The Simpson County News recently received a letter from concerned voters of Mendenhall detailing an abuse of power by Mayor Todd Booth.
The letter explained that Booth had the road in front of his home paved for almost one mile, and that it cost taxpayers nearly $50,000. The letter also said that only $20,000 was spent to fix other roads throughout the city. Booth’s home is located on Green Avenue in Mendenhall. When asked about the situation Booth said, “As far as the road in front of my house, I had our superintendent make a list of all the roads that needed attention and then we prioritized that list.”
He explained that once the list was prioritized he turned the repaving projects over to superintendent Red Lewis and the contractors to determine what roads needed repair. Booth said, “When the deal came up about my road I told them to patch it, but the contractor said that there was no patching it.”
According to Booth the contractor explained the road was beyond patching and instead opted to apply a thin layer of asphalt. Green Avenue borders two wards in Mendenhall and according to Lewis the road receives several travelers exiting Highway 13 daily. This was a counter point to a statement made in the letter which proposed that only Booth and his neighbors frequently travel the road.
Lewis explained that Green Avenue has been on his list of roads that needed attention for some time. Booth said that the previous administration also had his road on a list to be repaired. Lewis said, “The road over by Todd’s was in bad shape. We didn’t do it because it was the mayor’s road.”
Booth said, “My road was horrible and I pay a lot of taxes like everybody else and it wasn’t done just for me. As far as abusing power that’s not me.”
Booth revealed that the city did spend $50,000 on asphalt out of last year’s budget, and disclosed that it was the most that the city has ever spent. Booth said, “We did a lot for what we had to work with, and we jumped all over town fixing what needs to be fixed.” He explained that the city is looking to double the amount of money spent on road work in this year’s budget.
Booth exclaimed that city officials did as much as they could with the amount of funds available. Lewis explained that streets where the city had to cut and repair substructure took priority. West Street, Mose Street, East Laurel Avenue, and Oak Street were among the streets to receive attention last summer. He added that many roads are still in desperate need of attention to include Congress Street, Polly Avenue, Pat Street, East Pine Street, Lee Street, and many others. In regards to asphalt Lewis said, “It don’t go a long way.”
Booth said that the city will begin repairing streets again in July or August. He said, “We wait until the latter part of the budget so we can pool money together to do more.” He also said that the conditions of the roadways will always be a concern and priority of the City.
