WALTHALL — County leaders have authorized the appraisal of property in Mathiston being considered for economic development purposes.
The Webster County Board of Supervisors entered into executive session on Jan. 18 for discussion of economic development, meeting minutes show.
Afterwards in open session, the board authorized Chancery Clerk Michael Kolb to act on behalf of the board to acquire an appraisal to ascertain value of certain real property located in the county. The property is being considered for future economic development purposes, according to the minutes.
Supervisors followed up on Jan. 31, when Mathiston Town clerk Rachel Robinson was present, records reflect. The board authorized Kolb to hire BBG Real Estate Services of Ridgeland to provide an appraisal of a parcel of land in Mathiston. The cost of the appraisal will be $2,650.
BBG’s proposal for the appraisal report was attached to the minutes as an exhibit. The proposal indicates the parcel in question is approximately 12 acres of land located at 4480 Reed Road.
The Board of Supervisors also handled these matters on the respective dates in January, according to meeting minutes:
Jan. 2
In addition to the previously reported approval of other motions on Jan. 2, the board on that date voted to:
• reelect Pat Cummings as board president for the new term and Paul Crowley as board vice president, both by acclamation.
• rehire Karl Grubb and Willis Engineering for the next four years as county State Aid engineer, and Kyle L. Grubb as floodplain administrator, through Jan. 4, 2028.
• approve the December board minutes.
• hire Kolb as inventory clerk, effective that day.
• hire Christina Faulkner as deputy chancery clerk effective Jan. 1.
• allow Youth Court personnel to attend Mississippi Youth Court Information Delivery System training in West Point Jan. 8-12. Attendees were to be Irene Surma and Danielle Banks.
Jan. 18
In addition to the aforementioned matters on Jan. 18, the board on that date approved motions to:
• hire Robert Eiland as a part-time dispatcher for the 911 Center effective immediately.
• appoint Kolb as the county’s audit representative for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2022.
• enter into an amendment to the professional services agreement with Belinda Stewart Architects on the Webster County Correctional Facility (Emergency Operations Center) project. The original agreement was entered into on Feb. 28, 2022, and this is the first amendment to that document.
• accept the document presented by Kolb for Certification for Contracts, Grants and Loan.
• purchase a 2023 Ford F150 SLX 4WD pickup from $49,990 for District 3. This was the lower of two bids received for the vehicle and was submitted by Kirk Auto Co. of Grenada. The full cash price of the vehicle will be paid out of District 3 Road Maintenance Fund.
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Jan. 31
Erika McDaniel, Webster County Extension agent, and Lance Newman of the Mississippi State University Extension Service addressed the board Jan 31. They informed the board that the Extension Service wished to hire an agriculture and natural resources Extension agent for Webster and Oktibbeha counties.
The board authorized MSUES to initiate the process to employ such an agent and will provide $6,000 in support of the salary for this individual. That amount is already budgeted in the 2023-24 Webster County budget.
Also on Jan. 31, the board approved motions to:
• approve the purchase of two Mississippi Wireless Information Network handheld radios and three MSWIN mobile radios for the Sheriff’s Department. Two bids were received, the lower being from Anderson Communications of Oxford in the amount of $10,397.
The motion states $10,000 of the purchase amount will come from a grant that was awarded from Homeland Security and the remaining $397 will come out of the Sheriff’s Department’s budget.
• purchase 25 handheld radios and accessories for the county. Two quotes were received, the lesser in the amount of $49,872.50 from Anderson Communications. The purchase price will be paid from Homeland Security Grant number FY23 HSGP, which was in the amount of $50,000.
• approve a purchase of fire equipment in the amount of $4,500 by Tomnolen Volunteer Fire Department.
To fund the purchase of the equipment, District 3 Road Maintenance Fund will make an interfund loan of $4,500 to the fire department. TVFD has received a grant from Homestead Security and will repay the loan when funds from the grant arrive.
• purchase two commercial overhead doors for the Tomnolen VFD building. The cost of the purchase will come from the “Bart Williams Fund” through House Bill 603. Two bids were received, the lesser being from Grenada Overhead Door in the amount of $6,530.
