County opens bids on sewer and road construction

Four bids were opened on the Hyline Drive sewer project at the July 15 meeting of the Marshall County Board of Supervisors.

The project is estimated to cost $3.3 million and will be paid for out of the American Rescue Plan Act funds.

The following bids were offered:

• Trey Construction $3,393,012

• ARGO Construction $4,162,883

• Enscor - $4,790,089

• Eubanks Construction $5,312,165 Trey Construction was awarded the project.

Bids were opened for the extension of a sewer force main to extend sewer lines to the Project Poppy site, from the north side of Highway 72 to the Curl Road site.

The following bids were offered:

• A & B Construction $662,676

• White Construction $708,280

• ARGO Construction $745,620

• Trey Construction $757,482

• Enscor - $914,670

• Eubanks Construction - $932,115

A & B Construction was awarded the contract. Simpson Stroupe, who manages building repairs and other projects, reported on progress recently made in his department.

He asked for a handrail or parking rail to be placed across the front parking lot entrance to the Rosenwald Museum on Isaac Chapel Road. The rail will be a safety measure to help drivers park their vehicles safely.

A sewer line locator is being used to help tie sewer lines at Medic Station #1 to the Holly Springs Utility Department’s sewer on West Street.

Sewer service must be provided before construction of the service lines to the station.

Stroupe asked for, and the board approved, a motion to purchase cabinets from Home Outlets in Olive Branch. Stroupe said the company has solid doors and cabinets made of hardwood available at discount prices, to use instead of pressed board.

District 1 supervisor Charles Terry recommended Stroupe place a guard rail around the air conditioner pad at the Hudsonville voting precinct for security purposes.

Stroupe said the precinct awaits a well to be drilled by Larry Carpenter, and the installation of a septic tank at the precinct. Well and septic tank must be separated by at least 50 feet, he said.

There is a need to fence in air-conditioning units in the back of the new jail, Stroupe said. District 3 supervisor Keith Taylor recommended getting quotes under $5,000 from local providers.

District 4 supervisor George Zinn III asked that Stroupe search for a well and septic system at the Wall Hill voting precinct on Mt. Sinai Road. He said there once was a well on the property, and if it is still there, he would like to put the well back to use.

Stroupe said water has been hauled in to supply the precinct and a portable septic tank has to be pumped out. Reconnection to the older systems would be convenient, he said.

Taylor said there is a problem at the jail with a backup generator that supplies power but won’t turn off when the electricity kicks back on. He suggested there may be a short somewhere in the underground electricity supply.

Stroupe said there is one breaker in the jail that trips but has not been isolated as to which one.

District 5 supervisor Ronnie O’Neil Bennett suggested running a dedicated service from the breaker box to the generator.

“Those generators are activated when the main breaker flips off,” Zinn said.

Terry recommended a certified electrician check out the breaker. He asked if Stroupe has keys to every building the county owns that he needs access to.

County engineer Larry Britt reported on progress on certain projects.

He presented a pay request for $24,770 for work on the Bethlehem Bridge. The board also approved a supplemental agreement #2 with the Mississippi Department of Transportation to remove old rip rap from the old bridge.

He was authorized to replace the Coopwood bridge on Coopwood Road.

Britt submitted a final pay request (#4) for $58,861 for work on the 25-acre site at Springs Industrial Park. He said the project, funded by the Appalachian Regional Commission, has about $25,000 left in the budget after this drawdown.

A project to extend Del Stover Road received three bids:

• Yancey Brothers Construction - $2,294,753

• White Brothers Construction - $2,485,086

• Excavators Inc. $2,551,921.

Britt said Yancey was the lowest bid but left out an item in its bid.

Board attorney Amanda Whaley Smith said she confirmed in writing that Yancey Brothers had agreed to “eat that amount.”

Bennett said paving of Folsom Road has been delayed for years because of a holdout of a landowner who owns less than an acre of right-of-way needed to pave the road.

Britt said if it were a state project, the state would condemn it and take 20 feet on each side of the center line.

The one holdout does not live here and the county has not been successful in getting the easement necessary to pave Folsom Road.

Bennett said the road ditch would be on that property.

Smith said the project to pave the road has languished for six or seven years for lack of that one easement.

The board approved initiating legal action to acquire the easement.

Taylor brought up the concern of drainage in the area of Barringer Road and Farley Road where stormwater is jumping the road but can’t move off.

There are three utilities, water, sewer and gas, that need to be moved, according to Britt.

He said Byhalia gas, Marshall County Water Association and a sewer line need to be moved.

Britt said the water needs to be caught before it gets to Farley Road.

The board discussed a second lift to be put on Phase 5 of South Slayden Farms Subdivision.

There are 23 lots left to build and 10 to 12 lots left vacant, Britt said.

The second lift of 1.5 inches of asphalt is not added until about 70 percent of the houses are built in order to prevent concrete trucks and heavy trucks from tearing up the first lift of asphalt that is applied by the developer.

District 2 supervisor Johnny Walker said soil cement was put down, but not at the entrances.

Britt said, if the second lift is applied, trucks will tear up the road.

“What if the lot sold but (the owner) is not ready to build?” Walker asked.

Terry asked if the board wants to extend the date and time for the homes to be built.

Walker said the developer applied soil cement to the road.

“But you can still tear up soil cement,” he said. “Seven are under construction and three houses are already built,” Walker said. “I’ll go with 75 percent built on. They tried that at the first entrance and it went all to pieces.

“Let’s go with 75 percent complete on those 23 lots and we are good to put down the second lift.” Clean-ups

Zoning administrator David Johnson introduced lot cleanup concerns.

He said a lot at Ridgefield Acres subdivision was covered with cars that must be tagged. The owner is clearing trees and putting the cars back there. The board approved a motion to require the vehicles to be tagged or removed.

A lot in Casey Lakes Subdivision on Lee Creek Road has multiple cars in the yard. The owner said work was being done on them everyday. They are tagged in Fayette County, Tenn., not in Marshall County. Smith asked for a motion to allow the clean-up of the property to continue.

Johnson said a lot on Warsaw East Farms has cars and trash, but the owner, who resides in Tennessee, is making no effort to resolve the issue.

“It’s clearly an ordinance violation,” Smith said.

The board passed a motion to proceed with the clean-up order.

A lot in Warsaw East Farms subdivision has storage units and cars pushed up into the woods.

Zinn said he believes the storage units are OK, but the cars need to be moved. He made a motion for a clean-up.

A lot on Victoria Plantation Subdivision on Plantation Way in Byhalia has tires that need to be moved. The owner has removed some, then brought more in. The board approved a clean-up order.

The board approved the appraisal of property to be purchased for Early Grove voting precinct. Walker made a motion to purchase the property and take the necessary steps to get it ready for the November 5 elections.

The board revisited a discussion to hire a company to develop a comprehensive plan for Marshall County.

Terry suggested the entire county be put in the plan.

Walker said there is a move underfoot to put in zero lot line rental housing on Highway 72.

“We don’t need that,” Walker said.

He said the developer was supposed to come to the board, but didn’t show up.

“They were going to put a lagoon in the middle of it,” Walker said. “We gotta get rooftops. It is R-E (zoning) and he wants it but the people do not want it.”

Taylor said he had wanted to do a moratorium on approving any more housing developments until a planner can come in and give the board some direction.

“A comprehensive plan?” asked Smith.

Walker said Mike Slaughter, out of Oxford, had quoted $25,000 to $30,000 to start a plan.

Taylor recommended Slaughter be invited back to work with the zoning administrator.

“Do the comprehensive study first and then the comprehensive plan,” Terry said. “It it’s over the amount then we can take proposals. If it’s a comprehensive plan, it ranges from $45,000 to $65,000. It’s $20,000 to $25,000, if it is a zoning update. We would need to look at zoning first.”

Billy Autry visited the boardroom to discuss a proposal to purchase the old county jail and use it for a parking lot and crematorium.

Taylor was in favor of selling the old jail property.

The claims docket came to $872,807.