Bank of Holly Springs

Valley Oaks plat final

A final plat for Valley Oaks Subdivision, located on South Red Banks Road, is ready for approval.

Developer Joe Houck has presented a letter of credit to the Marshall County Board of Supervisors that notches the project forward. It assures the subdivision road will be completed to county specifications after two years or sale of 80 percent of the lots.

The board of supervisors approved the sign-off of the final plat so Houck can get started to work.

The board also approved the rezoning of the John Ellis property at the corner of North Red Banks Road and Highway 302. The property - 19.44 acres - is being rezoned from Commercial-1 to Commercial-2.

A property at Gamble Road and Valentine Road will be sold but the seller wants to take one acre from one lot and add it to a 2-acre lot to build a house. The board approved the measure.

FAA grant

Justin Hall, executive director of the Marshall County Industrial Development Authority, reported that a grant from the Federal Aviation Administration for $64,164 to relocate a wind sock has been approved. The FAA will pay 90 percent or $57,748, the Mississippi Department of Transportation will pay a 5 percent match and the city and county, owners of the airport property, will split the cost of the remaining 5 percent match.

The city and county will each contribute $1,604 toward the match.

Hall requested that the request for the match be put in the upcoming fiscal year budget.

The wind cone will be placed on the east side of the airport. It has to be relocated because trees have grown up on the west side where the current wind sock is located and is causing errors in reading the strength and direction of the wind.

Hall said the new sock will operate off solar energy. The old wind sock will be inactivated but kept in case the airport should purchase property near the old windsock.

Supervisors’ report

Some supervisors – George Zinn and Ronnie Joe Bennett – turned in lists of roads that they say need improvements in the next round of road repairs. They include Kizer Mountain Road, McCarley Road, Richmond Road, Coke Road, Yarbrough Chapel Road, Brumsley Road, Levi Bell Road, Blackwater Road, Odell Road and Horace Road.

Zinn said segments of these roads need surface repair, Brumsley Road is still a gravel road, and that portions of Richmond Road need resurfacing because it is bumpy.

Bennett noted that he has lots of gravel road left in his district. He listed these as some of the roads he wants work on - Jones Grove Road, Smith Road, Callicutt Road, Old Oxford Road, Lunati Road, Whaley Road and Horns Ferry Road.

Bennett said he has some other roads that need repair and some have spots needing soil cement before putting down a surface layer.

Supervisor Keith Taylor complained that some convenience stores are selling glass pipes and customers are using the pipes to smoke contraband in broad daylight.

“We can’t stop drug use but if we can help the sheriff by banning it from the county, it would help,” Taylor said. “The usual buyers are drug addicts. I have a group of citizens who want to talk about it.”

Zinn said he sat in on a presentation recently about the problem of juveniles vaping. More kids are becoming addicted to it than to cigarettes, he said, creating a devastating health crisis in some youth.

Taylor said he coaches sports and the kids carry JUUL, a very strong brand of electronic cigarette.

Homestead

Bennett reminded the public that when a spouse dies the remaining partner has to go file for homestead exemption on themselves. Anytime there is a change in status, the person needs to go update their filing.

Also, when a person becomes age 65, they are eligible to apply for homestead exemption that allows them to be exempt for the first $75,000 value of their property. But, the homesteader has to go to the tax assessor’s office and update their status.

County administrator Larry Hall said in his report that Progressive Construction has been awarded the bid for the replacement of the courthouse roof.

Supervisors also discussed appointing someone as interim director to manage the fairgrounds until the board of supervisors takes over the management October 1. He suggested Ken Jones, zoning director, could be selected to keep the master calendar for events until the county appoints a board of directors and manager for the fairgrounds.

Holly Springs South Reporter

P.O. Box 278
Holly Springs, MS 38635
PH: (662) 252-4261
FAX: (662) 252-3388
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