Gulfport gathers

port to keep its own police force.

Brown said she wants to restart efforts to build a new Public Safety Complex on 49th Street.

“I brought it back a couple years ago, but COVID put the brakes on it. I believe the time is right to revisit this potential project. I would like it if funding can be made available for a stateof-the-art Public Safety facility at the 49th street Neighborhood Center,” she said.

Brown said the police department needs to have facilities that can better service the increased numbers of female officers. She also said police departments across the country are facing staffing challenges.

Both Fridovich and Brown were first elected in 2012. Cohen also cited the pair’s “deep institutional knowledge” on the police staffing issue.

Simek, a small business owner who is making his first run for elected office, said there can be built-in biases in favor of political incumbents.

“The normal policy of most trade groups is to endorse the incumbent as long as the incumbent has shown a willingness to collaborate in the past,” Simek said. “They do this because of the statistically high chance of the incumbent usually winning re-election, so it is a probabilistic bet. This makes sense and if the situation were reversed I probably would very likely do the same - as the saying goes ‘better the devil you know than who you don’t.’”

Simek said his campaign has been more focused on lack of affordable housing in the city and fostering entrepreneurship, artists, and small businesses in Gulfport. He has concerns about the rises in homelessness and drug overdoses tied to fentanyl.

He also wants a comprehensive examination of turnover at the police department.

“I know from running my own small business that turnover is a killer and I believe the reasons why should probably be investigated more completely. Typically, employee turnover is usually attributed to both compensation issues and company culture & employee recognition,” Simek said.

History continued from cover chain) in 1925. It was characterized by elegant Mediterranean Revival features such as its double-decker arched colonnade and cornices of terra cotta tiles. When completed, it stood not at the corner of Beach Boulevard and 30th, but Davis Boulevard and Bon Air Street, and a flag waved proudly at the northwestern corner of its roof. The building has not moved, but the street names have changed.

In the 1930s, The Holiday Inn housed a variety of businesses on its first floor, including the G. Jarrell Grocery, the Gulfport Tavern, the Gulfport Spa Restaurant, and the Modern Oasis Restaurant. During the same period, immediately next door (3002 Beach Blvd. S.), played host to Virginia Easters Beauty Shop and Charles Hegener’s barber shop, where patrons could enjoy a 25¢ haircut.

But, as Poul Hornsleth of R.W. Caldwell Realty & Insurance points out, the site’s history goes back even farther than that. In 1905, it was the location of the Veteran City Post Of- fice (recalling our town’s brief stint as a retirement community for Civil War veterans).

Caldwell Realty acquired the building in 1988, when it served as an apartment complex. Time had not been kind to the structure. The wiring was dangerously antiquated; along the back of the building ran what Hornsleth calls the “sideways stair- case” which tenants teetered precariously up and down. And the pretty arches along the colonnade? Ridden with termites.

The current restoration of the arches is the latest in a series of improvements – including some landscaping and a new bike rack – that Caldwell has made. And hopefully, it won’t be the last; he’s hoping to install mini split air conditioners to replace the old window units and he’s curious to see if there’s any trace of the old half-moon arches in the upper windows. What happens next will depend on costs.

Whatever changes come, here’s hoping this lovely old Gulfport gem will continue to serve our community for another hundred years.

Guenther continued from page 7 could be operated as short-term rentals, Taylor said during the P&Z meeting that city code does not allow such a use in a mixed-use development. That means the new units can only be rented for a onemonth minimum and no more than three times in a single year.

The proposed plans for the second floor, which will offer rentals – although not short-term ones.

Multiple board members complimented Guenther on the beauty of the design for his project, and there was no public comment for or against it. A city official said the application would likely be considered by council at its Feb. 21 regular meeting.

Pending council approval, Guenther will proceed with structural engineering permitting process, which he hopes won’t take more than six months.

Either way, this coming week, he will remove two diseased laurel oaks, which two different arborists told Guenther had reached the end of their life spans.