The Simpson County Board of Supervisors heard a proposal at their Monday meeting to allow for the disposal of municipal waste water in a way which is claimed to improve soil quality.
The proposal was made in part by Steve Womack with Maintenance Systems Incorporated. The waste water will be dried into bio solid waste and then distributed on a 154 acre section of a 255 acre section of land between D’Lo and Harrisville. The address listed is 922 Harrisville to Braxton Road.
The refuse will come from Rankin, Hinds, Copiah, Lawrence, Jefferson Davis, Covington, Smith and Simpson counties, according to the application. Attorneys say that odor will not be a problem. The firm handling the system is FC&E Engineering of Brandon.
The county must approve the request and reply to the Department of Environmental Quality that it does not conflict with local restrictions. The refuse will be tilled into the existing land and, according to the application, improve the existing soil quality.
The board then heard an objection from Richard Dailey of the Burnini Law Firm on behalf of Mississippi Hub and their natural gas storage facility. The current value on the property, which is in litigation, is $322 million based on the assessment of Charles Baldwin, former Simpson County tax assessor. He used construction cost as the basis for appraisal. Burnini contends that the purchase price of $99 million should be used with an assessed valuation of $80 million for Simpson County. The difference of $19 million is due to Covington and Jefferson Davis counties. The litigation will determine the valuation to be used for the current year as well as in upcoming years.
Board members expressed no objections to the current tax roll they reviewed from Raleigh Annex Apartments in Magee, Magee Shopping Center and Holiday Inn in Magee. The increase in tax for Magee Shopping Center was for the new Burger King. Based on what he called insufficient information, Supervisor Danny Craft moved not to allow the objections. The board approved the motion and voted against the objections of valuation.
Road Manager Ben Warren reported that the county had been able to complete 20 of the 30 proposed miles of road improvements for this season. The roads are being prepared to rock and seal. The board approved the swapping of a pot hole patcher that is no longer in service with Rankin County. In return they will get a crew truck to add to the current fleet. The truck has about 200K miles. The pot hole patcher has not been used in over five years. Warren informed the board that two single-axle dumptrucks were coming off lease and would be worth considering purchase, stating that they could be bought for $55,000 for the two.
Sheriff Paul Mullins reported that the county should be able to count on inmate labor using the current standards.
The board discussed the county having been approved for up to $467,409.23 in federal CARES funds for coronavirus relief that have to be determined for use by November, and those uses must be approved. Part of the discussion focused on whether some of these funds should be used to provide a safer environment for county inmates.
They also discussed making the voting precincts safer during the upcoming election in November. The board approved increasing pay by $50 per day for election workers and commissioners. It was felt that the additional pay might help attract people to work in the elections, which has become more difficult.
The board agreed to improving the communications network between E-911 and the Sheriff’s Department with the remainder of the county. It would cost an additional $864 per month for a 60 month contract. The board approved the upgrade with the exception of Supervisor Mitchell Chapman.
The board approved the purchase of exhaust fans for the jail in the amount of $4,144 to replace seven broken fans. The board approved software renewal for the election tablets in the amount of $5,624.50.
The next meeting of the board is set for August 17 at 9 a.m.
