The Carroll County Board of Supervisors meeting Monday, Aug. 26, began with a prayer given by Board President Jim Neill. Beat 4 Supervisor Claude Fluker was noted to be absent from the meeting. After being called to session, Carrollton Mayor Pam Lee appeared before the Board to speak about this fall’s upcoming Pilgrimage festival to take place Oct. 4 and 5 as well as report on Tourism American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds which have been allocated to Carroll County. As Tourism Chairman for the county, Mayor Lee addressed the use of ARPA first. She informed the Board of a new county website which has been set up where residents and visitors alike can get information on the happenings of the county. In addition, she informed about videos available on the website which show highlights of Carroll County life, noting that the videographer who made the videos has won four awards for their works. Mayor Lee stated that in addition to the initial $250,000 received for tourism which was committed, the county was awarded an additional $125,000.
Following her ARPA funds report, Mayor Pam moved on to speak about the upcoming Pilgrimage event. She presented the Board with a comprehensive report on the 2023 festival as well as projections for the upcoming year.
“We had seventy-eight vendors last year. Sixty five percent of those were from Carroll County, another ten percent were from the counties immediately around us, and then the others came from different parts of the state and we even had some from out of state,” Mayor Lee informed the Board. “The one from Arkansas is a repeat, so they feel like this is a good place to come and do business.”
“We would not be able to do this without supporters and y’all have always been a good supporter and we appreciate that,” she addressed the Board.
Mayor Lee then moved on to projections for the 2024 festival.
“On the back of that page are the plans for this year. Shades Rest, Lum Reek, Cotesworth, and The Doll House will all be open. We have thirty-eight vendors so far and since most of the vendors send in their applications in September, we believe we are on track to meet last year’s goals,” she informed the Supervisors.
She also stated that Under the Gun, a performance group, will have a reunion at the Pilgrimage Festival and is excited for the returning talent as they have attended the festival in past years. The tentative theme for the festival is “The Games We Played.” The festival will host an array of games including dominos, jacks, croquet, corn hole, and hula hoop. In addition to the previously mentioned attractions, Mayor Lee stated that the Merrill Museum, Gee’s Store, People’s Bank & Trust, and the Masonic Lodge will be open as attractions. Following her report, Mayor Lee requested a sponsorship from the Board in the amount of $1,000 to match the previous year’s sponsorship. The motion to sponsor the 2024 Pilgrimage event in the amount of $1,000 was made by Beat 3 Supervisor Dill Tucker and seconded by Beat 5 Supervisor Randy Browning and passed with all present in favor.
The next major topic of discussion happened much later in the meeting and was regarding many recent fires in the Carroll County area. Relating to recent dry conditions, the Board voted to pass a burn ban for Carroll County which would be effective Aug. 26, through Oct. 1. Board Clerk Casey Carpenter stated that their course of action would be to reassess conditions upon the ending date and decide from there whether a ban would still be necessary as they proceed with bans 30 days at a time. The motion was made by Beat 3 Supervisor Tucker and seconded by Beat 5 Supervisor Browning and passed with all present in favor. This ban has already been approved by the Mississippi Forestry Commission.
In other news the Board
• Discussed Colonial Life Insurance for the county with Representative Brian Lawrence.
• Agreed to reimbursing two tax office employees for attending a conference.
• Approved final Real and Personal Land Roll 2024/25, assessed vehicle.
• Agreed to pay DTAC for AC repairs at the Vaiden Courthouse in the amount of $4,418.
• Made a note that any HVAC/AC related work will from now on require at least 2 quotes.
• Accepted the quote from Kirk Auto Group in the amount of $50,820 to purchase a 2024 Ford F250 Crew Cab 4X4 for the Bridge Department.
• Agreed to transfer $32,640.19 from Beat 1 Fund to the House Bill 603 Beat 1 bank account to cover the CR 83 Project.
• Approved reimbursement for Jimmy Harper to attend the Mississippi County Veteran Service Officers Fall Training, September 24-25, 2024 at Camp Shelby.
• Agreed to reimburse David Ross to attend a 16 hour Suicicde Prevention Course September 18&19, 2024 in Pearl, MS to be paid out of the EOC budget.
• Approved to reimburse Banks Tucker to attend a conference in South Carolina on October 26-31, 2024.
• Agreed to reimburse Adam Eubanks to attend a conference in Nashville, TN, October 7-11, 2024.
• Approved a right-of-way easement for Delta Electric Power around the Sheriff’s Department.
• Agreed to a contract between Carroll County and MVBA, a collection agency, to collect Justice Court fines.
• Approved to advertise in The Conservative for two weeks (August 29 and September 5, 2024) for Beat 4 to purchase 1 used dump truck 2012 year model or similar. (Payment is to be made with a USDA Grant.)
• Accepted CodeRed with NCPDD in the amount of $1,500.
• Agreed to pay Willis Engineering in the amount of $65,827.81 for CR 430 Overlay Project (SB2468). This will be paid out of Beat 3 Road Fund.
• Approved to spread the following items: first and second Land Redemption Settlement for July 2023. MDOT Title VI Annual Assessment Report. NCPDD Rural Development Community Facilities Public Hearing for Beat 5 to purchase a GMC 1500 Truck. The County has received a total of $24,275.01 in Opioid Settlement Monies. Abiaca Drainage District Financial Report - year ended 04/30/2024. MEMA 2024 Climate REsiliency Assessment, MEMA EMPG Fiscal Year 2024 Quarterly Monitoring Report, District 3 Quarterly Meeting and FEMA Recovery Transition Meeting.
• Moved the approval of quotes for Beat 2 to help pay for moving the water line to Sep. 3 meeting.
• Discussed the topic of Beat 5 request to purchase a culvert for CR 264.
• Agreed to recess until Tuesday, Sep. 3, 2024 at 9 a.m. in the Carrollton courthouse.
