Mayor Chuck Espy has come up with another idea: He wants to you take a picture of a Clarksdale pothole, take a picture of the street sign closest to it and send it to him.
Espy touted his new initiative at Monday’s regular city board meeting saying he will personally get on the back of the truck, come to your street and shovel that cold mix into your hole.
Espy is asking residents to send the two photos to his cell phone at 662-902-6884.
“We can eradicate every single pothole in Clarksdale,” said Espy. “This is going to be fun.”
Espy said if the pothole was not filled in 48 hours he would personally get on the back of the truck and fill-in the pothole.
“What we are trying to do is eradicate every pothole in two weeks.” said Espy.
Voters head to the polls on April 1 to vote for nine candidates for Mayor and 18 candidates running for four Clarksdale City Commissioner posts. Espy has said he is not running for a third term as Clarksdale Mayor.
City workers in Mississippi make between $17 and $26 an hour on average and depending on their skills. Espy makes $122,421 a year or $58.86 an hour based on a 40-hour week and working 52 weeks a year.
Potholes are a problem in Clarksdale and have been for the last several years as the city experienced several snowy and icy weather events that crack up asphalt with the spring rains. Clarksdale had two cold weather events this winter.
The city has paid to fix several vehicles that drivers said were damaged simply by driving on city streets.
Clarksdale passed a $5 million bond issue in 2019 that saw 66-percent of those voting agree to that tax increase that raised taxes on a $100,000 home about $25 and on a $200,000 home about $100.
The city earmarked half a million dollars for street improvements with that money.
The bond issue was labeled “Building for the Future” and saw Espy hold a series of meeting urging support for the improvements and pointing out the money could only legally be spent on those projects outlined in the referendum.
Building for the Future project include
1. Replace Second Street Bridge: $3,800,000.
2. Sasse Street drainage: $800,000.
3. Pearson Street levee/pump: $2,025,000
4. Sidewalks/Lighting: $1.1 million.
5. Street rehabilitation: $500,000.
6. Friars Point Road: $3,600,000.
Those projects are listed by priority set by the city with the promise Friars Point would be added if funds become available through possible grants. Those grants never materialized.
Espy also spoke to two other points Monday talking about the community forums he started four years ago and, within a year no one was attending.
Espy also talked about race relations and people who “sabotaged” a proposed $52 million development promising to bring a convention center, hotel, grocery store, retail stores, waterpark, sports complex and solar farm to Clarksdale. Espy said that project would have brought $3.8 million year in new revenue to the city.
The P3 Group Inc., and Dwan “Dee” Brown announced in early February the planned construction of a new $28 million, 125-room Convention Center Courtyard by Marriott in Pine Bluff that is slated to open in 2026.
In February 2023 the Pine Bluff City Council voted 5-3 to approve a resolution to allocated about $2.9 million in sales tax proceeds and put it toward developing that hotel that would be built next to the Pine Bluff Convention Center. The Pine Bluff project did not include the amenities promised with the Clarksdale project.
In Other Business:
• Interim Police Chief Vince Ramirez said over the past two weeks police responded to 449 calls, issued 56 citations, made 56 arrests and worked nine vehicle accidents.
• Fire Chief Charles Lane said over the past two weeks firefighters responded to three house fires, two trash fires, a car fire, a dryer fire and a grass fire. Lane said the department also responded to several auto accidents and lift assists.
• Public Works Director Craig Amerson said crews have been working at the rubbish landfill and responded to drainage issued prompted by recent rains.
Ward 1 Commissioner Bo Plunk asked about progress at the landfill and when the city could once again haul demolished houses to the landfill. Amerson said boring must be done first and he could not give an estimate.
Ward 3 Commissioner Willie Turner later asked Amerson about the deadline the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) gave the city to close its existing cell and open its new one. Amerson said as long at the city is working to do those things and MDEQ can see progress they are satisfied. MDEQ has threatened to fine the city if it does not remedy its landfill problem.
• Personnel Director Tara Slack said the city is hosting what she described as a meet-and-greet for commissioners on Thursday at the City Auditorium. Slack also said the city is looking to hire police, firefighters and an administrative assistant.
• City Board Attorney Melvin Miller said the city will roll out its updated ordinance book. City ordinances deal with everything from loud mufflers and panhandling to the process for demolishing abandoned houses and fire safety issues.
• The city approved minutes from its Feb. 10, 13, 20 and 24, 2025 meetings.
• Anna Jones said she wants to citywide revival for the rest of March and asked to use parks and, in the event of rain, public buildings around town as meeting places.
• Julie Green-Nesbit said she wanted to host a Jesus Parade, to be held downtown and follow the route of the Christmas parade at 1 a.m., Saturday, June 14. She also requested a sponsorship of $200 from the city.
• Colleen Buyers said she would host the Women in Blues Festival on May 17, in downtown Clarksdale and requested $3,500 and waiving the fee for port-a-potty rental.
• Mayoral candidate Greg Hoskins said he would host A Day in the Park at Sasse Park, Saturday, March 15.
• Mayoral candidate Orlando Paden said he would host a rally and BBQ at Sunflower and MLK Boulevard on Saturday, March 22.
• Mayoral candidate Mark Webb requested use of the Sunflower Stage for a community event on Saturday, March 22.
• Lillian Brownlee Williams said she wanted to address concerns within the Police Department involving a local judge.
• At the request of City Court Clerk Lynn Logan the city voted to add modules to the current service agreement with Tyler Technologies and authorization to make budget changes in the amount of $20,965.
• Commissioners voted to sign a contract with Coahoma County for the use of voting machines in the April 1 Primary, April 22 Primary Runoff and June 3 General Election.
• The Ward 2 is seeking to appoint someone to the Quality of Life Board and the Mayor is seeking to appoint someone to the Airport Board.
• The city voted to pay Accounts Payable for February in the amount of $209,118.16.
• The city voted to reimburse the Incidental Expense account for February in the amount of $730.40
• The city voted to pay its Debit Card for February in the amount of $189.38
• The city paid the following Miscellaneous Claims: Chuck Espy travel, $814.80; Chaplin John E. Givins,$1,400; Gale Dixon litter control, $522; Ommie Games $250; Luther Armstrong $280; Neel-Schaffer for Spruce Street drainage $13,915; EBS typewriter $715; RLI Surety $175; Catalis $1,738.80; MACE code enforcement travel and training in Petal, $300; Building Officials Association of Mississippi (BOAM) for code enforcement $400; Geiger Brandspiration, $1,691; Lamar Christian Plumbing $3,500; Tomlinson Electric, $275; Belinda Stewart Architects for Auditorium roof project, $503.58; Slaughter & Willingham, zoning map update, $1,399.24; PNC Equipment Finance, rental payment, $50,270.22; Fuelman, $3,784.36; Willard Concrete Services. $17,189
• Permission for Craig Amerson to attend the Solid Waste Association of North America Spring Conference on April 29- May 1 in Biloxi.
• The city voted to pay Russell's Tree Service to remove trees as at the following locations: 2127 7th St., $1,000; Riverbank, $850; 2006 Sunflower, $3,800.00.
• The city approved the following personnel changes: Cynthia Doss retirement effective April 1, in the Clerk's office; George Johnson requesting FMLA in the Police Dept.; Demarco Clark and Albert Nickson, resignations in Public Works Dept.
• The city opened and accepted bids from Jonathan Tate, of OJT Architects of New Orleans and Neel-Schaffer engineers for design proposals for the Sunflower Riverwalk project. City Board Attorney Melvin Miller said Neel-Schaffer engineers scored the best when bid were and that was the recommendation.
Chuck Rutledge said he would need the bids to get in line with the project’s estimated cost and budget. He pointed out if they didn’t he would have to rebid and he was up against a hard deadline for grant funding and financing for the project.
The Sunflower River Walk looks to build a looping hard surface walk from Soldier’s Park along the west side of the Sunflower River, then cross and come back down the east side to a point near City Hall.
On a motion by Plunk the city voted to accept the bid from Neel-Schaffer.
• The city accepted the Planning Commission recommendation to not approve Dhane Burton to use a wooden building as a vape shop at 835 South St.
• The city accepted the Planning Commission recommendation to not limit the number of Clarksdale liquor stores by altering the Zoning Ordinance.
• The city accepted the Planning Commission recommendation to grant a variance for Sharda Johnson to open a mental health clinic and assisted living home services at 501 Desoto Ave., for the homeless.
• The city will meet again at noon Thursday, March 20 at City Hall. All meetings are open to the public and the community is urged to attend.
