The Eupora Board of Aldermen has appointed a new city attorney in the wake of his predecessor’s resignation. Mayor Lamar Dumas informed the board Dec. 7 that Jacqueline G. Meek had decided to resign as the attorney for the city. She announced her resignation from the position effective immediately in a Dec. 1 letter to the mayor and board. "My health will not allow me to continue," wrote Meek, who was last able to attend a meeting on Oct. 8. "I wish to express my thanks to you for allowing me to serve you and all the citizens of Eupora for so long," she added. "I greatly enjoyed our work together. I love the city of Eupora and the people of this great city." Without further discussion, Jerry Gary (at-large) made a motion to hire Joey Hood as city attorney for $400 a month, effective immediately. Junior Shaw (Ward 1) seconded his motion, which the board approved 4-0; Howard Rumore (Ward 2) was absent. The motion authorized Hood's employment through June 30 only because rehiring of city employees is taken up by the board each July. The new city attorney was waiting outside the boardroom during the discussion and vote. After being brought in, Hood said he appreciated the board's vote of confidence. The 44-year-old Choctaw Countian is a graduate of Mississippi State University and the Mississippi College School of Law. Hood is a Republican member of the Mississippi House of Representatives, representing District 35, which includes Eupora. The 2021 legislative session starts Jan. 5 and is scheduled to end March 26. Other Action Other action taken by the board on Dec. 7 included the following: • Voted to allow concerned citizens to march (or be driven) from the old Garan lot on Highway 9 South to The Cross of Christ on Waterworks Road on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which is Jan. 18. The board did so at the request of James Townsend, spokesman for Concerned Citizens of Eupora. Dumas told him the city’s approval could be subject to any updates in COVID-19 executive orders from the state. • Voted to pay a $1,600 invoice from Cook Allen Engineers & Surveyors for HOME project boundary surveys at 290 Dunlap St. and 20 Peachtree St. • Authorized the mayor to sign a memorandum of understanding between the city and Congressman Trent Kelly’s office allowing him continued use of office and meeting space at the Depot for the next two years at no charge. • Voted to hire Vickey Patterson as a part-time deputy city clerk two days a week and then as needed. She previously worked part time at City Hall through an agreement with the Senior Community Service Employment Program, which paid her wages, but Dumas said she has been relocated in the program. • Voted to advertise for bids to cut grass at the city airport three times a year. • Voted to allow the Park and Recreation Department to spend an additional $1,600 for sidewalks leading to bathrooms being built at the flag football and soccer fields. Aldermen voted last month to build the bathrooms at Gary Park. That motion stipulated a $2,000 accepted donation from Webster County for P&R improvements be applied to the project, with the Water Department agreeing to perform the necessary plumbing and sewer work. The estimated remaining balance will be taken out of economic development. • Approved the claims docket. Last week’s meeting began in the City Hall boardroom, with Dumas requesting that those planning to appear before the board move to the adjoining Community Center to wait until called in. He requested this because of a letter from state Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs recommending that governmental boards keep attendance at public meetings as small as possible as a COVID-19 precaution. After discussion about open meeting concerns, however, the board decided to move the meeting to the larger Community Center to allow all present to sit in on the meeting while social distancing. Bids were to be opened Tuesday (Dec. 15) for water and sewer improvements at Eupora Industrial Park West.
