The Jones County Board of Supervisors covered a wide range of topics at Monday's boardmeeting at the Jones County Courthouse.
First, in unfinished business, the board heard complaints from several individuals on Dacetown Road.
“[The county] did come out and filled in some holes, but if you get a chance to go and look, [those holes] are already washed out,” said one individual. “The road needs fixing.”
After hearing several minutes of complaints from the concerned individuals, Board President Johnny Burnett suggested they contact the Beat Four Road Supervisor to see what can be done about the issue.
“You can call and make an appointment to meet with the [road supervisor],” said Burnett.
"We've done that," said another individual. "I don't even go that way anymore because the road is so bad."
The board tabled Beat Three and At Large appointments to the Economic Development Authority but did approve the appointment of Danny Shows as a representative to the Economic Development Authority for Beat Four.
The last unfinished business on the agenda involved House Bill 1163, requiring counties to issue construction permits for contractors. Stan Jones, who works for DataLynks out of Hattiesburg, a document management company, made a pitch to the board for his company to create an online portal for contractors to fill out and file permits with the county.
“We’ve seen a need, and we’ve been working with Harrison County for the last seven years with coding and their permits,” said Jones. “We offer an online solution based in the Cloud, where a resident or contractor can fill out and upload the required documentation.”
Jones said the one-time setup fee is $1,200 and $1,800 per year.
Other unfinished business involved abandoned gas tanks on the west end of the Laurel-Jones County Library. Bod Stone, president of the library board, asked the supervisors to help with the cost of filling the tanks with dirt before overlay to meet the safety requirements of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.
"The library doesn't have the kind of money in its budget [to take care of this issue]," said Bob Stone. "We need the board's support to put this in our budget in October."
The cost of the project is $31,500.
Burnett said he would also talk to the city to see if they would help with the cost.
Several agenda items were approved, including the allocation of $1,900 for Circuit Clerk Concetta Brooks to hire someone to deliver and set up ballot scanners to voting precincts in the county and the request of Beat Five Supervisor Travares Comegys to purchase a new Ford F-250 truck for $38,130.
The board also approved Risher Caves to serve as the new County Prosecuting Attorney to complete the term of Brad Thompson. Thompson, who submitted his resignation letter and recommended Caves, will take over as District Attorney of Jones County on July 1 for Tony Buckley, who is retiring. Thompson was appointed to fill the role of Buckley by Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves until a special election could be held in November.