Petal says eminent domain not imminent: WDAM-TV, Laurel-Hattiesburg MS, 4/10/07

Petal [MS] Mayor Carl Scott says residents in the Cameron Town neighborhood won't be forced to sell their homes to the city anytime soon.

There was concern among residents last week that the city would use eminent domain to make homeowners sell their property for the expansion of Friendly Park. Scott says that's not true.

The city is not interested in expanding the park westward, which is where the Cameron Town homes are located. Instead the city wants to expand the park north on land not occupied by residents.

"I really don't know what the issue is with the Cameron Town neighborhood right now. There's three houses in this whole area that I can see visually and that none of those are in our acquisition list. We really don't want to acquire any of those lands right now," Scott says.

The city is waiting on appraisals of the land it's hoping to acquire. Scott says that process could take three weeks.

---

WDAM-TV, Laurel-Hattiesburg MS: http://www.wdam.com