Meeting Tuesday:

• OK’d meeting minutes from Dec. 7, 2009.

• Heard a presentation from Janice Sawyer, emergency services director for the local American Red Cross chapter, and Vicksburg Knights of Columbus member Bill Ford, about the groups’ upcoming fish fry to benefit local Red Cross initiatives. The fish fry is 5:30 to 7:30 Friday evening at the Knights of Columbus Vicksburg Council 898 headquarters at 4303 Fisher Ferry Road, just south of the city limits. Cost is $8 per plate.

• Tabled a request from radio station 105.5 WVBG for advertisement of Vicksburg and Warren County High School football programs in the coming season. The proposal calls for $1,180 total spending on each team for advertisements to air July through November.  

• Awarded a bid for grass cutting at Cedar Hill Cemetery to Holmes Lawn Care of Anguilla, at $4,590 per cutting, not to exceed $68,850 over 12 months.

• Awarded a bid for towing services to Highway 27 Motors of Vicksburg. Tow rates range from $50 per tow and $50 per service call for standard size vehicles, up to $300 per tow and $75 per service call for heavy duty vehicles such as fire engines.

• Rejected bids for an ant control program at Cedar Hill Cemetery. Purchasing Director Tim Smith said the city will not re-advertise for bids, and will instead look for a way to handle ant control in house. The city had budgeted about $11,000 for ant control at the cemetery in the current fiscal year budget, but Smith said the low bid came back at roughly $21,000. 

• OK’d advertising for bids on mosquito-control chemicals.

• OK’d spending $2,925 on an Aries seeder camera head for the sewer department’s sewer line camera system, purchased from Aries Industries Inc.

• OK’d one budget amendment, an increase of $390,464 in the state grants fund for the child care development program operated by Good Shepherd Community Center.

• OK’d extending a cannon loan agreement with the Vicksburg National Military Park. The park has provided a cannon for display at the Vicksburg Convention Center for 10 years, and the loan agreement has to be renewed periodically.

• OK’d a recommendation from the Vicksburg Historic Preservation Commission to list Captain Kane’s House, 2530 Oak St., as a Vicksburg Landmark; and separately OK’d a change in the city zoning ordinance to reflect the addition of the home as a landmark.

• Established special assessment charges on the following properties for grass cutting and clearing work done by the city: 1905 Clay St., owned by Henry V. Bailey III; 1002 and 1002 1/2 Meadow St., owned by Reginald Harris; 922 Meadow St., owned by Deborah H. Mixon; Williams Street, PPIN No. 6125 and PPIN No. 6123, both owned by Vanessa T. Moore; 237 N. Locust St., owned by Nelson Cotton Properties LLC; 840 Buck St., owned by Mamie Scott Spellman; and 219 Enchanted Drive, owned by Mark A White.

• OK’d a legal notice on final payment for the following: Hemphill Construction Company Inc., for a Co2 conversion and filter upgrade project at the water treatment plant; and Greenbriar Digging Service, for phase three sewer system improvements.

• Tabled a request from Allen Derivaux for partial closing of one lane of North Frontage Road and Clay Street, from the Vicksburg National Military Park entrance to the Battlefield Inn, from 7 to 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 6, for the annual Run Thru History. South Ward Alderman Sid Beauman suggested tabling the request to investigate whether the city has the authority to close the North Frontage Road, or if the state would have to authorize the closure.

• Tabled an advertisement request from the St. Aloysius baseball team for its 2010 media guide.

In closed session, the board:

• OK’d two hires in the parks and recreation department.

• OK’d six performance review pay increases in the fire department.

• OK’d one resignation in the parks and recreation department.

• OK’d one termination in the landscaping department.

• Discussed personnel issues in the police, TV23 and fire departments.

• Discussed one potential litigation matter, and one property matter.

The board is scheduled to meet next at 10 a.m. Monday in room 109 of the City Hall Annex, 1415 Walnut St.