City Council approves demolition of Mt. Carmel Baptist Church

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - City Council unanimously approved a bid Thursday to demolish a portion of Mt. Carmel Baptist Church.

Portion B of the church was damaged from Hurricane Katrina, and has not been fixed since.

City officials have blocked off roads near Portion B of the church due to safety reasons for about a month. But, city officials can now move forward with the demolition process.

City Director of Engineering, Lamar Rutland said, "We will go through and execute contracts. Go through that process. Once all the contractors are assembled and executed, we will begin the process of demolition of the church."

M&M Services won the bid Wednesday, and the city will pay the company's fee of $339,970.

Rutland said there is no exact date to when Portion B of Mt. Carmel Baptist Church will be demolished, but expects it to be within a few weeks.