Hattiesburg, Mississippi – On Saturday, October 21, 2023, the City of Hattiesburg’s Fire Department and Community Development Division will join together to host an inaugural Community Outreach Safety Festival at Dewitt Sullivan Park (Old Airport Road in South Hattiesburg), from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. The event, free to attend and available to the public, will bring city officials together...
CITY OF HATTIESBURG NEWS
Hattiesburg Mayor Appoints Betsy Mercier as Director for Parks & Recreation
Hattiesburg, Mississippi – This week, Mayor Toby Barker announced Betsy Mercier as his director appointment for Hattiesburg Parks & Recreation. As the director, she will lead the following five divisions that fall under Parks & Recreation: grounds & maintenance, ballfields, community centers, programming and cemetery & urban forestry. Mercier has served as the department’s interim director since early 2023. In...
Hattiesburg Begins Construction on Significant Infrastructure Improvements for MLK Avenue
Hattiesburg, Mississippi – On Tuesday, October 17, 2023, Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann joined Hattiesburg Mayor Toby Barker to announce the beginning of a significant infrastructure project along Martin Luther King Avenue, encompassing the replacement of water and sewer lines. This project is one of nine infrastructure project areas funded by money allocated to the City through the American Rescue Plan...
Hattiesburg Announces Mississippi Outdoor Stewardship Grant for Sims Road River Access & Eco-Tourism
Hattiesburg, Mississippi – On Tuesday, October 10, 2023, Mayor Toby Barker was joined by representatives from VisitHATTIESBURG, the Piney Woods Conservation Group, Forrest County Board of Supervisors and Hattiesburg-area legislative delegation to announce a $480,000 grant from the Mississippi Outdoor Stewardship Grant Program to improve public access to the Leaf River via Sims Road in Southeast Hattiesburg. This grant funding...
Hattiesburg Parks and Recreation Takes Home Four Statewide Awards
Hattiesburg, Mississippi – The City of Hattiesburg’s Parks and Recreation department took home four awards across a variety of programs this week from this year’s annual conference for the Mississippi Recreation and Parks Association. “These awards are a testament to the efforts of our employees who put hundreds of hours into programming for our community,” said Betsy Mercier, interim director....
Hattiesburg Joins Live at Five to Kick Off National Night Out
Hattiesburg, Mississippi – On Friday, September 29, the city officials and departments will kick off the 40th Anniversary of National Night Out in Hattiesburg by joining Live at Five at Town Square Park (100 Main Street), from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. The kick-off event will include live music by Sun Valley Station, food vendors, touch-a-truck opportunities for children and...
Hattiesburg Fire Department Unveils New Platform Ladder Truck & Name
Hattiesburg, Mississippi – On the front of a three-game home series for the Hattiesburg High Tigers, the Hattiesburg Fire Department revealed the latest addition to its fleet, a new platform ladder truck painted purple and aptly named “Purple Rain.” The new platform ladder apparatus will live at Fire Station #1 on North Main Street, which has a service area that...
City of Hattiesburg Presents Fiscal Year 2024 Budget
Hattiesburg, Mississippi – On Tuesday, August 29, the City of Hattiesburg held its annual budget hearing in which the administration presented a $158.1 million budget recommendation for Fiscal Year 2024 to be reviewed by the Hattiesburg City Council. “This budget recommendation continues to look at employee pay, specifically for our first responders, while conservatively planning for the future,” said Mayor...
Hattiesburg Approved for Nine Municipality and County Water Infrastructure (MCWI) Grant Projects
Hattiesburg, Mississippi – During the second routine meeting for the Hattiesburg City Council in August, council members voted 4-0 to accept six additional grants from the Mississippi Municipality and County Water Infrastructure (MCWI) Grant Program. Including these six grants, the Council adopted resolutions obligating American Rescue Plan Act funding and matching grant funding for nine total water, sewer and stormwater...
East Hardy Street to Become River Avenue in September
Hattiesburg, Mississippi — On Tuesday, August 22, 2023, the Hattiesburg City Council voted unanimously to rename East Hardy Street back to its original name of River Avenue, which impacts the roadway stretching between Williams Street and the Leaf River as it extends over the Leaf River Bridge into Petal. The naming petition was championed by local businessman and attorney, Erik...
Hattiesburg Calling on Community to Name Newest Ladder Truck for Hattiesburg Fire Department
Hattiesburg, Mississippi – The City of Hattiesburg and the Hattiesburg Fire Department are leaning on the city’s students, K-12, and Hattiesburg Public School District supporters to name the fire department’s latest fleet addition – Ladder #1. As a part of its capital expenditure budget for the 2022 fiscal year, the department purchased a new ladder apparatus from Pierce Manufacturing. This...
Significant Roadway Project for South 16th Avenue Slated to Begin August 14
Hattiesburg, Mississippi – On Monday, August 14, 2023, the City of Hattiesburg will begin multiple improvements to include traffic calming measures and to enhance walkability in and around South 16th Avenue. “This project comes from a productive, ongoing dialogue with neighborhood residents. Neighbors were concerned about the number of motorists, many of whom are cutting through from Hardy to Broadway,...