The Pearl River County Board of Supervisors accepted a bid for a new countywide phone system during their meeting on Wednesday.

The contract was awarded to In-Telecom Consulting, a communications company based in Slidell. Their bid was for $256,000.

Previous coverage states the company would implement their Avaya system throughout county offices and operate via Internet connections, rather than traditional phone towers.

The Board did not make a decision on when the new system would be implemented.

Several county offices have been operating by cell phone or with intermittent landline service, states previous coverage.

Pearl River County Sheriff David Allison was approved to purchase a second polygraph machine for the department so that both polygraph technicians could work simultaneously.

The Board also approved a domestic violence grant for $50,471 so the sheriff’s department can employ an officer to handle such cases.

Executive Director Leonard Bentz, from the Southern Mississippi Planning and Development District, presented the department’s 2015 report to the Board.

In 2015, the county budgeted $78,902 to SMPDD, which resulted in about $1.47 million in services provided to county residents, Bentz said.

SMPDD is a nonprofit organization, which runs the Area Council on Aging, Mississippi Access to Care centers and Economic Workforce development.

Bentz said their request for next year’s budget is $2,000 less than the current year.

The MAC centers were created to help any member of the community find information and support about other state or federal programs. More information can be found at mississippiaccesstocare.org or by calling 844-822-4622.

Darlene Adams, director of the Senior Center of South Pearl River County, presented her budget request to the Board for $25,000, the same as the previous year.

“As of today, we have 325 screened participants that attend our center,” Adams said.

The Board’s contribution amounts to about $44 a year per senior, or 13 cents a day, Adams said.

Pearl River County Library System Director Carol Phares also presented her budget proposal to the Board.

Phares asked for a reinstatement of the library’s previous budget of $274,600 from 2008.

Last year, the library was budgeted $222,000.

The cut in funding has prohibited the library from making book purchases for several years, Phares said.

“A library that’s not been able to buy books for 4 or 5 years is in trouble,” she said.

The library has been relying on private donations and grant funding to update their collections, Phares said.

Phares also spoke about the significance of the library as a community resource.

“I know a lot of people say you can Google it. And Google will bring you back a million, million answers, but your librarian will bring you back the right answer,” Phares said.

Board President Sandy Kane Smith said he has seen several visitors use the computers in the library while traveling through the area.

In other news, the Board:

• Approved the Poplarville-Pearl River County airport grant agreement for $204,830.
• Accepted VOCA grant documents.
• Approved continuation of funding for the Pearl River Basin joint funding agreement.
• Approved removal of the Ripple Creek bus turnaround
• Accepted a proposal to enroll in a beaver control program.

The next board meeting will be held on Monday, Aug. 29 at 9 a.m.