The Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to complete several road projects regardless of their end cost at its regular meeting Monday.
If needed, the board will pull money from its general fund to finish the work on five roads in Districts 1, 3 and 5, supervisors decided.
One of the projects, to completely rebuild Thompson Road, falls within District 1 Supervisor John Montgomery’s district.
Montgomery estimated that total funding could be between $190,000 and $200,000 for the in-the-works project.
Going toward the project is the remaining $72,000 distributed between Montgomery and the other supervisors for county wide projects in 2016. Of the total $10 million issuance, districts received money based on their percentage of roads.
About $100,000 could come from the county’s general fund to grind up the road and cover labor costs, Montgomery said, although the figure is far from definite.
“The costs of everything are continually going up, so it’s like hitting a moving target,” Montgomery said. “The funding, I thought, was there, but we were a little short.”
Montgomery said he was glad that the board voted to complete the project, “desperately” needed by people in his district, and continue efforts to improve roads in Oktibbeha County.
“I’m just happy that we could get these projects done,” Montgomery said.
The other projects the board voted to complete are paving Prather Drive and Fox and Theodis roads, all currently gravel, in District 5, supervised by Joe Williams; and resurfacing 2.7 miles of County Lake Road in District 3, supervised by Marvell Howard.
Williams said after the meeting that he hopes to finalize his project, paving three short roads that add up to a mile, by the time his term ends in December, though he’s running for re-election.
“People cannot get home when it rains, because these roads flood,” Williams said.
County Road Manager Fred Hal Baggett estimated the cost of those three projects at roughly $157,000.
Howard said County Lake Road, between Highway 389 and Harrell Road, has “become a little unsafe” due to base damage from log trucks.
“Tons of traffic travel that road every day,” he said.
The majority of the approximate $300,000 project comes from issuance Howard’ district received years ago. He has secured all but $70,000 of the estimated total.
District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer said all three projects are within the county’s budget. Taxes won’t have to increase for the projects, he said.
During the discussion, District 4 Supervisor Bricklee Miller said the situation has occurred before when funding for planned, ongoing improvements needed to be supplemented.
“I think if there’s opportunities to help each other that we should do that,” Miller said. “I don’t have a problem with that.”
At the end of the meeting, supervisors also agreed to request an update from its appointees to East Mississippi Community College’s board of trustees, in order to discuss the college’s finances. EMCC’s general fund balance has dropped from more than $10 million to less than $900,000 in the last 10 years.
EMCC’s board of trustees is comprised of two members from each of the counties EMCC serves: Lowndes, Lauderdale, Oktibbeha, Clay, Noxubee and Kemper. Supervisors of each county appoint the trustees.
Budget workshops
Supervisors last met Friday for a special budget workshop that focused on travel, contractual and equipment costs.
The biggest discussed increase in funding was to the emergency management department, from $43,200 to $66,700, mostly for expanded travel and training expenses.
Coroner fees for investigating deaths are slated to increase from $125 to $175 per investigation. Supervisors decided the coroner will be required to have at least one deputy by Jan. 1, 2020, with credentials sufficient to be a coroner.
Of a proposed $18,650 increase to the elections department, $12,000 may go toward an increase in poll worker’s fees, supervisors discussed.
The next budget workshop is scheduled for Friday morning to discuss payroll and salaries, specifically.
The supervisors’ next regular meeting is set for 9 a.m. on Aug. 19 at the Oktibbeha County Courthouse.
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