During Tuesday's Sunflower County Board of Supervisors meeting, Emergency Management Director Denny Evans reported that as it relates to the recent heavy rainfalls in the county, only one home, in the town of Sunflower, was infiltrated with water.
He said the resident received about an inch of water although water did come close to entering other homes.
District 4 Supervisor Anthony Clark asked what the county could do to help alleviate future flooding, especially when heavy rains are anticipated and since they know that house, in particular, is located in a low-lying area.
Evans indicated that it would be up to the homeowner or the town of Sunflower to take precautionary measures since the home is located within the city limits.
Also, Evans reported that miscalculations by Federal Emergency Management Agency inspectors, who were assessing the county after last year's flooding, resulted in erroneous figures being submitted for reimbursement.
"They had us down for a lot more damage than we actually received," he said.
As a result, FEMA is allowing the county to be reassessed for accurate descriptions, so he is working with Road Manager T. J. Fairley to get the correct data.
In relation to Evans’ report, District 1 Supervisor Glenn Donald questioned which budget line item was used to purchase the emergency equipment acquired during the recent severe weather event and suggested that steps be taken to ensure that the new purchases are properly accounted for and inventoried.
Additionally, the county heard a presentation from volunteer Kenneth Luna on the importance and benefits of using drones to assist county law enforcement and emergency/rescue crews. Luna indicated that to the best of his knowledge, he was one of only two pilots in the county licensed by the FAA to operate drones at 400 feet.
He proposed that the county leaders purchase at least two law enforcement type drones equipped with spotlights, a 4K camera, anti-aircraft lights, strobe lights, speakers and infrared technology for night searches and identification of heat sources at a cost of about $6,000 each.
He demonstrated how the equipment works and how each aspect of it could be used to serve the citizens of the county. He indicated that he would be willing to work with other county employees or volunteers to help them earn their pilot certification also.
The county lawmakers showed an intent interest in Luna's proposal and decided to look into possible funding sources for the purchase of the equipment including any available grants that could possibly help with the purchase.
In other business,
Several bids were opened during Tuesday's meeting including ones for solid waste services, a county depository, county buildings' yard maintenance and new dump trucks.
All of the bids except for the one for the county depository was taken under advisement and placed on the March 2 agenda. Planters Bank was the only financial institution that submitted a proposal to handle the county’s operating and investment funds and was awarded the bid.
Six proposals were received for the county's buildings’ yard maintenance. Apparently Top Dog Lawn Service had the lowest bid of $1,150 per month, which included 2 cuts per month and removal of debris. Battle Lawn Service—Orlando Battle, owner—was next with a bid of $1,800 per month followed by S & S Lawn Care—David Stamps—who proposed $1,900 per month, then Larry Dozier who submitted a proposal for $2,350 per month, Green Team—Willie Ryas—submitted $2,500 per month and Indian Bayou Lawn Service submitted a proposal of $25,000 for the nine-month period, which equates to $2,777 per month.
Donald made a motion to go with Battle's service even though it was not the lowest bid, citing that Battle was familiar with the county's property; however, his motion failed for lack of a second.
Donald reasoned that the person who proposed $1,150 was not going to be satisfied with that amount once they saw how much work was involved.
He said that Battle, who had done the work previously, had indicated that $1,500 was not enough, which is why he bid more this year.
Regardless, Board President Riley Rice then made a motion to enlist the services of Top Dog Lawn Service because it would save the county money and his proposal failed on a 2-2 vote because District 3 Supervisor Ben Gaston had left the session.
District 5 Supervisor Gloria Dickerson and Rice voted yes while Donald and District 4 Supervisor Anthony Clark voted no. So, the decision was tabled.
Clark said his reason for voting no was because he felt the decision was being rushed.
"When we get into discussions like this it's better to table it because we're making a quick decision," he said.
None of the supervisors appeared willing or available to appear for a special session, so the matter was tabled until the next regular schedule meeting in March.
With regard to the dump trucks, Southern Procurement conducted a reverse auction and two bids were received. The acceptance of the purchase was also tabled.
Truckworx/Kenworth truck manufacturers submitted a proposal for $110,000 for 2020 model dump trucks with a $30,000 buyback and Burroughs Diesel submitted $111,800 for 2021 model dump trucks with a $58,000 buyback.
However, there was some question about whether or not the submitted proposals met the specifications required by the county road manager and one of the things that Donald questioned was if the trucks were worth the quoted price.
The three-year buyback plan, which affects the net unit price, also raised issue as the county lawmakers seemed unclear on whether or not they were going to replace the trucks after three years of use or hold on to them longer. A discussion ensued and no vote was taken.
Additionally, they also rejected bids from two heating and air companies because the submitted proposals did not match the required specifications. The county maintenance director apparently requested a price for installing a 10-ton unit and the proposals submitted were both for 7.5-ton units.
