.

What's the best way for everybody to save lives and to help people that need help because like I said, there's seven mores, and you can walk through not one more to not find nobody that needs help.

I know on my road, where I love that, I know I probably can show you five houses just on my road that I love on.

So that's all I have.

Okay.

The question on the table is this.

Um the money that's already awarded sitting there.

Are we gonna use that to build this build road to nowhere?

It actually goes nowhere.

Or we're gonna go ahead and take the money and give it to the people.

The road does go tell me where the road goes.

Well, one of it's for safety to close those railroads there, and also the people that live on those streets, if you go north on those streets, and you want to go to Keysler, you can't turn left.

You got to turn right.

So this gives them another way to come down and come out and go to Porter Avenue to get out.

In all actuality, if you walk that road, you ride that road, you just it's not a continuing road that goes nowhere.

We're looking at from 2016.

That's what you just said.

We've been working on this.

We've been taking the CDBG money from since 2016.

Stella while these few houses are rottening down.

They can't go in there.

We're taking their money and fixing the road.

And you want to say now it's up to us to either continue to fix the road or get the money back to the people because that's been long enough.

We can find money to fix the road.

We that's what we do.

We're the city council.

This city council can find the money to fix the roads.

This is dedicated money.

And it can easily go for the program that you just said that you could we could easily do just all you needed for us to say do it.

That's what's on the question, folks.

Don't get confused by the technicalities.

You pay us to do the technicalities.

The goal is to get the money to the people.

Are we going to wait another two years, three years, four years?

We waited since 2016, which is basically 10 years.

$5,000, $500,000 plus a year.

10 years, $5 million.

There could have been it to our community.

Now they got to keep going.

So the community got to decide we're going to let this keep happening, or we're going to put a stop to it now.

You see the council are sitting up here.

If I was to vote, I'd vote to do it the right way and put all our ducks in a row, make sure we're organized, make sure we're collab collaborating with everyone, and we got a well-thought out plan.

We've we've heard from one of our experts that's implying that.

We've heard from Mr.

Weaver, uh, who's our CAO.

Uh we've even heard uh, you know, from some of the uh volunteer groups and and that are doing this good work that that they've experienced some things that if you rush it, we may not have the outcome that we want.

I know we want to rush it and get it done as fast as we can, but sometimes rushing it can cause some bigger issues, and I think the risk of of rushing it.

Um I'm not comfortable with it.

Um I'm only one-seventh of the council up here.

So we I don't dominate or my vote is only one seventh.

There's six other council members that have to weigh the risk and look at that program of work that that we put in place for a good for the betterment of Biloxi.

And then we have this other program that we can enhance for the betterment of Biloxi and do it the right way, plan it, and in a year or less, we can see light at the end of the tunnel and get it done the right way.

So let me ask this, uh, Mr.

President.

What you're saying is this the money that's already allocated to the road, let it go, and that's the last of it.

We're gonna keep moving, we're gonna move with a program uh for C D BG from the future on.

I would say the we have a plan in place.

There's a lot of moving parts in that plan uh that we may we may not use all that money.

There's a chance that all of it may not be used and it may come back to us to be able to uh utilize uh some of the haven.

We've heard that this family, these people have heard that for years now.

When is gonna be over with?

No one can give you an end.

What we're asking is that definitively, using this as the final time, and from now on, this council should be an agreement that come the next times, the money goes to the people.

Other than that, we're gonna we're we didn't do anything.

We're going back to the 2016, all the way back to the end, spending the money on the road instead of the people.

We need to spend the money on the people.

When?

Well, uh I mean I understand that that the feeling is there's no end, but but I certainly see a beginning in what we've talked today, and that should be the outcome of this uh workshop is that we do see a new beginning, and and I do see the new beginning without compromising that we're almost to the end of this uh road project.

Okay, no one has said we're to the end of this road project.

Matter of fact, the question was asked, and you don't know when, do you?

Can you give me a date when this project is over with?

It's been going on since 2016.

What date would it be over with?

It has not went out for bid yet.

Once it goes out for bid, we'll have a we'll know what it is.

Is this the final leg?

Yes.

There's no more projects after this for for this road.

Not to my knowledge.

So we're so so what's the problem with this council being in agreement saying that since there's no more road to deal, let's work on the program.

Why we're working on the program, we don't plan to fund it anyway.

We need to commit the funds.

Let me make an observation because this the first A section of this road was from Porter to Quarons.

This next section is Quarons to Thelma.

Graham.

To Graham, I'm sorry.

So it may be a little longer than the Porter DeQueran section.

And then at some point to finish that road, it's got to go further east there, I think, right?

Or does it tie into Esposito?

Well, we probably won't be able to go further.

Okay, probably won't be able to this would be the last segment as far as we know right now.

Okay.

If this do we anticipate having any carryover funds from program year 25?

I mean that's all that will depend upon the bids.

This will be that depend that depends on the bid.

So anyway, we're we've allocated it looks like on the handout we got about 760,000.

Yes.

That section of road.

I don't know.

Do we know off the top of our head what it costs for Porter to Quarons?

Anybody?

No.

I don't know.

No.

Some reason it was half a million dollars.

This is a little longer.

Um the other thing is if there was any money and we'd know after the bids come in, let's say the what happens if the bids come in at uh 850,000.

It's 90,000 more that's allocated.

I mean, unless we come, unless the city comes up with the difference, it's not going to get done.

So that's a possibility, right?

Okay.

Could cost more than we've allocated.

Could cost less than we've allocated.

I doubt it.

But what if it came in at six seven hundred thousand, we have sixty thousand left over?

That would we could move that money.

Well, that's that's what I was gonna say.

At that point, we could allocate that to whomever, whether it's Bag Bay Mission or like you said, have it have more than one nonprofit and split it up among the nonprofits.

It was sixty grand, that might get you, depending on the work that's got to be done.

You might touch two homes, you might only touch one home and some and some uh front steps and ramps or whatever, it just kind of depends.

But to shift to shift gears, and this is what I I think this I know this is what Mr.

Marshall's looking at.

I'm just thinking the time frame and and uh Ms.

Bell, thank you for your comment.

You're kind of an outsider.

You're just you're the objective person in the room right now.

Other than that, no pressure.

Okay.

But you're so what I what I heard you say was it takes some time to put a plan like this together.

Uh for example, to start on program year 26, which is next fiscal year, when would when would you start the process of typically start the process for public hearings and comments?

And usually is that when March or April?

March or April, but we start before that with uh the council, we send the development process out with with the process for the for the year for you know, from the that's the planning process for that.

And that's where we but if we know now rehab is where the council is wanting to go, I could get with Rick and the mayor before I leave and tell them this is where you know there the council is wanting to do rehab, and then they can instruct Paula and whoever to start working on the process of putting the program together.

And typically, if these hearings that we have, uh typically that's March, March or April, I think one in April.

One in June.

Right.

So if you started now the earliest you could have what would usually be the April meeting, when is the earliest you might have that?

February?

You you could have it whenever you just have to have two public hearings in the process.

The the second one has to be because we don't get our allocation letter till May.

So we have to make sure we have the actual allocation letter before we have that final public hearing.

Okay.

Before the 30 days, because we have to have the 30-day comment before it comes to council for approval and then to HUD.

All right.

So for that allocation.

Okay.

That's for program 26.

You really can't do a whole lot till you get that allocation letter in May.

You can start the public, you can start the planning process and have everything and just say an estimated.

We always estimate that we're going to receive what we receive this year.

All right.

So that first meeting that we usually have in April, what kind of preparation do you have to do for that?

We just we just by that time we have a uh by that time we kind of have an estimate of what projects that the city is wanting to do.

Okay.

So you would have started in February most probably.

Money you want to spend, Mr.

Marshall talked about.

Do we want to go 20 to 40?

Do we want to go 15 or 10 to 20?

Those are the things that we're gonna have to sit down and work through the details of to actually lay out a plan of taking a look at and then working with the nonprofits to get to that point.

So those are the first things that we've got to take a look at is what does the council want to do for the game plan?

Do we want to go up to 40,000, up to 50,000 as a cap, or do we want to go to 20,000 as a cap?

So we've got to sit down and do some work between the administration and the council where you can you tell me what you want to build, and then let's build a thorough methodical plan that once October hits and we get that funding letter, then we can provide the funding to the nonprofits that are already tracking where we're heading to.

So what if I guess no no what I'm trying to find out is this are we going to do this or we're just gonna keep talking about it?

I don't want to see y'all wanna hear next month, uh uh January Fair.

Well, that road was gonna cost more, so we're gonna need the money for 2026.

I need to know before I give up, are we gonna commit this to this program?

We're gonna switch, like she said from the beginning.

Are we gonna switch over to rehab?

We're gonna switch over the rehab, let's start working on it now.

Well, I got a call that you have to be able to tell me, and if you're ready to do this, we'll start the planning next week.

That's the question I'm asking my counsel.

That's is that what we're saying?

All right, I got a question.

How much and this would go to you and you.

So how much money would it take to start this program?

Nothing.

You have to put the program in place first.

Right.

But but I'm saying if once you put this program in place, what would be the dollar amount?

That okay, the budget is usually say six fifty to seven hundred thousand a year, the C D BG budget, the planning.

So at the um now I'm answering your question, Paul.

Now you would have at that first meeting saying you're estimating that at this point you're saying you're gonna do so much money, 15 percent for public services, and then you're gonna take the balance of that if you want to do rehab and just put the balance of that money, say 500,000 in the rehab program.

That starts the process for the planning, but you can be doing this other getting the program together on the side where it's ready.

Right.

But what I'm saying is, this is for the people.

I mean, we we have to help our people out.

The internet tax sell, the tax money that we have coming, would we be able to allocate some of that money to start?

No, because that's strictly for roads and and stuff.

So would we be able to use some of that money to finish the road project?

Based upon the executive session.

That's that's a whole that's another talk.

That's another executive session in which we'll have to go back in with the attorneys.

Well, no, no, but I agree with what you're saying.

Because we get it in six, five more months thereabouts.

So it's gonna take a while to put a program together.

Whichever way you look at it and cut the pie.

I I got what you're saying, but to then change my concern is us changing in midstream of going from this direction, now we're going to this direction.

What I would ask is you to have enough faith in the past council and what they voted on to complete, and then let's move forward to that, but let's take the time that we're here now and let's build a comprehensive plan that fixes and once October hits, we're locked in tight.

And rehab is exactly what you want to take a look at.

Obviously, we still want to do the Center for Nine Balance.

We want to do for mental health, all of that back day, but we want to take the remainder of that money and then have that plan already locked in with we can all I mean out almost to the applications of whenever we get the funding and the money comes in, then we turn that over to the nonprofits.

So the doing the help is that what the is that is that where we're leading towards?

Are we going to take the 2026 funding go into the rehab program?

Is what I'm asking.

Okay.

And that that's thank you.

That's I wanted to be getting choked up talking to you, Mr.

Marshall.

So and that's if I understood you correctly a moment ago.

Um you're looking for a commitment for the C D B funds in program year 26, which is next fiscal year.

In other words, we ride with the program now in program year 25.

But if you sponsor a resolution to get a commitment from the council that we will put the C D B G funds into housing for this next budget year, fiscal year.

If we all vote, if we vote on that and it's approved, and we've made it a commitment when the program funds come in for program year 2026, which will be you said about May.

Well, we'll get the commitment.

We'll get the letter allocation letter.

But it but at that point, but if but at that point, if I understood you correctly, if you can get a commitment from this council to use the C D B G funds for housing, then that gives us time to develop a program for program uh uh program for program year 26.

You've got the assurance based on the resolution if it's approved by the council, that those funds or the bulk of those funds will go towards that end for housing.

And if we decide we don't want to include another section of road, if there is another section, we don't have to do that.

But we would still set aside um for those sub-recipients, typically we have three or four that that we fund.

15 percent can go to nonprofits, 20 percent for admin, and the the balance would go to housing.

All right.

So we're looking for that.

I'm looking for the commitment for that balance to to the uh rehab program.

And we'll pull back.

Other than that, we're gonna go forward.

We're gonna I I think that's I'm okay with we're on board if that's what I'm hearing.

That's what I'm saying.

Right, and and I just I just want to add something, Paul.

Go ahead.

Uh you know, um to answer your question.

Yeah, I think that's what we're we're pivoting.

Uh, like she said, if y'all want to switch to rehab, I think that's the way we go.

As we work through the the new rehab plan or or uh culture or mindset.

I I want to make sure it's an inclusive plan for all the wards, not equally divided by seven, but certainly inclusive that wherever the uh people are that have a need, whatever ward they're in, that this this program, this mindset doesn't leave anybody out that qualifies for it.

And I know we established priorities where the concentration may be, and that's fine and dandy as long as it's equitable on a percent basis of where those needy people may be that need that help, like we saw today.

And that that would be the I would certainly support that.

Okay.

Okay.

At this point, we're gonna follow the guidelines.

If it says that you got people you'll need in your area that need it and they're qualified, we're going there, and we're going everywhere that people are needed in the city of Paloxi.

That's that's just obvious right there.

We're good on that.

I need to know that this is the last C D BG dollar going towards the road, the rest be going to the people.

That's what I'm looking for.

I can't say that it's the last dollar forever and ever.

We may be 60 years down the road.

I may still be on the council.

I may do George Lawrence.

I'm not gonna do what you for 30 years.

But we're we're kind of spinning we're spinning out here a little bit.

Any any new ideas, fresh thoughts?

Any ideas?

We we certainly appreciate your expertise.

Thank you.

And and also you.

So we are clear.

We are we are you okay with that?

Yeah, I'm out.

I like to look at it.

And we don't have a plan yet.

We have an idea.

I'd say that's it for a plan, are you?

That's where y'all need to start.

You need to communicate with Rick.

Y'all need to put y'all's wish list.

You know, you when we did rehab back in the day when I in our glory days, we concentrated on the elderly and the disabled.

And that's where it helped everyone across citywide.

And then you just do uh you do an application process.

You advertise it, they come, and then that's how it first come first, sir.

All right.

Any final thoughts?

Uh please.

Yeah, if you don't mind, I would just say um Mr.

Marshall, put together a resolution stating what we talked about here today, program year 26 funds.

We're gonna pivot to housing.

We're still gonna include the sub-recipients, and that we don't know what the amount is, but when he comes in, that's what we spend that time working on the plan.

We'd be good to go.

Thank you, sir.

All right, thank you.

Mr.

Shoemaker, you had your hand up.

Did you absorbing your smart man?

Anyone else?

Um, I was gonna ask her so the the bids that you're gonna be getting, their guy that's gonna go through.

You're gonna see who the lowest bid is.

Yeah, what's gonna well it would be an RFP.

You would do if if the city decides to do it through like subrecipients administer the program, you would just do an RFP, ask for their qualifications.

You could you could set it up to select one or several agencies to do the program.

So you have no idea what it's gonna cost.

It could be 400,000.

Mr.

Nell, if it would be beneficial, what I would ask before Susan gets out of here is in the next two weeks for her to come up with a questionnaire that then I can submit to each one of you to fill out, and that will kind of answer a majority of these questions, and it will be able to allow you to then tell us what you want to do so that we can start working towards that plan.

I think that will be the most beneficial thing for us to be able to move forward at that point in time.

Then you'll have everything in place when the process is over, the budget's submitted to HUD after the 30 days it comes to you, you bless it, it goes to goes to uh Jackson.

Are you ready to go?

All right, so basically what I'm hearing is that uh we're gonna be pivoting towards uh housing and we're gonna begin a resolution for the next council meeting so for us to vote on it, and we'll be discussing it up until then.

So we got a housing program coming up.

First, I want to thank everybody that came tonight.

Y'all, a lot of input.

I mean, everybody it was helpful to make a lot of these decisions.

And happy retirement.

Thank you, and good luck, and God bless.

And please, I hope this is the end.

You said you love you.

Was that included in that?

Did you include it and love me?

Was I included in that?

No.

All right.

Thank you, Susan.

Good tonight, Kate.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council members.

Uh anyone else in the audience, I'll give one person, one first one raises your hand.

If not, okay.

Come on up.

Come on up.

We talked about a lot of things with this program that I'm excited about, Mr.

Marshall, but one thing did not come up was environmental reviews.

If we were going to be the sub-recipients or work with you on that, that is uh monster.

So who would take on that portion of the program?

Mr.

Laberty.

You talking about for the new program?

Yes, for the new program.

All of those will be worked out over this next several months for us to do.

And y'all are gonna be a part of that.

Y'all know y'all have been in multiple meetings with myself and Mr.

Marshall as we've got there.

The problem that we've done is we spun our wheels continuously.

Now we've got the traction of where the council wants to go.

We'll discuss with the mayor, and then we're actually moving forward now with a plan.

And as we work through those, we'll take a look at all of that.

And then those are gonna be things that we've got to be able to take a look at.

And I need Susan's expertise to be able to tell me since she's worked this program before, this is what we need to do.

Let's lay it out, and then we get to work Paula tremendously hard along with Grace once we get to all of this approved so that we're able to move forward.

So and I may need the mental health before I get out of here.

I don't know.

All right, the chair entertain a motion to uh recess or adjourn, adjourn.

I'll make them all right.

We got a motion and second any uh discussion there being none, call for the question, all in favor?

Opposed.

Uh nail.

We got a long way to go.

I like the meeting work.

I like it.

I learned.

I learned some stuff.