Four things Ocean Springs residents should know

OCEAN SPRINGS -- The city has a chance to get healthy and lose weight together; 16 streets will see drainage improvements; and, believe it or not, the Ocean Springs Harbor will be finished by mid-April.

Those are a few of many updates Mayor Connie Moran outlined in her State of Ocean Springs address Wednesday.

Other announcements:

1. Some painful moments still lie ahead at the harbor, because paving will close roads.

But there are plans to add a kayak launch along with all the other improvements.

It would be a floating pier with kayak launch on the last finger pier of the boat launch, running parallel to the county fishing pier.

2. Next week, if the state Department of Transportation signs off, the long-awaited Government Street sidewalk project -- all $1.2 million of it -- will have a contractor and work could begin as soon as April.

That means well-engineered sidewalks from Greyhound Stadium to the middle school, almost all of them on one side of the street. There will also be a bridge over Davis Bayou and two "smart" crosswalks with bells and whistles.

3. In the last 10 years, an interesting switch has occurred in Ocean Springs.

Property taxes used to outstrip sales tax in supporting the city. Now it's the other way around.

The city will bring in $4.9 million in sales tax this year and receive $2.7 million in property tax.

4. The new health effort Let's Go Gulf Coast will start in Ocean Springs on Feb. 29 and end in April The Feb. 29 weigh-in will be at the YMCA.

And this year, Ocean Springs is speaking for the trees with a new line item in the budget: $20,000 for tree maintenance.

This story was originally published February 17, 2016 at 5:40 PM with the headline "Four things Ocean Springs residents should know ."