Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs Jr. called an afternoon meeting at the White House with President Donald Trump “very productive” and believes it will help the city acquire funding for infrastructure needs in the future.

Flaggs was a member of a delegation of mayors, including the mayors of Meridian, Crystal Springs and Gulfport, who were invited by the Trump administration to meet with the president.

He said the meeting was separate from another meeting the president had with members of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which was reportedly boycotted by New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and several other mayors over the president’s sanctuary cities policy.

“I was not a member of that group,” Flaggs said. “My invitation was a separate one from the White House.”

Flaggs said during the meeting the president discussed working with local governments to help with funding for infrastructure and bridges.

“He said we were the people who knew best what was needed and how the money should be used,” he said. He said Trump also discussed easing federal restrictions and policies on some projects to help cities get projects done.

Flaggs said he brought a list of the city’s projects to give Trump an idea of what the city is trying to do. The list, which was complied in book form for the president, included the projects Flaggs has discussed with the state’s congressional delegation in previous years:

• The U.S. 61 South connector road. Estimated at $10 million, preliminary designs indicate the road will start off U.S. 61 South and go east to connect with Halls Ferry Road.

• The estimated $7 million U.S. 61 North bypass is expected to shorten the distance between the highway and Interstate 20 and reroute 18-wheelers away from downtown.

• Local competitive transportation funding program. Flaggs wants Congress to allow local governments to compete for federal surface transportation funds allocated to the states.

• Auxiliary water line. Called the “592 Project” for the funding source for a $2.45 million U.S. Army Corps of Engineers grant for the project, the auxiliary waterline is estimated to cost about $5 million with the city paying the balance of the cost.

• More money for dredging at the Port of Vicksburg.

• Continued funding for the Jesse L. Brent Lower Mississippi River Museum and Interpretive Center.

• Expanding the Vicksburg National Military Park.

“Now we’re all working on the same page,” Flaggs said. “The congressional delegation has what we’ve presented and the president now has it. Now that they’ve (Congress) done away with earmarks, everything’s competitive and I want to be where the money is, and that’s with the administration.

“We’re at the table, and you can’t see what’s on the table until you can get to the table.”