The City of Greenville will take out a loan to help finance a project that will increase the number of plots at Magnolia Cemetery.

On Monday, the Greenville City Council approved a short-term construction loan agreement with Trustmark Bank for up to $500,000 at an interest rate of 1.5 percent.

The money will be used to upgrade the drainage system along South Street and Hwy. 10 West.

A drainage problem along those routes has often left a portion of Magnolia Cemetery flooded, which has meant the city has been unable to utilize the space for burial plots.

“On South Street we had a road cave in,” he said. “It’s been blocked off for months. The problem is when you fix it, it’s going to be more water to come through there because you’ve got to put a bigger pipe in there.

“There’s a big pipe underneath the highway that the state has, and it’s big enough. But the problem is when the water gets underneath that pipe and gets into the pipe over at the cemetery. It’s all fallen in. It’s been that way for 15 years. That’s the reason we have a portion of the cemetery that we can’t sell lots in.  It floods.”

McLendon said once a large pipe is installed along South Street, the flooding will stop, which will also make traveling on Highway 10 safer during heavy rains.

The improvements will allow for the creation of 499 new plots.

Greenville Mayor McLendon said the city will pay back the loan with funds generated from the selling of those plots.

The council also approved the following expenditures:

• $2,730 to PT Armor Inc. for two ballistic resistant vests for the Greenville Police Department
• $7,119.12 to Clark’s Paint and Body Shop for repairs to four police cruisers
• $3,010.39 to AllComm Wireless for sirens, lights and hardware package for police cruisers
• $2,986.75 to Haynes Emergency Lighting for police truck sirens, lights and hardware package
• $4,090 to Gulf State Distributors for 10 Glock 17 pistols for the Greenville Police Department
• $3,140 to Southern Sand and Gravel for four loads of riprap for ditches
• $1,051.52 to McKinley Tire for four tires for a Sanitation Department truck
• $1,500 to T&H Contracting to change out ceiling tiles in the Ritz Theatre auditorium
• $1,365.30 to Coca-Cola Bottling Company for concessions for all fields
• $2,607.86 to Lee Electric for swage lift station repairs at Dunbar Park
• $1,786 to Azar’s Uniforms for 47 pair of uniform pants for the Greenville Fire Department

The next Greenville City Council meeting will be held June 13 at 5:30 p.m. at Greenville’s City Hall.