City-County Partnership Helps Pave The Way For Future Industry
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COFFEEVILLE – Yalobusha County supervisors approved transferring $74,260 to the City of Water Valley as part of a cost-sharing agreement to provide matching funds for a $1.8 million project at the W.C. Gardiner Industrial Park.
Construction began last month and includes a new access road off Highway 7 that will connect with the existing road in the park, along with extensive site preparation to create a site pad large enough to accommodate a 300,000-square-foot industrial building. Board Attorney Shannon Crow reported during the Nov. that he reviewed the agreement and confirmed the county could transfer funds from its industrial operations fund, which is supported by revenue from water sales to Ajinomoto Foods in Oakland.
The city is contributing an equal $74,260 match.
Supervisors also approved a $12,247.64 payment to the city for engineering expenses tied to the new access road. That payment will be drawn from a $100,000 appropriation approved in 2023 by state lawmakers to help with the project.
The $1.8 million infrastructure project will make the new industrial site “shovel-ready” for future development. The City of Water Valley earlier awarded the construction contract to Pace Excavating of West Point, the low bidder at $1.18 million for the dirt work and road work. Funding for the overall project comes from multiple sources, including the Tennessee Valley Authority, Mississippi Development Authority, Delta Regional Authority, and Appalachian Regional Commission.
Other activity in the Nov. 3 meeting, held at the Coffeeville courthouse, includes:
• Supervisors also entered the annual garbage collection report into the minutes, showing $995,552.17 collected from residential fees and $818,357.25 paid to Waste Management for pickup service during Fiscal Year 2025. Other costs included $9,958.50 in postage and $15,658.43 in labor. The solid waste fund started the year with $459,303.77 and ended with $605,835.42.
Waste Management has served county residents since 2013 and currently charges $19.95 per can per month, with an annual cost-of-living adjustment. The county charges residents $24 per month, a rate increased in 2024 to offset operating costs.
“Reckon folks will be over that last rate increase by 2027?” District 5 Supervisor Gaylon Gray joked after the report was entered into the minutes.
• Supervisors also learned that the Town of Oakland has been approved for $70,000 through the Rural Fire Truck Acquisition Assistance Program to help purchase a new fire truck to replace a 25-year-old unit. Emergency Management Director Stewart Spence said the town will put the project out for bids and complete the purchase before January 1.
District 4 Supervisor Eddie Harris called the funding “a welcome surprise.”
“We thought we weren’t going to get any more funding,” Harris said. “Oakland has to come up with a plan for how they are going to pay for that truck—it’s all on them.”
Harris also praised cooperation between the town, county, and Ajinomoto Foods.
“Ajinomoto is willing to put some money into this fire truck,” he said. “Because if we don’t get a new fire truck, insurance may double.”
Supervisors instructed Yalobusha County EMA Director Stewart Spence and Deputy EMA Director Jarred Logan to work with Oakland officials to complete the purchase before the end-of-year deadline for the state money.
• Approved a $26,703 bill from Marchbanks Specialty for a new roof on the old Calhoun Street county jail.
• Paid $3,000 for annual dues to the Mississippi Association of Supervisors.
• Approved $21,000 for the 2024 audit and $12,500 for the final payment on the 2023 audit to Bridger, Goodman, Baird & Clark, PLLC.
• Accepted bonds for overweight hauling by Fly Timber Co. (CR 230, CR 20) and Harrison Logging (CR 152, CR 194).
• Approved purchase of two single-axle dump trucks for District 2 from Tri-State Mack at $119,698 each.
• Adopted the amended 2025 fiscal year budget, showing an $83,540 general fund carry-over.
“I think the greatest responsibility the five of us have, outside of these roads and bridges, is making sure we are managing the resources allotted to us,” Board President Cayce Washington said.
Chancery Clerk Donald Gray added, “Overall we were under budget when you put everything together.”
• Announced upcoming insurance rate increases: dental rising from $25.58 to $26.98, group life also increasing slightly, and county-paid health insurance expected to rise from about $600 to $900 per employee per month.
