The Simpson County Board of Supervisors has received an offer from the Mississippi Department of Corrections, MDOC, to compensate for the loss of inmate labor resulting from the closure of the work center in Magee.
The county is currently allowed to house up to 25 state inmates. The most recent report shows that 20 of the 25 slots are filled. With the looming closure of the center, the MDOC has offered an additional 25 slots to the county.
The county would be responsible for costs associated with custody of these prisoners. The supervisors discussed the fact that the county keeps prisoners for municipalities at the rate of $25 per day per inmate and in addition must provide healthcare for them. The cost of healthcare is unknown because it is based on possible injury or sickness.
The housing of trustees was also a concern. The existing facility is at capacity. Board members discussed the temporary fix of converting part of the existing jail pods into trustee housing and moving part of the minimum security prisoners to a different pod.
The board also discussed the county charging municipalities for services offered through the inmates at the rate of $25 for each inmate on a daily basis. They determined, however, that these services could only be made available to government entities in Simpson County. In the past, the Magee work center had provided workers for Mt. Olive, Raleigh and New Hebron.
The board said they plan to contact Magee, Mendenhall and D’Lo about options. MDOC requires a decision by March 31.
County Road Manager Ben Warren reported that work was complete on the bridge on David Sherman Road. Six pilings need to be replaced on the Starr to Braxton Road and five pilings replaced on the Siloam Road, he said. He reported that materials are in for repair to the Macedonia project. Because of cost of repair to the bridge on Boss Stein Road, the board opted to go back with wood construction on that bridge, which was expected to cost between $5000 and $6000 for material.
The board approved moving Bruce Rosse from part time to full time detention officer in the Sheriff’s Department.
The board heard a request from Sam Cole, the father of Jonathan Cole, owner of Cole Tractor. Cole was interested in being included in the bid process for doing business with the county for possible up-coming purchases.
The board approved the claims docket through March 15 in the amount of $1,294,584.43. The board also approved a bid for steel for the Macedonia bridge in the amount of $14,736 for 800 lineal feet. Supervisors agreed to increase the bad check fee for solid waste from $20 to $40.
Board members agreed to extend the current emergency order for bridge repair in the county in a continuation of the state inspection process which closed so many of the county’s bridges earlier in the year.
The county announced a retirement ceremony for Dr. Ron Nettles, president of Copiah-Lincoln Community College, on March 21, from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the CoLin Simpson County Center. A tour of Boswell Industries will be held at 2 p.m. the same day.
A scheduled meeting of the Council of Government will be held on April 9 at Zip’s Restaurant in Magee at 7:30 a.m. County offices will be closed on March 30 for Good Friday.
The supervisors were invited to the Mendenhall Library on April 9 at 6 p.m. for an appreciation dinner. Walt Grayson will be the featured speaker for the event during National Library Week.
Damage was reported to Lake Phillips Road in the amount of $2,745 done while Southern Timber Products was cutting timber. The county notified the company, which asked that a bill be sent.
Braxton Fire Department requested to purchase an additional fire truck. The board explained that the department would have to utilize a new process called the reverse bid process and said that the county has not yet participated in this process.
