Greenwood is making progress, some council members say.
Six members of the City Council addressed the Greenwood Voters' League on Wednesday night, pointing to road repairs all over the city. With more bond money approved, more improvements are on the way.
Ward 7 Councilman Taylor Dillard said a Neighborhood Watch program, now led by Tricia Ware, is making progress in his ward.
He also said the cleaning done at Magnolia and Good Shepherd cemeteries has improved the appearance of the area. "You can see it; it's clean from one end to the other."
Ward 6 Councilman David Jordan said the council works together better than it ever has in his tenure there.
The city is drawing more attention, he said. Groups from the University of Mississippi and the University of Georgia will be visiting. A group from Kansas that visited earlier won first place in its state for a project about Emmett Till.
Businesses are coming to bring more jobs, Jordan said. He encouraged those who lacked high school diplomas to get their GEDs so they can make enough money to pay their bills.
In addition to the roadwork, Jordan hopes to have more ditches cleaned out in Ward 6. He also expressed hope that a group of investors could collaborate to bring a restaurant and hotel to the area near the Leflore County Civic Center.
Tennill Cannon, who represents Ward 5, plans to award partial college scholarships to two Greenwood High School students from his ward. The money is to come from the second annual Community and Family Day.
The city also has applied for a grant to assist people with down payments on homes, and Cannon said he would like to increase the opportunities for homebuyers to secure loans.
Ward 4 Councilman Charles McCoy said the roadwork would make a big difference in his area. Ward 3 and Ward 4 also have a lot of sidewalks, so they will benefit from the bond money in that area as well. Not every sidewalk can be fixed - and many will require the removal of trees, which will cost more - but the sidewalks in the worst shape will get priority, he said.
McCoy also praised the people who have helped clean up the area around Sam Leach Park.
Ward 3 Councilman Ronnie Stevenson has high hopes for a planned four-lane road to connect Mississippi 7 and U.S. 82. Council members visited with U.S. Sens. Trent Lott and Thad Cochran and U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson to pursue federal funding for this.
"If we can get that funding, that would do marvelous things for Greenwood," Stevenson said.
Stevenson normally doesn't like tax increases but felt the bond issue was needed. It will be more difficult to obtain grants now because south Mississippi is more likely to get them, he said. "We're still going to fight for them, but we know it's going to be even harder."
Other positive developments Stevenson pointed to include the planned addition of the upscale Wardell Subdivision and the Gossco cabinet manufacturing plant. The city is investing money in Gossco but expects to get it back within a couple of years, he said.
However, he remains concerned about the high gas prices in Greenwood, saying he would like for them to be more in line with the prices in Jackson. "I know gas is high, but don't take advantage of us," he said.
Johnny Jennings of Ward 1 said the city needs to build its tax base so it can improve the services available to its residents.
"It's only fair to the people here in Greenwood that we improve," he said. "And the more we can take in, the more we can provide services and offer better things for our kids."
Jennings also is investigating cable costs, which he said are a hardship for people on fixed incomes.
Drawing a parallel between cable and the electricity locally generated by Greenwood Utilities, he said he wouldn't even mind a bond issue if it could lower cable rates by about one-third.
Jennings and other investors are still exploring the possibilities for bringing a movie theater to Greenwood. Such a project would be a big investment, but it would draw people from other towns while also benefiting the city's residents, he said.
"It's a good group of folks working, and if it's feasible, we're going to do it," he said.
