When the Winston County Board of Supervisors met on Monday, April 1, multiple department heads were on tap to provide updates to the board or to discuss needs at various facilities.
Board President Luke Parkes opened with a call to order as well as an invocation, and the supervisors then dove into the matters at hand. Head Librarian Beth Edwards from the Winston County Library provided her annual six-month update to the board. She noted that not only was the library putting on a wide variety of programs to benefit multiple age groups in the county, but she also noted how the library has partnered with the local schools. Youth Librarian Andy Childress has been attending area schools to read to elementary children. Edwards also noted that the library had developed a successful partnership with the administration at Eiland Middle School to both promote reading and to assist in getting students to read proficiently according to the Accelerated Reader program guidelines. Edwards noted that this program was seeing great success.
Edwards also introduced the newest member of the Winston County Library Board, Ms. Tekella Foster. She was nominated last month by District Four supervisor Floyd Miller.
Next up, multiple line items on the agenda were discussed and approved. The board quickly moved on to hearing from department heads. For the Sheriff’s Department, Sheriff Mike Perkins spoke to the board regarding monies needed to get the elevator in the courthouse upgraded to meet ADA guidelines and generally working properly. Perkins presented information he had gathered upon meeting with certified repairmen. Upon their inspection, they told Perkins that the current controls must be gutted and completely redone in order to bring the elevator components up to code. This would cost $79,800 with the additional cost of a new elevator at $86,000.
The board discussed from where this money would come and if there would be time to take bids on the project. The board noted that this is necessary with the upcoming Circuit Court session to take place later this month. Discussion was also heard regarding the possibility of waiting until the session ended (approximately four to six weeks later). When the board and sheriff acknowledged that waiting could put the upgrading of the elevator system in the middle of the next circuit court session in October, all agreed that waiting for bids was not feasible.
Board Attorney Hugh Hathorn advised the board that this could be considered an emergency funding issue, which does not require a bid process. When weighed against the idea of facing non-compliance penalties, the board voted to authorize the monies for the new elevator system.
Sheriff Mike Perkins also requested the funding to replace the current stove at the Winston-Choctaw Regional Correctional Facility. The current stove has been at the facility since 1997. The board approved the purchase of a stove totaling just over $11,000.
After Sheriff Perkins made his presentation, Coroner Larry Massey spoke to the board. He noted that he is currently waiting on a final approval from the hospital’s executive board to utilize a cooler as a county morgue. He asked the board’s approval to order two racks that would be utilized once this is approved for such use.
The WCCRCF noted that, as of Monday morning, the facility housed 278 state inmates and 81 county inmates.
The financial office brought forward a number of demand checks that were approved for payment. There was also a quote to repair the Air conditioning on the third floor of the courthouse; the board approved the repair (priced at $4930). The financial officer also noted that a dump truck that had been sent to auction had sold. This truck previously belonged to District 3, and the board noted that the monies from this sale would be returned back to District 3.
Circuit Clerk Gwenita Mays noted that 2,483 Winston Countians voted in the presidential primary on March 5. There were 982 Democrat votes and 1,501 Republican votes. There is no procedure for voting in a third party in Mississippi primaries.
The board then moved to go into a work session with the County Engineer and the State Aid (Road) Engineer.
The Winston County Board of Supervisors meets on the first Monday of each month. For a more detailed version of the monthly board minutes, documents from past supervisors’ meetings can be found online at http://www.winstonms.com/.
