City council delays hiring firm for North Hills improvements
By By Fredie Carmichael / staff writer
Jan. 21, 2004
A representative from Jackson-based Neel-Schaffer Inc. apparently made the 90-minute drive to Meridian on Tuesday for no reason.
Meridian city councilmen were originally slated to hire the engineering firm to help design plans for improvements and possible additional lanes to North Hills Street.
But councilmen delayed action because they have yet to approve a specific list of streets to be repaired with a $6 million loan that has been sitting idle in a bank account since August.
Meridian is obligated to pay 3.76 percent net interest at taxpayer expense on the loan. The money is in an interest-bearing account, where it is earning about 1 percent interest.
When the council postponed action on hiring Neel-Schaffer, the company's unidentified representative left the meeting at the downtown police station and appeared frustrated.
Meridian City Council members voted in March to borrow the money for paving and repairing city streets. The money, however, can be used for almost any project and doesn't have to be limited to streets until a list of specific streets is approved.
Mayor John Robert Smith was not at Tuesday's council meeting because he was in Washington for the National Conference of Mayors. Smith initiated the road project in November 2002 and proposed that the city borrow the money to pave and repair streets.
The city council later announced its intention to borrow $5 million. In February, councilmen upped the ante to $6 million saying the additional money was needed to make the necessary repairs.
City officials began a year ago compiling a preliminary list of streets that would be improved. Councilmen were given the list so they could review work done in their wards.
Councilmen delayed adopting the final list of roads in December because they said a final dollar amount had not been calculated at the time of the meeting.
Smith said he has received criticism from constituents about having the money sitting in the bank and not paving any streets. He said he, too, is frustrated about the process.
