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THE VOICE OF THE SOUTHWE& Bay St. Louis - Waveland - P
MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST ss Christian - Long Beach
HAY ST. l.ons. MISSISSIPPI w ) THURSDAY MAY l i. 1970
Editorial
'General Electric Co. Reveals In-Depth Study
A Plan
PROPOSED CONSOLIDATED GOVERNMENT AI. COMPLEX DESIGNED BY GENERAL ELECTRIC
Problems Now
%JU
Officials
Unforseen housing problems in tlie Gulf Coast area, not found anywhere else in the country are plaguing HUD officials trying to aid Gulf Coast residents.
The situation was dramatically brought to light in a meeting last week between Atlanta HUI) representatives and Community Organizers from Gulfport, Long Beach, Pass Christian, Day St. Louis and Waveland. Operation Upturn administrators from three of the towns also sat in on the session, along with Huston Carter, chairman of the Gulf Coast Executive Housing Committee.
William Broome. HUD Re-
same classification as a metropolitan city with blighted areas and available public housing. After Camille, the municipalities received Interim Assistance grants for immediate alleviation of the disaster conditions. Under the co-existing Certified Area Program, home owners can receive grants or low interest loans to rehabilitate their homes and bring them up to minimum housing code standards. But there is no provision in either of the programs for the property owner who has no home to rehabilitate, or if the remains of the structure are beyond repair, he has no place In which to relocate.
first units is August. Waveland has been allocated 75 units.
It is anticipated that the demand will exceed the supply of new housing, and that particular problem has been compounded by HUD’s recent decision not to extend the trailer availability past August 18, 1970." Gulf Coast housing authority officers are now searching for a solution to temporary re -location facilities for these families between August and late September.
The relocation meeting inadvertantly opened a Pandora’s Box of problems facing not only the beleaguered home owners
hiif nnarof^An TTn^tiwn
PEC C HARLES E. JOHNSON
Pfc. Charles E. Johnson was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for Heroism during combat in Vietnam, January 10, 1970. His mother, Mrs. Louise W’ortman resides in Chalmette, Louisiana.
Pfc. Johnson is the grandson of Col. USA Rtd. and Mrs. John
For Our Future
The long awaited results of an In-Depth study, made by the General Electric Company In Bay St. Louis, of a proposed plan for the future of Hancock County, was revealed last week by Company officials.
As pointed out by Jack Picard, manager of GE’s management and technical services department . . . the re-development of our area will be WITHOUT A SHADOW OF A DOUBT . . . the biggest management task ever faced by a state, county, or municipal government.
Because of the economic conditions that now exist, better planning and management will be necessary to the fullest extent. As pointed out in GE’s presentation, pooling of all resources will be necessary, if the county is to have Its share of economic growth.
The presentation pointed out the needs of a long -range program covering 30 years, with the suggestion that this would be the best solution to our problems. Although the plan covers 30 years - steps can immediately be done to start implementation on the right track, to an eventual final result.
The presentation brought out exlstin g facts such as: the county per capita income and family income is only half the national average, and the overlapping and duplication of public facilities, make government too expensive to serve a population of only 18,000 people.
Detail points were made in reference to fire protection -the plan showed that by tying Bay-Wave land water system together and improving the Waveland fire protection system, residents could save app. $100,000 on Insurance premiums alone. The state fire rating could be adjusted to place the communities on a safer risk basis, thus reducing insurance costs.
Other impressive areas were covered as follows:
PROBLEM EQUIPMENT POOLS * _ 1. Public EaulDment dedicated to road maintenance with-
The General Electric Company last Thursday released the results of an indepth study of Hancock County. The report, which considered the time period from 1970 to 2000, analyzed the problems and potential of Hancock County and made recommendations for coping with projected changes in population, economy and government over the next 30 years.
John R. Picard, Geneal Manager of the Management and Technical Service Department of the General Electric Company in Bay St. Louis, in introducing the presentation, stated that work had been done as a public service and had not been prepared under any of the existing G.E. contracts. The re-' iiilding and development of the
Jaycees Endorse Jackson Ridjje
Last Thursday the Bay St. Louis Jaycees gave united support to the proposed Jackson Ridge Project. In recent months the proposed park area has been making headlines.
A growing line of support has been gaining momentum. The list of supporter now includes: Bay St. Louis Jaycees Bay St. Louis City Council, Waveland Town Council, Board of Supervisors, and The Sea Coast Echo.
Two Breakin Attempts Fail
The attempted breaking and entering of the Western Auto
area following the ravages of Camille were described by Picard as, “The biggest management task ever faced by a state, county, or municipal government.”
The 45 minute presentation entitled: “HANCOCK COUNTY - A GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE” was made up of slides and narration. The existing status of the county was examined, and considering the effects of Camille, the expected growth was projected over the next thirty years. Each existing public service, utility, and governmental function was studied in detail, and measured against the projected demand.
Such items as educational facilities, road maintenance, law enforcement, fire protection, sewerage, water and gas, garbage collection, recreational facilities, public buildings and the governmental structure itself were examined with long and short range recommendations made for improvement.
Among the many recommendations were: an urban area fire protection system for Bay St. Louis and W aveland; a county wide road maintenance system to replace the nine existing maintenance equipment pools presently operating within Hancock County; a single school system to replace the existing duaj, system; county wide police enforcement; and a combined governing complex which would house all federal, state and local governing and service organizations. A large model of the proposed governing complex was shown.
It was pointed out that within the next 30 years, more
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