For the residents of Fox Run Subdivision, driving on Fleetwood Drive and Manship Circle, the only streets in the 50-home development, is a challenge.
That situation could soon change. Monday, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen passed a resolution accepting the streets — something that was not done almost 20 years ago when the subdivision was built — which means some relief for the residents may be on the way.
“I’m thankful for that,” Fleetwood Drive resident Patsy Mullins said.
“I’m excited. That’s great,” said Yolanda Jones, who lives north of Mullins. “My cars have been taking a beating. I’m glad we’ll get some relief.”
Fox Run is located in the southeast portion of Warrenton Heights Subdivision at the end of Linda Drive, which runs east off Belva Drive. It was developed in the 1990s by JMS Builders Inc., a Pearl company that, according to the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office, has dissolved.It’s principle owners have all since died.
The streets are not properly paved. They are covered with a mix of asphalt and gravel, a combination that would normally be used to set the bed for a street about to be paved. A car going over the surface creates a roaring sound, and Fleetwood Drive is strewn with potholes and dips in the road. One pothole has grass growing in it.
“I’ve been living here for 18 years,” Mullins said. “I’ve never seen anybody doing any work on the streets. I don’t know what the other street looks like, but this street is in terrible shape. Everybody uses it to get to the other street. There’s constant traffic.”
Mullins said she has called city officials numerous times. Jongela Henderson, who has lived on Fleetwood Drive for eight years, said her mother, Julia Henderson, has called and complained about the street since they moved in.
“My mother has been constantly calling the city about the potholes,” Henderson said. “We never saw anybody doing any work on the streets.”
When South Ward Alderman Willis Thompson was elected in 2013, one of the first calls he got was about Fox Run.
“The residents came to me about the potholes,” he said, adding he learned why no work had been done to the streets. “I looked into it and found the streets had never been dedicated to the city.”
Thompson said it took time to get the rights of way because the city had to locate heirs of principle owners M.D. McCurley, Terry L. Jenkins and Newlin Spencer and have them sign the proper forms to turn the streets over to the city.
He said he wants to include the streets in the city’s proposed capital improvements program to be presented to the board in early 2015.
“There is going to be a separate amount for paving, and I want them to be included in that,” he said. “Until then, we’ll get in there and try and patch the streets and give the people some relief.”