County to overlay 22.4 miles
By cutting three roads from the proposed list to bring the project within budget, the Copiah County Board of Supervisors adopted the revised overlay program during Tuesday’s recessed session.
The project calls for the overlay of 22.4 miles of county roads. The road list is still subject to revision, deleting more mileage or possibly adding mileage according to available funds.
Roads on the revised list include:
Beauregard Road – from the east city limits to Monticello Road, 6.6 miles;
Old Utica Road – from Rhymes Road to Highway 27, 1.3 miles;
Dentville-Carpenter Road – from Dentville west, 5.2 miles;
Old Red Star Road – from Jackson-Liberty Road to County Line, 2.0 miles;
Terry-Gatesville Road – from Johnson Road to County Line, 3.4 miles;
West Whitworth Street – from Highway 28 to I-55, 1.1 miles (stripe and sign only I-55 to Hwy 51, 0.8 miles)
Dixie Garden Road – box culverts, .04 miles;
St. Paul Road – bridge and approaches, 0.1 miles; Homochitto River Bridge and approaches, .04 miles;
Rockport Road – from Beasley Road to Hwy 472, 0.8 miles;
Rhymes Road – from Highway 27 to Maddox Lane East, 1.0 miles;
County Farm Road – from Highway 51 to railroad, 0.1 miles.
In other road matters, the board programmed 4.2 miles of Dentville-Jack Road for an estimated $3.2 million project to be funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (stimulus).
OTHER BUSINESS
Maintenance supervisor Stanley Martin advised the board of a water leak under the slab at the health department.
Adrian Starkey was hired as a part time to full time deputy.
Bids were rejected on the jail management software. A bid was found after the opening that had been delivered to the sheriff’s department before the deadline, as required by the advertisement for bids, but did not make it to the courthouse in time for the bid opening. The project is under $50,000, so under new purchasing rules quotes will probably be solicited rather than readvertising for bids.
Patrick Morgan, 4-H agent, asked the board to consider funds for 4-H travel expenses in the next budget.
An unused air conditioner was declared surplus and transferred to Co-Lin.
An exemption request from a church was denied based on state law that excludes vacant lots for exemption.
The Advance Auto Parts application for ad valorem exemption was approved for five years. The personal property exemption on the second phase of a $1,333,446 expansion is eligible under the county’s guidelines. The expansion does not create any new jobs, the board was told, but will allow for the retention of existing jobs. The industry will not be exempt from school, fire or road and bridge taxes, under the county’s policy. The industry is expected to file another application for exemption next year when the final phase of thet expansion is completed.
Surplus and obsolete property will be posted in three public places. Bids will be opened on June 1 at 10 a.m.
The preconstruction conference on the Carter Hill Road and Brown’s Wells Road project took place on May 20.
AD Whitt Drive in Wesson was added to the list of public roads.
Dr. Janet Schriver updated the board on the cultural affairs department’s activities. A National Endowment for the Arts grant is being sought to help with the Johnson house restoration.
Litigation was discussed with the coroner but no action taken before the board adjourned for the month. The next meeting will be Monday, June 1, at 9 a.m.
