County planning space for coroner, ambulance

Marshall County medical examiner James Richard Anderson visited the board of supervisors in March to request another cooler and better space.

With wrecks taking their toll, he said his office needs to be located with the ambulance service and he needs an additional cooler.

District 3 supervisor Keith Taylor was in favor of building a new facility for the ambulance service and bulldozing the current site. Two ambulances are often parked there waiting for calls.

Taylor said the county is “just throwing money at it” meaning the old station on Highway 178 East.

Anderson said he needs an additional cooler because he has so many bodies.

“We are between three major highways,” he said.

“It’s time to invest something into the coroner’s office,” Taylor said.

He wants to sell the property now housing the ambulance service.

District 1 supervisor Charles Terry said the county could look at plans and bids and the number of coolers and could incorporate the coroner’s quarters with the ambulance service in a new ambulance station.

Anderson said the ambulance service and coroner work together.

Taylor proffered a motion to incorporate the two into one space.

Chancery clerk Chuck Thomas suggested space located behind the jail property could make a good location to build the District 1 substation.

Anderson asked for a walk-in cooler that will keep 12 corpses.

The board passed a motion to look at a site and draw up plans for new quarters for the ambulance service and coroner’s quarters.

Anderson also asked for a fourwheel drive vehicle to pick up bodies when accidents take place in a muddy location.

Taylor said at a recent accident the coroner’s van got stuck and rescue did not want to put the bodies in the back of a four-wheel drive pickup. The county could purchase a used unit at an equipment sale, he said.

Terry said a winch could be attached to the medical examiner’s van and it could be winched out of the mud.

Bid openings

The county opened bids for road materials such as clay gravel, limestone, riprap and asphalt.

Crossway Trucking bid on the limestone and rock. Cold Mix Inc. bid on the asphalt. Ergon bid on asphalt and emulsion.

Coburns, Martin Sand and Gravel and Memphis Stone and Gravel bid on gravel. GNO bid on metal and plastic pipe.

All bids were taken under advisement for comparative purposes.

Zoning

Cleanup orders were recommended for 77 Stevens Road and 25 Stevens Road.

A developer of South Slayden Farms Subdivision presented letters of credit in lieu of bonds for a next phase of the subdivision.

Recommended road bond was set at $201,900 and erosion bond was set at $33,000.

Zoning director Ken Jones said construction bonds were received and the developer is ready to finalize and record plats. Construction vehicles would come in the main subdivision road to get to the back of the new subdivision. Potholes created would have to be repaired within 10 days of appearance or the county will do the repairs and charge it to the developer, he said.

The approval of the plats is contingent on receiving two signed letters of credit, said board attorney Amanda Whaley Smith.

Taylor wants the developers to build a construction road to the new phase.

Jones said no lots can be sold until the subdivision phase is recorded and platted.

“Anything with a second phase should be required to have a construction road,” he said.

Terry said lots may not sell for five years.

Jones said the main problem is that lots in the front of a new subdivision sell first and the construction of homes should be started at the back of the subdivision and come forward to preserve roads.

“It should be up to the developer to provide a road to get back in there.”

Terry said, “We got the cart before the horse. Now we are going to have to go back and correct it.”

Supervisors’ report

District 4 supervisor George Zinn III wants the county to do more to correct the litter problem on the roadsides. He recommended a committee be set up to make recommendations and that education of school children would be a good step. And Pitch-In signs could be placed along roadsides.

“We all would like it better,” he said.

Terry said people could be paid as an incentive to pick up trash. It is a nationwide problem, he said.

Bennett said it would take years of education in the schools to make a showing and to start recycling would have to go through the Department of Environmental Quality.

“There’s no easy fix any way we go on it,” he said.

The board passed a motion to form a committee to look into going into the schools and other actions to mitigate the problem.

Taylor said recycling bins are working great in Byhalia.

Melissa Moncrief was appointed by Terry to the 911 commission and Willie Jones was appointed by Zinn to the commission.

Terry reported dumping in a ditch on Fire Tower Lane.

Chancery clerk report

Chuck Thomas reported the Department of Human Services is paying half of the cost of new steps at that office.

David Bridges was approved to handle a financial audit for year 20212022.

A claim of $2,040 from Southern Aviation was approved.