A letter from the President

From the SIA President, Wayne Jones

Dear Saucier Citizen:

On April 4,th 2006, the Saucier Improvement Association (SIA) was formed to represent the citizens as the Saucier Community experiences unprecedented growth. As most of you know Saucier has been slowly and steadily growing over the last few decades, but after Hurricane Katrina it has exploded. The population is expected to double over the next few years. We have two options. We can let the developers and outsiders tell us what the future of our Community will become, or we can get together as a Community and tell them how we want it to be! Although we can’t stop growth - WE CAN HELP GUIDE GROWTH!!

I remember my Dad telling me, “I hate that Saucier is growing with all the new people moving in. In 30 or 40 years this will be Gulfport.” As a child we would go to Gulfport every two weeks to buy groceries, and I still remember when the first store, A&P, in Orange Grove opened. He was so happy. “We don’t have to drive all the way to Gulfport now,” he said. I understand that most residents feel like my Dad did. My sons, my grandsons, and I also do in that we would prefer that Saucier remain the way it currently is. That is simply not possible! From the time that my grandpa and grandma, Benson and Madie Saucier, built their house by hauling the material over dirt roads and trails on a wagon pulled by oxen, Saucier has been changing.

As you have probably heard, a new Industrial Park has been announced for Saucier. It is at the same location that was proposed a couple of years ago. It consists of approximately 638 acres, and the proposed zoning classification is for I-2 or heavy Industry. The Saucier Improvement Association is sponsoring a Community Meeting Thursday, September 7th, 6:00 p.m. at the Community Center to discuss the Industrial Park. Please make every effort to attend this meeting to offer your input. Based on the information I have received from the Harrison County Development Association and the Harrison County Board of Supervisors, I think it is in the best interest of the Community to support the Park.

This is one of countless issues Saucier will face over the next several years. Others are water, sewer, urban sprawl, housing, infrastructure, education, recreation, health & welfare, just to name a few. There is a team from Andrews University coming to Saucier from September 10th through

the 19th to help design the Town Center. Please make plans to participate in determining what your Community will become. This is OUR COMMUNITY and we should be the ones guiding the growth and not the developers! Our children and grandchildren deserve nothing less!!

Wayne Jones
President
Saucier Improvement Association

posted by Steve Howard @ 11:21 PM 2 comments