Bank of Holly Springs

Consistency a concern for county board

With Marshall County undergoing big changes due to new industrial and manufacturing projects, the board of supervisors struggles to fit new growth needs into the old board minute decisions.

Some of those include mining, rubbish sites and changing of the rules on bonding for new subdivision roads by developers.

In recent discussions the board has been asked to allow letters of credit from banks as a guarantee that a developer will finish the last lift on a subdivision road instead of requiring a bond.

Recently, a Cayce Road property owner has requested permission to dig a pond and haul the dirt to build a pad at Quality Drive in the Chickasaw Trail Industrial Park.

A dirt-hauling permit is required to mine field dirt, according to Zoning director Ken Jones.

“They (the project at Quality Drive) have to get that dirt from somewhere,” Jones said to supervisors.

Supervisor Keith Taylor said people in his district have been stopped from hauling dirt.

“I want to be consistent,” he said.

“It’s not coming out of a subdivision,” Jones said.

“He’s being paid to dig a pond,” Taylor replied. “I’m in favor. I just want to be consistent. All (the trucks) will go over State Aid roads, not county roads.”

The restrictions on hauling dirt were established because so many trucks going in and out over county roads were tearing up the new roads being built in the county as well as the old ones.

“He wants approval,” Jones said.

Taylor made a motion to table the matter until the board attorney can weigh in on the matter. The motion passed by unanimous vote of the board.

Then Ken Jones presented a request from Ricky Jones of Chulahoma Road who wants to apply for a Class 1 rubbish site. He would take wood chips from Northcentral Electric Power Association.

Taylor advised that Jones would have to go before the Marshall County Solid Waste Board to make a request.

“We (Marshall County) get a tipping fee on everything in the other one (Quad County Landfill),” Taylor said.

“He got an application from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and he is asking for permission to file,” Ken Jones said.

“Safety, nuisance – there are a lot of questions to be answered,” said District 4 Supervisor George Zinn III.

A motion to table the matter until later was made and passed by the board.

The Fairgrounds

Ken Jones presented the case of a big “Wild Wagon Weekend” that was billed for a three- to four-day event at the Marshall County Fairgrounds to be sponsored by Budweiser.

“They will not have beer on location,” Jones said. “It’s against the law to have alcohol on county property. It’s going to come in coolers (a fee to bring in a cooler).”

Taylor took umbrage at the thought.

“I think it is a rub in our face,” he said. “This board has to protect the citizens from a lawsuit.”

The county is in a lawsuit seeking to get the deed from the Marshall County Fairgrounds Association that has been operating the fairgrounds.

“If every other citizen has to go by the rules, why wouldn’t someone from out of state (some of the board members do not live in Marshall County)?” Taylor asked.

The county is due to take over the operations of the fairgrounds October 1.

Cleanup orders

Jones presented a number of cases of properties in need of clean-up. Clean-ups are brought to the attention of residents or neighbors before they are taken before the board of supervisors.

The following properties were considered and action taken:

• a property at Rebecca Drive where a house trailer was stripped of metal and the grass is waist-high. The board ordered a clean-up notice be sent.

• two trucks sitting in the county road right-of-way on Alvin Drive. Notice has been sent to clean up behind the house.

• a property on Patriot Way has 10 to 11 cars tagged in DeSoto County. The board ordered a clean-up.

• a property at Holiday Estates (Holiday Drive) where a high-lift truck, brush, timber, and junk are in back and in need of removal. The board ordered a clean-up action.

• a property at River Rhodes Road has a dilapidated trailer that was to be removed by a mobile home company when a new mobile home was delivered. The board approved a clean-up order on the trailer owner, not the property owner. The old unit is not inhabitable.

• a convenience store on Victoria Road has issues with the dumpster overflowing. Taylor suggested the board of supervisors revoke the beer license if the litter around the store is not removed. The board ordered a clean-up.

• a property on Oakwood Drive has a hearing set to remove an old trailer and cut grass.

Zinn reported illegal dumping on Marianna Road and Buchanan Road in a ditch off Hernando Road.

Shooting in neighborhood

Taylor brought up a complaint of someone shooting a high-powered rifle into a neighbor’s yard. He wanted Zoning to make sure the public knows there can be no firing of guns in a subdivision with lots of less than five acres.

“If we don’t watch it, somebody is going to get killed,” Taylor said. “Every week someone is shooting over in Barton. We need an ordinance you can’t shoot at night.”

District 1 supervisor Charles Terry said people get confused by rights versus privileges.

“We need to define safe,” he said.

Chancery clerk Chuck Thomas suggested people be required to build a backstop to shoot.

“That NRA (National Rifle Association) is strong stuff,” Zinn said.

He said a complaint was lodged that a person was shooting in a pond and the bullets were ricocheting off the water and hitting a house.

“I am a member of the NRA,” Taylor said. “I’m trying to use common sense.”

Terry said the ordinance reads that shooters must be over 300 feet from any residence to fire a gun.

Holly Springs South Reporter

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Holly Springs, MS 38635
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