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The Magee Board of Aldermen met for a regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, February 4, 2025. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Dale Berry. James Fortenberry of the Magee Volunteer Fire Department opened the meeting with prayer, which was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
The board approved the agenda.
Alderman Sammie Tebo asked the mayor about the status of the lights on Highway 49 and at the PriorityOne Senior Center, saying they have “been out since October.” The mayor responded that he has contacted both Entergy and Southern Pine and reminded everyone that north of Berry’s Seafood is Southern Pine, while south is Entergy.
Tebo said, “From Love’s Truck Stop to Goodwater Road, there’s no lights up there now. They took them down, and they haven’t put them back up.”
“I’ll try again,” Berry said.
Alderman Lawana Thompson asked about a broken light pole on Fifth Street.
“That thing’s bad,” Berry responded.
“Somebody’s gonna get hurt,” Thompson said, asking the mayor to call Entergy again.
“I’ll call them again,” Berry said.
Berry told everyone that open enrollment for health insurance is Thursday, February 6.
“The board had anticipated a 12% increase,” he said, “but it’s only going to be 8%. That’s good news.”
The next item on the agenda was Work Projects and Committee Reports, and Berry asked City Attorney Wesla Sullivan to explain how the city is handling the increase resident’s have seen in their water bills since the new meters were installed.
“There are some things that will have to be worked out with the new meters to make certain we are getting a proper reading,” Sullivan said. “What we are trying to do is make certain that we have got an accurate measure of the water being used.”
She said she consulted with Robert Ireland of the Watkins Eager law firm, who “has done some extensive work with the same issue in the city of Jackson.” Sullivan proposed a meeting for the following day with a number of people, including the city engineer, Tim Bray, Steve Womack, a representative from the billing system, the city clerk, and Ireland to work on the problem.
“If you’ve got a leak in your water, you know, it’s gonna knock it up, but everybody doesn’t have a leak,” she said. “We’ve got a really good idea tonight what the issue is, but I don’t want to come out and tell y’all something and then be wrong. We want to make certain before we say anything we’ve got the right information, but we’ve been working on it all day long.”
Water Department Clerk Libby Shivers said, “We’re asking everybody not to pay their bill right now. There won’t be a bank draft as of yet…that’s not going to be done yet.”
Jim Ball asked, “So there won’t be any cut-offs or late payments?”
“There will be no cut-offs,” Shivers said. “We’re going to put a freeze on it basically.”
Forrest Dungan of Clearpoint Engineers updated the board on projects that are underway in the city of Magee. He said Contract #2, which is the project for improvements of Water Treatment Plant No. 1, is complete and recommended payment to Greenbriar in the amount of $53,235. The board approved payment for the project.
Concerning the water meter project, he said approximately 58 meters have yet to be replaced and a meeting with Vanguard is scheduled for Thursday, February 6 to discuss completion of the project.
The Lamar Road Sewer Extension Project is underway, and Dungan submitted a change order request that would allow the contractor to address a conflict with the water main and to install a grinder pump for one of the residencies in the area. He told the board he believes the change will not affect the overall cost of the project because money has been saved in other parts of the contract. The board approved the change order.
Dunan told the board he met with Southern Paving to re-emphasize the need for improvements in the quality of work being done and in the completion and cleanup of work that is done.
“Considering there will not be another inclement weather day in the contract, the contract time ends next Wednesday, February 12,” he said.
“We told them this afternoon, that they did not need to lay any more asphalt until they went back and cleaned up,” Dungan said.
Thompson asked, “So, February 12, is all the paving going to be done by then?”
“No, ma’am,” Dungan said. “That’s when the contract time will technically end. They’ll keep working until they finish it unless something else happens, but they will be in damages…so the city could assess liquidated damages, which are set up in the contract, which are set up at $200 a day.”
Dungan said the preconstruction meeting for the park project was held last week, and they are waiting on equipment to arrive.
The board approved the minutes and the claims docket.
Sullivan explained to the board that the city does not have an election committee and asked each alderman to submit at least one name. The board voted for three people. The new election committee members for the city of Magee are Nancy Brown, Diane McPhail, and Paula Watts. They will serve until June 30, and the new board will elect a new committee when new terms begin in July.
The board approved the contract for elections with the Simpson County Circuit Clerk, which enables the city to use the county’s voting machines.
“This ensures the integrity of the process,” Sullivan said. “The major cost is the use of the voting machines.
Chris Purdum of the Simpson County Republican Party told the board that because there is not a Republican Party for the city, the county’s Republican Party will step in and run the Republican Primary, which will be held April 1. They have certified all Republican candidates for the Republican primary and the names have been submitted to Simpson County Circuit Clerk Witt Fortenberry. They will get poll works and count votes with the Circuit Clerk.
“We will certify it and hand it off to your new election commissioners,” he said.
Charles Funchess appeared before the board to ask for help for the McLaurin Vocational Attendance Center Historical Site. Berry told him that he anticipates ad valorem taxes to be higher in March and April so there may be funds available to help the project.
Joshua Burns of the Tobacco Free Coalition appeared before the board again to ask that the city adopt a 100% Smoke-Free Ordinance. He told the board he has spoken to five or six restaurants who do support the ordinance. The board approved the ordinance, which makes Magee a 100% smoke-free city.
Zoning Board Chairman Jim Ball explained to the board that the zoning commission believes that in cases of rezoning a larger area of the city, the commission will use a two-thirds majority as a guide.
He told the board, “If a house burns down in a commercial zone, they can’t rebuild.”
The board discussed how to notify property owners of changes in zoning.
“From a due process perspective, I would give every notice possible,” Sullivan advised.
Public Works Administrator Tim Bray updated the board about ongoing work in the city.
Chief of Police Denis Borges asked the board to adopt a resolution requesting $320,000 for equipment and vehicles from the general appropriations bill for the State of Mississippi.
“There will be thousands of these requests. Some are granted; most are not,” Sullivan said, “It’s a shot in the dark that you’re going to get it, but you’re not going to get it if you don’t try to get it.”
The board approved the adoption of the resolution.
Borges asked for approval for one of the city’s investigators to attend two upcoming training courses. The first, which will be held March 17-20, costs $429. The second, which will be hin La Place, LA, April 10-14, is training for homicide and death investigations and will cost $550, in addition to hotel costs. The board approved both courses.
Borges submitted the resignation letter of Sgt. Kyle Smith, which the board accepted.
Borges asked for an executive session to discuss personnel.
Fire Chief David Craft said the department had 13 calls in January, including seven structure fires, three canceled calls, two grass fires, and one vehicle fire. He also told the board that the city’s rate inspection had been done, and he has high hopes the city will maintain its current rating.
Zoning Administrator Penny Aguirre submitted a special event request for a Farmer’s Market that will take place in the parking lot of the Community House every Thursday in March, April and May from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. The board approved the request.
The board accepted the resignation of Building Inspector Al Sullivan, who was not present but reported the following:
- 1 residential mechanical permit (HVAC) issued
- 2 commercial roof inspections completed
- 2 residential gas inspections for service connect completed
- 2 commercial electrical inspections for service connect completed
- 1 new city contractor license issued
- 2 residential demolitions scheduled for February (301 First Avenue NW and 817 5th Avenue SW).
Jimmy Zila informed the board that lights have been fixed at the Sportsplex. He also said registration numbers for baseball and softball are down, saying that last year the city had five or six select teams. This year there are 19.
The board entered executive session.