The Lamar County Board of Supervisors did not consider a new request to complete the construction of an electronic billboard on Old Highway 11 (16th Section) lease in the Oak Grove area. The state Supreme Court ruled in May that the board was correct in denying the permit.
Attorney Chip Westbrook, representing Leonard Busby of Busby Outdoor, LLC, said Busby could make an amended permit request to the City of Hattiesburg for a taller billboard if the School Board would give conditional approval to the billboard.
However, School Board President Buddy Morris said the matter had been litigated already, and the board was standing firm.
“The board clearly articulated the reasons for which its consent was being withheld, and the decision should not be disturbed,” he told Westbrook. “Where we’re at on this – and there’s nothing here for a vote tonight anyway – our precedence is set as far as we are of the same opinion that there will be no more signs on Highway 11.”
Morris said Busby could make an amended permit to the City of Hattiesburg, “but that has nothing to do with us.”
“There’s not going to be any more signs on the Hwy. 11 section,” Morris said.
Lamar County Chancellor Johnny Lee Williams heard the initial request for the billboard and ruled in favor of the School Board on Feb. 5, 2018.
The state Supreme Court reaffirmed the ruling on May 30, 2019.