The meeting: Meridian City Council. October 6, 2009.



What happened:



Downtown funding:

• The council removed from the agenda the approval of funding for the Alliance for Downtown Meridian and the Downtown Association after City Attorney Bill Ready questioned whether the groups were eligible for city funding under state law. Alliance director Barbaree Heaster said she would prepare the proper paperwork needed to receive city funding given to the Alliance for administering the Main Street Meridian program.



Threefoot project:

• After being asked by Ward 1 Councilman Dr. George Thomas, Meridian Mayor Cheri Barry said she had not yet seen the first mortgage commitment letter given to the Threefoot project developer HRI Properties by NBC Bank in New Orleans. HRI VP of Development Josh Collen said in a telephone interview after the meeting Tuesday that he e-mailed copies of the letter to Barry, Meridian Chief Administrative Officer Mark McDonald, City Clerk Ed Skipper, and Council Clerk Pam McInnis on Friday. He said he would send the e-mail again in case a malfunction had prevented delivery of the original e-mail.



New appointment:

• Meridian Mayor Cheri Barry appointed Dr. Debra Brewer, a pastor at Good Shepherd Ministries, to the Meridian Airport Authority board. The authority, she said, approves the budget, monthly expenditures, grant offers, construction contracts, and leases of the airport authority. Barry said she encourages citizens to contact her if they are interested in serving on any of the city’s boards and commissions.



Work Sessions:

• Meridian City Councilman Bobby Smith requested that the council begin holding work sessions before each council meeting. He said he was unhappy that he was not informed before the meeting that there were questions as to the eligibility for city funding of the Downtown Association and the Alliance for Downtown Meridian, and that work sessions would allow the council to hear staff concerns about items on their agenda before the day of the meeting.