After many complaints about limbs and other waste around the shopping center located on Jacobs Street and South Main Street, the Poplarville Board of Aldermen held a public hearing to discuss the issue with property owners.
Jeremiah Christy, a representative of Dearcom Property who owns the shopping center, said he visits the property twice a month to ensure its cleanliness.
Dearcom employs A1 services to maintain the parking lot, Christy said.
Poplarville Mayor Brad Necaise said the problem is the rear of the building where businesses put trash, which is where animals disperse the refuse.
Alderman Glenn Bolin also said some limbs had been left on Jacobs Street for almost a year.
The city does not have a service to pick up tree limbs and other landscaping debris, City Clerk Jane O’Neal said.
“We finally got enough complaints that Byron [Wells] and I paid to have it removed ourselves,” Bolin said.
Christy said he would address the issue with the tenants, who are responsible for keeping the rear of the property maintained.
At Board Attorney Nick Thompson’s recommendation, the Board approved a motion to declare the property a nuisance and give the owners 30 days to resolve the issue before the city remedies the problem at the expense of the property owner.
The Board also approved a motion to hold a public hearing to discuss the condition of vacant property on South St. Charles Street for May 16.
Thompson recommended the Board hold another public hearing to discuss the zoning issue concerning the operation of Kimra Torrence’s homeschool at 416 N. Jackson Street.
He said the Board voted to adopt an order adjudicating the homeschool as a school under standard usage in January, but that order was never signed by the mayor.
Thompson said city officials held off on entering the order until an Attorney General opinion regarding the issue was rendered.
Now that the opinion was received, the Board has the authority to define a school using city ordinances.
The original public hearing discussed whether homeschooling specifically met the definition of a school under state statute, Thompson said.
As a result, Thompson said the Board should hold a public hearing to allow for public comments specifically concerning whether the homeschool meets the city’s standard usage definition.
The Board voted to hold the hearing on April 18, the same day a public hearing is scheduled to discuss if tutoring will be permitted in residential areas.
More information about Tuesday’s Board meeting will be published in tomorrow’s Item.