The Simpson County Board of Supervisors met on November 4 and discussed county business.
County Engineer Greg Bonds said the New Hope Road bridge project started this week and the road has been closed to traffic. The Peacock Road box culvert has been installed and has been inspected by State Aid. Once it is complete the crew will move to Dry Creek Road to start their next project.
Bonds asked the board for guidance on SAP projects from the board. He shared a list of potential projects with board members and explained that State Aid no longer allows in-house work on these projects and the most the county can do is pre-leveling. All finishing work must be done by contractors.
Bonds said survey work has begun on five bridge projects around the county, and plans have been started.
He presented a list of roads to be pre-leveled totaling about 28 miles of county roads. Bonds was approved to advertise the pre-leveling project. Bonds and Jeremy Bolton will ride State Aid roads in a couple of weeks to inspect them for maintenance.
Board Attorney Danny Welch forwarded information to the board from Drew Padget, who wants to build a construction debris pit. The board said they believed it would be good for the county to have a commercial pit to take some burden off of the county. Welch said the plan will have to go through a public hearing process and notification of the adjacent landowners to voice any concerns. The proposed site would be off Highway 49.
Daniel Ferguson, who is working with the county on building and zoning, proposed adopting the 2021 International Building Codes for the county. Welch explained that it would have to be 60 days from publishing notice of the adoption to give the public an opportunity to voice concerns. Ferguson said that the county is required to stay within three cycles of the new building codes and the codes are released every three years.
Welch said he and Ferguson are still working out the process of getting contractors permitted to come in and be bonded and get liability insurance posted with the county. The board unanimously agreed to adopt the 2021 International Building Codes to go into effect after 60 days.
Welch also presented the board with a draft of an ordinance for factory-built homes. The ordinance sets the parameters of mobile homes as not being more than 20 years old and being permitted and registered. The ordinance does not tie mobile home ownership to land ownership. Welch emphasized that the ordinance was only a draft and urged the board to study it and provide feedback.
Chancery Clerk Tim Gray recorded in the minutes training for Justice Court Judge Charles Savell at the Justice Court Judge Fall Conference. He also recorded Department of Revenue exemption certifications for Howard Industries.
Samantha Raner Fox with Truckwork spoke with the board on truck options for the upcoming spring. Fox explained that the county has 3 big trucks to get into auction for next March. She explained that March is the most aggressive sales time. She spoke of a possible nto a shortage which will drive up the values of the trucks that are left. Fox also discussed bid specs recently put out by board. She said the Truckworx products exceeded the bid specs on the engine and truck beds. She offered the better trucks for the same bid price. The board took the information under advisement until Board Attorney Danny Welch has an opportunity to review.
Pat Brown with the Simpson County Development Foundation updated the board on recent upgrades to D’Lo water park. Brown said three glamping stations, a pickle ball court , and other improvements have been made to the park. He explained that the front section of the park is opened for short term camping. Brown brought issues to the board that needed to be discussed in executive session due to the acquisition of properties and contract negotiations
Sheriff Paul Mullins renewed the county’s membership with the National Sheriff’s Association and Omnigo Software. He was also approved personnel changes moving Deputy Michael Payne to full time certified and hiring Shawn Pal Scott as a part time new hire.
Tax Assessor Jamie Brewer presented a new hire, MACA dues for $1,000, credit reports for solid waste, and surrendered tags for October. Emergency Management Director John Kilpatrick says that the county is under a burn ban until November 16.
The board discussed bid analysis on a distributor truck and chip spreader. Concerns were expressed with the lowest bid on the chip spreader being a first generation with LeeBoy with a 20-foot head and the turn radius. After some discussion the board decided to move forward with the lowest bid. There was approximately an $11,000 difference between the lowest bid and the next highest bid.
Jeremy Bolton discussed truck purchasing options to be delivered before next spring.
County Administrator Eric Bowen presented the board with quotes for a 3-year lease purchase of 2 John Deere 6120E Cab Tractors with the lowest bid coming from Trustmark at 4.31 percent.
Bowen also recorded in the minutes the roadside herbicide application service agreement with Edko, LLC. This will be a spraying program that is expected to reduce the amount of mowing needed to be done for county roadsides.
Bowen also presented the solid waste collection schedule for the week of November 11-14. There will be no solid waste collection on Monday Veteran’s Day. Solid waste collection will resume Tuesday with all routes being collected by the end of Thursday.
The board entered executive session before recessing the meeting.
