Meridian council members are hoping to improve safety for children walking to school with a grant from the Federal Transportation Alternative Program.

In a meeting Tuesday, Public Works Director David Hodge told the council the TAP grant funding would be used to install sidewalks along 24th Street to help students walking to and from Magnolia Middle School.

“It’s a sidewalk project on 24th Street between 23rd Avenue and 14th Avenue,” he said.

The new sidewalk, Hodge said, would cover about 10 blocks and provide safer access for students heading to school.

The grant awarded a total of $788,671 for the project, with the city required to provide a 20% match. The total cost of the project will be roughly $1 million, or about $100,000 per block, Hodge said.

With approval from the city council, the next step in the project is to submit paperwork to Mississippi Department of Transportation, which administers the grant funds, and begin the engineering phase of the work.

In other business, the city council:

•Confirmed the mayor’s appointments of Gregory Elliot and Adrian Mosley to the Meridian Elections Commission;

•Accepted a supply source bid from APAC-Mississippi, Inc. to provide Asphalt Mix;

•Accepted an agreement with Chempro Services, Inc. to spray herbicide on approximately 23 acres of rip-rap along Sowashee Creek;

•Appointed Patrick Stubbs as prosecuting attorney for the City of Meridian; and,

•Received the city’s Fiscal Year 2020 Audit report and presentation.