City Hall notebook: Council approves St. Patrick's Day prep, homes at Savannah Gardens

"I promised (last year) that as soon as our numbers were better, we would be back," he said welcoming several members of the parade committee along with 2022 Grand Marshal Danny Powers.

Credit: City of Savannah

Credit: City of Savannah

"Through the work of a whole bunch of people, through the perseverance of our community, through being Savannah strong our numbers are so much better than they were before. And as promised, we’re back.”

Powers said he shared in the excitement and was ready to take to the streets after he was selected as grand marshal on Feb. 27.

“We are so much looking forward to the crowds, the participants and everything that goes with this grand, festive day,” Powers said.

"On everyone's behalf here, I certainly want to thank you. It's a great city and they don't call us the hostess city of the South for no reason."

Council also approved several other St. Patrick’s Day-related purchase items on Thursday, including a contract renewal with Barnes Restaurant and Catering for thousands of meals for Savannah Police Department members and city staff.

The $32,662 contract will provide thousands of breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for SPD and city staff working the St. Patrick's Day festival and parade from Thursday through Saturday.

Additionally, council approved a $76,992 contract with Porta Potty Dogs for portable toilets and handwashing stations along the parade route and in the downtown area prior to the parade. The contract includes delivery and service of all the portable toilets and hand washing stations throughout the parade and the weekend.

Lastly, council approved a $59,285 contract for barricades from Area Wide Protective, a local traffic control company familiar with the large-scale event. The contract includes the staging and deployment of all traffic and crowd control barricades along with the posting of all the 'No Parking' signs.

Business, housing assistance

Council also signed off on a resolution for the use of Community Development Block Grant CARES (CDBG-CV) funding to assist small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and for the construction of new homes at Savannah Gardens.

The city received a total of $2,595,044 of CDBG-CV funds through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES). Just over half of that funding, $1,360,248, will go to the City of Savannah Small Business Recovery Program, which aids eligible small, disadvantaged businesses impacted by COVID-19 by providing direct assistance and short-term working capital to enable.

The remaining $1,234,796 will be used for the construction of at least six single-family homes at Savannah Gardens for families experiencing homelessness and impacted by COVID-19.

Yamacraw Square 

A park in the Yamacraw Village neighborhood officially has a new name after council approved the change Thursday. Located near the intersection of Fahm and West Bryan streets, council unanimously approved the name change from Yamacraw Art Park to Yamacraw Square.

The name change was recommended by the Savannah-Chatham County Historic Site and Monument Commission (HSMC) and had the support of park designer Jerome Meadows and First Bryan Baptist Church.

According to the HSMC documents, the name change would better describe the function it is intended to serve, a central gathering space for the neighborhood, and would tie this greenspace to other public greenspaces downtown.

Landscape restoration, fountain repair and other updates have been made to the park, but park signs and various masonry repairs are still in the works.

All of the items were unanimously approved.

Katie Nussbaum is the city and county government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. Contact her at knussbaum@savannahnow.com. Twitter: KnussSMN

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: City Hall notebook: Council approves St. Patrick's Day prep, homes at Savannah Gardens