“It’s a new day in Byhalia” –Mayor Hollingsworth

There are a number of things Byhalia Mayor Don Hollingsworth and his community are excited about.

Three venues are opening in town. A new library may be occupied by late October or early November. The new space, located in the Byhalia Old School Commons downstairs has tall ceilings, large spaces and lots of light.

The only thing left to do before the librarian Americus Young starts moving books into the space is building book shelves, he said. The town will spend $80,000 of its own money to build the bookshelves and add computers.

There are three classrooms dedicated for use by the Byhalia Arts Council as classroom space in the Commons.

Susan Bonds, director of the Byhalia Area Arts Council, said the council wants to start up a little theatre.

“It’s on our radar,” she said.

Two large rooms have been renovated in the Commons for office space for Parks and Recreation.

The Main Street office will also be located in the Commons and now has a full-time director, Rhonda Causie.

Hollingsworth said Phase 1 of the restoration of Old School Commons was possible because of grants from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and the Mississippi Arts Council totalling about $2.2 million with the city providing $400,000 in matching money for the grants.

With a new Board of Aldermen in place, Byhalia is on the move to complete the renovation of the Old School Commons which will take another $2.5 million to complete. An elevator will be added in Phase 2. Every room upstairs including the auditorium have now been renovated.

Outside lighting at the Commons is being refurbished. Antique lighting and alarms and cameras will go in front of the school. And the flagpole will be touched up.

There are two entrances to the Commons one on the east side through the auditorium an the other through the front door off Highway 309. On the north side, a third entrance will open into the downstairs library and Parks and Rec offices.

“We’re calling this all as the Byhalia Municipal Complex,” the mayor said.

That encompasses the Old School, City Hall and the Police station.

The walking track is being overhauled with lighting and a pavillion will be built near the woods so people can sit in nature, relax and meditate.

The Veteran’s Park on Brunswick is being restored and refurbished with lights. The Byhalia Garden Club has installed a Blue Star Memorial, thereby joining with the town to provide spaces for events such as Memorial Day, Veterans Day and July 4 celebrations.

Niagara Bottling has donated $30,000 to purchase trees to install in downtown.

Hollingsworth said the Marshall County Master Gardeners Club and the Extension office will help with installing of a variety of trees. Those left over from the project will be given away, he said.

Michael Hatcher, from Center Hill, is helping select the trees and the town will drill the holes.

Utilities The water, gas and sewer infrastructure is being overhauled, Hollingsworth said. AMI meters for water and gas will be installed in town and in the Chickasaw Trail Industrial Park. “People will be ablte to look at their use on a telephone application,” he said.

Increased property valuations used to compute ad valorem taxes are being offset by a reduction in millage.

“We’ve been fortuante we have been able to reduce the millage to equal the assessed value increases,” Hollingworth said. “Everybody will pay the same tax as last year. We were able to do that with new growth and sales tax receipts that have increased about 40 percent the last few years.”

Something new

“The town will have a new grocery store and several commercial businesses are coming and looking as we speak,” the mayor said. “Byhalia is growing and the residential rooftops are the slow part, but commercial growth is increasing demand for housing.”

Ways to fund construction of a new police station are being sought.

Byhalia has a lot of traffic through town, but the crime rate is pretty low.

The town has good police officers, firemen and street department employees.

“Let’s put it this way, we didnt’ have to struggle to balance our budget,” Hollingsworth said. “We have a very active budget with more water, gas and sewer pipe in the ground to collect revenue.”

Fuller Street will be rebuilt next year. Construction on the project to install curbs and gutters and a sidewalk will begin in January 2026.

Railroad Street water lines will be replaced with a $1 million bond issue obtained from the State Legislature last year.

Byhalia has a full-time Main Street Program and a very successful Chamber of Commerce, said vice-mayor Donna Horne.

She said the focus will be on marketing the town’s own businesses in keeping with the History of Byhalia as a small busineess town. Main Street and Chamber will be keen on promoting business development, especially small businesses in town, she said.

“I’m lucky the town’s got a working vice-mayor,” Hollingsworth said. “They take the load off me so I can focus on gas, water and sewer.”

The town’s comprehensive plan will be redrawn recruiting 11 citizens and commercial business owners to bring up new ideas.

Main Street will coordinate with the Byhalia and Holly Springs schools to create a Youth Council that will grow the town’s leadership from the grass roots.

Hollingsworth said the board of aldermen coordinates with the mayor to prepare the aldermen to come ready for board meetings. Items on the agenda are researched first.

“There’s no politics in our board members,” said Horne. “As a public, we are all assembled and visible.”

“It’s a new day in Byhalia,” the mayor said. “I hear people all over the state telling me we are doing a good job. Jackson said, don’t come here with your problems. To do this right, you have to be here and be on it — know what you’re doing.

“We’ve got a whole lot more going on. Growth is slow. Utilities is slower that. We are here to do it right the first time so that growth is planned out real well.

“You can’t please the world. Communication is key, all day long.”