LIBERTY — Amite County supervisors on Monday accepted a bid of $103,400 from Alan Coleman Construction of Hazlehurst to install a box culvert on Fenn Road.
Engineer David Cothren opened two bids on Monday, with the second from Dozier LLC of Natchez for $158,275. The engineering estimate for the emergency work project was $85,000.
The money will come from county coffers; no State Aid Road money is involved, Cothren said.
The company will have 20 working days to finish the job, Cothren said.
He also told supervisors that three roads — Trask, Gary and Grange Hall roads — have been temporarily closed until supervisors complete bridge improvements. A recent state and federal highway inspection led to the closures, which will be in effect until supervisors make the necessary improvements.
On Grange Hall Road, Cothren said there is a lot of erosion and the bridge is in a critical stress stage.
In other matters, the board:
• Awarded six-month bids for hot and cold mix asphalt as well as recycled asphalt to Dickerson & Bowen, liquid asphalt and emulsions to Ergon, with Blacklidge Emulsions as the alternate.
• Heard from Cam Sharp of AMR ambulance that the call volume to the company has increased sharply, not only in Amite County but in the state over the past couple of months.
“We had eight calls within an hour last month” in Amite County, Sharp said, noting that is extremely unusual. “We’re running 24 straight hours.”
• Approved the quarterly budget for the tax assessor’s office and the sheriff’s office, as requested by tax assessor Eunice Blake and sheriff Tim Wroten.
• Approved Jerome Chesser for part time work and Chris Galloway for full-time work in District 5, as requested by supervisor Ricky Williams. The board also approved salary of $2,500 a month for sheriff’s employee Dwayne Whetstone.
• Approved travel for Murry Toney and Grant McCurley to attend fire school training in Hattiesburg. The trip is free, and there is no cost to the county.
• Set a hearing for Aug. 7 for anyone objecting to disallowing homestead exemptions.
• Approved the $1,230 purchase of a new Dell Optiplex 3000 series computer for the tax assessor’s office so that it will be compatible with other equipment in the department.
• Gave approval to AT&T for a permit to bury cable on Taylor Road.
