Beginning Monday, September 11, all offices on the second floor of City Hall will begin moving to the temporary City Hall at 2412 7th Street. The move will involve the mayor's office and Finance and Records, which includes finance, the city clerk, purchasing and business affairs. Once the move is complete later in the week, customers must go to the temporary site in order to pay water bills, register to vote, inquire about public records or receive business licenses. The exact day and time of the switch will be made public as soon as it is known.

City staff is making every effort to make the move a seamless one, so that essential city services will not be interrupted during the move. The temporary location is directly across from the Meridian Museum of Art. A prominent sign reading "Temporary City Hall" will be unveiled as the move is completed. After next week, the only department remaining at City Hall will be Community Development on the third floor. Those offices will be moving into the ground floor space at the Arts District Parking Garage as soon as renovations there are completed.

Offices formerly located on the ground floor of City Hall--Personnel, Civil Service, Risk Management, Clerk of Council, Equal Opportunity and Custodial--have already moved to the 7th Street location. The drive-through water bill payment window closed last month. Water customers who want the convenience of a drive-through are now using a special lane at the drive-through at the downtown Trustmark Bank. Customers must pay the bill in full at the drive-through. The bank is not accepting payment inside the bank building. Any problems or inquiries must be handled at the temporary City Hall, not at the bank.

The closing of City Hall is the first step in a council-approved project to renovate and restore the 1915 building. This major restoration effort is expected to take approximately 2 1/2 years.

Maureen Lofton

Assistant for Governmental Affairs

City of Meridian

P.O. Box 1430

Meridian, MS 39302