Lowndes County Republican supervisor hopefuls weighed in on recreation, economic development and even nuclear power during a Thursday night candidate forum held at the courthouse.
Seven of the eight Republican supervisor candidates — Michael Brock, Kevin Clark and Matt Furnari in District 1; incumbent Trip Hairston in District 2; and Chad Frasher, Tony Hannah and Andy Williamson in District 3 — fielded questions posed by moderator David Chism. They were also given some time to make general comments.
District 2 candidate Brad Holliman did not participate. Democrat Tommy Lee Kidd, who is running in District 1, and independent Christopher Moore, running in District 3, were not invited to participate.
Chism asked each candidate specific questions, drawn randomly from a pre-made list. Candidates were also given a brief period to make remarks on their own.
Chism asked Brock how he would handle it if the Tennessee Valley Authority asked the board of supervisors to approve a “small, modular (nuclear) reactor on the edge of your district.” Chism noted this was a purely “hypothetical” question and not based on any active plans for the region.
“Probably something as significant as that is above my level of expertise to understand,” Brock said. “We do have to trust the experts in those fields. … I would be open to that, but with a lot of thought and a lot of discussion among the people of Lowndes County. Something like that takes a tremendous amount of input.”
Clark was asked how he felt about the Lowndes County School District’s use of tax dollars and if he thought it asked for too much.
“We were sold a false bill of goods on the bond issue (to build new schools),” Clark said. “When we defeated it, (then-Superintendent Lynn Wright) kept bringing it up and said it would not raise taxes. If you look back, what happened? Teacher jobs got eliminated, the student-teacher ratio got out of whack.”
Clark is referring to the LCSD’s two attempts to get a bond issue passed to fund an ambitious construction plan. In August 2014 voters rejected a $47 million bond issue, but a second vote in May 2015 for $44 million passed. The money was used to build a new high school at New Hope and the Career Technology Center, among other things.
Chism asked Furnari if he favored developing another megasite or large-scale industrial park, now that Aluminum Dynamics has used up most of the available land near the Golden Triangle Regional Airport, and whether there was enough infrastructure to support it.
The $2.5 billion Aluminum Dynamics plant took up 2,500 acres, leaving little land left for further development.
“I know we’re running low on the land out there, and (development) needs to be first and foremost on the new board’s mind,” Furnari said. “On the infrastructure side, you’ve got to be an inside guy to know that and I’m not totally familiar with that. If not, I’m all for partnering with our partners to beef it up to support another megasite.”
Hairston was asked to weigh in on the county’s current effort to build a new sports complex.
Construction is underway on a $12 million sports complex along Highway 82. The first phase includes eight baseball fields and a playground.
“I voted for it and was proud to do so,” Hairston said. “Our baseball programs have grown 53% in three years. We are out of room in Lake Lowndes (State Park). If we want to see our programs continue to grow we’re going to have to do something to allow that growth to happen, so that’s exactly what we did.”
Frasher, during a free comment period, said he supports quality of life efforts and is especially appreciative of Lake Lowndes.
“I live in New Hope, and it is nice for the community to have that place where kids can go and have a good time and feel safe when they are there,” Frasher said. “It’s not as much safe in the city. It’s nice to have for both the kids and the grown-ups, and I thank the county for helping with that.”
Chism asked Hannah how important it was for the city of Columbus and Lowndes County to have a good working relationship.
“I think we have no option but to work with the city,” Hannah said. “It is the major seat for Lowndes County. … I also think the city needs to do what it needs to do, also. It’s not just the county’s responsibility to do everything. If it’s a one-sided partnership, it’s never going to work.”
Williamson was asked if he supported a proposed transition from a volunteer to a paid fire department in areas west of the Tennessee-Tombigbee River. Fire departments, which also serve the industrial park, are struggling to recruit and retain firefighters and the county is exploring paying firefighters in those districts.
“I don’t have enough information to answer that question,” Williamson said. “But it sounds good in theory. I’m not going to say no, but I would need to do more research on that and find out what we can and do we have the money for that. I’d just have to ask a lot of questions.”
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
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