Tourism, infrastructure, highway improvements and upgrading Vicksburg’s floodwall are among the topics for discussion when a delegation of city and Warren County officials travel to Washington, D.C., to meet with the state’s congressional delegation, Feb. 8 through 10.

“Tourism, infrastructure, highway improvement, I think all of it is important,” Mayor George Flaggs Jr. said. “I think all of it contributes to the economic growth and viability of the city.”

The trip is an annual event to allow local officials to discuss the city’s and the county’s needs and seek funding for programs and projects in the area. Some of the topics include issues that have been discussed during prior visits such as transportation and infrastructure needs and money for programs to help the Vicksburg National Military Park and tourism.

“When you’re dealing with congressional matters, a lot of it is a repetitive process until you get it done. Because of how they do business, and it’s not unusual to take two, possibly four, five years to get something funded,” Flaggs said.

“What’s more important to me is for us to go up and have a relationship with our delegation and to keep them informed of what’s going on in our community, as well as the needs and challenges of the community.”

Port director Wayne Mansfield agreed.

“You have to go and maintain that presence because, as they’re (the delegation members) working the things they work through in D.C., they have Vicksburg and Warren County on their mind, so when the opportunity does happen, they can assist any way they can,” he said.

“In past years, we’ve been successful getting funds from Congress,” Mansfield said, “but they (Congress) did away with earmarks (dedicating money for a specific project) and that really doesn’t help us, especially communities in general.”

Vicksburg and Warren County in the past have been the beneficiaries of federal funds, he said, “Because we’re one of the communities that actually puts the money to use from these trips. We’ve gotten money for water wells, for public transit system, for the Pemberton Headquarters, the (Mississippi) interpretive center, the Corps museum, dredging … any number of products.”

One new item the delegation will address in Washington is improvements to the Vicksburg floodwall, which protects sections of the city along Levee Street. Flaggs said he wants to meet with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to find a better way of sealing off openings in the floodwall than the present method of installing crossties and sealing the gaps with tar.

“We’re going to be talking about it and seeing how we can get allocations for an improved method of protecting the city from the river rather than using crossties and tar. I think it’s too labor intensive and it’s time-consuming.” The mayor said he would like to see hydraulic gates installed to close the openings.

He said the delegation members welcome the information about the city and county “when we present it to them because it keeps them up to date. It gives some insight into the direction of the city of Vicksburg and Warren County.

“I think the trips are very much necessary,” he said. “I hope we can start organizing one around the Mississippi Legislature. You can’t grow a community or city without relationships at the higher levels of government.

“I think Vicksburg is in a unique and great position to get some results from Congress, so we just have to keep the requests on the table,” he said.

Besides Flaggs and Mansfield, other officials making the trip include Vicksburg Convention Center executive director Annette Kirklin, NRoute board member Mark Buys, Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau director Bill Seratt, city Accounting Director Doug Whittington, Vicksburg-Warren Chamber of Commerce executive director Jane Flowers, Vicksburg Main Street Director Kim Hopkins and Southern Cultural Heritage Center director Stacey Massey.

Some of the major topics for discussion include:

• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: “We have to support the Corps, the (Vicksburg) district office and ERDC (Engineering Research and Development Center),” Flaggs said. “There’s great collaboration between all of us. We want to make certain the Corps and the district office and ERDC are is part of the growth and development of Vicksburg. You cannot have as many employees as these government entities produce and not have collaboration.”

He added he also wants to try and get additional funding for the city’s auxiliary waterline project, which is funded in part by a Corps 592 fund grant. The city in January hired a new engineering firm to review and possibly redesign the route for the waterline, which will be a backup to the city’s main line.

Flaggs added he will also seek more money for the Corps’ Jesse Brent Lower Mississippi River Museum and Interpretive Center. Congress in 2015 allocated $3 million the museum. Flaggs has been working to get the Corps, the state and the city involved in operating the museum.