The Meridian City Council holds its first meeting in the newly renovated City Hall building on Tuesday.

    The city’s move back into the renovated City Hall is now substantially complete, and the city held its first public meeting in the new third floor auditorium Tuesday night.

    The city council’s first meeting in the new chambers had a few small problems — like a squeaky automatic window shade and a little difficulty hearing in the large, high-ceilinged room — but went mostly smoothly. According to Ed Skipper, the city’s director of finance and records, the move in general has gone the same way.

    “We’re working through some small glitches. There are little items you have to work through when you move into a new construction or renovated building,” he said. “But I think it’s been pretty smooth. Overall it’s gone very well… I’m pleased with how the move has progressed.”

    Skipper said that all of the personnel who will be working in the building had been relocated from the old, temporary location by last week. A few offices, such as the mayor’s, moved earlier. He said the move of equipment and other materials into the building is mostly complete, and that citizens are starting to get used to coming to the renovated building for their business with the city.

    City offices were housed in a temporary location across the street from City Hall for several years while construction was ongoing.

    In other business at Tuesday’s meeting, the council approved two orders relating to grants for work at historic buildings in the African American Historic Business District.

    One was accepting a grant with a $5,000 match for a feasibility study exploring the possibility of renovations to the city-owned Brown Barber Shop building that is located in the district. The other was allowing the city to apply for an up to $208,000 grant with an up to $52,000 match by the city for repairs to the Holbrook Benevolent Association Building in the district. Each order was approved by the council in a 4-1 vote.

    Ward 1 Councilman Dr. George Thomas said he voted against the grant application for the Holbrook building because the council was not provided with a grant proposal or any other substantial information about what the grant is for.

    “We’re authorizing a grant and we don’t have a grant proposal. I’ve got a blank sheet,” Thomas said while holding up a sheet of paper. “All I have in front of me is something asking the city to pay $52,000. There’s no plan. I can’t in good conscience vote to spend $52,000 on something I have no idea about.”

    Community Development Director Connie Royal and Mayor Cheri Barry said the council was not provided with information because the city had only recently learned about the availability of the grant and had a very limited amount of time to apply for the grant. Royal said council approval was a requirement for the grant application.

    Barry said the city will lose the building if they do not get grant money to pay for its repairs, and described it as historically “the most valuable building” in the African American Historic Business District.

    At Tuesday’s meeting the council also approved a bond resolution for $4.5 million to be spent on paving and drainage repair. In a prepared statement, the mayor’s office said no tax increase is expected for the repayment of the borrowed funds.

    The specific repairs to be made with the funds have not yet been finalized.

    The council also accepted a grant from the Mississippi Development Authority for repairs to sewer and drainage infrastructure in the area downtown between the Threefoot Building and the MSU-Riley Center for Education and the Performing Arts.