PICAYUNE —
A groundbreaking ceremony was held Tuesday at the construction site for the expansion of the historic Picayune City Hall.
“You can see our future when you look down Goodyear Boulevard. You see Chimney Square, our high school, The Link at First Baptist Church, Jack Read Park and then our historic City Hall.
“It was not a hard decision to bring it back downtown where it belongs. Today is a proud day and much better weather than last week,” said Mayor Ed Pinero. The groundbreaking had been scheduled for last week but was rained out.
Upon completion, the new addition, built with energy efficient materials that will reduce the city’s utility bill, will add 20,000 square feet of space .
Pinero addressed the energy savings in his speech, saying, “I think we have done the responsible thing when you look at the two-thirds reduction in utilities (costs).”
The city’s offices are now housed in the old Arizona Chemical building that was sold by the city to help finance the new structure. The current site of the city’s administrative offices had been purchased by the city’s previous administration following Hurricane Katrina.
Councilman Larry Breland opened the ceremony with a prayer before City Manager Jim Luke acknowledged many in the crowd and then said Tuesday’s event had similarities with the groundbreaking of 75 years ago for the historic structure.
“Seventy-five years ago the original City Hall was built. It was paid for in advance without tax increases and came after the worst depression in city history. Seventy-five years later, we find ourselves in similar circumstances due to fiscally responsible leadership,” said Luke.
After the ceremony, Luke praised the mayor and city council for making the addition possible. He also praised the firm of Landry and Lewis Architects, PA, for incorporating an old design into a new vision.
“Former mayors L.O. Crosby and Claiborne McDonald, Mr. A.L. Franklin and former city manager Jack Read had the same philosophy of leaving things a little better than they found it. That is a philosophy that I share with them, along with the mayor and city council,” he said.
“This is a great event for a great cause and the city should be proud,” said Brandon Payne, southern district field representative for Sen. Roger Wicker who was representing him at the event.
Besides Pinero, Breland and Luke, the ceremony was attended by other city council members and city officials both present and past; Kevin Lewis and Sara Hill of Landry and Lewis Architects, PA; Andy Simmons and Chad Mitchell of Mac’s Construction Co., Inc., the company that will build the addition; Picayune school Supt. Dean Shaw, Fire Chief Keith Brown, Police Chief Bryan Dawsey, Sheriff David Allison, representatives of civic and business groups and a representative of U.S. Rep Steven Palazzo.
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Related Photos
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Ground was broken Tuesday morning at the site of an expansion to Historic City Hall on Goodyear Boulevard. Work to expand on the 75-year-old building will bring it up to ADA standards and consolidate most city services into one location. (Photo by Jeremy Pittari)
City Hall expansion groundbreaking held
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