MERIDIAN, Miss. (WTOK) – The city of Meridian has a new Community Development Director. Craig Hitt officially started in his new post on Wednesday. He brings a wealth of experience to the table and sees a bright future for the Queen City.
Craig Hitt is certainly no stranger to being a community servant. For the last 9 years, he served as the Economic Development Director for Kemper County. Prior to that, he was on the Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors for 12 years. He takes over a job now where he’ll have to wear many hats.
”All the permitting and everything that goes on within the city as far as building, remodeling, construction,” said Hitt. “Then of course the cultural affairs side which is a whole other department itself so to speak with all the activities the city of Meridian have and that’s a great thing.”
Since his last stint in downtown Meridian, Hitt says a lot has changed. Back then, a lot of people and businesses were looking to get out of downtown. Now, it’s just the opposite.
“They’re not looking for an acre lot to build a house on or buy a house on a half acre lot. They’re looking for an apartment and have the opportunity to walk to walk, walk to a restaurant in the evening and that’s being made available to them and they’re taking advantage of it. That’s fantastic and I think that’s making a difference in downtown along with all the development we’ve got going on with Threefoot and the other investments that are being made.”
Mayor Jimmie Smith and Craig Hitt have had a long standing relationship and Smith says he thinks Hitt is a perfect fit for the job
“I think he’s a very good Christian person,” said Smith. “I have faith that he’s going to bring some integrity to that job and help make things better for Meridian.”
“The city of Meridian is the hub for this region,” added Hitt. “So what can we do to improve the city of Meridian that makes it better for this entire region which offers jobs to people which may live in the city of Meridian.”
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