A business license will not hang in the balance, but the prospective manager of a proposed downtown lounge above Burger Village will appear before the mayor and aldermen at a public hearing Nov. 25.   

Charles Ross, who on Oct. 9 withdrew from a scheduled public hearing before the mayor and aldermen, will now appear before them to challenge an Oct. 13 ruling by the Vicksburg Board of Architectural Review — which granted Ross a second floor balcony but no stairs to provide for a street access to the lounge he is aiming to open by Nov. 15.

At a Sept. 1 hearing of the Vicksburg Board of Zoning Appeals, the board unanimously supported Zoning Administrator Dalton McCarty’s decision to deny Ross a permit to open a nightclub above the longtime downtown eatery at 1220 Washington St. Following the hearing, Ross appealed to the mayor and aldermen, then later withdrew that appeal in favor of a new plan to simply expand the restaurant to the second floor, but provide full alcohol sales and extend hours in the upstairs lounge.

Mayor Paul Winfield injected himself into the debate at the Oct. 13 meeting, asking the board to support Ross’ application to extend a rear second story balcony and install windows, a door and balcony on the second story building front. The board members agreed it is against city regulations to approve a balcony on a historic downtown building that had not previously had one. While they did not have any evidence to show the building had been outfitted with a balcony, Winfield argued they also could not prove a balcony had not existed on the building. The board eventually approved the request by a 5-3 vote, but denied the balcony staircase.

The mayor and aldermen approved, without discussion Friday, setting the Nov. 25 public hearing.

New location

One of the Vicksburg Fire Department’s four ambulances will be moved from Fire Station No. 9 in Kings to the Central Station at 1630 Walnut St., a move Fire Chief Charles Atkins Jr. said will allow for more even emergency response citywide. The mayor and aldermen approved the move Friday.

“The ambulance at Fire Station 9 just doesn’t make as many runs as the ambulances in the city, and I want to move that ambulance to the Central Station to distribute the calls more evenly,” Atkins told the mayor and aldermen.

Two of the city’s four ambulances are located at the Halls Ferry Park station, with the third at Fire Station No. 6 on Cherry Street. While the fourth ambulance will be moving to Central Station, Atkins noted a rescue unit and EMT personnel will remain at the Kings station.

“We’re not changing anything at the Kings Station; we’re just moving the ambulance,” he said. “The medics will still be at the Kings station to respond to emergency calls. It’s similar to the situation we have south of town. There is no ambulance at Fire Station No. 5 at the airport, but we do have an rescue unit and personnel there.”

Atkins presented the board with statistics to support his decision, which show the ambulance at Kings responded to less than 15 percent of the 542 total runs made from Sept. 20 through Oct. 20. Of the 3,397 total runs made over the past six months, the ambulance at Kings responded to 522 — or 15.4 percent. The three other ambulances responded to anywhere from 25 to 30 percent of the calls.

Cabs on the way?

Mayor Paul Winfield said eight taxi cab companies have expressed interest in setting up shop in Vicksburg since the lone taxi service in the city closed this summer. As a result, the mayor and aldermen on Friday reformed the Public Transportation Board with three former members and two new appointments.

“It’s appropriate that we re-enlist this board to work as a liaison with our board in terms of setting best practices as it relates to cab service to make sure our citizens gat fair, equal cab service,” said Winfield.

James Stirgus Jr., Walter Osborne Jr. and Ray Herrington were all reappointed to the board, which had dismantled after J5 Cab Company ended service July 20. Police Chief Walter Armstrong will replace former chief Tommy Moffett on the board, while Reginald Taylor will replace Lula Jones. All were appointed to four-year terms.

The J5 closure has left the city without cab service for the first time in more than 75 years. Red Top, J&B, Rocket and Veterans operated in Vicksburg in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Permits for Red Top and Rocket were revoked in June 2003 for noncompliance with safety checks and proof of insurance, as the city’s stricter taxicab ordinance took effect. Veterans ceased operations in 1998.

Regulations enacted in 2003 strengthened insurance requirements for taxi companies operating in Vicksburg. Minimum liability insurance was raised to $75,000 for injury or death and $150,000 for each accident and for damage to property.

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On the agenda

On Friday, the Vicksburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen:

• Approved Aug. 25 and 31 meeting minutes.

• Administered the oath of office and appointed Jonathan Tillman and Terence Ware to the Vicksburg Police Department.

• Approved a $50,000 allocation to NRoute. The city has budgeted for $160,000 in total allocations to the transportation system for this fiscal year.

• Proclaimed Oct. 25-31 National Red Ribbon Week to promote drug-free lifestyles.

• Received the following sealed bids for 940 barricades: Worldwide Technical LLC of Miami, Fla., $85,023; Crowd Control Warehouse of Illinois, $74,795; Signature Fencing and Flooring of New York, $67,680; Equicross of Plain City, Fla., $68,262.80; and Inline Barricades of Diamondhead, $78,020.

• Authorized executing a certification designating Marcia Weaver as the official designee and applicant’s agent, to make proper application to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; and adopted a resolution authorizing the preparation and submittal of an application to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, under the fiscal year 2009 Fire Prevention and Safety Grant Program. Weaver said if approved for grant funds under the program, Vicksburg will be required to contribute a 10 percent local match. The grant monies will be used to purchase fire safety education materials.

• Authorized closing out the fiscal year 2009 Department of Public Safety Planning, Occupant Protection Grant.

• Approved a $17,126 payment to Dynamic Technologies Inc. for a forensic video enhancement clarification analysis system for the police department. The equipment is being paid for via a Justice Assistance Grant, which requires no local match.

• Granted a 90-day extension to property owners of 161 Williams St. to remove a dilapidated building.

• Executed a license agreement with the Vicksburg Convention Center for the 2009-10 Public Annual Liaisons Meeting on behalf of the Vicksburg gas department.

• Executed a 12-month renewal contract with Surplus City USA Inc. for indoor range use by the police department at a total cost of $3,500.

• Approved a $7,245.02 payment to the Vicksburg-Tallulah Regional Airport at Mound.

• Approved a request for a $350 advertisement from the 2010 Miss Vicksburg and Miss Riverbend pageants.

• Approved the following reports: city sexton, privilege license, mayor and treasurer, detailed budget, monthly tax collection and delinquent tax collection.

• Approved the claims docket.

In closed session, the board:

• Approved five new hires in the police (2), information technology (2) and traffic departments.

• Approved five employee transfers in the water and gas administration, information technology, administration, police and sewer departments.

• Approve one pay adjustment in the police department.

• Discussed one personnel matter.

• Suspended one employee each in the street and gas departments.

The board is scheduled to meet next at 10 a.m. Nov. 2 in room 109 of the City Hall Annex, 1415 Walnut St.

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Contact Steve Sanoski at ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com