by Hunter Dawkins
An abundant amount of action took place for the monthly meeting of the Harrison County Board of Supervisors (BOS) at the Gulfport Courthouse Monday morning. A historical interlocal agreement was approved between the Naval Construction Battalion Center (NCBC) in Gulfport and the BOS for mosquito surveillance along with abatement services.
Captain Bill Whitmire; the commanding officer of the NCBC, and Pam Ulrich; Harrison County administrator, signed the first intergovernmental support agreement (IGSA) between NCBC Gulfport and Harrison County, MS. This IGSA, focuses on Mosquito Surveillance and Abatement Services, which will enable NCBC Gulfport to purchase mosquito surveillance services from Harrison County at a pre-determined price on an as-needed basis. The agreement is the first of its kind for a U.S. Navy installation in Navy Region Southeast.
Following the agreement signature, the Harrison County Development Commission was allowed to execute an application for funding through the Fiscal Year 2018 Economic Development Administration (EDA) Disaster Supplemental Grant to repair and replace certain roadways and culverts, as the original resolution did not include the 20% match.
Harrison County Emergency Management Communications Director Rupert Lacy was approved unanimously by the BOS for payment to Nokia in over $7500 for annual technical support and advanced board replacement of the microwave systems. Additionally, Lacy was authorized to approve the Seventh Amendment to the Priority System Agreement in the amount of $19,000 with Harris Corporation. The Harrison County BOS extended the agreement for an additional year this time.
Despite a lengthy discussion, the Board unanimously acknowledged the receipt of the Long Beach Water District Claims, which had been approved at a previous meeting. District 3 Supervisor Marlin Ladner said “an independent group was appointed by the Chancery Court” to make those changes. An old Mississippi State Legislative action stated that due to flooding and the lack of revenue in most state counties, the chancery judge was given the power to determine the fees.
Finally, Harrison County Sheriff Troy Peterson reported 842 inmates at the Harrison County Adult Detention Center. In this facility, 102 cases were misdemeanors, 134 women at the prison, and 60 federal inmates. Some questions were raised about Sheriff Peterson obtaining a credit card account through Bancorp South. Peterson responded that this account already exists and the transition would be easy. After being asked the number of cards needed, the Sheriff’s Office responded 14 with an aggregate credit limit to not exceed $55,000.
In other actions, a resident of Harrison County, who lived off Vidalia Road in Pass Christian was denied a claim on a 3-2 vote for auto damage in the amount of $550.34. The resident’s car had rain damage from going through a pot hole. County Attorney Tim Holleman legally expressed that the county needs a reasonable amount of time to make the correction to the road and the road manager didn’t know about this until the day after the damage to the road.
