A Brookhaven resident’s request to change astreet name has the mayor pushing aldermen to adopt a formalprocedure to deal with such appeals.

    Josie Hightower appeared at the city board’s Tuesday night meetingand discussed changing the name of Independence Street to JohnHightower Drive in honor of her late husband.

    John Hightower was a long-serving county election commissioner andthe first black person to hold that office. John Hightower passedaway in 2008.     Aldermenwere receptive to the request, but were not ready to state anythingdefinitive without a clear policy for renaming streets.

    Mayor Les Bumgarner presented aldermen with two possible proceduresand urged them to adopt one of the two at the board’s nextmeeting.

    The process outlined by both are basically identical, but one planwould only allow city roads to be designated a “memorial street,”while the original name of the street in question would beretained.

    The other plan would actually result in the renaming of astreet.

    Both plans require a $250 application fee and a petition signed by75 percent of property owners on the street in question.

    Under both plans, applicants must also identify the costs to thecity. Those costs could include the installation of new signs andthe removal of existing signs.

    In other business, Mike McKenzie of Williford, Gearhart &Knight told the board all construction on the Brignall fire loopproject is complete. Only the completion of some paperwork and afinal inspection remains to be done.

    The board also approved further participation in the SouthwestMississippi Regional Recycling Initiative.

    The resolution presented by Ward Six Alderman David Phillips allowsthe Southwest Mississippi Resource Conservation and DevelopmentCounty to represent the board in applying for grants toward thedevelopment of a regional recycling program.

    “This doesn’t cost us anything and doesn’t oblige us to anything,”Phillips said. “It just grants us a seat at the table.”