Columbus city, Lowndes County leaders meet to discuss landscaping deal

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Columbus may get some help improving the entrances to the city.

Mayor Keith Gaskin went before the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors to ask if the county would consider sharing the cost of landscaping the exits along Highway 82 and the straightaway behind Leigh Mall.

The city put the mowing duties out for bid earlier this year. S & S Landscaping of Columbus came back with a low bid at $75,000 a year for three years.

But the city council couldn’t agree on accepting the bid. So, the task has gone back to the Public Works Department.

Gaskin would like to free up Public Works to concentrate on work in the wards.

County leaders see the benefit of making the city entrance as welcoming as possible.

“One of my top priorities after I was elected mayor, and I talked about this during the campaign too, was to have the city and county work well together, because, when we do, it benefits everybody,” said Gaskin.

“It’s my personal opinion that it was the right thing to do, because of the amount of traffic that we receive, especially now, as we see that through the Summer and Fall with various activities with soccer tournaments, with other activities pertaining to Mississippi State and athletics programs. As we see football season start up, we have a number of people that come here, and those heads are in our beds here, in our hotel rooms, and it just needs to look good,” said Trip Hairston, Lowndes County Board of Supervisors President.

Supervisors agreed to split the cost with the city for one year if the Council accepts the bid from S & S.

It is expected to be brought up at Tuesday’s Council Meeting, but a decision needs to be made quickly.

The bid expires on June 16.

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