The City of Indianola is hoping to build on recent partnerships with Sunflower County.
Indianola Mayor Ken Featherstone went before the Sunflower County Board of Supervsiors on Monday, asking the county to consider entering an interlocal agreement that could see the county administering a series of grants for the municipality.
The precedent for this was set last year when Rep. Bennie Thompson announced $2 million for municipal projects in the county. Because most of the towns and cities were delinquent on their audits, the county was needed in order to be the overall administrator.
Brown & Associates was hired shortly after that to administer the grant.
The firm, owned by Dr. Adrian Brown, recently contracted with the City of Indianola to help with grant administration, city projects and other things.
The city is making this request due to being behind on several audits they are not eligible for any grants. The two areas Featherstone asked the county for help on are public safety and infrastructure.
Some of the citizens of Indianola do not feel safe and came along with the mayor to voice their concerns.
“We need to work together, things can be changed. We have to come up with a strategy to make that change happen.” said Dr. Cassie Pennington, an Indianola native.
Featherstone noted that he was not at the meeting on Monday to ask for money but to plant the seed for a future potential partnership.
During the meeting the board voted to enter into interlocal agreements between the county and the municipalities that are set to receive the $2 million in congressional appropriations that were announced last February.
This move is not unexpected, as this was required as part of the process for the county to administer the grant that was awarded by Rep. Bennie Thompson in 2023.
