Projects ready for bidding


Thursday, August 7, 2008
Community \| Obits \| Editorial & Columnists \| Society \| Sports \| Education \| Classified Ads \| Calendar of Events \| Features \| Newsbriefs \| Legals \| Archives \| Subscriptions \| Photo Gallery

Projects ready for bidding

By SUE WATSON
Staff Writer

A St. Paul Road improvement project and the replacement of two bridges on Old Highway 7 South near the intersection with Highway 310 are ready for bid after much hard work by county supervisors to get all paperwork done.

Construction on St. Paul Road will be bid in August and the bridge project has cleared all hurdles with State Aid.

The county is also in the running with Jones County for high risk rural road (HRR) improvement money from the state, according to Larry Hall, county administrator.

The HRR program provides state dollars to spend on county roads that have a track record for accidents and fatalities, he said.

The money provides for cleaning of the ditches, erecting new signs, re-overlay of busy intersections, and putting down yellow strips.

If approved, the project will be put on the fast track and work has to be done by September or November, said Kevin Leod with Elliott and Britt Engineers.

During the road discussions with Leod, District 3 supervisor Keith Taylor asked about a public briefing on the segment of I-69 to pass by Byhalia from the north.

He said people in the area want to know exactly where the highway will run.

“Everybody’s trying to get in line with this I-69,” he said. “Rumors are flying in my district.”

Hall then briefed the board on the implementation of new regulations affecting haulers and loggers. It requires them to obtain a permit and a route of ingress/egress that will do the least damage to county roads not built to hold up to heavy loads, as are state highways. Haulers are required to post bond or letters of credit to pay for repair of any damage they do to county roads.

Hall said haulers and loggers are cooperating, posting bond when required and asking for advice.

Loggers cutting a 26-acre tract on O’Dell Road have posted bond and Bain and Son has posted bond for overlay work it will be doing at the airport.

Other logging or hauling is or will be taking place on Union Valley Road, Scales Tower Road, and at Bubba Taylor Road.

Supervisors said they will not likely require bonds for haulers coming in and out on gravel roads because damage is repaired cheaply with the grader blade. But they are concerned to save the county any cost to repair damage done on its paved roads.

Board attorney Kent Smith said the county is trying to use common sense in applying these regulations.

“We are trying to be consistent and to have them contact the road manager to get a route for them to use and bond if needed,” he said.

In other business, the board of supervisors:

approved a request from justice court clerk Monet Autry to install software to help the court collect unpaid fines and fees. The software searches databases to find all addresses, phone numbers, the names of prior and present neighbors and where the person works or if they have utilities posted in their name. The information helps law enforcement locate individuals who owe the court.

Autry said the software will cost about $175 a month and no additional personnel will be needed to collect the fees and fines.

approved running the revised animal control ordinance in the legal section. After the ordinance runs, the board will hold a public hearing and then adopt the ordinances.
discussed hiring Irv Priest to update the county website pages. Chancery clerk Chuck Thomas said pages need to be updated routinely and that the chancery page gets lots of clicks.
reconciled a disagreement with the City of Holly Springs over the city’s contribution to Enhanced 911 dispatch service. Although the county had asked for a contribution of $75,000 each year, supervisor Ronnie Joe Bennett said the board should settle for $50,000 yearly broken into two equal payments at specified times. He said the city and county are working together to provide dispatch service and fire protection and that the trade off in county contributions to fire grants matching funds and city’s contribution to E-911 is a good deal for both government entities.
learned from Hall that a copy of the facilities plan for a sewer project at Cayce Road and Highway 72 is available to the public to read in his office.
met in executive session with Steve Horton, president of R.E.S., to discuss a requested increase in rates for collection of household garbage. Bennett said after the executive session that the board wants to see improved service before approving a rate increase.
authorized zoning to require an E-911 address number be installed at new homes or residences during final inspections. E-911 addresses are required to be affixed to a residence or posted at driveways or on rural mailboxes by existing law.

Smith said a July 6, 1993 ordinance requires compliance with E-911 address posting within 30 days of moving in and those who do not can be fined daily until an address is posted.

Report News: (662) 252-4261 or south@dixie-net.com
Questions, comments, corrections: south@dixie-net.com
©2004, The South Reporter, All Rights Reserved.
No part of this site may be reproduced in any way without permission.
The South Reporter is a member of the Mississippi Press Association.

Web Site managed and maintained by
South Reporter webmasters Linda Jones, Kristian Jones
Web Site Design - The South Reporter

Back | Top of Page