City Council to hold meeting on campus

The Hattiesburg City Council will be taking its show on the road next week when it relocates its meetings to the campus of Southern Miss in the Trent Lott Center.

“We’re really excited about having the meeting on campus,” Council Vice-President Dave Ware said after the Feb. 4 meeting downtown when the change of venue was announced. “We want as many students as possible to come out and see what we do.”

The meetings, which are scheduled for Monday and Tuesday at 5 p.m., will be the first time city council has met on campus.

Though the meetings will be taking place in a different environment, the agenda will not be affected. Ware added that students who are interested will even be able to speak up at the citizens’ forum to be held at the end of the Monday meeting.

The first meeting will include a public hearing and agenda review, in addition to the usual citizens’ forum in which anyone can speak. The Tuesday meeting will include routine business and a presentation about the Midtown Project, a plan to reshape the area of Hattiesburg near Southern Miss.

Hayley Bush, a senior public relations major, is the social media intern for the City Council and thinks this meeting would be a good one for students to attend because of its focus on the Midtown Project.

“It would be great to learn about the changes that’ll be taking place in the future, and those changes will help define Hattiesburg as more of a college town,” Bush said.

But Bush said getting involved with city government is important at any time.

“I’m very excited about this because I think it will allow students to see the inner workings of Hattiesburg,” Bush said. “This city is a true community and it has so much to offer USM students, so I’m hoping that this is the beginning of them getting to see that. It’s so important for students to invest in Hattiesburg and make it their city during their college years.”