The Webster County Board of Supervisors heard a presentation on the proposed development of Eupora Industrial Park during a meeting last week.
Lara Bowman, director of The Enterprise, distributed packets of information to supervisors concerning "where we are on Industrial Park and what needs to be done" on July 16.
In related discussions with the Eupora Board of Aldermen, Bowman said in June that $500,000 has been allocated to the city through the Appalachian Regional Commission with the intent that the funds be used to extend utilities in Industrial Park. She told aldermen July 2 that she wanted to make sure the city took advantage of the availability of the funds.
During last week's county board meeting, Bowman said the utility lines are only along the road and have to be extended to a site on the 100-plus acres of property. The ARC funds would require a match of $215,000, making the total project cost $715,000. Bowman said not all of the $500,000 would have to be used for extending utilities, stating she has a "wish list" for other work also. However, Bowman said her priority is getting the utilities extended and sites graded out.
She also discussed the 50,000-square-foot Alloyd Building in Industrial Park, which has been vacant since the early 2000s. Bowman said it is deteriorating and needs a number of repairs, and noted it is the only available building in The Enterprise area (Choctaw and Webster counties). She also said the building needs to be under public control and that the owner is willing to sell it to the city, county or The Enterprise "at a much reduced price."
Bowman also said that due-diligence work at the park, for which the city received a $15,000 Mississippi Site Development Grant, should be completed in six-eight weeks. A second application can be made for site readiness work, she said.
Bowman asked supervisors if they were willing to work with the city to come up with a match to obtain the ARC funds "and make a big investment into Industrial Park," stating she'd like to have that application in by December.
They indicated their support for the plan but said much depends on whether or not the county can help provide the match through in-kind work. Bowman said she planned to look into that question, and also planned to meet with officials in Choctaw County about sharing in the cost of development.
GTPDD Advisory
Committee meeting
The Golden Triangle Planning and Development District’s annual Advisory Committee meeting was also conducted during the county board’s July 16 meeting.
District 5 Supervisor Doug Burgess was appointed to a four-year term as a GTPDD board member and Chancery Clerk Russ Turner was reappointed to serve as advisory chairman for 2018-19, both by acclamation.
GTPDD staff then updated supervisors on projects for FY2018. They discussed all pending, active and completed grant applications for this past year and entertained questions.
• Pending projects: ARC Power Grant-EMPOWER and Eupora police vehicle.
• Active projects: Mathiston CDBG, Walthall Dollar General utilities, Webster County Courthouse ($4.485 million through the Golden Triangle Public Buildings Leasing Corp.), Mathiston bulletproof vests, GTPDD Brownsfield Coalition Maben sewer, Webster County Solid Waste, Eupora HOME Program, Eupora police vehicle and Eupora utility truck.
• Completed projects: Eupora access road (Industrial Park) and Eupora sewage lagoon Phase II.
Other business
Also on July 16, the Board of Supervisors approved motions to:
• allow Deputy Chancery Clerk Irena Surma to attend a PERS meeting in Tupelo and reimburse her mirage.
• terminate Titus Curtis from his position as a part-time deputy effective July 9.
• renew the agreement with the North Mississippi Emergency Medical Services Authority to participate in FY2019 for training of first responders.
• enter into two new contracts with Delta Computer Systems to provide support to the circuit and chancery clerks' offices during the next fiscal year for $1,000 total.
The Board of Supervisors has been meeting in recess since July 17 to work on the next budget.
