The Greenwood City Council has approved donating $1,000 to help three Mississippi communities still recovering from last week’s damaging tornadoes.
“I emailed the Mississippi Municipal League and asked where we could send these funds so they could go directly to the people in need,” Mayor Carolyn McAdams said.
Under the plan approved Tuesday, equal payments of $333.33 will be sent to Tupelo, Louisville and the Pearl/Flowood communities for water and other supplies, McAdams said.
In addition, the Greenwood Police Department has four officers who have been cross-trained by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Those officers remain on standby awaiting possible activation, according to Acting Police Chief Ray Moore.
The officers, if activated, would report to any community where an emergency situation exists or that requires additional law enforcement personnel, he said.
In other action Tuesday, the council approved an emergency declaration regarding a collapsed 4-inch force main near Fort Pemberton that was damaged by mowing equipment two weeks ago.
Eddie Curry, supervisor of the city’s wastewater treatment plant, told the council that no sewage has leaked into the nearby Yazoo River. Septic tanks are being used to temporarily hold sewage.
The emergency declaration permits the city to pay for repairs without resorting to the normal bid process and will enable the city to “go ahead and get this line repaired,” Curry said.
McAdams announced that registration for the city’s Summer Parks Program has already begun.
The program is open to kids from ages 6 to 13.
Registration runs through July 3.
The parks program, funded with $35,000 in city funds, will be centered at Clerico Park and Whittington Park this year.
The council also approved accepting $35,000 from the Mississippi Department of Transportation for the 2014 Urban Youth Corps Project Grant, which provides summertime employment for city youth. The grant requires a 20 percent match of $8,750 from the city.
The council delayed taking action on a proposal to create the position of major in the Police Department.
The major would be directly over the department’s Patrol Division and would be under the assistant chief, according to Moore.
Confusion over how exactly the new position would work, and what would happen to the existing assistant chief’s position, prompted the council to delay the proposal until after a permanent police chief is chosen.
• Contact Bob Darden at 581-7239 or bdarden@gwcommonwealth.com.
