Residents who attended last Tuesday’s Bay Springs Moving Forward Town Hall Meeting were met with lots of information and ideas in which the City of Bay Springs could be improved.

During the meeting, Director of the Mississippi State Community Action Team Virgil Culver presented a photo slideshow with several hypothetical ideas for business owners and residents to improve the town.

Ideas included restoring store fronts, installing city signs, providing more sidewalks for shoppers, matching trash cans and park benches and increasing individual pride in Bay Springs.

After the meeting, residents were encouraged to write down their suggestions for the town’s improvement. Many of those suggestions echoed Culver’s suggestions, like sidewalks and improving store fronts. Many residents also expressed interest in bringing in a farmer’s market and places of recreation for children, teenagers and senior adults, perhaps a health-plex.

With all of that information in hand, the next step is to “take a deep breath and move forward, carefully planning and creating a positive flow in Bay Springs,” said Bay Springs Chamber of Commerce Manager Lela Bryan.

She reported that several merchants have expressed interest and enthusiasm in cooperating with an improvement plan.

On Tuesday, June 29, the CPR (Committee to Preserve and Revitalize) Bay Springs met and discussed park benches and trash cans to place around town. After receiving input from business owners around town, they will appear before the Bay Springs Board of Aldermen Tuesday to discuss options in installing new benches and trash cans.

Next Tuesday, the newly formed Bay Springs Chamber of Commerce will meet to discuss what steps to take from here. Residents can contact the chamber by visiting the Bay Springs website and clicking on the “Chamber” tab at the bottom. The chamber is looking for and encourages feedback from residents.

The following plan to continue moving forward is a work in progress, said Bryan. The committees involved are working together to keep residents involved.

In the meantime, residents can do two things to help improve Bay Springs. 1- Shop locally. Support local businesses. And 2 - Take a personal pride in Bay Springs by helping to eliminate litter and seeing the town as visitors would.

The Jasper County New will print any developing information about Bay Springs Moving Forward.