Poplarville’s Board of Aldermen held a special meeting Tuesday morning to discuss Hurricane Gordon.

At the beginning of the meeting, Mayor Rossie Creel presented the Board with proclamation that would declare a state of emergency within the city of Poplarville. The proclamation stated that since conditions of extreme peril arose within the city due to the potential impact of Gordon, a state of emergency would need to be declared in order to provide for the safety of local citizens. Any emergency personnel would also be dispatched to provide any assistance to those in need before, during and after the event, it stated.

A motion was passed to allow Creel to sign the declaration.

Because the storm would be moving in before the regular Tuesday meeting at 5 p.m., several important matters that would have been discussed in the afternoon were handled that morning.

After the minutes of the Aug. 21 meeting were approved, the tax millage resolution for the upcoming fiscal year was also approved. The rate was set at 54.5 mills, which includes an extra ¼ of a mill for fire protection, and one mill for the library.

Alderwoman Anne Smith said that while 54.5 mills seems high, each mill in Poplarville is worth less than in many other municipalities, meaning the actual monetary value is not as high as it may appear.

After the millage was approved, the budget for the upcoming year was also approved.

Creel informed the Board that after some discussion with members of the Legislature, it was determined that the city could apply for the small municipalities limited population grant, even though the application would be late due to work on the City Square Park.

“Throw it out there and if we get it we get it and if we don’t we don’t,” Alderman Russell Miller said.

A motion was passed to allow Creel to sign the grant application.

Due to the weather, the 5 p.m. meeting was cancelled. Creel said that meeting will potentially be rescheduled for a later date this week.