Councilman Stokes calls on mayor to bring public works director to Jackson

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - It’s been nearly two months since the capital city had a public works director, and Ward 3 Jackson City Councilman Kenneth Stokes says it’s beginning to show.

“This is the city dump right here,” Stokes said. “And it makes no sense that in the capital city, for the state of Mississippi, we have people who will not do their job. Somebody has a job and responsibility to make sure this situation does not exist in Jackson. In all of Jackson.”

A local real estate agent with property across the street says the blight in West Jackson is making it hard to find tenants.

“Once they see this pile of rubble and burned-out house. it is hard to even get people to even come out and just view the houses,” Reginald Washington said.

Of equal concern to Councilman Stokes is the children who have to walk by it on their way to Walton Elementary School every day.

“How can a child going to school feel anything but like a second-class citizen? That every day they had to wake up and see a bunch of tires,” Councilman Stokes said.

Just last weekend Stokes pointed to the intersection of Medgar Evers Boulevard and Coleman Avenue as another example of the need for someone to lead the public works department.

One resident in the area says hundreds of drivers have had to dodge this concrete pole in the roadway for about a month, and the traffic lights at the intersection have been out for the same amount of time.

“Right now the citizens feel like nobody cares,” Councilman Stokes said. “There’s been like this since October. And next week, we’ll be in February. There’s been like this since 2022. And we going into February 2023. And then no one seemed to act like they understand you have a job to make sure this does not happen in the capital city.”

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