In a reversal from their previous meeting, the Pearl River County Board of Supervisors approved a motion to move forward with the design phase of a service road.

During Monday’s meeting County Engineer Les Dungan advised the board that he received a call from the Mississippi Department of Transportation asking if the board had acknowledged receipt of $1.9 in funding that could be used to conduct design work and purchase right of ways for a service road connecting West Union Road and Anchor Lake Road.

Dungan told the board that the representative said the deadline to acknowledge the funding was before MDOT’s next commission meeting, set for July 15.

At a previous board meeting, which District I Supervisor Anthony Hales was absent, a motion to acknowledge the funding died for a lack of a second.

Monday, the tide changed on the matter. District II Supervisor Michelle Carr made a motion to acknowledge the funding, which Hales seconded. During the vote Hales, Carr and board president J. Patrick Lee voted to acknowledge the funding, while District III Supervisor Dennis Dedeaux and District V Supervisor Sandy Kane Smith voted against it. Dungan said the board would still need to secure right of ways before work would take place.

“We are doing what we said would take place with that money,” Lee said.

Smith pointed out that acknowledging the funding does not mean the road will be constructed, but does mean design work will move forward.

Sheriff David Allison informed the board the food service provider for the county jail has increased their price per meal, to about $1.04. He presented the board with a request to extend their contract since, even with the increase, no other company can beat that price. The board approved a motion to extend the contract. Allison said the jail’s population tends to stay between 325 to 350 inmates.

Work to demolish the old Movie Star building in Poplarville is ongoing, but most of the work is being conducted inside. Dungan said the workers are currently stripping wire and performing other minor work inside the building while they wait for an asbestos removal permit.

Dungan also updated the board on roadwork in the county, saying the micro-surface project on Rock Ranch Road is complete, and crews are now moving to similar work on McNeill Henleyfield Road.

Base repair and leveling work on West Union Road started on Monday.

Dungan also presented the board with information about annual bridge inspections. He said there are 160 county maintained bridges; this year 95 of them need to be inspected. Most bridges are inspected every two years, but critical bridges are inspected annually. The inspection involves getting under the bridges to check the structural integrity of the components, and costs the county $350 per bridge. District I Supervisor Anthony Hales said that rate is set by the state.

Work on the Richardson Ozona Road project is ready to start when the remaining two parcel right of way acquisitions are complete, Dungan said.

One involves a commercial business waiting for their own appraiser to ensure the price is fair; the other entails a parcel of land caught up in tax liens.

Dungan said wetland mitigation and funding is in place to conduct the project.

Check Wednesday’s edition for continued coverage of Monday’s meeting.