Photo by Sue WatsonDon Buford discusses upgrading security at city hall with the mayor and board of aldermen.
Bonds OK’d for electric upgrades
Bids for electric system bonds were opened September 4 at the Holly Springs Board of Aldermen meeting.
The five bids were:
• Piper Jaffray - 3.803205 percent interest — buy all bonds.
• Stephens Inc. - 3.714056 percent interest — buy all bonds.
• Hutchinson, Shockey, Earley & Co. — 3.6337 percent interest — buy all bonds.
• Crews & Associates —3.840296 percent interest — buy all bonds.
• Peoples Bank — 4.52 percent interest — buy all bonds.
Bond attorney Trey Hairston, with Butler Snow, and Nnamdi Thompson, with Government Consultants Inc., provided information relative to the bonds to the board.
Low bidder Hutchinson Shockey Earley was awarded the bid.
This is a new bond issue to pay for the construction of the Ashland Substation. The construction financing has been done from HSUD reserves which will be replenished when the bond sale closes, said Bill Stone, HSUD general manager.
The substation costs are roughly $2.387 million (for equipment, materials and construction) plus engineering fees (roughly $175,000), Stone said.
“The remainder of the proceeds (less issuance costs) is planned to be used for necessary upgrade work at other substations (North Holly Springs, Coldwater and Slayden) for the installation of a SCADA system (supervisory control and data acquisition) to monitor and control all the substations,” he said.
Mayor’s report
Several items on the mayor’s agenda included a discussion about AARP’s Age-Friendly Communities, applying to become a retirement community, a video of Holly Springs, and an upgrade in security at city hall.
Mayor Kelvin Buck presented an unfinished video of Holly Springs for the board to review. The video covers four areas – welcome, quality of life, tourism, and economic development.
The video is free to the city, and the producers, CGI, want to sell business ads to be placed on the video to help pay for it. The video will be linked to the City of Holly Springs’ website.
Other communities that have videos produced by CGI include Pearl, Clarksdale and Horn Lake.
The city has been approved to become one of five Age-Friendly Communities in Mississippi under the guidelines of AARP.
The city was once a Certified Retirement Community, but the Age-Friendly Community designation puts the city on a national list. Other Mississippi communities designated as Age-Friendly include Hernando, Southaven, Jackson, and Vicksburg.
The Certified Retirement Community designation is worth going for, Buck said. Membership in that group costs $10,000, Buck said.
He added that AARP says in 2030 one-fifth of the population will be 65 and over.
Some amenities the city is looking to add including an aquatics center, and swimming will increase the attraction of older Americans to the city, the mayor said.
A proposal to upgrade security at city hall was discussed.
Don Buford, safety officer for the city, presented a system that would require non-employees to be buzzed in at the front door to a foyer. Some employees may get identification cards that can be swiped to gain entrance.
Buford said an intercom system would be used to speak to the visitor to determine his or her business.
There would be a panic alarm to notify the Holly Springs Police Department and a video camera.
“Once you get in that area you can be buzzed in,” he said.
City hall already has video camera surveillance around the exterior of the building and in the entrance hall. Those cameras are monitored by the clerks.
“Let’s face it,” Buck said. “We live in a different world and people don’t always conduct themselves appropriately.”
Restricted access is already in place at the Holly Springs Utility Department and at the police department.
“We (aldermen) don’t work here, but if it affects the city...,” said alderman Tim Liddy.
Alderman Christy Owens, in a separate interview, said buzz and swipe cards are used in schools and businesses already in the area and that metal detectors are installed at the gym during games.
“Unfortunately, these are the times we live in now,” she said.
“This is nothing to discourage anyone from coming to city hall. It is a sign of our times and we have to think of the safety of our employees, especially the ladies at city hall.”
She said there have been several incidents that led to this decision.
The board voted unanimously to purchase a security system upgrade. The ticket price on the one described is $4,642, she said.