Gulfport's Billy Hewes tells chamber he plans first mayoral veto

GULFPORT -- Mayor Billy Hewes told a packed banquet hall of several hundred at the Island View Casino Resort on Friday morning he intends to veto a City Council vote that would allow five Live oaks to be chopped down at a Pass Road business for a parking lot, one of several news flashes he offered the Chamber of Commerce crowd in his annual city speech.

This will be Hewes' first veto since he took office in July 2013.

Other news Hewes shared:

-- Gulfport has joined only three other cities in Mississippi to achieve the highest firing rating, a Class 3, which Fire Chief Mike Beyerstedt later said should result in lower insurance rates for property owners.

-- Several developers are interested in the Markham building, a dilapidated landmark that contrasts with downtown's post-Katrina restoration.

-- The city plans a major effort to persuade the state legislature, early in its session, to replenish historic tax credits so development of the old VA property on U.S. 90, known as Centennial Plaza, can begin.

-- Gulfport has focused on development at the harbor because it is a waterfront community, but the city has given equal attention to all areas with public works and recreational funding. (He had spending numbers for each ward to back up this claim).

-- The One Coast alliance between Gulfport and Biloxi continues, he said, noting $5 million in BP oil-spill funding for a high-speed Internet service, a project the former rivals spearheaded, with $10 million more likely to follow.

-- More than 10 years after Katrina, city efforts have persuaded 186 property owners to remove old slabs, with 105 still to be pulled up.

Hewes started out by saying a female constituent called to complain about a project he was "fast tracking."

"Ma'am," he said he responded, "I'm guilty as charged."

This story was originally published December 11, 2015 at 11:00 PM with the headline "Gulfport's Billy Hewes tells chamber he plans first mayoral veto ."