County pursues emergency shelter

By Vershal Hogan (Contact) | The Natchez Democrat

Published Tuesday, November 3, 2009

NATCHEZ — The Adams County Board of Supervisors voted Monday to tentatively move forward with the plans for an emergency shelter near U.S. 61.

The shelter, which will be 95 percent funded by the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is meant to serve as a durable shelter during hurricane and tornado events. The project is known as FEMA 361.

Supervisor S.E. “Spanky” Felter made the motion to accept the offer with the intention of eventually transferring the project over to the Natchez-Adams County School District.

“There is nothing wrong with asking the school system to sponsor the 361 building,” President Henry Watts said.

At this stage in the project, commitments are still non-binding, so if the school district doesn’t want to participate the county can still pull out of the project, Supervisor Mike Lazarus said.

The guidelines for the shelter specify it has to be within a certain distance of U.S. 61, and Lazarus said his recommendation was to put the shelter on school district property near Natchez High School.

“That property is pretty valuable, and (emergency officials) said the land could be used for the match,” Lazarus said.

The required match for participation is $162,000.

One of the stipulations attached to the construction of the shelter is that it must be used, and in previous discussions the supervisors stated that having it near the school would make it an ideal community center.

During the meeting, Lazarus also asked County Road Manager Curly Jones if it would possible for county crews to patch potholes in Natchez city limits once a month.

The city does not own a pothole patcher, and currently city crews are having to patch potholes using sacks of asphalt, which is expensive, Lazarus said.

“The city is in the county, and we have helped out on some projects before, but it is also the city’s responsibility to maintain streets,” Supervisor Darryl Grennell said.

“I told the city years ago they should invest in a pothole patcher. It’s one of the best things they can have.”

Felter agreed, and said that potholes in the county should take priority.

Watts said that, before the county crews started fixing potholes in the city, city officials needed to compile a list of potholes that needed fixing and prioritize it.

In other news:

• Coroner James Lee asked the supervisors to approve an agreement with the coroners in Franklin and Jefferson counties to take calls in Adams County should he or his deputy coroner be unavailable.

The supervisors approved the request.

Lee also asked the supervisors to consider compensating the deputy coroner, who has responded to calls free of charge since the coroner’s office was created in 1999.

“She has given nine years to the county for absolutely nothing,” he said.

He also requested that the county fund a full-time secretary for his office, which currently only has a part-time secretary.

“(Coroner’s work) requires an enormous amount of paperwork and follow-up phone calls, and right now I feel like I am falling a little behind,” he said.

The funds to grant that request would have to be drawn from the circuit court’s funding, and the supervisors are yet to meet with the circuit judges to discuss the matter, Watts said.

• Lazarus suggested the county send employees to a business training session at Copiah-Lincoln Community College.

The training, which will include phone etiquette and customer service training, has been offered free to the county, he said.

“We need to realize that whenever somebody comes to the county giving money, they’re a customer and that’s your paycheck you’re taking,” he said.

“Somebody buys a house here, and the first person they go see is somebody with the city or county, and I want them treated right.”

County Administrator Cathy Walker said she agreed with the suggestion.

“I think it is a good idea to let these county employees know that this is something we expect of them,” she said.

“Not everybody needs it, but we do get complaints from every department.”

Before a final decision can be made, the supervisors need to decide if the course will be mandatory and during work hours, Watts said.