NATCHEZ &045;&045; The Board of Supervisors voted last week to grant an amended tax exemption to Mississippi River Corp. for improvements made at its facility.

More than $1.8 million worth of improvements were made, and the exemption will save the company $14,172 a year, said Adams County Tax Assessor Reynolds Atkins.

The company had applied for a larger exemption earlier this year, &uot;but not all of those (improvements) qualified&uot; for the exemption, Atkins said.

Supervisors later voted to hire Paul Brooks as the county’s solid waste enforcement and recycling officer pending confirmation of funding for the position.

The position will be funded by a grant and by county funds, although exact amounts were not available Monday.

In addition, supervisors:

4Voted to allow Deputy Chancery Clerk Pat Powell to advertise for bids for overlaying the parking lot of the National Guard Armory. The county will pay up to $20,000 of the cost.

4Voted to authorize the Smith, Truly and Latham law firm to represent the county in the lawsuits Fidel Clark v. Thomas McCoy and Leslie Bernard v. Adams County.

4Accepted a letter from Kevin Smith in which Smith declined to serve on Natchez Regional Medical Center’s Board of Trustees.

Smith said in a letter to the board that he resigned due to a potential conflict of interest. Smith is a vice president for AmSouth Bank, a company with which the hospital does business.

Supervisors will probably appoint someone to fill the vacancy at their next meeting, said board President Darryl Grennell.

4Approved a contract with BellSouth for telecommunications services at a rate of 6 cents a minute.

4Voted to allow Powell to advertise the opening of the tax rolls for public inspection.

4Directed Road Manager Bobby Powell and County Engineer Jim Marlow to conduct research on Cardinal Drive.

Some residents say speeding motorists are a problem on the almost three-mile-long road.

Supervisors Lynwood Easterling proposed speed humps, although some supervisors said installing speed humps on the road would leave the board open to a lawsuit.

4Appointed Cliff McCarstle to the Southwest Mississippi Planning and Development District board.

4Allow Grennell to sign a letter to the U.S. Economic Development Administration.

The letter is needed each year for the county to qualify for available funding for improvements needed for economic development, said county officials.

4Voted to approve travel expenses for Justice Court Judge Charles Vess to attend the upcoming American Judicial Academy in Maine.

Supervisors also approved travel for any supervisor who wishes to a reception for Brooks Miller of the State Aid Office today in Jackson.

They also approved travel expenses for George Souderes or another county representative to attend a meeting regarding flood maps Thursday in Jackson.

4Voted to cut grass and other vegetation at 15 Country Club Drive and 108 Crown Court Drive and demolish and remove a structure at 201 Country Club Drive.

County Administrator Charlie Brown told the board he has given the owner of property at 64 and 66 Starnes Drive 30 days to remove old vehicles and cut the grass on that property.

4Voted to pay $640 in registration fees for Adolescent Offender Program staff to attend an upcoming Southern Christian Services for Children and Youth conference.

4Discussed the need to revisit how cleaning is handled at the Kingston Community Center and the need for cleanup, painting and replacement of locks at the LaGrange Community Center.

No action was taken on those items Monday.

4Approved a fund transfer requested by Chancery Clerk Tommy O’Beirne.

Also in Monday’s meeting, O’Beirne said that software for imaging Chancery Court records will be brought from Delta Computers of Gulfport as a single-source purchase.

&uot;The (State) Auditor’s Office has cleared&uot; the purchase, he said. Bids will be taken for needed computer hardware.

And Easterling said property owner Nelson Case has promised to take steps to clean up properties at Old U.S. Highway 84 and U.S. 61.

Supervisors said the lots are littered with unkempt mobile homes.