The 1-percent sales tax increase on hotels, motels and restaurants that went into effect June 1 in Hattiesburg seems to be paying off pretty well for the city, with a payment of $226,272.08 recently received for the first month of the initiative.
In a Facebook video posted Monday, Mayor Toby Barker and Sid Gonsoulin, who serves as the construction manager for parks projects, said the city’s share of those funds is $113,136.04, which will be used at Thames Elementary School and for a basketball/tennis court on East 8th Street. The remainder will go to the University of Southern Mississippi for renovations at Reed Green Coliseum.
“One thing that we committed to during that campaign was complete transparency, with how much money was coming in and where that money was going to be spent, in terms of projects,” Barker said. “This is your penny at work.”
The elementary school’s share of the funds will be used for the replacement of the gymnasium floor, which can be used for basketball, pickleball or other sports. The new floor is expected to be ready for use by Sept. 27.
“If you’ve been (to the gym), or seen it recently, it’s really worn down,” Barker said. “But the floor itself is a very good floor; it just needs to be refinished.
“We also received a $5,000 grant from the Department of Health because it’s a shared-use space, where the city was agreeing to share space during non-school hours with the local elementary school. (That’s) the goal of state policy makers, to get more people active by using the recreational facilities they already have in their communities.”
The East 8th Street project stems from a long-time agreement between the city and Ebenezer Baptist Church to build a basketball court there. The funds from the one-cent tax will be used to refurbish that court, which was built about 20 years ago, and also expand it to include tennis.
That project is currently in the bid stage, and construction should begin within the next three weeks. Officials hope the project will be completed by the end of October.
“The courts will all be official size, and it’ll be a fenced-in project,” Gonsoulin said. “I believe that both the citizens and the church will have a great facility – far better than it actually was 20 years ago.”
The East 8th Street project also was the recipient of a $5,000 grant on account of it being a shared-use facility.
“This is going to be a good facility – not only basketball, but also tennis and pickleball,” Barker said. “Whether you’re going to visit Chain Park and you want to engage in basketball and tennis, or whether you live on the east side of that Mobile/Bouie neighborhood, this is going to be an amenity that anybody can use in the city of Hattiesburg.”
City officials are in the process of building a website – www.yourpennyatwork.com - that allows visitors to track expenditures revenues as they go forward.
The tax increase was approved by voters in April, with an 81 percent approval rate.
Half of the funds from new tax - which is expected to bring approximately $4.2 million in new revenue - will go to 17 Parks and Recreation Department projects, with the other half going to Reed Green. The tax is set to “sunset,” or expire, on June 30, 2022, but a vote from both Hattiesburg City Council and the Mississippi Legislature could approve a four-year extension.
Other city projects include a girls’ softball field at Hattiesburg High School, drainage improvements to the soccer fields at Tatum Park and a Miracle League inclusion ball field for children with special needs.
Any city share of revenue collected above $1.2 million each year will be invested into sidewalks, bike trails and multi-use paths. That endeavor will specifically focus on South 40th Avenue, Westover Drive, East 7th Street, Quinn Street, Edwards Street, North 31st Avenue and South 17th Avenue.
“We thank you for your commitment; we thank you for your vote in passing this,” Barker said. “We commit to complete transparency and being good stewards of those funds as we try to improve the quality of life in our city.”
