Donnell Feazell, a retired state trooper, was honored for heroism, by the Simpson County Board of Supervisors at their first meeting of the month on March 6
Feazell saw a trailer on fire while driving through D’Lo and immediately took action. His decision to rush into the burning structure ultimately saved the life of the home owner. The board presented Feazell with a certificate recognizing his heroic act of bravery and thanked him for going above and beyond.
In other business, the board received a signed petition to close, vacate, and abandon Clarence Thames as a public road. The board accepted the petition and will set a public hearing after advertising for two weeks required by statute.
Potential new business owners appeared before the board to request a letter of approval. Kanwalit Singh and Roger Simmons presented their plans to put a cannabis grow facility in the old Garret Furniture Store location on Highway 28. The location has been shut down for years and Singh has plans to purchase the property.
Simmons explained that the grow house would create between 10 and 20 jobs with each position starting at $10-$15 an hour. The partners assured the board that the facility would be well controlled with several layers of security including an off-site security system that is monitored 24 hours a day. Singh said the facility would include a fence of at least nine feet and would meet all other state security requirements.
He has a similar facility in Benton, Miss., and attested that they have been working in the facility for a year. Simmons said on their recent inspection by the state they achieved a perfect score on their evaluation.
Supervisor District 1 Mitchell Chatman questioned the security, whether it would be just cameras or if they would have guards. Chatman said he would not want the facility to bring a heavier burden on the Sheriff’s Department. Singh said each room will have coded locks and several layers of security in place. Supervisor District 4 Donny Welch reiterated that their only security is monitored digitally and asked who is responsible for the security of the facility when they are not there. He echoed Chatman, speaking of the burden on the Sheriff’s Department.
Simmons described their existing facility as having a gate, an interior building, and additional locks in place. He said if someone tried to breach the gate, law enforcement would be called for assistance. This would be standard practices for any business being burglarized while operating in the county.
The pair was asking the board for permission to bring the business to Simpson County. They presented board attorney Danny Welch with a letter that authorized Sigma Grower LLC to operate as a medical cannabis cultivator in Simpson County as long as they strictly adhere to the regulations set forth by the state of MS and any additional regulations required by Simpson County.
Welch said the board is looking at a permit fee. Simmons said they would pay a fee, and discussed paying sales and county taxes. Tax Assessor Jamie Brewer said the only taxes assessed by the county would be the tax on the property and equipment. Welch asked the timeline on the project, and Simmons said once they get approval, they will order the materials and get the building built to specifications. They are in the process of buying the property, and said the owners are ready to sell it, but the sale is contingent on the board approving their operation. Singh said the project will be over two million dollars and wanted board approval before proceeding.
Supervisor District Five Randy Moore said, “We are not really ready to make this type of decision today.”
Danny Welch said the discussion is about a permit fee, and other counties are charging a permit fee upfront and an annual renewal. Donny Welch suggested a $10,000 initial fee and $5,000 a year renewal. Singh said in Yazoo County the fee was approximately $450, and asked was Simpson County’s fee similar to other counties.
Donny Welch said, “The thing I have about this is, and I’m not opposed to those type of grow facilities, but if the county has to absorb this, and we’re not going to make anything off of the permit fee other than just the taxes. Other things are paying permit as far as cell phone towers and everything else in the county.”
Simmons said he is a Christian and the reason he got into this business is because of his father-in-law suffering from cancer. Simmons said someone brought his father-in-law some cannabis and he was finally able to eat and keep his food down. The board decided to table the issue until the next board meeting.
County Engineer Buddy Wolverton gave an update on state aid county projects. The 2022 Simpson County resurfacing project is 57 percent complete. The contractor has completed reseal operations on 24 of 94 roads. The contractor will resume on the project when weather conditions permit, starting in Mt. Olive and Magee area working northward and westward till competition. Most of the board expressed displeasure with the job being done by the contractor specifically the pre-leveling. Mitchell Chatman questioned why they were restarting in the Mt. Olive area and still has not done any work in Ward 1. Supervisor District Two Danny Craft asked who was responsible for the quality of work and wanted them to fix it.
Wolverton said the roads will be better than what they were, but they are not going to be perfect. He explained that many of the roads were not built to a standard which is leaving the repairs to be made from above. He said McQueen agreed to make repairs in spots and they have a set of roads that they are coming to repair. The board asked that McQueen come before the board to answer some questions before starting back up. Wolverton said he would convey the message.
Ben Warren discussed an issue with loggers and suggested putting stipulations in place. He explained that the permit now operated on the honor system. The issue is the loggers leaving mud on the road. Recommendations were for the loggers to have a sweeper or a box blade before they start logging. Fines were suggested for not complying with the permit. The board said most of the issues comes from the smaller companies.
Warren said, “We’ve got to regulate these loggers in some kind of way. We’ve got to protect our roads.”
Danny Welch said state statutes do not give a lot of authority, but the county can route them through Simpson County. Welch suggested adopting a general ordinance for mud on the road and damage to the road. The issue was tabled for further research.
Warren said, “The loggers have taken advantage of our generosity for years and something needs to be done to get them back in line.”
Warren said, “But one thing you’ve got to realize is if you hurt your loggers then you’re also going to hurt your land owners.”
County Administrator Rhuel Dickinson presented the board with plans for the MDOT Bridge Replacement Projects on Simpson Highway 149 North and South of D’Lo. Current plans for phase 1 include Highway 149 will be closed over Sellers Creek and Dabbs Creek beginning March 16 with access to D’Lo by highway 49 and By Highway 13 and Teapot Road. During phase 2 Highway 149 will be closed over the Strong River. The board unanimously approved the plan.
Mitchell Chatman asked Dickinson of the balance on ARPA funds and asked could any of the funds be allocated to other projects in the community. Dickinson explained that the funds had already been allocated. He said $3.8 million dollars was spent on the road project, $700,000 for the trustee hall project, and $700,000 for the courthouse roof project, and there was nothing left to allocate. The courthouse and trustee hall project money has not been spent, but has already been allocated. Dickinson said if the board wants to change the allocation they can.
Chatman said, “We should consider affordable housing for our communities, utilities, job creation, mental health, drug addiction, and GED classes. I’m looking at who got us in here and that’s the citizens. I know it’s good for the courthouse and the jail, but we’re working the citizens of Simpson County.”
Chatman motioned to consider changing the allocation which passed 3-2 Brian Kennedy and Donny Welch were opposed. Shortly after considering the board voted 4-1 to leave the allocations for the trustee hall and courthouse the same, Chatman was opposed.
John Kilpatrick presented the board with the price of moving the E-911 Building dispatch operations to the Sheriff’s Office for $147,472. Randy Moore motioned that the E-911 operations be left at their current location which was second by Mitchell Chatman. The motion passed 4-1 with Donny Welch being opposed.
Pat Brown appeared before the board and received their endorsement for the Excel by 5 program on behalf of the Simpson County School District. The board entered executive session before recessing the meeting.
