LONG BEACH, Miss. (WLOX) \u2014 A legal battle over a proposed annexation in Long Beach continued in chancery court this week.<\/p>\n
The city wants to take in about a square mile of land currently owned by Harrison County, including the Long Beach Industrial Park. Opponents argue the annexation is not necessary.<\/p>\n
Long Beach Mayor Tim Pierce said the annexation is part of planning for the city\u2019s future growth toward Interstate 10.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is part of the economic growth that will allow us as a city to grow and then move more towards the north to I-10.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the industrial park started around 1982 and that Long Beach has supplied services to it without being reimbursed.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Long Beach has always supplied services to the industrial park and has never been reimbursed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pierce said many residents were unaware the industrial park was not part of the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was campaigning, I\u2019d walk the streets and 80, 90% of the people did not even realize that the industrial park wasn\u2019t in the city of Long Beach,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Pierce said FEMA regulations after Hurricane Katrina placed the majority of the city\u2019s business district in a VE zone, which requires construction on stilts 20 to 25 feet in the air.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo for the future of Long Beach and the future growth of Long Beach, we have to annex and we have to go north,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Pierce pursued annexation of the industrial park when he served as an alderman in the 1990s, he said. He said a 1982 agreement made Long Beach police and fire the main providers of those services in the industrial park.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not fair for the 17-some-odd thousand people that live in Long Beach and the 312 businesses in Long Beach to pay for services that are in the industrial park in the county,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s just not fair to the taxpayers of City of Long Beach.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pierce said a ruling in the case is expected the first week of November.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel good about the case because it just makes sense,\u201d he said. \u201cEverything we\u2019ve done as far as the hearing so far, the trial is, everything\u2019s making sense. I mean, it should be in the city limits of Long Beach.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pierce said some businesses believed the annexation was a \u201ctax grab,\u201d but he said the additional taxes paid to Long Beach would total about $400,000 a year.<\/p>\n
The city spends close to $1 million a year to fund the fire station located in the industrial park, which is staffed by Long Beach firefighters using Long Beach trucks and equipment, Pierce said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIts primary reason for being there is for the industrial park,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Pierce said neither Harrison County nor the development commission has opposed the annexation.<\/p>\n
\u201cUsually when you have an annexation, the county opposes it, the development commission will oppose it,\u201d he said. \u201cNo opposition from the county, the development commission. No opposition against it, because I think they realize it should be in the city limits of Long Beach. That\u2019s very unusual. And that kind of makes me feel good that we\u2019re on the right path, doing the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Pierce also discussed the Gateway Project, which officially opens Wednesday, Oct. 7, at 5 p.m. with a ribbon cutting.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe previous boards had great vision,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat they had put in place and the motions that they started were well thought out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pierce said the project area serves as a front door to the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can really come over the Bay St. Louis Bridge and see nothing but beauty,\u201d Pierce said. \u201cAnd in Bay St. Louis, past Pass Christian, you come to Long Beach and with the vacant land that we have from one end of our town to the other, it looks like it really hadn\u2019t ever rebounded. And it really hadn\u2019t. This will put a front door onto our city and onto Jeff Davis Ave.\u201d<\/p>\n
A final phase of the Gateway Project, which will add five pavilions and furnishings along the beachfront, is in the design phase and will go out for bid, Pierce said.<\/p>\n
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He said Long Beach will also host Cruisin\u2019 the Coast events Monday, starting with a Show and Shine event at 9 a.m., followed by the Long Beach parade and activities at the harbor with a band and refreshments.<\/p>\n