Story from SunHerald: City Hall Groundbreaking
Accident survivor and her rescuers celebrated at D’Iberville groundbreaking
Friday, December 4, 2009
D’IBERVILLE — Carrie McGill walked away from the City Hall groundbreaking ceremonies Friday with an autographed life preserver officers used to pull her from the Tchoutacabouffa River after a car accident earlier this week.
Besides the presentation to the 19-year-old McGill, police patrolmen Michael Knapp and Christopher Roberts were given plaques by Police Chief Wayne Payne for their “outstanding dedication and service above the call of duty” and certificates from the D’Iberville Boys & Girls Club “for making the city of D’Iberville a safe place.”
About 130 people crowded inside and around a large white tent in front of City Hall for a groundbreaking that did not include any breaking of ground.
Harrison County Supervisor Windy Swetman, standing in front of mounds of red mud, concrete slabs and puddles of water, explained that instead of tossing dirt with shovels, city officials and others involved in the project were invited to inscribe their names into a block of wet concrete that will be displayed on the grounds of the new City Hall.
Former City Manager Richard Rose was credited for finding the funding for the project, which will create a 23,200-square-foot three-story building on the north side of the existing City Hall as well as renovation of the existing building.
“Richard Rose was hard-headed enough to continue to go after this,” said architect David Hardy, a 1983 graduate of D’Iberville High.”
Rose, city manager when Hurricane Katrina severely damaged City Hall, went through several proposals and applications before finally hitting pay dirt with a $3 million grant from the Mississippi Development Authority.
His proposal for the estimated $6.2 million construction project will cost the city $2.3 million.
The project came in under bid at $5.8 million.
With the MDA grant, $500,000 from FEMA and insurance for the original damage to the building, the new project is “the bargain of the century,” Rose said. “It’s going to be the finest City Hall anywhere.”
