During the Carroll County Board of Supervisors meeting held on Feb. 5, Emergency Management Director Ken Strachan spoke about Severe Weather Preparedness Week, which spans from Feb. 11-17.
Strachan also presented each board member with a copy of the 2024 Mississippi Emergency Management Agency Disaster Guide, which are being distributed by the Carroll County Courthouse in Vaiden. The guide details step for step emergency preparedness to help the reader get ahead of severe weather.
In addition, Strachan, who is also North Carrollton’s Mayor, addressed his time at the Mississippi Municipal League Conference in January. The conference addressed a handful of Proposed Legislative Priorities for 2024. Among them, a Small Municipalities Grant program funding of $10 million was mentioned.
“The last time this was funded locally, in 2021, North Carrollton got $100,000 that year to redo sidewalks from J.Z. George to the post office.” Strachan said in support of the grant.
The Board briefly discussed the application process for this grant as well as the qualifying criteria. Following this discussion, Strachan supplied the Board with a copy of his Payment Request Application for the Emergency Management Performance Grant. In his application, he requests $4,971.20, for use by Carroll County Emergency Management as needed.
Willis Engineering representative Shane Correro also spoke on Mississippi Department of Transportation state aid funding that requires a yearly application renewal. The funding would allow for construction, maintenance, and improvement of local travel infrastructure in Carroll County. Correro stated that his purpose for presenting the information was to encourage the application process to move along and that “the Board would have to make a decision at a later date” on what to apply for.
The Board also voted to approve two additional grants applied for by the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office. Initially, they approved the application for an Occupant Protection Grant in the amount of $18,525. The purpose of this grant is to reduce the number of fatalities, injuries and crashes involving passengers and drivers without seatbelts as well as increase officers trained in Child Passenger Seat certification courses.
Second, the Board approved of the application for a DUI Grant in the amount of $68,046. Deputy Adam Eubanks stated that the grant funds the salary of a fulltime DUI officer whose main duty is to patrol and be on the lookout for impaired drivers.
In other business, the Board:
• Approved the minutes for January 2, 19, 29, and 31 meetings.
• Approved the Qualifying Statements of Intent and Registrar’s Certificates for Randy Tacket (Election Commissioner Beat 3), Lesa Fletcher (Election Commissioner Beat 5), and Christopher Downs (Election Commissioner Beat 1).
• Agreed to the reimbursement of Chancery Clerk Casey Carpenter to attend the Mississippi Department of Archives & History Grant Workshop scheduled for 9 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 23, in the Charlotte Capers Building in Jackson.
• Agreed to the reimbursement of Monica Jones and Durward Stanton to attend Mississippi Youth Court Information Delivery System training in Attala County on Tuesday, Feb. 13.
• Agreed to the reimbursement of April Neill, Rebecca Touchstone, Carolyn Summerville, David Burkhead, Lesa Fletcher and Durward Stanton to attend Statewide Election Management System Basic Training in Jackson on Feb. 6 and 7, and any other dates required.
• Agreed to the reimbursement of Cristin Bankston to attend Mississippi State Boards of Standards and Training Office class in Canton on Feb. 26 and 27.
• OK’d payment of county credit card bill for January.
• OK’d the appointment of Supervisor Claude Fluker to the CMI Board.
• Approved the spread of the following items: Casey Carpenter, Clerk of the Board, presented to the Board the Comparative Budget for the month of January; the Carroll County Regional Correctional Facility Meal Report for January; the Carroll County Bridge Posting for January; documents turned into FEMA for road repairs due to a tornado for County Roads 145 and 157 Site 1; a Mississippi Association of Supervisors Insurance Trust policy change in the amount of $261.53, and Beat 4’s hiring of Wayne Gomiller, effective Feb. 5.
