Bids sought on new fire truck for city

Published 12:11 am Tuesday, December 2, 2014

NATCHEZ — The Adams County Board of Supervisors authorized the county administrator Monday to seek bids to finance a new fire truck.

The county government has agreed to provide the truck to the City of Natchez’s fire department as part of its 10-year fire protection agreement plan with the city.

The issue of when the truck would be provided has been raised between the two governments several times in the last year, with the supervisors saying they were waiting to hear if the purchase would be partially funded by a grant.

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Adams County Fire Coordinator Darryl Smith said Monday the county did not qualify for the grant.

But the county had gotten approval on the design of a demo model of a fire truck from city officials last week, Smith said, when the truck was brought to Natchez.

The demo model, which was built by Five Alarm Fire Apparatus of Houma, La., would have to be fitted with several modifications to be up to the standard Natchez needs, Smith said.

The truck will cost a total of $334,235.

When the supervisors approved the seeking of financing, County Administrator Joe Murray said he would seek bids for lease-purchase financing for the truck.

During the meeting, the supervisors also approved a $7,000 supplemental agreement to cover unforeseen costs associated with the Lower Woodville Road bridge project.

The project is replacing the nearly 70-year-old bridge with a new structure that will have a much better safety rating. The Lower Woodville Road bridge was the county’s lowest rated bridge.

The supervisors also added the Sedgefield Road bridge into the county’s bridge repair program.

In other news, the board met in executive session to discuss several matters.

Those matters included:

4Strategies to recoup funds allegedly embezzled by the county’s former juvenile justice center administrator, Kevin Nations.

The county’s errors and omissions insurance covered the maximum amount of funds it could in the recovery, board attorney Scott Slover said, but the maximum was capped at $100,000.

County officials have in the past said Nations allegedly took approximately $165,000.

Slover said recovering the remainder of the embezzled funds would likely require a lawsuit against any parties deemed liable for the embezzlement.

• The potential sale of property on the former International Paper industrial site.

• The potential sale of property on the former Belwood Country Club site.

• The review of job performance of two county employees, one at the Adams County Sheriff’s Office and one at the Natchez-Adams County Port Authority.