Sunflower County’s municipalities will get a big recreation boost after supervisors redirected federal funds for that purpose on Monday.
The county board approved giving Indianola, Inverness, Moorhead, Sunflower, Ruleville and Drew $40,000 each specifically to rehabilitate youth recreation parks. Doddsville was not included because the tiny town has no dedicated youth parks.
The money comes from federal recovery funds that were originally designated for repairs at the Sunflower County Jail. District 1 Supervisor Glenn Donald suggested the move early in Monday’s meeting, explaining that the $240,000 would only make a small dent in the jail’s overall renovation needs. He said that the major renovations needed there would be better met as a single project, rather than piecemeal as has been proposed.
Instead of paying for piecemeal projects using federal funds as they become available, the renovations could be paid for with a bond issue later this year. The bond issue could also cover new justice court buildings in Indianola and Drew to replace the existing ones which recently were condemned.
Sheriff James Haywood said he agreed with Donald’s proposal because the jail’s needs are so numerous that they need to be considered as a single project.
Haywood told supervisors in the past that items in dire need of renovation include a new locking system, total electrical rewiring and new lighting, new plumbing, replacement of an often-malfunctioning air conditioning and heating system and building an addition to house emergency communications equipment. Supervisors had earlier this year agreed about the need for the renovations and designated federal funds to construct the communications addition.
On Monday, Haywood told them that the renovations are critical, not only for the safety of prisoners, but also to ward off future federal legal action for failure to maintain a safe facility. He expressed confidence that the board will see to these needs as a single project and endorsed Donald’s proposal.
Municipalities will only be able to use the funds for recreation improvements and will have to apply through the county and also get federal approval of their proposed projects. Because of the red tape involved, getting them underway this summer is unlikely.
The proposal passed with District 3 Supervisor Sherry Gaston voting no. Gaston arrived after the initial discussion and appeared unsure of the details when the formal proposal and vote came toward the end of the meeting. She stated that she preferred using the federal funds currently in-hand to build the communication addition.
“I think the towns should take care of their parks,” she said.
Also on Monday, Haywood offered the board a friendly dare: find enhanced broadband access to the county jail.
The dare came after it was revealed that a fast connection had been built to the jail but never actually connected, although the county has been paying for the service.
The revelation was made during a proposal by representatives of FUSE, an internet management and provider. They said they have inspected the county’s multiple internet accounts and connections and determined that faster and more reliable service would be available if managed by them.
Their proposal included providing up-to-date service to the jail. The following discussion uncovered the fact that only a slower and less reliable service was available there, despite the county paying for a faster line, which Haywood claims was never connected.
Supervisors were somewhat incredulous at first, then voiced anger at the situation as county department heads reported several instances of poor customer service from their current providers.
At one point, a third-party vendor that does not supply service to the county stepped in free of charge to make temporary repairs when the courthouse internet system shut down.
Action on the FUSE proposal was delayed until the board’s June meeting so that the supervisors can meet with the current provider to discuss the poor service and maintenance incidents voiced by department heads.
