The Northside Sun from Jackson, Mississippi • Page 18

ftge 1 8A THE NORTHSIDE SUN, JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI Thursday, March 7, 1 996 Attorney wants okay for office in Belhaven house Officials negotiating trace work Coll Ly Monday at 3:00 fi.m.. la lelewe cutoeitUUty Ipace jo next week! 957-t22 The planning board will conduct a public hearing on the case March 27. The matter will then go to the city council for final action May 8. 1 BY TERRY BRAMLETT Sun Stuff Writer ONGOING NEGOTIATIONS over the future of Old Agency Road have made some positive movement, officials with the Natchez Trace and the City of Ridgcland said last Wednesday. "It has not totally been resolved at this time," said Ridgcland Mayor Gene McGce.

"But we think we have come a long way." Natchez Trace Parkway Superintendent Daniel Brown said the negotiations have been at the technical level. "Their engineers have been eating meat with our engineers," McGce agreed. "We want to protect Old Agency Road, the Natchez Trace, and the adjacent landowners," Brown said by phone from Natchez Trace Headquarters in Tupelo. "We've been negotiating back and forth trying to to come up with a resolution that's going to meet our goals and objectives," McGce said, "and not have a negative impact as far as the residential subdivisions are concerned." Brown and McGee agreed that the two most important issues are keeping Old Agency Road open and. having a low impact on the area.

Brown said he was working with Ridgeland and Madison County on another matter. "We are working with the city and the county to relocate the access ramp to the Trace at Highway 51," Brown said. The current ramp is located on the east side of Highway 51 which is not conducive to traffic How at peak hours, Brown said. Ridgcland, the county, and the Trace want to move the ramp to the west side of the highway. "This will allow the city to straighten out Rice Road and connect it to Highway 5 1 Brown said.

That project should help reroute some traffic off the Trace and onto Rice Road. CONSTRUCTION HAS continued on the seven mile section of the Trace from Highway 49 to Interstate 55, with the exception of the Old Agency Road area, Brown said. Two projects are continuing at the same time, according to Brown. Three of the seven proposed bridges have been completed in the section and the structural supports for the other four have been completed, according to workers at the site. Tom Scott of the Federal Highway Projects, the engineering firm for the trace, said it would be several years before the road would be open to traffic.

But when asked if the project was on schedule, Scott replied, They are very much on schedule." As of now, the plan of the National Park Service is not to open any of the trace until the entire 15 mile stretch from Ridgeland to Clinton has been completed. "It will be a minimum of six years before The Natchez Trace is open to traffic," Brown said. The Jackson Department of Planning and Zoning is considering granting of a special exception for property located at the northwest corner of Fortification and Whitworth Streets. The owner wishes to use a house located on the property, which is currently zoned R-4 limited multi-family residential, as a private office for a law practice and a property management business. A special exception would not change the property's zoning, and would be subject to annual review by the Jackson City Council.

Both sides of Fortification Street between 1-55 and North State Street are home to a number of such special exceptions. Zoning Administrator Bill Hardin read from a letter sent to the department by the petitioner, John R. Lewis. "I plan to use this property as an office for a small law practice and property management business," the letter reads. "The proposed use would be non-retail in nature, would promote the health, safety, and general welfare of the community, and would not adversely affect adjacent property owners.

"In addition, there will be no off-street parking in the front yard setback, nor will there be any change in the integrity or appearance of the property or the existing structure that would be contrary to the desired character of the area. No parking will be allowed in the street for the special exception use." "Party food" doesn't have to mm finger andwife and a cheese ball Hearing Give your next dinner party or holiday celebration a delicious flair with caterirfl from the Brick Oven. Spice up your table with one-of-kind French, Creole, Thai, or Italian dishes, or serve wood-fired pizzas fresh from our portable brick oven. Andtaywcancallinoitlerstoseivefromtwoto200andp them up before the party, your suest never have to know you didnt cookityoutself. Catering and take out from the Brick CVea It's fresh, it's cferent, your guests wa love it, and ft doesnt requre a sine (drop of spinach dip.

(Continued from Page One) $123 million project. The difference would have been made up with federal money. ACCORDING TO BILL Denny, the bill's author and a longtime flood control proponent, the future doesn't look bright for the Corps' plan being implemented to control Pearl River flooding. "I think we're in very, very poor shape," Denny said. "We're about at the end of our rope now.

Congress is now looking very closely at frequently flooded areas. "The feds are kind of saying 'well. DENT optr AIR CONDITIONING CO. Since 1954 Sales Engineering Service Free Estimates Financing Available 366-5338 one else. But all it takes is for one person to stand up there and talk about having to go get grandma's calf out of the pasture, and the bill is dead.

It becomes us against them. It becomes urban versus rural. That's what it's all about." DENNY SAID HE can't believe the hypocrisy of many of those who shout the loudest at any mention of flood control. "Some of these same people have voted for over $30 million worth of bond issue to renovate the fairgrounds, which is right in the heart of the flood zone. "They did that because they want to bring their cows here and show them.

They don't mind taking our tax dollars to do that." Denny would like to see other avenues of flood control pursued. "The only option we have left, as far as immediate options that I see, is to try and get with the county governments and do some flood mitigation on our own. We could try and dredge up the channels where we can, and straighten out the bends but that's about all we can do. If we have another flood here like we did in 1979 or 1983, we're going to go under." if you're going to build around a river you're going to have to take care of yourself. We're not going to continue to come and bail you The current ratio of federal to nonfederal funding for flood control projects of this sort is likely to change in the near future, leaving states responsible for the lion's share of the monies for new dams and levees, Denny said.

Denny considered this legislative session the last, best chance for improving flood control in and around Jackson, but that misunderstanding and opportunistic grandstanding on the part of some lawmakers had made the bill's passage all but impossible. Many lawmakers from counties south of Jackson irrationally fear the consequences a new levee system for the Pearl River in this area would have on their downstream districts, Denny said. "We've probably done $10 million worth of studies since the late 60s on this flood mitigation business. We've got engineers in the corps that started on this that have since retired. And we've got all of these models to show how this will benefit this three-county area at their own cost without hurting any- Promenade Shoppins Center at East County Line Road 601.956.2686 Signs Clean-up seeing the same areas and we could rank them accurately." This is the first time that the city has applied a schedule to post-storm clean-up efforts.

Despite a few snags, Perry thinks it has been worth the effort. "In the past," Perry said, "it's always been 'just get it out and we'll get it' This time, in trying to put a schedule together, we took a chance. Anytime you're dealing with so many unknowns, it's difficult to stay on schedule. "But I'm real proud that we've been able to at least give people a ballpark date. It has encouraged people to go ahead and get it out, and it's given them something to shoot for along with us." (Continued from Page One) We'll start on the ones most heavily hit and go in order of priority." Ranked third is the area between Woodrow Wilson Avenue and Raymond Road, and ranked fourth is the area from Raymond Road to the city's southern boundary.

GREAT CARE HAD been taken to accurately access the storm damage in each area when determining the rankings, Perry said. "No matter where you live," Perry said, "you think your area is the worst. The weekend of the ice storm, we began the assessment, and we covered every city street to assess the damage. We used different teams, so that many eyes were Osnaloss Bottom Round Steaks FAMILY FACK USSA CHOICE, CO FED f)Vf)M HEAVY ELIF, MHTRIM (Continued from Page One) es is listed as a top priority for the city. "Those businesses in compliance are pleased," McGee said.

Questions of exempting or grandfathering those signs in existence before the ordinance went into effect have come before the city board, but were rejected by the aldermen, McGee said. Herbert said his group has not talked about asking for exemptions. "That's more of a political position than a legal one," Herbert said. And while both parties wrangle with legal and political matters, the sign ordinance is fully in effect, according to Ben Mays, a building official in Ridgeland. "We are enforcing the ordinance," he said.

According to the ordinance, violations can result in fines of $50 per day for each day the sign is not in compliance with the ordinance. Water park moves to reservoir Northsiders who want to cool off in a water park this year will have to drive across the spillway, since a Ridgeland park has moved its operations to the Rapids on the Reservoir complex. The decision to move the Waterland location was based on the need for expansion, Gary Bennett said. Bennett, co-owner and Rapids general manager, was not sure what would be done with the old Waterland site. "We're looking at a family entertainment center or other recreational uses," Bennett said.

A fatality at the reservoir park last year has led Bennett to emphasize first aid care, something he said was the top priority at Waterland. "I don't let a person in the gate unless there's an Emergency Medical Technician here," Bennett stated, emphatically. Waterland in Ridgeland consistently received high safety ratings and Bennett said that improvements will be made with a new training program from Jeff Ellis and Associates. "Basically, it involves more CPR training and faster response times," Bennett said. Changes in the entertainment end of the park are also in the plans.

Traditionally, the park opens on weekends before going daily at the end of the school year. "We're opening May 4," Bennett said. Ilia I ji fee ream Pfias 5 LB. BAG, U.S. NO.

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