A hearing on Vicksburg’s ordinance restricting beer sales will come in March or April. Work is being done at ball fields on Mission 66 and a baseball league is being formed. The mayor wants to reduce the number of departments in the city to about half the current 25. Water and sewer rates will likely be raised in the spring.

All of these topics and more were covered in an “open mic” session Wednesday that lasted a little more than two hours and saw Mayor Paul Winfield and North Ward Alderman Michael Mayfield field a barrage of questions, some of them accusatory. South Ward Alderman Sid Beauman was absent.

Following a practice begun during the previous administration, the Vicksburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen hear from constituents in open session on the 10th of each month following a regular board meeting and executive session. Unlike business sessions, the constituent sessions are not shown on the city’s cable TV channel.

“I’m not going to tolerate any arguing,” Winfield said at one point, slamming down his gavel repeatedly and asking Police Chief Walter Armstrong to sit next to Tommie Rawlings while Rawlings continued a shouting match with Mayfield over drainage problems at Zollinger Hill and Sky Farm Avenue.

Rawlings was on the agenda to request a warning sign and flashing light at the flood-prone intersection near his and Mayfield’s home. Mayfield contended the flooding is caused by a nearby bayou, while Rawlings said it is due to perpetually clogged storm drains. Mayfield said he would talk to the traffic department about getting a sign.

Rawlings also questioned when a promised hearing on beer sales would be held. Also created by the past administration, the city law restricts beer sales between 2 and 7 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and 2 to 11 a.m. Sundays and bans sales of “singles” from iced coolers at storefronts. Rawlings, who also sits on the Vicksburg Zoning Board of Appeals, first approached the board in October about bringing back 24-hour sales, and was told by the mayor a public hearing would likely be set before the start of 2010. In November, Rawlings submitted a petition with about 100 signatures to the city clerk.

Winfield, in office since July, has voiced support for repealing the restrictions, but said a public hearing is not likely until March or April.

“I don’t want to see it any later than that,” he said. “I don’t mind setting a hearing when Sid (Beauman) gets back.”

Following Rawling’s 45-minute session with the board, Earnest Galloway approached the board about improvements at the ball fields at Mission 66 and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

“I’m going to keep coming here until I get something done,” said Galloway, who first approached the board about the neglected fields in October with a laundry list of proposed improvements. “We deserve the same things they got out at (Halls Ferry) park.”

While the larger Halls Ferry park serves a racially mixed clientel, the smaller basketball court and baseball field on Mission 66 at Martin Luther King Boulevard are in a predominantly black residential area. The mayor said many of the improvements, including regular grounds maintenance and light replacements, were being attended to. As for the pavilion Galloway is requesting, the mayor said it is not likely to happen this budget year. Winfield commended Galloway for working with parks and recreation director Joe Graves to bring an organized baseball league to the park this year and pleaded with parents and business owners in the area to get behind their efforts.

“Earnest Galloway can’t do it all by himself. Parents are going to have to get involved and take a more active role in the children’s lives,” he said. “That’s what it’s going to take to make this work. We are also going to need corporate citizens to sponsor some things for kids on the other side of the tracks.” Winfield has said a problem at Mission Park is that when the city installs improvements, vandals — often adults — almost immediately destroy new items.

When Willie Robinson approached the board with concerns about the size of city government, Winfield said he’s got a plan that would cut the number of department heads in half. He noted it would not necessarily mean terminating current department heads, but changing how they are accountable to the mayor and aldermen. However, he asked for patience on the matter.

“There needs to be some restructuring, and I have a preliminary plan I have not introduced to the aldermen yet,” he said, “but I’ve only been here seven months and there’s only so much we can get done each day. Vicksburg should probably have 10 to 12 department heads. It’s something that’s got to be done, but it can’t be done immediately.” Mayfield is in his second term and Beauman is in his third.

Winfield cited restructuring efforts in December when the board fired Human Resources Director Lamar Horton and laid off three other longtime employees, including one other department head. Both department heads were replaced with interim administrators.

In response to three complaints from people about high water and sewer bills, the mayor said it is likely the rates will be even higher by summer. The city has been supplementing water and sewer budgets with the general fund for years. Winfield said the utility funds currently owe the general fund about $3 million.

“It’s probably going to start a firestorm,” acknowledged the mayor. “But the city is crawling financially, and in the spring we are probably going to have to look at raising sewer and water rates.”

Contact Steve Sanoski at ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com