OKTIBBEHA COUNTY – District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer publicly apologized Wednesday for what he described as “unprofessional” behavior during the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors’ previous meeting.
“Last meeting I was unprofessional as it relates to my passion trying to serve the citizens of Oktibbeha County,” Trainer told the board during a work session Wednesday. “… I wanted to make it known publicly that I certainly want to apologize for being unprofessional, but I certainly am appreciative of the meeting that came out of it because we’re here today, so moving forward I offer my sincerest apologies and pray y’all consider that.”
Trainer’s apology followed a heated Oct. 6 meeting in which supervisors debated whether to approve bids for several road projects across the county.
County Engineer Clyde Pritchard had presented the board with recommendations to award bids for three roads, along with notices to proceed on one road in District 5 and a set of roads in District 2.
Tensions rose when Board President and District 3 Supervisor Marvell Howard moved to reject a bid for a road in his district, citing a lack of funding and the need to identify another source. Trainer objected, arguing that delaying the process wasn’t necessary.
“We need to go ahead and take all these bids,” Trainer said. “… The county has got the money. We need to move forward with these projects we got. … And everybody in here, you’ve identified projects in your district that you know need it, and we’ve got the money. We need to move forward with all of them.”
Trainer argued the county could use proceeds from the recent sale of the former OCH Regional Medical Center to Baptist Memorial Health Care to cover all road improvement costs. The sale, which closed Oct. 2, will give the county approximately $30.5 million in net proceeds, though how those funds will be allocated has not yet been decided.
Supervisors have floated several proposals, including dividing the money among all five districts for discretionary use or investing the funds in a long-term endowment. Carpenter confirmed Wednesday the county has already received a large portion of the proceeds.
While Howard and District 4 Supervisor Pattie Little called for further discussion on funding before approving bids, Trainer said he was “tired of stopping” and accused the board of being “scared to make a move.”
Howard’s motion to reject the road bid passed 4-1.
‘Do you understand me?’
Tensions then escalated between Trainer and County Administrator Wayne Carpenter, who recommended the board defer the notices to proceed for District 2 roads, a project which costs about $2.6 million. The District 2 share of budgeted road funding is about $600,000 short of that amount.
“You should have called me before you did that,” Trainer, raising his voice, told Carpenter. “I’m the supervisor. You’re the county administrator. … Before you jump out of your lane again, you call (me). You don’t come up here with no recommendation on anything for nothing in our districts without checking with us.”
Carpenter said he made his recommendation based on the budget, to which Trainer said, “Don’t you do it no more,” before repeating several times, “Do you understand me?”
The meeting went into recess as the argument continued, during which time the meeting’s livestream was muted with video still being recorded. The stream shows three supervisors still at the table while Trainer and Carpenter continue to argue, and Little is seen coming in and out of the frame. The remaining board members, with the exception of District 1 Supervisor Ben Carver who left the room, also engage in discussion with Trainer.
Under Mississippi’s Open Meetings Act, public policy discussions are prohibited during a recess and must occur during an open meeting.
Board Attorney Rob Roberson, who was absent for the first 15 minutes of recess, told The Dispatch he did not witness any policy discussion. Upon arrival, when conversation began veering toward matters that could fall under executive session, Roberson said he advised the board discussion could not continue.
Howard and Little said the recess discussion before that point focused on decorum and professionalism, not policy.
Carpenter agreed, describing the exchange as “personal.”
“We did not conduct any of the public’s business during that recess,” he told The Dispatch on Thursday. “Public business was handled in session, and the purpose of the recess was to try and get the tone down a little bit.”
Trainer also said there was no policy discussion.
“I was just voicing my personal concerns,” Trainer told The Dispatch. “… I was just kind of letting off some steam from my standpoint. It was just me making some statements and some suggestions and trying to use some examples, but it didn’t get any feedback.”
In Wednesday’s work session, the board accepted Trainer’s apology and agreed to move forward with a future emphasis on decorum.
“There’s five different people with five different mindsets on this board, but at the end of the day, we always come together to be productive for the citizens of Oktibbeha County,” Howard told the board Wednesday. “… There’s a tremendous amount of need that still exists in Oktibbeha County. We get a little passionate sometimes about how to address that need … moving forward if it starts to get to that point, we’ll take a deep breath and recess and come back at it.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
