The Simpson County Board of Supervisors’ regularly scheduled meeting on August 5 began with a public hearing for the notice of taxpayers for 2024 tax rolls for any objections.
Tax assessor Jamie Brewer presented one objection from Magee Shopping Center. Brewer said the objection was made without any income statement or other documentation to support the objection. The objection was denied, and the public hearing was closed.
Chancey Clerk Tim Gray presented two proofs of publication for the public hearing and the bid opening for ERBR -64(05) New Hope Road Bridge replacement project. All 16th section leases were approved.
Pattie Wallace introduced herself to the board and will serve as the new director of the Simpson County Department of Human Services. Wallace said she will oversee the economic assistance and TANF program.
Road Manager Ben Warren presented his road manager report for Julym saying that work is progressing well with optimal weather and the department is hoping to finish the rock and tar project soon. He said upon completion county crews will start pre leveling.
Warren said pothole patching in the western part of the county will start soon. Supervisor Danny Craft stressed that county employees should stay hydrated with elevated temperatures predicted for the upcoming weeks.
Supervisor Mitchell Chatman inquired about standard operating procedures forms for the county. Paper forms were started last week and will be converted into a digital format in the future. Chatman requested a list of roads that have been ditched along with costs to complete the project.
He also asked for an update on a missing backhoe that was stolen from the county on Hwy. 28 and has been missing for over 10 days. Chatman said the information needs to be publicized to get help from the public on locating the missing piece of equipment. Reports have been filed with the Sheriff's Office, and the incident has been under investigation.
Warren said, “We’re pretty sure that it wasn’t done locally. It was probably an out of state deal. No one has seen nothing, and everyone has been looking.”
Craft said farm equipment from another company also went missing during the same time as the county’s backhoe. It was considered to be an out of state job and the equipment was possibly stolen to be shipped overseas. Craft gave details of an incident at a company he worked for where their equipment was found on the docks in Mobile, Ala., before it was shipped.
The backhoe was insured. An incident report was filed with the insurance agency and the timeline of 30 days has passed. The claim has been paid out.
Warren said the backhoe was almost nine years old and did not have any tracking equipment installed. He said the board should consider installing tracking equipment on new machines.
County Engineer Greg Bonds updated the board on the ERBR project on New Hope Road. Bonds said he will open and review bids this Friday for the upcoming project. Bonds said the Dry Creek Road and Peacock Road projects will start soon with the same contractor working on both projects.
Bonds said he is gathering information on expanding the rubbish site with new information from MDEQ. The development of subdivision regulations in the county continues and Bonds plans to have an intial draft at the September board meeting.
Supervisor Donny Welch requested cost analysis for the damaged roads along Highway 28 due to the bridge being closed to assist legislators with a dollar amount if funding becomes available.
Jamie Brewer presented surrendered tags and public utility rolls. Brewer discussed personnel in executive session.
Emergency Management Coordinator John Kilpatrick discussed contracts in executive session.
County Administrator Eric Bowen was approved to make two journal entries moving use tax funds to the Road Department fund in the amount of $2,021,995.84 and moving LACTF funds to the Solid Waste Fund in the amount of $113,999.38.
The board also ratified the Herc Rental contract for one boom axe at the state contract price of $760, and the Business Information Systems annual support contract of $1,200 for both courtrooms.
Board Attorney Danny Welch said he is still researching options on how the county can provide funding to Keep Simpson County Beautiful. Welch said the county is starting to receive opioid settlement payments for reimbursement for costs due to the opioid crisis. Welch said a portion of the money needs to be placed back into the Sheriff’s Department. He discussed potential litigation in executive session.
Willie Magee appeared before the board again to ask about part time and holiday pay. Danny Welch said he could not find the MDOT grant throught which Magee was hired. Welch said he believed Magee was a county employee and that according to the wording of the policy, he would get half the benefits of what the county allows.
Magee has since terminated his employment with the county and gave the reason he terminated his employment.
Magee said, “They saying the inmates said that I was mistreating them, and they didn’t want to work for me. But the reason was that truck produced more work than any of the other two trucks out there.”
Magee said his truck was called a work truck, not a play truck, and he was hired to work and not play. Welch said he would have to do more calculations to check on benefits for Magee.
Shannon Phillips-Long, a marketing director for the Bicentennial, appeared before the board with Coach Chuckie Allen and Carmen Grubbs. Phillips-Long said Allen is the all-time winningest coach in Mendenhall and four games from being the All-time winningest coach in Simpson County. She said the 1974 Mendenhall Tigers team submitted a letter to the time capsule with keys to victory for today’s team. The letter survived the time capsule and was read to the 2024 Mendenhall Tigers. She asked for the use of the courthouse lawn to celebrate the burying of the Trojan and a special ceremony for the 1974 football team as the Tigers and Trojans faceoff in the 100th Simpson County Super Bowl. The board unanimously approved.
The board entered an executive session before recessing the meeting.
